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Russian Troops Pour Into Belarus ‘by the Trainload’

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Russian troops are pouring into Belarus “by the trainload.”

The news comes alongside an announcement from Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko that Russian troops would return to the country, which neighbors both Russia and Ukraine, in large numbers, according to the Belarusian state news agency Belta. Tens of thousands of Russian troops used Belarus as the staging ground for their initial northern offensive into Ukraine in February but mostly withdrew by late March. Since then, a few hundred Russian troops have stayed behind, mostly air and missile troops that use the close Russian ally as a launching pad for missile strikes into Ukraine, but that now appears to be changing.

“Russian soldiers are entering Belarus by the trainload. They’re traveling in cattle cars — just a huge quantity. Just waves of trains arriving,” a Belarusian source told Kyiv Post correspondent Jason Jay Smart.

(Read more from “Russian Troops Pour Into Belarus ‘by the Trainload’” HERE)

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White House Walks Back Biden’s ‘Armageddon’ Remarks

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The White House on Friday attempted to take the edge off President Biden’s warnings that the U.S. could soon face nuclear “Armageddon.”

Presidential press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre attempted to allay heightened fears when speaking with reporters aboard Air Force One, returning to the administration’s official mantra that the U.S. has no indication “that Russia is preparing to imminently use nuclear weapons.”

Mr. Biden “was reinforcing what he has been saying, which is how seriously we have taken these threats about nuclear weapons as we have done when the Russians have made these threats throughout the conflict,” she said. “The kind of rhetoric we have seen is no way for the leader of a nuclear-armed state to speak, and that’s what the President was making very clear.”

Still, Ms. Jean-Pierre reiterated that the U.S. does not assess that Russian President Vladimir Putin intends to launch nukes in the immediate future.

“As I said before, we have not seen any reason to adjust our own strategic nuclear posture,” she said. (Read more from “White House Walks Back Biden’s ‘Armageddon’ Remarks” HERE)

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NATO Must Fire ‘Preemptive Strikes’ to Prevent Russian Nukes, Zelensky Says

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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky called on NATO to conduct “preventative action” against Russian targets to prevent their use of nuclear weapons in Ukraine.

The president said these actions “are needed so that [the Russians] know what awaits them if they use nuclear weapons” on Thursday during an event with the Australian think tank the Lowy Institute. “Not the other way around, waiting for Russia’s nuclear strikes and then saying, ‘Oh, you’ve done that, then get this.’”

During Zelensky’s remarks, his interpreter said he called for “preventative strikes” but then corrected himself to say “preventative action.”

Zelensky adviser Mykhailo Podolyak said on social media that reports he called for a preventive nuclear strike were “fake.”

“Another ru-fake. 1. @ZelenskyyUa said nothing about a preventive nuclear strike on RF,” he said. “2. Zelensky reminded about Russian nuclear blackmail and suggested to preemptively outline the consequences for Russia and intensify strikes against it — sanctions and armed assistance to UA.” (Read more from “NATO Must Fire ‘Preemptive Strikes’ to Prevent Russian Nukes, Zelensky Says” HERE)

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China, Russia ‘Enabling North Korea’ and Kim’s Missile Tests: U.S. Envoy

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The top American envoy to the United Nations accused China and Russia of “enabling North Korea,” after Kim Jung Un oversaw his sixth missile test in 12 days without political reprisal on Wednesday.

“As the Security Council wrapped up a meeting on North Korea’s dangerous ballistic missile launches, we learned that Pyongyang launched two more missiles,” Linda Thomas-Greenfield, the U.S. ambassador to the U.N., said in a tweet.

“Make no mistake: the two Council members that are blocking us from taking action are enabling North Korea,” she said, referring to the Chinese and Russian delegations, which have vetoed efforts to toughen U.N. sanctions on the regime.

(Read more from “China, Russia ‘Enabling North Korea’ and Kim’s Missile Tests: U.S. Envoy” HERE)

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US Officials Say Ukraine Behind Car Bomb Assassination of Putin Ally’s Daughter: Report

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By New York Post. US intelligence believes parts of the Ukrainian government gave the go-ahead for a car bomb that killed the daughter of a staunch Putin ally in August, according to a report Wednesday.

Kyiv has unequivocally denied any involvement in the blast that killed Darya Dugina, 29, in front of her father, Putin loyalist and Russian ultranationalist Aleksandr Dugin, both after the blast and in response to the report by the New York Times.

But multiple sources, speaking to the outlet on condition of anonymity, said that the US intelligence community believes parts of the Ukrainian government were complicit in the attack. The sources said Washington admonished Kyiv for the assassination. . .

At the time of the attack, Kyiv denied any involvement.

“We are not a criminal state, unlike Russia, and definitely not a terrorist state,” Zelensky advisor Mykhailo Podolyak said at the time. (Read more from “US Officials Say Ukraine Behind Car Bomb Assassination of Putin Ally’s Daughter: Report” HERE)

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U.S. Believes Ukrainians Were Behind an Assassination in Russia

By DNYUZ. United States intelligence agencies believe parts of the Ukrainian government authorized the car bomb attack near Moscow in August that killed Daria Dugina, the daughter of a prominent Russian nationalist, an element of a covert campaign that U.S. officials fear could widen the conflict. . .

The closely held assessment of Ukrainian complicity, which has not been previously reported, was shared within the U.S. government last week. Ukraine denied involvement in the killing immediately after the attack, and senior officials repeated those denials when asked about the American intelligence assessment.

While Russia has not retaliated in a specific way for the assassination, the United States is concerned that such attacks — while high in symbolic value — have little direct impact on the battlefield and could provoke Moscow to carry out its own strikes against senior Ukrainian officials. American officials have been frustrated with Ukraine’s lack of transparency about its military and covert plans, especially on Russian soil.

Since the beginning of the war, Ukraine’s security services have demonstrated their ability to reach into Russia to conduct sabotage operations. The killing of Ms. Dugina, however, would be one of the boldest operations to date — showing Ukraine can get very close to prominent Russians.

Some American officials suspect Ms. Dugina’s father, Aleksandr Dugin, a Russian ultranationalist, was the actual target of the operation, and that the operatives who carried it out believed he would be in the vehicle with his daughter. (Read more from “U.S. Believes Ukrainians Were Behind an Assassination in Russia” HERE)

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Putin: ‘Partial Mobilization’ to ‘Liberate’ Ukraine From ‘Neo-Nazi Regime’

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Following two days of feverish anticipation and speculation on Russian media, Vladimir Putin finally gave his Ukraine address on Wednesday morning at 9 a.m. Moscow time. . .

Over the course of his 14-minute speech, Putin characterized the Ukrainian government and its armed forces as “neo-Nazis” 10 times.

“Respected friends, the topic of my speech is the situation in the Donbas and the course of the special military operation to liberate it from the neo-Nazi regime that seized power in Ukraine in 2014 as a result of an armed coup,” said the four-term Russian president, who in 2020 ushered in constitutional changes that would allow him to remain in office until 2036. . .

“In order to protect our Motherland, its sovereignty and territorial integrity, to ensure the security of our people and people in the liberated territories, I consider it necessary to support the proposal of the Ministry of Defense and the General Staff to conduct partial mobilization in the Russian Federation,” he said.

After laying out an extended reminder of his country’s nuclear capabilities, the Russian commander-in-chief concluded that, “It is in our historical tradition, in the destiny of our people, to halt those who strive for world domination, who threaten the dismemberment and enslavement of our homeland, our Fatherland. That is what we are doing now, and it will continue.” (Read more from “Putin: ‘Partial Mobilization’ to ‘Liberate’ Ukraine From ‘Neo-Nazi Regime'” HERE)

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‘Precipice of Collapse’: Putin Facing ‘Irreversible’ Defeat as Troops Abandon Ship

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PREDICTION: PUTIN FACES ‘IRREVERSIBLE’ DEFEAT: Russia’s retreat from a key logistics hub in Ukraine’s eastern Donbas region in the face of advancing Ukrainian forces is not only another embarrassing defeat for Russian President Vladimir Putin but may also mark a fundamental shift in momentum in favor of Ukraine, say former U.S. commanders.

“No amount of shambolic mobilization, which is the only way to describe it, no amount of annexation, no amount of even veiled nuclear threats can actually get [Putin] out of this particular situation,” said retired Army Gen. David Petraeus on ABC on Sunday. “He is losing, and the battlefield reality he faces is, I think, irreversible.” . . .

The liberation rail hub of Lyman (pron: lee-MON) came as Russian forces melted away without a fight, taking up what the Russian Defense Ministry called “more advantageous positions.”

“This is a tremendous victory for the Ukrainians. And it’s a victory that I think that they could turn into a cascading series of defeats of Russian forces,” said retired Lt. Gen. H.R. McMaster on CBS. “What we might be at here is really at the precipice of really the collapse of the Russian army in Ukraine, a moral collapse.”

“They must really be at a breaking point, if you look at just the numbers of casualties, the vast area that they’re trying to defend,” said McMaster, former President Donald Trump’s first national security adviser. “I think it’s very important also to understand that these forces that are in full retreat now out of Lyman were really the first round of mobilization. … Those forces were hastily trained, thrown into that front, and these are the forces that are collapsing right now.” (Read more from “‘Precipice of Collapse’: Putin Facing ‘Irreversible’ Defeat as Troops Abandon Ship” HERE)

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As Russian Troops Fall Back, Nuclear Fears Advance

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Ukraine recaptured more of its territory from Russian forces Monday amid reports from European media that Russian President Vladimir Putin may be mobilizing elements of his country’s massive nuclear arsenal for potential use on the battlefield.

Senior U.S. military officials would not directly address reports that a Russian Ministry of Defense train responsible for the transport of nuclear munitions is on the move toward the Ukrainian border. The Times of London, citing Polish defense analysts who track Russian nuclear movements, first reported the development.

The Italian newspaper La Repubblica reported that NATO nations are preparing for the possibility that Mr. Putin may soon order tests of Russia’s nuclear-armed Poseidon torpedoes.

Less than two weeks ago, Mr. Putin warned the West that Moscow is prepared to use “all of our available means” to defend Russian territory from Ukrainian attacks. The remark has raised alarm in Washington and across Europe as fears mount that a desperate Kremlin may take drastic action as it loses more ground to Ukrainian troops.

A senior military official was asked repeatedly Monday whether the U.S. has seen any indication that Russia may be moving nuclear assets. The official did not directly comment on Russia’s movements but said the U.S. is making no changes to its positioning. (Read more from “As Russian Troops Fall Back, Nuclear Fears Advance” HERE)

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Transgender Army Major and Wife Indicted for Scheming to Give Sensitive Military Data to Russians

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A male U.S. army major masquerading as a female and his wife, a Johns Hopkins anesthesiologist, were arrested on Thursday after being federally indicted for scheming to pass sensitive health information obtained under secret-level security clearance to Russia. If convicted, the defendants face up to five years in prison for conspiracy and up to 10 years for each of seven counts of disclosing private health data.

In a detailed announcement of the indictments, the Department of Justice said Major Jamie Lee Henry, hailed as the U.S. Army’s first transgender officer, and Anna Gabrielian face charges for passing data to someone they thought was a Russian agent, but who turned out to be an undercover agent with the FBI.

At the time of the alleged crime, Henry had secret-level security clearance at Fort Bragg in North Carolina, home to the U.S Army Special Operations Command headquarters. Gabrielian, knowing Henry’s level of access, told the agent she had marketed her and her husband’s services to the Russian embassy via email and phone. She later reported that she was “motivated by patriotism toward Russia to provide any assistance she could to Russia, even if it meant being fired or going to jail.”

On Aug. 17, Gabrielian told the FBI agent she believed to be working for Russia that her husband would be a “more important source for Russia than she was” due to his connections in the military. She also apparently claimed that Henry could communicate “how the United States military establishes an army hospital in war conditions and information about previous training provided by the United States military to Ukrainian military personnel.” . . .

That is when the pair agreed to pass off private medical records from both of their workplaces “in order to help the Russian government.” (Read more from “Transgender Army Major and Wife Indicted for Scheming to Give Sensitive Military Data to Russians” HERE)

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‘We Were Ready to Die’: US Captives ‘Prayed for Death’ on Brutal Ride From Ukraine

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Even after three months of captivity that included execution threats, physical torture, solitary confinement and food deprivation, it was the ride to freedom that nearly broke Alex Drueke, a US military veteran released last week with nine other prisoners who went to help Ukraine fight off Russian invaders.

His hands were bound. His head was covered by a plastic bag, and the packing tape holding it in place was secured so tightly it caused welts on his forehead. Drueke said he and fellow American prisoner Andy Huynh reached their limit in this state during the transit, which occurred in a series of vehicles from eastern Ukraine to an airport in Russia that was surrounded by armed guards.

“For all we went through and all the times we thought we might die, we accepted that we might die, we were ready to die when it came, that ride was the only time that each of us independently prayed for death just to get it over with,” Drueke told The Associated Press in an interview Friday.

“The mental and emotional torture of those last 24 hours in captivity, that was the worst,” he said.

Drueke, 40, is healing: The swelling is going down on his head and he’s trying to regain some of the 30 pounds he figures he lost eating a poor diet. But awful memories remain, and he’s unsure what comes next aside from trying to focus attention on fellow prisoners who remain in Russian hands. (Read more from “‘We Were Ready to Die’: US Captives ‘Prayed for Death’ on Brutal Ride From Ukraine” HERE)

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