Those fighters that are hold up in the Ukrainian steel mill have been a wealth of pundits telling us all what to expect from Russia….but of all those highly paid pundits who actually work for the arms industry may have got the whole scenario wrong.
Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered his forces not to storm the last remaining Ukrainian stronghold in the besieged city of Mariupol on Thursday but instead to block it “so that not even a fly comes through.” His defense minister, Sergei Shoigu, said the rest of the city beyond the sprawling Azovstal steel plant has been “liberated”—as Russian officials refer to areas of Ukraine they have seized. Putin hailed that as a “success.” But leaving the plant in Ukrainian hands robs the Russians of the ability to declare complete victory in Mariupol, which has seen some of the most dramatic fighting of the war and whose capture has both strategic and symbolic importance, the AP reports.
The scale of suffering there has made it a worldwide focal point, and its definitive fall would deprive Ukraine of a vital port, complete a land bridge between Russia and the Crimean Peninsula, and free up Russian troops to move elsewhere in the Donbas region. Putin and Shoigu’s comments appeared to reflect a change in strategy in Mariupol, where the Russians previously seemed determined to take every last inch of the city. Ukrainian officials did not comment on the latest remarks, but earlier said four buses with civilians managed to escape from the city after several unsuccessful attempts.
Thousands more remain in the city, much of which has been reduced to a smoking ruin in a nearly two-month siege, with more than 20,000 people feared dead. On Tuesday, soldiers holed up at the steel plant pleaded for international help evacuating troops and civilians, saying “We fight to the last, but we have very little time left.” Paul Adams at the BBC says Putin’s apparent change of plan may be an effort to speed up the wider Donbas offensive. Or, since the site is one of Europe’s biggest steelworks, “Moscow may be hoping that there’s something of value to salvage” even after weeks of destruction.
Interesting turn of the screw.
But not to worry the US will send all the taxpayer cash and stuff they can…..
President Biden on Thursday announced an additional $800 million in military aid to help Ukraine, and he warned that Congress will need to approve additional assistance, per the AP. The new military package includes heavy artillery, 144,000 rounds of ammunition, and drones for Ukrainian forces in the escalating battle for the Donbas region of eastern Ukraine. It builds on roughly $2.6 billion in military assistance that Biden had previously approved. He also announced that all Russian-affiliated ships would be barred from US ports. Biden said that $13.6 billion approved last month by Congress for military and humanitarian assistance was “almost exhausted”.
“Next week, I’m going to have to be sending to Congress a supplemental budget request to keep weapons and ammunition deployed without interruption,” Biden said. Congress has signaled it is receptive to further requests and has been expecting there would be a need for further help for the Ukrainians. Biden did not detail how much additional funding he would request. Biden spoke on the new assistance, and more broadly about the situation in Ukraine, hours after Russian President Vladimir Putin claimed victory in the strategic city of Mariupol. Putin, however, ordered his troops not to risk more losses by storming the last pocket of Ukrainian resistance in the war’s iconic battleground.
Biden in a brief exchange with reporters following his remarks called Russia’s claim on Mariupol “questionable.” The new tranche of US military assistance is expected to include 72 155mm howitzers, 144,000 artillery rounds, 72 vehicles used to tow to the howitzers onto the battlefield, and over 121 Phoenix Ghost tactical drones, as well as field equipment and spare parts. Earlier this week, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said his country will send heavy artillery to Ukraine. Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte told Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky that the Netherlands will send more heavy weapons, including armored vehicles.
And the peasants dance…..and the taxpayer weeps…..
We all have seen the devastation that has been foisted onto Ukraine by Russian troops…..visuals of all the destroyed buildings including a few bodies and the twisted remains of Russian vehicles and tanks….but with all this destruction there a weapons being used that should never be allowed on a battlefield……like cluster munitions…..
Russia has been accused of using everything from so-called vacuum bombs to chemical weapons as it fights to overtake Ukraine.
Some of the worst weapons that Moscow has allegedly used are indiscriminate in their nature, prompting concerns about their impact on civilian populations from Ukrainian officials, the West, and human rights groups monitoring the war.
“There is deliberate targeting of civilian populations and noncombatants, which is against international law,” said John Erath, senior policy adviser for the Center for Arms Control and Nonproliferation. “And it really does not matter what type of weapon is being used. That is really bad.”
Here are five of the worst weapons Russia has been accused of using in its invasion.
Cluster bombs are indiscriminate killers….the Us has used these in the past….actually the US has used many of the weapons reported…..
NY Times is reporting that Ukraine used cluster munitions on their own people….
Cluster bombs: These types of bombs open in mid-air and are banned because of their capacity to indiscriminately kill civilians. Russia has been using them in Ukraine, but the New York Times reports on the surprise revelation that Ukraine has, too. One such device was deployed by Ukrainian troops on the village of Husarivka, though no casualties were reported. Ukraine’s “decision to saturate their own village with a cluster munition that has the capacity to haphazardly kill innocent people underscores their strategic calculation: This is what they needed to do to retake their country, no matter the cost,” per the Times.
Like I said….it is a report and so far I have not been real thrilled with these types of report….
These weapons have been internationally banned but yet countries still use them….
Now ask who produces such weapons….then go to those that do and force them to cease operation.
Yet we condemn those that use them and cheer the ‘allies’ that do as well.
That is the word from our State Department….But I ask why? And who would benefit from such a prolonged conflict?
Secretary of State Antony Blinken told Washington’s European allies that the US believes the war in Ukraine could last through the end of 2022, CNN reported Friday, citing two European officials.
The report said that many Western officials have assessed there’s no short-term end in sight for the war, and public comments from US officials have reflected this. National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan has warned of a “protracted conflict” that he said could go on “for months or even longer.”
Last week, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Mark Milley has said he believes the war will continue for years. “I do think this is a very protracted conflict, and I think it’s measured in years. I don’t know about decade, but at least years for sure,” he told the House Armed Services Committee.
A senior State Department official told CNN that Blinken has “has discussed with his counterparts our concern that the conflict could be protracted, but all of his engagements have revolved around how best to bring it to a halt as quickly as possible.”
But Blinken hasn’t explored diplomacy with Russia as a potential avenue to bring about an end to the war. Blinken hasn’t spoken with his Russian counterpart, Sergey Lavrov, since February 15, and President Biden doesn’t appear to have plans to hold talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Instead of diplomacy with Moscow, the US is significantly increasing its military aid to Ukraine. On Wednesday, Biden authorized a new $800 million weapons package for Ukraine, bringing the total military aid pledged since Russia invaded on February 24 to about $2.6 billion.
A second senior State Department official told CNN that the US has “done a lot and so we do have faith and we always had faith in our Ukrainian partners. But as the fight doubles down, so does our commitment to give them weapons and equipment that they can use.”
(antiwar.com)
My question remains.
Who the Hell benefits from a prolonged war?
I think the answer to that question is the last paragraph of the quote….
We know that the refugees will not benefit….nor the fighters…..nor the people left behind…..not the dead or the maimed…..
With a little analysis one can see just who the Hell benefits.
In Saner Thought 