19 Mar, 2024 19:19

Ukraine’s survival in danger – Pentagon chief

Lloyd Austin has made a grim prediction about Kiev’s battlefield prospects

US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, March 19, 2024. © AP Photo / Michael Probst

Ukraine’s very survival could be at stake unless the West sends more military aid, US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said on Tuesday.

The head of the Pentagon was in Germany for a meeting of the so-called Ukraine Defense Contact Group at Ramstein Air Base, in his first overseas trip since his hospitalization in January.

“Today, Ukraine’s survival is in danger and America’s security is at risk,” Austin said at a press conference after the meeting.

Keeping the weapons, equipment and ammunition flowing is“a matter of survival and sovereignty for Ukraine”and“a matter of honor and security for America,”he added. (Hey Austin we are losing our sovereign land to illegals, and the US may not survive, is that more important?)

He did not say how the US intends to support Ukraine without additional funding. The bill that would provide over $60 billion in assistance to Kiev is still stuck in the US House of Representatives.

US “inaction” has already resulted in Ukraine losing ground on the battlefield, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said at Tuesday’s press briefing. President Joe Biden, a Democrat, has been trying to pressure the Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson to approve the Ukraine funding for months, so far without success.

After the Ramstein meeting, German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius announced a package of weapons and ammunition for Kiev worth €500 million ($543 million).

Washington had used up almost all the congressionally approved funding for Kiev. The Pentagon has asked Congress for at least $6.5 billion to replenish its own depleted stockpiles. On Friday, the White House announced it had managed to put together a package of ammunition worth $300 million from various “savings” at the Pentagon, but warned that this would only support Ukraine for a couple of weeks. It was the first batch of US funding since the start of 2024.

Meanwhile, the US has urged Ukraine to expand its mobilization to younger men in order to fill up the badly depleted ranks of frontline brigades.

Ukrainian forces lost the key Donbass fortress of Avdeevka last month, pulling back in disorder before the advancing Russian forces, and have been taking heavy casualties in open battle ever since. The battle has promptedFrench military analysts to conclude that Kiev can’t possibly win on the battlefield, according to classified reportsleaked to the outlet Marianne earlier this month.

https://www.rt.com/news/594515-austin-ukraine-danger-america/

19 Mar, 2024 17:29

French army ‘ready for war’ – top general(latest provocation, see secret report from Marianne that France is wholly unprepared to fight war below)

Paris is prepared to fight the “toughest” battles to protect its interests, the chief of staff has declared

Franceis ready to face whatever developments unfold internationally andis prepared for the “toughest engagements” to protect itself, the chief of staff of the French Army, Gen. Pierre Schill, said in an interview published on Tuesday. In recent weeks, French President Emmanuel Macron has repeatedly refused to rule out Western troops being sent to Ukraine at some point to help Kiev in its fight against Moscow, which he described as an “adversary” of Paris.

France’s forces are “ready,” Schill told Le Monde, stressing that “whatever the developments in the international situation, the French can be convinced: their soldiers will respond.” Schill said France has “international responsibilities” and is linked by defense agreements to “states exposed to major threats,” and must therefore have its forces trained and interoperable with allied armies.

He added that nuclear deterrence “is not a universal guarantee” because it does not guard against conflicts that would remain “below the threshold of vital interests.” Schill said that the Army must show itself a credible force through responsiveness in terms of force projection and the ability to carry out operations of increased scope. (You mean the army of cheerleaders French Military said below)

The general said that France currently has the capacity to commit a division of around 20,000 men within 30 days and has the means to command an army corps of up to 60,000 which includes allied divisions. In an interview with the TF1 and France 2 channels last week, President Macron said that France is “not waging war on Russia” by supporting Kiev, but labeled Russia an “adversary” and has stood by his remarks that a potential deployment of NATO troops to the country could not be “excluded.”

His statements drew a wave of denials from most of France’s fellow NATO members and officials – including Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg – about having any intention to deploy their forces to Ukraine.

Moscow has repeatedly described the conflict as a US-led proxy war against Russia, while Russian President Vladimir Putin has warned against escalation and said that a direct clash between NATO and Russia would be “one step shy of a full-scale World War III.”

https://www.rt.com/news/594510-french-army-stands-ready/

12 Mar, 2024 22:19

Macron ‘panicked’ over leaked Ukraine reports – Marianne

A series of classified documents has debunked Western narratives about Kiev’s battlefield prospectsFrench President Emmanuel Macron’s talk about maybe sending troops to aid Kiev may have been spurred bythree assessments produced by the French militarythat painted a dire picture of the Ukraine conflict, according to the magazine Marianne.

The reports, which have somehow found their way into the weekly’s possession, argued that Ukraine wrecked its Western-trained force in the failed 2023 offensive, has run out of men to mobilize, and that its recent loss in Avdeevka shows it can’t even hold the line against Russia.

“Ukraine cannot win this war militarily,” concludes the first report, written in the fall of 2023, following Kiev’s disastrous ground offensive. It praises the Russian forces as the new “tactical and technical” standard of how to run defensive operations and debunks the media myth of “meat assaults.”

For the West to continue pursuing a military solutionin Ukraine would be“the most serious error of analysis and judgment,the classified document said, according to Marianne.

Sending French troops to Ukraine would be “unreasonable,” one senior officer wrote. “Make no mistake, up against the Russians we are an army of cheerleaders!” he added.

The second report, outlining the prospects for 2024, says that Kiev needs 35,000 men per month but is “recruiting less than half” of that number, while Russia enlists 30,000 volunteers monthly. Meanwhile, the 2023 offensive “tactically destroyed” half of Kiev’s 12 combat brigades.

“The West can provide 3D printers to manufacture drones or loitering munitions, but will never be able to print men,” the report said.

https://www.rt.com/news/594168-french-military-reports-ukraine/

>>20592016

19 Mar, 2024 18:55 (Anons what is the point of this?)

France preparing to deploy troops to Ukraine – Russia’s top spy

Some 2,000 soldiers would be sent in the “initial stage” of the operation, Sergey Naryshkin said

France is preparing its forces for deployment to Ukraine, the head of Russia's Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR) Sergey Naryshkin claimed in a statement on Tuesday.Paris allegedly seeks to send as many as 2,000 troops to Ukraine, he said.

French President Emmanuel Macron said last month that he “cannot exclude” the possibility of Western soldiers being sent to aid Kiev in its fight against Moscow, branding Russia an “adversary” while denying Paris was “waging war” against it.

Russia’s military and top officials have repeatedly pointed to the presence of French mercenaries already fighting for Kiev on the ground. In mid-January, the Russian Defense Ministry said thatmore than 60 foreigners, predominantly French nationals, had been killed in a high precision strike against a “temporary assembly point of foreign fighters.”

In the statement on Tuesday, the SVR chief said the French Armed Forces had become “concerned” about the rising number of French nationals dying in Ukraine.

The casualty level has supposedly surpassed a “psychological threshold” and could trigger protests, the statement said, adding thatMacron’s government was concealing this informationand “delaying” the moment it would have to be revealed.

According to the spy chief, the French military is worried about the government’s plans to send the contingent to Ukraine, considering that such an operation would be difficult to conduct without Russia noticing. TheFrench soldiers would indeed become “a legitimate priority target for attacks by the Russian Armed Forces,” Naryshkin said.

The claims come as the chief of staff of the French Army, Gen. Pierre Schill, said in an interview on Tuesday that France is prepared to take part in the “toughest engagements” militarily, and is ready to face any international developments. He added that Paris could assemble a division of 20,000 troops within 30 days and an army of 60,000 by joining with divisions from other NATO allies.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has also claimed this week that Western mercenaries, including French nationals, are dying in Ukraine “in large numbers.” Commenting on a potential NATO deployment to Ukraine, the president also warned that this would be “one step shy of a full-scale World War III.”

https://www.rt.com/news/594517-france-prepare-deploy-troops-ukraine/

(Note:France was kicked out of 3 African countries in the last year, because their forces were supposed to help defeat "terrorists" and were only making their countries worse off.)

19 Mar, 2024 15:52

Ukraine wants Australia to censor ‘pro-Putin’ documentary

ABC has defended the film that Kiev’s envoy, Vasily Myroshnychenko, denounced as a “bowl of vomit”

The Ukrainian ambassador to Canberra has demanded a meeting with the management of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation after it aired a documentary about the Ukraine conflict that wasn’t to his liking.

On Monday evening, the ABC showed British filmmaker Sean Langan’s documentary ‘Ukraine’s War: The Other Side’, featuring Russian soldiers and civilians in the Donbass.

In a post on X (formerly Twitter) on Tuesday morning, Ambassador Vasily Myroshnychenko called the program “the journalistic equivalent of a bowl of vomit” and claimed it “unquestioningly repeated and aired countless blatant lies, historical distortions, racist claims and propaganda narratives emanating from the Kremlin.”

The ABC “should be ashamed that it put such total garbage to air,” added Myroshnychenko, accusing Langan’s documentary of serving the interests of Russian President Vladimir Putin. The Australian Federation of Ukrainian Organisations chimed in as well, claiming the film featured “gross lies, hate and genocidal intentions” that caused them distress. The AFUO accused Langan of “fist-bumping, handshaking, hugging and smiling alongside Russian soldiers” and conducting “unchallenged interviews.”

Kiev’s ambassador demanded a meeting with the ABC management in order to “understand what process led to the airing of this pro-Putin and pro-violence propaganda piece” and “share with them the facts that the program totally disregarded.”

Australia’s Minister for Communications Michelle Rowland reportedly forwarded Myroshnychenko’s request to the broadcaster.

ABC has publicly responded to Ukrainian protests by defending the documentary as an important contribution to understanding the conflict. (Pretty brave of ABC of Australia to do)

“Ukraine’s War: The Other Side is a challenging but legitimate documentary, made by reputable journalist Sean Langan and first aired last month on the UK’s ITV, thatoffers a rare insight into the lives of Russian soldiers during the war,” an ABC spokesperson said. “We believe Australian audiences also have the right to watch it and make up their own minds.”

Canberra has followed Washington’s lead in backing Kiev, sending more than $600 million of weapons and ammunition, including howitzers and Bushmaster armored vehicles. However, Australia has drawn the line at fighter jets and helicopters, choosing to decommission them instead.

Ukraine’s government has sought to crack down on any deviations from its narrative in the West about the conflict with Russia. In August 2022, Kiev attacked the US outlet CBS News over a report about some Western military aid going missing. The outlet quickly caved and deleted its documentary.

(See next article Award winning Ukrainian film called out for misleading images and timeline. One of the reasons for this outrage.)

https://www.rt.com/news/594499-ukraine-australia-documentary-censorship/

>>20592137

19 Mar, 2024 14:24

Oscar-winning Ukrainian documentary called out for ‘misleading’ images

Acclaimed in the West, ‘20 Days in Mariupol’recycled an image taken in Donbass more than eight years before the events depicted in the film

At least one of the images featured in the Oscar-winning Ukrainian documentary ‘20 Days in Mariupol’ was in fact filmed years prior to the fighting in the city, it has emerged. In particular, one clip featuredthe aftermath of attacks by Kiev’s forces on Donbass, leading to accusations that filmmakers misled viewers.

Released last year, the documentary purports to depict the battle between Russian and Ukrainian forces for Mariupol, a large coastal city in the Donetsk People’s Republic liberated by Moscow’s troops in May 2022.

Ukrainian director Mstislav Chernov was on the ground covering the events for the Associated Press, and thefilm’s narrative aligns with that of Kiev and its Western backers, by accusing Russian soldiers of war crimes.

However, at least one apparent inconsistency in the documentary, which has been bestowed with numerous prizes in the West, including the Academy Award for best international feature film, was picked up by several Russian Telegram channels.

The image shows a child’s winter coat hanging from the branch of a tree and blowing in the wind, while the narrator explains how footage from Mariupol can serve as proof when explaining to his daughter what he did to stop the violence.

Rather than being from 2022, thesame footage was used in 2015by performer Artyom Grishanov in a semi-documentary music video. The videofeatured distressed Ukrainians in Donbass, particularly children, as the government in Kiev used military force in an attempt to seize controlafter the region rejected the 2014 Western-backed coup in the Ukrainian capital.

The song’s title, ‘Toys for Poroshenko’, was a reference to then-Ukrainian President Pyotr Poroshenko, and ends with a call for the government in Kiev to implement a ceasefire, arguing it would then realize there are no enemies in Donbass.

https://www.rt.com/russia/594493-mariupol-documentary-donbass-children/

>>20592137

>>20592159

Ukraine only lies, all the time