“Ukraine – Russia”

Germany’s government on Friday accused Russia of pouncing on a statement by Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock to twist it to the Kremlin’s own ends and reiterated that neither Germany nor NATO were parties to the war in Ukraine.

Baerbock had called for Western unity during a meeting of the Council of Europe in Strasbourg on Tuesday, saying, in English: “We are fighting a war against Russia, not against each other.”

NATO and Germany have emphasized that their support for Ukraine as it defends itself against Russia’s unprovoked invasion does not constitute participation in the war.

“A little bit pregnant”

In general, the war in Ukraine is being approached by Western public opinion from a humanitarian perspective that sympathizes with the enormous suffering of the Ukrainian people while at the same time morally denouncing the aggressor: Putin. All this, though undoubtedly a just analysis that gives an accurate account of the culprits and victims, nevertheless brings with it at least two problems.

Firstly, the humanitarian focus gets in the way of hard geopolitical analysis, which is more important than the former both because of what is at stake and because statecraft, as opposed to humane sympathy, acts as the driving force on the global chessboard. But not only does a purely humanitarian focus conceal such important considerations; worst still, those who dare to engage in unsentimental geopolitical discourse outside of military and intelligence circles are automatically condemned by the media and the political class, and then ostracized. Geopolitics, it seems, is a mode of analysis not sanctioned by the court of political correctness.

Former security official Viktor Yahun says Ukraine’s SBU agency has long been overly close to Russia’s FSB

The arrest of a high-ranking Ukrainian intelligence agent accused of spying for Russia has highlighted the urgent need for a cleanout of the country’s key security service, a former deputy head of the agency has said.

The Ukrainian security service (SBU) reported on Thursday that they arrested a lieutenant colonel in their ranks on suspicion of “high treason” and published a photograph of bundles of cash found in his home.

The unnamed man is said to have used his mobile phone to photograph documents detailing the location of military checkpoints in Zaporizhzhia, a frontline region in the south-east of the country, and sending the information via an email account registered on a Russian domain.

Ukraine is beginning to act like a spoiled brat, and for some, it’s causing their halo to slip.

After securing the most modern, lethal battle tanks on planet earth, Ukraine now wants fourth-generation F-16 fighter jets. Begging your pardon, Mr. President, but what’s next? Nuclear weapons?

Graves discovered in southern Russia show extent of mercenary group’s recruitment for war in Ukraine

Hitmen, murderers and alcoholics from in and outside Russia have been killed fighting for the notorious Wagner mercenary group.

New graves discovered in a plot in rural southern Russia expose the array of convicts sent to their deaths on the front lines after a major prison recruitment drive.

A Reuters investigation found many of the buried men were convicted for violent crimes, and some of the recruits were foreign nationals including from Ukraine and Moldova.

#Ukraine: A Russian T-72B3 tank was destroyed by the Ukrainian 72nd Mechanized Brigade near Vuhledar, #Donetsk Oblast.
A T-80BV tank and BMP-3 infantry fighting vehicle of the Russian army were also damaged there. pic.twitter.com/DKg1hrQxls

— 🇺🇦 Ukraine Weapons Tracker (@UAWeapons) January 26, 2023

Canada is sending four combat-ready battle tanks to Ukraine “in the coming weeks,” Defence Minister Anita Anand announced Thursday.

As CTV News first reported, in addition to the initial four Leopard 2 tanks, Canada is considering sending more tanks at a later date.

Anand, announcing this latest shipment of military aid to Ukraine, said that Canada will also be deploying “a number” of Canadian Armed Forces members to train Ukrainian soldiers with the skills they will need to operate this equipment.

Inaccurate and piecemeal information has been a fixture of this war

The Russia-Ukraine war looks set to be one of the bloodiest in modern history. Even by conservative estimates, both sides are losing hundreds of soldiers per day, putting it within the top 10% of deadliest wars since 1812.

Over the past week, two major military figures in the West appeared to confirm the scale of suffering. Last Friday, Norway’s Chief of Defence, General Eirik Kristoffersen, claimed that Russia has endured 180,000 casualties to Ukraine’s 100,000 (plus another 30,000 Ukrainian civilian casualties). Meanwhile, U.S. Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Mark Milley said on Friday that Russian casualties are “significantly well over 100,00 now.” The Sun reports American intelligence services suggesting this figure is around 188,000.

Ukraine’s top soldier, General Valery Zaluzhny, has said that if he is to launch a successful counter-offensive, the West will have to provide him with another 300 tanks. This is, of course, a negotiating position. President Volodymyr Zelensky’s government has been very effective in managing western allies: cajoling, demanding and guilting them into providing more than they intended. He’s actually going to be getting more tanks, if not 300, now that Berlin has been browbeaten into lifting its objections. Might Germany’s initial reluctance suggest a changing perception of the war? It has certainly revealed the limited nature of the European powers’ arsenals.

Why does Ukraine need more tanks now?

There has been a lull in the fighting over the winter but both Ukraine and Russia are gearing up for an offensive in the spring. Military experts believe the battles could be decisive in the outcome of the war. Kyiv has already received a significant number of armoured vehicles and howitzers but Ukrainian troops require tanks if they are to break through Russian defensive lines with the sort of combined arms manoeuvre practised by western armies.

The Biden administration is leaning toward sending “a significant number” of M1 Abrams tanks to Ukraine, two U.S. officials said, and an announcement could come as early as this week.

The development comes amid a public standoff with German officials, who are under pressure to send their own Leopard tanks and allow other European countries that operate the German-made vehicles to do so as well.