Punjabi: Russia and Ukraine War Like Situation

[Dalvinder Singh Grewal]

There is no leader on the world stage who has displayed the same courage and tenacity as Zelenskyy has displayed and leading Ukraine. When Ukraine entered the war, no one thought they had a chance. Most thought that the world would be over in a matter of weeks. There have been 12 attempts on his life since the war began.

However, Zelenskyy, marshaled together his people, he united them, he gave them the will to fight. He also marshaled together the west to provide support to Ukraine. He has deftly played the public relations game against Russia. He currently has most of the support of the world. Even Putin‘s allies now are pushing him to end his war against Ukraine.

 

[Dalvinder Singh Grewal]

Conflicting claims about HIMARS in Russia Ukraine war

"The Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation has announced today at a briefing the destruction of 44 HIMARS out of 20 that are in service in Ukraine, – according to open sources,"

As to the US and Ukraine the long-range, high-precision rocket launchers, also known as HIMARS, have proven extremely effective in Ukraine's ongoing war effort against Russia. With a range reaching up to 50 miles, Ukraine has used the rockets to effectively hit Russian positions and clear out before the enemy can retaliate. Russia has failed to destroy a single HIMARS launcher since Ukraine first began using them in June, according to a senior Defense Department official.

Who is correct? Truth never comes out in war situations.

 

[Dalvinder Singh Grewal]

An exact figure is difficult to obtain. On the high side is the estimate of General Milley who has estimated over 100,000 soldiers from both Russia and Ukraine have been killed or wounded.

These are dramatically different from the numbers put out by each side. Moscow's last update in September said that just 5,937 troops had been killed since the start of the conflict. In August, the armed forces' commander-in-chief, Valeriy Zaluzhniy, was quoted in Ukrainian media saying 9,000 Ukrainian soldiers had died so far. Miley’s estimates for Ukraine’s civilian casualties are at 40,000.
From looking at all sources, Milley looks high. Probably a more accurate number is 75–80,000 casualties for each side.

Ukrainian servicemen carry a coffin during a funeral ceremony for troops killed in fighting with Russia

 

[Dalvinder Singh Grewal]

on completion of one year of Russia Ukraine war, there is a sudden development with Joe Biden visiting Ukraine in order to promise moral support as well support in terms of weapons including aircraft, missiles tanks, arms, and ammunition. China too has announced support for Russia in arms ammunition guns and aircraft., though Blinken visited China to restrain him from supporting Russia. This hints at a major escalation in the war in Russia-Ukraine war and there is no indication of peace talks between the two sides in near future.

 

[Dalvinder Singh Grewal]

Who supports Russia in Russia Ukraine war?
Before the invasion of Ukraine began, Putin and Xi Jinping told the world their countries were friends with no limits. However, no country has yet come open to supporting except China, Iran, and North Korea. China has recently announced its support in terms of arms and ammunition. Iran has supplied drones which have been devastating Ukraine cities. Nothing is known about N. Korea except its threats to the US, Japan, and South Korea. India has helped it economically by purchasing Russian oil in Russian currency.
Xi Jinping's supply of arms to Putin's Russia remains in doubt due to the threat given by Blinken for serious consequences in case China supplies weapons and ammunition to Russia. China also does not want to be targeted by Western sanctions. The economic situation is already difficult in China and Xi Jinping does not need this. So Putin is getting closer to Iran and North Korea. India can't supply weapons because India gets its supplies from Russia. 90% of India's weapons come from Russia. India is worried for its interests that it would be weakened by a humiliating defeat of Putin's Russia in Ukraine.
The threat added is by Joe Biden's statement in Ukraine during his visit supporting Ukraine full throttle with tanks, missiles, ammunition, and weapons. Escalation of war is imminent now.

 

[Dalvinder Singh Grewal]

Escalation of war after Biden's visit to Ukraine and Poland. Pentagon declared #2 billion in aid to Ukraine. Leopard Tanks, Laser guided Missiles, and drones are being sent through Poland. F 32 and other jets are not being given. The attack of Russia on Bakhmat continues with heavy casualties on both sides. China agrees to provide weapon support to China. Also, Belarus has moved its tanks and missiles toward the borders of Ukraine. Maybe another country's direct entry. China has warned NATO not to play with Ukraine and Taiwan. Zelensky trying to meet China. The increased pressure on Ukraine may force it to come out on the negotiation table. The US is imposing sanctions on China also in addition to increased sanctions on Russia.

 

[Dalvinder Singh Grewal]

Russia's one of the main reason for attacking Ukraine is the development of Nazism. How far it is correct has been explained below:
In Luhansk, pretty much everyone is a NAZI sympathizer, so to speak, but you have two brands. On the one side, you have Russian-speaking immigrants to the region who moved there in the Soviet era. On the other side, you have bi-lingual residents who are basically Ukrainians who were part of the Russification of the region but held onto their Ukrainian culture.

The Russian speakers that moved in the last generation have politicians that support Russia. The natives support Ukraine.

The form of kleptocracy practiced in the region is outright fascist oligarchy and both sides follow the political practices.

Both sides have a religious dogma that makes them anti-Semitic. The Ukrainian Orthodox Church (Moscow Patriarchate) in particular is a serious force with the Russian emigrants to the region being pro-Russian, anti-Semitic, and pro-integration. During the Soviet hold on the area, the church aided Sovietization. Ukrainian nationalists hate these people and their priests but have their own set of anti-Semitic priests. To an outsider, it can be very confusing as to which patriarch chain group belongs to, and those chains change hands sometimes — at one point Moscow-Ukrainian was a Serbian prefectural connection. Ukrainian chains reached Kyiv and Odesa. So you have a religious, ethnic, social, and linguistic quagmire and basically, everyone in the region is unhappy with everyone else.

Most Luhansk citizens of either group have no wish to be part of the new Russian empire. None of this would have been an issue except the Russian invasions of 2014 seriously set the sides feuding again in a biblical manner. And as expected the newly formed Azov militia went off the rails just as the Russian-backed separatists did, and war crimes were the result on both sides. There was a difference though, the Russians felt they could use a unit willing to kill everyone in a village, while Ukrainians did not want to have this problem to deal with - they killed selectively. Both are crimes and should be condemned.

The GOP congress in 2014 was anti-Russia, pro-Ukraine, and willing to overlook the NAZI background of the Azov, while the democrats wanted to block funds. So there was a point when the US was of two minds on Azov. Nowadays the so-called Freedom Caucus is pro-NAZI, pro-Russia, and anti-Democratic, and thus use Azov as their kicking boy, but neither Matt Gaetz nor Taylor Greene was able to find Luhansk on a map and none could name the main religion of Ukraine, ignorance runs deep as Taylor Greene mumbled that they were a bunch of NAZI Jews, which is absurd. The irony of American fascists complaining about a country they call “Ukraine” claiming that Ukrainian speakers are fascists and Russian speakers are “MAGA believers” (MUGA?) has been noted often by watchers.
Ukraine had a problem that was pretty complex. They needed Azov to fight. If Ukrainian closed out the Azov “brigade”, the bad actors would simply become independent criminals and commit the same atrocities on the Russian speakers as the Russians were doing to Ukrainians. However, the unit was hurting relations with the US in 2014–2015, so Ukraine compromised and tried to keep them on the straight path. They converted the unit to part of the territorials (national guard), pulled them from the front lines, replaced their leaders, and moved them to fight Russian-funded Titushky away from their home region. Being bilingual and able to tell a Russian speaker from someone who learned Russian in school, the unit began to throw off its images as a NAZI group and even was trained by US and Canadian special operations troops. The current CO of the now brigade size unit estimates about 20% of the new recruits each cycle are NAZI, so the unit holds special classes for members to convert hard-line fascism to the appreciation of the Ukrainian democracy, which has seemed to work.

Recently they captured a group of Russian commandos who were murdering college students because of their knowledge of the language (the Russian accent Ukrainian was obvious to them) and they have been able to move into Russian-held-back areas and ambush Russian units because their facility with idiomatically correct Russian and Ukrainian. They have not been implicated in atrocities for years, and are just another professional territorial unit, although extremely motivated.

Like all units with a fascist background, they have to be monitored to make sure their cadre keeps them properly on the democratic track.
During the administration of Viktor Yanukovych there was growing unrest among the general population of Ukraine. Russia, who supported Yanukovych financially, was insistent on a three-phase control of Ukraine. Basically, Russia insisted on a set of policies from the Soviet Period where there were strict legal separations between Ukrainian speakers, Russian speakers, speakers of other languages, and speakers of both languages. The goal of the Soviet period was to assure that Russian speakers, considered ethnic Russians, were always provided superior economic, political, and social control of regions considered to be populated by minority groups. This was maintained with the rise of Putin.

At the same time though Russian and Ukrainian speakers in Ukraine began to feel more “Ukrainian nationality” than “Russian ethnics” or “Ukrainian ethnics.” This process was very subtle, but was seen with alarm by Yanukovych who knew that only by maintaining the Russian Federal policy could he stay in power. As an aside, this process of awakening in Ukraine would lead to the election of Zelenskyy who is a Russian-speaking, Jewish, educated urbane man from Kryvyi Rih - which is an expression of pluralism and democratic spirit that was amazing to me when it happened and showed that Ukrainians saw themselves as Ukrainians no matter what their religion or ethnicity was.

With the rapid pluralism, Yanukovvych put money into a Russian-speaking police force that was called Titushky, whose goal was to track down and arrest so-called “liberal intellectuals.” What actually happened was violence that shocked Ukrainians and further alienated Yanukovych, who was locked into a hard line by Russia's demands on his solving the issue with an iron fist. The Titushky who were Russian speakers but bilingual (with a peculiar accent that Azov is famous for being able to detect), operated in plain clothing and used their bilingual skills to infiltrate and disappear people in the various college communities in central and eastern Ukraine. They were recruited from the east from exactly the same regions as Azov.

Along comes, Maidan and the Titusky are no longer officially sanctioned, but they grow especially violent and start to specialize in false flag terror attacks with the loss of government sanctions. Their special skill was killing Russian speakers and leaving evidence that it was Ukrainian speakers who did it, attacking Jews and placing blame on Ukraine speakers, and killing Ukrainians and placing blame on Jews. During Maidan, their funding from Ukraine ended and they were paid by Russia and operated as a mercenary unit.

For several years efforts to end their violence were ineffective, however, their own efforts to create false flag outrages were likewise seen by the local populations as a reason to band together as Ukrainian rather than by ethnic identification. My friend who worked for Interpol called it a growing “Jeanne d’ Arc” movement where people became intensely patriotic and suspicious of the motives of Russia, especially when Titushky under orders of Moscow elevated their outrages to kidnapping and torture of children. A dead Russian speaking child dumped in a field with words carved in its body in Ukrainian was just to far for the people of Central and South Ukraine, although the press at the time, recovering from the Yanukovych era rarely reported these deeds in a clear manner.

During the 2014 invasion of Ukraine by Russia what would be the Azov Brigade rose from an anti-Semitic, bilingual, anti-Russian orthodox, group in the east who were essentially marked for ethnic cleansing by Russia, who saw their unwillingness to focus on Russian and their hatred of the Moscow / Ukraine orthodox church patriarchy as a non-starter for the Russian model that the Kremlin was working toward. The Azov fought savagely, brutally, and with no human concern for the carnage they caused— exactly how Russian-backed forces did to them. This led to two issues for Ukraine. They were incredibly effective at what they did. They were also absolutely against the new Ukraine ideal of multicultural pluralism. The first was ok, but the second had to change.

What was done with Azov was genius. Its leaders were mostly sacked and replaced by Ukraine patriotic hardmen who had academic backgrounds and were themselves bilingual. The soldiers in Azov were then required to go through ethnic sensitivity training that was about as granola and hippy as you can imagine. One of their touchstones was weirdly enough James Mattis, a USMC general who emphasized cultural training for soldiers. Azov brigade went from being an out-of-control war crime unit to slowly becoming an elite special operations light infantry unit.

To get them away from where they had conflicts, they were transferred to the same region Russian -backed Tishtusky terror cells were operating, and they tore these terrorists apart. They worked with Canadian and United States special operations soldiers to hone their infantry skills, but what they had naturally was an amazing ability to detect a person who was not who they said they were by language and culture. American trainers reported that they were like a really sharp scalpel in the hands of a dedicated surgeon. They would seem like a bunch of college kids, but when they found someone they would follow them and develop information on them until they captured them suddenly. If they resisted, they died. Otherwise, they used their captures to find the next cell and wrapped up Tishtusky.

It should be noted that Azov today works all over Ukraine and scare Russia absolutely shitless. They captured and killed a Wagner assassination team aimed at Zelenskyy, killed a set of Spretznaz trying to capture air defense assets to shoot down an international airplane and literally killed them in a high-speed chase. They decimated several Chechen units, and now have this specialization of killing generals. An operation outside of Kharkiv saw them destroy several security platoons and kill an entire brigade command post.

As for Tishtusky, rumors are it still exists, but if they do they are not very effective, and two possible members were caught calling in fire missions on Lviv.


News, analysis, and comment from the Financial Times,
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https://www.ft.com/content/7191ec30-9677-423d-873c-e72b64725c2d

 

[Dalvinder Singh Grewal]

Zelensky is very keen to meet the Chinese president for a solution to Russia Ukraine war. Before this meeting, China floated a peace proposal on which both Russia and Ukraine are keen to depend.​

China’s Peace Proposal for Ukraine War includes​

1. Respecting the sovereignty of all countries. Universally recognized international law, including the purposes and principles of the United Nations Charter, must be strictly observed. The sovereignty, independence, and territorial integrity of all countries must be effectively upheld. All countries, big or small, strong or weak, rich or poor, are equal members of the international community. All parties should jointly uphold the basic norms governing international relations and defend international fairness and justice. Equal and uniform application of international law should be promoted, while double standards must be rejected.

2. Abandoning the Cold War mentality. The security of a country should not be pursued at the expense of others. The security of a region should not be achieved by strengthening or expanding military blocs. The legitimate security interests and concerns of all countries must be taken seriously and addressed properly. There is no simple solution to a complex issue. All parties should, following the vision of common, comprehensive, cooperative and sustainable security and bearing in mind the long-term peace and stability of the world, help forge a balanced, effective and sustainable European security architecture. All parties should oppose the pursuit of one’s own security at the cost of others’ security, prevent bloc confrontation, and work together for peace and stability on the Eurasian Continent.

3. Ceasing hostilities. Conflict and war benefit no one. All parties must stay rational and exercise restraint, avoid fanning the flames and aggravating tensions, and prevent the crisis from deteriorating further or even spiraling out of control. All parties should support Russia and Ukraine in working in the same direction and resuming direct dialogue as quickly as possible, so as to gradually deescalate the situation and ultimately reach a comprehensive ceasefire.

4. Resuming peace talks. Dialogue and negotiation are the only viable solution to the Ukraine crisis. All efforts conducive to the peaceful settlement of the crisis must be encouraged and supported. The international community should stay committed to the right approach of promoting talks for peace, help parties to the conflict open the door to a political settlement as soon as possible, and create conditions and platforms for the resumption of negotiation. China will continue to play a constructive role in this regard.

5. Resolving the humanitarian crisis. All measures conducive to easing the humanitarian crisis must be encouraged and supported. Humanitarian operations should follow the principles of neutrality and impartiality, and humanitarian issues should not be politicized. The safety of civilians must be effectively protected, and humanitarian corridors should be set up for the evacuation of civilians from conflict zones. Efforts are needed to increase humanitarian assistance to relevant areas, improve humanitarian conditions, and provide rapid, safe and unimpeded humanitarian access, with a view to preventing a humanitarian crisis on a larger scale. The UN should be supported in playing a coordinating role in channeling humanitarian aid to conflict zones.

6. Protecting civilians and prisoners of war (POWs). Parties to the conflict should strictly abide by international humanitarian law, avoid attacking civilians or civilian facilities, protect women, children and other victims of the conflict, and respect the basic rights of POWs. China supports the exchange of POWs between Russia and Ukraine, and calls on all parties to create more favorable conditions for this purpose.

7. Keeping nuclear power plants safe. China opposes armed attacks against nuclear power plants or other peaceful nuclear facilities, and calls on all parties to comply with international law including the Convention on Nuclear Safety (CNS) and resolutely avoid man-made nuclear accidents. China supports the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in playing a constructive role in promoting the safety and security of peaceful nuclear facilities.

8. Reducing strategic risks. Nuclear weapons must not be used and nuclear wars must not be fought. The threat or use of nuclear weapons should be opposed. Nuclear proliferation must be prevented and nuclear crisis avoided. China opposes the research, development and use of chemical and biological weapons by any country under any circumstances.

9. Facilitating grain exports. All parties need to implement the Black Sea Grain Initiative signed by Russia, Türkiye, Ukraine and the UN fully and effectively in a balanced manner, and support the UN in playing an important role in this regard. The cooperation initiative on global food security proposed by China provides a feasible solution to the global food crisis.

10. Stopping unilateral sanctions. Unilateral sanctions and maximum pressure cannot solve the issue; they only create new problems. China opposes unilateral sanctions unauthorized by the UN Security Council. Relevant countries should stop abusing unilateral sanctions and “long-arm jurisdiction” against other countries, so as to do their share in deescalating the Ukraine crisis and create conditions for developing countries to grow their economies and better the lives of their people.

11. Keeping industrial and supply chains stable. All parties should earnestly maintain the existing world economic system and oppose using the world economy as a tool or weapon for political purposes. Joint efforts are needed to mitigate the spillovers of the crisis and prevent it from disrupting international cooperation in energy, finance, food trade and transportation and undermining the global economic recovery.

12. Promoting post-conflict reconstruction. The international community needs to take measures to support post-conflict reconstruction in conflict zones. China stands ready to provide assistance and play a constructive role in this endeavor.

China’s 12-point proposal doesn’t offer any new ideas or specific solutions, but its underlying tone is pro-Russian. One year into Russia’s war against Ukraine, China is offering a 12-point proposal to end the fighting.

The proposal follows China’s recent announcement that it is trying to act as a mediator in the war that has re-energized Western alliances viewed by Beijing and Moscow as rivals. China’s top diplomat indicated that the plan was coming at a security conference this week in Munich, Germany.

With its release, President Xi Jinping’s government is reiterating China’s claim to being neutral, despite blocking efforts at the United Nations to condemn the invasion. The document echoes Russian claims that Western governments are to blame for the February 24, 2022 invasion and criticizes sanctions on Russia.

At the Munich meeting, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken expressed skepticism about Beijing’s position before the plan’s release. He said China has provided non-lethal assistance that supports Russian President Vladimir Putin’s war effort and said the United States has intelligence that Beijing is “considering providing lethal support.” China has called the allegation a “smear” and said it lacks evidence.

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China’s proposal calls for a ceasefire and peace talks, and an end to sanctions against Russia.
China placed responsibility for sanctions on other “relevant countries” without naming them. These countries, it says, “should stop abusing unilateral sanctions” and “do their share in de-escalating the Ukraine crisis.”

Many of the 12 points were very general and did not contain specific proposals.

Without mentioning either Russia or Ukraine, it says sovereignty of all countries should be upheld. It didn’t specify what that would look like for Ukraine, and the land taken from it since Russia seized Crimea in 2014.
The proposal also condemns a “Cold War mentality,” a term that often refers to the United States and the U.S.-European military alliance NATO. “The security of a region should not be achieved by strengthening or expanding military blocs,” the proposal says. Russian President Vladimir Putin demanded a promise that Ukraine will not join the bloc before the invasion.

Other points call for a ceasefire, peace talks, protection for prisoners of war, and stopping attacks on civilians, without elaborating, as well as keeping nuclear power plants safe and facilitating grain exports.

“The basic tone and the fundamental message in the policy is quite pro-Russia,” said Li Mingjiang, a professor of Chinese foreign policy and international security at Singapore’s Nanyang Technological University.

China has offered contradictory statements regarding its stance. It says Russia was provoked into taking action by NATO’s eastward expansion, but has also claimed neutrality on the war.

Ahead of Russia’s attack, Xi and Putin attended the opening of last year’s Winter Olympics in Beijing and issued a statement that their governments had a “no limits” friendship. China has since ignored Western criticism and reaffirmed that pledge.

Putin has said he expects Xi to visit Russia in the next few months. China has yet to confirm that.

China is “trying to have it both ways,” Blinken said Sunday on NBC.

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“Publicly, they present themselves as a country striving for peace in Ukraine, but privately, as I said, we’ve seen already over these past months the provision of non-lethal assistance that does go directly to aiding and abetting Russia’s war effort.”

China’s support for Russia has been largely rhetorical and political. Beijing has helped to prevent efforts to condemn Moscow at the United Nations. There is no public evidence it is currently supplying arms to Russia, but the United States has said China is providing non-lethal support already and may do more.

Blinken, at the Munich conference, said the United States has long been concerned that China would provide weapons to Russia. “We have information that gives us concern that they are considering providing lethal support to Russia,” he said.
Blinken said he expressed to the Chinese envoy to the meeting, Wang Yi, that “this would be a serious problem.”

NATO’s chief said Wednesday he had seen some signs that China may be ready to provide arms and warned that would be it would be supporting a violation of international law.

This week, the German magazine Der Spiegel reported that a Chinese company was in negotiations to provide Russian with drones that could be used to strike Ukrainian targets. “[T]he Russian military is engaged in negotiations with Chinese drone manufacturer Xi’an Bingo Intelligent Aviation Technology over the mass production of kamikaze drones for Russia,” Der Spiegel claimed. It did not provide details on its source for the scoop.

Ukraine’s defense minister Oleksii Reznikov expressed doubt about China’s willingness to send lethal aid to Russia.

“I think that if China will help them … it will not (be) weaponry. It will (be) some kinds of like clothes,” Reznikov said in Kyiv Monday.

Russian and Chinese forces have held joint drills since the invasion, most recently with the South African navy in a shipping lane off the South African coast.
By Associated Press, February 24, 2023

 

[Dalvinder Singh Grewal]

Russia is planning a major offensive similar to the one in the first part of 2022. Vladimir Putin failed at that time to take control of Kyiv. A year later, Putin wants to do it this time. However, there is no guarantee that he will succeed. NATO is warning about the problem of ammunition supplies to Ukraine, but this problem is the same for Putin's Russia.

Putin is looking to China, Iran, and North Korea to acquire weapons, which says a lot about the state of Russian stocks... Of course, there are still large stocks from the Soviet era, but they are much less effective.

In the case that Russia would win, the Western media would obviously talk about a tragedy for the Ukrainians but also for democracy in the world with this victory of a tyrannical regime that would have scorned the sovereignty of a neighboring country. This would only be a half-truth because a Russian victory in Ukraine may motivate other dictators like Chin to attempt a similar act on Taiwan!

 

[Dalvinder Singh Grewal]

Ukraine is using HIMARS against Russian ammunition depots. The artillery is mobile and can be moved quite easily. This is not true for the ammunition. As per an American report, Ukraine used the HIMARS on 50 Russian ammunition depots. Defense Minister Oleksiy Reznikov on Ukrainian television underlined the growing impact that the High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS) is causing devastating impact on Russians ad aiding in repelling Russia's invasion. "This cuts their (Russian) logistical chains and takes away their ability to conduct active fighting and cover our armed forces with heavy shelling," Reznikov said.
HIMARS has a longer range and is more precise than the Soviet-era artillery that Ukraine had in its {censored}nal. Russia has criticized the US for providing Ukraine with instructors to help Ukrainian forces use HIMARS. However, Russians decline this saying that most of HIMRS has been destroyed on the ground itself and caused no damage to Russian artillery.

 

[Dalvinder Singh Grewal]

Wednesday, March 8, 2023

The head of Russia's Wagner mercenary group says his forces have taken full control of the eastern part of the Ukrainian city of Bakhmut, the scene of one of the bloodiest battles of the year-long war. If the claim is true, it would mean Russian forces control nearly half the city in their costly push to secure their first big victory in several months.

 

[Dalvinder Singh Grewal]

On 8 March 2023, China must advance its relations with Russia as the world becomes more turbulent, Foreign Minister Qin Gang said on Tuesday. Speaking to reporters at an annual parliamentary session in Beijing, Qin said the close interactions between both leaders -- President Xi Jinping and President Vladimir Putin -- provided the anchor for China-Russia relations. Asked whether it is possible that China and Russia would abandon the dollar and euro for bilateral trade, Qin said that countries should use whatever currency is efficient, safe and credible. "Currencies should not be the trump card for unilateral sanctions, still less a disguise for bullying or coercion," he said.

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy vows not to retreat from Bakhmut after Russian forces encroached on the devastated eastern city they have been trying to capture for six months at the cost of thousands of lives. Days ago, a Zelenskyy adviser said the defenders might give up on Bakhmut. But Zelenskyy on Monday chaired a meeting in which top military brass "spoke in favor of continuing the defense operation and further strengthening our positions in Bakhmut." In his nightly video address, the president reported that his advisers unanimously agreed "not to retreat" and to bolster Ukrainian defenses.

Russia's Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu has visited the Russian-occupied city of Mariupol in eastern Ukraine, where some of the bloodiest fighting took place after last year's invasion. Photos released by the Ministry of Defense show Shoigu touring a new medical center and being briefed on housing and school construction. Earlier, he visited Russian troops on the front line in Donetsk, according to the ministry.

Russia's Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu, front right, visits Mariupol in this handout image released on March 6. (Russian Defense Ministry via Reuters)

 

[Dalvinder Singh Grewal]

Bakhmet situation:
Russia claims half of Bakhmet. Intense fighting is on in the remaining portion. Situation is very critical for Ukraine since its fall will give overall control of east Ukraine to Russians. Russian superiority remains till date though the western media reports otherwise as can be seen from the photos below. In fact propaganda campaign has blurred the view into Russia-Ukraine

A report from the west given below gives different picture. "Despite numerous reports by the Russian media, Ukrainian defenders are still in Bakhmut. “The very center of the city-fortress Bakhmut. Approximately 900 meters to the positions of PMC Wagner across the river Bakhmutka,” Petr Verzilov wrote, posting this photo. “The situation is difficult, but the defenders of the city continue to heroically resist and defend the free, Ukrainian Bakhmut from Russian invaders. Bakhmut is a very persistent city.”

 

[Dalvinder Singh Grewal]

As reported by Ukraine Media about the battle of Bakhmut
Ukraine's General Staff reports the most intense fighting in the battle for Bahkmut continues to rage, north and south of the city as Russian forces attempt a pincer movement to encircle Ukraine troops.

“The enemy is attempting to breach our defenses in five directions, with the most active fighting in Bakhmut and surrounding areas, which has been going on for seven months now. Russia is suffering serious losses. Fighting is currently ongoing north, east, south of the city and in the city itself. Only one logistical route is currently available, running from Chasiv Yar through Khromove,” said Hanna Maliar, Ukraine's Deputy Defense Minister. “Additional units are being moved to Bakhmut to strengthen our group, as per the decision of the commander of the ground forces.”

The Defense Minister added that the decision to hold Bakhmut is military one - not political. “We know the necessities of the situation. Currently there is no plan to withdraw troops from Bakhmut.”

Company Commander of the Svoboda Battalion, Lieutenant Yevheniy Oropai, also reported a marked increase in Russian infantry assaults in the Bakhmut area. “The enemy is using all available means and forces, including artillery, and has deployed regular troops and Wagner mercenaries, including trained and less trained groups, as well as 'worms' who are used as cannon fodder. We will hold.”

The report closed with the news Ukrainian troops had shot down another Russian Su-25 attack aircraft, Mi-24 helicopter, and 7 drones overnight.

Sources: ArmiyaInform IA, Ukrinform, Hvylya, Ukrainian General Staff

 

[Dalvinder Singh Grewal]

An extract from CNN Report on Iran drone supplied to Russia in Russia Ukraine war:
Although Iranian officials deny sending any drones to Russia for use in the war in Ukraine, at the same time they talk about a $20B military contract between the two countries before Russia's military invasion of Ukraine, which probably includes the sale of various Iranian combat/reconnaissance/kamikaze drones to Russia and the purchase of Su-35 fighter jet, Mil-28/Ka-52 helicopters, air defense like S-400 and Bastion coastal defence from Russia.

In this report for the first time the model of Iranian drones that were sent to Russia is specifically mentioned: Mohajer-6 (M6) and an unknown model from the Shahed family. It has been said that the Russians had many problems in using the received drones, which is mostly due to the lack of manuals in Russian and system differences that lead to bugs. The most important point mentioned in this report is that despite the initial problems, these drones will eventually cover many gaps in the Russian army and underestimating these drones will be a big mistake.

• Accuracy of the Ababil-2, cheap Iranian kamikaze drone hit the Saudi Aramco oil facility tanks which were under the protection of the US Patriot air defense system. The suicide drones sent to Russia will have far more advanced technology than this.

Mohajer M6 is one of the most successful drones made by Iran in field of export, which nearly a hundred have been produced so far. Just like the Bayraktar TB2, the M6 uses the Austrian Rotax 912 engine and is capable of carrying a variety of miniature guided missiles and ATGMs.

• Mohajer M6 carrying Almas-2 missle, a reverse-engineered version of the Israeli Spike-ER ATGM under the wings.

Since the exact model of the second drone is not mentioned and it is only said that it belongs to the Shahed family, it is currently impossible to guess what class it is in and what problems it may have. Shahed drones have little similarity with each other except for the name.

• Shahed-149 (HALE turboprop UCAV)
• Shahed-161 (Flying-wing UCAV based US made captured drone RQ-170)
• Shahed-136 (Kamikaze)

 

[Dalvinder Singh Grewal]

Message Russians left in Kherson
"Dear Ukrainians, behave WELL, do not forget that you are on the territory of the Russian Empire! We went on vacation, we will be back soon.
1. Don't chew on furniture!
2. Don't pee on the floor!
3. Do not pester passers-by!
4. Don't bark at night!
5. Close the doors tighter, it's drafty!
6. By the time we return, we strongly recommend leaving order and hanging in every room a portrait of our sovereign V.V. Putin!
P.S. Kiss the flag every morning and sing the Russian anthem! We will check when we arrive!
With love, Russian tank special forces!"
What does this mean? Do they plan to return during the tribunal?

 

[Dalvinder Singh Grewal]

Why has Russia taken so long in Ukraine?
Russia's power is at least 10 times more than that of Ukraine. International sanctions and the support of friends from the US and the West are delaying the takeover. To obviate Human Rights propaganda, Russia is attacking but protecting the residential settlements, which is taking more time than its estimation. Otherwise, the whole of Ukraine could have been under its control well before. T

 

[Dalvinder Singh Grewal]

Ukraine Wednesday admitted it may have to withdraw its troops from Bakhmut as Russia pursued a bloody, months-long offensive to capture the besieged Ukrainian city.

Alexander Rodnyansky, an economic adviser to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, said Ukrainian troops might pull back from the city.

 

[Dalvinder Singh Grewal]

Russians Are Starting REALIZING What They Created!
Sergey Shoigu, the Minister of Defence of the Russian Federation, has stated that "multinational grouping of NATO near Russian borders has increased by 2.5 times since February, up to 30,000 people; and it can grow more."
Source: Shoigu, during the meeting of a joint board of military departments of Russia and Belarus, cited by Kremlin-aligned news outlet RIA Novosti
Quote: "The formation of the Armed Forces of non-regional NATO countries is deployed in Eastern and Central Europe, as well as in the Baltic states.
New multinational battalion tactical groups in Bulgaria, Hungary, Romania, and Slovakia are being created. The number of soldiers has increased by 2.5 times since February 2022 and is now more than 30,000 people. In the near future, it can grow [even] more."

 

[Dalvinder Singh Grewal]

NATO and allies have provided Ukraine with 1,550 armored vehicles and 230 tanks to form units the 98% promised weapons to help it retake territory from Russian forces, the military alliance’s chief said. With this Ukraine planned a counter-offensive. However Russian Air Force bombed major cities. At least 12 people have been killed and several injured after Russian forces attacked cities and regions across Ukraine, including the capital Kyiv, in a series of night-time air raids. Rescue workers were searching for survivors on Friday, hours after the first large-scale assault in months. As a result Ukraine counter-offensive is put off.​