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‘Urban Warfare Is Unavoidable,’ US General Fears

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Russia’s war in Ukraine suggests that “urban warfare is unavoidable,” according to a senior U.S. general tasked with prepare the U.S. Army for potential future wars.

“I think the enemy is going to move to the cities to avoid classification as a target,” Gen. James E. Rainey, who leads the U.S. Army Futures Command, said Friday at the Center for a New American Security. “We need to wrap our head around that.” . . .

“You never want to get into clearing and the attrition that comes with that,” he said. “Why do you need forces? You know, again, not to clear an urban area but to be able to penetrate into an urban area for purpose — stay there, kill from there.”

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has devolved into the kind of war of attrition that has provoked international outrage toward Russia and spurred Western powers to increase military aid to Ukraine. The conflict has strained the arsenals of Moscow as well as the U.S. and its allies, but Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin’s team maintained that “we have a lot of capacity” to continue aiding Ukraine.

“When we put our mind to it, our $25 trillion economy, you don’t want to take us on,” said Defense Department assistant secretary Douglas R. Bush, the Pentagon’s lead acquisitions bureau official. “We are, for example, rapidly expanding that capacity to meet some of the replenishment needs for Ukraine — maybe not as fast as some people think is possible, but I can assure you, it’s happening quickly and American industry is showing what it can do. So I’m pretty confident about it.” (Read more from “‘Urban Warfare Is Unavoidable,’ US General Fears” HERE)

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Trump Refuses to Lay Out Russia-Ukraine Peace Plan Until He’s President

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Former President Donald Trump refused to say what he would do to broker a peace negotiation between Ukraine and Russia, telling the Daily Caller he would have to be president to do it.

Trump has maintained that he would end Russia’s war on Ukraine in “24 hours,” making him the only presidential candidate to endorse peaceful negotiations between the two countries.

“What specifically will you do to end the war in 24 hours?” Daily Caller’s White House Correspondent Diana Glebova asked Trump at Saturday’s CPAC event.

“I’m not going to tell you that because if I told you that, I probably wouldn’t be able to do it,” Trump responded.

“We’re playing a giant chess game here… It would be so easy, to settle that war. I could do it in 24 hours,” Trump said, reiterating a claim he has made repeatedly. (Read more from “Trump Refuses to Lay Out Russia-Ukraine Peace Plan Until He’s President” HERE)

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Sen. Dan Sullivan: White House Should Send F-16S to Ukraine Now

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Senior Defense Department officials were leaning toward supplying Ukraine with F-16 fighter jets until President Biden quashed the idea this year, Sen. Dan Sullivan said Sunday.

The Alaska Republican sent a letter about Ukraine’s urgent need for fighter jets to Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and Army Gen. Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs, after hosting a delegation of Ukrainian pilots last summer on Capitol Hill.

“It looked like it was moving well through the bureaucracy of the Pentagon,” Mr. Sullivan said Sunday on ABC’s “This Week.”

But that momentum came to a grinding halt in January after Mr. Biden responded with a terse “no” to a reporter’s question about providing Kyiv with fighter jets.

“And then, last week the national security adviser [Jake Sullivan] says, ‘Well, we’re not going to do F-16s for now,’” said Mr. Sullivan, a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee. “That’s exactly the wrong approach.” (Read more from “Sen. Dan Sullivan: White House Should Send F-16S to Ukraine Now” HERE)

Photo credit: Flickr

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European Prime Minister Says US Dragging West Into World War, Should Be Kicked Out of NATO

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By First Post. Hungary called for “European NATO” that should be free from the influence of America. Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban said he believes that the US is dragging Europe into a conflict that cannot be won and risks a global war. . .

“The solution would be a European NATO,” the Hungarian PM was quoted as saying by Swiss Weltwoche.

He further claimed that desire of the US for further expansion of its influence has led to the tensions between the West and Russia. . .

Referring to his conversation with Russian President Vladimir Putin few weeks ahead of the start of Ukraine war, the Hungarian PM claimed that Moscow was concerned about NATO expanding further east into Ukraine and Georgia.

Orban said that Putin told him “his problem was with the American missile bases in Poland and Romania and possible NATO expansion in Ukraine and Georgia.” (Read more from “European Prime Minister Says US Dragging West Into World War, Should Be Kicked Out of NATO” HERE)

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Ukraine War: Blinken and Russia’s Lavrov Meet as Tension With Moscow Soars and War Grinds On

By CBS News. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov talked briefly Thursday at a meeting of top diplomats from the Group of 20 nations in the first high-level meeting in months between the two countries. U.S. officials said Blinken and Lavrov chatted for roughly 10 minutes on the sidelines of the G-20 conference in New Delhi. The short encounter came as relations between Washington and Moscow have plummeted over Russia’s war on Ukraine.

A senior U.S. official said Blinken used the discussion to make three points to Lavrov: That the U.S. would support Ukraine in the conflict for as long as it takes to bring the war to an end, that Russia should reverse its decision to suspend participation in the New START nuclear treaty and that Moscow should release detained American Paul Whelan.

The official, who spoke to reporters on condition of anonymity to discuss the private conversation, said Blinken had “disabused” Lavrov of any idea Moscow might have that U.S. support for Ukraine was wavering.

The official declined to characterize Lavrov’s response but said Blinken did not get the impression there would be any change in Russia’s behavior in the near term.

Russia offered no immediate comment on the substance of the conversation, but Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said Blinken had asked to speak to Lavrov. (Read more from “Ukraine War: Blinken and Russia’s Lavrov Meet as Tension With Moscow Soars and War Grinds On” HERE)

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Hunter Biden Advised Joe’s Office on Answering Burisma Queries: Emails

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Then-second son Hunter Biden coached then-Vice President Joe Biden’s press secretary on how to respond to media questions about him joining the board of Ukrainian natural gas company Burisma Holdings, emails reviewed by The Post show.

The May 13, 2014, exchanges between Hunter and Kendra Barkoff, which have not been previously reported, form the basis of a complaint sent to the Justice Department on Friday alleging that the Biden scion, now 53, violated federal law by failing to register as a foreign agent.

“In advising the Office of the Vice President how to respond to press inquiries about his appointment, Hunter Biden ‘represent[ed] the interests of [a] foreign principal before any agency or official of the Government of the United States,’” America First Legal Foundation general counsel Gene Hamilton wrote to the assistant attorney general for national security, Matthew Olsen, quoting the relevant statute.

Burisma announced Hunter Biden’s appointment to its board of directors on May 12, 2014. The following day, according to the complaint, Barkoff sent Hunter an email saying: “Thanks for talking to me. [L]et me know who I should refer folks to.”

“What exactly are they asking?” Hunter responded. “For the time being I’d just refer them to my office. FYI I joined the board of Burisma Holdings Ltd. (Burisma.com) an independent/private natural gas producer in Ukraine along with the former president of Poland. I think the press release is on their website.” (Read more from “Hunter Biden Advised Joe’s Office on Answering Burisma Queries: Emails” HERE)

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Pentagon Investigates, Gives All Clear Over Ukraine Fraud Allegations

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There is no evidence any of the billions of U.S. taxpayer dollars spent on weapons and aid sent to Ukraine has been lost to corruption or diverted into criminal hands, the Pentagon’s inspector general said Tuesday, before adding investigations are still at an early stage.

The assurance came after members of Congress persistently questioned how closely the U.S. is tracking its aid to ensure it is not subject to fraud.

AP reports Robert P. Storch was pressed by House members several times about any fraud findings. He said a number of tips and allegations have come in to a new hotline, but there have been “limited findings” to date, with many reports pending.

Storch, who was testifying with other Pentagon leaders before the House Armed Services Committee, repeatedly qualified his remarks by saying he did not want to talk about investigations that have not yet been completed.

His comments came on the back of months of claim and counterclaim regarding the potential for corruption to the very highest levels of the Ukraine government, as Breitbart News reported. (Read more from “Pentagon Investigates, Gives All Clear Over Ukraine Fraud Allegations” HERE)

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Greek FM Calls for Immediate End to Ukraine War Without Conditions

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Greek Foreign Minister Nikos Dendias has called for an immediate end to the war in Ukraine without any conditions and called on both Russia and Ukraine to begin negotiations.

Foreign Minister Dendias made his statements on the one-year anniversary of the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine saying, “What we ask is for this war to end immediately, completely and with no conditions because this is the only way for real dialogue to begin.”

He stated that both sides should have a dialogue based on the principles of the charter of the United Nations and added that international law needed to be respected and implemented, Ekathimerini reports.

“The Greeks do not have feelings of hostility for the Russian people. The thing we are against is revisionism and the created tragedy. Greece and its allies will continue to support Ukraine for as long as this irrational war continues,” he added.

The comments come after Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis stated that Greece would not be sending Russian-made S-300 anti-air missile systems to Ukraine as the country currently has nothing to replace them with. (Read more from “Greek FM Calls for Immediate End to Ukraine War Without Conditions” HERE)

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They’re Lobbying for Ukraine Pro Bono – And Making Millions From Arms Firms

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Some of Washington’s most powerful lobbyists are providing their services to Ukraine for free – but at the same time, they are taking in millions in fees from Pentagon contractors who stand to benefit from the country’s war with Russia.

Following Russian president Vladimir Putin’s internationally condemned decision to invade Ukraine there was an outpouring of support to the besieged nation from seemingly every industry in America. But, arguably, one of the most crucial industries coming to Ukraine’s aid has been Washington’s powerful lobbying industry.

The invasion has led some of the lobbying industry’s biggest players to do the unthinkable – lobby for free. While the influence industry may have altruistic reasons for representing Ukraine pro bono, some lobbying firms also have financial incentives for aiding Ukraine: they’ve made millions lobbying for arms manufacturers that could profit from the war. . .

US law requires agents of foreign principals who are engaged in political activities to make periodic public disclosures of their relationship under the Foreign Agents Registration Act (Fara). Twenty-five registrants have agreed to represent Ukrainian interests pro bono since the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Before the war, just 11 Fara registrants were working on behalf of Ukrainian interests. . .

Many of these new pro-bono Ukrainian lobbyists are pushing for greater US military support for the Ukrainian military. As one registrant explained in a Fara filing, they intend “to lobby members of the US government to increase US Department of Defense spending on contracts related to equipment and other efforts which will aid the ability of the Ukrainian military to succeed in its fight against the Russian military”. (Read more from “They’re Lobbying for Ukraine Pro Bono – And Making Millions From Arms Firms” HERE)

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Zelensky Says American Sons and Daughters Will Have to Die; Russia Is Taking Bakhmut

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UA POV. Zelensky: “the US will have to send their son’s and daughter’s to war, and they will be dying”
by u/Kamerat_Andreas in UkraineRussiaReport

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‘Extremely Tense’ as Russians Bid to Encircle Ukraine’s Bakhmut — Commander

By Arab News. The situation in the Ukrainian city of Bakhmut was “extremely tense” on Tuesday, the commander of Ukrainian ground forces said, as Russian troops besieging it stepped up their assault in a bid to encircle it.

Russia is trying to cut the Ukrainian defenders’ supply lines to the city, the scene of some of the war’s toughest fighting, and force them to surrender or withdraw. That would give Russia its first major prize in more than half a year and open the way to the capture of the last remaining urban centers in the Donetsk region.

“Despite significant losses, the enemy threw in the most prepared assault units of Wagner, who are trying to break through the defenses of our troops and surround the city,” Ukraine’s Col. general Oleksandr Syrskyi was quoted as saying on a military messaging platform. (Read more from “Zelensky Says American Sons and Daughters Will Have to Die; Russia Is Taking Bakhmut” HERE)

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Putin Will Eventually Be Killed by His Inner Circle, Ukraine’s Zelensky Says

By The Independent UK. Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky has reportedly claimed that president Vladimir Putin will one day be killed by his own inner circle, saying: “Predators will devour a predator”.

The comments were made in an Ukrainian documentary called Year, according to The Times.

It comes as the Russian leader Mr Putin warned his people that they might not survive as a nation if Ukraine wins the war.

Mr Zelensky told the documentary: “There will definitely be a moment when the fragility of Putin’s regime will be felt inside the [Russian] state.

“And then the predators will devour a predator. They will find a reason to kill a killer.” (Read more from “Putin Will Eventually Be Killed by His Inner Circle, Ukraine’s Zelensky Says” HERE)

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Russians Hung Out With U.S. Army Soldiers at a Weapons Expo and Played With the Missiles Killing Putin’s Tanks in Ukraine

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The US is arming Ukraine with deadly weapons to use on the battlefield against Russian forces, but that didn’t stop Russians from coming over and checking out Washington’s military hardware this week at an expo in the Middle East, according to a new report.

US Army soldiers and Russian weapons contractors both had displays at the Naval Defence & Security Exposition, a place for countries to showcase their weaponry and other combat systems, in Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates this week, and they were separated by just a few yards, Breaking Defense reported from the event.

At one point, the Russians reportedly came over to the US stand, where one soldier told Breaking Defense the mood was friendly and there was even an exchange of patches. At least one of the Russians even picked up a Javelin, an anti-tank missile system that the US military has sent to Ukraine and has been used to destroy Russian tanks.

Neither US Central Command, nor the US Army, immediately responded to Insider’s requests for comment.

The US-provided FGM-148 Javelin, a portable shoulder-launched weapon, was widely seen as a symbol of Ukrainian resistance during the early days of Russia’s full-scale invasion in February and March of 2022. It uses an infrared guidance system to track a target’s emission of light and delivers a high-explosive anti-tank warhead. (Read more from “Russians Hung Out With U.S. Army Soldiers at a Weapons Expo and Played With the Missiles Killing Putin’s Tanks in Ukraine” HERE)

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