Daily Report from the Ukraine Field for 2022-12-20
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Recent satellite images of Belarus show newly carved forest roads and the movement of a slow stream of military equipment to Ukraine’s northern border. Many experts take it as a sign that Belarus is likely to be the next front in Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
❗️🇷🇺🇺🇦🎞 Chronicle of the special military operation: December 19, 2022 events
▪️Ukrainian formations continue to strike at the border areas in the Belgorod region.
The village of Krasnaya Yaruga and the farm of Pankov were subjected to shelling. In Shebekino, power lines were damaged: thousands of residents were left without electricity.
▪️In the Kursk region, Ukrainian units fired nine mines at the village of Elizavetovka.
As a result of mortar hits, private houses were partially destroyed, and a gas pipeline was damaged. There were no casualties.
▪️Despite all attempts to strengthen the air defense of the capital, Russian Geran-2 drones again attacked power facilities in Kyiv.
According to preliminary data, kamikaze drones hit the Nivki electrical substation.
▪️In the Lisichansky sector, the offensive of the Russian forces actually stopped: the battles went into a positional phase.
The Ukrainian command is trying with all its might to keep the defense at the line of Belogorovka - Verkhnekamenskoye - Disputed.
▪️Bakhmut remains one of the hottest spots on the front line. Detachments of PMC "Wagner" continue to push the enemy in urban areas.
At the same time, battles are going on for Experienced and Podgorodnoye, the capture of which will facilitate the task of covering the city from the flanks.
▪️An anti-aircraft crew of the 11th regiment of the People's Militia of the DPR hit a Ukrainian Mi-8 helicopter near Donetsk.
The downed side, most likely, was hit during the exit from the attack and fell in a forest plantation near Pervomaisky.
▪️Despite the recent flank counterattack of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, in Maryinka itself, Russian troops are confidently advancing to the west.
It is reported about the successful advance in the city center, where the main defensive fortifications of the Ukrainian forces were located.
#rybar (https://t.me/rybar/42154)
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Washington Is Prolonging Ukraine's Suffering
During a speech given on November 29, Polish Vice-Minister of National Defense (MON) (https://krakow.tvp.pl/64805116/wiceszef-mon-prawdopodobienstwo-wojny-w-ktorej-bedziemy-brac-udzial-jest-wysokie) Marcin Ociepa said: "The probability of a war in which we will be involved is very high. Too high for us to treat this scenario only hypothetically." The Polish MON is allegedly planning (https://notesfrompoland.com/2022/12/09/up-to-200000-poles-to-be-called-up-for-military-training-next-year/) to call up 200,000 reservists in 2023 for a few weeks’ training, but observers in Warsaw suspect this action could easily lead to a national mobilization.
Meanwhile, inside the Biden administration, there is growing concern that the Ukrainian war effort will collapse under the weight of a Russian offensive. And as the ground in Southern Ukraine finally freezes, the administration’s fears are justified. In an interview published in the (https://www.economist.com/zaluzhny-transcript)Economist (https://www.economist.com/zaluzhny-transcript), head of Ukraine’s armed forces General Valery Zaluzhny admitted that Russian mobilization and tactics are working. He even hinted that Ukrainian forces might be unable to withstand the coming Russian onslaught.
Yet, Zaluzhny rejected any notion of a negotiated settlement and instead pleaded for more equipment and support. Truthfully, General Zaluzhny is not asking for assistance, he’s asking for a new army.
Ukraine’s hospitals and morgues are filled to capacity with wounded and dying Ukrainian soldiers.
Washington’s proxy in Kiev has squandered its human capital and considerable Western aid (https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2022/12/17/u-s-defense-contractors-sponsor-d-c-party-for-ukrainian-forces-amid-ongoing-war/) in a series of self-defeating counter-offensives.
NATO’s governments are divided in their thinking about the war in Ukraine. Except for Poland and, possibly, Romania, none of NATO’s members are in a rush (https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/11/4/hoas-costs-of-living-spike-is-western-stand-on-ukraine-wobbling) to mobilize their forces for a long, grueling war of attrition with Russia in Ukraine. No one in London, Paris, or, Berlin wants to run the risk of a nuclear war (https://www.19fortyfive.com/2022/12/america-cant-give-ukraine-so-many-weapons-a-nuclear-war-starts/) with Moscow. Americans do not support (https://www.courthousenews.com/americans-enjoy-largely-bipartisan-views-on-russia-ukrainian-war-per-new-pew-survey/) going to war with Russia, and those few who do are ideologues, shallow political opportunists, or greedy defense contractors (https://www.nytimes.com/2022/12/18/us/politics/defense-contractors-ukraine-russia.html).
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