Ukraine 3

[Weird Tolkienish Figure]

Russian Mercenaries’ Human Wave Tactics Push Back Ukrainian Troops In Soledar

David Axe  |  Jan 12, 2023  |  05:19pm EST


Wagner fighters, purportedly in Soledar's salt mines.VIA SOCIAL MEDIA

When the Ukrainian army began rotating fresh units into eastern Ukraine in mid-December, the 46th Air Mobile Brigade drew the short straw.

It rotated into the sector around Bakhmut, a town in eastern Ukraine’s Donbas region, 30 miles north of Donetsk, the seat of the separatist Donetsk People’s Republic.

Bakhmut, a town with a pre-war population of 72,000, is the unlucky object of Russian obsession. The Wagner Group, the shadowy mercenary company financed by Yevgeny Prigozhin—who earlier in life was Russian president Vladimir Putin’s favorite sausage vendor—last spring chose Bakhmut as its main target.

For months, Wagner has hurled battalion after battalion of under-trained troops—ex-convicts, mostly—at Ukrainian defenses in Bakhmut. “Their tactic is to send people to die,”  .  .

https://www.forbes.com/sites/davidaxe/2023/01/12/russian-mercenaries-human-wave-tactics-push-back-ukrainian-troops-in-soledar/?sh=2960be7b7701

Basically just throw bodies at them, truly like orcs, heh. Amazing. This is 2023 right?

[Kamaji]

Basically just throw bodies at them, truly like orcs, heh. Amazing. This is 2023 right?

Yup.

[Hoodat]

From the article:

Wagner has thrown an estimated 40,000 fighters at Bakhmut and Soledar. As many as 4,100 have died, according to The Guardian. Another 10,000 were wounded. No ground-combat force can sustain offensive operations after losing a third of its strength.

Whether and how quickly Wagner can recruit new fighters—likely from Russia’s prison population—could shape what happens next. No one expects Wagner to give up on Bakhmut. Indeed, the mercenary firm might read its capture of Soledar as evidence its human-wave tactics work and are worth the cost in blood—and it should push even harder.

Ukraine will need more ammo.

[Kamaji]

From the article:

Ukraine will need more ammo.

Yup.

[Hoodat]

Ukraine 46th Airmobile Brigade is counterattacking in Soledar.  This unit was trained in the UK.

[Smokin Joe]

At some point it may be prudent to withdraw some so the enemy cannot use the frozen corpses of their comrades for cover.

[Kamaji]

Russia claims it has captured salt-mine town Soledar as Putin desperately presses for first victory in months but Ukraine insists 'severe' fighting is ongoing

By CHRIS JEWERS FOR MAILONLINE and AFP
13 January 2023

Ukraine has denied Moscow's claim that Russian forces have captured the salt-mining town of Soledar, a key focal point of Vladimir Putin 's invasion as he desperately presses for his first victory in months.

Russia's Defense Ministry said Friday that Soledar was captured on Thursday night, after a Ukrainian official earlier admitted their forces had faced 'high intensity' battles for the town. Kyiv officials denied this, saying 'severe' fighting is on-going.

Despite Moscow focusing vast resources on capturing Soledar, analysts have said it offers little tactical benefit to the invaders for their overall goal of  taking Bakhmut.

And in an on-the-ground report, two Ukrainian soldiers claimed 50 Russians were being killed for every 100 yards they try to advance in the battle-torn region.

Meanwhile, President Volodymyr Zelensky vowed in an overnight address that defenders in the region would be armed with everything they need to keep Russian troops at bay in some of the bloodiest battles of the war.

*  *  *

Source:  https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11631099/Ukraine-forces-hold-hot-night-high-intensity-battles-Soledar.html

[Kamaji]

Putin 'will nominate his chosen heir this year rather than risk being toppled' as Russia's military disaster sees his popularity plummet, former ally says

By WILL STEWART FOR MAILONLINE
13 January 2023

Vladimir Putin will nominate his chosen successor this year rather than risk being toppled as the Russian President's popularity continues to plummet amid a series of military defeats in Ukraine, his former ally has claimed.

Putin will seek to hand over power to a chosen heir and retire to his £1billion Black Sea 'palace' rather than risk the ignominious fate of toppled tyrants like Muammar Gaddafi, said Abbas Gallyamov, Putin's former speechwriter.

The Russian leader will seek to give up power to a technocrat successor who could negotiate an end to the war with Ukraine and the West, and probably not fight the 2024 election, he told Khodorkovsky Live YouTube channel.

*  *  *

Source:  https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11631171/Putin-nominate-chosen-heir-year-risk-toppled-former-ally-says.html

[sneakypete]

Putin 'will nominate his chosen heir this year rather than risk being toppled' as Russia's military disaster sees his popularity plummet, former ally says

By WILL STEWART FOR MAILONLINE
13 January 2023

Vladimir Putin will nominate his chosen successor this year rather than risk being toppled as the Russian President's popularity continues to plummet amid a series of military defeats in Ukraine, his former ally has claimed.

 

@Kamaji

Younger bureaucrats are now running all over the Kremlin,screaming "Pick him,not me!" as they point to colleagues they don't like.

Just HOW freaking stoopid would you have to be to take THAT job?

[Timber Rattler]

Putin's looking for a fall guy.

[Hoodat]

Soledar, Donetsk

Aug 1, 2022




Jan 10, 2023

[Kamaji]

Soledar, Donetsk

Aug 1, 2022




Jan 10, 2023

Wow.

[Hoodat]

Ukraine says "fierce fighting" is ongoing in Soledar as of Friday afternoon

Yulia Kesaieva - Kyiv  |  1 hr 14 min ago

Various units of the Ukrainian military on Friday insisted that the battle for the eastern town of Soledar is ongoing, refuting claims of capture by the Russian Ministry of Defense and Wagner private military company.

“Local battles continue in the city,” the 46th Airmobile Brigade said on Telegram Friday. “Orcs [Russians] are pressing from the outskirts to the center."  .  .  .

.  .  .  Troops from the Armed Forces of Ukraine “are holding a dense and solid defense line,” he says. “Yes, the assault units of Wagner attack non-stop, because apparently this is a defining showcase for them, when they have to show some results to their employer. But we don't give a [expletive] about their plans. We are doing our job. We do it well. And we'll do it till the end.  .  .

https://www.cnn.com/europe/live-news/russia-ukraine-war-news-1-13-23/index.html

[Timber Rattler]

Russia Says Belarus May Enter Ukraine Conflict if 'Invaded'

https://www.usnews.com/news/world/articles/2023-01-13/russia-says-military-drills-with-belarus-designed-to-deter-escalation

A Russian foreign ministry official said on Friday that Belarus may enter the conflict in Ukraine if Kyiv decides to "invade" either country.

Russia used Belarus as a springboard to invade Ukraine in February 2022, and since October has deployed troops in Belarus for joint military drills.

Both countries have since agreed to intensify their military co-operation, raising fears Moscow could use its close ally to launch a new offensive on Ukraine from the north.

In an interview with state media, foreign ministry official Aleksey Polishchuk said that Russia's joint drills with Belarus were designed to prevent escalation, but warned that Belarus may join the Ukraine conflict if it or Russia were invaded.

"From a legal point of view, the use of military force by the Kyiv regime or the invasion of the territory of Belarus or Russia by the armed forces of Ukraine are sufficient grounds for a collective response," Polishchuk told the TASS news agency.

EXCERPT

[Smokin Joe]

Russia Says Belarus May Enter Ukraine Conflict if 'Invaded'

https://www.usnews.com/news/world/articles/2023-01-13/russia-says-military-drills-with-belarus-designed-to-deter-escalation

A Russian foreign ministry official said on Friday that Belarus may enter the conflict in Ukraine if Kyiv decides to "invade" either country.

Russia used Belarus as a springboard to invade Ukraine in February 2022, and since October has deployed troops in Belarus for joint military drills.

Both countries have since agreed to intensify their military co-operation, raising fears Moscow could use its close ally to launch a new offensive on Ukraine from the north.

In an interview with state media, foreign ministry official Aleksey Polishchuk said that Russia's joint drills with Belarus were designed to prevent escalation, but warned that Belarus may join the Ukraine conflict if it or Russia were invaded.

"From a legal point of view, the use of military force by the Kyiv regime or the invasion of the territory of Belarus or Russia by the armed forces of Ukraine are sufficient grounds for a collective response," Polishchuk told the TASS news agency.

EXCERPT

False flag in 3...2...1...

[Hoodat]

Russia Says Belarus May Enter Ukraine Conflict if 'Invaded'

What does Belarus say?

btw, Belarus has already been invaded by Russian troops, aircraft, and missile launchers.

[Hoodat]

Russia's war against Ukrainian civilians continues.  Apartment block in Dnipro targeted.

[Hoodat]

Dnipro

[Elderberry]

Moscow is allegedly preparing to deport some 100,000 Ukrainians to Russia

https://www.euronews.com/2023/01/15/moscow-is-allegedly-preparing-to-deport-some-100000-ukrainians-to-russia

Russian officials and occupation authorities may be preparing for a mass deportation of Ukrainian citizens from occupied territories to the Russian Federation.

The US media giant Bloomberg reported that the Russian Prime Minister, Mikhail Mishustin, issued a government order in mid-December on “revenue mobilisation” that allocated up to €2.5 billion in extra spending for what Moscow calls ‘the potential resettlement’ of residents from the Kherson region to Russia.

Ukraine's Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk responded to the Russian government’s order, stating that Russian officials and occupation authorities may be planning to deport more than 100,000 residents from the Kherson region to Russia under fears that Moscow's forces may lose further territory in war-torn Ukraine.

Vereshchuk also said that Russian officials have forcibly resettled an unspecified number of Ukrainian citizens to 57 regions in Russia, including the Far East and Siberia.

More at link.

[Hoodat]

Three dead, 16 hurt in ammo blast in Russian region near Ukraine

January 15, 2023  |  11:11 AM EST

An ammunition explosion caused by "careless" handling of a grenade in Russia's Belgorod region on the border with Ukraine killed three soldiers and injured 16, Russian news agencies reported on Sunday.

The blast occurred in a cultural centre repurposed for Russia's armed forces to store ammunition, state news agencies reported, citing local emergency services for the toll.

Another eight service personnel were still reported missing as of Sunday evening, the Interfax news agency reported.  .  .

https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/ten-russian-soldiers-injured-blast-belgorod-tass-cites-emergency-services-2023-01-15/


Other sources have described this as an intentional act of fratricide.  Either way, yet another example of Russian lack of military discipline.

[Hoodat]

How Ukraine became a testbed for Western weapons and battlefield innovation

Katie Bo Lillis and Oren Liebermann  |  Updated 9:33 PM EST, Sun January 15, 2023

(CNN) — Last fall, as Ukraine won back large swaths of territory in a series of counterattacks, it pounded Russian forces with American-made artillery and rockets. Guiding some of that artillery was a homemade targeting system that Ukraine developed on the battlefield.

A piece of Ukrainian-made software has turned readily available tablet computers and smartphones into sophisticated targeting tools that are now used widely across the Ukrainian military.

The result is a mobile app that feeds satellite and other intelligence imagery into a real-time targeting algorithm that helps units near the front direct fire onto specific targets. And because it’s an app, not a piece of hardware, it’s easy to quickly update and upgrade, and available to a wide range of personnel.

US officials familiar with the tool say it has been highly effective  .  .  .

https://edition.cnn.com/2023/01/15/politics/ukraine-russia-war-weapons-lab/index.html

[Hoodat]

Andrey Medvedev: How Russian mercenary made an icy escape to Norway

Matt Murphy - BBC  |  50 minutes ago

As Andrey Medvedev dashed towards the remote Russia-Norway border, he could hear the sound of attack dogs snarling behind him.

Their arrival meant the men hunting him were closing in. But the border - and the Western world - were in reach.

Two months earlier, the 26-year-old had deserted from the Russian mercenaries, the Wagner Group. He was about to become the first of their troops to defect to the West.  .  .

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-64303652

[Kamaji]

Andrey Medvedev: How Russian mercenary made an icy escape to Norway

Matt Murphy - BBC  |  50 minutes ago

As Andrey Medvedev dashed towards the remote Russia-Norway border, he could hear the sound of attack dogs snarling behind him.

Their arrival meant the men hunting him were closing in. But the border - and the Western world - were in reach.

Two months earlier, the 26-year-old had deserted from the Russian mercenaries, the Wagner Group. He was about to become the first of their troops to defect to the West.  .  .

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-64303652

It says he was the first to defect; have there been others after him?

[Hoodat]

It says he was the first to defect; have there been others after him?

This just happened, so no.  Not that we know of.   His story is interesting.

Medvedev's lawyer in Norway, Brynjulf Risnes, told the BBC that Medvedev witnessed a host of war crimes - including seeing "deserters being executed" by the Wagner Group's internal security service.

And Mr Osechkin said Medvedev decided to leave Wagner after witnessing the group's "terroristic methods".  .  .

.  .  .  In November 2022, Medvedev was told that, despite completing his four-month contract, the group had decided unilaterally to extend his service. It was unclear for how long.

This seems to have been the final straw for Medvedev.  .  .

.  .  .  After fleeing Ukraine and returning to Russia, Medvedev entered a Wagner recruiting centre in the Russian city of St Petersburg where he returned his dog tags. This appears to have attracted the group's attention.

"When he left Wagner Group, the security office of Wagner did a lot of things to find him and he was at risk of dying," Mr Osechkin said.

With security agents searching for him, Medvedev was forced to go into hiding to avoid the brutal kind of retribution he had seen the group impose upon deserters in Ukraine.

It was at this point that he approached Gulagu.net - an exiled human rights organisation - for help.  .  .

.  .  .  After attempting to cross twice into Finland, Medvedev travelled to Russia's far north and made the passage across the Norwegian border.

[Kamaji]

This just happened, so no.  Not that we know of.   His story is interesting.

Thanks!