Posted on 03/23/2023 7:43:26 PM PDT by UMCRevMom@aol.com
Update from Ukraine | The Biggest Attack since the Second World War | The only chance to win it
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tTv0Io4FymU
****NEW SUMMARY Military MAPS & COMMENTS here:
Invasion Day 392 – Summary March 22, 2023 Jerome News
The summary of the situation of Russian re-invasion to Ukraine covering the last 48 hours, as of 22th March 2023 – 22:00 (Kyiv time).
https://militaryland.net/news/invasion-day-392-summary/
*****
Khartia unit joins Offensive Guard March 23, 2023 Jerome
"Ukrainian National Guard is being expanded by a new military brigade." https://militaryland.net/news/khartia-unit-joins-offensive-guard/
VIDEOS
1. President Xi ‘embarrassed’ by Putin
Times Radio
307K subscribers
3-23-2023 11:00 a.m. EST
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qJ26OVbA0DU
2. RUSSIANS ARE RETREATING FROM MORE FROM KHERSON; RETURNING UKRAINIAN CHILDREN
Warthog Defense
481K subscribers
3-23-2023 8:30 p.m. DST
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IEe97yl2pPU
3. Condition of Russians in Bakhmut is getting worse - “They are losing a lot, they are out of breath”
Kanal13
1.49M subscribers
7:30 p.m. DST
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=adfTlnfdkZ4
ARTICLE
Zelensky will soon expose China and Russia’s phony Ukraine peace talks for what they really are: Zelensky can be a pawn in Xi’s ‘pro-peace’ PR campaign or give him both barrels
March 21, 2023
https://inews.co.uk/opinion/zelensky-china-russia-ukraine-peace-talks-2223956
War crimes suspect Vladimir Putin practically rolled over and asked for his belly to be rubbed, when Xi Jinping arrived in Moscow on Monday.
The 10-yard desk used to humiliate Kremlin officials was replaced by an intimate coffee table as the Russian and Chinese dictators looked fondly on one another.
The fact that Xi has no qualms about sipping tea with a man just accused of war crimes involving mass abduction of children says all we need to know about his scruples of – or lack thereof. Given China’s treatment of one million Uighurs in internment camps we shouldn’t be surprised.
Xi isn’t fussy about who he speaks to, as long as it serves the purpose of promoting Chinese power as an alternative to Washington. Earlier this month he managed to get Middle-East foes Saudi Arabia and Iran talking again. In addition to swapping notes on the latest torture techniques, the pair will be able to cock a snoot at Joe Biden.
For Xi Jinping it was another step in his grand plan to dismantle US-western hegemony.
Putin’s unctuous schmoozing will continue tonight when he hosts Xi at a state dinner in the Kremlin’s 15th century Faceted Chamber, the banquet hall favoured by another of Putin’s heros, Peter the Great.
Xi has made a point of restating China’s partnership with Russia, which he sees as a useful ally in plans to disrupt the West’s global power. In private, Chinese officials might be critical of Russia’s invasion; however some observers think Xi admires the ruthlessness of his opposite number in the Kremlin.
But as the West seeks to isolate Russia, there’s no doubt China’s leverage over Moscow has grown. It already gets dirt-cheap Russian oil. Chinese ports in the Russian Arctic might be next.
But if or when Xi finally speaks to the other party in the Ukraine conflict, he shouldn’t expect it to be smooth sailing.
In a smart move, PR-savvy President Volodymyr Zelensky has called on Xi to talk to him, too.
If the Chinese leader fails to accept Zelensky’s invitation, all his diplomatic efforts on the world stage will appear utterly hollow.
The Wall Street Journal has predicted a Zoom call soon after Xi’s trip to Russia. Ukrainian press reports suggest a phone call has already been scheduled.
Xi may have had an easy ride in Moscow; hopefully, his conversations with Kyiv will be far less comfortable.
The Chinese leader might hope to portray a direct conversation with Zelensky as a significant step in Beijing’s efforts to bring peace. Xi will certainly want to promote his Ukraine Peace Plan and sell his recent Global Security Initiative (GSI), both of which seek to shift blame onto the US and West, and turn non-aligned countries against them.
Zelensky should tell Xi what he really thinks about the plan. It calls on combatants to “cease hostilities”, “protect civilians” and “resume peace talks”, which are of course, vapid and utterly dishonest demands in the context of the more powerful country, Russia, trying to erase its victim, Ukraine, from the map. A ceasefire now would cement Russia’s land grab.
Zelensky will find it difficult not to point out the cant in the Chinese peace documents, most notably “core principle number two” in the GSI, which calls the world (apart, it would seem, from Russia) to “stay committed to respecting the sovereignty and territorial integrity of all countries.”
Nothing offered by Beijing so far supports Ukraine’s demand that all Russian troops retreat from its territory. Beijing has yet to condemn the invasion.
Even Zelensky’s considerable powers of persuasion are unlikely to sway the Chinese’s leader’s underlying views or ambitions. But hopefully he will deny China and Russia of a propaganda victory which the pair would use as they seek to undermine the case for Western sanctions.
Zelensky could go even further, and relay to the world exactly what was discussed, instead of a jargon-filled statement that China can use to back its tacit support of Moscow’s invasion.
To undermine Xi’s phony charm offensive, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, who is to chair the G7 summit in May, made a surprise visit to Kyiv today. He visited a church in Bucha, the town outside Kyiv that became a symbol of Russian atrocities against civilians, “to show solidarity and unwavering support for Ukraine as head of Japan and chairman of G7”. Presumably no Chinese official will be making a similar visit.
It is the president of Ukraine itself, however, who can do the most to show China’s hollow and hypocritical stance for what it is.
Zelensky can be a pawn in Xi’s “pro-peace” PR campaign or give him both barrels over his tacit support for the brutalisation of his country. All of Zelensky’s actions so far in this horrible war suggest he’ll opt, quite rightly, for the latter.
ARTICLE
A look at the uranium-based ammo the UK will send to Ukraine
TARA COPP
Associated Press
Aamer Madhani in Washington, Frank Jordans in Berlin and Menelaos Hadjicostis in Nicosia, Cyprus, contributed to this report.
3-23-2023 11:45 p.m. DST
https://apnews.com/article/depleted-uranium-ukraine-russia-tanks-a92a4784dfcbd1ff221813154b7f3a8e
WASHINGTON (AP) — Russia threatened to escalate attacks in Ukraine after the British government announced it would provide to Ukraine a type of munition that Moscow falsely claims has nuclear components.
The British defense ministry on Monday confirmed it would provide Ukraine with armor-piercing rounds containing depleted uranium.
Such rounds were developed by the U.S. during the Cold War to destroy Soviet tanks, including the same T-72 tanks that Ukraine now faces in its push to break through a stalemate in the east.
Depleted uranium is a byproduct of the uranium enrichment process needed to create nuclear weapons. The rounds retain some radioactive properties, but they can’t generate a nuclear reaction like a nuclear weapon would, RAND nuclear expert and policy researcher Edward Geist said.
That didn’t stop the Russians from offering a full-throated warning that the rounds were opening the door to further escalation. In the past, they have suggested the war could escalate to nuclear weapons use.
Both the the British ministry and the White House dismissed the Russian accusations. But the ammunition does carry risks even if it’s not a nuclear weapon.
A look at depleted uranium ammunition:
WHAT IS DEPLETED URANIUM?
Depleted uranium is a byproduct of the process to create the rarer, enriched uranium used in nuclear fuel and weapons. Although far less powerful than enriched uranium and incapable of generating a nuclear reaction, depleted uranium is extremely dense — more dense than lead — a quality that makes it highly attractive as a projectile.
“It’s so dense and it’s got so much momentum that it just keeps going through the armor — and it heats it up so much that it catches on fire,” Geist said.
The Ascent
When fired, a depleted uranium munition becomes “essentially an exotic metal dart fired at an extraordinarily high speed,” RAND senior defense analyst Scott Boston said.
In the 1970s, the U.S. Army began making armor-piercing rounds with depleted uranium and has since added it to composite tank armor to strengthen it. It also has added depleted uranium to the munitions fired by the Air Force’s A-10 close air support attack plane, known as the tank killer. The U.S. military is still developing depleted uranium munitions, notably the M829A4 armor-piercing round for the M1A2 Abrams main battle tank, Boston said.
In response to a query by the Associated Press, Pentagon spokesman Marine Corps Lt. Col. Garron Garn said in a statement Thursday that “DOD has procured, stored, and used depleted uranium rounds for several decades, since these are a longstanding element of some conventional munitions.”
The rounds have “saved the lives of many service members in combat,” Garn said, adding that “other countries have long possessed depleted uranium rounds as well, including Russia.”
Garn would not discuss whether the M1A1 tanks being readied for Ukraine would contain depleted uranium armor modifications, citing operational security.
WHAT HAS RUSSIA SAID?
President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday warned that Moscow would “respond accordingly, given that the collective West is starting to use weapons with a ‘nuclear component.’”
The British “have lost their bearings,” said Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, warning that the munitions are “a step toward accelerating escalation.”
Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said the announcement was “another step, and there aren’t so many of them left.”
The White House denounced Russia’s claims as disinformation.
“Make no mistake, this is yet another straw man through which the Russians are driving a stake,” U.S. National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby said.
Russia also has depleted uranium munitions and just doesn’t want Ukraine to have them, too, according to a White House official, who was not authorized to comment on the matter and spoke on condition of anonymity.
Pentagon press secretary Air Force Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder said Monday that to his knowledge, the U.S. was not sending depleted uranium munitions from its own arsenal to Ukraine.
NOT A BOMB, BUT STILL A RISK
While depleted uranium munitions are not considered nuclear weapons, their emission of low levels of radiation has led the U.N. nuclear watchdog to urge caution when handling and warn of the possible dangers of exposure.
The handling of such ammunition “should be kept to a minimum and protective apparel (gloves) should be worn,” the International Atomic Energy Agency cautions, adding that “a public information campaign may, therefore, be required to ensure that people avoid handling the projectiles.
“This should form part of any risk assessment and such precautions should depend on the scope and number of ammunitions used in an area.”
The IAEA notes that depleted uranium is mainly a toxic chemical, as opposed to a radiation hazard. Particles in aerosols can be inhaled or ingested, and while most would be excreted again, some can enter the blood stream and cause kidney damage.
“High concentrations in the kidney can cause damage and, in extreme cases, renal failure,” the IAEA says.
The low-level radioactivity of a depleted uranium round “is a bug, not a feature” of the munition, Geist said, and if the U.S. military could find another material with the same density but without the radioactivity it would likely use that instead.
Depleted uranium munitions were used in the 1991 Gulf War against Iraq’s T-72 tanks and again in the invasion of the country in 2003, as well as in Serbia and in Kosovo. U.S. military veterans of those conflicts have questioned whether their use led to ailments they now face.
Vyacheslav Volodin, the speaker of the Russian parliament’s lower house, said supplies of rounds containing depleted uranium could lead to “a tragedy on a global scale that will primarily affect European countries.”
Volodin said the use of such U.S. ammunition in the former Yugoslavia and Iraq led to “radioactive contamination and a sharp rise in oncological diseases.”
ARTICLE
Wagner Group To Shift Focus From Ukraine War After Military Feud, Heavy Losses – Bloomberg
www.themoscowtimes.com
03-23-2023 10:00 a.m. DST
https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2023/03/23/wagner-group-to-shift-focus-from-ukraine-war-after-military-feud-heavy-losses-bloomberg-a80590
The head of Russia’s Wagner mercenary group is likely to shift his attention away from the war in Ukraine, Bloomberg reported Thursday, citing sources familiar with the matter.
According to Bloomberg’s sources, Yevgeny Prigozhin plans to turn his focus back to Africa, where his fighters are believed to have a presence in Sudan, the Central African Republic, Mali and other countries.
The alleged shift is believed to be connected to the recent rift between Prigozhin and top military commanders who have sowed doubts with President Vladimir Putin about Wagner’s military capability, people close to the Kremlin and intelligence services told Bloomberg, speaking on condition of anonymity.
The commanders reportedly argued that the results Wagner achieved in Ukraine came from throwing huge numbers of recruited prisoners to their deaths.
Prigozhin was filmed personally recruiting prisoners to fight for Wagner in Ukraine in several Russian prisons in the late summer and early fall.
According to Bloomberg, Putin stepped in to transfer prison recruiting to the Defense Ministry, cutting off the flow of recruits to Wagner.
The outlet added that Wagner’s operations in Africa would likely get more of Prigozhin’s attention if the situation in Ukraine becomes more difficult for the mercenary outfit.
A Wagner recruitment announcement posted Monday also offered applications to serve terms in Africa ranging from nine to 14 months, specifying that those who enlist would be placed on reserve, the outlet said.
After years of operating in the shadows, the Wagner Group has stepped into the spotlight amid the invasion of Ukraine, and has taken a leading role in fighting for the eastern city of Bakhmut since summer 2022, taking heavy losses in the process.
But tensions between Wagner and the Defense Ministry have simmered for months as Prigozhin accused the Russian army of taking credit for victories won by Wagner fighters and of slowing down Wagner units’ advances.
Here you are again, spreading the evil propaganda of the Atlantic Council demonics.
You have no ears to hear, nor eyes to see.
Your hypothetical scenario contains at least two explicit statements which are demonstrably untrue. It is thus not possible to honestly reply to your question.
Russia / the Soviet Union were not all "warm and fuzzy."
The Soviet Union posed a major threat to world peace and prosperity for almost half a century.
The Soviet Union held most of Eastern Europe in thralldom until its unlamented dissolution.
The resurgence of Russian aggression and imperialism under Putin might be little more than a "Dead Cat Bounce," but it must be dealt with decidedly, and with determination.
Regards,
It was obvious from the beginning of the war that she got her info from propaganda/leftist/neocon sites. So sad.
I guess it’s semi-understandable if she has Ukrainian ancestry? She appears to be out of touch with proven facts in which the right has exposed through documentation and so I don’t know where she is coming from?
The west is blowing itself up. It’s just heartbreaking to see all those innocent lives destroyed when this most likely could have been prevented.
Blessed are the peace makers.
Ping
Consistent application of principles - something that China, Russia and the USA’s neocons and democrats are habitually incapable of doing - answers your questions.
First, let’s consider the maps from before the formation of the UN Charter principles. They are lessons on mistakes made in the past that we should avoid repeating, not valid templates for the future... Unless you’re Vladimir Putin.
The principles of national sovereignty, territorial integrity, and the right of all charter nations to rule themselves based on what their own people want, should be sacrosanct.
Those rules were established in an attempt to end centuries of bloodshed in the name of Lebensraum; control over oil, gas, grain and other commodities; or forced conversions of religion; or just to exterminate a population that’s in the way.
The only wars on the continent of Europe in the last 60 years have been abject violations of those agreed principles. So was Argentina’s invasion of the Falklands. So was Saddam’s invasion of Kuwait. So were a multitude of British, Soviet, Chinese and American operations from the late 20th century onward.
In 1975 most of the countries in Europe, with Canada and the Soviet Union, agreed, in Finland, to end those practices on the European continent. The reaffirmation of UN Charter principles within the Helsinki agreement is totally incompatible with ALL attempts by Russia to interfere in the sovereignty and territorial integrity and self defence of the ex Soviet republics and former Warsaw Pact.
Our wrongdoing isn’t with our current actions in Ukraine; it’s with the EU and EU-NATO and the USA did nothing from 1994 to 2014 while Russia drove coach and horses through the principles it had even reaffirmed in the Belovezha Accords and Budapest Memorandum.
Minsk agreements combined with those principles meant Wagner and the DPR were Russian actors on Ukrainian soil, in violation of the peace plan. Russia didn’t just refuse to pull them out, it denied they were there at the behest of Moscow. That is the only reason Minsk became untenable. Ukraine got a ceasefire. Ukraine got Azov to stand down. Ukraine amended its constitution. Russia had to reciprocate to get more of Minsk delivered, and Russia point blank refused to do its part.
This is the kind of thing that creates wars. Because European nations have alliances based on mutual respect of the UN and NATO and Helsinki and Belovezha and Budapest principles. Russia cannot violate those principles repeatedly and not expect a counter reaction.
Lessons from the cascade that turned the assassination of one man into World War One, and turned the joint invasion of Poland by the Soviets and Nazis into World War 2, cannot and must not be ignored.
Russia thinks it can do what it likes with impunity because it’s got nukes. Wrong! Russian armor and boots in other countries as a result of Russian invasion can rightly be wiped out by that country and its allies. Self defence is the only counterweight to the anti invasion principles. If you’re the invader, your forces are fair game.
All Russia has to do to save their lives is admit their presence in Ukraine is in flagrant violation of UN+Helsinki+Belovezha+Budapest+Minsk principles AND binding treaties, their presence is fuelling the war AND dragging other countries into the conflict... and that conflict Will Not End until Russia brings them home.
America should understand that THIS principle, as well as the other principles against hostile invasion, are what reinforce the wisdom of the Monroe Doctrine. Don’t get involved in proxy wars (ie get out of NATO and other mutual defence agreements); don’t invade other countries.
It really is that simple. If you don’t stick to the principles, you cannot avoid being either the instigator of an invasion or a treaty trapped party to the defence of an invaded country.
And BILLIONS of it is unaccounted for.
Not. One. Cent. More.
“According to Bloomberg, Putin stepped in to transfer prison recruiting to the Defense Ministry, cutting off the flow of recruits to Wagner.”
Well that’s hopefully an improvement over the appalling “meat grinder” situation. I feel bad for Africa though, as that’s where “Putin’s chef” is headed back to.
You are behind the times. Latest news is that DeSantis has completely shifted his viewpoint. He now supports Ukraine.
This helps explain Ukraine's current "Nazi Problem."
Why bother? No one reads your propaganda anyway. I just stop by your trash postings to see others take jabs at you.
They are also shipping T54s into the AO, not new tanks. I suspect they are not sending in any elite units either. What are they saving the good stuff for, or perhaps they do not have any good stuff? I don’t know but it is something to consider.
They have to keep “the good stuff” in the East. You know that Xi is just waiting for instability for him to walk north into the resource-rich Siberia. Xi will do so to collect on debts owed and to “keep the area” stable and from from “falling under the control of the west.”
Long term, Russia is not in a good place.
Russian women will be making Chinese babies and it will be all over for Russia demographically in the east. That’s one of the real reasons Putin wants to erase Ukraine and make white Ukrainians “Russian.”
I read that Russia has a lot of stuff and units in Belarus. I don’t know how true that is because there is a lot of propaganda on all sides coming out of that area. I suspect our BS is probably every bit as bad as Russian or Ukrainian BS so it is difficult to tell what is really going on there.
No, it does not look good at all for Bakhmut and the Ukrainian side, if your asking me personally.
It looks much better for the Russian side, but notably less than ideal.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.