Zelensky says the Russian’s have a half million troops ready to re-invade his country…
That’s probably an exaggeration ….
But?
While Europe and America get ready to sent more heavy weapons to the Ukraine?
The Russian just COULD lanch their effort to recoup their loses…..
(Reports are that the Russians are suffering mass caucualities and deaths)
Meanwhile….
The Russian Foreign Minister mentions Georgia and Moldova…..
No wonder the Poles and Germany’s are sending stuff to the Ukraine, eh?
Zelensky is still pushing for European Union membership something that Russian Leader Putin SERIOUSLY does NOT want……
Oh?
The rocket attacks contiune against civilian area’s in the Ukraine
Here’s what we know:
On the 80th anniversary of a decisive Soviet triumph over the Nazis, President Vladimir V. Putin tried to cast Russia’s invasion as a virtuous endeavor. Back-to-back missile strikes hit the Ukrainian military hub of Kramatorsk as Kyiv warned of a new Russian offensive.
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Putin uses a World War II anniversary to vow victory in Ukraine.
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Another attack in Kramatorsk comes as rescuers search for survivors of an earlier Russian strike.
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Putin’s promise of victory overlooks rising casualties in his army.
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If Russia launches a new offensive, where might it come?
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A hit French novel tries to explain Putin. Too well, some critics say.
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As Russia prepares a new offensive in Ukraine, the battle for Stalingrad takes on new symbolism.
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Top E.U. officials arrive in Kyiv for a summit with Zelensky…..
E.U. leaders will take part in a wartime summit with Ukraine on Friday, which Kyiv hopes will help its bid to become a member of the bloc. However, E.U. officials are unlikely to offer Ukraine any concrete promises during the meeting, and full membership is likely to be years, if not decades, away.
In a speech in Volgograd, formerly known as Stalingrad, marking the 80th anniversary of the Soviet army’s victory over Nazi German forces there, Russian President Vladimir Putin vowed victory in Ukraine, continuing to build on a line of rhetoric that has suffused his remarks since the invasion of Ukraine, casting the Ukrainian government as Nazis and calling on the popular memory of Russia’s World War II history to bolster support for the Ukraine war. The potential of German Leopard tanks engaging with Russian forces has lent new force to this propaganda narrative.
Here’s the latest on the war and its ripple effects across the globe.
- The E.U. will “deepen further our support and cooperation” with Kyiv, von der Leyen said, while noting that it was the fourth time she has visited Ukraine since Russia’s invasion. Though the 27-member bloc is broadly supportive of Ukraine, it remains split on the idea of fast-track E.U. membership, with many countries worried about the cost of reconstructing Ukraine.
- Von der Leyen said an international center for the prosecution of the crime of aggression in Ukraine will be established in The Hague. The body will coordinate evidence collection and work closely with the joint investigation teams supported by the E.U. Agency for Criminal Justice Cooperation, she said. The crime of aggression, while fundamental and relatively provable, is notoriously difficult to prosecute.
- Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky praised an ongoing anti-corruption drive as “movement toward justice,” after the home of oligarch Ihor Kolomoisky and construction companies were raided in Kyiv and top officials were investigated and dismissed Wednesday. The E.U. has set out anti-corruption efforts as a condition of Ukraine’s joiningthe bloc, and an E.U. official, speaking on the condition of anonymity to brief reporters, called the investigations a sign of Ukraine’s “determination” to address corruption.
- Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin sidestepped questions about Ukraine’s request for F-16 fighter jets during his visit to the Philippines. Speaking at a news conference Thursday, Austin said the United States is “focused on providing Ukraine the capability it needs to be effective in its upcoming, anticipated counteroffensive in the spring.” Earlier this week, President Biden rejected the possibility of sending F-16 jets to Ukraine. However, Pentagon officials voiced skepticism, noting that the administration previously dismissed Kyiv’s requests for tanks, only to later reverse the decision.
- Russia’s foreign minister appeared to suggest that Moscow would need to launch an offensive in response to the Western supply of weapons in Ukraine. “We are in the midst of a geopolitical battle,” Sergei Lavrov said in an interview with state television Thursday. “The more long-range weapons the West supplies to the Kyiv regime, the further they should be moved from the Russian territory.”
- Russia may launch an offensive on or around Feb. 24 — the anniversary of the start of last year’s invasion — Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov told the French television network BFM. Ukrainian officials suspect Moscow may have assembled hundreds of thousands of troops for the potential attack. The remarks coincide with Ukrainian intelligence officials’ assessment that Ukraine is on the eve of an active phase at the front.
- A former commander of the Russian mercenary group Wagner has apologized for joining the fight against Ukraine. Andrey Medvedev, who sought asylum in Norway after crossing the border in January, told Reuters news agencythat he wanted to talk about his experiences to ensure that “the perpetrators are punished” for their actions in Ukraine. The United States estimates that Wagner has deployed 50,000 fighters in Ukraine — 40,000 of them convicts recruited directly from Russian prisons.
- A CNN correspondent said his team were “maybe 40 or 50 yards” away from a major Russian blast in Kramatorsk in eastern Ukraine on Thursday. The CNN team was reporting on the large rescue operation at the site of residential building “flattened” in a blast hours before, when a second and third strike hit the same building, sending dozens running for cover, CNN correspondent Fred Pleitgen told the channel. “The bottom line … there was a place where there was an active search-and-rescue-operation, and that place was targeted in a densely populated area one again today by the Russian military,” Pleitgen said….
Support for US assistance to the Ukraine ramains high despite som Houase Republicans noise….
Just over half of American voters think Ukraine is winning the war against Russia and nearly two-thirds want to keep helping them in their fight, according to a new Fox News survey.
Sixty-four percent favor the U.S. continuing to provide weapons to Ukraine and 63% support ongoing financial aid. Those numbers are up a touch compared to six months ago, when approval was 61% for weapons and 59% for money….