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Ex-Israeli PM: West ‘Blocked’ Ceasefire Early in Ukraine War

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Naftali Bennett, the Prime Minister of Israel towards the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine last year, says the West “blocked” a ceasefire he was helping to broker early in the war.

Bennett, who was prime minister and then alternate prime minister in Israel during a confusing period of coalition politics prior to the return of Benjamin Netanyahu as head of government in December, said that “there was a good chance of reaching a ceasefire” before the Western powers “curbed” negotiations in a wide-ranging interview uploaded to YouTube.

Israel is one of a number of states traditionally seen as being aligned with the West, along with the likes of India and Turkey, which have played little or no part in efforts to support Ukraine militarily or engage in the sanctions war with Russia, with Bennett explaining that while “the Americans expect… that we all rally for Ukraine” this would not necessarily have been in Israel’s interests.

By way of example, Bennett cited Israeli interests in Syria, where “once or twice a week we attack the Iranian presence… Russia, the superpower, has the S-300 there, and if they press the button Israeli pilots will fall.” (Read more from “Ex-Israeli PM: West ‘Blocked’ Ceasefire Early in Ukraine War” HERE)

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A Transgender ‘Mother’ Who Has Two Transgender Kids, Advocates For This State to Become a ‘Trans Refuge’

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Woke Minnesota lawmakers are seeking to make the state a “trans refuge” that would allow transgender kids and their families to receive gender-affirming care.

First introduced by Rep. Leigh Finke (D-Minn), the legislation, HF146, “would make Minnesota into a trans refuge state by protecting trans people, their families, and medical practitioners from the legal repercussions of traveling to Minnesota to receive gender-affirming care.”

The bill is designed to provide life-alternating sex change procedures to minors who live in states that restrict gender-affirming care.

It would also prevent law enforcement from removing a child from parental custody that Republican-led states have ordered.

Finke, who is the first openly transgender person to serve in the state legislature, said the bill is a desperate “need” for her community. (Read more from “A Transgender ‘Mother’ Who Has Two Transgender Kids, Advocates For This State to Become a ‘Trans Refuge'” HERE)

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U.S. Giving Ukraine Smart Bombs to Double Strike Range Against Russia

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The U.S. will announce on Friday it is sending Ukraine Ground Launched Small Diameter Bombs or GLSDB, significantly improving the country’s ability to strike targets behind Russian lines, according to media reports.

Ukraine has been pushing for longer-range missiles, particularly the Army Tactical Missile System (ATACMS) which has a range of 185 miles, in a bid to disrupt Russian command posts and supply chains ahead of an expected spring offensive.

Washington has been refusing to hand over ATACMS to the Ukrainians, fearing this would be seen as too provocative by Moscow, as they could be used to hit targets deep within Russian territory.

However, the Financial Times reported Kyiv will be sent the smart bombs, which have a range of 94 miles and can be fired from Ukraine’s HIMARS rocket launchers. (Read more from “U.S. Giving Ukraine Smart Bombs to Double Strike Range Against Russia” HERE)

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Ukraine Confirms Putin Planning February ‘Anniversary’ Attack With Half a Million Troops

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Ukraine has confirmed fears that Russian President Vladimir Putin may be planning a February 24 ‘anniversary’ attack on the country with half a million troops.

Ukraine’s defence minister Oleksii Reznikov has said that Moscow has amassed hundreds of thousands of troops and could “try something” on the one year anniversary of its invasion.

The major new offensive would mark another phase of the ongoing war, and comes after prolonged fears Russia might utilise the anniversary date to renew their efforts to take Ukraine.

The Kremlin shocked the world when, in February last year, it invaded the country and tried to seize Kyiv as apart of what it claimed was a “special military operation”.

Any attack would also mark Russia’s Defender of the Fatherland Day on February 23 – which celebrates the army. (Read more from “Ukraine Confirms Putin Planning February ‘Anniversary’ Attack With Half a Million Troops” HERE)

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Ukrainian Troops Say Russians Are Becoming Much More Effective, Gaining Ground

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Ukrainian troops on the front lines in the Donbas have told the BBC that Russian forces are “learning every day and changing their strategy” as they continue to gain ground around the heavily contested town of Bakhmut. . .

Sgt Denys Kalchuk from the all-volunteer Dnipro-1 Battalion [described] how Russian infantry, fighter jets and artillery units appeared to be operating with growing co-ordination and effectiveness around Bakhmut: “The planes are the worst. You can’t hear them until it’s too late. It’s the same with the tanks. Artillery is easier – at least you might have a second or two [to dive for cover] after you hear them coming”. . .

“It is very hard for us now. We understand that Russia is learning every day and changing their strategy. And I think we need to learn faster,” said Dmytro Podvorchanskyi, who heads a reconnaissance unit in Dnipro-1.

He and others spoke of the way well-equipped regular Russian forces were now hiding and dispersing their ammunition stores far better and targeting Ukrainian logistics routes more effectively. As a result, they are continuing to gain ground around Bakhmut and threatening another potentially significant town, Vuhledar, further south. . .

“There have been cases of [Ukrainian] units who don’t seem willing to fight, and disagreements [over tactics],” one Ukrainian soldier acknowledged, speaking off the record. Others talked about the trauma of seeing their friends die, of units that had sustained overwhelming numbers of casualties and of the psychological impact of fighting amidst the corpses. (Read more from “Ukrainian Troops Say Russians Are Becoming Much More Effective, Gaining Ground” HERE)

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Kyiv Says Forces Outnumbered, Battling ‘Intensifying’ Russian Attacks

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A Ukrainian deputy defense minister said on January 25 that Russian forces are “intensifying” their attacks near Bakhmut in the Donetsk region of eastern Ukraine and warned that Moscow had a “superior number of soldiers and weapons” in what has become a hot spot in the 11-month-old invasion.

Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Malyar wrote on Telegram that “the enemy is intensifying pressure in the Bakhmut and Vuhledar sectors” in a broader region that Ukrainians frequently refer to as the Donbas

“The enemy is throwing a significant number of personnel, weapons, and military equipment into the battle, trying to break through our defenses, [and] is suffering significant losses but is not giving up its plans,” Maylar said. “The intensity of the fighting is increasing.”

Russian-backed separatists have controlled large swaths of the Luhansk and Donetsk regions that compose the Donbas since 2014, when Russian troops also invaded Crimea ahead of its annexation. (Read more from “Kyiv Says Forces Outnumbered, Battling ‘Intensifying’ Russian Attacks” HERE)

Photo credit: Flickr

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Biden Says U.S. Won’t Send F-16 Fighter Jets to Ukraine

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President Biden on Monday said the U.S. will not supply Ukraine with F-16 fighter jets to assist in their ongoing fight with Russia, which is heading into its second year.

“No,” Mr. Biden said when a reporter asked him if the U.S. would send the fighter jets to Ukraine.

Mr. Biden also said he was unsure if he would visit Europe for the one-year anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Ukrainian officials last week renewed their calls for the U.S. and Germany to provide them with F-16 fighter jets, which have been on the country’s wish list since the war began last year.

The Biden administration has rebuffed such calls, saying that artillery, armor, and ground-based defense systems and tanks are more urgent needs because Ukraine must protect civilian infrastructure and repel Russian forces. (Read more from “Biden Says U.S. Won’t Send F-16 Fighter Jets to Ukraine” HERE)

Photo credit: Flickr

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Trump Calls for Peace Negotiations to End War (VIDEO)

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Former President Donald Trump called for peace negotiations to end the war between Russia and Ukraine and pledged he would quickly begin deporting illegal aliens if elected president while speaking at his first official campaign-trail event in South Carolina on Saturday night.

“Through weakness and incompetence, Joe Biden has brought us to the brink of World War III. We’re at the brink of World War III, just in case anyone doesn’t know it,” Trump said, flanked by Gov. Henry McMaster (R-SC) and Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC), the chiefs of his campaign’s South Carolina leadership team. “As president, I will bring back peace through strength.”

Trump asserted that if he “was president, there would not have been a war with Russia and Ukraine; zero chance.” (Read more from “Trump Calls for Peace Negotiations to End War (VIDEO)” HERE)

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The West Is Losing Weapons Production Race to Russia, NATO Ally Says

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Russia’s defense industry has “almost doubled” its prewar ammunition production rates, according to a senior NATO member defense official who estimated that Ukrainian forces could face as many as 10,000 incoming rounds per day.

“Russia can still manufacture a lot of dumb bombs,” the Estonian defense minister’s permanent secretary, Kusti Salm, told reporters in Washington this week. “And dumb bombs are also 152 [mm] artillery that does the most damage in the battlefield. … Shooting 10,000 artillery [rounds] a day makes a lot of damage.”

That sobering thought punctuated a wider warning that Russia has vast resources available to conduct a protracted war in Ukraine despite sustaining heavy losses over the past year. And that assessment raised a corollary misgiving that Western defense companies have not taken the necessary steps to provide adequate supplies to Ukraine while preparing for future threats.

“The attitude from the industry [is] that ‘we will only wake up in the morning when you put the contract on the table,’” said Salm. “Our stocks are getting more depleted. So we’re not only on the uphill trajectory here with the trend. We are still going down. It needs to be reversed.” (Read more from “The West Is Losing Weapons Production Race to Russia, NATO Ally Says” HERE)

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‘New Level of Confrontation’: Russia Reacts to U.S., Germany Tank Deliveries to Ukraine

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Russia responded Thursday for the first time regarding the decision by President Biden to send Abrams M1 tanks to Ukraine, accusing it of “direct involvement in the conflict.”

During his Wednesday announcement, Biden said the shipment of tanks that he classified as the “most capable tanks in the world” were not “an offensive threat to Russia.”

However, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov clapped back at this and said, “There are constant statements from European capitals and Washington that the sending of various weapons systems to Ukraine, including tanks, in no way signifies the involvement of these countries or the alliance in hostilities in Ukraine.”

“We categorically disagree with this, and in Moscow, everything that the alliance and the capitals I mentioned are doing is seen as direct involvement in the conflict. We see that this is growing,” he told reporters, according to Reuters Thursday.

Russian officials have repeatedly accused the U.S. and NATO allies of being directly involved in the conflict despite the lack of Western troops in the war. (Read more from “‘New Level of Confrontation’: Russia Reacts to U.S., Germany Tank Deliveries to Ukraine” HERE)

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