The UAF has weathered the initial Russian assault, one entire Russian front has collapsed & another is being slowly driven back into Russia. A ceasefire in place w/o conditions, under these circumstances, is a lunatics gift to Moscow.

— Patrick Fox (@RealCynicalFox) May 13, 2022

Transitioned from TDF to UAF. Suspect that there's a lot of this happening once they get through a few months of "OJT".

Today I officially took the oath of allegiance to the Ukrainian people. Now my life on the war will continue until the President's decree on demobilization pic.twitter.com/zcyMxJYvt5

— Volodymyr Demchenko (@brokenpixelua) May 13, 2022

DPR troops are being issued Mosin–Nagants. I saw a little bit of this a couple months ago but thought it might have been an isolated incident. https://t.co/6EBoEKD5AY

— Henry Schlottman (@HN_Schlottman) May 13, 2022

Sharing as perhaps the most comical example of Russian info ops I've come across.

Wake up bro! Russia has crossed the river 3 times in different areas. Highly encourage you to get other news perspectives. India, Middle East and China news would be a good start for you!

— Disinformation Fighter (@SeekTruth_4Ever) May 13, 2022

Austin and Shoygu talked for about an hour. I wouldn't read too much into a two sentence readout from the Pentagon on presuming what the other 59 minutes and 45 seconds of talking covered

Meanwhile, Ukrainians crowd-source the translation of manuals for the Western weapons - earlier I saw tweets searching for volunteers to translate the manuals for NLAWs, Javelins etc and reports on successful completion of the projects, now the one for the M777 howitzer is ready https://t.co/8oWk3Uk6aK

— English Luhansk (@loogunda) May 11, 2022

“We are focusing on the need to provide for 1 million people who will be facing the enemy,” he wrote. He also said that 1,500 Ukrainian soldiers are already training or will start mastering Western weapons and return as instructors.

— The Kyiv Independent (@KyivIndependent) May 13, 2022

Quote:

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Quote:

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Through binoculars, the Ukrainian soldiers can see the Russian position far in the distance. But the single artillery weapon they operate at a small, ragtag outpost on the southern steppe has insufficient range to strike it.
These circumstances have imposed a numbingly grim routine on the Ukrainians, who are pounded daily by Russian artillery salvos while having no means to fight back. Every few hours, they dive into trenches to escape shells that streak out of the sky…
Military analysts say the battle now is riding not so much on the skill or bravery of Ukrainian soldiers, but on the accuracy, quantity and striking power of long-range weapons…
Russia's 203-millimeter Peony howitzers, for example, fire out to about 24 miles while Ukraine's 152-millimeter Geocent guns fire 18 miles.

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But American M777 howitzers have a range of 25 miles and high precision. The US plans to send Ukraine 90 of the big guns. The Ukraine government issued a special thanks for the arrival of an M777 yesterday.

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Quote:

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So the M777 should be a game changer but for the moment there is a kind of stalemate. Russian tanks can't advance on Ukrainian lines for fear of being hit by British NLAWs or US Javelin missiles. But at the same time, Ukrainians can't advance any closer to the superior Russian artillery without being pounded.

Quote:

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Russia cannot capitalize on its artillery superiority to advance. Its tactic for attacking on the open plains is to hammer the opposing positions with artillery, then send armored vehicles forward on a maneuver called "reconnaissance to contact" aimed at overwhelming what remains of the defensive line.

But because of Ukraine's wealth of anti-armor missiles and weapons, Russia cannot advance and seize ground.

Ukraine, meanwhile, also cannot advance, though its tactics differ. The Ukrainian military relies on small unit infantry with armored vehicles playing only supporting roles. Though Ukraine could seize ground, it could not hold it or use it for logistical support for further advances, as any new territory would remain under Russian bombardment.

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Via Hot Air

Believe it or not, the woman is saying underneath Nikonov that Russian culture is by contrast experiencing a resurgence

— Francis Scarr (@francis_scarr) May 13, 2022

Trench warfare as in 1915 is currently taking place in eastern Ukraine. 😯
Cleaning of a stronghold of the Ukrainian Armed Forces by the Donetsk People's Militia. pic.twitter.com/V42xuYGrBv

— Soros Mikalowistk (@mikalowistk) May 13, 2022

#Russia openly threatening war against Poland

“State Duma proposed putting #Poland in line for denazification”, RIA Novosti reported.

Well, you can try. Just remember that after an attack on a #NATO country, there will be an accelerated denazification of State Duma. https://t.co/01m5FU9hE9

— NEXTA (@nexta_tv) May 13, 2022

Is any of that going to be walked back?

They've been throwing that rhetoric around since the start of this war. Both the Duma and state media. Between that and their nuclear threats they clearly feel entitled that everyone bow down, recognize the greatness of Russia, and do what they wish. All who don't are Nazis and must be dealt with accordingly.

They've homogenized their history to expunge Russia's genocides and teach that Russia saved the world from Hitler with no help from anyone. They all think that their greatness and benevolence is unequaled and the world is full of ungrateful Nazis who don't know their place and are out to get them. All Russian misfortune is squarely the result of unfair treachery by "the west".

ATX_AG_08 said:

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Trench warfare as in 1915 is currently taking place in eastern Ukraine. 😯
Cleaning of a stronghold of the Ukrainian Armed Forces by the Donetsk People's Militia. pic.twitter.com/V42xuYGrBv

— Soros Mikalowistk (@mikalowistk) May 13, 2022

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Mariupol is basically Calais and Dunkirk, in one spot.

#Russian President Vladimir #Putin likely intends to annex occupied southern and eastern #Ukraine directly into the Russian Federation in the coming months.

Click here to read the latest assessment from @TheStudyofWar: https://t.co/Wdh2BwFAmb pic.twitter.com/DLI4kzDNRy

— ISW (@TheStudyofWar) May 13, 2022

https://www.understandingwar.org/backgrounder/russian-annexation-occupied-ukraine-putin%E2%80%99s-unacceptable-%E2%80%9C-ramp%E2%80%9D

Quote:

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Gabriel Mk 5
The Mk 5 is the latest known Gabriel variant, and is also called the 'Advanced Surface Attack Missile' (ASAM). It is believed to have entered service in 2007. This missile is reportedly deployed on the Israeli Navy's Eilat Saar 5 corvettes. It has estimated range of 200-400 km.8
An additional report in 2009 claimed that another variant of the Mk 5 was in development called the Advanced Naval Attack Missile. This version is to be ship-launched and have an active radar seeker and a two-way datalink with a range of 150 km.9 Finland purchased this variant of the Gabriel missile for its Hamina-class and Squadron 2020-class ships as well as a vehicle platform in July 2018.10
According to reports, the missile is optimized with more advanced seeker technology to operate in cluttered or congested littoral environments.11

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So the variation they are talking about is that it can be land or air launched, I guess. Other variants have that multi-functionality of launching systems.

Link

Background briefing from Pentagon.

Link

" Russian soldiers send videos to their friends where they rape ukrainian children www-krone-at.cdn.ampproject.org/c/s/www.krone.… @krone_at "

russische Soldaten schicken ihren Freunden Videos an, wo sie die ukrainische Kinder vergewaltigen https://t.co/nXaPI0hHpV @krone_at pic.twitter.com/DasuKYtVJ9

— Nataliya Tereshchenko (@nt_tereshchenko) May 12, 2022

"What the Russian soldiers do is a crime."

"Rapes of young children, starting from the age of three. The Russian soldiers record this on videos raping small children and then sending them to Russia to their friends how great they are - that's a disaster," says Tereshchenko. The mothers of the children have to watch, as the children, while the Russian soldiers commit themselves to the women. Civilians would simply be shot just because of the fact that they are Ukrainians - "this is genocide."

Interview of the head of Ukrainian military intelligence, Kyrylo Budanov, with Sky News:
- The turning point will come in the second half of August.
- We will reach our administrative borders.
- This will lead to a change in the political leadership of the Russian Federation. pic.twitter.com/Q4rUZzLKho

— Ruslan Trad (@ruslantrad) May 13, 2022

Russians will be apoplectic. I've also noticed some American statue enthusiasts who manage to mentally equate this with our statue issues and completely freak out on Europeans.

The City Council of Riga, Latvia, has decided to tear down a 79-meter-high monument dedicated to Soviet soldiers.

The decision is decades overdue considering the fact that the Soviet Union occupied the Latvia, Estonia and Lithuania in 1940.

🇱🇻🇱🇹🇪🇪🇺🇦 pic.twitter.com/yFozzYJecw

— Visegrád 24 (@visegrad24) May 13, 2022

#Kharkiv Update Thread:

The #Russian command is also likely prioritizing the withdrawal of Russian troops over that of its proxies. 2/4https://t.co/M2uwx2yZkV

— ISW (@TheStudyofWar) May 13, 2022

#Kharkiv Update Thread:#Russian forces are likely attempting to defend GLOCs to #Izyum in the northeastern part of Kharkiv Oblast after #Ukrainian forces reportedly advanced to #Ternova—a settlement only three km from the Russian border. 4/4https://t.co/M2uwx2yZkV

— ISW (@TheStudyofWar) May 13, 2022

Israel is in need of a giant PR win after the past few days so this probably won't be the extent of it. The US is probably leveraging that situation to Ukraine's favor in exchange for remaining relatively quiet on the matter. Couple that with no longer having to play nice with Russia in Syria and I expect more positive involvement.

Source: https://t.co/clsGEOBigm

— Euromaidan Press (@EuromaidanPress) May 13, 2022

⚡️Truss: Sanctions against Russia should only be lifted after troops leave Ukraine.

Russian President Vladimir Putin must face a defeat that prevents further aggression, UK’s Foreign Secretary Liz Truss said on May 12. “Putin is humiliating himself on the world stage,” she said.

— The Kyiv Independent (@KyivIndependent) May 13, 2022

ATX_AG_08 said:

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Trench warfare as in 1915 is currently taking place in eastern Ukraine. 😯
Cleaning of a stronghold of the Ukrainian Armed Forces by the Donetsk People's Militia. pic.twitter.com/V42xuYGrBv

— Soros Mikalowistk (@mikalowistk) May 13, 2022

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Am I reading that right that is Ukrainian soldiers being killed by a Russian sympathizing militia group?

Nice article on the steadily increasing bite of sanctions. As the article says, Moscow is probably spending every ruble it still earns from energy on propping up the ruble.

That's because half of the $640B "war chest" Putin carefully saved in the years before the invasion has been impounded in western banks. This means the financial shock absorber he was counting on to blunt the effect of sanctions won't last near long enough to save the Russian economy.

Things will only get more dire as the EU steadily weans itself off of Russian energy over the course of this year and that essential revenue stream dries up.

SANCTIONS

Just spoke w/ a senior European official about Ukraine and the situation in Bosnia and the broader Balkans. One of his comments sums up our conversation: "France is a problem. I mean, they're really a very big problem." Indeed.

— Jasmin Mujanović (@JasminMuj) May 13, 2022

Rossticus said:

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Just spoke w/ a senior European official about Ukraine and the situation in Bosnia and the broader Balkans. One of his comments sums up our conversation: "France is a problem. I mean, they're really a very big problem." Indeed.

— Jasmin Mujanović (@JasminMuj) May 13, 2022

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As I see it, keeping the Europeans (France and Germany basically) onside is the single key strategic vulnerability for the Ukrainians. The biggest vulnerability for the Ukes is that they can't self-pay for this war and they are going to be dependent on political, financial, and logistic support from the EU. Worst case if France and Germany make a "separate peace" with Russia to turn the gas back on, the US would have to shoulder essentially 100% of the financial burden for the war (appreciate the gesture UK but let's be serious here)... Poland would undoubtedly continue to provide a ready logistics hub ... but even for a globalist democratic administration in this scenario of "America alone" bankrolling the war there would be steadily increasing pressure to arrive at peace, whether or not the Ukrainians felt all of their war aims were satisfied.

Finland makes clear why it's joining NATO. You Caused This