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White House: Joe Biden Felt ‘It Was Really Important’ to Stand Next to Zelensky

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President Joe Biden’s top national security aides told reporters on Monday that despite the risks it entailed, the president felt it was “really important” to make the surprise trip to Ukraine.

“He was excited about making the trip. I think he felt it was really important to stand up next to President Zelenskyy and speak the way that he did today,” National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said on a conference call with press. . .

Another aide on the call said his visit was a demonstration of Biden’s commitment to Ukraine.

“This was a risk that Joe Biden wanted to take. It’s important to him to show up, even when it’s hard, and he directed his team to make it happen, no matter how challenging the logistics,” White House Communications Director Kate Bedingfield said.

“He wanted to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with President Zelensky and remind the world, as we approach the one-year anniversary of the invasion, that Kyiv still stands and the United States will not be deterred from standing with Ukraine,” she added. (Read more from “White House: Joe Biden Felt ‘It Was Really Important’ to Stand Next to Zelensky” HERE)

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Escalation: UK to Become First State to Hand Ukraine ‘Longer Range Weapons’, China to Provide Russia ‘Lethal Support’

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British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak pledged that the United Kingdom will become the first state to supply Ukraine with “longer-range weapons” to use in its war with Russia.

In comments made on Saturday at the Munich Security Conference in Germany, Rishi Sunak said that the West must “help Ukraine to shield its cities from Russian bombs and Iranian drones and that’s why the United Kingdom will be the first country to provide Ukraine with longer-range weapons.” . . .

This escalation comes at a precarious moment for Ukraine’s Western backers, with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken expressing concern that Communist China is considering graduating from “providing rhetorical, political, diplomatic support to Russia” to “providing lethal support to Russia” — a move which would have “serious consequences” for Sino-American relations. . .

Over the past year, the British government has sent nearly £4 billion to Ukraine in aid, £2.3 billion of which has come in the form of weapons, ammunition, or other military equipment.

Following Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky’s visit to London earlier this month, Downing Street said that it was actively considering shipping fighter jets and long-range missiles to the war-torn country. (Read more from “Escalation: UK to Become First State to Hand Ukraine ‘Longer Range Weapons’, China to Provide Russia ‘Lethal Support'” HERE)

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Biden Announces That U.S. Tax Dollars Will Go Towards Supporting Ukrainian Social Services, Including Paying for Government Pensions (VIDEO)

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Russia’s war on Ukraine dominated the Sunday morning political talk shows, with U.S. lawmakers and officials discussing alleged Russian war crimes, continued U.S. support for Kyiv and new concerns about potential lethal Chinese aid to Moscow almost one year after the invasion was launched. . .

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), meanwhile, stressed on ABC’s “This Week” that the U.S. should designate Russia as a state sponsor of terrorism and start training Ukrainian pilots on F-16 fighter jets. . .

The Biden administration last month approved sending battle tanks to Ukraine, but some are now pushing the Pentagon to answer Kyiv’s calls for F-16 fighter jets. . .

Biden is set to arrive in Poland on Tuesday to meet with Polish President Andrzej Duda and deliver remarks on global unity in Warsaw. (Read more from “Biden Announces That U.S. Tax Dollars Will Go Towards Supporting Ukrainian Social Services, Including Paying for Government Pensions (VIDEO)” HERE)

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Poll: Less Than Half Of Americans Support Shipping Our Weapons To Ukraine (VIDEO)

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As Russia’s invasion of Ukraine nears its one-year anniversary on Feb. 24, many Americans’ patience is wearing thin. A new poll by the Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research found that American support for shipping weapons and tax dollars off to Ukraine is declining.

Less than half of Americans, 48 percent, now say they favor the U.S. providing weapons to Ukraine, with 29 percent opposed and 22 percent neither in favor nor opposed. This is a decline from May 2022, when less than three months into the conflict 60 percent of U.S. adults were in favor of sending weapons to Ukraine.

Americans are equally divided on whether to send cash. Thirty-seven percent favor it, 38 percent are opposed, and 23 percent are neither in favor nor opposed.

For a war with no end in sight that has already cost U.S. taxpayers about $113 billion in less than one year, it makes sense that public support for funding the conflict is waning, especially as Americans are more concerned about how they’ll foot their wildly inflated grocery bill or handle declining wages, due in part to the influx of migrants at the U.S.-Mexico border. Meanwhile, a fentanyl crisis — thanks to truckloads of illegal drugs smuggled into the country via the same disastrous border policies — is wreaking havoc on poor, blue-collar communities. More than 107,000 Americans died from drug overdoses in 2021 alone.

Americans seem to increasingly want the Biden administration to focus on issues at home. This is why almost half of them want Biden to help Ukraine negotiate a peace settlement with Russia. Perpetual funding of a proxy war overseas is simply not a priority for the average American, whether Democrat or Republican, which is probably why Biden administration officials reportedly warned Ukraine quietly that Americans have limited patience for endless wars.

(Read more from “Poll: Less Than Half of Americans Support Shipping Our Weapons to Ukraine” HERE)

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Belarus Warns of Impending Nuclear War

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The authoritarian leader of Belarus is a firm Kremlin ally and backer of what Mr Putin refers to as the “special military operation” – what most of the world calls Russia’s war in Ukraine. . .

“Last year you allowed your country to be used as a staging ground for Russia’s invasion,” I reminded Mr Lukashenko. “Are you prepared to do so again?”

“Yes, I’m ready,” he replied. “I’m ready to provide [territory] again. I’m also ready to wage war, alongside the Russians, from the territory of Belarus. But only if someone – even a single soldier – enters our territory from there (Ukraine) with weapons to kill my people.” . . .

“If you continue this escalation, you will get nuclear weapons and Russia has more than anyone,” he said.

“So, you should stop this. If a nuclear war starts, Belarus will cease to exist. We need to sit down at the negotiating table, because nuclear war will wipe out the USA too. No-one needs this.” (Read more from “Belarus Warns of Impending Nuclear War” HERE)

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Ukraine and Russia Are Violating Ban on Chemical Weapon Use in War – Is It Accelerating? (VIDEO)

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Both Ukraine and Russia signed and ratified the 1993 Chemical Weapons Convention.

Article I (5) of the Convention states: “Each State Party undertakes not to use riot control agents as a method of warfare.”

Article II (7) defines “Riot Control Agent” as: “Any chemical not listed in a Schedule, which can produce rapidly in humans, sensory irritation or disabling physical effects which disappear within a short time following termination of exposure.”

Videos from Russian and Ukrainian sources released online show that chemical weapons as defined above are being used in the Ukraine war.

The following video shows a riot control agent being deployed against Russian troops from a Ukrainian drone in clear violation of the 1993 Chemical Weapons Convention.

(Video, Ukrainian drone tear gas attack)

It appears that the Russians have also used riot control agents against Ukrainian positions, but in the following video no Ukrainian soldiers appear to have been affected.

(Video, Russian drone tear gas attack)

One of the reasons given for including riot control agents in the 1993 Chemical Weapons Conventions was that their use in war might lead to the deployment of more dangerous chemical agents.

Has that happened?

A recently published Gateway Pundit article, included a Ukrainian-made and Ukrainian-distributed video of a Russian soldier flailing in a waist-deep, watered-filled ditch unable to right himself after another accompanying Russian soldier apparently died from unknown causes.

Additional analysis has been done on that video, which confirms and expands upon the initial observations presented in the original Gateway Pundit article.

Relevant screenshots are presented in an attempt to ascertain what had occurred, even though the video is edited, often unclear and may not show sequential events.

Two types of high explosive munitions are shown in the video, a F1 fragmentation hand grenade and a 30mm VOG-17M.

Based on the video evidence, it is possible that the first Russian soldier was killed by the F1 hand grenade dropped from the Ukrainian drone, but the lead (second) Russian soldier appeared unaffected by it.

The lead (second) Russian soldier was already flailing and unable to right himself in waist-deep water before the second, 30mm VOG-17M, munition was dropped from the drone.

The cause of the flailing was obviously edited out of the video.

Seizure or convulsive-like responses are more characteristic of chemical weapon use than injuries sustained from high explosive munitions.

Hydrogen cyanide and nerve gas can cause seizures or convulsions, the former agent being easier to obtain, handle and deploy.

Clearly, both Ukraine and Russia have violated the 1993 Chemical Weapons Convention by their use of riot control agents.

It appears that these actions are becoming more dangerous which is certainly worthy of investigation.

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Lawrence Sellin, Ph.D. is retired U.S. Army Reserve colonel and a veteran of Afghanistan and Iraq. He had a civilian career in international business and medical research. Dr. Sellin is the author of Restoring the Republic: Arguments for a Second American Revolution. His email address is [email protected].

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Chairman of Joint Chiefs of Staff Says Russia Has ‘Lost’ War in Ukraine

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Russia has “lost” its war in Ukraine, according to a top U.S. defense official, speaking ten days ahead of the one-year anniversary of their invasion.

Gen. Mark Milley’s comments, which came on Tuesday, occurred after he and Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin met with defense leaders from roughly fifty countries in the ninth iteration of the Defense Contact Group in Brussels, which meets monthly to discuss Ukraine’s latest needs to combat Russian aggression.

“Russia has lost,” he told reporters. “They’ve lost strategically, operationally, and tactically, and they are paying an enormous price on the battlefield. But until Putin ends his war of choice, the international community will continue to support Ukraine; [and supply] the equipment and capabilities it needs to defend itself. Through this group, we are collectively supporting Ukraine’s ability to defend its territory, protect its citizens and liberate their occupied area.”

Putin’s expectations for the war — a swift defeat of Ukraine’s forces and a fracture of the NATO alliance — couldn’t have been further from what has played out over the last nearly twelve months. (Read more from “Chairman of Joint Chiefs of Staff Says Russia Has ‘Lost’ War in Ukraine” HERE)

Photo credit: Gage Skidmore via Flickr

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Country Closes Airspace Amid Fears of Russian Coup

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Moldova briefly closed airspace Tuesday due to “security issues” amid fears of a Russian plot to overthrow the government, according to media reports.

The federal aviation authority closed and reopened airspace briefly following unconfirmed reports of a Russian drone sighting over the country, which is positioned along Ukraine’s southern border near the Black Sea and tolerates Russian military presence in a breakaway sliver of territory, Meduza reported. Ukrainian intelligence services warned the neighboring country that Moscow planned to topple the pro-Western central government Monday, according to Radio Free Europe (RFE/RL).

“Documents received from our Ukrainian partners show documentation of the locations and logistical aspects of organizing these subversions,” Moldovan President Maia Sandu said, according to RFERL. “The plan also involves the use of people from outside the country for violent actions,” she added, calling for “maximum vigilance.”

Moscow denied the plot to overthrow Moldova’s government, RFE/RL reported.

“Such claims are completely unfounded and unsubstantiated,” Russia’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement, accusing Ukraine of providing false intelligence intended to inflame tensions between Russia and Moldova, according to RFE/RL. (Read more from “Country Closes Airspace Amid Fears of Russian Coup” HERE)

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Decimated: Russians Lose Dozens of Armored Vehicles in Ukrainian Ambush, Video Shows

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Graphic drone footage appears to show dozens of Russian armored vehicles getting ambushed and destroyed during a single botched attack near the coal-mining town of Vuhledar in eastern Ukraine, which Moscow’s forces have been trying to capture for months.

Vuhledar, a Ukrainian stronghold at the strategic intersection between the eastern and southern front lines, has seen some of the bloodiest fighting of the war as the Kremlin is gearing up for a decisive offensive on the eastern front.

Based on the newly released video evidence, a column of dozens of tanks and armored vehicles was lost or damaged last week, with a large number of troops apparently killed.

Russian soldiers are seen in aerial footage fleeing for their lives under sustained aerial bombardment by the Ukrainians.

In the chaos, Russian tanks are seen mowing down their own men. (Read more from “Decimated: Russians Lose Dozens of Armored Vehicles in Ukrainian Ambush, Video Shows” HERE)

Photo credit: Flickr

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Russian Soldiers Dying at Highest Rate Since Beginning of War With More Than 800 Daily

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Russia’s army is currently losing soldiers at the highest rate since the first week of the war almost a year ago — with a remarkable 824 troops dying each day, UK officials say.

The United Kingdom’s Ministry of Defense made the stunning claim Sunday, citing Ukrainian General Staff updates, but said it could not verify Ukraine’s methodology.

“The trends the data illustrate are likely accurate,” the Ministry said.

At rate of 824 deaths per day is about four times higher than the mean in June-July 2022, the UK government said.

“Ukraine also continued to suffer a high attrition rate,” the Defense Intelligence update stated without providing specific numbers. “The uptick in Russian casualties is likely due to a range of factors including lack of trained personnel, coordination and resources across the front — this is exemplified in Vuhledar and Bakhmut.” (Read more from “Russian Soldiers Dying at Highest Rate Since Beginning of War With More Than 800 Daily” HERE)

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