17 March 2023 by Larry Johnson

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Russia still has at least 500,000 troops in reserve that have not been committed to the battles. Ukraine does not. Ukraine is running out of artillery shells and neither the United States nor NATO have the ability to replace and sustain Ukraine’s rate of fire, according to the Washington Post and the New York Times. Russia, notwithstanding Western claims that it too is running dry, continues to show otherwise:

Russian Forces launched a massive kamikaze drone strike against targets in Ukraine this evening.

Targets have been hit (https://t.me/rybar/44768) in #Novomoskovsk in #Dnepropetrovsk region, #Konstantinovka, #Dnepropetrovsk and #Kiev region. Explosions have also been reported in #Zhytomyr, #Rovno, #Khmelnytsky and #Volyn region.

The situation on the ground, as I reported in my previous post, is beyond grim.

Ukraine has demoted a top battlefield commander after he admitted his unit had been decimated in fighting around the city of Bakhmut.

The battalion commander, known by his call sign Kupol, gave an unusually frank assessment of Ukrainian losses in an interview from the front lines earlier this week.

He revealed that all of the original 500 soldiers in his unit had either been killed or injured, a rare acknowledgement from inside the Ukrainian ranks, where losses are kept strictly confidential.

The Ukrainian high command is at pains to present a positive spin on the increasingly bloody defence of the East. US officials have estimated that the Ukrainian army may have taken 120,000 casualties compared to 200,000 by the Russian army.

Kupol told the Washington Post this week that the Ukrainian army training was often poor and that some of the rookie replacements didn’t know how to throw a hand grenade or fire a rifle.

No amount of spin can cover up the catastrophic casualties Ukrainian troops are suffering because of unrelenting Russian artillery strikes. Demoting officers who dare to tell the truth about the situation is but one more symptom of the growing dysfunction and ineffectiveness of the Ukrainian military.

There also is the canard that Russian soldiers are incompetent and the Ukrainians are masterful warriors. More nonsense. Watch the ... [AGE RESTRICTED] video. You will see a Russian soldier, Alexander Maltsev, creep up on the bottom of the screen on a well defended Ukrainian trench. He is outnumbered at least six to one. Also pay close attention to the Ukrainian soldiers. They are clearly poorly trained and undisciplined. Look at them firing their riles using the old “pray and spray” method — i.e., hold the rifle above your head, do not aim and empty your clip. Maltsev, by contrast, does it right. He aims and makes accurate shots, killing at least two of the Ukrainian troops and taking the rest as captive. Shades of Sergeant Alvin York.

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The war is not just being fought on the battlefield. On the eve of next week’s summit between Russia’s President Putin and Chinese Premier Xi Jinping the International Court at the Hague announced a false, unfounded indictment of Putin for alleged crimes against children. Pure garbage, but smearing people is the only weapon the West apparently has left to launch against Russia. The Western media was filled with reports declaring Putin is a War criminal and stating that foreign leaders should shun him. Curious thing about indictments — they are allegations of criminal conduct and must be proven in court. But most in the West are not waiting for that judicial process to run its course, they already have decided that Putin is guilty as charged.

This will have no detrimental effect on the Putin/Xi summit next week. If anything, it will remind Xi that the so-called “rules based international order” is a one-way street that is only used to serve the interests of Washington. Like the American founders in 1776, Putin and Xi understand that if they don’t hang together they will hand separately if the West gets its way.

Russia’s incredible Foreign Ministry spokeswoman, Maria Zakharova, called out the staggering hypocrisy of the West in leveling such charges:

The experiments of the “enlightened West” on sex change in children, the persecution of doctors who believe that there are only two sexes, the perverted interpretation of juvenile law, the destruction of the institution of the family, the replacement of “mom” and “dad” with degenerate terms “parent A” and “parent B”, the propaganda of perversions among minors – all these are not annoying accidents, but a large-scale policy in NATO-centric countries. And those states that, like Hungary, are trying to resist within the Alliance, are being subjected to real persecution.

Sanctions and harassment against Leonid Roshal (Noted pediatritian, Chairman of International Charity Fund to Help Children in Disasters and Wars) and Maria Lvova-Belova (Presidential Commissioner for Children’s Rights in Russia) are signs of the dehumanization of liberal dictatorships.

Zakharova’s comments will resonate with parents in the Western world who still believe in science, particularly biology, and are fighting against the deviant agenda trying to erase the reality of the differences between men and women. Russia understands that this war is not just about eliminating Nazis in Ukraine and saving the people of the Donbas. There is a global cultural war underway and the very foundation of Western culture’s philosophical and religious roots is at risk. Russia realizes that it is fighting to preserve the religious truth embraced by Christianity, Judaism and Islam — God created man and woman.

Russian attempts to save children from the ravages of war is being viciously attacked while most Western governments and media outlets remain mum on the murder of Ukrainian children during the last 9 years by the Government of Ukraine in its relentless shelling of civilians in the Donbas. 

I anticipate more moves by Washington and NATO to try to disrupt the meeting of Putin and Xi. Those moves will fail and the summit will solidify the agenda to create a new multi-polar world that eschews Western control.

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https://sonar21.com/understanding-the-scale-and-brutality-of-the-war-in-ukraine/

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Bakhmut is encircled. All roads in and out of it are under Russian artillery fire. Over the last three days fighting has largely stopped there. No one seems to know why the operation was halted.

There are unconfirmed claims that Ukraine is preparing a counterattack to free Bakhmut from its encirclement. That attack is supposed to go off as soon as the muddy ground has dried up a bit.

Meanwhile other encirclement has taken place in Avdiivka:

Avdiivka was within the claimed boundaries of the separatist Donetsk People's Republic, before Russia declared its annexation of the entire region in September 2022. During the war in Donbas, Avdiivka became a frontline city and saw a battle in 2017. During the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, heavy fighting led to Avdiivka being largely destroyed and most of its population having fled.

An east to west move north of Avdiivka cut the rail access to the city. Russian forces crossed the railroad and moved further west. Fighting is currently ongoing in Berdychi. South of Berdychi is Orlovka, a road crossing point (O0542, C015801, C015802) that is for now the only real supply route left for Avdiivka.

In the southwest of Avdiivka  the Russian forces moved northward. They are currently trying to capture Siverne. The first progress there was stopped when on March 12 the Ukrainian 36th Marine Brigade was placed in the area.

Source: Military Land

Armed reconnaissance has also taken place into the southwest area of Avdiivka city which is made up of high rises.

The distance between the Russian positions in the southwest and in the northwest of Avdiivka is 8 kilometer (5 miles). That is sufficiently narrow for Russian artillery to interdict road traffic that goes through the area in between.

The landscape around Avdiivka is mostly featureless. There are a few slag hills that rise about 50 meter above their surrounding flatland. But they can be easily covered by artillery and are thus not really helpful for either side.

This is now the second Ukrainian held area on the Donetsk front that is in operational encirclement. In both areas the Russian follow Sun Tzu's advice to not completely close off an encirclement but to leave a route out. This prevents fanatical defenses by encircled troops or it may even lead the enemy to push more forces into a hopeless position.

If the Ukrainian military had plans to relieve Bakhmut with a counterattack it now has to think of the additional problem that the encirclement of Avdiivka brings. Should it start there? Should it split the forces it had accumulated and planned to use for the counterattack in Bakhmut and start a parallel one in Avdiivka? Should it give up on one or both cities? Those are difficult decisions.

I find it likely that the Russian attacks on Bakhmut were halted after the Avdiivka development succeeded to give the Ukraine military enough time to make an error.

Time is on Russia's side while the Ukrainian military needs to show action and success to keep its 'western' support going.

Posted by b on March 21, 2023

READ MORE:

https://www.moonofalabama.org/2023/03/ukraine-sitrep-avdiivka.html#more

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SEE ALSO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wGBAKRzoJ1o

https://www.unz.com/article/christopher-caldwells-why-are-we-in-ukraine-a-steep-bill-comes-due-for-decades-of-democracy-promotion/

https://www.rt.com/russia/573404-ukraine-uk-depleted-uranium/

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by Patrick Raymond

In the war in Ukraine, there is no longer any Ukrainian strategy, only small-time tactics, tactics aimed at the media only.

Because, obviously, the Ukrainian "efforts", ARE PAINFUL...

An "offensive" with ten armored vehicles, or three armored vehicles and three personnel carriers, looks furiously like this what the DCR did in June 1940. Stretching over miles of fronts, putting 3 tanks here and there, with absolutely no possibility of influencing the course of the battle and for the crews, the opportunity to be killed uselessly, fighting 10 to 1 against concentrated forces.

The strikes of the Caesars, of the HIMARS, as I have already said, are isolated blows, without significance. There are no blueprints, and no means of exploiting any breakthroughs. We [THE UKRAINIANS] strike, we decamp, trying to get away with it. No exploitation possible.

Opposite, on the contrary, a logic. We [THE RUSSIANS] bombard, Artemovsk, Avdeevka, forming pockets, but not quite closing them. The remaining corridors, where the reinforcements arrive, can be bombarded at will, and slaughter the troops who are supposed to hold these cities. In truth, the Russians are only too happy with this idiotic policy. Without risks, they bleed the Ukrainian army and NATO. And to hold these lost cities FOR the media, we [THE UKRAINIANS] send reinforcements after reinforcements, the expiry time of which is very limited.

As for preparing a massive counter attack, I have a big doubt. A concentration, the only way to act, would be spotted very quickly, and massacred, first by artillery, then by air force, Russia being the only one capable of acting en masse.

Here too, the disproportion of fire potentials does the rest. DUE to the concrete FORTIFICATIONS, and THANKS to the human sacrifices, the Russians advance only slowly, but, in any case, it is not their goal to gain ground. The Ukrainian government, on the other hand, can pretend to welcome a resistance that one can guess is non-existent. Indeed, it is not because of the Ukrainian resistance that the popofs [RUSSIANS] do not advance, it is that it is not their interest.

NATO equipment is destroyed, Ukrainian troops and mercenaries too, and in addition, this should deter quite a bit, the arsenals of hostile countries, emptied, their arms factories, pitiful and their production, confidential, without no chance of increasing production.

It is also clear that manufacturers are totally dissuaded from investing. The case of textiles for masks is on everyone's mind.

The staffs of NATO, with their LITTLE pin-pricks, are not aware that they are fighting the Russians, who are very well supplied militarily. In addition, they [THE UKRAINIANS] do not have the means to replace their wasted equipment in the short term, no medium term means either, and no doubt, no long term possibilities.

THE “BACK UP” question, FOR THE WEST, doesn’t hold up very well. As for Macron, with his pension reform, there is only one explanation. He is dumb. Not Machiavellian, BUT stupid. When we wage war abroad, we keep watch on the home front. As for the expected results, the transfer of wealth to the richest, it is clear that this will be counter-productive, and speaking of pension by capitalization at the present time, IT'S CRASS PUNCH AND JUDY.

Pay-as-you-go pensions were born, precisely, from the collapse of capitalization pensions.

For E. Todd, the country which is collapsing the fastest and most completely is Great Britain. This does not prevent it from seeing itself as a great power. Of course, this has nothing to do with Brexit, contrary to what all the IDIOTS of the world say.

source: The fall

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by Boris Genadevich Karpov

It is customary to say that NATO is ready to fight "to the last Ukrainian", but current events tend to turn the conflict into a war "to the last European". The fact that the various countries of Europe are in virtual competition to supply the most lethal weapons possible to Ukraine shows that the conflict, which is local for the time being, will obviously turn into a regional conflict on the whole of Europe, and very probably worldwide since the United States will of course not remain immune.

The escalations were numerous, regular, and constant. From the delivery of defensive equipment, we quickly moved on to light offensive equipment, then heavy offensive equipment (tanks and planes), and England now quietly announces that it is delivering depleted uranium ammunition which is in fact "nuclear ammunition".

Who among sane men can imagine that Russia stands idly by? So far RUSSIA'S reaction has been moderate, too moderate for many. Despite this, the Ukrainians suffered very heavy losses which could only be compensated by sending pensioners and very young people to the front. Foreign mercenaries too, very numerous, are heavily hit and it becomes difficult for Ukraine to form new units to replace those destroyed. Moreover, it is an open secret that many European soldiers officially leave their armies to join the Ukrainian forces. They are therefore counted as “Ukrainian soldiers” but are in fact NATO soldiers.

So the fact is that Russia is not at war with Ukraine, but with NATO, and that is the main reason why not all of our weapons have come into play yet. Many are surprised that tanks “Armata” for example have not yet intervened. Be patient, it will come. Similarly, hypersonic missiles are currently used sparingly, reserved as they are to strike NATO countries when the time comes.

The decision of the International Criminal Court to order the arrest of President Putin was of course not taken without the consent of Western countries, or even under their direct instruction. This has no impact on military operations but is very heavy with meaning and symbolism: Europe is directly attacking Vladimir Putin, and therefore Russia. It is therefore no longer a question of defending Ukraine but of destroying Russia and, if this was perfectly clear from the beginning for only the most initiated, it is now clear for everyone.

Russia therefore adapts its actions accordingly and one can easily become in which direction: Towards Europe.

To Europe because the weapons used by Ukraine all pass through Europe. We can therefore expect strikes on storage sites and on production sites. Wherever they are in Europe. For example, it is easier to destroy the Bourges factory in France which manufactures Caesar cannons than to seek out these cannons scattered in Ukraine. It is just as easy to massively hit a storage base in Romania or Poland than to then seek out the tanks on the ground in Ukraine and destroy them one by one.

These strikes which, if England does send "nuclear munitions" to Ukraine, may be low-intensity nuclear strikes will of course trigger the fury of European governments, without exception. We see today that even those who, before being elected, promised a moderate position, are the most bitter against Russia. The scene of Italian Prime Minister Meloni's hysteria, for example, is looping on the Internet… So there will be a declaration of war by NATO against Russia, and we will then see the real pitiful state of the European armies that we methodically destroy.

Once the last European military has been disabled, the United States will find it difficult to continue its attacks on Russia unless it launches massive nuclear strikes. This is difficult to envisage since they know that they will be destroyed in return. In addition, for the past few months there have been mysterious fires and destruction of many industrial and energy structures in the United States. To believe that this is a series of coincidences is a joke, and it is easy to understand the interest of these destructions...

Former President Dmitry Medvedeev repeats it regularly, we are fast approaching an open conflict against NATO, but it seems that his statements are ignored or even despised by Western leaders. This is another of the many mistakes they have made since 2014, but it will be their last.

The one and only chance to avoid the destruction of Europe would be for their peoples to overthrow the governments in place. But apart from defending their small corporate interests, they are capable of nothing. The French are revolting today against the modification of the retirement age. But what does it matter once Europe and therefore France are destroyed?

source: Rusreinfo

https://en.reseauinternational.net/russie-otan-la-guerre-jusquau-dernier-ukr-europeen/

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With Kiev’s desperate counteroffensive attempts still stuck in the mud, Russian forces keep marching on, laying Ukrainian tanks to waste in the special military operation zone.

Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Saturday that Ukraine had suffered heavy losses in manpower and materiel during the course of Kiev's botched counteroffensive. He noted that the Ukrainian Armed Forces had changed tactics, saying, “they bring people to the front line in armored vehicles, throw them out, and the equipment immediately vanishes. Apparently, they are preserving the equipment, they are afraid to lose it, and advance on foot.”

So how many tanks has Kiev already lost, and were there Western­-made ones among them? Sputnik answers these and other questions.

What Tanks Does Ukraine Have?

When touching upon the Zelensky regime’s current tank fleet, it’s necessary to bear in mind that shortly after the onset of Russia's special military operation in Ukraine, the US and its allies ramped up military aid to Kiev, including deliveries of Western main battle tanks (MBTs).

Before the start of the special operation, Kiev’s tank fleet mainly consisted of upgraded versions of the Soviet-made T-64 tank, including the T-64BM ‘Bulat’, in service since 2004, and the T-64BV, in service since 1984 (with part of the fleet upgraded in 2017).

According to the estimates of a London-based think tank, the Kiev regime had about 720 T-64s of various modifications in its arsenal in 2022, plus nearly 580 in storage. Additionally, Ukraine had stockpiles of about 200 mothballed T-80s, and about a dozen MBTs of its T-84 Oplot version, which entered into Ukrainian military service in the early 2000s.

On top of that, Ukraine’s stockpile of tanks included upgraded versions of the Soviet-era T-72 tanks, such as the T-72A, the T-72AB/B1, and the T-72AMT, which numbered a total of 750 (500 in storage).

How Did NATO Add to Ukraine's Tank Fleet?

The start of the special operation triggered a storm of tank deliveries by NATO members that included:

An undisclosed number of T-72M1s from Bulgaria;

More than 170 T-72s of various modifications from the Czech Republic;

31 T-72As from North Macedonia;

over 250 modernized T-72s and 60 PT-91 Twardy tanks from Poland (the Twardy is a modified version of the T-72M1);

28 M-55S tanks from Slovenia (the M-55S is a modification of the Soviet-made T-55 tank)

Months later, Ukraine was supplied or promised deliveries of Western MBTs, among them:

About 100 modernized versions of the Leopard 1, the West German MBT of the 1960s, which was produced until 1984 and promised to Kiev by Germany, the Netherlands, and Denmark;

Dozens of the Leopard 2, the Leopard 1’s successor, which was pledged or supplied by Canada (8 tanks), Denmark (7), Finland (6), Germany (18), the Netherlands (14), Norway (8), Poland (14), Portugal (3), Spain (10), and Sweden (10);

14 British MBTs - Challenger 2 - with one such tank tracked on the battlefield in Ukraine for the first time last month; most of the batch are expected next year;

31 US-made M1 Abrams, which are expected to arrive in Kiev in September, amid reports that America “is sending older M1A1 models instead of the more modern A2 version, which would have taken a year to get to Ukraine.”

Is France's AMX-10 Tank On The Gift List?

The above-mentioned list doesn’t contain 30 French-made wheeled light “tanks” AMX-10 RC that Paris earlier committed to Kiev because many avoid calling it a tank as they prefer to refer to the AMX-10 as an armored vehicle.

In an interview with a European broadcaster, one Ukrainian commander minced no words when insisting that the AMX-10s are inadequate for the counteroffensive.

"They are used for supporting fire, because of their light armor. Their armament is good, their observation instruments are very good. But unfortunately it's light armor, which makes them unsuitable," the commander said.

Sizing Up Ukraine's Tank Losses: How Heavy Are They?

There are differences in terms of the Ukrainian tank losses-related figures revealed by Kiev and Moscow.

In an apparent nod to the period of Kiev’s counteroffensive attempt, Ukrainian Ground Forces commander Volodymyr Karpenko recently told a US media outlet that the Kiev regime had lost half of its heavy weapons in the Russian special operation zone.

“We currently have about 30-40, and sometimes up to 50% of equipment losses as a result of active battles,” he said, adding that the Ukrainian army has lost 1,300 infantry fighting vehicles and 400 tanks since the start of the offensive on June 4.

Meanwhile, Kiev remains tight-lipped on how many tanks Ukraine has lost since the start of Moscow's special op.

Russian President Vladimir Putin, for his part, told reporters that as of June 4, “311 [Ukrainian] tanks have been destroyed” and that at least one-third of them were Western-made ones, “including Leopards.” He did not specify the Leopard tanks' modification.

Russia’s Ministry of Defense (MoD) earlier reported that Russian forces have destroyed a total of 10,430 Ukrainian tanks and other armored vehicles, such as armored personnel carriers (APCs) and infantry fighting vehicles (IFVs), since the beginning of the special operation.

It’s worth noting that the MoD first mentioned the destruction of the Leopard tanks a few days after the Zelensky regime had launched the Ukrainian counteroffensive, stating that “in the South-Donetsk direction, the Ukrainian armed forces […] lost 28 tanks, including eight Leopards, three AMX-10s and 109 armored vehicles.”

In the latest development, the MoD said that the Russian army had destroyed three Leopard tanks and two AMX-10s in the South Donetsk area.

How Many Ukrainian Tanks Are Left?

While neither the Russian MoD nor the Ukrainian military are providing information on the matter, a US news agency reported that the Kiev regime's army currently has about 1,500 tanks, purportedly catching up with Russia’s numbers in this regard.

That said, the news outlet stressed that “there are huge uncertainties around such figures, […] especially when it comes to Ukrainian losses, which are less well recorded.”

 https://sputnikglobe.com/20230730/how-many-tanks-has-ukraine-lost--1112263333.html

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