Ukraine war mega thread

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Bet that the BSnub knew this also:

Donetsk, the most important city in the region today, was founded in 1869 by Welsh businessman John Hughes on the site of the old Zaporozhian Cossack town of Oleksandrivka. Hughes built a steel mill and established several collieries in the region. The city was named after him as Yuzivka (Ukrainian: Юзівка) or Yuzovka (Russian: Юзовка). With the development of Yuzovka and similar cities, large numbers of landless peasants from peripheral governorates of the Russian Empire came looking for work.^[29]

[david44]

In 2014, an instrumental song on the Welsh band Manic Street Preachers' album Futurology paid homage to John Hughes, referring to Donetsk by its former name

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There you go

The Dog House is most informative

[misskit]

After Putin Claims Ukrainian Troops Were Surrounded, Zelensky Shows Up and Posts Selfies

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky came up with a simple and effective way to combat Russian President Vladimir Putin’s claims that Ukrainian troops in Kupiansk were surrounded — show up in person and post selfies.


The Kremlin has been claiming for weeks that Russian troops had recaptured Kupiansk, a city in the Kharkiv Oblast in northeastern Ukraine near the border with Russia — claims that Ukraine has repeatedly disputed.

Described by The Kyiv Post as “one of the hottest parts of the frontline,” Kupiansk was occupied by Russia in the early months of the full-scale invasion until it was liberated during the September 2022 Kharkiv counteroffensive. Russian troops have continued to attack the city, shelling hospitals, schools, apartments, and other infrastructure and civilian buildings.


Recently, Putin had doubled down on claiming Kupiansk was under Russian control and even invited international media to visit and verify his claims.


On Friday, Zelensky posted a short video from Kupiansk standing in front of its distinctive city sign.

“The Russians kept going on about Kupiansk — the reality speaks for itself,” said Zelensky, sharing how he had been visiting “our warriors who are getting the job done for Ukraine here.”


While he spoke, an explosion could be heard in the distance, illustrating how the city is on the frontline of the war; he was also wearing a bulletproof vest.


Zelensky concluded by noting that “achieving results on the frontline is crucial” to put Ukraine in a strong position for negotiations, yet another example of pushback against a rejected Kremlin-backed U.S. plan that would have had Ukraine give up substantial territory to Russia.

Zelensky’s video was widely shared by official Ukrainian accounts and other supporters.


“Putin has claimed Ukrainian defenders in Kupiansk were surrounded by russian troops,” posted UNITED24. “He even invited international media there to verify it. President [Zelensky] did some mythbusting, visiting the city. Kupiansk is Ukraine.”

The Ukrainian control of Kupiansk is evidenced by not just Zelensky’s presence in the city, but also the landmark sign behind him. Many Ukrainian cities have long displayed such marquee signs with their names and they have become a propaganda target in this war, being repainted and changed as cities have changed hands.


For example, in the below photo shared by Euromaidan Press, the Russian occupiers changed the color of the city sign in Mariupol from the Ukrainian blue and yellow to Russia’s white, blue, and red, along with switching out the letters to the Russian spelling.

In Zelensky’s video, the Kupiansk sign is tattered but still standing — and in Ukrainian blue and yellow.


He also posted several selfies in the city and photos showing him meeting with the troops who had defended Kupiansk.

Mediaite

[Bettyboo]

^ Simple facts; thank you, Misskit.

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October set a record for the number of deserters from the Ukrainian army


"Fighting spirit does not last indefinitely," said a senior adviser to President Zelensky.







Four years of war are eating away at morale, according to one of the Ukrainian presidential adviser Mikhailo Podaljok's explanations for the fact that a growing number of Ukrainian soldiers are deserting. Here is a soldier in the trench during the fighting for the city of Bakhmut in March 2023. Two months later, Russia had taken the bombed-out city. (Photo: © Aris Messinis, AFP/Ritzau Scanpix)

By
Brita Kvist Hansen

Access Denied




The Ukrainian army is under pressure from many sides; Lack of equipment, Russian attacks.

In addition, there are more and more holes in their own ranks because soldiers are running away.

Since Russia's full-scale invasion in 2022, the prosecutor's office has opened a total of 310,000 cases against people who have evaded or fled the Ukrainian military.

And lately, it has gotten worse.

Almost half of the cases have been opened this year, and in October the highest number of Ukrainian soldiers deserted in a month.

The Ukrainian news outlet NV quotes former MP Ihor Lutsenko, who is the head of a Ukrainian drone unit, as saying that 21,602 soldiers fled the army in October.

That is a very poor record.
Ihor Lutsenko, Head of Ukrainian Drone Unit

"It's a very bad record," he says of that figure.

"Every two minutes, someone runs away from the army. This is the army's biggest problem, and thus Ukraine's biggest problem.

He adds that there are many unrecorded cases of soldiers deserting. So the real number could be even higher.

A senior adviser in the Ukrainian presidential administration is not trying to talk down the problem.

Adviser Mikhailo Podolyak says to the Festival of War that four years of war are eating away at morale when he has to try to explain the figures.

"No one would have thought that the war would last so long in the same style. That the Russians throw in an infinite number of men, he says.

Podolyak believes that it would of course be best if no one deserted, but he also expresses understanding that it happens.

- It is psychologically hard. Fighting spirit cannot be infinite, says Mikhailo Podolyak.

"The problem is that we have a 1,300-kilometre-long front line.

Extra investment from Europe will help


The adviser in the presidential administration also says that it would be good if Europe could do even more.

"We are talking about increasing investments in the military so that there are more supplies and more drones available at the front," says Mikhailo Podolyak.

A new report from the German economic research institute Kiel Institute shows that total financial support to Ukraine is the lowest since Russia's extensive invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

The support of Europeans does not fill the void left by the United States' change of course.

Read Also: Correspondent: In Ukraine, people feel forgotten and let down after declining support

The increased number of deserters comes at the same time as there is a major shortage of manpower along the front. According to an analysis by the Center for Eastern Studies in Warsaw earlier this year, the Ukrainian army lacks 300,000 soldiers.

So for Oleksiy Hodzenko, spokesman for Korsar, the drone unit of the 38th Marine Brigade, and his comrades, there are long prospects for what many of the soldiers dream of.

"Of course, we all want to go home to our families, but no matter if you are young or old, there is no one to replace us," he told DR.

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19.36

Afspilles nu





You Tube is flooding me with this optimistic material


UK Is About to RUIN Putin's Week With a SECRET Delivery to Ukraine







And so on and on

[bsnub]

Ukraine sunk a kilo class submarine in ruzzia.

[39TG]

... The rest of the article is even more damning to your "argument", but I can't be bothered to textually analyse it because you clearly couldn't be bothered to read it... At this point, a lesser person would call you names, but I won't...

Good lord, this must be close to a first for TeakDoor.

[BLD]

There you go

The Dog House is most informative

The collective I.q has gone up since my latest incarnation. Stick around helge. You will learn a lot

[BusterCherry]

This Mark Felton episode is a doozy and it relates to some of the history in Ukraine right now.

8000 Ukrainian Nazi SS were settled in Britain under the sly. And the Pope had intervened to allow this to happen. We have 1000's of them in Alberta too.

[NamPikToot]

so no Germany, only France from the EU

UK and France to send troops to Ukraine if peace deal agreed


The UK and France have signed a declaration of intent on deploying troops in Ukraine if a peace deal is made with Russia, UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has announced.


After talks with Ukraine's allies in Paris, he said the UK and France would "establish military hubs across Ukraine" to deter future invasion, while French President Emmanuel Macron later said thousands of troops may be deployed.


Allies also largely agreed robust security guarantees for Ukraine and proposed that the US would take the lead in monitoring a truce. But the key issue of territory is still being discussed.


Russia has repeatedly warned that any foreign troops in Ukraine would be a "legitimate target".


Moscow has not yet commented on the announcements made in the French capital.


Russian President Vladimir Putin launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, and Moscow currently controls about 20% of Ukrainian territory.


Heads of state and top officials from the "Coalition of the Willing" took part in Tuesday's talks in Paris.


Speaking at a joint press conference after the meeting, Starmer said: "We signed a declaration of intent on the deployment of forces to Ukraine in the event of a peace deal.


"This is a vital part of our commitment to stand with Ukraine for the long-term.


"It paves the way for the legal framework under which British, French, and partner forces could operate on Ukrainian soil, securing Ukraine's skies and seas, and regenerating Ukraine's armed forces for the future."


The UK prime minister added London would participate in any US-led verification of a potential ceasefire.


Top US negotiator Steve Witkoff said "durable security guarantees and robust prosperity commitments are essential to a lasting peace" in Ukraine - referring to a key demand made by Kyiv.


Witkoff said the allies "largely finished" their work on agreeing security protocols "so that people of Ukraine know that when this [war] ends, it ends forever".


Jared Kushner, US President Donald Trump's special envoy and son-in-law, said that after a deal Ukrainians needed to know that "real backstops" were in place to ensure war would "not happen again".


Meanwhile, President Macron said Ukraine's allies had made "considerable progress" at the talks.


He said "robust" security guarantees for Kyiv had been agreed in the event of a potential ceasefire.


Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said a "huge step forward" had been made in Paris, but added that he would only consider efforts to be "enough" if they resulted in the end of the war.


Russia continues to strike Ukrainian cities and critical infrastructure across the country on a daily basis


What Ukraine calls security "guarantees" and what American officials have described as security "protocols" may leave some wiggle room for Trump in the event of coming to Kyiv's defence after a future Russian attack - but there is no doubt Zelensky feels he and his European allies have secured an important concession from Washington.


We heard few, if any, new details about where a future ceasefire line would be drawn and what territory, currently occupied by Russian forces, Ukraine would agree to surrender.


That prospect is still something many Ukrainians would find hard to swallow, especially as Russia continues to strike against cities and critical infrastructure across Ukraine on a daily basis.


But as the snows fall and bitter winds sweep in from the east, Zelensky knows the only alternative to a ceasefire and subsequent peace deal, is another costly, attritional winter of warfare with the inevitable loss of life that will hit Ukraine far harder than Russia.


Ukraine's president clearly hopes that guarantees of American monitoring, a multinational force on Ukrainian soil and more weapons support for his armed forces, will convince a sometimes-sceptical population that he is right to sue for peace, bolstered by a growing international coalition.


But, in concluding the Paris press conference, Zelensky acknowledged Tuesday's "milestone" did not necessarily guarantee peace. Real progress still needs Russian support, and Moscow has been notably silent in recent days about diplomatic efforts to end the war.


Putin is known to oppose the prospect of a European-led international force in any disputed areas and will be reluctant to halt his troops', albeit slow, advance if Moscow's war objectives have not been realised.


But pressure is undoubtedly growing on both sides to make compromises and end the war.


Last week, Zelensky said a peace deal was "90% ready". Agreeing on the remaining 10% would "determine the fate of peace, the fate of Ukraine and Europe".


Territory and security guarantees have been at the forefront of unresolved issues for negotiators.


Putin has repeatedly warned that Ukrainian troops must withdraw from all of Ukraine's eastern Donbas or Russia will seize it, rejecting any compromise over how to end the war.


Zelensky has so far ruled out ceding any territory, but has suggested that Ukraine could withdraw its troops to an agreed point - but only if Russia does the same.


Moscow currently controls about 75% of the Donetsk region, and some 99% of the neighbouring Luhansk. The two regions form the industrial region of Donbas.


The original US-led 28-point peace plan widely leaked to the media last year was seen by Kyiv and its European allies as being heavily skewed in Russia's favour.


This triggered weeks of intensive high-level diplomacy - with Ukraine, the US and European leaders trying to amend the draft.


Last month, Kyiv sent the US an updated 20-point plan - as well as separate documents outlining potential security guarantees and provisions for Ukraine's reconstruction, Zelensky said.

UK and France to send troops to Ukraine if peace deal agreed with Russia - BBC News

[BusterCherry]

The a Russians just used a strategic conventional weapon on Western Ukraine

These peace negs are just diplomatic make work. A total fantasy

[cyrille]

These peace negs are just diplomatic make work.

Erm...what?

[BusterCherry]

^ There is no substance to these so called negotiations. They are happening to keep diplomats busy. That's it

[cyrille]

The talks are highly unlikely to succeed because of Putin's intransigence.

But they have to try.

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The talks are highly unlikely to succeed because of Putin's intransigence.

Macron wants to talk to Putin------again, as he puts it.

Meloni agrees, cause EU is sidelined by only talking to one party.

The losing one.

Fico wants the estonian iron lady, Kallas, fired.

Good call


And Merz has realized that Putin has a "say"

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said that peace is impossible without the official consent of the russian side. He during a meeting of the CSU in the Bundestag.
He noted that international peacekeepers are only one element of the process, but the key is to reach an agreement with the kremlin.
"The order of action should be as follows: first a ceasefire, then security guarantees for Ukraine as a condition for a long-term agreement with Russia," the Chancellor said.
At the same time, Merz called for realistic expectations, emphasizing that one should not count on quick progress.
"And all this is impossible without Russia's approval, which is probably still far away," he concluded.


On January 6, a meeting of the Coalition of the Willing was held in Paris with the participation of representatives of 27 countries. As a result, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, french President Emmanuel Macron, and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy signed a declaration of intent on the possible deployment of multinational forces in Ukraine in the event of a peace agreement. Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said that Warsaw is ready to take a leading role in logistics.
Meanwhile, Merz is ready to send troops to the NATO countries bordering Ukraine.

Or should we call it a ................veto ?


Have they looked over their shoulders and realized that they are about to be Sandwiched ?

Not that quiet on the western front.

So better that we retract our promises to Ukraine.

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Have they looked over their shoulders and realized that they are about to be Sandwiched ?

Not that quiet on the western front.

French Deputy announces draft plan for France’s withdrawal from NATO

French Deputy Clémence Guetty announced her intention to submit a motion for a vote on France’s withdrawal from the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), citing recent US actions and what she described as moves serving Washington’s interests. Guetty wrote on the social media platform X that the proposal includes beginning the exit from NATO’s unified command while maintaining France’s political position within the alliance.

Yeah well

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Zelenskyy is ready to sign security guarantees in Davos










[COLOR=rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.6)]By
Emma Klitnæs




Whether the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelensky, would participate in the World Economic Forum, which is currently taking place in the Swiss Alpine city of Davos, has been unknown.

Earlier today, it was said that the president would very possibly stay in Kyiv after last night's Russian attack, but now it is rumored that one thing can get Zelensky to Davos: sign-ready documents on security guarantees with the United States. This is what Reuters writes.

To a question from a journalist about whether he would attend the summit or stay in Kyiv, the answer was as follows:

- Of course, I chose Ukraine in this case, not the economic forum, but everything can change at any time. Because it is very important for the Ukrainians to end this war, Zelenskyy said.

He also said that preparations for a so-called "prosperity package" were almost completed by the United States and Ukraine.

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Like me, I'd bet that Zelensky has his speculations about how to value on a guarranty from the US (know what I mean ? )




[/COLOR]

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Sorry for spelling and mess

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[COLOR=rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.6)]By
Laura Kirkebæk-Johansson




Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has landed in Switzerland, where he will participate in the World Economic Summit in Davos.

This is shown in a video that we have received from the news agency AP.

Zelensky is due to meet with US President Donald Trump later today, his spokesperson said, according to Reuters.

The Ukrainian president has previously said that he would only travel to Davos if there was an opportunity to sign an agreement with Trump to resolve the nearly four-year-long war in Ukraine, which would include security guarantees and funding for reconstruction.

Trump confirmed yesterday that he will meet with Zelensky today. According to Zelensky's spokesman, the meeting will take place at 1 p.m.

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Ukraine, Russia and US to meet friday-saturday.

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Zelenskyy in unusually harsh attack on Europe: You are stuck in 'Greenland mode'


The Ukrainian president has just made a very harsh criticism of the European leaders.







The Ukrainian president when he visited the Swedish Ulf Kristersson and the defense manufacturer, Saab, last year. Back then, the tone was completely different. (Photo: © Fredrik Sandberg, EPA/Ritzau Scanpix)

By
Jakob Slyngborg Trolle

https://www.dr.dk/nyheder/udland/zelenskyj-i-ualmindeligt-haardt-angreb-paa-europa-i-sidder-fast-i-groenlands-mode



Volodomyr Zelenskyj has just held a press conference in Davos for the World Economic Forum. This happens just over an hour after he has been in a meeting with Donald Trump.

And here the velvet gloves were dropped, and Zelenskyj made it clear that he is losing patience with Europe, which, according to the Ukrainian president, is "stuck in Greenland mode" while Russia tries to "freeze the Ukrainians to death".

"A year has passed and nothing has changed, we are still in the same situation," Zelenskyy said, before continuing:

- Everyone is focusing on Greenland, and it is clear that no one knows what to do about it. You just wait for the United States to cool down. But what if it doesn't go away?

What are 40 Danish soldiers supposed to do good for?



He also criticized the number of European troops sent to Greenland last week in connection with the "Arctic Endurance" mission.

- If you send 40 soldiers to Greenland, what good is it for? What is the message to Putin? To China?

- 40 soldiers cannot protect anything.

The President also made a call for "Europe to learn to defend itself"

"Europe feels more and more like a geographical area, a history, a tradition – not as a real political power, not as a great power.

"Some Europeans are really strong, that's true, but many say that we have to stand strong, and they always want someone else to tell them how long they have to stand strong, preferably until the next election.

Why is Putin not on trial?


The Ukrainian president also made harsh criticism that Europe may have frozen on the good side of 200 billion euros in Russian assets, but has not yet seized them directly.

"There is always something more important to Europe than justice. Maduro is on trial, and Putin still is not.

Before the press conference ended, Zelensky also managed to say that the meeting with Trump "was fine thanks to the president".
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You ungrateful motherfucker

He might have a point, but should have kept it indoors


Trump talking points

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Zelensky: Agreement on US security guarantees is 100 percent ready

By
Silas Bay Nielsen




Ukrainian President Zelenskyy says the document with security guarantees from the United States is 100 percent ready.

This is what Reuters writes.

The government in Kyiv is waiting for it to be signed, according to the news agency.

"The document is 100 percent ready, and we are waiting for our partners to confirm the date and place for us to sign it," Zelensky said, according to Reuters.

He adds that the document will also be sent for approval by Congress in Washington D.C. and in the Ukrainian parliament.