Stumble by the Ukraine leadership on if the Crimea goal for the Ukraine is negotiable or NOT….
What to do about the Ukraine’s goal of joining NATO as a back against Russia coming across its borders in the future….
Putin has said he is NOT happy such a move and Biden is gun shy on getting hardcore against the Russian President…
Biden has been dragging his feet on helping the Ukraine and can be expected to NOT be enthusiastic about a a Ukraine NATO acceptance….
China isn’t serious about Ukraine/Russian peace efforts after Putin meets with China’s Xi Jinping….
Putin is trying to pull Belarus closer….
While America media will keep the story about the Wall Street reporter detained by the Russian alive?
He isn’t going anywhere until there is a swap of someone the Russian’s want….
Oh, and the fight for the Bakhmut continues….
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Someone got a hold of the American and NATO Ukraine Spring Offence plans and posted then on Twitter and on Telegram, a platform with more than half a billion users that is widely available in Russia….
One upping Biden’s spreading information American had on the Russian initial invasion of the Ukraine…
Of course the Russian KNEW all this…
But now?
So does EVERYBODY else….
Classified war documents detailing secret American and NATO plans for building up the Ukrainian military ahead of a planned offensive against Russia were posted this week on social media channels, senior Biden administration officials said.
The Pentagon is investigating who may have been behind the leak of the documents, which appeared on Twitter and on Telegram, a platform with more than half a billion users that is widely available in Russia.
Military analysts said the documents appear to have been modified in certain parts from their original format, overstating American estimates of Ukrainian war dead and understating estimates of Russian troops killed.
The modifications could point to an effort of disinformation by Moscow, the analysts said. But the disclosures in the original documents, which appear as photographs of charts of anticipated weapons deliveries, troop and battalion strengths, and other plans, represents a significant breach of American intelligence in the effort to aid Ukraine.
Biden officials were working to get them deleted but had not, as of Thursday evening, succeeded.
“We are aware of the reports of social media posts and the department is reviewing the matter,” said Sabrina Singh, the deputy press secretary at the Pentagon.
The documents do not provide specific battle plans, like how, when, and where Ukraine intends to launch its offensive, which American officials say is likely coming in the next month or so…..
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The leak is the first Russian intelligence [Reported?] breakthrough that has been made public since the war began.
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Yevgeny Prigozhin [Wagner Group] had previously asserted that his forces had or were near taking control of the city in eastern Ukraine, the focus of one of Russia’s longest-running assaults. Here is what we’re covering:
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Ukrainian forces are ‘not going anywhere,’ Prigozhin says.
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The new U.S. ambassador in Moscow meets with a diplomat to discuss detained reporter Evan Gershkovich.
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Zelensky’s aides send mixed messages on Crimea and the possibility of negotiations.
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Divisions emerge in NATO over giving Ukraine a pathway to membership, officials say.
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Putin and Lukashenko meet for a second day to deepen ties between Russia and Belarus.
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Russian prosecutors request a 25-year sentence for a dissident who criticized the war in Ukraine.
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Macron and Xi call for a return to talks and an end to attacks on civilians in Ukraine.
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Xi is willing to speak with Zelensky but has offered no time frame, a top E.U. official says…..
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French President Emmanuel Macron met with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing as European leaders try to shore up ties with China, a major trade partner for the continent, and to persuade Beijing to use its relationship with Moscow to help stop the war in Ukraine. Macron’s visit follows a meeting between Xi and Russian President Vladimir Putin last month in Moscow.
Here’s the latest on the war and its ripple effects across the globe.
- The Biden administration says classified documents detailing U.S. and NATO plans to support an upcoming Ukrainian offensive appeared on Twitter and Telegram, the messaging app popular in Russia, the New York Times reports. The documents are five weeks old, and focus on what materiel Ukraine may require for the offensive. They do not outline any battle plans. Asked about the Times report, Pentagon spokeswoman Sabrina Singh acknowledged that social media posts had come to the Pentagon’s attention and were under review.
- Microsoft will pay a $2,980,265.86 settlement relating to a violation of sanctions levied by the United States against Russia. According to a Treasury Department statement, the tech giant exported more than $12 million worth of software and services to actors sanctioned by the U.S. government; these actions “facilitated the operations of, or otherwise benefited [sanctioned figures] including major Russian enterprises that generated substantial revenues for the Russian state.” The low settlement amount reflects the fact that Microsoft self-reported the violation and undertook “significant remedial measures,” according to the Treasury statement.
- China has a “major role to play in building peace,” Macron said Thursday ahead of talks in Beijing, where he was joined by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen. Xi said China and France urge “restraint from all international partners” to avoid an escalation of the crisis in Ukraine.
- Sitting across from Xi, Macron said Russia’s war in Ukraine has ended decades of peace in Europe. “I know I can count on you to bring Russia back to reason and everyone back to the negotiating table,” he told the Chinese leader.
- “We count on China not to provide” military equipment to Russia, von der Leyen said Thursday, according to Reuters. She held a meeting with Xi and Macron, which she described as an opportunity for European-Chinese dialogue.
- “Intense battles” continue for control of Bakhmut, Avdiivka and Marinka in eastern Ukraine, the General Staff of Ukraine’s armed forces said in a statement on Facebook on Thursday.
- Russian prosecutors requested a 25-year prison sentence for Vladimir Kara-Murza, a Russian opposition politician, author and Washington Post opinions contributor, one of his attorneys told local news outlets Thursday. Kara-Murza has been imprisoned in Moscow since April 2022 on charges of treason and spreading ‘false’ news about Russia’s military by speaking out against the war on Ukraine…..