Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited.
[Regnum] Archaeologists discovered a treasure of 24 silver coins from the early Petrine era during excavations in Azov, Rostov region, Andrei Maslovsky, candidate of historical sciences and head of the museum’s archeology department, told TASS.
“In a recessed dwelling of the 18th century, next to the stove, under a fragment of ceramics, 24 silver coins were wrapped in a rag - kopecks from the time of Peter the Great, the so-called scales, this is still using archaic technology, they were made oval,” he said.
Maslovsky clarified that this amount, by the standards of that era, is approximately equal to the per capita tax from a peasant for at least six months.
As Regnum reported, more than 100 thousand historical artifacts have been discovered by Moscow archaeologists over the past 12 years, the mayor of the capital Sergei Sobyanin said at the end of December.
He also talked about some of the finds this season. Thus, during excavations at the Chizhevsky courtyard, archaeologists discovered fragments of glass bracelets from the 12th century. A spindle whorl was also found there - elements of a hand spindle, carved from pink and red stone and slate. They also date back to the 12th–13th centuries.
In addition, several toys were found at the Chizhevsky farmstead, among which were a clay man in winter clothes and a horse from the 16th–17th centuries, as well as a white clay watering whistle toy in the shape of a bird. In addition, a white clay samovar and a faience cup from a children's doll set were found.
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited.
[Regnum] Rescuers issued storm warnings about abnormally cold weather on January 8 and 9 in the Voronezh, Kursk, Lipetsk, Oryol, Smolensk and Ryazan regions, where temperatures are 7-15 degrees below the climate norm. This is reported on the websites of the regional departments of the Ministry of Emergency Situations.
“In the period from January 8 to 9, abnormally cold weather will remain in the Lipetsk region with average daily air temperatures of 18-22 degrees below zero, which is 11-15 degrees below the long-term average values,” the press service of the Ministry of Emergency Situations for the region reported.
Temperatures are expected to drop to minus 22 degrees in the Voronezh region, and in the Kursk region - to minus 21. In the Ryazan region at night on January 8, a frost of 30 degrees is expected.
In the Oryol region the thermometer will drop to minus 20 degrees.
“The temperature is 8-13 degrees below the climate norm,” the Ministry of Emergency Situations for the Oryol region clarified.
Rescuers urged people to be careful when using heating devices and to dress for the weather.
As reported by Regnum news agency, rescuers also warned residents of the Donetsk and Lugansk people's republics, Kherson and Zaporozhye regions about a sharp drop in temperature by more than 10 degrees. Along with frosts, snowfalls and blizzards will begin from January 8. Now in Donetsk it is about two degrees Celsius. In Genichesk, Kherson region, the thermometer shows plus 15 degrees.
In St. Petersburg, on January 4, three temperature records were broken at once - night, day and average daily temperatures.
According to forecasts from Roshydromet forecasters, during the period from January 6 to January 8, abnormally cold weather will continue in Moscow with an average daily temperature 7–15 degrees below the climate norm. Due to dangerous phenomena, the agency recommended not to use electrical appliances not intended for this purpose to heat rooms.
Rescuers warned residents of the LDPR, Kherson and Zaporozhye regions about a sharp drop in temperature by more than 10 degrees. Along with frosts, snowfalls and blizzards will begin on January 8, according to widespread reports from the Main Directorate of the Ministry of Emergency Situations of these regions.
“Temperature drop to 10 degrees below zero, snow, blizzard, ice, wet snow sticking to wires and trees, heavy in places. A complex of meteorological phenomena: ice-frost deposits, icy conditions on the roads,” reported the Main Directorate of the Ministry of Emergency Situations for the DPR.
In addition, gusty winds of 15-20 mph are expected in the DPR. In the LPR and the Kherson region, heavy snow, a blizzard, and increased eastern winds of up to 15–18 m/s are predicted. In the Zaporozhye region, rescuers admit that bad weather will break in there on January 7th.
Now in Donetsk it is about two degrees Celsius. In Genichesk, Kherson region, the thermometer shows plus 15 degrees.
As Regnum reported, a storm warning was announced in Norilsk. The reason for this was a very strong gusty wind. In the Krasnoyarsk Territory, wind gusts of up to 25 m/s or more and a snowstorm are expected. And in the Krasnodar Territory, the water level in rivers in Sochi may rise to unfavorable levels. In the mountainous zone, the risk of mudflows increases. Residents were advised to follow the rules of behavior in the flash flood zone during high water.
Worth noting, korrespondent.net has compiled its Invasion of Ukraine series into separate months, beginning May 9th, 2023. Linked in the title
[Korrespondent] 22:53 The Russians launched two strikes on Kharkov, first with S-300 missiles. Hits were also recorded in the Volchansk community. There was no information about casualties, said Oleg Sinegubov, head of the OVA.
20:00 Since the beginning of a full-scale war, Ukraine has shot down 25 of 63 Kinzhal missiles, said Air Force spokesman Yuri Ignat. He recalled that the first time a hypersonic missile was destroyed was on May 4, 2023, when Kyiv began using the Patriot air defense system.
19:04 Zelensky said in an evening video message that he held a meeting about plans for this year in relations with partners in the European Union and NATO: “Our priorities are clear: to fully implement the decision to open negotiations, to prepare our negotiating framework with the European Union, and to develop such a system relations and communication with members of the Alliance, so that every state, every leader fully feels that together with Ukraine NATO will become much stronger."
The president also said that today he met in Kyiv with Japanese Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa. “One of our best international results is our relations with Japan,” he added.
18:19 A commission from Germany, which visited a repair center in Lithuania for German tanks, was unpleasantly surprised by the number of equipment that failed during operation in Ukraine due to internal defects, writes Spiegel. A German officer told the publication that German tanks quickly wear out in combat conditions. The Ukrainian military notes that the Leopard has fragile tracks - weakening their tension leads to breakdowns.
17:56 The prosecutor's office clarified that as a result of an enemy attack from the MLRS on the village. Nechvolodovka, Kupyansky district, Kharkov region, one person was killed, one was injured. In addition, this afternoon the Russians fired at the village. Senkovo, Kupyansky district, a 17-year-old teenager was wounded.
17:27 The Russians attacked Nechvolodovka, Kupyansky district, Kharkov region, one person was killed, said Oleg Sinegubov, head of the OVA.
16:58 Ukraine has already begun joint defense activities with Turkey, Romania, Poland, the UK, and also has corresponding agreements with the Czech Republic, the USA and Germany, Zelensky said in his address to the participants of the annual Swedish national conference Society and Defense. The President expressed hope that Ukraine and Sweden will sooner or later also open the first joint production of weapons and equipment.
16:04 Japan is allocating $37 million for drone detection systems for Ukraine, the country’s Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa said during a visit to Kiev.
14:32 In the Dniprovsky district of the Dnipropetrovsk region, an X-59 guided aircraft missile was destroyed, the Air Command of Skhid reported.
13:06 The Russian army fired at a church in the village of Sadovoye, Kherson region, one person was wounded, the OVA reported.
11:57 In Germany, every week suspicious drones fly over military training grounds and Bundeswehr barracks, but they have not been able to catch any of them for more than a year, writes Bild. In particular, unknown drones are regularly spotted over the Klitz military training ground, where the Bundeswehr trains the Ukrainian military on Leopard 1 tanks. At other bases, sometimes several drones fly into the airspace at the same time, said Markus Faber, a member of the Bundestag from the Free Democratic Party and a member of the defense committee. In his opinion, this “clearly points to Russia.”
11:49 The Russians have been shelling Kherson since the morning, reports OVA. One person died in hospital after shelling in the central part of the city, another as a result of being hit in a residential building. At least two injuries are also known.
09:18 Japanese Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa will visit Ukraine today, the country's Foreign Ministry reported. She will hold a number of meetings in Kyiv, including with her Ukrainian counterpart Dmitry Kuleba. As part of the visit, Kamikawa will take part in a ceremony to hand over large-scale energy equipment for winter assistance. Kamikawa will also directly inform the Ukrainian side that Japan will “resolutely demonstrate its commitment to the restoration and reconstruction of Ukraine within the framework of a close public-private partnership,” the Foreign Ministry announced.
09:13 On Saturday, January 6, the Ukrainian Armed Forces destroyed a half-built railway bridge near the village with a targeted strike. Granitnoye across the Kalmius River, which the Russians built to provide direct railway connections with Mariupol, Volnovakha and Donetsk. In addition, fuel tanks and engineering vehicles in the area of the village were destroyed. Granitnoye, said Advisor to the Mayor of Mariupol Pyotr Andryushchenko. According to him, now the issue of launching a direct railway from the Russian Federation is “closed for a long time.”
The partisans also managed to establish the location of new air defense batteries in the Mariupol region, the coordinates have already been transferred to the “relevant services,” Andryushchenko added.
08:46 On the evening of January 6, a Russian Shahed-type UAV struck a recreational area in the Nikolaevsky region, as a result of which a fire started at one of the mothballed recreation centers, which was promptly extinguished. No people were injured, said the head of the OVA, Vitaly Kim.
08:31 The General Staff announced the estimated losses of the Russian Federation as of the morning of January 7:
personnel - about 364,730 (+860) people,
tanks - 6022 (+4),
armored combat vehicles - 11,180 (+22),
artillery systems - 8653 (+36),
MLRS - 951 (+1),
air defense systems - 637 (+4),
aircraft - 329 (+0),
helicopters - 324 (+0),
UAV of operational-tactical level - 6811 (+24),
cruise missiles - 1786 (+0),
ships/boats - 23 (+0),
submarines - 1 (+0),
automotive equipment and tank trucks - 11,523 (+45),
special equipment - 1327 (+10).
07:50 On the evening of January 6, the Russians attacked the Dnieper with drones - an educational institution and a dormitory attached to it, two multi-storey buildings and an administrative building were damaged, said the head of the OVA Sergei Lysak.
07:39 Air defense at night destroyed 21 of 28 attack UAVs of the Shahed-136/131 type , which Russia attacked from the Primorsko-Akhtarsk area. The enemy also used three S-300 anti-aircraft guided missiles from the occupied territory of the Donetsk region. The main directions of impact are south and east. Air defense operated within the Zaporozhye, Nikolaev, Odessa, Dnepropetrovsk, Kirovograd, Vinnitsa and Cherkasy regions.
07:23 Over the past 24 hours, 45 military clashes took place at the front, the General Staff reported in its morning report . In the Avdeevsky direction, the Defense Forces repelled eight enemy attacks in the areas of Novobakhmutovka, Stepnoy, Avdeevka and another 16 attacks near Pervomaisky and Nevelsky, Donetsk region. In the Maryinsky direction, nine attacks were repulsed near Maryinka and Novomikhailovka, Donetsk region.
In the Kupyansk direction, Ukrainian forces repelled three enemy attacks in the areas of Sinkovka, Petropavlovka, Ivanovka, Kharkov region; on Bakhmutskoye - two attacks near Orekhovo-Vasilevka and Kleshcheevka, Donetsk region; on Zaporozhye - five attacks west of Verbovoy, Rabotino and south of Novodarivka, Zaporozhye region. In the Kherson direction, the Defense Forces continue to expand the bridgehead; the enemy carried out 18 unsuccessful assault operations.
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited.
[Korrespondent] The enemy tried twice to storm the bridgeheads of the Ukrainian defenders on the left bank of the Dnieper, but to no avail.
The Russian invaders made two unsuccessful assaults on the bridgeheads of the Ukrainian defenders on the left bank of the Dnieper. The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine reported this on Sunday, January 7, in its evening report on Facebook.
During the day, 29 military clashes occurred. In total, the enemy launched six missile and 40 air strikes, and carried out 21 shelling from MLRS at the positions of our troops and populated areas.
Seversky and Slobozhansky directions
About 20 settlements were subjected to enemy artillery and mortar shelling, including Klyusy, Buchki, Gremyachka in the Chernigov region; Volfine, Iskriskovshina, Methodovka, Sumy region; Udy, Cossack Lopan, Volchansk, Potikhonovo, Kharkov region.
Kupyansk direction
The defense forces repulsed two attacks near Sinkovka and Ivanovka, Kharkov region, where the enemy tried unsuccessfully to improve the tactical situation. The enemy also carried out an air strike in the Berestovoye area of the Kharkov region. About 10 settlements came under artillery and mortar fire, in particular Sinkovka, Petropavlovka, Ivanovka, Tabaevka in the Kharkov region.
Liman direction
Our defenders repulsed three enemy attacks east of Ternov, Donetsk region. More than 10 settlements were damaged by artillery and mortar shelling, including Belogorivka in the Lugansk region and Terny, Yampolevka, Verkhnekamennoe, Spornoe, and Razdolevka in the Donetsk region.
Bakhmut direction
Defense forces repelled an enemy attack near Andreevka, Donetsk region. The enemy launched an air strike near the village of Druzhba, Donetsk region. More than 10 settlements came under artillery and mortar fire, including Grigorovka, Bogdanovka, Ivanovskoye, Klishchievka, Andreevka in the Donetsk region.
Avdeevskoe direction
Our defenders repulsed five enemy attacks in the areas of Novobakhmutovka, Avdeevka and another 11 attacks near Pervomaiskoye and Nevelskoye, Donetsk region, where the invaders, with the support of aviation, unsuccessfully tried to improve the tactical situation. About 15 settlements were subjected to enemy artillery and mortar shelling, including Novokalinovo, Novobakhmutovka, Berdichi, Avdeevka, Severnoye, Pervomaiskoe in the Donetsk region.
Maryinsky direction
The defense forces continue to contain the enemy in the areas of Marinka and Novomikhailovka, Donetsk region, where the invaders, with the support of aviation, unsuccessfully tried to break through the defenses of our troops 3 times. The enemy also carried out air strikes in the areas of the settlements of Krasnohorivka and Georgievka, Donetsk region. Krasnogorovka, Georgievka, Novomikhailovka, Konstantinovka found themselves under artillery and mortar fire from the occupiers.
Miner's direction
The enemy did not conduct offensive (assault) actions. He fired artillery and mortars at more than 10 settlements, including Ugledar, Zolotaya Niva, Urozhaynoye, Staromayorskoye, Donetsk region.
Zaporozhye direction
The defense forces repelled an enemy attack west of Verbovoye, Zaporozhye region. More than 15 settlements were subjected to artillery and mortar shelling, including Olgovskoye, Poltavka, Krasnoye, Belogorye, Robotino, Pyatikhatki in the Zaporozhye region.
Kherson direction
In the area of responsibility of the OSUS Odessa, Kherson in the Kherson region and Dmitrovka, Ochakov in the Nikolaev region were subjected to enemy artillery shelling. The occupiers also carried out air strikes in the areas of the settlements of Respublikanets, Krasny Mayak, Zmievka, and Krynki in the Kherson region.
The enemy does not abandon his intention to dislodge our units from the bridgeheads on the left bank of the Dnieper. Yes, during the day the enemy carried out two unsuccessful assault operations, but our units continued to hold their positions and inflicted significant losses on the invaders.
Russian losses
During the day, Defense Forces aircraft carried out strikes on four areas where enemy personnel were concentrated. Also, the X-59 guided aircraft missile was destroyed by Ukrainian air defense forces and means.
Units of the missile forces hit the enemy control center, ammunition depot and artillery.
As we wrote earlier, the Russians in the Tauride direction are rioting and fleeing the trenches.
According to the head of the Kharkov OVA, in the Kupyansky direction the intensity of the assaults has decreased compared to last week, the Russians are replenishing and rotating.
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited.
[KavkazUzel] An icon depicting Joseph Stalin was spotted in the Holy Trinity Cathedral in Tbilisi, a researcher at the Sovlab Institute reported. This is an icon of St. Matrona, not Stalin, and portraits of “the great persecutors of the church” are sometimes depicted on icons, the Patriarchate of Georgia said.
As the "Caucasian Knot "wrote, in Georgia, according to the conclusions of historians of the "Laboratory for the Study of the Soviet Past", there is a revival of the cult of Stalin, at least 11 monuments and busts have been erected, often with the support of local authorities, and the Stalin Museum is functioning in Gori.
An icon depicting Joseph Stalin was spotted in the Holy Trinity Cathedral (Tsminda Sameba) in Tbilisi. A video of the icon depicting Joseph Stalin was published on his Facebook page* by Georgiy Kandelaki, a researcher at the SovLab Institute for the Study of the Soviet Past. “The icon of Joseph Stalin - the initiator of the destruction of Georgian independence, the murderer of thousands of clergy and the creator of the Soviet totalitarian system - in the Trinity Cathedral. Another success of the Russian information war machine,” he wrote.
The head of the public relations service of the Patriarchate of Georgia, Archpriest Andria Dzhagmaidze, did not answer questions on whose initiative and when this icon appeared in the cathedral, but stated that the topic was not accidentally raised on Christmas, writes Georgia News. “This is not the first time they want to mar the holiday with a scandal, so that instead of joy they can sow hatred in people’s hearts,” the agency quoted him as saying.
At the same time, the representative of the Patriarchate noted that there is nothing special in the image of Stalin on the icon, since this is an icon of St. Matrona, not Stalin. According to him, there are precedents when “great persecutors of the church,” for example, Diocletian, are depicted on icons, but this does not mean their glorification. Jamgaidze called the Russian trace in the iconography depicting Stalin “a secondary issue,” the publication says.
For many Georgians, Stalin remains an important symbol, but he lacks serious political content . Rather, he becomes an object of local patriotism and popular worship. A portrait of Stalin (the son of a shoemaker, like the “patron saint of shoemakers”) hangs in every shoemaker next to the icon of the Mother of God. Georgian society for the most part is not prone to reflection and remains conservative, while such sentiments are intensifying. Citizens of Georgia avoid discussions on painful topics; reassessment of values is difficult for them. As it turned out, the established myth of Stalin as the “great son of the Georgian people” was never abandoned, the Carnegie Endowment noted in 2013** in its report on the results of a survey on attitudes towards Stalin in the Caucasus.
Many Georgians are unaware of the scale of Stalin's repressions and are proud of Stalin as a fellow countryman who held the highest office in the Soviet Union, historians said on August 2, 2020. Some Georgian residents interviewed by the "Caucasian Knot" confirmed their sympathy for Stalin.
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited.
[KavkazUzel] Karabakh resident Vagif Khachatryan, sentenced by a court in Azerbaijan to 15 years in prison, declared his innocence during the appeal hearing and asked the court to acquit him.
As the "Caucasian Knot" wrote, on November 7, 2023, a court in Baku sentenced Karabakh resident Vagif Khachatryan to 15 years in prison, finding him guilty of participating in crimes against residents of the Azerbaijani village of Meshali. In his last word, Khachatryan declared his innocence.
A resident of Nagorno-Karabakh, ethnic Armenian Vagif Khachatryan was detained on July 29, 2023 at the Lachin checkpoint when he tried to go to Armenia for treatment. In Azerbaijan, he is accused of attacking the Azerbaijani village of Meshali in 1991.
They’ve been carrying a grudge for over forty years? Wow.
Khachatryan did not admit guilt at a hearing in the Baku Military Court. The court interrogated the victims, residents of the village of Meshali, one of whom demanded that Khachatryan be sentenced to life imprisonment.
The Baku Court of Appeal held a preliminary hearing today to consider the appeal against the verdict of Vagif Khachatryan, accused of participating in the genocide in the village of Mesheli, Khojaly region, as part of illegal Armenian armed formations. The accused Vagif Khachatryan testified at the trial chaired by Judge Hasan Akhmedov, Report agency reported today.
Khachatryan said that both he himself and his lawyer Radmila Abylova filed an appeal against the verdict. “I swear, I’m innocent. I don’t know any of those who accuse me. The indictment says that I killed people... But me was not there,” the Media.Az agency quoted him as saying.
Lawyer Radmila Abilova asked the court to acquit her client.
Representative of the Khojaly district administration Murad Huseynov and the state prosecutor asked to uphold the verdict. The next court hearing is scheduled for January 15, the publication says.
The "Caucasian Knot" also wrote that Khachatryan's daughter Vera insists that her father is innocent: according to the woman, Azerbaijani investigators had photographs of a man unknown to her, who was declared Vagif Khachatryan in his youth.
59 people were recognized as victims in the Khachatryan case . The investigation believes that on December 22, 1991, Vagif Khachatryan took part in the mass murder of residents of the village of Meshali, Khojaly region. According to the case materials, 25 people were killed, 14 were wounded, and 358 village residents became refugees. Khachatryan was convicted under Articles 103 “Genocide” and 107 “Deportation or forced relocation of the population” of the Criminal Code of Azerbaijan.
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[EngMilRu] The Armed Forces of the Russian Federation continue the special military operation.
In Kupyansk direction, as a result of active actions by units of the Zapad Group of Forces, aviation and artillery, four attacks by assault groups of AFU 32nd, 43rd, 115th Mechanised and 95th Airborne brigades have been repelled close to Sinkovka and Ivanovka (Kharkov region) and Terny (Donetsk People's Republic).
In addition, manpower of 103rd and 105th brigades of the Territorial Defence of Ukraine have been eliminated near Kislovka and Melovoye (Kharkiv region).
The enemy losses were over 50 enemy soldiers, two infantry fighting vehicles, and three motor vehicles.
In Krasny Liman direction, units of the Tsentr Group of Forces, supported by aviation and artillery, have hit manpower and hardware concentration areas of the 100th Territorial Defence of Ukraine and the 5th Brigade of the Ukrainian National Guard close to Chervonaya Dibrova (Lugansk People's Republic) and Serebryansky forestry.
The enemy losses were up to 55 servicemen, as well as 4 motor vehicles.
In Donetsk direction, units of the Yug Group of Forces, by coordinated actions, in cooperation with artillery, Operational-Tactical and Army aviation, have defeated manpower and hardware of the 3rd Assault Brigade, the 10th Mountain Assault Brigade, 22nd, 24th, 28th, 42nd, 67th, and 93rd Mechanised brigades of the AFU, and the 112th Territorial Defence Brigade near Bogdanovka, Artyomovskoye, Krasnoye, Kleshcheevka, Andreevka, and Kurdyumovka (Donetsk People's Republic).
The enemy losses were more than 300 servicemen killed and wounded, four armoured fighting vehicles, and 20 motor vehicles.
In addition, in the course of counterbattery warfare, one French-manufactured Caezar self-propelled artillery system, one U.S.-manufactured M119 howitzer, and one AFU ammunition depot have been hit.
In South Donetsk direction, as a result of competent actions by units of the Vostok Group of Forces, supported by aviation and artillery, manpower of the 79th Air Assault Brigade, the 72nd Mechanised Brigade of the AFU, and the 128th Territorial Defence Brigade have been eliminated close to Novomikhailovka, Staromayorskoye, Ugledar (Donetsk People's Republic) and Priyutnoye (Zaporozhye region).
The enemy losses were up to 130 troops, one tank, two armoured fighting vehicles, and two motor vehicles.
In the course of counterbattery warfare, three Polish-manufactured Krab self-propelled artillery systems, two British-manufactured FH-70 howitzers, two 122mm D-30 guns, two 100mm Rapira anti-tank guns, and one AFU ammunition depot have been hit.
In Zaporozhye direction, units of the Russian Group of Forces, supported by Operational-Tactical Aviation and artillery, have defeated manpower concentration areas of 3rd and 14th Operational brigades of the National Guard of Ukraine, 68th Jaeger, 65th, 118th Mechanised and 128th Mountain Assault brigades of the AFU close to Pyatikhatki, Verbovoye, Rabotino, Novopokrovka, and Kamenskoye (Zaporozhye region).
The enemy losses were up to 40 servicemen, one tank, two armoured fighting vehicles, and four motor vehicles.
In Kherson direction, units of the Dnepr Group of Forces have defeated manpower and hardware of 35th and 38th Naval Infantry brigades and the 121st Brigade of the Territorial Defence on the right bank of the Dnepr River close to Ilyinka (Dnepropetrovsk region), Lvovo, Zolotaya Balka, Ivanovka, Sablukovka, and Mylovoye (Kherson region).
The enemy losses were more than 35 soldiers, three motor vehicles, and one electronic warfare station.
Missile Troops and Artillery, and unmanned aerial vehicles of the Russian Groups of Forces destroyed ammunition depot near Koblevo (Nikolayev region), 109 artillery units in firing positions, manpower, and military hardware in 117 areas.
Air defence facilities have shot down the Ukrainian Air Force's one Su-25 aircraft near Dnepropetrovsk and one Su-27 aircraft near Krivoy Rog (Dnepropetrovsk region).
14 projectiles of HIMARS, Uragan multiple-launch rocket systems and six Neptun anti-ship missiles have been intercepted.
In addition, 38 Ukrainian unmanned aerial vehicles have been hit close to Gorobyevka (Kharkov region), Spornoye, Peski, Gorlovka (Donetsk People's Republic), Belogorovka, Lisichansk, Kremennaya, Makeevka (Lugansk People's Republic), Kharkov, Orlyanskoye, and Pologi (Zaporozhye region).
In total, 567 airplanes and 265 helicopters, 10,526 unmanned aerial vehicles, 447 air defence missile systems, 14,506 tanks and other armoured combat vehicles, 1,201 combat vehicles equipped with MRLS, 7,656 field artillery cannons and mortars, as well as 17,170 units of special military equipment have been destroyed during the special military operation.
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited.
[NewsFront] 21:05 According to the operational lines of the DPR Representative Office in the JCCC for January 7, as of 21:00, additional information on civilian casualties in the cities of the Republic:
Donetsk (Kirovsky district): – a woman born in 1948 was injured as a result of a high explosives drop from a UAV.
Additional information has been received about damage as a result of artillery attack by the Air Force in the cities of the Republic:
Donetsk (Kuibyshevsky district):
– st. Zoologicheskaya, 49 – private residential building, a car was also damaged.
Information about the consequences of the artillery attack continues to arrive.
20:40 Explosive operation
Sergeant Irina Odinokikh performs tasks to provide medical assistance to military personnel injured during battles with Ukrainian militants.
The group of military doctors of the Airborne Forces, in which Irina acted, had to carry out a unique operation, which was associated with a high risk not only for the patient, but also for the medical personnel. A Russian soldier found himself on the operating table with an unexploded shell from a hand-held anti-tank grenade launcher in the soft tissue of his leg.
The operations team decided to carry out the operation, despite the threat of detonation of ammunition capable of destroying the fighter and the operations team.
Irina Odinokikh, equipped with personal armor protection, assisted the doctor throughout the entire operation, as a result of which the operating team removed the projectile from the patient’s limb, thereby saving his life. At the same time, military doctors managed to save the limb of the wounded soldier.
19:40 Front bird broadcasts: Khar'kov region (border region).
07.01
It is reported that they have arrived at a military facility of the Ukrainian Armed Forces.
Our tactical aviation worked without entering the enemy’s air defense coverage area.
18:40 Soldiers of the 1st Army Corps of the “Southern” Group of Forces met Nativity of Christ in positions and in field churches
The liturgy was conducted by the priest of the Moscow Patriarchate, Father Nikolai. After the service, he congratulated and blessed the fighters for strengthening their combat and spiritual balance, as well as their adherence to the traditions of Russian military service and piety.
17:40 Front bird broadcasts: Our army continues to actively work in the Khar'kov region. Strikes are carried out against military targets and enemy firing points.
The Russian army uses heavy artillery, MLRS and mortars. In general, all available means of defeating the enemy.
The intensity of the strikes has increased significantly.
16:40 Front bird broadcasts: Avdeevskoe direction 07.01 15:35
A very relative Christmas calm.
Single shots from different types and types of guns.
Only aerial reconnaissance works in the usual way.
But the fighters are always ready.
15:40 Front bird broadcasts: Kirovograd region. Aerodrome area 07.01
It is reported that as a result of the night strike, the infrastructure of the Ukrainian Air Force airfield was hit.
Several sources report a bright flash and glow.
In addition, the airfield has a long administrative chain of military buildings.
13:40 Criminal Kyiv 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 26 rounds;
-- n.p. Peschanivka seven rounds;
-- n.p. Kazachi Lagery eight rounds;
-- n.p. Sagi five rounds;
-- n.p. Alyosha 10 rounds;
in the village of Novaya Mayachka four rounds;
-- n.p. Korsunka 4 rounds.
During the night, the Kiev regime continued to shell civilian infrastructure in the village. Krynki, n.p. Podstepnoye, n.p. Aleshki, n.p. Kardashinka, n.p. Novaya Zburevka, firing a total of 30 rounds from cannon artillery.
Civilian casualties and destruction of infrastructure are being determined.
12:40 Front bird broadcasts: According to our information, our army is hunting for the Alder and Vampire launchers. About 10 minutes ago, a missile strike south of Volchansk hit several launchers
11:40 Front bird reports: Yuzhnodonetsk direction. n.p. Novomikhailovka 07.01
It is reported that our units of the Vostok group of troops hit the enemy MLRS using the Lancet strike drone.
10:40 Frontline reports: The Russian Armed Forces occupied the territory of the temple in the eastern part of Georgievka.
10:20 Telegram channel Fisherman:
Chronicle of a special military operation
for January 5-6, 2024
Over the past two days, the enemy has made several attempts to attack the Crimean Peninsula. After previous attacks on the Black Sea Fleet, the enemy command focused efforts on weakening Russian air defense forces and targeted command posts in Crimea. Repeated attacks using decoy missiles are expected in the near future.
In turn, the Russian Armed Forces again attacked the Starokonstantinov airfield with Geraniums. Explosions were also reported in the Dnepropetrovsk, Kharkov and Nikolaev regions. This time, the targets of the strikes were the so-called energy and military infrastructure facilities. Ukraine.
In the Kremensky sector, Russian troops continued to expand their operational space in the Torsky salient area. At the same time, the main battles are being fought towards Terny and Yampolovka, where the Russian Armed Forces were able to make significant progress. To the south, certain successes have been observed in the Serebryansky forestry area.
09:40 Frontline summary for the morning of 01/07/2023
On the Donetsk Front, the Russian Armed Forces stormed Novomikhailovka from the southeast and northeast. The fighting is less intense. Russian troops also attacked Ukrainian positions at Pobeda and on both banks of the Osikova River from Marinka. The tactical goal is to advance to Georgievka. Operational – Ukrainian Armed Forces hub in Kurakhov. Encounter battles at Nevelskoye.
Russian Armed Forces attacked Pervomaiskoe after powerful strikes with long-range weapons. As well as to Avdievka from the east from Krutaya Balka and from the northeast near the coke plant. There was also an attempt to break through the intersection of three railway lines near Novobakhmutovka, controlled by the Armed Forces of Ukraine (a settlement of the same name to the east behind the Russian Armed Forces). Ukrainian positions in Berdychi and Novokalinov are under fire. Russian ones - in Vodyanoye and the village of Krasnogorovka.
In the Bakhmut direction, the Russian Armed Forces carried out assault operations near Andreevka, on the heights north-west of Kleshcheevka, in the area of Khromovoy and Bogdanovka. LBS has not changed significantly.
In the Lugansk direction there are oncoming battles with varying success in the Serebryansky forest area south of Dibrova. The Russian Armed Forces attack near Ternov. With the support of long-range weapons, there was an attempt to break through the Ukrainian defense line in Sin'kovka.
09:10 Official summary of Representative offices of the DPR in the JCCC from 00:00 01/06/2024 to 00:00 01/07/2024
Over the past 24 hours, the Representation has recorded 76 incidents of firing by the Ukrainian Federal Unitary Forces.
Information was received about the death of three civilians in the Chervonogvardeisky district of Makeyevka and the Nikitovsky district of Gorlovka.
Twelve civilians were injured of varying degrees of severity in the Kuibyshevsky and Leninsky districts of Donetsk, the Chervonogvardeysky district of Makeyevka, and the Nikitovsky district of Gorlovka.
A total of 19 residential buildings were damaged in the Kuibyshevsky, Petrovsky, Leninsky districts of Donetsk, the Chervonogvardeysky district of Makeevka, the Nikitovsky district of Gorlovka, Yasinovataya, as well as 10 civil infrastructure facilities.
The areas of four settlements of the Republic were under enemy fire: Gorlovka (Nikitovsky district), Yasinovatsky district, the capital city of Donetsk (Budennovsky, Leninsky, Kievsky, Kuibyshevsky, Kirovsky, Petrovsky districts), Makeevka (Kirovsky, Chervonogvardeysky districts).
In the Donetsk direction, the enemy carried out 38 attacks from MLRS and 155mm artillery, incl. with a cluster warhead, strike UAVs.
On Gorlovsky there were 31 artillery attacks from 152 and 155mm artillery, incl. with a cluster warhead, strike UAVs.
On Yasinovatsky there were seven artillery attacks from 155mm artillery, incl. with a cassette warhead.
A total of 232 units of various ammunition were fired.
In the previous day, 48 artillery attacks were recorded from the Ukrainian forces.
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited.
[Regnum] Interview with the editor-in-chief of Literaturnaya Gazeta Maxim Zamshev
by Alexey Sharavsky
Summing up the literary results of the year, IA Regnum talked with the editor-in-chief of Literaturnaya Gazeta, member of the Human Rights Council under the President of Russia Maxim Zamshev. We discussed who can be named writer of the year, what to do with writers who are foreign agents, whether artificial intelligence can produce art, and what place modern Russian literature has in the world.
Interview with the editor-in-chief of Literaturnaya Gazeta Maxim Zamshev
“We must accept the reality of the market”
IA Regnum: Maxim Adolfovich, now is the time to sum up the results of the year, many do this. And among other things, there is this literary summary of the year: VTsIOM asked Russians a question: who can they call the writer of the year? And 80% of Russians could not name anyone. How would you comment on this?
Maxim Zamshev : Firstly, I think that all sociology is a very crafty thing. Especially when it comes to literature, the audience of which is quite small. And the people who were included in this survey - whether they belong to it or not, we cannot say.
We now have a starting circulation of the book - two and a half thousand (this is if the circulation is good, usually a thousand). And such a small circulation is not because publishers do not want to publish a lot, this is a real market. That is, the publisher understands that a thousand copies will go away one way or another. And further reprints already depend on the success of this or that book.
Secondly, the answer to such a question for people who read is very difficult: for those who know only Pushkin, the answer is simple - Pushkin. And if you read a lot, it’s very difficult to choose.
And thirdly, literature once had a certain function in the USSR. Good or bad is another question, but literature was an important instrument of power in creating a particular moral climate in society. Throughout the Soviet period, the tasks and agreements between literature and the authorities were different. Sometimes it’s very hard, written in ink and blood, sometimes it’s softer. In the end, it ceased to suit both writers and the authorities, but nothing else other than the market that would shape the relationship between literature and society had yet to take shape. So that's the market.
IA Regnum: Do you accept this for yourself personally? Is literature regulated by the market more likely to be right or more likely to be wrong?
M.Z.: Correct. Until the 90s, the customer for the playwright, writer, and director was the state. Then the people became the customer. What people like is more successful.
After all, in the USSR this story was also imposed. And if you also take into account the philistine approach, when you came to visit, and there were collections of works selected by color, which no one reads, but they indicate prosperity.
Now this story is at least honest.
IA Regnum: Do you remember the parable about how Socrates was walking with his students and a wine merchant (or hetaera, there are different options) approached him and said: “You are so proud of your students, but if I entice them, they will go to by me, not by you." “Of course,” replied Socrates, “after all, you pull them down, and I pull them up.” Maybe the market is the same wine merchant?
M.Z.: There is no other form other than the market one yet. This is how it works all over the world - both in China and in America. Of course, literature is in fierce competition with other media institutions. And he loses to them both in serve and in speed. Literature is an institution that requires long reading.
Yes, once upon a time the Soviet intelligentsia, under conditions of censorship, did not take into account that the hungry still want to eat first. And the people, especially during Gorbachev’s time, were hungry. And the first thing he did was rush not for intellectual benefits, but for material ones. As a result, we came to the situation we came to. Many people simply don’t know even the most famous writers like Zakhar Prilepin.
That’s why so many Russians found it difficult to answer VTsIOM’s question. This is the reality of the market. And it must be accepted.
IA Regnum: Do you think there are countries where there would be much fewer people who found it difficult to answer the question about the writer of the year?
M.Z.: This is a general trend. Our living conditions are not much different from living conditions in France, for example. The same Internet, the same TV, the same quick pleasures. I admit that if we had conducted such a survey in Iran or another closed country, the answers might have been different. But in open societies all over the world, the majority equally do not understand why one should read a book. And not because he has a bad attitude towards the book, it’s just that life is very busy, a person needs to have a lot of skills to survive. And these skills are constantly becoming more complex. Under these conditions, it is difficult for many to answer the question “why read a book.”
IA Regnum: Let's assume that you are asked to answer VTsIOM's question about the writer of the year. Who would you name?
M.Z.: (Sigh, pause)
IA Regnum: I understand that it is especially difficult for the editor-in-chief of Literaturnaya Gazeta to answer this question - he must name either two hundred names or none. But these are the conditions of the survey - you must name no more than three names. Find it difficult to answer?
M.Z.: Writer of the Year - the formulation is too pretentious. I could talk about the books I've read. Moreover, I must immediately make a reservation: I may not know someone - I don’t read all the books, it’s simply impossible, although I try to read a lot.
I really liked the book by Pavel Krusanov. A very interesting debut by Anna Chukhlebova, a new writer, young and fresh. Now I started reading a new book by Vladimir Sorokin. I haven't read it to the end yet. We all understand about his political views, which, for example, do not intersect with me in any way, but in any case it is interesting. Well, we can’t help but mention Zakhar Prilepin.
IA Regnum: By the way, it was he who was named writer of the year by most of those Russians who could remember someone...
M.Z.: This, of course, is also fate. In general, it can be called every year. And here his position plays a role. If you judge the writer not only by his books, but by all his journalistic speeches, then, of course, he is a very bright figure. You can agree with him or disagree, but the brightness remains.
“To prohibit is only to stir up interest”
IA Regnum: But to the question of whether it is possible to judge a writer not only by his books, but also by his speeches. Of the ten names cited by VTsIOM as Russians’ answers to the question of who can be called the writer of the year, half belong to the classics (Pushkin, Dostoevsky, Lermontov, Yesenin, Tolstoy), and of the remaining five contemporaries, in addition to Prilepin and Pelevin, writers known directly support from Kiev (Akunin ( Grigory Chkhartishvili was included by Rosfinmonitoring in the register of organizations and individuals involved in extremist activities or terrorism) , Bykov (an individual recognized as a foreign agent in the Russian Federation), Glukhovsky (an individual recognized as a foreign agent in the Russian Federation) ).
M.Z. Personally, I never considered either Akunin, or even less Glukhovsky, to be any great writers. It seems to me that Akunin is a very successful publishing project. He is an intelligent and educated person who clearly knows what needs to be written for a certain audience at a certain time. But making him a writer of non-genre history is not entirely serious. You read there and you can see how the whole story is adjusted to his views. It's funny and boring to read, really. Some kind of parody.
Nevertheless, my clear position, which I have formulated many times: bans cannot solve anything in our time.
Society is currently undergoing a major restructuring. And including in relation to authorities. Many authorities of the past are leaving for obvious reasons - almost everything is changing. But this happens very slowly, and the people you named have strong reputations. Films were made, there was a lot of PR, and naturally, people will not immediately forget them.
Personally, I think that developing an attitude towards a writer’s work based on his political views is a rather dangerous matter. If we look at what Leo Tolstoy said in his time, I don’t think that - especially the guardians - will experience much joy about this. I'm not saying that Akunin is Tolstoy. I'm talking about the system.
IA Regnum: But let’s imagine that the president called you and asked for advice - what to do with Akunin’s books?
M.Z.: I think that those texts by Akunin that contain a violation of the law are undoubtedly subject to the measures provided for by the law. But if there is no violation of the law in the books, then let the people decide for themselves. There is no need to shove Akunin’s books into every corner of the bookstore, as was the case just recently. But banning is only fueling interest. Nowadays the media is such that they will still find somewhere to read it.
Our society is smart, it is not in a hurry, but it will develop its attitude towards these people. I admit that many simply will not buy these books precisely because of what Akunin says. But banning and confiscating... This is an extremely seductive method, and discussion of this method is emotionally justified. But if our goal is for Akunin’s books to stop influencing people’s minds, we certainly won’t achieve this goal with bans. Some other mechanisms are needed.
IA Regnum: Which ones?
M.Z.: They should be associated with the support of other writers. We have a lot of them, and the vast majority of them, let’s say, will not contribute to the Armed Forces of Ukraine. They may have different views, but these are people who live in Russia and serve the Russian cause. Let's support them somehow.
“In the field of art, artificial intelligence is just a trick”
IA Regnum: Another fashionable topic of the year is artificial intelligence. I know that you also have a musical education, and here is information for you as a musician. Recently we conducted an experiment: artificial intelligence wrote a number of musical works “in the style of Bach.” And people were asked to determine where is the work of Bach, and where is the artificial intelligence. Many couldn't. Do you think artificial intelligence can replace writers in the same way?
M.Z.: From the point of view of art, it makes no sense to replace writers, like musicians. Art is evolving. Why did artificial intelligence write “like Bach”? Because Bach already exists. And if Bach had not existed, he would not have written anything.
IA Regnum: But artificial intelligence can be tasked with creating something new. What do you think artificial intelligence cannot do to complete such a task?
M.Z.: Human feelings.
IA Regnum: But there is a point of view in science that feelings are also, in fact, a chemical reaction and artificial intelligence can be trained to do this.
M.Z.: Well... time will tell. I will say this: if you listen to music, you listen to the music of a certain author. After all, the purpose of art is different. The goal is the artist, his personality, how it manifests itself. Now everything can be calculated on a computer, except for a miracle. And art is a miracle.
However, perhaps someone can try to save money and try ordering something from artificial intelligence instead of composers and writers. But I feel sorry for those who will live in 20–30 years and read not Prilepin and Prokhanov, but what artificial intelligence writes. They will lose a lot. Although they may not understand this.
However, I believe that in the field of art, if artificial intelligence exists, it will be as a trick. This is an irrational area.
IA Regnum: How do you assess the prospects for literature in Russia? Is it dying, coming to life or stagnating?
M.Z.: It depends on the society. And our society must become wiser. There is low consumption, there is high consumption. It is not easy for the state to influence this process. No one can monopolize information and information flows now. Therefore, society simply needs to get smarter. And I think it will get wiser on its own.
Paradoxically, the difficult processes that are taking place in relation to Russian culture in the world, the injustice that is becoming more and more obvious, will contribute to the emergence of a society that not only consumes, but also thinks. When it comes to you that you are an “invader, an aggressor, a cannibal,” you begin to think - why? Why, when I have Gergiev, Bashmet, a huge number of theaters here, am I a cannibal? And this awareness, the development of society must occur in favor of a better choice. And it doesn’t matter - on the Internet or in a bookstore. People will just want to think.
And if we want to prove to ourselves and others that we are a cultural nation, we cannot do this by consuming Scryptonite with Morgenstern (Alisher Morgenstern is an individual recognized as a foreign agent in Russia).
This is the process I hope for. And from the cultural life that I observe in Russia, I feel that this process has slowly begun to take place.
Well-fed entropy - the Internet, we pay with a smile - contributes to a person’s relaxation and reluctance to build himself. Literature is the most important element in building oneself. And now we must begin to build ourselves anew - such a historical period. What to build yourself on? On thousands of news and blog posts? But they all contradict each other, you can’t build yourself on them. But there are fundamental things. And if you built yourself on them, then you analyze the rest of the information differently.
I realize I sound like an idealist here. But, I repeat, I notice that this process is underway.
IA Regnum: Can this process be controlled?
M.Z.: I'm not sure. I’m not a statesman, it’s difficult for me to judge, but I think that very fine tuning is needed here. The main thing is not to interfere. History has proven that, regardless of all possible influences, certain cultural processes take place. And the power that senses these processes and somehow takes them into account is smart.
IA Regnum: What does modern Russian literature give to the world? So we can very clearly say what our literature of the nineteenth century gave the world, what the authors of the Silver Age gave, what the authors of the 60s and 70s gave the world. What can modern Russian literature give to the world?
M.Z.: In my opinion, our main strength is that we maintain an irrationality in our approach to art. World literature is very large and interesting, but it all seems to be “according to laws.” We read the best authors, we understand that these are people who graduated from the philological faculty of some university and went to certain writing schools. And we have a janitor who works in the city of Surgut, for example, can suddenly publish a brilliant book of poetry. Absolutely everyone can study literature here. They can write whatever they want. The most unexpected things can appear at one time. And this irrationality and lack of scheme are very important in modern literature.
And as for Russian literature, it paradoxically seems to me that the main interest in it is yet to come.
“We want to show people something that is not available anywhere”
IA Regnum: Let's talk about the Literary Newspaper. From your point of view, is the publication you are making a publication for a narrow circle of readers or for a wide audience?
M.Z.: For a wide audience. This is a unique project that includes both a general political component and a literary one. There are no such publications anymore—there are specialized literary publications, and there are socio-political ones. We are trying to combine. Our weekly magazine comes out on 32 pages and is divided into two “notebooks”. The first is politics, society, culture. The second is devoted exclusively to literary processes. And it has always been this way - Literaturnaya Gazeta was made in order to be like this.
IA Regnum: What, from your point of view, can be called the success of a publication?
M.Z.: Criticism. When a publication is criticized a lot, I am very happy. Hysterics occur periodically - both on the right and on the left. When there is a nervous reaction to the newspaper, this is one of the main signs that everything is working out.
IA Regnum: If you had the opportunity to take a person who has not yet read your publication and tell him “start with this material, and you will understand what Literary Newspaper is,” what publication of this year would you recommend to him?
M.Z.: It’s so hard to say. Our goal is to make people better. We want to somehow bring him closer to high standards of life. This is one of our differences - we do not want to make the reader more informed; we cannot perform this task purely technically.
We want to show a person something that is not available anywhere. Maybe it didn't get that much attention. We don't want to follow trends, we try to create them. And I think we are succeeding.
IA Regnum: Would you like to name specific publications?
M.Z.: I think so. (Pause) Well, for example, the latest material about Yuri Grigorovich’s ballet is a reference material about a cultural event. (Pause) It seems to me that our anniversary materials dedicated to Alexander Prokhanov, where many writers spoke about him, are very interesting for a complete understanding of this person. Many consider him primarily a political tribune, a fighter, but we tried to show this personality in a much larger volume than it appears when Prokhanov speaks on some talk shows. And thirdly, there were materials about our trip to the Northern Military District zone, they were very detailed and conveyed our feeling about what was happening. It seems to me that our writers and artists should definitely visit there.
IA Regnum: What do you personally remember most from this trip?
M.Z.: When we read poetry in the library in Pervomaisk. This is already quite close to the line of contact. A lot of people came. I read poetry, and when I finished, they asked me: “Didn’t you hear how the air defense [system] worked on us?” I say: “No, I haven’t heard.” “Why,” they say, “it was loud, all the car alarms went off!” But I really didn’t hear - I was carried away by reading poetry.
#1
"IA Regnum: What does modern Russian literature give to the world? So we can very clearly say what our literature of the nineteenth century gave the world..." The 19th century Russian writing gave us Tergenev and Dostoesky, and the competing arguments of Western and Slavic destiny. The Slavophiles --and Solzhenitsyn should be included in this group -- have won out, and their tradition survives even to this day. Russia has been and remains an Oriental Despotism.
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited. by Victoria Nikiforova
[RIA] “For God’s sake, this man cannot remain in power!” — these words of Joe Biden about Vladimir Putin, spoken shortly after the start of the SVO, were firmly remembered by the public. The US leadership did not allow itself such rudeness towards the leaders of our country even at the height of the Cold War. It was clearly visible how sincerely annoyed Biden was; he simply could not control himself.
“Will no one rid me of this troublesome priest?” is not quite the same when there are no minions capable of doing so.
Was the experienced elderly politician really so angry because of the special military operation of the Russian Armed Forces in Ukraine? Hard to believe. “What is he to Hecuba, what is Hecuba to him?”
It's more about the personal duel that Biden and Putin have been waging for many years. We often underestimate the personalistic aspect of big politics. But it is governed not only by calculations, but also by human passions.
Personal duel? Putin despises Biden as a senile, posturing, bumbling old fool, while Biden views Putin as a strawman, useful for riling up the rubes back home.
As a politician, Joe Biden has repeatedly received very sensitive injections from Vladimir Putin. Moreover, all this happened under cameras, in front of the whole world. The public received a clear signal - American leaders are not at all omnipotent demigods on whom the fate of the world depends. These are quite ordinary, sometimes not the smartest people.
In 2011, Biden, then still vice president under Obama, brought Putin an ultimatum: not to go to the presidential elections in 2012. Otherwise, Russia would face the fate of Libya, and Putin would face the fate of Gaddafi. It was during these days that the bombing of Tripoli was discussed at the UN, and the “Arab Spring” planned in the Pentagon was blazing in the Middle East.
To get the message across better, Biden, during his Moscow visit, held a meeting with the Russian opposition at Spaso House, the residence of the American ambassador, and also addressed students at Moscow State University, calling on young people for reforms and “democratization.” Abroad, they say, will help you.
Putin was not afraid; he firmly put Biden in his place. At the very beginning of the negotiations, the Prime Minister suddenly attacked the US Vice President with the idea of a visa-free regime between the US and Russia.
It’s interesting to see what your interlocutors look like at this moment. Putin, putting forward his unexpected proposal, can hardly contain his smile. Biden looks at him not without fear - he clearly did not expect the attack and does not know how to react. His arms are crossed and raised towards his face - this is how a boxer covers his jaw in the ring.
In general, Biden’s ultimatum was not accepted, but he himself was elegantly sent. Putin ran for president and easily won the election. As an act of intimidation, the Americans destroyed Libya and broadcast the murder of Gaddafi on all television channels - sending Putin, so to speak, a signal. Then they staged performances on Bolotnaya. And nothing worked out for them.
The whole world saw on live television that there was no need to be afraid of the Americans, and their orders were not to be given a damn from a high point. This was demonstrated with Joe Biden. The prediction of his fellow party member Bill Clinton came true : barely having met Putin, he warned that “we will still miss Boris (Yeltsin).”
No wonder Biden holds a grudge. A separate nuisance was the fact that Putin always enjoyed the support of the vast majority of the people of Russia, but Biden was pushed into the White House “either as a carcass or as a scarecrow”: the fraud in the 2020 presidential election shocked even Americans who were accustomed to everything.
As soon as he was elected, President Biden began fueling the Ukrainian conflict as a personal vendetta against President Putin. His irritation regularly burst out. In March 2021, he called his colleague a “killer.”
In response, Putin wished the old man good health and proposed holding the debate “live, online, without any delays, but right in an open, direct discussion.” The video shows that the president, saying this, stands with his jacket wide open - he was then planning to fly to the taiga for the weekend - and grins slightly.
It’s not hard to imagine what a senile Biden would look like, struggling to read from a teleprompter, live with Vladimir Putin. It would be a disgrace to the whole world. Washington pretended that this proposal did not exist.
The meeting of leaders in Geneva three months later was held almost behind closed doors. The contrast between the smart, tough, quickly reacting Putin and the absent-minded Biden, who has little understanding of where he is and what is happening, would be too clear.
However, the essence of what was happening behind the closed doors of the La Grange estate was obvious. Biden persuaded Putin to come to terms with NATO expansion to the east and was sent again. Eight months later, Putin ordered a special military operation in Ukraine. The old man was humiliated once again.
"He will pay." That's all Biden can squeeze out today regarding Putin: “He will pay.” And now all the popular US media are discussing the possible assassination of Putin, the American intelligence community openly promises to deliver a “decapitating blow to the Kremlin,” and various analysts, one after another, are composing scenarios for a “military coup” in Russia.
The irony is that literally everything that Biden threatened Russia with is now coming true in the United States itself. The country is divided, millions of people are seriously preparing for civil war, stocking up on firearms, discontent is brewing in the ranks of the military, the prospect of a coup has never been so real.
Every Putin success ricochets back to Biden. Failure in Ukraine threatens him with impeachment, impeachment with criminal prosecution, and they will come after not only him, but also his entire family.
In the coming year, the confrontation between the two leaders will increase. Both have elections soon, in Russia they will be held in March, in the USA in November. The stakes are unusually high because, in essence, Putin and Biden are waging a war for peace—for what the world order will be like in the coming decades. As they say, “we’ll see.”
#1
American leaders are not at all omnipotent demigods on whom the fate of the world depends. These are quite ordinary, sometimes not the smartest people.
Uh, yeah, Biden never was the sharpest tool in the shed.
Posted by: Abu Uluque ||
01/08/2024 12:03 Comments ||
Top||
#3
The "old hands" who shepherded the USA through the Cold War have no equivalents in present-day Washington DC. The end of the Cold War marked the beginning of the CIA's and State Department's decent into madness. Clarity of purpose was replaced with a flailing struggle to find - a new purpose.
What they have settled on is a mission to retain power at any cost? They couldn't even tell you themselves.
As the saying goes, something that can't go on forever won't. The new Cold War against the founding ideals of the United States and the people who still believe in them will end poorly, perhaps for everybody, including the Russians and Chinese and the WEF crowd.
Some people really need to be reminded, "Be careful what you wish for..."
Posted by: M. Murcek ||
01/08/2024 12:23 Comments ||
Top||
#4
“For God’s sake, this man cannot remain in power!”
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited.
[Regnum] As a result of missile strikes by the Russian Aerospace Forces, carried out in late December - early January, Ukraine lost enterprises where the “most powerful” missiles could be produced, retired General of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Sergei Krivonos said on January 7 on the YouTube channel “News Factory”.
He blamed the leaders of the Kyiv regime for these events, “thanks to” whom information about the location of strategic enterprises ended up in the public space.
“Our government is leaking data about enterprises that were capable of producing powerful weapons; these enterprises suffer enormous damage, and no one is responsible for this,” Krivonos said.
He also noted that the Ukrainian Armed Forces have no chance of winning a military conflict, since the leaders of the Kyiv regime think exclusively about staying in power.
As reported by IA Regnum, previously former deputy of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine Igor Mosiychuk reported that on December 29, the Russian Armed Forces hit the Kiev design bureau "Luch" and the military plant "Artyom" with missile attacks, and on January 2 - the plant for the production of electrical equipment "Kvazar", a military repair plant equipment and the Mayak plant.
The former deputy also noted that employees of the Kiev special services are looking for “guiders” whose actions allegedly helped the Russian Armed Forces to strike at the Luch and Artyom design bureaus, while information about these enterprises is in the public domain.
Earlier, the Russian Ministry of Defense reported that during the week from December 23 to 29, the Russian Armed Forces carried out 50 group and one massive strike with precision weapons and drones on military targets in Ukraine. These include airfield infrastructure, arsenals, storage areas for artillery ammunition, unmanned boats, weapons and fuel for military equipment. The strikes were also carried out on the locations of units of the Ukrainian Armed Forces and foreign mercenaries.
On January 2, the Ministry of Defense was informed of a group high-precision strike by the Russian Armed Forces against Ukrainian military-industrial enterprises in Kiev and its suburbs. These facilities produced missiles and drones, and also repaired Ukrainian Armed Forces equipment. In addition, the attack was carried out on storage sites for missiles and ammunition supplied to Kyiv by Western countries. All objects were hit.
Commentary by Russian military journalist Boris Rozhin:
[ColonelCassad] German tanks were created for exercises, but not for real combat operations. Ouch.
A commission from Germany, which visited a repair center in Lithuania for German tanks delivered to Ukraine, was unpleasantly surprised by the number of equipment that failed due to internal defects in mechanics and electronics. The number of technically defective tanks is comparable to the number destroyed by Russian troops.
There are still problems with lengthy logistics, lack of sufficient spare parts, and poor translation of technical documentation. Even in Lithuania, far from the front line, mechanics are forced to improvise because they simply do not know how to repair German Leopard tanks.
A German officer admitted to Der Spiegel magazine that German tanks wear out much faster in combat conditions than in peacetime.
Doesn’t everything?
Based on the experience of the Bundeswehr in Mali, we can say that a mileage of 10 thousand km in combat conditions is equal to 100 thousand km in peacetime, the officer claims. Added to this is the problem of the need for complex maintenance of German battle tanks, which must be carried out at the factory.
“Attempts at repair by the Ukrainian army lead to additional damage to battle tanks,” concludes one of the members of the German commission that visited Lithuania. "But we watched a YouTube on DIY tank repair!"
A Ukrainian officer from a unit equipped with Leopard-2 tanks draws Der Spiegel's attention to the fragility of the tank's tracks. Loose track tension leads to breakdowns, which is a disaster in combat conditions. Ukrainian soldiers have to constantly monitor this feature of German tanks.
Strange discoveries, considering that 2/3 of the tanks were initially delivered after repair and restoration. Only Swedish and Norwegian cars were relatively new. The rest were obviously not of the best quality, and except for the very stubborn ones, few of the serious experts here or abroad seriously expected that the Leopards would be successful, including in connection with their reliability in Russian conditions. And we are also talking about “Leopard 2”.
With "Leopard 1" everything is clear. Expecting success from them is the same as expecting that the restored T-62s will seriously change the situation at the front on our side. Well, the Russian army, as expected and routinely, destroyed the reputation of the Leopards and Challengers. The Americans looked at this and do not allow Abrams to be used in active battles. It's a pity - it would be interesting to see what they can actually do, besides participating in colonial wars and ridiculous PR. "Bradley" and "Strikers" have already been shown.
I remember in 2016, when ISIS destroyed a bunch of Turkish Leopards near Al-Bab, everyone blamed it on incompetent Turkish tank crews and stupid Turkish generals who lost a lot of equipment. But as we see, it was not only the problems of the Turkish army.
#7
Based on the experience of the Bundeswehr in Mali, we can say that a mileage of 10 thousand km in combat conditions is equal to 100 thousand km in peacetime, the officer claims.
From what I've been reading here they were lucky if they went more than one or two kilometers.
Posted by: Abu Uluque ||
01/08/2024 12:45 Comments ||
Top||
#8
Maintenance?
When you get it for free,
drive it like you stole it.
#9
Russian and Ukrainian tankers regard the Leopard IIs and Abrams as lumbering bricks. The T-72 is much lighter, and apparently, much easier to drive.
#10
Reminds me: how many preppers actually stress test their bug out bags and shtf stash?
Similar mindset with the tanks. You better test. I was so surprised when my hand cranks and assorted parts to my shtf gear all broke under normal use. Glad I made the discovery while not suffering any emergency.
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.
