Ukraine War Watch Thread

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Yuli Ban
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Ukraine War Watch Thread

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The Biden administration is weighing sending military advisers and new equipment including weaponry to Ukraine as Russia builds up forces near the border and US officials prepare allies for the possibility of another Russian invasion, multiple sources familiar with the deliberations tell CNN.

The discussions about the proposed lethal aid package are happening as Ukraine has begun to warn publicly that an invasion could happen as soon as January. The package could include new Javelin anti-tank and anti-armor missiles as well as mortars, the sources said.
Air defense systems, such as stinger missiles, are also under consideration, and the Defense Department has been pressing for some equipment that would have gone to Afghanistan -- like Mi-17 helicopters -- to instead be sent to Ukraine. The Mi-17 is a Russian helicopter that the US originally purchased to give to the Afghans. The Pentagon is now weighing what to do with them after the US withdrawal from Afghanistan in August.
But others in the administration are concerned that sending stingers and helicopters could be seen by Russia as a major escalation. And while they are prepared to send some military advisers into the region, it is unclear whether any would go into Ukraine itself, the people said.
Retired Lt. Col. Cedric Leighton told CNN that Javelin antitank missiles "are quite effective against the T-80 tanks which the Russians are actually employing in these efforts against Ukraine right now." But he noted that any additional assistance to Ukraine undoubtedly risks "further heightening tensions" with Moscow.
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Yuli Ban
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Re: Eastern Europe Crisis

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Russia’s financial markets sank in trading Monday as fears of a possible military confrontation between Russia and Ukraine weighed on investors' minds.

Talk of a possible military confrontation between Russia and Ukraine has escalated in recent days, with Bloomberg reporting that U.S. intelligence has warned European allies a Russian invasion “on a scale far greater than seven years ago” could be “imminent.”

The RTS Index — Russia’s main stock market, denominated in U.S. dollars — was down 4% by Monday afternoon, wiping billions off the valuations of Russia’s top companies.

Banks were among the biggest fallers — seen as vulnerable to a devaluation in the ruble or introduction of new sanctions against Russia’s financial markets — along with energy giant Gazprom.

The Russian ruble lost 1.1% against the U.S. dollar, trading at 74.4 — its lowest since August. The currency was down by a similar amount against the euro.

Traders are also mulling the potential for a new round of sanctions against Russia. Over the weekend, the chair of the powerful U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee proposed a legislative amendment that could see strict new financial sanctions levied against Moscow.

The declines wiped out three months of gains that had seen Russian stocks trading at all-time highs.
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Re: Eastern Europe Crisis

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Ukraine airborne troops hold drill amid growing border tensions
Ukraine, alarmed by a build-up of Russian troops near its borders, has held another military drill of airborne forces close to the capital Kyiv, the defence ministry said on Monday.

The drills simulated the landing of airborne troops and armoured personnel carriers for an attack on an enemy target, the ministry said in a statement. It released footage showing the landing of troops, supported by aircraft and helicopters.

Last week, Ukrainian marines conducted drills near the borders of Russian-annexed Crimea. read more

The head of Ukraine's military intelligence told the Military Times outlet this weekend that Russia had more than 92,000 troops amassed around Ukraine's borders and was preparing for an attack by the end of January or beginning of February.
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Re: Eastern Europe Crisis

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In Russia-Ukraine faceoff, both sides stage combat drills
Russia staged military drills in the Black Sea, south of Ukraine, on Wednesday and said it needed to sharpen the combat-readiness of its conventional and nuclear forces because of heightened NATO activity near its borders.
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Re: Eastern Europe Crisis

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The Ukrainian troops have fired American-made Javelin anti-tank missiles against Russian-backed forces in the country's eastern border of Donbass, amid threats of another Russian invasion.

Ukraine's top military intelligence agency has confirmed the use of the powerful missile for the first time, reports Military Times, quoting Ukrainian Brigadier General Kyrylo Budanov.

According to Budanov, the Javelin systems have also been used against Russian forces and have a "significant psychological deterrent value making Russians think twice about attacking."

The Javelin is a very capable man-portable guided anti-tank missile that can either be fired straight at a target or via a pop-up maneuver, after which it dives down onto the target, according to The Drive.

The missile's pop-up maneuverability makes it very valuable for engaging tanks and other armored vehicles with limited armor protection on top. It also has a reusable Command Launch Unit, a thermal imaging system with 12x magnification, which gives it a secondary surveillance capability. Javelins also have a limited ability to engage low-flying helicopters, the report added.

Javelin also has a demonstrated ability to hit targets up to nearly three miles away, which helps engage threats on the other side of the line of contact.
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Re: Eastern Europe Crisis

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All options are on the table in how to respond to Russia's "large and unusual" troop buildup near Ukraine's border, and the NATO alliance will decide on the next move following consultations next week, the State Department's top U.S. diplomat for European affairs said on Friday.
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Re: Eastern Europe Crisis

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Take it with a grain of salt...
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Re: Eastern Europe Crisis

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Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on Thursday accused the US and NATO of risking a "nightmare scenario of military confrontation" in Europe, warning the alliance against expanding military infrastructure in Ukraine.

"The alliance's military infrastructure is being irresponsibly brought closer to Russia's borders in Romania and Poland, deploying an anti-missile defence system that can be used as a strike complex," Lavrov said in remarks at a conference of the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), per BBC News.

The top Russian diplomat's comments came amid fears that Moscow is planning an invasion of Ukraine. Tens of thousands of Russian troops have gathered along Ukraine's border.
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Re: Eastern Europe Crisis

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It is by now a familiar pattern: Russian troops mass near the Ukrainian border, triggering ratcheting rhetoric and jitters across Europe and the United States that war might be imminent, before a flurry of diplomacy calms nerves.

Officials and experts say that this time is different — and there are several clues giving them genuine concern that the current gambit by Russian President Vladimir Putin might be for real, and the start of a conflict that could drag in Europe and even the U.S. itself.

Putin has deployed more than 90,000 troops along Russia’s border with Ukraine, matching the force that he sent and withdrew in the spring. But whereas those troops maneuvered in open daylight, now they have mostly been far less showy, moving under the cover of darkness.
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Re: Ukraine War Watch Thread

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Canada, the United States and Britain should jointly and swiftly provide military support to Ukraine in its standoff with Russia, Ukraine’s Defence Minister says, warning that steps to deter Russian President Vladimir Putin from invading were necessary now because “it will be too late after.”

Oleksii Reznikov said in an interview that he detected a split within the NATO military alliance over how far to go in supporting Ukraine. Canada, the U.S., and Britain were more willing to challenge Mr. Putin’s aggressive behaviour, he said, while countries such as Germany and France were hesitant because they were concerned about maintaining their economic relationships with Russia.

Mr. Reznikov, who was appointed Defence Minister last month by President Volodymyr Zelensky, called on “the Anglo-Saxon allies” to act outside the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, if necessary, in providing weapons and other support to Ukraine’s military.

He said Ukraine’s land forces were battle-ready, but that the country needed to immediately upgrade its air defence, naval, and electronic warfare capabilities in the face of the threat posed by the Russian military force amassed near Ukraine’s borders.
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