Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited.
[KavkazUzel] A court in Novocherkassk acquitted a contract soldier from Chechnya, Zaindi Takaev, who was accused by investigators of murdering a colleague from Dagestan, Magomed Shakhbanov. The basis for acquittal was the results of two examinations, which did not confirm Takaev’s guilt.
According to investigators, on June 6, 2022, in the courtyard of a multi-story residential building in the city of Pervomaisk, Lugansk People's Republic (LPR), there was a feast in which contract soldiers of the 163rd Tank Regiment took part. When the food and drinks ran out, they began to disperse.
One of the military men, according to investigators, went to bed, taking a machine gun and a pistol with him, the second contract soldier, unarmed, went to his car. According to the participants of the feast, only 20-year-old Anastasia, Sofia and their peer, a native of Dagestan, Magomed Shakhbanov, remained at the table. At that moment fire was opened on them. The girls hid under the table, and Shakhbanov was hit in the head by a bullet, he died, Kommersant reported today.
Zaindi Takaev, a 41-year-old contract soldier from Chechnya, said that he immediately realized that they were shooting at the gazebo from nearby bushes. He jumped into the gazebo, grabbed his machine gun standing by the bench and opened fire back towards the bushes. He managed to repel the attack, after which Takaev called doctors and military police.
The girls told investigators a different version. According to them, one of the servicemen left his pistol with Takaev before leaving, and it was from this that Shakhbanov was shot. They stated that Takaev got up from the table, approached Shakhbanov from behind and shot him in the head.
Takaev's colleagues rejected this version, saying that he had good relations with Shakhbanov. Takaev himself told the investigation that he had the opportunity to shoot Shakhbanov many times during the battle, but he had no reason to do so.
Investigators opened a criminal case of murder, Takaev was arrested. The examination was unable to establish the genetic profile of the person holding the gun. Another examination established that Shakhbanov was shot from “a short distance” and that he was hit by a shell with a diameter of 8 millimeters, which did not correspond to the version stated by the girls that Shakhbanov was killed with a nine-millimeter caliber weapon, News.ru reported today.
As a result, the Novocherkassk Garrison Military Court acquitted Zaindi Takaev. The court's decision was appealed by the prosecutor's office in the Southern District Military Court. The prosecutor's office believes that the jury unanimously decided to acquit Takaev, since pressure could have been put on them, RIAMO noted today.
[Jpost] An Israeli-American businessman was arrested for his involvement in a scheme to illegally export sensitive US tech to Russia, before and during its war on Ukraine, the US Department of Justice said in a Thursday statement.
Ilya Kahn, 66, was arrested on Wednesday for his suspected role in a years-long plot to transfer thousands of semiconductors made in America to ELVEES, a sanctioned Russian business that the department said was tied to Russia's military and the Federal Security Service (FSB).
Kahn is the owner of two US-based companies, Senesys Incorporated and Sensor Design Association, both operating in the field of "security software development." A joint Departments of Justice and Commerce investigation found that, through these companies, the suspect exported thousands of microcontrollers, network interface controllers, and a radio-frequency transmitter to ELVEES, before and after it was sanctioned by the United States and listed in the Commerce Department’s Entity List in March 2022 for its alleged role in helping facilitate Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
According to the allegation, Kahn moved such sensitive equipment without obtaining an appropriate permit through a third party in the form of a Hong Kong-based shipping company. After Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Khan allegedly continued to supply ELVEES with semiconductors manufactured in Taiwan.
After a Taiwanese company refused to ship the semiconductors to Russia, Khan devised a plot to ship the tech to the US only to have it re-exported to Moscow, the complaint against the businessman charged. "Kahn also used Hong Kong and other locations around the world as transshipment points to evade US export laws and regulations and to conceal the Russian end users," it added.
Kahn will be met with 'full force' of the US Justice Department
"Mr. Kahn stands accused of repeatedly exporting sensitive technology to Russia before, during, and after Russia launched its unprovoked invasion of Ukraine," the US Department of Justice's National Security Division Assistant Attorney-General Matthew G. Olsen was quoted as saying. "Violations of US sanctions and export control laws that aid Russia and other hostile powers endanger our nation’s security and will be met with the full force of the Justice Department."
"This arrest reflects our continued aggressive enforcement of export control violations involving the Russian military and the FSB," a Commerce Department official added.
Khan is officially alleged to have conspired to violate the Export Control Reform Act (ECRA) and faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison.
#2
the suspect exported thousands of microcontrollers, network interface controllers, and a radio-frequency transmitter to ELVEES, before and after it was sanctioned
Sounds like commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) stuff. The fact that the suspects were doing it *before* they were sanctioned shows just how cunning and evil they are.
[Yahoo] Moscow-installed officials said Ukrainian shelling killed at least 25 people and wounded 20 on Sunday at a market on the outskirts of Donetsk, a Russian-occupied city in the eastern part of the country.
Among the injured in the suburb of Tekstilshchik were two children, said Denis Pushilin, the local leader.
Ukrainian officials in Kyiv did not comment on the incident, and the claims could not be independently verified by The Associated Press. Both sides have increasingly relied on longer-range attacks this winter amid largely unchanged positions on the 1,500-kilometer (930-mile) front line in the nearly 2-year-old war.
The artillery shells that hit the area had been fired from the area of Kurakhove and Krasnohorivka to the west, Pushilin said, adding that emergency services responded to the scene.
Donetsk is one of four regions in Ukraine that Russia annexed illegally in 2022, months after Moscow launched its full-scale invasion.
Worth noting, korrespondent.net has compiled its Invasion of Ukraine series into separate months, beginning May 9th, 2023. Linked in the title
[Korrespondent] 23:01 Biden said in his speech to city mayors that without American help Russia can win in Ukraine: “If we step aside and Russia can maintain its offensive and break Ukraine, what do you think will happen to the Balkan countries? What will happen from Poland to Hungary with its Orban?"
21:55 Swiss President Viola Amherd believes that it is necessary to hold a peace summit on Ukraine with the participation of Russia. In her opinion, without Russia's participation, the summit is unlikely to become a real peace conference. “Over the past few days, I have been told several times how important this is and how glad everyone is that at least someone is able to talk to everyone. We have communication channels and they are open,” Amherd added. She considers the participation of South Africa, India, Brazil, Saudi Arabia and China to be the key to the success of the summit.
20:53 The German company Taurus Systems is ready to quickly replenish the stocks of long-range missiles in Germany if they are supplied to Ukraine, said the head of the company, Joachim Knopf: “We can quickly begin new production of Taurus, integrate the platform and refine the existing missiles. The condition for this is an order from client".
Good lord — place the order already!
19:04 The Internal Audit Service of the Ministry of Defense and representatives of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, together with representatives of the Department of Defense Cooperation of the US Embassy, conducted the first joint inspection of weapons and property provided by American partners in one of the military units. In particular, Ukrainian and American inspectors checked three main items - serial numbers, technical condition and proper storage conditions. During the joint work, there were no comments from US representatives, the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense reported.
18:16 Zelensky said in an evening video message that already in January and February there should be results of new agreements with partners on security guarantees: “We are preparing new agreements with partners - strong bilateral agreements. January and February should bring corresponding results. We are already seeing specific dates, when there may be new and strong documents." In addition, according to him, there will be new defense packages “in these weeks and months.”
The President also named the locations of the most intense fighting at the front: “The most severe is in Avdeevka, the Maryinsky direction is Krasnogorovka, the Limansky direction, the Seversky direction, our Kupyansky direction, the Kherson direction is in Krynki.”
16:10 By the end of this year, the EU will be able to produce 1.3 million shells, said Thierry Breton, European Commissioner for the Internal Market. According to him, this is a priority task, since the European Union must help Ukraine with ammunition and replenish stocks. By March or April, production capacity should reach a million shells per year.
15:39 Prime Minister of Slovakia Robert Fico said that Ukraine’s entry into NATO could be the beginning of the Third World War, so he will block it. According to Fico, he is going to announce this at a meeting with his Ukrainian colleague Denis Shmygal on January 24: “I am coming with humanitarian aid, we will confirm that they will not receive any weapons from the Slovak army and from state warehouses... As for their entry into The European Union, we respect that, but they must meet the conditions... I will say that I am against Ukraine’s membership in NATO, that I will use the right of veto and block it, because this will be the foundation of the Third World War.”
14:21 EU member states were presented with a proposal to reorganize the fund , which provides military support to Ukraine. The bloc plans to switch from sending weapons from existing stocks to purchasing new ones, Bloomberg writes, citing the document. The draft sets out the conditions for the creation of a previously proposed Ukraine Assistance Fund with an annual budget of about 5 billion euros, which EU governments could not agree on.
13:52 Ukraine cannot wage a defensive war, since the transition to a defensive position often leads to a frozen conflict, Ermak said in an interview with Le Figaro: “We have seen this since 2014. We will never agree to a frozen conflict with Putin... We must "Be realistic. The situation is certainly difficult, but the motivation of our people, the motivation of our soldiers is very high. We are fighting for our survival, for our land, for the victory that we believe in... Give us weapons and we will do the job."
According to the head of the OP, troops at the front complain about a lack of people and resources and say that they are no longer able to advance. "This is certainly a problem, and there is no point in hiding it. Some soldiers need rest. Many of them have been on the front line for two years. The government and the General Staff are working on a new law on mobilization, which will soon be submitted to parliament. And on a realistic military strategy The transition period is still ongoing,” Ermak said.
12:08 The Russians fired three missiles at Novogrodovka, Pokrovsky district, Donetsk region - two people were wounded, 33 private houses and an administrative building were damaged, said the head of the OVA Vadim Filashkin.
09:57 Representatives of the White House said at a meeting with congressional leaders that if assistance is not allocated to Ukraine, “Russia could win the war in a matter of weeks - months at best,” NBC News reported, citing sources. Biden's national security adviser Jake Sullivan and intelligence director Avril Haines told Congress that "Ukraine will exhaust certain air defense and artillery capabilities in the coming weeks."
According to the channel's source, White House officials are "increasingly alarmed by the prospect that Biden will not be able to fulfill his promise to be close to Kiev as long as necessary." White House officials also told congressmen that the lack of aid to Ukraine “could prompt other countries that rely on the United States, including Japan and South Korea, to rethink their alliances.”
A bipartisan group of congressional leaders meeting agreed that providing aid to Ukraine is a national security priority, but acknowledged that "there are disagreements on how to proceed legislatively," NBC reported.
09:18 The General Staff announced the estimated losses of the Russian Federation as of the morning of January 20:
personnel - about 375,270 (+750) people,
tanks - 6171 (+4),
armored combat vehicles - 11,455 (+10),
artillery systems - 8868 (+14),
MLRS - 967 (+1),
air defense systems - 654 (+0),
aircraft - 331 (+0),
helicopters - 324 (+0),
UAV of operational-tactical level - 6934 (+5),
cruise missiles - 1818 (+0),
ships/boats - 23(+0),
submarines - 1 (+0),
automotive equipment and tank trucks - 11,848 (+17),
special equipment - 1389 (+5).
09:03 At night, Russia attacked Ukraine with seven attack UAVs of the Shahed-136/131 type from the Primorsko-Akhtarsk region and three S-300 anti-aircraft guided missiles from the occupied Lugansk region in the Donetsk region. Four of the seven drones were destroyed, the remaining three did not reach their targets, the Air Force command said. Air defense operated within the Odessa, Nikolaev, Cherkasy and Khmelnytsky regions.
08:25 Over the past 24 hours, 103 military clashes took place at the front, the General Staff reported in its morning report . In the Avdeevka direction, the Defense Forces repelled 14 enemy attacks in the Avdeevka area and another 19 attacks south of Tonenkoye, Pervomaiskoye and Nevelskoye in the Donetsk region. In the Liman direction, ten attacks were repelled near Ternov, Yampolevka, Verkhnekamenskoye, Donetsk region, and another 15 attacks in the areas of Serebryansky forestry, Belogorivka, Lugansk region.
In the Kupyansk direction, Ukrainian forces repelled 12 enemy attacks in the areas of Sinkovka, Petropavlovka, Tabaevka and Berestovo in the Kharkov region; on Bakhmutsky - four attacks near Ivanovsky, Andreevka and Kleshcheevka, Donetsk region; on Maryinsky - 12 attacks near Georgievka, Maryinka and Novomikhailovka, Donetsk region; on Shakhtarsky - one attack south of Zolotaya Niva, Donetsk region; on Zaporozhye - three attacks west of Verbovoy, Zaporozhye region. The expansion of the bridgehead continues in the Kherson direction; over the past 24 hours, the enemy has unsuccessfully attempted to storm the positions of the Defense Forces ten times.
00:18 The French Foreign Ministry denied the statement of the Russian Ministry of Defense that during the recent attack on Kharkov, “dozens of French mercenaries” who fought for the Ukrainian Armed Forces were allegedly killed there. “France does not have mercenaries either in Ukraine or anywhere else, unlike some,” the Foreign Ministry said and called Russia’s allegations “gross manipulation.”
At the same time, the department admitted that the French are fighting in Ukraine, but we are not talking about professional military personnel: “We cannot ban them, we are still a democracy. By definition, these people have no connection with the French armed forces, do not wear French military uniform and are not associated with French military institutions."
Direct Translation via Googler Translate. Edited.
[Korrespondent] Ukrainian defenders steadfastly hold back the enemy's onslaught
It was especially hot in the Kupyansk direction, where the enemy tried to break through the defenses of our troops. There, Ukrainian defenders repulsed 21 Russian attacks.
The General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces published operational information about the Russian invasion as of Saturday evening, January 20.
“During the day, 72 military clashes occurred. In total, the enemy launched 3 missiles (S-300 anti-aircraft guided missiles against the civilian infrastructure of Novogradovka, Donetsk region) and 4 air strikes, carried out 25 attacks from multiple launch rocket systems on the positions of our troops. terrorist attacks, to "Unfortunately, civilians were killed and injured. More than 35 private residential buildings and other civilian infrastructure were destroyed and damaged," the General Staff said in the evening report.
The operational situation in the east and south of Ukraine remains difficult.
In the Kupyansk direction, our defenders repulsed 21 attacks near Sinkovka, Petropavlovka in the Kharkov region and Stelmakhovka in the Lugansk region, where the enemy tried to break through the defenses of our troops.
In the Liman direction, our defenders repelled 6 enemy attacks near Ternov, Yampolevka in the Donetsk region and 7 more attacks in the areas of Serebryansky forestry, Belogorovka in the Lugansk region.
In the Bakhmut direction, the Defense Forces repulsed 8 attacks near Bogdanovka, Klishchievka and Andreevka in the Donetsk region, where the enemy unsuccessfully tried to improve the tactical situation.
In the Avdeevsky direction, our defenders repulsed 6 enemy attacks in the Avdeevka area and another 11 attacks south of Severny, Vodyanoy, Pervomaisky and Nevelsky in the Donetsk region. Here the invaders unsuccessfully tried to break through the defenses of our troops.
In the Maryinsky direction, the Defense Forces continue to contain the enemy near Maryinka and Novomikhailovka, Donetsk region. Here the invaders tried unsuccessfully to improve the tactical situation 4 times.
In the Shakhtarsky direction the enemy did not conduct offensive (assault) operations.
In the Zaporozhye direction, our defenders repelled an enemy attack west of Verbovoy, Zaporozhye region, where the enemy unsuccessfully tried to restore the lost position.
The enemy does not abandon his intention to dislodge our units from the bridgeheads on the left bank of the Dnieper. During the day, the enemy made 6 unsuccessful assaults on the positions of our troops.
During the day, Defense Forces aviation carried out strikes on 6 areas where personnel, weapons and military equipment were concentrated, 1 anti-aircraft missile system, 1 ammunition depot and 1 enemy communications center. Units of the missile forces inflicted defeat on 3 areas of concentration of personnel, weapons and military equipment, 1 control point and 1 enemy electronic warfare station.
Earlier it was reported that Russian troops broke through the defenses of Avdeevka, Donetsk region, and gained a foothold in private houses on the southern outskirts of the city.
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited. by Sergey Savchuk
[RIA] Based on the results of the past two years, even the most biased Western propagandists admit that sanctions against the Russian fuel and energy complex have failed. They created a number of significant difficulties on export routes, but the main task - the destruction of the domestic economy with the accompanying collapse of the defense complex - was not even approximately realized. The Russian economy in 2023 has become number one in Europe, unceremoniously removing the lame duck of Germany from its pedestal.
At the same time, it would be extremely naive to think that the other side will admit defeat and stop inventing ways to kill our state base in one way or another. The US government, desperate to destroy Russian oil supply chains, decided to flank and strike from an unexpected direction.
According to the overseas press, the White House is working on a program of massive foreign investment in agricultural production. The main goal, as in the case of energy resources, is to reduce the share of Russian farmers and fertilizer producers on the world market, to minimize export revenue in this area and, if possible, to occupy our niche.
If someone has a hat-inducing mood, then it is advisable to put them in the closet. Let us recall that in two years Washington has practically eliminated the export of our hydrocarbons to the European Union, although this was a well-functioning scheme that had worked perfectly since the times of the Soviet Union and was extremely beneficial for all participants without exception.
Against the backdrop of endless publications on the topic of natural gas and oil, whose quotes and transshipment volumes are tracked in real time, agricultural products have been relegated to a very distant place - and completely in vain. Because not all the inhabitants of the planet refuel their cars, but everyone without exception wants to eat every day.
Beautifully said.
It is quite difficult to analyze the global market for agro-industrial products, if only because the agricultural and parallel sectors, in comparison with the oil and gas sector, have a multiply larger product range in terms of both primary and processed products. But we will try to understand where the next meanness can come to us from and how real it is.
If the hydrocarbon market can be described in broad strokes, then in the sector of production and export of agricultural products the devil hides in certain areas and details.
For example, the world's largest producer and exporter of palm oil and its by-products is Indonesia, which produced 46 million tons in 2022, exporting $17 billion worth of products abroad. The number one exporter of soybeans is the United States, which sells more than two billion bushels of beans abroad. By the way, during the first trade war, China, a key buyer, took advantage of this fact. Beijing cut off soybean imports for some time, which led a huge part of the American agricultural sector into a groggy state, and Washington sharply reduced the intensity of anti-Chinese rhetoric.
China grows more than 23 million tons of garlic, covering 80 percent of world trade. India is the absolute leader in rice cultivation; Indians export about 20 million tons alone. The Philippines, at $1.5 billion a year, has no rival in banana exports,
I thought there were issues with bananas — something about monoculture cultivation — and in a generation no child would know the taste of the things. Did I misunderstand?
Nigeria in the cocoa niche, Iran in the watermelon trade,
...watermelons — really??
and Brazil is ahead of everyone else in sugarcane exports.
Many will probably be surprised, but the tiny Netherlands earns almost $80 billion a year from the sale of flowers, seedlings, tomatoes and chili peppers and is one of the five largest world producers.
The Netherlands is a major farm products producer. That’s why they revolted when their government started passing laws to force them to stop producing greenhouse gasses. They’re a big Geert Wilders voting bloc, as I recall.
Our country totally dominates in the cultivation and export of wheat, as well as other grains. In 2022, domestic grain growers threshed 153.8 million tons of grain, 104.4 of which were wheat. Exports of more than 27 million tons have secured a niche for Russia of 20 percent of world trade.
How much of that is confiscated Ukrainian wheat? Ukraine was not only the heart of the Rus, but the breadbasket of Russia.
In general, the statistics of the Russian agricultural sector and specialized exports are extremely indicative.
By the end of the first year of the CBO, when domestic oil and gas traders were scrambling to find new supply channels, the agricultural sector rocketed upward, lending its overworked shoulder to the economy. Western analytical agencies state through clenched teeth that while the collective West was demonstrably fighting totalitarian oil and gas, Russian exports of agricultural products made a dizzying leap.
Let's go over the main numbers.
Total export earnings from the sale of agricultural products more than doubled. If in 2015 this figure was 17 billion, then by the end of 2022 it is already 41.6 billion dollars. In just a year, Russia moved from 20th to 17th place among the world's largest agricultural traders. In general terms, Russian exports grew by 12 percent, sales of grains by 18 percent, oils and vegetable fat products by 25 percent, meat by 23 percent, and prepared food by two percent. To be fair, it should be added that during the same period, supplies of fish and seafood went into minus by 12 percent, and dairy products fell by two percent.
To understand the overall picture, it should also be mentioned that the world’s main exporter was the United States, which at the end of the year sold $193 billion in food products, confidently ahead of Brazil with $135 billion. That is why Washington’s initiative should be taken extremely seriously, because the Americans achieved success in Europe, where the presence of their oil and gas was minimal.
In this case, Russia is almost five times inferior in core trade volumes, which, on the one hand, is comical, because the States are strenuously positioning themselves as a high-tech country, and not at all a soybean empire.
One is a growth industry, the other is a solid underpinning of the economy. These are not mutually exclusive — America has historically been all in on the freedom to choose, and for individuals to create new options when they don’t like what’s on the table.
On the other hand, in the last year alone, the Biden administration has driven more than fifty large factories producing nitrogen fertilizers in Europe to bankruptcy,
...eh? I thought that was the various European governments driving to fulfill their stupid, self-imposed greenhouse gas reduction mandates...
that is, the yield of European farmers this year is entirely in the hands of the United States. It is foolish to think that once the Europeans refused super-profitable gas contracts, they will show persistence in purchasing ammonium nitrate.
Time will tell where the American investment blow will be delivered. We can only hope that our farmers and exporters will understand the warning and will meet any dirty tricks fully armed.
#4
In comes Blackrock. Oligarchs of the west. 44 four star generals currently. WW11 we had 7 four star generals. 22 million in uniform WW11 to 1.2 million in uniform currently. Soldiers ordered to fight. Money goes where. People like Victoria Nuland incessantly press on for war. Be like us or fight us. America last. 2200 for immigrants and 1400 SS for Americans who worked all their life. Contamination in as I recall in OHIO where 4000 locals were ill served and still have contaminated water. No offer to relocate. Currently in England immigrants given 1200 pounds each month. Car, and other assistance as I recall. Moving out of town to find places to live. Competing with established peoples. Seems we are doing the same thing here. America last. US is preparing to destroy itself. Oops! I rambled.
#5
Nothing wrong with rambling when it's the truth Dale.
Oh, except speaking the truth is "misinformation," and rayciss.
Posted by: M. Murcek ||
01/21/2024 10:22 Comments ||
Top||
#6
for what its worth: i remember my mother feeding tramps who knocked on our door. I remember people leaving handout shelters with cheese and bread. none had govt issued plastic. all were given something if they asked. I am 87 and i am talking about the late 1930's.
Article Linked To Is Available Only Via VPN
[EngMilRu] The Armed Forces of the Russian Federation continue the special military operation.
In Kupyansk direction, as a result of active actions by artillery and units of the Zapad Group of Forces, ten attacks by assault groups of 30th, 32nd, and 60th Mechanised, 57th Motorised Infantry brigades and the 103rd Territorial Defence Brigade of the AFU have been repelled close to Sin'kovka, Krakhmalnoye (Kha'rkov region) and Terny (Donetsk People's Republic).
The enemy losses were up to 150 Ukrainian servicemen and two motor vehicles.
In Krasny Liman direction, units of the Tsentr Group of Forces, supported by artillery, have repelled four attacks by assault groups of the 63rd Mechanised Brigade, the 12th Special Forces Brigade, and the 5th Brigade of the Ukrainian National Guard near Grigorovka (Donetsk People's Republic) and Chervonaya Dibrova (Lugansk People's Republic).
The enemy losses were up to 280 soldiers, two armoured fighting vehicles, seven motor vehicles, and one 122mm 2S1 Gvozdika self-propelled artillery crew.
In Donetsk direction, units of the Yug Group of Forces, supported by artillery, have repelled four attacks by assault groups of 24th Mechanised and 81st Airmobile brigades of the AFU near Shumy and Belogorovka (Donetsk People's Republic).
Artillery have defeated manpower and hardware of 22nd, 28th, and 93rd Mechanised brigades of the AFU close to Kleshcheevka, Kurdyumovka, and Chasov Yar (Donetsk People's Republic).
The enemy losses were up to 320 servicemen killed and wounded, six pickup trucks, one 152mm Msta-B howitzer, as well as one 152mm D-20 cannon.
In South Donetsk direction, units of the Vostok Group of Forces, in cooperation with artillery and heavy flamethrower systems, have repelled two attacks by assault groups of the 127th Air Defence Brigade near Rovnopol (Donetsk People's Republic), and also have inflicted fire damage on manpower of the 79th Air Assault Brigade of the Armed Forces of Ukraine close to Konstantinovka (Donetsk People's Republic).
The enemy losses were up to 95 troops, three motor vehicles, as well as two Akatsiya self-propelled artillery systems.
In Zaporozhye direction, units of the Russian Group of Forces, supported by aviation and artillery, have defeated manpower and hardware of 65th, 117th Mechanised, 82nd Air Assault brigades of the Armed Forces of Ukraine near Nesteryanka, Rabotino, and Verbovoye (Zaporozhye region).
The enemy losses were up to 30 servicemen killed and wounded, two armoured fighting vehicles, as well as one 122mm D-30 cannon.
In Kherson direction, as a result of coordinated actions by Russian troops and artillery, the enemy losses were up to 35 servicemen, two motor vehicles, as well as one U.S.-manufactured M109 Paladin self-propelled artillery system.
Operational-Tactical Aviation, unmanned aerial vehicles, Missile Troops and Artillery of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation have neutralised one German-manufactured IRIS-T radar station, as well as have engaged manpower and hardware in 118 areas.
Air defence facilities have shot down 20 Ukrainian unmanned aerial vehicles, as well as one HIMARS projectile close to Lisichansk (Lugansk People's Republic), Bogdanovka, Belogorovka (Donetsk People's Republic), Kazachyi Lagerya, Golaya Pristan (Kherson region).
In total, 567 airplanes and 265 helicopters, 10,914 unmanned aerial vehicles, 450 air defence missile systems, 14,705 tanks and other armoured combat vehicles, 1,202 combat vehicles equipped with MRLS, 7,795 field artillery cannons and mortars, as well as 17,641 units of special military equipment have been destroyed during the special military operation.
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited.
[NewsFront] 23:58 Official summary of the DPR Representative Office in the JCCC from 00:00 01/20/2024 to 00:00 01/21/2024:
A total of 43 facts of armed attacks by the Ukrainian Armed Forces were recorded by the DPR Representative Office in the JCCC over the past 24 hours.
Information was received about the death of 1 civilian. Nine civilians were injured to varying degrees of severity.
Damaged:
Two buses;
44 residential buildings;
Eight vehicles;
21 civil infrastructure facilities.
11 artillery attacks in the Donetsk direction;
27 artillery attacks in the Gorlovka direction;
Five artillery attacks in the Yasinovat direction.
A total of 161 units of various ammunition were fired.
21:08 Assault groups of paratroopers mastered AFU stronghold north-west of Artemovsk
The UAV crew of the paratroopers of the Ivanovo Airborne Forces discovered another strong point. The transmitted coordinates were struck by airborne artillery crews and FPV drones. After this, assault groups of paratroopers captured and cleared a Ukrainian Armed Forces stronghold in a forest plantation.
Approaching unnoticed by the enemy from different directions, the guardsmen of the “winged infantry” attacked the strong point. Having broken the resistance of the Ukrainian military with small arms fire and hand fragmentation grenades, the paratroopers eliminated the Ukrainian Armed Forces militants and occupied a strong point, thereby completing the task and improving the position of our units along the front line.
19:52 Russian fighters raised Russian flag in the center of the village of Bogdanovka.
Russian military personnel continue to crush the enemy in the suburb of Chasov Yar. And from there comes good news - footage has appeared of the installation of the Russian flag in the very center of the village of Bogdanovka.
19:18 There are reports of the retreat of Ukrainian troops from the village of Krakhmalnoye in the Khar'kov region
18:48 An ambulance team that responded to a call to victims of artillery attack in Gorlovka came under repeated fire from the Armed Forces of Ukraine, and a paramedic was injured, the Russian Ministry of Health reports.
17:40 Explosions occurred in the Kyiv-controlled city of Kherson. This was announced by the head of the city administration appointed by the Ukrainian authorities, Roman Mrochko.
16:56 New personnel destruction of enemy equipment and infantry with high-precision FPV kamikaze drones “VT-40”.
15:55 News from the South Donetsk direction is reported by the Front Bird:
It is reported that our units of the Vostok group of troops hit the enemy BTR-4 Bucephalus.
Over the past six months, this vehicle has not been a frequent guest in military casualty reports of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. Most likely, the fleet of armored personnel carriers of this type is already very small.
15:40 Personnel consequences of the terrible artillery attack of the Ukrainian Armed Forces of Gorlovka, one death is reported.
15:30 The Front Bird reports about the destruction of the DRG in the Donetsk direction.
It is reported that in the area of the village of Ugledar, Donetsk People's Republic, our fighters from the 39th Motorized Rifle Brigade repelled an attack by an enemy DRG. The enemy is minus a pickup truck and personnel.
15:20 Battle for Avdievka situation as of 15.00 January 20, 2024
Russian troops continue the operation to capture and blockade Avdievka.
On the southern flank, after several months of fighting, Russian units managed to establish control over the fortified area of the Ukrainian Armed Forces at the Tsarskaya Okhota recreation center.
Currently, Russian troops are attempting an offensive to the northwest of the “Tsar’s Hunt” - perhaps in the near future we will see an advance in Avdeevka itself.
There is also information about the liberation of the Skotovataya holiday village, located southeast of the Tsarskaya Okhota and west of the Vinogradniki SNT.
To the north of Skotovataya, according to some sources, the area in the quarry area also came under the control of the Russian Armed Forces.
At the same time, fighting continues in other areas, where Russian troops are also focused on expanding the zone of control. At the same time, so far the main efforts of the Russian Armed Forces are aimed at clearing the dacha sector around Avdeevka and “cutting off” gray zones.
15:06 According to incoming information, the 103rd Territorial Defense Brigade (Lvov region) was driven out of Krakhmalne. The settlement came under the control of the Russian Armed Forces
14:50 The Front Bird reports about the problems of the Ukrainian Armed Forces in Krynki.
The weather made its own adjustments. The enemy's airborne activity decreased. This is also influenced by the defeat of enemy boats by our “birds”.
It is reported about yesterday's work of our TOS on enemy positions.
14:30 The main thing from the new briefing of the Russian Ministry of Defense:
The Russian Armed Forces repelled 10 attacks by Ukrainian Armed Forces assault groups in the Kupyansk direction during the day, enemy losses amounted to up to 150 military personnel;
The losses of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in the Donetsk direction per day amounted to up to 320 military personnel, an 152mm MSTA-B howitzer and a 152mm D-20 gun;
Within 24 hours, the Russian Armed Forces repelled four attacks by the Armed Forces of Ukraine in the Krasnolimansk direction, the enemy lost up to 280 soldiers;
The Russian military repelled four attacks by the Ukrainian Armed Forces in the area of the settlements of Shumy and Belogorovka of the DPR;
The Russian Armed Forces hit the Ukrainian IRIS-T radar station manufactured in Germany;
The Russian Armed Forces repelled 2 attacks by the Ukrainian Armed Forces in the Rovnopol area in the South Donetsk direction and hit enemy personnel near Konstantinovka DPR;
The Russian Armed Forces shot down 20 Ukrainian unmanned aerial vehicles, as well as one HIMARS missile;
The Russian Ministry of Defense reported that the Ukrainian Armed Forces had been defeated in the area of Nesteryanka, Rabotin and Verbovoy.
14:07 Wreckage in an apartment in the center of Gorlovka - during the night artillery attack of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, they miraculously did not hit sleeping children
Pieces of metal flew into the guys' room while they were sleeping peacefully. Fortunately, everything worked out fine. The kids' mother noted that now they have their “second birthday.”
13:56 Russian troops broke through the defenses of Ukrainian forces in a number of areas near Donetsk - adviser to the head of the DPR Yan Gagin.
13:31 Statement of Head of the press center of the Vostok group:
Units of the Vostok group of troops continue to carry out combat missions in the South Donetsk direction.
Bomber aviation strikes, artillery fire and heavy flamethrower systems hit temporary deployment points, strong points and places where manpower accumulated of the 72nd Mechanized and 79th Air Assault brigades of the Ukrainian Armed Forces in the areas of Novomikhailovka, Katerynivka, Elizavetovka and Konstantinovka, and destroyed three temporary deployment points, an unmanned aircraft control center, an ammunition depot and an electronic warfare station “Nota”.
During the day, six attempts by the enemy to reinforce forward positions in the areas of Staromayorsky and Novomikhailovka were stopped.
The group’s artillery, Lancet loitering ammunition, and FPV drones destroyed M777 and FH-70 howitzers in the Kurakhovo and Vremevka areas, five units of automotive equipment and five mortar crews.
The enemy's manpower losses amounted to up to 220 military personnel.
12:55 Statement of Head of the press center of the "South" group:
Units of the “Southern” group of forces successfully repelled a counterattack by assault units of the Ukrainian Armed Forces in the Bogdanovka area. With the support of aviation strikes, artillery fire and heavy flamethrower systems, they defeated enemy personnel and equipment in the areas of Belogorovka, Sporny, Andreevka, Kleshcheevka, Kurdyumovka and Georgievka.
The Ukrainian Armed Forces lost up to 230 military personnel, two infantry fighting vehicles, a Kozak armored combat vehicle, seven pickup trucks, and five trucks in the Donetsk direction as wounded and killed.
During the counterbattery fight, a 152mm D-20 howitzer and five 120mm mortars were destroyed.
Artillery and attack unmanned aerial vehicles hit five ammunition depots, two control points for unmanned aerial vehicles, an electronic warfare station, and 13 enemy dugouts.
Air defense and electronic warfare systems shot down 10 Ukrainian unmanned aerial vehicles in the areas of the settlements of Topolevka, Belogorovka, Otradovka, Donetsk and Spornoye of the Donetsk People's Republic.
11:50 Situation at the front as of 01/20/2024:
Artillery inflicted a defeat on the accumulation of enemy manpower and equipment in the Konstantinovka area, 11 strong points were suppressed in the Novomikhailovka area and north of Vladimirovka. South-west of Novomikhailovka heavy flamethrower systems struck enemy strongholds.
As a result of artillery fire, two temporary deployment points in the Ugledar area and south of Vodyanoye were destroyed, three concentrations of manpower and weapons and military equipment were scattered west of Elizavetovka, northwest of Dobrovolye and southwest of Vodyanoye, and five strong points in forest belts north of Nikolskoye were suppressed.
Artillery fire destroyed a concentration of enemy manpower and weapons and military equipment in the Zolotaya Niva area, suppressed four strong points in forest belts west of Novodonetsk, and destroyed the crew of a heavy machine gun.
West of Staromayorsky, the enemy attempted to strengthen itself and suffered losses of manpower. Artillery dispersed the concentration of manpower in the Vremevka area, suppressed four strong points in the forest belts west of Staromayorsky.
10:45 Artillery paratroopers of the Dnepr group of troops destroyed 122mm self-propelled artillery mount 2S1 "Gvozdika" of the Ukrainian Armed Forces on the right bank of the Dnieper in the Kherson direction.
During the counter-battery fight, the crew of the 152mm Msta-B howitzer of the Airborne Forces fired high-precision ammunition at a range of up to 20 kilometers. Detection of the enemy self-propelled gun position, as well as further adjustment of howitzer fire, was carried out using UAVs.
As a result of the joint combat work of UAV operators and airborne artillerymen, an enemy self-propelled artillery mount was hit and subsequently destroyed by the detonation of its transportable ammunition.
10:18 Situation on the Rabotino-Verbovoe section at 10.15:
Russian troops continue to attack the enemy south of Rabotino and near Verbovoy. The Ukrainian Armed Forces have brought in fresh reserves and are trying to counterattack our fighters. The Russian Armed Forces repulse attacks by attack aircraft of the Ukrainian Armed Forces in a shooting battle and call in artillery strikes.
Barrel and rocket artillery of the Russian Armed Forces strikes at enemy positions and concentrations of manpower.
10:10 Consequences of the artillery attack of Gorlovka by Ukrainian militants -photo.
09:39 The enemy confirms advance of RF Armed Forces in the eastern part of Avdievka in the “Tsar’s Hunt” area.
There are also reports that the Russian Armed Forces have advanced in the Krakhmalny area in the Kupyansky direction.
09:15 Statement of Head of the press center of the “West” group:
Units of the West group of forces continue to carry out operational missions in the Kupyansk direction.
The group's motorized rifle formations, in cooperation with artillery and army aviation, repelled four counterattacks by assault groups of the 115th Mechanized Brigade and the 103rd Territorial Defense Brigade, reinforced with armored vehicles in the areas of Tabaevka, Krakhmalny and Sin'kovka. Enemy losses in this direction amounted to up to 30 manpower and three pickup trucks.
The crew of the 152mm self-propelled gun 2S19 "Msta-S" under the command of the gun commander, junior sergeant Vladimir Kaznacheev, using high-precision ammunition "Krasnopol" destroyed two enemy T-64 tanks in the Peschany area.
Crews of heavy flamethrower systems carried out six strikes on platoon strong points of the 44th, 115th Mechanized brigades and 103rd Separate Territorial Defense Brigade of the Ukrainian Armed Forces in the areas of Berestovoy and Krakhmalny.
In addition, the group’s missile forces struck the Tornado-S MLRS at the temporary deployment point of the 41st Mechanized Brigade in the Glushkovka area.
08:17 Storm AFU stronghold north-west of Artemovsk.
During active combat work to the north-west of Artemovsk, a crew of unmanned aerial vehicles of the Ivanovo paratroopers discovered another Ukrainian Armed Forces stronghold with a unit of Ukrainian formations.
The transmitted coordinates were struck by airborne artillery crews and FPV drones. After this, assault groups of Yaroslavl paratroopers captured and cleared a Ukrainian Armed Forces stronghold in a forest plantation.
Approaching secretly and unnoticed by the enemy from different directions, the guardsmen of the “winged infantry” attacked the strong point. Having broken the resistance of the Ukrainian military with small arms fire and hand fragmentation grenades, the paratroopers eliminated the Ukrainian Armed Forces militants and occupied a strong point, thereby completing the task and improving the position of our units along the front line.
08:12 In the area of the settlement. The Kakhmalnoye (Kupyansk direction) offensive of the Russian Armed Forces is developing. In recent daysadvancedmore than two kilometers and reached the section of the highway to Kupyansk. The enemy urgently transfers reserves there.
08:07 Morning summary January 20, 2024:
In the Kherson direction, weather conditions continue to affect the reduction in the intensity of enemy airborne troops across the Dnieper.
On the Zaporozhye Front, the Russian Armed Forces, in local battles, are carrying out the task of recapturing the positions occupied by the Armed Forces of Ukraine last year in Rabotino and Verbovoy. The enemy organizes counter-deployments of personnel, strikes with artillery and drones.
At Mar'inka near Novomikhailovka and Georgievka, despite heavy fighting, there are practically no changes in the line of combat contact, while enemy resources are increasingly calling the position of the Ukrainian Armed Forces in Novomikhailovka “critical.” The actions of our troops indicate a desire to cut the Novomikhailovka-Ugledar road.
On the Avdeevsky sector of the front, the main efforts of the Russian Army take place in the southern sector near Pervomaisky, in the Stepovoy area on the northern ledge, and also at the coke plant.
North of Soledar, the Russian Armed Forces are expanding the zone of control after occupying the ruins of the settlement. Vesyoloye, they report successes in heavy battles in the direction of Belogorovka (south of Kremennaya).
Against the backdrop of constant artillery attack of the border areas of the Belgorod, Kursk, Bryansk regions, the military command of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in the Kharkov and Sumy regions of Ukraine hastily erects fortified areas close to urban buildings and is trying, under the guise of evacuation, to expel the local population from small settlements for the quartering of personnel. A similar practice is used in the Kupyansk direction, where the Ukrainian Armed Forces are finding it increasingly difficult to supply the group at Sinkovka.
In the Bryansk region, tanks at the Klintsovsk oil depot were burning yesterday due to attacks by UAVs of the Ukrainian Armed Forces. The village of Kurkovichi, Starodub municipal district, was shelled. In the Belgorod region, enemy artillery attack is regular and most intense. In Donetsk, a grandmother born in 1949 was injured from artillery attack by the Ukrainian Armed Forces.
08:00 The Ukrainian Armed Forces attacked the center of Gorlovka in the DPR. As a result of shelling, three civilians were injured, city mayor Ivan Prikhodko reported on his Telegram channel.
According to Prikhodko, the Rodina Hotel, the Teremok kindergarten, a number of houses on Pushkinskaya Street were also damaged, and the Kvartal 245 microdistrict (Tsentralno-Gorodsky district of Gorlovka) was also de-energized.
Commentary by Russian military journalist Boris Rozhin.
[ColonelCassad] 1. Tomorrow the State Duma will consider a bill on confiscation of property under the article on fakes about the RF Armed Forces. Take care of your sofas. Now they can come for them. Sofas is a reference to the common Russian slam against individuals who dispute what the Russian military is doing, or who think they can advise the military in its business.
2. Chirikova (remember the joke about “Khimki Forest” from Shnurov’s song?) and a couple of other chushpans are included in the list of foreign agents. Most of those included have already fled from Russia. Chushpans is an ethnic slur common in the southern CIS republics
3. The Vladivostok authorities recommended canceling the concert of Arbenina, who openly opposed the SVO, and now pretends that everything is fine. No, it's not normal.
4. General Gurulev called for the revival of the GULAG so that the enemies of the people could merrily swing their picks in Kolyma. In fact, to open camps for enemies of the people in Kolyma, it is not at all necessary to revive the Gulag. General Gurulev is a retired Russian army commander, now a deputy for the Russian national Duma. Kolyma is a region in northern Russia near the Arctic Sea, known for its labor camps in the GULAG system in Soviet times.
5. In Buryatia, at the request of the public, concerts of US citizen Orbakaite were canceled, who for some reason wants to give concerts not in Miami, but in Ulan-Ude. We don't need this.
6. According to the Supreme Court ruling, the use of feminitives is a sign of belonging to LGBT people. You say “author”, “lawyer”, “director”, that means you P...
[Yahoo] The European Union will be able to produce around 1.3 to 1.4 million shells by the end of 2024, and will continue to increase production “significantly” next year, said EU Internal Market Commissioner Thierry Breton.
“We need to make sure that most of this is coming to Ukraine, in priority, because this is where there is an urgent need,” Breton said, speaking on Jan. 19 at a press conference during a visit to Estonia.
An estimated 40% of production is currently sent outside of Europe, he added.
Breton said current production figures are confidential, but that the EU will be able to produce one million shells by March or April of this year, meeting a commitment set last year.
In November, Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba reported that the EU had fallen behind schedule to meet that commitment, but that work to address issues was underway.
“Europe must and will continue to support Ukraine with all its means, and especially on the military front,” Breton said.
“Our security cannot depend on the election results outside of Europe,
...oooohhh, he zinged The Donald. How clever of him...
and for this, we need to adapt our defense industry to the new security paradigm we are coping with.”
Improving production is important not only for handling Europe’s security, but also for Europe’s competitiveness, Breton added.
[Yahoo] German Taurus Systems GmbH, the company that produces Taurus cruise missiles, is ready to swiftly replenish missile stocks for Ukraine, German broadcaster Deutsche Welle said on Jan. 20.
The company flatly refuted German Social Democratic Party and Defense Committee MP Johannes Arlt’s claims that the German defense industry could not rapidly replenish missile stocks.
"We can push forward the production of new Taurus missiles, platform integration, and the overhaul of inventory at short notice,” said Taurus Systems CEO, Joachim Knopf, according to MBDA Deutschland missile systems company on X (Twitter) on Jan. 19.
“The only prerequisite is that the customer has commissioned it."
MBDA, to which Taurus Systems belongs, stated in November 2023 that it was able to rapidly increase Taurus missile production and integrate new technical advances, according to DW.
The German Bundestag rejected a proposal on Jan. 17 to supply Ukraine with Taurus cruise missiles. Only 178 MPs voted in favor, with 485 voting against.
German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius, during a visit to Kyiv in November 2023, told journalists that Ukraine would not receive the missiles from his country.
These delays may be attributable to the hesitance of German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, who has expressed concern that Kyiv might use Taurus missiles to attack Russian territory.
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited. by Gregor Spitzen
Warning: heavy sarcasm ahead.
[REGNUM] In less than a month, two incidents have occurred in Germany that can only be described as egregious.
At the end of December, in the town of Penzlin in the state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, the cemetery of Soviet soldiers-liberators was desecrated, and on January 16 in Dresden, a memorial inscription dedicated to the civilian victims of the bombings of Anglo-American aircraft suddenly disappeared from the memorial in the center of the Saxon capital.
I would like to believe that the incidents in the lands of the former GDR are just unrelated excesses, and not part of a single campaign to try to rebuild the public consciousness of East Germans.
However, the fact that such events are happening right now, in parallel with the campaign to whip up anti-Russian hysteria and statements by individual politicians that smack of Russophobia, cannot but be alarming.
"OSSIE" AND "WESSEY" STILL EXIST
The mood in eastern Germany has long been a source of serious concern for politicians in the German government and the headquarters of the main political parties. “Ossies” - as their Western relatives call their eastern brothers “Wessies” - from the point of view of representatives of German politics, have never managed to turn into full-fledged Western-style Germans who firmly believe in the ideals of liberal democracy, brought to the country at American bayonets in 1945.
Unlike the totalitarian Stalinism the Soviets brought them at the point of Russian (and American lend-lease) bayonets. But that was not all that different from the totalitarian Naziism they were being rescued from, so there was at least the discomfort of familiarity.
Despite the fact that 34 years have passed since the reunification of Germany.
The “Ossies” languished for so long under the heel of the damned authoritarian socialist regime and the supervision of the omnipresent Staatssicherheit (State Security Service, or simply “Stasi”) that they were simply unable to appreciate all the delights of the free world and the advantages of the capitalist economic system. All the troubles of the inhabitants of the former GDR, as is commonly believed, stem from this brainwashing by false Soviet propaganda.
Oh my.
It is precisely because of their improper upbringing that they tend to go to extremes and vote for godless political forces like the AfD party, which breaks records of popularity in Thuringia, Saxony-Anhalt and Mecklenburg-Vorpommern.
In Saxony, where elections to the state parliament will be held in eight months, the AfD has every chance of winning a resounding victory in the elections, even ahead of the CDU bloc. Moreover, Olaf Scholz ’s Social Democratic Party of Germany and the Free Democrats party—the yellow color in the “traffic light coalition”—risk not even overcoming the five percent threshold in these regional elections.
East Germans, many of whom still speak good Russian and have a warm attitude towards the Soviet cultural heritage,
...is that it, or is it fond memories of being the most efficient and effective, and therefore the most prosperous, country behind the Iron Curtain?
have been and remain one of the main opponents of anti-Russian sanctions that are killing the region’s economy.
The city of Schwedt has an oil refinery that supplies fuel to the entire Berlin-Brandenburg metropolitan region. All activities of the enterprise were tied to the supply of Russian hydrocarbons via the Druzhba gas pipeline. And his employees - just think! — even in the spring of 2022, at the height of the conflict, after the “Bucha campaign,” they decidedly did not care about the problems of Ukraine.
At a meeting with Vice-Chancellor Robert Habeck, at that moment on the crest of political popularity, these politically illiterate proletarians, completely not imbued with the seriousness of the moment, talked about “many years of trade and economic ties with Moscow” and “the importance of Russian energy supplies for preserving jobs " Well, isn't it outrageous?!
How do these “latent Nazis” feel about the humanitarian initiatives of the federal government? Organizing mass rallies by entire villages against the construction of camps to accommodate refugees - this does not fit into any gates! Would you think that in a camp that will be located on the outskirts of a village for 500 residents, 500 young, sexually mature comrades with an eastern background will live?
So what now? Referring to the patriarchal way of life and a radical change in the ethnocultural background is some kind of archaism that smacks of real fascism!
Well, and an overly caring attitude towards Soviet monuments with prohibited communist symbols, which, due to some misunderstanding, still remain on German territory. While the advanced states of the democratic frontier in eastern Europe - Ukraine and the Baltic countries - they were destroyed long ago. This also somehow smacks of “pro-Russianism.”
Remember how the local authorities of Brandenburg in May 2022 refused to dismantle the Soviet memorial with the T-34 tank at the request of the Ukrainian side? And this while Russia is waging an “aggressive neocolonial war”! This simply doesn’t fit into any gates anymore!
UNKNOWN VANDALS
At the end of December 2023, an unfortunate incident occurred in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, which became known only on January 5. At the Soviet memorial cemetery in the town of Penzlin, six gravestone monuments to Soviet soldiers-liberators were desecrated.
The event is all the more surprising since, in general, such vandalism is not at all typical for the region. Typically, the law on the protection of military graves in Germany is strictly observed by both federal and local authorities.
Moreover, in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, monuments to Soviet soldiers have been traditionally looked after since the socialist times of the Soviet-East German brotherhood.
Most Soviet memorials are in exemplary condition and are considered local landmarks. Like, for example, the Soviet memorial cemetery in Rostock, located on Pushkin Platz (Pushkin Square) in the center of this largest city of Mecklenburg - Vorpommern.
“In connection with this incident, the embassy expresses a strong protest and insists on taking comprehensive measures to identify and bring to justice those responsible, ensuring the inviolability and safety of memorials, as follows from the obligations of the German side in accordance with the bilateral intergovernmental agreement on the care of war graves dated 16 December 1992,” said an official representative of the Russian Embassy in a protest note submitted to the German Foreign Ministry.
In principle, until now there has been no reason to blame the Mecklenburg authorities for bias. For example, local authorities responded very quickly to the incident in April 2022.
Then, on the monument to the victims of German concentration camps liberated by the Soviet army in New Brandenburg, unknown people painted a swastika and wrote a Bandera slogan. The monument was quickly put in order, and an investigation was launched against the alleged vandals. Unfortunately, the culprits themselves were never found.
As for Penzlin, the story is even more complicated. Penzlin itself is a small patriarchal town, for which the Soviet memorial cemetery has long become an integral part of the cultural landscape. All the strangers are there in plain sight, but none of the locals are capable of such sacrilege.
Surprisingly, however, there is something else. As recently as 2022, any attempts to attack Soviet cultural heritage in Germany immediately hit the media headlines and became the subject of heated public debate.
However, the incident in Penzlin became public, one might say, by accident and only because of the efforts made by the Russian Embassy.
SECRET DISMANTLING
Just under a month before the remembrance day marking the destruction of Dresden in 1945, an inscription dedicated to the victims of the barbaric attacks was removed. At the very end of World War II, Anglo-American air raids caused the death of at least 25 thousand people. Such erasing of memory caused a storm of public indignation.
In addition to the fact that the inscription was removed, the behavior of the city authorities caused no less indignation. Last Tuesday, in response to a request from journalists, they reported that “the renovation of the memorial to the victims of the air raids of February 13 and 14, 1945 is going according to plan.”
Jens Genschmar, leader of the Free Voters parliamentary group in the Dresden city council, said that he had approached Mayor Dirk Hilbert, a representative of the Free Democrats. However, I received a strange answer, which confused everything even more:
“The burgomaster first told me that it was not the city that was behind this. However, a little later, the mayor added that the city was behind the removal of the inscription, but he found it difficult to say who exactly was responsible for the dismantling,” Genshmar said.
“Neither the population nor the city council members were informed about the dismantling. This is precisely the case that is increasingly undermining democracy in the country. You can’t just take a monument and remove it. I filed an application to initiate criminal proceedings against unknown persons,” continued the leader of Free Voters.
The CDU parliamentary group in the Dresden city council was also shocked. Mario Schmidt, the party's spokesman for cultural policy, asked directly what it was.
The Vice Mayor of Dresden, responsible for cultural affairs, Annekatrin Klepsch, gave a shocking answer: “The city authorities do not know and are currently trying to clarify the situation.”
As a result, Mayor Hilbert nevertheless admitted the responsibility of the city authorities for the dismantling, finally exposing himself in an idiotic light: “Criticism in this matter is justified, since we acted extremely poorly from the point of view of communication. Active communication is essential when making changes to such a sensitive memorial site.”
In the past, the inscription was already painted over with black paint. The crime was then suspected of left-wing extremist groups, allegedly expressing their outrage that neo-Nazis were using the annual day of remembrance as a stage for their marches.
In the coming days, a memorial stele will be erected at the Altmarkt, the site where the bodies of civilians killed in the bombing were burned. The inscription on it will return, but will be slightly modified.
In addition to the number of people killed in the bombing, it will include additional information stating: “February 13, 1945 is one of the most important Remembrance Days in the capital of Saxony. Since then, this date has been repeatedly subjected to political instrumentalization and rethinking."
THE TREND IS CLEAR
Of course, it cannot be ruled out that teenagers who were not marked with the mark of intelligence were simply hooligans at the Soviet memorial cemetery in Penzlin. And the incident in Dresden was caused by a general decline in the level of the political elite, thanks to which persons with incomplete official qualifications were appointed to the post of burgomaster and senior municipal officials.
However, a bad trend is evident: both incidents received publicity only because there were still honest journalists and caring members of the public in East Germany.
But as for lowering the threshold of tolerance of official authorities towards incidents that just a few years ago had every chance of making it to the headlines of the leading media, but are now trying to be hushed up - this raises the most serious concerns.
Of course, the dismantling of monuments to the Red Army soldiers is still a long way off. And “Hiroshima amnesia” due to the erasure of the responsibility of the American “liberators” for casualties among the civilian population of Germany does not yet threaten.
But the fact that some forces are trying to work in this direction is quite obvious.
A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
