10 January 2024
Tim Sigsworth
Italy’s defence minister calls for peace talks
Italy’s defence minister has called for peace talks between Ukraine and Russia.
Guido Crosetto, a senior player in Giorgia Meloni’s Brothers of Italy party, said Vladimir Putin is showing a willingness to negotiate.
“From this perspective … it would seem that the time has come for incisive diplomacy, alongside military support, because there are a number of important signals coming from both sides,” he said.
Mr Crosetto insisted that Ukraine’s “full territorial integrity and recognised borders” remained the “goal of the entire international community”.
But he called on Kyiv to accept “new realities” in the war and the West to acknowledge that Ukrainian politics is “no longer as united as in the past in supporting President Zelensky’s policy”.
Although criticism of Volodymyr Zelensky has increased in Ukraine in recent months, none of his major allies or opponents supports ending the war with Russia.
Nationalists demand major offensive to stop Ukrainian attacks on Russia
Russian nationalists have demanded a major new offensive near Kharkiv in a bid to stop further Ukrainian strikes on Belgorod.
Dozens have been killed and hundreds injured in strikes on the city, which is just 20 miles from Ukraine’s north-eastern border, in recent weeks.
Now calls have been made for the Russian army to advance along hundreds of miles of front line to establish a nine-mile-deep “buffer zone” that would push Ukrainian missile launchers out of range of the city.
The Institute for the Study of War (ISW), a US-based think tank, said the proposed offensive contradicted “the Russian military’s likely inability to conduct an operation to seize significant territory in Kharkiv Oblast in the near term”.
“A Russian incursion 15 kilometres in depth and several hundred kilometres in width would be a massive operational undertaking that would require a grouping of forces far larger and significantly better resourced than what Russian forces currently have concentrated along the entire international border with Ukraine, least of all in Belgorod Oblast,” it said.
Russia has not won any major military advance since May last year, when Wagner mercenaries spearheaded the taking of Bakhmut after a brutal months-long battle for the city.
The calls for a new offensive near Kharkiv came after Dmitry Peskov, Kremlin spokesperson, said on Tuesday that Vladimir Putin’s government would do “everything” to stop increasingly frequent Ukrainian strikes on Belgorod.
The most deadly attack came on December 30, when 25 people were killed and more than 100 were injured.
live: Moscow’s forces bombed Russian village, MoD says
Updated 5 minutes ago
Russian pilots twice bombed villages controlled by Moscow’s forces because they were fatigued and badly trained, Britain’s Ministry of Defence (MoD) has said.
In its latest defence intelligence briefing, the MoD said the incidents in Petropavlovka, Voronezh, and Rubizhne, occupied Luhansk, occurred during “combat sorties” carried out on January 2 and January 8 respectively.
The bombing in Petropavlovka, 80 miles from the border of north-eastern Ukraine, injured four civilians and destroyed six houses.
The shelling in Rubizhne saw five locals evacuatedfrom their homes because of the damage caused by a FAB-250 bomb.
“Russia’s continued propensity for munition accidents is likely exacerbated by inadequate training and crew fatigue, leading to poor execution of tactics during missions,” the MoD said.
The two incidents were a repeat of an “abnormal discharge of aviation ammunition” by an Su-34 fighter jet that injured several people in the border city of Belgorod in April last year.
Zelensky: West’s hesitation over new aid helps Putin
The West’s hesitation about providing more military aid to Ukraine helps Vladimir Putin, Volodymyr Zelensky has said.
“He is not going to stop,” Mr Zelensky told a press conference on a visit to Lithuania. “He wants to occupy us completely.
“And sometimes, the insecurity of partners regarding financial and military aid to Ukraine only increases Russia’s courage and strength.”
Before and after: Kharkiv children’s camp struck by Russian missile
Ukraine needs more anti-air weapons, Zelensky says
Volodymyr Zelensky has said Ukraine needs more anti-air weapons to defend itself from a recent uptick in Russian air strikes.
In recent days, Russia hit Ukraine with a total of 500 devices. “We destroyed 70 per cent of them,” Zelensky said at a press conference as he visited Vilnius, Lithuania.
“Air defence systems are number one that we lack.”
Iran develops new drone targeting Ukraine’s Western weapons
Iran has developed a new attack drone for Russia which aims to seek out Western-donated missile launchers being used by Ukraine, Sky News has reported.
A source told the broadcaster that a “few units” of the Shahed-107 drone may have been offered to Moscow in a £1.6million ($2million) deal.
This reflects “the significant force design work Iran is engaged in to support Russia’sinterests regarding Ukraine”, the source said.
The source also said Russia is expecting to receive surface-to-surface missiles from Iran“soon” and will be able to manufacture 4,000 of its own Shahed drones every year by 2025.
Almost all of the drones used by Russia in Ukraine are the Iranian-designed Shaheds.
Canada fails to deliver promised £300m NASAMS to Ukraine
Canada has failed to deliver a £318million ($406million) surface-to-air missile system which it promised Ukraine a year ago, it has been reported.
Broadcaster CTV News reported that the American-made National Advanced Surface-To-Air Missile System (NASAMS) was pledged in January 2023 and paid for in March but has since been delayed for unknown reasons.
When the promise was announced last January, its ministry of defence said: “Canada’s NASAMS donation will help Ukraine strengthen its air defence systems against destructive air attacks on military sites, civilian critical infrastructure and population centres.”
The ministry “either does not know or will not say when it expects delivery”, CTV reported.
This fucktard Crosetto, who is unfortunately Meloni’s Def Sec, has given himself away :
“he called on Kyiv to accept “new realities” in the war……”
“New realities” is an established putinaZi code term for “surrender your land to us or we kill you.”
……
“Now calls have been made for the Russian army to advance along hundreds of miles of front line to establish a nine-mile-deep “buffer zone”
Firstly, it is Ukraine that needs to establish a buffer zone. Inside the cauldron of devilry.
Secondly, putler’s rat commanders for sure are planning major offensives; they could be anywhere. They will occur at a time when putler feels at his strongest and judges Ukraine to be at its weakest.
Putler is full of confidence. He believes he’s in with a more than 50-50 chance of getting his own personal rimmer into the WH. Meantime, he continues with his demonic genocide plan.
The ambitions of the nazi toad can be crushed only by a massive injection of long range fires, artillery and squadrons of modern attack jets.
No signs of those things getting in place at the moment, if ever.
…………
Canada: WTF? They are already doing less than a country of their vast wealth should be doing.
How can I say this politely…fuck you and the horse your ride in on. How about we section of Sicily and make that a separate country. You scum sucker.
It may explain why Meloni, who has been so supportive vocally, has delivered next to fuck all. Same with the other Euro-Latin countries: Portugal, Spain, France.
Romania though is becoming more helpful to Ukraine. Not as much as it should ……
It is however building; at high speed, a new highway into Ukraine, which should be immensely helpful.
The sad reality of the world is that after years of incredible crimes committed by the Nazis in the Kremlin, some “democrats” in Europe and elsewhere are more comfortable with the idea of putting a war criminal back into play by negotiating with him, than the principle of defending and sharing a free world with Ukraine. Crazy!
We have all seen videos in recent days showing hundreds of Italian Nazis performing the fascist salute in front of the headquarters of the Italian Social Movement. Crosetto is at his right place…
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/jan/08/meloni-urged-to-ban-neofascist-groups-after-crowds-filmed-saluting-in-rome
“Russia has responded to the security situation and Ukraine’s pressure [on its way] to join NATO”
“the crisis in Ukraine has no military solution.”
“Russia also needs security guarantees.”
“the EU and Russia are somehow connected vessels and that they need each other”
…
Fico was very concerned today about losing his title of second ballerina of the bolchoï to the detriment of Crosetto. Orban is unbeatable as number one. In his latest Orc propaganda, detestable as usual, Fico took great care to spare Orcland by distorting reality and pointing the finger at everyone who is free. But what are countries like this doing within the EU?
I hope this bastard will end up suffocating in the vomit he regurgitates every time he opens the manure pit that serves as his mouth.
https://www.pravda.com.ua/eng/news/2024/01/10/7436645/