Ukraine War Watch Thread

[Time_Traveller]

Zelensky sacks Ukraine's commander-in-chief Valerii Zaluzhnyi

7 minutes ago

Ukraine's president Volodymyr Zelensky has sacked the commander-in-chief of the country's armed forces, Valerii Zaluzhnyi.

It follows speculation about a rift between the president and General Zaluzhnyi, who has led Ukraine's war effort since February 2022.

The dismissal will be made official in a presidential decree.

The country's defence minister Rustem Umerov said in a statement as the news emerged:

"General Valerii Zaluzhnyi had one of the most difficult tasks - to lead the Armed Forces of Ukraine during the Great War with Russia.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-68244813

[wjfox]

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[weatheriscool]

Russian Navy Commander 'Sacked' After Third of Black Sea Fleet Lost
https://www.newsweek.com/russia-black-s ... ed-1870254

Admiral Viktor Sokolov, the commander of Russia's Black Sea Fleet, has been "sacked" after the fleet suffered another loss on Wednesday, local Telegram channels reported.

The Rybar Telegram channel, which has links to Russia's defense ministry, said Thursday that there are now "changes in the Black Sea Fleet," after Ukraine's forces destroyed Russia's Caesar Kunikov landing ship this week.

"According to preliminary information, Commander Sokolov was sacked, and instead the duties of the commander of the Black Sea Fleet are being performed by the Chief of Staff of the Black Sea Fleet," the channel said.

The Black Sea Fleet's website states that Vice Admiral Sergei Pinchuk, former commander of the Caspian Flotilla, holds the chief of staff position, independent Russian news outlet the Moscow Times reported.

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[firestar464]

Can we not link to RT on a subject so sensitive?

[weatheriscool]

Biden administration is leaning toward supplying Ukraine with long-range missiles

Source: NBC News

Feb. 19, 2024, 6:00 AM EST

MUNICH — After months of requests from Ukrainian officials, the Biden administration is working toward providing Ukraine with powerful new long-range ballistic missiles, according to two U.S. officials. Late last year, the U.S. began to supply Ukraine with Army Tactical Missile Systems, known as ATACMS, but so far it has provided only the older medium-range ATACMS.

Now, the U.S. is leaning toward sending the longer-range version of the missile, the officials said, which would allow Ukraine to strike farther inside the Russian-held Crimean Peninsula. But U.S. funding for arms shipments to Ukraine remains uncertain because of opposition from former President Donald Trump and his Republican allies in Congress. Last week the Senate passed a $95 billion foreign aid package for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan.

But it’s not clear whether or when the GOP-controlled House will vote on the measure or whether it would survive the vote. For months, pro-Trump Republicans have said they will approve U.S. military aid to Ukraine only if the Biden administration agrees to a package of GOP immigration and border security measures. Trump and his House and Senate allies this month rejected a bipartisan border security and immigration compromise negotiated by Republicans and Democrats in the Senate.

Defense officials told NBC News that the U.S. has a limited inventory of ATACMS and that it is not likely to send them to Ukraine without money to replenish U.S. stockpiles. If Congress approves more funding for Ukraine, the U.S. could include the long-range ATACMS in one of the first packages of military aid paid for with that money, according to the two U.S. officials.

Read more: https://www.nbcnews.com/investigations/ ... rcna139394

[funkervogt]

The fall of Avidiivka may have been more damaging than thought. Up to 1,000 Ukrainian defenders are still missing, and the number captured by Russian troops could be in the hundreds.

https://www.nytimes.com/2024/02/20/us/p ... ussia.html

[funkervogt]

Former U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates believes Russia now has the upper hand in the Ukraine War.
https://www.youtube.com/live/qMgxiVrcen ... 2mCtQos3ub

[wjfox]

Barely 10% of Europeans believe Ukraine can still defeat Russia, finds poll

Wed 21 Feb 2024 05.00 GMT

Support for Ukraine among Europeans remains broad, but nearly two years after the full-scale invasion barely 10% now believe it can defeat Russia, according to an EU-wide survey – with some form of “compromise settlement” seen as the most likely end point.

The shift in sentiment – this time last year, more Europeans than not said Ukraine must regain all its lost territory – will demand that politicians take a more “realistic” approach that focuses on defining what an acceptable peace must actually mean, the report’s authors argue.

“In order to make the case for continued European support for Ukraine, EU leaders will need to change how they talk about the war,” said co-author Mark Leonard of the European Council on Foreign Relations (ECFR), which commissioned the polling.

Most Europeans “are desperate to prevent a Russian victory” but do not believe Kyiv can win militarily, Leonard said, meaning that the most convincing argument for an increasingly sceptical public was that continuing aid “could lead to a sustainable, negotiated peace that favours Kyiv – rather than a victory for Putin”.

The January polling in 12 EU member states – including France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, Spain and Sweden – found that Ukraine’s stalled counteroffensive, growing fears of a US policy shift and the prospect of a second US presidential term for Donald Trump were fuelling pessimism about the war’s outcome.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/ ... ussia-poll

[firestar464]

The fall of Avidiivka may have been more damaging than thought. Up to 1,000 Ukrainian defenders are still missing, and the number captured by Russian troops could be in the hundreds.

https://www.nytimes.com/2024/02/20/us/p ... ussia.html

It's worth noting that I remember Russian losses were even higher. Ukraine's goal is to attrit Russian forces

[funkervogt]

The fall of Avidiivka may have been more damaging than thought. Up to 1,000 Ukrainian defenders are still missing, and the number captured by Russian troops could be in the hundreds.

https://www.nytimes.com/2024/02/20/us/p ... ussia.html

It's worth noting that I remember Russian losses were even higher. Ukraine's goal is to attrit Russian forces

Russia has many more people.

[Powers]

Russia has many more people.

And the war isn't inside their borders.

[firestar464]

I'm well aware of both.

[wjfox]

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