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trying to serve a cold sour kraut dish.....German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius is in Kyiv on an unannouned visit, quite probably his last before next month's German election. He said he'd discuss continued European support, with Trump's return near in the US.
German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius arrived in Kyiv early on Tuesday, saying he wanted to discuss further European support for Ukraine — with a change of government imminent in the US and likely soon in Germany, too. "What matters to me is showing with this visit that we continue to support Ukraine actively," Pistorius told the German dpa news agency on arrival. He said he also wanted to get a clearer picture of both the situation on the front lines and Ukraine's military industrial capabilities. 'Group of Five' talks with UK, France, Italy and Poland firstThe previous day, before boarding the overnight train from Poland to Ukraine, Pistorius met with his counterparts from Poland, the UK, France and Italy in Warsaw. These five countries, comprising some of Europe's most significant militaries, are seeking to reassure Kyiv of continued European support — whatever Donald Trump's inauguration in the US next week might bring. The quintet have been meeting regularly in various capacities in recent weeks. "It is a signal that Germany, as the largest NATO member in Europe, stands at Ukraine's side," Pistorius said. "Not alone, but rather with the Group of Five, and many other allies." The five foreign ministers agreed on a desire to strengthen Ukraine's own military industrial capacities, for instance making ammunition and drones. "If the money is there, if the armaments production capacities are there, then Ukraine would be the fastest of anyone to provide its own troops with materiel and weapons," Pistorius said while still in Poland. Change of government also looming in Germany, if perhaps not in Ukraine policyTuesday's visit could be Pistorius' last to Ukraine as defense minister, although he has voiced a desire to remain in his post in a future German government after February 23's elections. For a time, the Social Democrat politician was even treated as a potential alternative to run for chancellor next month, in place of incumbent Olaf Scholz, given the SPD's struggles in the polls. Eventually, Pistorius said he had no interest in doing so, and the SPD confirmed Scholz would run. Their center-left party is currently polling third overall in most surveys — having never finished outside the top two in a federal election in post-war Germany — behind the center-right Christian Democrats and the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD). The Christian Democrats have positioned themselves as staunch Ukraine supporters while leading the opposition since Russia's 2022 invasion, often criticizing the current coalition in Berlin for not doing enough. So, while a change of personnel is likely, a wholesale change of the German approach to Ukraine might not be as likely as it appears in Washington. Pistorius has warned against reducing support for Ukraine during the German campaign, rather more vocally than some SPD allies including Scholz. "If we do that tomorrow, the day after tomorrow it would be the end of Ukraine: a free, sovereign, democratic country," he said. "And who would be next?" msh/kb (AFP, dpa) https://www.dw.com/en/ukraine-pistorius-visits-with-trump-and-german-vote-looming/a-71291883
SEE ALSO: the YD continuum since 2005....
PLEASE DO NOT BLAME RUSSIA IF WW3 STARTS. BLAME AMERICA.
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Ukraine’s decision to terminate Russian gas transit soured Slovakia’s previously good relations with other countries, causing problems in Hungary, Poland and the Czech Republic, Slovak parliament Deputy Speaker Andrej Danko told Sputnik in an exclusive interview during his trip to Moscow on January 14.
The real thorn is the desire of countries like Germany and France to profiteer by buying Russian resources such as oil, gas or nuclear fuel only to resell them to countries such as Slovakia at four times markup prices, all the while pretending that these resources did not originally come from Russia, Danko said.
France and Germany are aware that countries like Russia, China, India and Pakistan experience development whereas the European Union stagnates, Slovak parliament member stressed.
“They only need money, and politicians like Zelensky cater to their interests,” he complained. The majority of Slovak people, however, are none too thrilled with what is going on in the EU and want to maintain good relations with Russia, Danko added.
Russia is Lucky With Putin While European Leaders and Zelensky Can't Properly Manage Their Own Countries – Slovak MP
Oil, gas and disruption of relations between Slavs are consequences of Western policy, Slovak parliament Deputy Speaker Andrej Danko told Sputnik.
“For years we have been watching [Western] debts grow and how these countries cannot manage these debts from the economic standpoint,” he said. “Their attitude serves as a display of their hypocrisy. They attempt to retain the high social standards, standard of living, which they cannot afford economically. This applies to Germany, France and even to the US.”
“In terms of mental faculties, [French President Emmanuel] Macron is on Zelensky’s level. Macron is not [Charles] de Gaulle,” he remarked. “Russia is lucky to be led by a such person as President [Vladimir] Putin.”
https://sputnikglobe.com/20250114/western-powers-desire-to-profit-from-banning-russian-energy-sows-chaos-in-europe--slovak-mp-1121428345.html
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the YD continuum since 2005....
PLEASE DO NOT BLAME RUSSIA IF WW3 STARTS. BLAME AMERICA.
being meat-grinded....
FROM LARRY JOHNSON.
Russian war correspondent, Marat Khairullin, has posted a terrific summary about the current status of Russian and Ukrainian forces on the battlefield. He writes:
Victory is already in sight. Ukraine has lost the war. This is not even an axiom, but a ready, settled foundation on which the walls of the future building are being poured right now. What is happening on the ground is nothing more than the convulsions of the regime. No one is interested in Ukropia and the Ukies as such – Trump is now openly flirting and offering Putin negotiations without any “Zelenskys.”
Marat is not a blind cheerleader. He is a hard-nosed reporter and sticks to the facts. This post marks a decided shift in his tone. He identifies two key trends to the current campaign:
The Ukrainian Armed Forces on the ground can no longer offer serious resistance.
The dynamics of the process – we are accelerating, and the Ukrainians are getting more and more exhausted.
The first trend is direct consequence of Ukraine failing to recruit and fully train reserve forces — i.e., replacements — that could be plugged into holes in Ukrainian defenses. According to Khairullin:
The Ukrainian Armed Forces on the ground can no longer offer serious resistance. In the main directions (primarily Pokrovsk), the Russian army is conducting a total cleansing. Our troops are deployed in convenient positions around populated areas that the Ukrainian Armed Forces have turned into fortifications, and gradually, using remote methods, they destroy any enemy presence. Then, the infantry enters the empty enemy positions, and the Ukrainians can do nothing about this tactic.
Previously, the Ukrainian Armed Forces responded to this with counterattacks, quickly transferring reserves from one area to another. Now we are pressing along the entire front. The renainder of the Ukrainian reserves are dying near Kursk.
Unlike World War I or World War II, where attacking troops had to storm fortifications with men and tanks, the Special Military Operation (SMO) has witnessed the emergence of drone and bot forces on the battlefield, which represent a genuine game changer. Drone / Bot operators are fully integrated into Russia’s attacking forces. The remote methods means that drones and bots and glide bombs, along with conventional artillery and missiles, hit hardened points until they are shattered. This tactic inflicts devastating casualties on the Ukrainians while minimizing Russian losses.
The second trend Marat identifies is all about age and experience:
The dynamics of the process – we are accelerating, and the Ukrainians are getting more and more exhausted. And finally, a moment that few people see – our army is not just modernizing, it is starting to rejuvenate. In each unit at the company level, separate UAV platoons are being created, and recruits no older than 30 are being recruited there. We are actively attracting twenty-year-old guys.
In general, the army has also begun a process of renewal of the middle officer ranks – everyone over 45 years old is being put into the reserve. This primarily concerns the rear, support, and staff services. At the same time, if we take the main combat unit, then in battalions, the overwhelming majority of the command staff is no older than 35. Company commanders are very rarely older than 30 years old. Even the composition of the assault units (those that carry out cleanup operations on the ground) has changed – assault troops over forty are becoming increasingly rare.
Russian troops are young compared to those filling Ukrainian ranks. The following picture (taken from a video on X) shows the horrific state of Ukraine’s military. Here is an entertainer singing to a room full of Ukrainian recruits. Most appear to be at least 40 years old. There is a lot of grey hair in that auditorium. But despite their age, these troops are not experienced.
Russia’s situation is the polar opposite. Its ranks are filled with guys under 30 who arrive at the front with months of training under their belts and are mentored by combat veterans. According to Khairullin, the 45-year-old guys are being taken off the front and put into reserve units. No amount of training, no matter how superb, can match what a soldier learns in combat. Unlike Ukraine, who is unable to properly train reserves before tossing them into the meat grinder, Russia is training soldiers properly before sending them into battle. Once in the fight, graduate school is called to order and the green soldiers are transformed into combat veterans.
At present, there is not a single unit in the US Army, the British Army, the French Army or the German Army with this kind of experience. Boasting about numbers on paper — as NATO leaders often do — does not translate into combat-effective units capable of fighting a peer war . . . especially against a force like Russia’s, which has two years of sustained heavy combat under its belt.
The foundations of NATO are crumbling, brought about in large measure by the West’s foolish investment in the Ukrainian war. Hungary, Austria, Croatia, Slovakia and Romania are openly voicing opposition to continuing support for Ukraine. They can read the results on the battlefield and realize that Russia is defeating Ukraine despite unfettered, massive support from NATO. The big players in NATO — i.e., the UK, France and Germany — are facing economic and political chaos at home. None are in a position to shift to a war footing and risk challenging Russia.
Then there is Turkiye. Turkiye is embroiled in a new war in Syria and is focused on defeating the Kurds. It is not willing to provide troops or equipment should NATO take the suicidal step of confronting Russia.
I do not know if Donald Trump and his team grasp the dire nature of the situation, but if their negotiating strategy is built on the assumption that Russia is weak and that the SMO is stalemated, they are going to discover that what they thought was a trump card is a Two of Spades . . . not a strong hand.
https://sonar21.com/russias-defeat-of-ukraines-army-limits-trumps-options-for-a-negotiated-settlement/
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THESE WILL ALSO INCLUDE ODESSA, KHERSON AND KHARKIV.....
CRIMEA IS RUSSIAN — AS IT USED TO BE PRIOR 1954
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A MEMORANDUM OF NON-AGGRESSION BETWEEN RUSSIA AND THE USA.
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HENCE ITS POPULARITY IN THE ABRAHAMIC TRADITIONS…
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