1 Aug, 2023 16:15

Kremlin ‘inspired’ by Russian troops in one-vs-seven armor standoff

The engagement, which took place in June, may end up in military textbooks, Dmitry Peskov suggested

The Russian soldiers involved in a battle in which a single tank ambushed an entire Ukrainian armored column inspire pride and definitely deserve military decorations, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has said.

Footage of the tense engagement filmed from a drone, complete with agitated chatter between its operator and an identified unit leader, went viral last week, after being published on social media. Asked about it on Tuesday, Peskov confirmed that the presidential office had watched it too and was left in awe.

“Such heroism, professionalism inspires pride and admiration of our military,” he said. “That footage and the situation were unique, almost fit for a textbook case study.”

The Kremlin official wouldn’t say whether the censored version of the video shown by Russian media or the original, audio from which was laced with profanity, was circulated in President Vladimir Putin’s office.

Instead, Peskov expressed confidence that the troops would receive military decorations for their actions. The Defense Ministry said later in the day that the relevant paperwork was in the pipeline and confirmed that the clash had taken place in June on the frontline in Zaporozhye Region.

The video showed the single tank, which has since been nicknamed Alyosha after a call sign mentioned in the Russian communications, driving towards acolumn of two Ukrainian tanks and at least five US-made MRAP M1224 MaxxPro vehicles.

The drone operator called him a “beautiful crazy kamikaze” and urged other troops on the ground to provide support fire with anti-tank missiles, grenade launchers, and heavy machine guns. Meanwhile, the tank began maneuvering and shooting at the enemy.

The adversary’s heavy weaponry was apparently obliterated. The Ukrainian tanks reportedly drove over anti-tank mines and then were hit by artillery and fire from the Russian tank. 'Alyosha' was reportedly unscathed in the standoff, which lasted almost ten minutes.

https://www.rt.com/russia/580666-single-tank-peskov-inspired/

Slowly but Surely, Ukraine is going to get the boot

1 Aug, 2023 18:01

Ukraine-Poland rift sees ambassador summoned

A presidential administration official in Warsaw said Ukraine should “appreciate” the aid it receives more amid a row over grain

Ukraine’s foreign ministry summoned the Polish ambassador, Bartosz Cichocki, on Tuesday over what it called “unacceptable”remarks by a high-ranking official in Warsaw. The scandal concerns the head of the international policy bureau within the Polish presidential administration, Marcin Przydacz, who called on Ukraine to be more grateful to its neighbor for assistance.

Politics “should not call into question mutual understanding” Kiev said in a statement. It dismissed claims “about the alleged ingratitude of Ukrainians” as “untrue.”

In his comments, Przydacz had defended a ban on Ukrainian grain imports to Poland. Speaking to the Polish broadcaster TVP, he said “it would be fitting for Ukraine to start appreciating the role Poland has played for Ukraine over the recent months and years.”

The policy bureau chief also insisted that Polish farmers’ interests come first, particularly during harvest time. “As for Ukraine, it really got a lot of support from Poland,” he added.

The interview immediately drew an angry reaction from Kiev. Andrey Sibiga, the deputy head of the Ukrainian president’s administration, slammed what he called attempts by some Polish politicians to spread “unfounded claims” that Ukraine does not appreciate Warsaw’s help.

It is “obvious” that the views were expressed in pursuit of someone’s “opportunistic interests,”Sibiga said in a strong statement on Facebook on Monday.

The EU initially lifted tariffs and quotas for Ukrainian exports in a bid to support the country in its armed conflict with Russia. Cheaper Ukrainian foodstuffs then flooded the bloc’s common market, sparking protests among the Eastern European farmers. Five EU nations imposed unilateral restrictions on the incoming grain before the EU conceded to their demands and imposed an official ban.

The development soured relations between Kiev and Warsaw. Last week, Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky blasted the ban as “un-European” and called on Brussels to let it expire on September 15. Ukrainian Prime Minister Denis Shmigal also specifically criticized Poland’s stance, calling its position “unfriendly and populist.”

Polish Foreign Minister Pawel Jablonski brushed off the criticism, pointing to his country’s extensive assistance to Ukraine. He also said that Poland was guided by its own interests, including when it comes to helping Kiev.

https://www.rt.com/russia/580681-kiev-summon-polish-ambassador-comments/

KEK

1 Aug, 2023 15:50

Belarus hits back at Polish Wagner claims

Minsk has dismissed Warsaw’s concerns about Wagner fighters supposedly moving towards the Polish border as “madness”

The concerns of Polish officials about the alleged movements of the Wagner Group near the nation’s border are detached from reality, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko said at a public meeting on Tuesday. Neither Minsk nor the Russian private military company (PMC) have any plans to attack Poland, he added.

Last week, Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki raised the alarm over Wagner fighters supposedly being deployed to the Belarusian side of the Polish border.

“I’ve heard Poland has recently gone mad over a unit of as many as 100 people moving somewhere here,” the president said while visiting a small Belarusian town near the Polish border.

“No 100-strong Wagner PMC units have been deployed anywhere here,” he said, adding that the Russian fighters might have been traveling to train Belarusian military brigades stationed in the western cities of Brest and Grodno.

Lukashenko also describedhis previous remarks about the Wagner Group wanting to “visit” Poland as a joke. During a meeting with Putin two weeks ago, the Belarusian leader claimed that the PMC fighters wanted to “go on tour to Poland” to visit Warsaw and Rzeszow, which they believed was a hub for providing Ukrainian troops with military hardware.

Lukashenko said he was merely pointing out that Poland actively supplied weaponry to the Ukrainian military which killed thousands of Wagner fighters in the battle for the city of Artyomovsk (known as Bakhmut in Ukraine). Those who survived the battle would never forgive Warsaw for this, he added.

The Wagner fighters “are used to carrying out orders” and “do not seek to go anywhere,” the president said.

Regarding Minsk’s own plans, Lukashenko dismissed Polish concerns about the Suwalki Gap, a region separating the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad from Belarus. Last week, Warsaw announced that it was forming a new military unit to protect the area due to concerns about a potential “hybrid attack” by the Wagner group.

“The Suwalki Gap is not in Belarus. We are not moving either along it or towards it.We would not need it for a thousand of years,”Lukashenko said.

The Wagner group arrived in Belarus in early July as part of a deal with the Kremlin mediated by Minsk, which ended a mutiny staged by the company’s founder, Evgeny Prigozhin. Later, the Belarusian Defense Ministry confirmed that Wagner members were training Belarusian troops.

Poland declared the presence of the Wagner Group in Belarus to be a threat to national security almost immediately after they arrived there. Since then, Polish officials have repeatedly expressed concerns, saying they are taking the “threat” seriously and closely monitoring it.

https://www.rt.com/russia/580672-belarus-poland-wagner-claims/

1 Aug, 2023 18:39

UN condemns Ukrainian drone attacks on Moscow

The Kremlin has described two recent strikes as acts of “terrorist” violence by Kiev

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres’ office has condemned a series of drone attacks on Moscow and called for an end to “any and all attacks on civilian facilities.” Russia has blamed the “terrorist strikes” on Ukraine, and Kiev has heavily suggested that it was responsible.

“We are against any and all attacks on civilian facilities and we want them to stop,” Guterres’ deputy spokesman, Farhan Haq, told reporters on Monday.

Haq spoke a day after multiple unmanned airborne vehicles (UAVs) were intercepted over Moscow’s financial district, with debris from the downed craft damaging two skyscrapers and injuring one person.

One of the same buildings was damaged again on Tuesday, when one of three incoming UAVs was electronically jammed and veered off course into the glass facade of the tower, according to Russian authorities.

While Kiev has not taken direct responsibility yet, Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky declared on Sunday that “war is returning to the territory of Russia,” while one of his top advisers, Mikhail Podoliak, said on Tuesday that “Moscow is rapidly getting used to a full-fledged war,” and will soon experience “more unidentified drones, more collapse, [and] more civil conflicts.”

Zelensky and his officials have followed a similar pattern after previous Ukrainian strikes on civilian infrastructure. Ukrainian officials cheered the bombing of the Crimean Bridge last October, but denied responsibility. Ukrainian security officials eventually admitted to the attack earlier this summer, and claimed responsibility for a follow-up strike on the bridge last month.

Kremlin Press Secretary Dmitry Peskov said on Monday that Ukraine is launching “terrorist strikes” on Moscow and other civilian targets in Russia out of frustration over its failures on the battlefield. The attempted drone strikes are “some sort of acts of desperation against the background of those failures. And, of course, Kiev resorts to such terrorist tactics,” Peskov said.

Russia hasthus far limited its missile and drone strikeswithin Ukraine to military and infrastructure targets. Former Russian president Dmitry Medvedev warned last month that this may soon change if Kiev continues to attack Russian civilians.

“We need to choose non-typical targets for our strikes. Not only warehouses, energy hubs, and oil bases,” said Medvedev, who currently serves as deputy chairman of Russia’s Security Council. “There are other places where they are not expecting us yet. And where the effect will be very significant.”

https://www.rt.com/russia/580680-un-condemns-drone-attack/