Ukraine President admits 31,000 of his solider ‘s have been lost in the 2 years of the conflict…..
Zelensky has a tough year coming at him….
Ukraine and Russia are still shooting rockets and drones at each other….
Russian forces ARE back to trying offensive ops….
European leaders want to convey that even if America is stalling…They ARE behind Ukraine…
President Biden will meet with lawmakers to try to advance the Foreign Affairs aid bills and the supliplimental spending bills….
Putin has NOT moved to embrace any peace effort in the conflict….
The US now admits the CIA IS helping the Ukraine deal with the Russians….
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An attack on Sunday destroyed the train station, shops and homes in the town of Kostiantynivka near the frontline of Ukraine’s two-year-old war against Russia. Police said a guided aerial bomb hit the station and four S-300 missiles followed in the pre-dawn hours. Kostiantynivka lies 30km (18 miles) west of Bakhmut, which fell to Russian forces in May 2023, and north of Avdiivka, captured by the Russians last week.
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Volodymyr Zelenskiy has for the first time put a number on Ukrainian soldier deaths, saying 31,000 troops have been killed since Russia’s full-scale invasion. The Ukrainian president told a news conference in Kyiv that he could not disclose the number of wounded because it would help Russian military planning.
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Ukraine’s defence minister, Rustem Umerov, said his country was “losing territory” in its grinding war with Russia because “50%” of weapons promised by western partners failed to arrive on time.
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Russian forces would attempt another offensive in late May or summer, Zelenskiy said. “We will prepare for their assault. Their assault that began on 8 October has not brought any results, I think.” Ukraine had a “clear” plan for a new counteroffensive, Zelenskiy said, but he could not disclose details. Troop rotations were critically important for the war effort and Ukraine needed to better prepare its reserve forces, he said.
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European leaders will gather in Paris on Monday to send Vladimir Putin a message of European resolve on Ukraine and, France has said, to counter the Kremlin’s narrative that Russia is bound to win. Emmanuel Macron, the French president, has invited his European counterparts to the Élysée Palace for a working meeting at short notice because of what his advisers say is an escalation in Russian aggression.
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Joe Biden plans to meet with congressional leaders on Tuesday for discussions including a stalled national security bill that provides assistance to Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan, according the US president’s aides.
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Rishi Sunak, Britain’s PM, has urged the west to be “bolder” in seizing Russian assets and to give Ukraine any interest already accrued on frozen Russian funds.
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Russia’s defence ministry said its forces had taken a more advantageous position near Avdiivka in Ukraine and repelled counterattacks.
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Andriy Yermak, Zelenskiy’s chief of staff, said Russia could be invited to a peace summit if the Kremlin “want[s] to genuinely end this war”…..
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Feb 25, 2024 – ISW Press
Russian officials and state media largely refrained from publicly discussing the two-year anniversary of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine on February 24, likely in an effort to avoid addressing Russia’s failure to achieve its stated war aims at significant human costs. Russian opposition outlet Agentstvo Novosti reported on February 25 that Russian state TV channels Rossiya 1 and Channel One (Perviy Kanal) and Gazprom Media-owned TV channel NTV did not mention the two-year anniversary of the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in broadcasts on February 24….
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Feb 24, 2024 – ISW Press
Ukraine continues to defend against Russian aggression and the Kremlin’s attempt to destroy Ukrainian statehood and identity despite growing difficulties two years after the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion. Two years ago Russia launched a full-scale war of conquest to overthrow the Ukrainian government and forcibly install a pro-Russian regime firmly under Moscow’s control. Russian forces drove on Kyiv from several directions and struck at Kharkiv, Kherson, Mariupol, and other Ukrainian cities. Russian President Vladimir Putin expected Ukrainians to welcome his forces or flee. Instead, Ukrainians fought for their freedom. They stopped the Russian drives on Kyiv and Kharkiv cities, stopped the Russian advance on Mykolayiv and Odesa cities, and fought Putin’s troops to a standstill along the rest of the line. Then, armed with experience, courage, determination, and growing Western aid, Ukraine struck back. Ukrainian forces drove the Russians from Kyiv and away from Kharkiv and liberated large swathes of territory in northeastern Ukraine. They liberated Kherson City and forced Russian forces off the west (right) bank of the Dnipro River. They ended the threat to Ukraine’s existence for the time.