Zelenskyy plays the nuclear card — either Ukraine is in NATO or we will develop a nuclear deterrent.
It is inevitable that Ukraine develops its own nuclear weapons. I’d be surprised if they haven’t already started. The German media organization BILD has a report that Ukraine is just weeks away from fielding a nuclear weapon, but Kyiv has denied that report.
Zelenskyy makes reference to the Budapest Memorandum of 1994 under which Ukraine agreed to give up the nuclear arsenal it inherited when the Soviet Union broke up. That agreement included some rather vague security assurances from Western nations to Ukraine.
Must have been carrying ammunition.
Ukraine’s fleet of F-16s is starting to take shape. Greece also announced it is increasing training on F-16s.
The so-called shadow fleet has been enabling Russia to continue selling its oil.
It’s time to hit these Chinese companies hard with sanctions.
This is a good article on why Ukraine was unable to hold onto Vuhledar.
Slidstvo.Info spoke to one of the military officers at the headquarters of one of the battalions of the 72nd Brigade of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, which has been defending this area and Vuhledar in particular since August 2022 without rotation. The soldier’s name has been changed for security reasons.
‘Before the brigade was redeployed to the Donetsk region, we had a fully operational unit and staff. But over two years of fighting without rotations and rest, we turned into an incapacitated unit, the brigade was wiped out,’ says Viktor, who holds a position at the headquarters of one of the battalions of the 72nd Brigade of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
‘In the two years since we have been in the Vuhledar area, only once in my battalion have we been able to fully staff only one company — out of the entire battalion. Every three months, we received 25 new recruits, mostly old men aged 50+. They were poorly trained in the ‘training schools’, they did not know tactical medicine at all, nor what a grenade launcher was. There was zero fire support, so we managed to teach them what we could in a week on the spot, but understood that it was very little time.’
When asked why they failed to hold the town, which was situated on a hill and had a very favourable position for defence, and which his brigade and other units had held for two years, Viktor explains: ‘And what is a dominant height now, if the enemy’s reconnaissance drones are hovering over you around the clock? And they have an advantage in artillery, we had practically no artillery, it’s not like it was in the winter of 23rd, when we defeated the 155th Brigade (in February 2023, the 72nd Brigade destroyed several columns of Russian tanks and effectively rendered the 155th Marine Brigade of the Russian Federation incapable of fighting, which attacked Pavlivka, near Vuhledar — ed.) Then we had a lot of artillery, shoot if you want, but now we don’t, they have parity in the air due to the larger number of FPV drones. The Russians also started remotely mining all the access roads to the front line. Yes, their infantry are bums, but they have an advantage in means and numbers. We simply had no one and nothing to fight with.’
Another 1,420 soldiers and 17 tanks.
Sounds like somebody didn’t pay somebody else.
An update on Russia’s slow advance toward Pokrovsk.
That’s one hell of a photo.
You need to click on it to see it entirely.
I guess hunting civilians on safari wasn’t thrilling enough for Russian drone pilots.
It’s the Bacon Battalion!
And it’s not even New Year’s Eve.
Drone evolution continues.
“Do you realize the mess that’s going on in this war?” he asks.
Yes, I think we do.
Such a loving couple.
A time for healing.
Dance Party Ukraine
Must be some food in here somewhere.
Sound on.
