End the Ukraine fiasco now

Noting that both our World Wars I and II was Under a Democrat a well as Korea and Vietnam

12/23/23 – US Intel Assesses 315,000 Russian Troops Killed Since Ukraine War Began –

Russia-Ukraine War: Russian forces have also lost some 2,200 of the 3,500 tanks they had before the start of the conflict, the source said, citing a declassified US intelligence assessment shared with Congress.

Some 315,000 Russian troops have been killed or wounded in Ukraine since the war began in February 2022, nearly 90 percent of its pre-war force, a congressional source said Tuesday.

The Russian military has also lost some 2,200 of the 3,500 tanks it had before the start of the conflict, the source said, citing a declassified US intelligence assessment shared with Congress.

The document emerged as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky was in Washington seeking to convince an increasingly skeptical Congress that the war with Russia could be won with continued US funding.

Zelensky met with congressional leaders on Tuesday before scheduled talks at the White House with President Joe Biden.

The latest casualty assessment marks a big leap from that provided in July 2022 when CIA director Bill Burns said US intelligence estimated that Russian losses were “in the vicinity of 15,000 killed and maybe three times that wounded.”

Both Russia and Ukraine have been deeply reticent about providing casualty figures from the war.

Russian casualties of 315,000 killed or wounded would amount to 87 percent of the country’s pre-war military force of 360,000.

The Wall Street Journal, citing the declassified US intelligence assessment, said the conflict in Ukraine “has sharply set back 15 years of Russian effort to modernize its ground force.”

To make up for the heavy losses, Russia has resorted to “extraordinary measures” such has conscripting released prisoners and sending them to the front, it added.

Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson insisted after the meeting with Zelensky that his party would not approve Biden’s request for $60 billion in fresh assistance for Kyiv unless Democrats meet their demands on immigration.

Putin can only win if the GOP blocks funding; otherwise, he’s increasingly likely to lose public support by the March 2024 Russian election. To abandon Ukraine this close to an approaching watershed moment after all that’s been sacrificed to stop Putin would be an unforgiveable surrender.

According to a recently declassified US intelligence estimate, Russia has lost almost 90% of its pre-war army. An estimated 315,000 Russian troops have been killed or injured in Ukraine.

12/25/23 – Kremlin critic Alexey Navalny located at Siberian penal colony two weeks after disappearance –

Kremlin critic Alexey Navalny has been located at a penal colony in Siberia, his team said Monday, two weeks after they lost contact with him.

“We have found Alexey,” his spokesperson Kira Yarmysh said in a statement on X, formerly Twitter. “He is now in IK-3 in the settlement of Kharp in the Yamal-Nenets Autonomous District.”

She said Navalny’s lawyer had visited him earlier Monday and that the jailed activist was “doing well.”

Navalny’s lawyers said on December 11 they had lost contact with him. Until then, he was imprisoned in a penal colony about 150 miles east of Moscow.

Navalny had “never been hidden for so long,” his team said after he was absent from two scheduled court hearings last week. They warned he had been in poor health before his disappearance after being “deprived of food” and “kept in a punishment cell without ventilation.”

His disappearance, which came just days after Russian President Vladimir Putin announced he will run for re-election in March 2024, had sparked concerns for his well-being and safety.

Ivan Zhdanov, director of Navalny’s anti-corruption foundation, said the IK-3 penal colony in Kharp where Navalny is now being held, known as “Polar Wolf,” is “one of the northernmost and most remote colonies.”

“The conditions there are harsh, with a special regime in the permafrost zone. It is very difficult to get there, and there are no letter delivery systems,” Zhdanov wrote on X.

Zhdanov said Navalny’s lawyer had not been allowed into the penal colony “right away.”

“It seems that the colony was prepared for his arrival in advance. The head of the Federal Penitentiary Service, Arkady Gostev, was there in April, and perhaps it was then that they decided to transfer Alexey there,” he added.

Kharp is almost 2,000 miles from Moscow, where Navalny had previously been held.

He had been sentenced to 19 years in prison in August after being found guilty of creating an extremist community, financing extremist activities and numerous other crimes. He was already serving sentences of 11-and-a-half years in a maximum security facility on fraud and other charges he denies.

Supporters of Navalny claim his arrest and incarceration are a politically motivated attempt to stifle his criticism of Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Navalny has posed one of the most serious threats to Putin’s legitimacy during his rule. He used his blog and social media to expose alleged corruption in the Kremlin as well as Russian business, and organized anti-government street protests.

In 2020, Navalny was poisoned with Novichok, a Soviet-era nerve agent, and airlifted from the Siberian city of Omsk to a hospital in Berlin, where he arrived comatose.

A joint investigation by CNN and the group Bellingcat implicated the Russian Security Service (FSB) in Navalny’s poisoning. Russia denies involvement in Nalvany’s poisoning. Putin said in December 2020 that if the Russian security service had wanted to kill Navalny, they “would have finished” the job.

Navalny was immediately incarcerated upon his return to Russia in January 2021, on charges of violating the terms of his probation related to a fraud case brought against him in 2013, which he also dismissed as politically motivated.

Putin threatens Latvia with “repercussions” over policy towards Russian speakers:

The Baltic country, a former Soviet republic, is home to hundreds of thousands of Russian speakers who make up a quarter of the population. A series of bills approved in September 2022 aim to phase out Russian from schools and require a Latvian language test for some non-citizens to stay in the country.

The same story as with Ukraine. He’ll soon be talking about Latvian Nazis.

12/31/23 – Lithuanian Foreign Minister warns West against “repeating mistakes” and urges not to wait for another Pearl Harbour –

Lithuanian Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis believes the West is on the verge of repeating historical mistakes by supporting Ukraine insufficiently in its fight against Russian aggression and has warned against waiting for a “Pearl Harbour effect”.

Quote: “For nearly 25 years we have been kicking [the] can down the road, trying to contain Putin’s imperialism with dialogue and diplomacy while he continues to ignore borders and flatten cities,” the official stressed.

Details: Landsbergis pointed out that the Minsk Agreements had provided a pause after Russia’s hybrid aggression against Ukraine in 2014 but actually only postponed the war to the future [the Minsk Agreements is a well-established umbrella term describing the three joint documents of the parties involved in the settlement of the situation during Russia’s 2014 invasion of Ukraine, mediated under the Normandy format].

“Tomorrow always comes. The problem of Russia’s imperialism didn’t disappear in 2014, and to most eastern flankers it was clear that the next phase of the invasion would be costlier and deadlier. And so it was. When Russia attacked again, the war suddenly became today’s problem. Again we think we can solve it by making it tomorrow’s problem. But the premise has not changed. Russia’s imperialist revanchist ambitions will remain,” the Lithuanian Foreign Minister stressed.

Gabrielius Landsbergis stressed that the next phase of the hot war might be directed not only against Ukraine, Georgia or Moldova but also against a NATO country, and the cost of repelling such aggression would be even higher.

“We could wait for what I have called the ‘Pearl Harbour effect’, a moment in history when the problems of tomorrow finally become the problems of today, but at an enormously inflated price. Or we could treat this as today’s problem and start solving it today.”

“We are on the verge of repeating historic mistakes. I am convinced that if we won’t defeat Russia now, that means our chosen path is to suffer unimaginable and unnecessary losses before we eventually decide it’s time to step up and win.”

Background: Earlier this autumn, Landsbergis suggested that a Russian attack on a NATO member was “only a matter of time” if Moscow did not suffer a decisive defeat in Ukraine and called for the introduction of general conscription in Lithuania.

However, the Lithuanian president criticised him for his initial statement.

Polish President Andrzej Duda also stressed that if Russia is not defeated, it will attack again.

What’s happening while 30 MAGA morons paralyze the US Congress:

01/04/24 – Russia hits Ukraine with North Korean missiles, seeks Iran help as US runs out of aid funds –

WASHINGTON – As the US runs out of money to supply Ukraine with more military aid, Russia has used North Korean missiles to attack Ukrainian targets in recent weeks — and is in talks to secure more ballistic weaponry from Iran, US officials said Thursday.

Moscow has launched Pyongyang’s rockets into Ukraine at least twice in recent weeks as it strengthens ties with other US adversaries, National Security Council spokesman John Kirby told reporters at the White House.

“Due in part to our sanctions and export controls, Russia has become increasingly isolated on the world stage and they’ve been forced to look to like-minded states for military equipment,” he said. “As we’ve been warning publicly, one of those states is North Korea.”

The North Korean missiles can reach targets up to 550 miles away, according to Kirby, who called the attacks “a significant and concerning escalation in [North Korea’s] support for Russia.”

Russia launched its first North Korean missile on Dec. 30 – a day after Moscow fired 122 missiles and 36 drones in what Ukraine called the biggest aerial barrage of the war. At least one landed in an open field in the Zaporizhzhia region in southeastern Ukraine, Kirby said.

Then on Jan. 2, the Kremlin sent “multiple” North Korean missiles into Ukraine, “including as part of this overnight aerial attack” that day, Kirby said. The US is still assessing the impact of those strikes.

“We expect Russia and North Korea to learn from these launches, and we anticipate that Russia will use additional North Korean missiles to target Ukraine’s civilian infrastructure and to kill innocent Ukrainian civilians,” he said.

In return for its support, Pyongyang is asking Russia for military assistance, “including fighter aircraft, surface-to-air missiles, armored vehicles, ballistic missile production equipment or materials and other advanced technologies,” Kirby said.

“This would have concerning security implications for the Korean Peninsula and the Indo-Pacific region,” he said.

Meanwhile, Russia is also in talks with Tehran’s mullahs to obtain close-range ballistic missiles to use against Kyiv. While the US assesses that Iran has yet to deliver those weapons, negotiations “are actively advancing,” Kirby said.

Iran has previously sent Russia hundreds of attack drones, upon which Moscow has relied heavily as its own stockpiles dwindle. While Iran has not yet sent missiles, Russia has been seeking them since at least this past November.

Recent interactions between the two countries have suggested they are close to closing a deal. For example, the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps in mid-December “deployed ballistic missile and missile-support systems to a training area inside Iran for display to a visiting Russian delegation,” Kirby said.

As Moscow looks to its like-minded friends for aid, Washington has run out of funding to provide additional military equipment and weapons to Ukraine with Congress currently locked in stalemate over a supplemental funding bill that would provide $61.4 billion for Ukraine in its current form.

“Russia is relying upon its friends to replenish its military stockpiles and enable its war against Ukraine,” Kirby said. “Iran and [North Korea] are standing with Russia – Ukrainians deserve to know that the American people and this government will continue to stand with them.”

The Biden administration technically has congressionally approved authority to send another $4.2 billion worth of military aid from its stockpile, but Pentagon spokesman Air Force Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder said Thursday there are no appropriated funds to actually pay for further assistance packages.

“As we went into the holidays here, we had no more replenishment funds [for DoD stockpiles,]” he said. “And so right now, I’m not anticipating any new [military aid package] announcements in terms of new capabilities, which is why we will continue to work closely with Congress and urge them to pass the supplemental.”

In response to the recent missile launches, Washington plans to raise the issue at the United Nations Security Council to “demand that Russia be held accountable for yet again violating its international obligations,” according to Kirby.

The Biden administration will also impose additional sanctions “against those working to facilitate arms transfers between Russia and [North Korea] and between Russia and Iran” that “directly violate multiple UN Security Council resolutions,” he added.

01/08/24 – Putin Forced To Dispatch National Guard Against Uprising –

Russian President Vladimir Putin has deployed nearly 35,000 national guardsmen to curb Ukrainian resistance in occupied territories under Moscow’s control, according to Kyiv’s National Resistance Center (CNR).

The Kremlin currently occupies large swathes of south and eastern Ukraine, where Putin has established illegitimate Russian districts after holding sham elections in the fall of 2022. Ukraine launched the CNR in March 2022 following Russia’s full-scale invasion a month prior. The CNR, under the direction of Kyiv’s Special Operation Forces, helps coordinate and train Ukrainian partisans living under Russian occupation.

According to the CNR, Russia’s National Guard—also known as the Rosguard—is the “second-most important component” of Putin’s forces in occupied Ukraine. Those deployed to the territories are tasked with suppressing Ukrainian civil resistance by “filtering activities among the civilian population and identifying members of the underground movement,” according to Ukrainian sources.

As of January, at least 35,000 Rosguard members have been sent to occupied territories. About half of Putin’s guardsmen have been organized into “regular formations,” Kyiv’s military said, including a brigade, five battalion tactical groups, and 44 tactical groups. The other half of the Rosguard is made up of guardsmen who were transferred from Russia’s Special Purpose Police Detachment and the Special Rapid Response Unit, read a release from the CNR on Sunday.

Those deployed from Russia come equipped with tanks, artillery systems and helicopters to “use this entire range of weapons to subdue those who disagree with the Russian occupation,” said Kyiv’s resistance center. Putin’s guardsmen also reportedly played a role in protecting the polling stations used during Russia’s illegitimate elections in occupied Ukraine in September 2022 and 2023.

“In addition to conducting actual combat operations against the civilian population, Rosguard employees are actively involved in propaganda activities in educational institutions,” read CNR’s release. “They also play the role of force projection by constantly patrolling populated areas in armored combat vehicles and in full equipment.”

Newsweek reached out to Russia’s Ministry of Defense via email for comment. An email was also sent to the CNR.

While the war rages on along the frontlines, Ukrainian partisans living in Russian-occupied territories have carried out a number of attacks on Moscow’s personnel appointed to the regions. The CNR has also reported instances of Kyiv’s resistance sabotaging the Russian military, including disrupting supply railways and targeting Moscow’s soldiers in several poisoning schemes.

Last week, the CNR reported that a movement of Ukrainian partisans living in Crimea carried out an attack on Russia’s radar system and control center located on the peninsula, which Kyiv said was “responsible for the secure communication channel with the Kremlin, including the coordination of the entire peninsula’s air defense.”

Putin’s invasion has killed over 10,000 Ukrainian civilians.

This is what we're fighting for. pic.twitter.com/EFCWwIl53I
— Anton Gerashchenko (@Gerashchenko_en) February 10, 2023

I just got back from Ukraine, where I was visiting some friends. Everything we have heard about what’s happening in Ukraine is a lie. The reality is darker, bleaker, and unequivocally hopeless. There is no such thing as Ukraine “winning” this war.

– By their estimates, they have lost over one million of their sons, fathers and husbands; an entire generation is gone.

– Even in the Southwest, where the anti-Russian sentiment is long-standing, citizens are reluctant or straight-up scared to publicly criticize Zelensky; they will go to jail.

Read more;

Gonzalo Lira lived in Ukraine with his kids and wife, they killed him for speaking the truth, Zelensky will never prevail, he’s a panhandler with a tin cup

2/1/24 – European Union approves $54 billion aid for Ukraine as Hungary drops opposition –

The European Union has reached a deal to include 50 billion euros ($54 billion) in funding for Ukraine in its budget for the next three years. The agreement came surprisingly quickly after Hungary, long opposed, reversed its stance.

The money will help Kyiv keep its economy running in 2024 and sustain essential services such as health care, social protection and pensions.

European Parliament President Roberta Metsola hailed the agreement in a press conference just hours after it was reached. She said the unanimous approval by the EU’s 27 member nations meant keeping the funding within the EU budget, which gives it the added stamp of approval of the European parliament.

“Ukraine is our priority and this agreement will give the credibility, legitimacy and the predictability that is expected from us,” she said. “Because Ukraine’s security is Europe’s security.”

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