WW3? Ukraine/US vs. Donbass/Russia

A very important update and analysis from The Duran, as usual mainly featuring Alexander Mercouris, who is showcasing all the many newly revealed details in this report from Germany. That section starts at 17:15.

It shows clearly and indisputably how Zelensky wanted an early (March 2022) ceasefire agreement with Russia — but this was prohibitively vetoed by the US and NATO who simply wanted the opportunity to bring Russia to its knees.

The result, as we all know, was the slaughter of a whole generation of Ukraine's young men and the destruction of a nation that is unlikely to ever recover in our lifetime.

REPORT finds Russia, Ukraine wanted peace. US, UK, Germany pushed war

https://youtube.com/watch?v=D1ArmHK20ic

Quote:

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Posted by Bill Ryan

A very important update and analysis from The Duran, as usual mainly featuring Alexander Mercouris, who is showcasing all the many newly revealed details in this report from Germany.

It shows clearly and indisputably how Zelensky wanted an early (March 2022) ceasefire agreement with Russia — but this was prohibitively vetoed by the US and NATO who simply wanted the opportunity to bring Russia to its knees.

The result, as we all know, was the slaughter of a whole generation of Ukraine's young men and the destruction of a nation that is unlikely to ever recover in our lifetime.

REPORT finds Russia, Ukraine wanted peace. US, UK, Germany pushed war

https://youtube.com/watch?v=D1ArmHK20ic

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Without having listened to this I can't speak to which report they refer, but it may well have been this one in this post #12260, here

I'll post this again so that there's some kind of written reference - these points are sure to be covered:

A detailed summary of the events, many of which we are already aware on the forum, surrounding the tabled draft peace plan from March 2022.

Michael von der Schulenburg, Hajo Funke, Harald Kujat – Peace For Ukraine

The disastrous derailment of early peace efforts to end the war in Ukraine

Source: Brave New Europe

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/F-lCnNKW...jpg&name=small

The British Prime Minister’s fateful visit to Kiev on 9 April 2022

This is a detailed reconstruction of the Ukrainian-Russian peace negotiations in March 2022 and the associated mediation attempts by the then Israeli Prime Minister, Naftali Bennett, supported by President Erdogan and former German Chancellor Schröder. It was drawn up by retired General H. Kujat and Professor Emeritus H. Funke, two of the initiators of the recently presented peace plan for Ukraine. And it is also in connection with their peace plan that this reconstruction is so extremely important. It reminds us that we cannot afford to delay ceasefire and peace negotiations again. The human and military situation in Ukraine deteriorates dramatically, with the added danger that it could lead to a further escalation of the war. We need a diplomatic solution to this cruel war for Europe and the Ukraine – and we need it now!

From the detailed reconstruction of the March peace efforts 6 conclusions emerge:

1. Just one month after the start of the Russian military intervention in Ukraine, Ukrainian and Russian negotiators had come very close to an agreement for a ceasefire and to an outline for a comprehensive peace solution to the conflict.

2. In contrast to today, President Zelensky and his government had made great efforts to negotiate peace with Russia and bring the war to a quick end.

3. Contrary to Western interpretations, Ukraine and Russia agreed at the time that the planned NATO expansion was the reason for the war. They therefore focused their peace negotiations on Ukraine’s neutrality and its renunciation of NATO membership. In return, Ukraine would have retained its territorial integrity except for Crimea.

4. There is little doubt that these peace negotiations failed due to resistance from NATO and in particular from the USA and the UK. The reasons is that such a peace agreement would have been tantamount to a defeat for NATO, an end to NATO’s eastward expansion and thus an end to the dream of a unipolar world dominated by the USA.

5. The failure of the peace negotiations in March 2022 led to dangerous intensification of the war that has cost the lives of hundreds of thousands of people, especially young people, deeply traumatized a young generation and inflicted the most severe mental and physical wounds on them. Ukraine has been exposed to enormous destruction, internal displacements, and mass impoverishment. This is accompanied by a large-scale depopulation of the country. Not only Russia, but also NATO and the West bear a heavy share of the blame for this disaster.

6. Ukraine’s negotiating position today is far worse than it was in March 2022. Ukraine will now lose large parts of its territory.

7. The blocking of the peace negotiations at that time has harmed everyone: Russia and Europe – but above all the people of Ukraine, who are paying with their blood the price for the ambitions of the major powers and will probably get nothing in return.

Michael von der Schulenburg

HOW THE CHANCE WAS LOST FOR A PEACE SETTLEMENT OF THE UKRAINE WAR
AND THE WEST WANTED TO CONTINUE THE WAR INSTEAD

A detailed reconstruction of events in March 2022

Hajo Funke and Harald Kujat

Berlin, October 2023

In March 2022, direct peace negotiations between Ukrainian and Russian delegations and mediation efforts by the then Israeli Prime Minster, Naftali Bennet created a genuine chance for ending the war peacefully only four to five weeks after Russia had invaded Ukraine. However, instead of ending the war through negotiations as Ukrainian President Zelensky and his government appeared to have wanted, he ultimately bowed to pressures from some Western powers to abandon a negotiated solution. Western powers wanted this war to continue in the hope to break Russia. Ukraine’s decision to abandon negotiations may been taken before the discovery of a massacre of civilians in the town of Bucha near Kiev.

In the following is an attempt of a step-by-step reconstruction of the events that led to the peace negotiations in March and their collapse in early April 2022.

IN EARLY MARCH 2022, ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER NAFTALI BENNETT UNDERTOOK MEDIATION EFFORTS …

Naftali Bennett had undertaken mediation efforts beginning in the first week of March 2022. In a video interview with Israeli journalist Hanoch Daum on February 4, 2023, he spoke for the first time in detail about the process and the end of the negotiations. This video interview is the basis of a detailed report in the Berliner Zeitung of February 6, 2023: “Naftali Bennett wanted peace between Ukraine and Russia: who blocked? Israeli ex-premier spoke for the first time about his negotiations with Putin and Zelensky. The ceasefire was reportedly within reach.” (Berliner Zeitung, Feb. 06, 2023).

Soon after the war broke out, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky had asked Bennett to help open a channel of communications with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Putin responded by inviting Bennett to Moscow: “On March 5, 2022, at Putin’s invitation, Bennett had flown to Moscow in a private jet provided by Israeli intelligence. In the conversation in the Kremlin, Putin, Bennett said, had made some substantial concessions, in particular, he had renounced his original wartime goal of demilitarizing Ukraine. … .In return, the Ukrainian president agreed to renounce joining NATO – a position he also repeated publicly a short time later. This removed one of the decisive obstacles to a ceasefire ….”. According to the Berliner Zeitung, other issues, such as the future of the Donbass and Crimea, as well as security guarantees for Ukraine, had also been the subject of intensive talks during these days. (Ibid)

In the interview, Bennett explained further: “I had the impression at the time that both sides were very interested in a ceasefire (…). According to Bennett, a cease-fire was within reach at that time, and both sides were prepared to make considerable concessions…. But Britain and the U.S., in particular, wanted this peace process to end and set their sights on a continuation of the war.” (Ibid)

In early March 2022, President Zelensky contacted not only Naftali Bennett, but also former German Chancellor Gerhard Schröder and asked him to use his close personal ties to Putin to mediate between Ukraine and Russia in hope to find ways to end this war quickly. In an interview published in the weekly edition of the Berliner Zeitung on October 21/22 of this year, Schröder spoke publicly for the first time about his role in the efforts that led to the peace negotiations in Istanbul on March 29, 2022. Like Bennet, also he came to the conclusion that the reason why these peace negotiations were abandoned was because the Americans obstructed them. He said:

“At the peace negotiations in March 2022 in Istanbul with Rustem Umerov (then security advisor to Zelensky, now Ukrainian defense minister), the Ukrainians did not agree to peace because they were not allowed to. They first had to ask the Americans about everything they discussed,” and continued: “But at the end (of the peace negotiations) nothing happened. My impression was that nothing could happen because everything else was decided in Washington. That was fatal.”

The Turkish Foreign Minister, Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu, who organized the Istanbul meeting at the time, had previously made similar comments. In an interview with CNN Turk on April 20, 2022, he said: “Some NATO states wanted the Ukraine conflict to continue in order to weaken Russia.”

… WHILE PARALLEL PEACE NEGOTIATIONS BETWEEN UKRAINIAN AND RUSSIAN NEGOTIATORS WERE UNDERWAY

Direct negotiations between a Ukrainian and a Russian delegation had already been underway since late February 2022, and in the third week of March, “only a month after the outbreak of the war, they (had) agreed on the broad outlines of a peace settlement. Ukraine promised not to join NATO and not to allow military bases of foreign powers on its territory, while Russia promised in return to recognize Ukraine’s territorial integrity and to withdraw all Russian occupation troops. Special arrangements were made for the Donbas and Crimea.” (Cf. Michael von der Schulenburg: UN Charter: Negotiations! In: Emma of March 6, 2023)

To further the peace negotiations, the Turkish President offered to host a Ukrainian-Russian peace conference in Istanbul on 29 March, 2002. During the negotiations mediated by Turkish President Erdogan, the Ukrainian delegation presented a position paper, which led to the Istanbul Communiqué. Ukraine’s proposals were translated into a draft treaty by the Russian side.

The text of the Istanbul Communiqué of March 29, 2022 included 10 proposals:

Proposal 1: Ukraine declares itself a neutral state and promises to remain non-aligned and to refrain from developing nuclear weapons in exchange for international legal guarantees. Possible guarantor states include Russia, Britain, China, the United States, France, Turkey, Germany, Canada, Italy, Poland, and Israel, but other states would also be welcome to join the treaty.

Proposal 2: These international security guarantees for Ukraine would not extend to Crimea, Sevastopol, or certain areas in the Donbas. The parties to the treaty would have to define the boundaries of these areas or agree that each party understands these boundaries differently.

Proposal 3: Ukraine commits not to join any military coalition and not to host any foreign military bases or troop contingents. Any international military exercises would be possible only with the consent of the guarantor states. For their part, the Guarantor States confirm their intention to promote Ukraine’s membership in the European Union.

Proposal 4: Ukraine and the Guarantor States agree that (in the event of aggression, armed attack against Ukraine, or military operation against Ukraine) each of the Guarantor States, after urgent and immediate mutual consultations (to be held within three days) on the exercise of the right of individual or collective self-defense (as recognized in Article 51 of the UN Charter), will provide assistance (in response to and on the basis of an official appeal by Ukraine) to Ukraine as a permanently neutral state under attack. Such assistance will be facilitated by the immediate implementation of necessary individual or joint measures, including the closure of Ukrainian airspace, the provision of necessary weapons, and the use of armed force with the aim of restoring and then maintaining the security of Ukraine as a permanently neutral state.

Proposal 5: Any such armed attack (any military operation at all) and any action taken in response will be reported immediately to the UN Security Council. Such action will cease as soon as the UN Security Council has taken the measures necessary to restore and maintain international peace and security.

Proposal 6: In order to protect against possible provocations, the agreement will regulate the mechanism of fulfillment of Ukraine’s security guarantees based on the results of consultations between Ukraine and the guarantor states.

Proposal 7: The treaty will apply provisionally from the date of its signature by Ukraine and all or most of the guarantor states.

The treaty will enter into force after (1) Ukraine’s permanent neutral status is approved in a nationwide referendum, (2) the relevant amendments are incorporated into the Ukrainian Constitution, and (3) ratification occurs in the parliaments of Ukraine and the guarantor states.

Proposal 8: The desire of the parties to resolve the issues related to Crimea and Sevastopol will be included in bilateral negotiations between Ukraine and Russia for a period of 15 years. Ukraine and Russia also commit not to resolve these issues by military means and to continue diplomatic resolution efforts.

Proposal 9: The parties continue consultations (involving other guarantor states) to prepare and agree on the provisions of a treaty on security guarantees for Ukraine, ceasefire modalities, withdrawal of troops and other paramilitary formations, and opening and ensuring safely functioning humanitarian corridors on a continuous basis, as well as the exchange of bodies and release of prisoners of war and interned civilians.

Proposal 10: The parties consider it possible to hold a meeting between the presidents of Ukraine and Russia to sign a treaty and/or take political decisions on other unresolved issues.”

APPARENT INITIAL SUPPORT OF MEDIATION EFFORTS BY WESTERN POLITICIANS.

Proof of initial Western politicians’ support for the negotiations emerges from the sequence of telephone calls and meetings during the period from early March to at least mid-March. On March 4, Scholz and Putin spoke on the phone; on March 5, Bennett met Putin in Moscow; on March 6, Bennett and Scholz met in Berlin; on March 7, the United States, the United Kingdom, France, and Germany discussed the issue in a videoconference; on March 8, Macron and Scholz spoke on the phone; on March 10, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Kuleba and Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov met in Ankara; on March 12, Scholz and Zelensky and Scholz and Macron spoke on the phone; and on March 14, Scholz and Erdogan met in Ankara. (Cf. Petra Erler: Re: Review March 2022: Who did not want a quick end to the war in Ukraine, in: “News of a Lighthouse Keeper,” Sept. 1, 2023)

NATO SPECIAL SUMMIT OF MARCH 24, 2022 IN BRUSSELS OPPOSES ALL NEGOTIATIONS

But this initial support quickly turned sour, with NATO opposing any such negotiations before Russia doesn’t withdraws all its troops from Ukrainian territories. This, in fact, killed all negotiations. Michael von der Schulenburg, former UN Assistant Secretary-General (ASG) in UN peace missions, writes that “NATO had already decided at a special summit on March 24, 2022, not to support these peace negotiations (between Ukraine and Russia).” (Cf. Michael von der Schulenburg: UN Charter: Negotiations! In: Emma, March 6, 2023). The US president had flown in especially for this special summit to Brussels. Obviously, peace as negotiated by the Russian and Ukrainian negotiating delegations was not in the interest of some NATO countries.

AT FIRST ZELESKY STICKS TO THE OUTCOME OF THE PEACE NEGOTIATIONS

“As late as March 27, 2022, Zelensky had shown the courage to defend the results of the Ukrainian-Russian peace negotiations in public before Russian journalists – and this despite the fact that NATO had already decided at a special summit on March 24, 2022, not to support these peace negotiations.” (Ibid)

According to von der Schulenburg, the Russian-Ukrainian peace negotiations had been a historically unique feature, made possible only because Russians and Ukrainians knew each other well and “spoke the same language and probably even knew each other personally.” We know of no other war or armed conflict in which the conflict parties agreed on specific peace terms so quickly.

On March 28, Putin, as a sign of goodwill and in support of the peace negotiations, declared readiness to withdraw troops from the Kharkov area and the Kiev area; this apparently occurred even before his public announcement.

THE PEACE NEGOTIATIONS UNRAVEL

On March 29, 2022, the day of the Istanbul meeting, Scholz, Biden, Draghi, Macron, and Johnson again spoke on the phone about the situation in Ukraine. By this time, the stance of key Western allies had apparently hardened. They formulated preconditions for negotiations that were in blatant contrast to Bennett’s and Erdogan’s peace efforts: “The leaders agreed to continue to provide strong support to Ukraine. They again urged Russian President Putin to agree to a ceasefire, to cease all hostilities, to withdraw Russian soldiers from Ukraine and to allow for a diplomatic solution (…)” (Petra Erler: Re: Review March 2022: Who Didn’t Want a Quick End to the War in Ukraine (in “News of a Lighthouse Keeper” September 1, 2023).

The Washington Post reported April 5 that in NATO, continuing the war is preferred to a cease-fire and negotiated settlement: “For some in NATO, it’s better for Ukrainians to keep fighting and dying than to achieve a peace that comes too soon or at too high a price for Kiev and the rest of Europe.” Zelensky, he said, should “keep fighting until Russia is completely defeated.”

BORIS JOHNSON’S MESSAGE TO UKRAINIANS ON APRIL 9, 2022: WE MUST CONTINUE THE WAR

On April 9, 2022, Boris Johnson arrived unannounced in Kiev and told the Ukrainian president that the West was not ready to end the war. According to Britain’s Guardian on April 28, PM Johnson had “instructed” Ukrainian President Zelensky “not to make any concessions to Putin”:

“Ukrainska Pravda” reported on this in detail in two articles on May 5, 2022:

“No sooner had the Ukrainian negotiators and Abramovich/Medinsky agreed in broad terms on the structure of a possible future agreement after the Istanbul results than British Prime Minister Boris Johnson appeared in Kiev almost without warning.

Johnson brought two simple messages with him to Kiev. The first is that Putin is a war criminal; he should be pressured, not negotiated with. The second is that even if Ukraine is willing to sign some agreements with Putin on guarantees, but that the collective West is not. We can sign [an agreement] with you [Ukraine], but not with him. He will screw everyone over anyway,” one of Selensky’s close associates summed up the essence of Johnson’s visit.

There is much more behind this visit and Johnson’s words than just reluctance to engage in agreements with Russia. Johnson took the position that the collective West, which as recently as February had suggested that Zelensky should surrender and flee, now feels that Putin is not really as powerful as they had previously imagined. Moreover, there is an opportunity to put pressure on him. And the West wants to take it.”

The Neue Züricher Zeitung (NZZ) reported on April 12 that the British government under Johnson is counting on a Ukrainian military victory. Conservative Member of the House of Commons Alicia Kearns said, “We’d rather arm the Ukrainians to the teeth than give Putin a success.” British Foreign Secretary (and later Prime Minister) Liz Truss professed in a keynote speech that “victory for Ukraine (…) is a strategic imperative for us all and therefore military support must be massively expanded”. Guardian columnist Simon Jenkins warned: “Liz Truss risks inflaming the war in Ukraine for her own ambitions.” This, he said, was probably the first Tory election campaign “to be fought on Russia’s borders.” Johnson and Truss wanted Zelensky “to keep fighting until Russia is completely defeated. They need a triumph in their proxy war. In the meantime, anyone who disagrees with them can be dismissed as a weakling, a coward, or a Putin supporter. That this conflict is being exploited by Britain for a sleazy upcoming leadership contest is sickening.”

Following his second visit to Kiev on April 25, 2022, U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said the U.S. wants to use the opportunity to permanently weaken Russia militarily and economically in the wake of the Ukraine war. According to the New York Times, the U.S. government is no longer concerned with a fight over control of Ukraine, but with a fight against Moscow in the wake of a new Cold War.

At the April 26, 2022, meeting of defense ministers from NATO members and other countries convened by Austin in Ramstein, Rhineland-Palatinate/ Germany, the Pentagon chief declared the military victory of Ukraine as a strategic goal.

The American magazine “Responsible Statecraft,” wrote on September 2, 2022:

“Did Boris Johnson help prevent a peace deal in Ukraine? According to a recent article in Foreign Affairs, Kiev and Moscow may have reached a tentative agreement to end the war as early as April. According to several former senior U.S. officials we spoke with, Russian and Ukrainian negotiators appeared to have tentatively agreed on the outlines of a negotiated interim solution in March 2022,” write Fiona Hill and Angela Stent. “Russia would retreat to its Feb. 23 position, when it controlled part of the Donbas region and all of Crimea, and in return Ukraine would promise not to seek NATO membership and instead receive security guarantees from a number of countries.

The decision to let the deal fail coincided with Johnson’s visit to Kiev in April, during which he urged Ukrainian President Zelenskiy to break off talks with Russia for two main reasons: Putin is impossible to negotiate with, and the West is not ready for an end to the war.

In his article, the authors asked questions that have become increasingly important as the war has progressed:

“This apparent revelation raises some important questions: Why did Western leaders want to prevent Kiev from signing what appeared to be a good negotiating deal with Moscow? Do they view the conflict as a proxy war with Russia? And most importantly, what would it take to return to a negotiated outcome?”

In his announcement of the partial mobilization, Putin stated on September 21, 2022:

“I would like to make this public for the first time today. After the start of the special military operation, especially after the talks in Istanbul, the Kiev representatives expressed quite positive views on our proposals. These proposals were mainly about ensuring Russia’s security and interests. But a peaceful solution obviously did not suit the West, which is why Kiev, after agreeing on some compromises, was actually ordered to nullify all these agreements.”

On the occasion of the visit of an African peace delegation on June 17, 2023, Putin demonstratively showed the agreement accepted and initialed in Istanbul ad referendum to the cameras.

CONCLUSION: MISSED OPPORTUNITY

Based on the publicly available reports and documents, it is not only plain that there was a serious willingness to negotiate on the part of both Ukraine and Russia in March 2022. Apparently, the negotiating parties even agreed on a draft treaty ad referendum. Zelensky and Putin were ready for a bilateral meeting to finalize the outcome of the negotiations. Fact is that the main results of the negotiations were based on a proposal by Ukraine, and Zelenskyy courageously supported them in an interview with Russian journalists on March 27, 2022, even after NATO decided against these peace negotiations.

Zelensky had already expressed similar support beforehand in a sign that proves that the intended outcome of the Istanbul negotiations certainly corresponded to Ukrainian interests. This makes the Western intervention, which prevented an early end to the war, even more disastrous for Ukraine. Russia’s responsibility for the attack, which was contrary to international law, is not relativized by the fact that responsibility for the grave consequences that Ukraine’s Western supporters that ensued must also be attributed to the states that demanded the continuation of the war.

The war has now reached a stage where further dangerous escalation and an expansion of hostilities can only be prevented by a cease-fire. It may now be the last time that a peaceful resolution through negotiations could be achieved. There are peace proposals from China, the African Union, Brazil, Mexico, Indonesia, and a proposal developed at the invitation of the Vatican as early as June 2022. On 3 October this year, we presented the German Government our own peace proposal that tried to incorporate all other peace proposals made earlier. See Ending the war by a negotiated peace – Legitimate self-defense and the quest for a just and lasting peace are not contradictory HERE.

Since the failed Istanbul negotiations The course of the war and the current extremely critical timing should be reason enough for a responsible world community and UN member states to rethink and press for a ceasefire and peace negotiations.

From SIMPLICIUS The Thinker Ѱ on X, today:

CIA's Desperate Gambit in Kiev: Unmasking the West's Failing Proxy War

The arrival of CIA Director William Burns in Kiev signals a critical juncture in the Ukraine conflict. As the situation intensifies, Burns' urgent mission is a stark indicator of Ukraine's dire state. The Zelensky regime, once propagated as an emblem of resilience, now teeters on the brink of collapse, overwhelmed by insurmountable casualties and internal strife. This visit raises a crucial question: Is Ukraine on the cusp of a necessary capitulation, or is a coup on the horizon?

Amidst these high-level meetings, the on-ground reality in Ukraine is catastrophic. The country has cycled through 3 armies, now relying on an untrained and under-equipped force consisting largely of older men, women, and youths. This strategic dilution is no accident but a calculated Russian tactic: a meat-grinding strategy designed to deplete Ukraine's military strength and incite political chaos in Kiev.

As tensions escalate, an internal power struggle unfolds. Zelensky, in a bid to consolidate power, appears poised to purge key military figures, including Zaluzhny. This move would destabilize the already fragile military structure, further diminishing its capacity to withstand Russian advances. Meanwhile, Zelensky's admin grapples with allegations of corruption, with reports of rampant graft and theft, potentially affecting the flow of vital aid.

In this high-stakes environment, Burns' role is beyond mere diplomatic support. His presence underscores a broader strategic dilemma: whether to continue propping up a faltering regime or recalibrate U.S. policy in the region. With Washington's ambitions to embed NATO in Ukraine, the implications of Burns' visit are profound. How will the U.S. navigate this precarious situation, and at what cost? As the war reaches an inevitable tipping point, one must ask: Is the pursuit of a NATO foothold in Ukraine worth the cost? The very existence of NATO itself may well be the cost.

TheIslanderNews

https://youtube.com/watch?v=cpO4MLLRUsA

Military Summary And Analysis For 2023.11.16

US Abrams tanks made no difference – Zelensky 16 Nov, 2023

The Ukrainian president told the media that the 31 donated vehicles were too few to become a game changer

https://mf.b37mrtl.ru/files/2023.11/...62b3296efd.jpg
FILE PHOTO: A US Army M1A1 Abrams tank with mine roller used in training Ukrainian crews in Grafenwoehr, Germany. © Matthias Merz / dpa

The M1A1 Abrams main battle tanks provided to Ukraine by the US have hardly made a difference on the battlefield, President Vladimir Zelensky said in a discussion with journalists from several African nations published by his office on Wednesday.

Zelensky explained that the batch of 31 vehicles, which were fully delivered by mid-October, is too small. While praising the American weapon’s quality, he said, “So far, I can hardly say that they play a particularly important role on the battlefield. There are too few of them.”

“For better or for worse, we have many different kinds of tanks,” the Ukrainian president said, describing the US-provided variant as but one part of the fleet.

These remarks align with what Col. Martin O’Donnell, a US Army Europe and Africa spokesman, told the media as he confirmed the completion of Washington’s handover of the units to Kiev. He said, “The Abrams tank is one hell of an armored vehicle, but it’s not a silver bullet.”

In January, the US agreed to supply Ukraine with enough Abrams tanks to arm a single battalion as part of its military assistance against Russia. The delivery started in September and was completed a month later. Previously, the Pentagon argued against sending the tanks, saying that Abrams was too difficult and expensive to operate to be of much use to Kiev.

The range of weapons sent to Kiev by its Western donors has been described as a “zoo” by Ukrainian troops. According to Western media reports, this variability causes issues with the compatibility of munitions, adds to the challenge of repairing damaged hardware, and makes training soldiers on how to operate weapon platforms more cumbersome.

The Ukrainian military has incorporated a diverse range of armored vehicles into its arsenal, including French AMX-10RC fighting vehicles, German Leopard tanks, British Challenger 2 tanks, and American Abrams tanks. These supplies were anticipated to enhance Kiev’s capabilities for breaking through Russian defensive lines during the summer. However, the anticipated counteroffensive did not yield the desired success.

https://swentr.site/russia/587381-ze...s-battlefield/

Watch Russian Sappers Clear Obstacles Using IMR-3M in Special Op Zone 18 minutes ago

The Russian military's ingenuity in engineering and defense is exemplified in the recent demonstration of the IMR-3M, an Armoured Obstacle Clearing Vehicle (AOCV), by the army’s sappers in the special operations zone.

The Russian Defense Ministry has published footage of engineer troops training to clear obstacles using the IMR-3M vehicles.
A Sputnik correspondent observed these drills, highlighting the vehicle's crucial role in supporting troops in challenging environments.
The IMR-3M multipurpose vehicle, developed on the robust and reliable T-72 tank platform, is designed to operate in areas affected by nuclear, chemical, or conventional weapons, as well as in search and rescue operations following natural or man-made disasters, including accidents at nuclear power plants.

It is equipped with a 12.7mm KORD heavy machine gun (HMG), capable of engaging ground targets accurately up to 2,000 meters and aerial targets up to 1,500 meters. The vehicle’s engineering prowess is further augmented with a 360° rotating telescopic boom, featuring excavation gear, a bulldozing kit, and a track-width mine plow, among other equipment.
In the broader context of Russian defense strategies, the IMR-3M's operation is integral to the success of the famed dragon teeth defense system. This elaborate network of fortifications, which includes dragon's teeth barriers, "hedgehogs," and minefields, has been pivotal in impeding Ukraine's advance along the front line. Erected last fall following September referendums that integrated territories into Russia, these defenses have sent a clear message to NATO and its Ukrainian proxies about Russia's resolve and territorial integrity.
Dragon's teeth, also known as "devil's teeth" in Western media, are pyramid-shaped concrete anti-tank obstacles, ranging from 90 to 120 cm in height. Their effectiveness against tanks is well-documented, but their true strength lies in their strategic use as part of a sophisticated defense structure. These barriers are not merely physical impediments; they create an illusion of a surmountable obstacle, trapping enemy tanks that breach the first line of defense and making them vulnerable to artillery and other anti-tank weapons.

https://sputnikglobe.com/20231116/wa...114998631.html

Russia Repels 14 Attacks in Donetsk, Ukraine Loses Up to 310 Soldiers 2 hours ago

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - The Russian military repelled the attacks in the past 24 hours, the Russian Defense Ministry stated on Thursday.

"In the Donetsk region, units of the Yug Battlegroup in cooperation with aviation and artillery, repelled 14 attacks… In total, in this direction in one day the enemy lost up to 310 military personnel as killed and injured, a tank, three cars," the ministry said in a statement.
The ministy added that Ukraine also lost up to 170 soldiers in the Zaporozhye and Kherson areas. The Russian forces launched strikes at the Ukrainian units in the areas of Rabotino, Uspenovka, and Malaya Tokmachka settlements in Zaporozhye.

https://sputnikglobe.com/20231116/ru...115000905.html

Quote:

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Posted by onawah;1586249[B

Preplanned Post-War Profiteering[/B]
In the final analysis, one wonders whether corruption might actually be a primary driver of this war. Is the American public being robbed and Ukraine drained of its youths while a relatively small number of corrupt individuals stuff their pockets with cash?

It looks that way, especially in light of the news that BlackRock, which already owns most of the private assets in the world, is positioning itself to profit from a post-war Ukraine. As reported by Business Today in early May 2023:30

"President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky, recently met with the management team of BlackRock, the world's largest asset management company, to discuss the creation of an investment fund aimed at restoring the country's economy through public and private capital. Netzines have not taken well to the news with many criticizing Zelensky over the meeting.

A Twitter user said, ‘Taxpayers pay the war bills, private firms get the profits.’ ‘Ukraine being privatized and sold off to companies like Blackrock,’ another said.

According to the press service of the Office of the President, the parties discussed the details of the investment fund's creation and implementation of large-scale business projects in Ukraine."

The U.S. is also keen on Ukraine privatizing its banks,31 which will open the door for central bankers to take over.

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Sacre' Coeur, yes of course.

This has been happening since Napoleon.

The details change slightly from time to time, but, most conflicts that we would be able to recently name, are, indeed, the expansion of Capitalism to the ruin of humanity. Previously, there was none, and then with him, it is the flick of a switch and the metastic spread of this Fascist tribe.

Obviously, the world can live without it.

Money power does not recognize life or national borders. What we used to call offshoring or outsourcing, Germany calls De-industrialization:

Quote:

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Consultancy firm Deloitte reports that two out of three German companies have partially relocated their operations abroad due to ongoing energy issues in Germany.

Previous reports indicated that nearly half of the country’s small-to-midsized companies were considering moving abroad or ceasing operations. According to Deloitte, 67 percent of German companies have moved some operations abroad, and every third industrial company plans to relocate high-quality areas such as production and preassembly.

Florian Ploner, a partner at Deloitte and industry sector expert, remarked, "Deindustrialization is already taking place on a considerable scale here. If the general conditions remain the same, it is very likely that more companies will follow and more and more important parts of the value creation will migrate."

Germany's prospects for reversing this trend seem slim. Companies suggest that increased subsidies and reduced bureaucracy might encourage them to stay, but they have little faith in the current government's actions to prevent their departure.

While this trend concerns Berlin, it offers some positives for Brussels, as companies plan to move their manufacturing processes within the European Union.

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Asia and the U. S. are also likely destinations for some companies.


Seit 1688, Lambertz somehow manages to keep rolling along, and says:


Prof. Dr. Bühlbecker supports the statement of the BDSI and agrees with the demand for a clear prioritization of food production in energy supply.


Well known for:

...the three classic German designations of origin; Aachener Printen, Nürnberger Gingerbread and Dresdner Stollen.


When you are Rheinmetall, I guess you don't worry, but if someone has to go around begging for the prioritization of food, we took a wrong turn somewhere.

Ukraine as well as Russia are important growing countries for goods such as grain, corn and sunflowers.

You can't improve on that with ideology.

You can't improve on it at all. You can only cooperate or cause a problem.

We were really excited when the Iron Curtain went away, and, lo and behold, it was just another childish trick so Fascist Capitalism could sink its fingers into More.


And continue to "other" them by name-calling:

Quote:

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Hours after a meeting designed to restore US-Chinese relations between US President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping, Biden called the Chinese leader a dictator during a press conference about the meeting.
Biden and Xi met in San Francisco during the APEC Leaders’ Summit on Wednesday. The highly anticipated meeting was hyped as a critical opportunity to restore Chinese-US relations following years of heightened tensions between the two countries.

“Well look, he is. I mean he is a dictator in the sense that he is a guy who runs a country that is a communist country that is based on a form of government that is totally different from ours,” Biden stated before leaving the press room.

“The reason why Xi Jinping got very upset in terms of when I shot that balloon down with two box cars full of spy equipment is he didn’t know it was there,” Biden said at a fundraiser. “That’s a great embarrassment for dictators.”

---

Anyone remember that? The "Chinese threat" that floated across the continent? Followed by shoot downs of three extremely strange craft in Alaska and Montana? Inclusing the F-16's Sidewinder that missed a target that was barely moving? Seems to have been unimportant.

Okay, "a dictator runs a country with a form of government that is totally different from ours". Hallelujah? I don't know what that word means, but it sounds catchy. If it was anything like ours, he could dump Hellfire on weddings at will, or, for example, have children whose laptops eerily match Ukrainian corruption data.

In my careful consideration, the only way to "de-nazify" Ukraine would be to render it worthless to Capitalists. You might get lucky and Russia will only see it as prosecution of certain individuals. "De-militarize" is pretty easy, just means we don't know their exact plans, and some of the reporting might be shuttered for a week or so. Conscripting 60-year-old women does not really qualify as a "military tactic", so this part at least seems to be working.

The POWs are pregnant, but otherwise here is a taste of equality in what it's like to be killed by something that knocks your boots off:


The number of videos from Ukrainian frontlines, showing women serving in the ranks of the Ukrainian army, has significantly grown in recent weeks. Most of female Ukrainian servicemen are busy filming senseless TikTok videos, which are largely promoted by Kiev media amid the ongoing campaign aimed to push women to the front. Unfortunately, more and more Ukrainian women are now filmed by the Russian military and they do not prove the effectiveness of female warriors. Some of them are lucky to surrender, but more of them are dying in trenches.

Kiev decided to follow the example of the West and the Ukrainian army is following NATO standards. Russian servicemen, who stormed Ukrainian positions near Avdeevka (video above), showed that such a strategy leads to dismal result in Ukrainian trenches.

Update on the Dnieper "bridgehead" from SIMPLICIUS The Thinker Ѱ November 17th, 10:00am

⚡️Kherson governor:
Average AFU lifespan in Dnieper "bridgehead" is 2 days.
Their fresh rotations barely keep up with the losses. i.e. every time new troops arrive they're just replacing the ones that just died and so the size of the bridgehead is not growing in manpower.

"Krynki. Acting Governor of the Kherson region Baldo told a little about the ongoing fighting around the village.On the section from the railway bridge to Krynok, there are no more than 150 enemy soldiers, one lives on average no more than two days, and all rotations to our shore barely keep up with the level of losses of the APU on the bridgehead."

¤=[Post Update]=¤

Quote:

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Posted by shaberon

The POWs are pregnant, but otherwise here is a taste of equality in what it's like to be killed by something that knocks your boots off:


The number of videos from Ukrainian frontlines, showing women serving in the ranks of the Ukrainian army, has significantly grown in recent weeks. Most of female Ukrainian servicemen are busy filming senseless TikTok videos, which are largely promoted by Kiev media amid the ongoing campaign aimed to push women to the front. Unfortunately, more and more Ukrainian women are now filmed by the Russian military and they do not prove the effectiveness of female warriors. Some of them are lucky to surrender, but more of them are dying in trenches.

Kiev decided to follow the example of the West and the Ukrainian army is following NATO standards. Russian servicemen, who stormed Ukrainian positions near Avdeevka (video above), showed that such a strategy leads to dismal result in Ukrainian trenches.

---

To recycle Douglas Macgregor:

"..make peace you fools!"

Avdeevka update:

Source: https://twitter.com/simpatico771/sta...85199582298238

Text:

:russia: It is reported that soldiers of the Russian Armed Forces entered Avdeevka from the north

The breakthrough occurred in the area of the Avdeevsky sand quarry. The assault groups advanced through the forest belts to the Ivushka gardening community.

The Russian Army is also advancing in the industrial zone, most of which is already controlled by the Russian military

John Mearsheimer: Israel-Palestine, Russia-Ukraine, China, NATO, and WW3 | Lex Fridman Podcast
https://youtube.com/watch?v=r4wLXNydzeY&ab_channel=LexFridman (3:26:41)
John Mearsheimer is an international relations scholar at University of Chicago. He's one of the most influential and controversial thinkers in the world on the topics of war and power, and it shows. A very long interview but the relevant segment to this thread is highlighted below (just short of an hour)

OUTLINE:
0:00 - Introduction
1:29 - Power
24:43 - Hitler
42:09 - Russia and Ukraine
1:38:22 - Israel and Palestine
2:39:13 - China
3:21:34 - Life and mortality

MSM: Rus Winning Ukr War,
No Moscow Regime Change;
Rus Advances Avdeyevka;
Xi-Biden Talks: No Result

Source: https://youtube.com/watch?v=F1zENjtOIe8

• Scott Ritter: NATO is DONE as Russia Leads BRICS to Win Over Sanctions:

Source: https://youtube.com/watch?v=CwDoIQhaiCc

Quote:

---

Posted by Tintin

To recycle Douglas Macgregor:

"..make peace you fools!"

---

I am sticking to the thesis this was possible for Europe with the Peace of Westphalia, 1648 (technically, two treaties were involved). Why? Because it upheld national sovereignty in the way we are now calling "multi-polarity".

The Pope hated it.

Almost everything since then has been done to break and erase it. Most other treaties simply planted the seeds of future wars. Particularly Versailles was unrealistic towards Germany, and helped set the conditions for the Zionist conflict. Almost all of that is simply the growing pains of Capitalism.

Westphalia may not have been perfect, but, at least it made the attempt to stop killing each other in the name of religion:


Subjects were no longer forced to follow the conversion of their ruler. Rulers were allowed to choose between Catholicism, Lutheranism, and Calvinism. The independence of the Dutch Republic, which practiced religious toleration, also provided a safe haven for European Jews.


Secondly there is a case to be made for Franz Josef, who was troubled by nationalism during his entire reign. He concluded the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of 1867, which granted greater autonomy to Hungary and created the dual monarchy of Austria-Hungary. He ruled peacefully for the next 45 years...


Aside from those two, I am unaware of any outbreak of peace in the relatively modern (i. e., age of printing) in Europe.

Any others?

Religion and capitalism certainly come rushing to a head in Ukraine.

But there you have two role models which I would say are lessons that should not be forgotten. Otherwise, we continue to sow and harvest intellectual hatred and economic disparity. The American President is quite capable of making this much easier. Meanwhile the token Palestinian in our Congress is censured for saying something about it.

I am, perhaps, a little surprised that Covid vaccination has left the Israelis with any ability to muster a fighting force, which means that even this self-inflicted disease is not that bad outside of a few notable cases. Shouldn't they all just be dropping dead at the first sign of activity, like the athletes?

The total Hamas-inflicted casualties barely compare to a single day in Ukraine. This can only earn them a national reputation as complete idiots, while Russia continuously adapts and becomes more formidable, there is no way I would challenge their integrity, I would far and away kill my own commander first. Killing one person is very easy. Defeating that line of guys who block your retreat would be difficult. That, perhaps, shows Ukrainian ingenuity at work.

While we're at it, let's eulogize the crocodile tears of Mrs. Ukraine:



In his investigation, journalist Robert Schmidt found that the Olena Zelenska Foundation is engaged in transporting Ukrainian orphans to Europe for criminal purposes, under the guise of a noble mission to save children from the conflict. Dozens of boys and girls have been taken outside Ukraine, and most of them have fallen into the hands of criminal groups engaged in the illegal sexual exploitation of minors. According to the sensational admission of an employee of the Olena Zelenska Foundation, the ‘charity’ deliberately transferred children to pedophiles in France, Great Britain and Germany.


Journalist Robert Schmidt, in his investigation, refers to a video in which a person with a obscured face talks in French about his work at the Zelenska Foundation. According to him, he was employed as a driver, and often delivered Ukrainian children to families in the prosperous areas of various European cities. To confirm his words, the man showed a certificate of an employee of the Foundation, and photographs of minors whom he had transported to European orphanages and foster families. He also noted that even the contract with the Foundation was somehow strange. In particular, employees were categorically forbidden to talk to the children, or to make enquiries about their welfare and living conditions with the foster parents.

After a while, the man began to suspect the true motives behind the organization’s work, as some of the guardians were behaving strangely.

An interview with the former Foundation employee provided this account: “Once I was driving a child, his name was Dmytro. I drove him to a family that lives on Avenue Foch in Paris. The man who came out was quite old and he was half-naked. I was very surprised by what was happening. He winked at the child, and then he took his hand. He signed the documents and closed the door. I told myself that at that moment it was necessary to pay attention to the fact that something was going wrong. But, hey, I thought, well, that’s none of my business.

A few days later, another strange thing happened. I had to pick up another child from the orphanage and take him to a host family. What surprised me was that, a few weeks before, I had taken him to a different host family! I asked the child a question, and tried to communicate with him in English. I asked him what was going on. He started crying. Then he started making those gestures. As I understood from these gestures, he showed me that he was touched in intimate places. I got it. This is terrible. At that moment, I understood everything that was happening. It was really… what had happened to him is terrible!”

The man also showed photos of children he had taken from European orphanages and brought to families posing as foster families. He also stated that he identified the pedophile rapist to whom he brought the child. It turned out to be Bernard Henri-Levy, a famous journalist and writer. According to the official website of the Charitable Foundation, Henri-Levy donated his royalties to help the Foundation, allegedly for purely charitable purposes. Henri-Levy is widely known for his support of Ukraine and links to people suspected and accused of pedophilia.

The man immediately resigned from the Foundation, saying that he was not going to participate in the trafficking of children and their sexual exploitation. He also called on the authorities to conduct a thorough investigation and stop the illegal activities of the organization.

After the investigation had been published, the Deputy Speaker of the State Duma of the Russian Federation, Anna Kuznetsova, made a statement that the Russian Parliamentary Commission for the Investigation of Crimes Committed against Ukrainian Children by the Kyiv regime had certain information that the Save Ukraine Foundation is also involved in crimes against children. The former Commissioner for Children’s Rights at Zelensky’s office, Nikolai Kuleba, is the head of the foundation.

According to Kuznetsova, the criminals are trying not to leave traces. It is already known, however, that the Olena Zelenska Foundation is connected with elite political circles in the United States, Canada and Great Britain. It was under their patronage that the Foundation began to oversee orphanages and evacuate children.

Anna Kuznetsova concluded that Zelensky and his assistants are using so-called charities, like the Olena Zelenska Charitable Foundation, to organize the abduction of children, in order to sell them to brothels or to transplantologists.

Ukrainians Retreat Near Avdiivka And Bakhmut. Military Summary And Analysis For 2023.11.18

https://youtube.com/watch?v=y4H-mppCkKM

Quote:

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Posted by Vicus

Ukrainians Retreat Near Avdiivka And Bakhmut.

---

For those unfamiliar with all the military details (and place names that are hard to remember!), the one-sentence summary here is that it's starting to be a rout, with the Ukrainian forces in low-morale disarray and the Russians very much advancing in all areas.

Major Russian attack on Kupyansk with two armored Armies: Main line of Ukrainian defense broken - Russians advance

The Russian military quickly moved from active defense to offensive actions on several front lines simultaneously creating a serious problem for the Ukrainian Armed Forces.

In the direction of Kupyansk, the Russian Command threw the 6th and 1st Guards Armored Armies into battle, breaking through the main Ukrainian defense line on the Sinkovka-Ivanovka-Kislovka axis.

The Ukrainians are under heavy pressure and heavy fire from the Air Force and artillery.

Kiev confirms that the Russian armed forces have launched a new major offensive in the direction of Kupyansk. The Ukrainian Administration is frantically searching for reserves. The Russians note Avdifka's pivotal role in this sector of the front as well.

continue: more text and a lot interesting short videos... difficult to copy/paste...

https://warnews247-gr.translate.goog..._x_tr_pto=wapp

We're now very used to seeing Ukrainian soldiers surrendering en masse, but this time a Ukrainian pilot flew himself to the Russians — in his Ka-52 helicopter.

https://t.me/DDGeopolitics/92485

The text:

An active pilot of the Armed Forces of Ukraine flew to the Russian side. This was reported to TASS by the pilot of the Ka-52 helicopter, Alexey Voevoda, who organized the flight.
“The Armed Forces of Ukraine pilot is in Russia, undergoing consultations with the Federal Security Service,” the agency’s interlocutor said.