Captured Ukrainian paratrooper said they were trained in the UK
Ukrainian paratroopers captured by the Russian Armed Forces said they were trained in the UK

MOSCOW, December 2 - RIA Novosti. Ukrainian paratrooper Dmitry Protsenko, taken prisoner in the Krasnolimansky direction, said that he and his colleagues were trained in the UK.
“Yours (the Russian military) began to storm the stronghold, I realized that everything was pointless.
The prisoner also reported how they were trained by Western instructors.
"We were sent for 20 days. <...> The program is light: like infantry - to run in twos and threes, they took us out for three days once into the forest: we were surrounded, we defended," Protsenko specified.
Also, according to him, they were trained in urban conditions. At the same time, Protsenko was skeptical about the skills that he received in such a short time in the UK. According to him, they were not trained in what can really come in handy on the battlefield.

In addition, as the prisoner said, military personnel with a criminal record, as well as debts and alimony, underwent this training. According to Protsenko, he himself was previously tried "for drugs", and he served his sentence in Russia. After his release in 2021, the man was deported to Ukraine. With the beginning of the special operation, he was mobilized into the army and sent to serve in the 25th separate airborne brigade.

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Translated from RVvoenkor:

Rocket strikes in the Kharkiv region destroyed the entire generating power system, — "Kharkovoblenergo"

"There is no generation in the Kharkiv region, and therefore emergency shutdowns continue. There is a lack of electrical energy. We take from neighboring regions," A. Kishinsky, deputy director of Kharkovoblenergo, told ICTV Facts.

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Olaf Scholz hopes Russia will return to the fold after Ukraine war
The Times
Olaf Scholz has suggested that Europe should go back to its pre-war “peace order” with Russia and resolve “all questions of common security” after the war in Ukraine if President Putin is willing to renounce aggression against his neighbours.

In his most revealing remarks on the subject, the German chancellor said he would ultimately like to restore the patchwork of security arrangements stitched together during and after the Cold War, so long as Moscow was ready to honour them.

Up to now NATO leaders have tended to discuss future relations with Russia in vague terms, beyond insisting that only Ukraine can determine the terms on which it is prepared to end the war.

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After meeting with BlackRock's CEO, is Zelensky selling Ukraine to the highest bidder?
By Olivia Murray for The American Thinker
In early September, I came across a New York Times article detailing a meeting between Ukraine’s Zelensky and BlackRock’s Laurence Fink, which caught my attention in the worst of ways. Brief refresher: Fink’s investment firm is “among several high-powered firms pushing working families out of the [U.S.] housing market and into rentals,” and according to BlackRock’s own website:

Most recently, we began investing in new construction, purpose-built for-rent housing developments… Our focus is on building single-family rental housing….

Furthermore, “BlackRock invests in multifamily properties, apartment complexes, and other residential real estate. (As of March 31, 2022, BlackRock has invested $120 billion into the U.S. residential real estate rental market.)

The Time article touted the meeting as a discussion on “how to attract investment in the country’s war-ravaged economy.” According to a statement released by Zelensky’s office, Fink provided “pro bono advice” on “setting up a reconstruction fund in support of the recovery of the Ukrainian economy” and this “fund” would accept money from both “public and private investors”.

Well isn’t Mr. Fink just a humanitarian! (How much of this money will actually go to the people, rather than the elites? I’d be willing to wager — zilch.)

But now, all the pieces are coming together….

Yesterday morning, the Russian news agency reported that Zelensky was planning to launch a “patronage program” offered to foreign entities, both public and private. From Zelensky’s own words just this past Tuesday:

Even now, we create a special patronage system. The system will enable leading countries and companies to take patronage over the reconstruction of Ukrainian regions, cities, industries, and enterprises.

The president alleged that a host of countries was interested in the program, including the United States, and additionally touted the move towards globalism and “green energy”:

We are already integrating Ukraine into the European Union. We have already become a part of the EU Single Market. We will become a part of the EU institutions. We have already joined the EU Single Energy System. We will become those whose potential in ‘green’ energy will replace dirty Russian fossil fuel for Europe.

So let me get this straight: Zelensky, under apparent “pro bono” advice from Fink, created a “patronage” scheme, which would auction off Ukrainian jurisdictions to the highest foreign bidder? And then this money would go into a “reconstruction” pot, before it likely disappears? (If we know anything about the notoriously corrupt country, we remain acutely aware of Ukraine’s penchant for money laundering, and its utter lack of transparency regarding the gravy train at the expense of America’s working class citizens.)

The term “patronage” bears with it an idea that the patron has the “power to control appointments to office or the right to privileges” — in 2015, The Guardian said the country was “marred by corruption so endemic that even the hospitals appear to be infected” — so I wouldn’t be at all surprised if Zelensky’s program fulfills the full meaning of the word.

Jumping into bed with Wall Street billionaires and corrupt global leaders to sell out your country? Sounds like Joe and Hunter Biden, or Obama, or Dick Cheney, or Chinless Mitch — it appears as though Zelensky is cut from the same cloth as some of the worst traitors in American history.

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Ukrainian military casualties are big trouble for Biden
Ukraine has likely lost 100,000 soldiers who won’t readily be replaced while US arms deliveries are depleting stocks and exposing security holes in Asia
By STEPHEN BRYEN for The Asia Times
In a shocking statement that has now been withdrawn, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen wrote that Ukraine has lost 100,000 soldiers and 20,000 civilians in the Ukraine war.

This conforms to comments made by US Joint Chief of Staff head General Mark Milley, who in a speech at a conference hosted by New York’s Economic Club said that more than 100,000 Russian soldiers have been killed or wounded in the war and that the number of troop casualties is probably the “same” for Ukraine’s army.

Ukraine’s heavy casualties are a signal that Washington’s de facto war with Russia is in trouble. President Joe Biden has to change direction or face a national security crisis that could end his presidency.

Ukraine may look as if it were winning. The truth is the opposite because Ukraine is running out of manpower it cannot replace. It is losing by attrition on the battlefield and, with the Russians systematically destroying its infrastructure, millions of Ukrainians have fled abroad. It is unlikely the country could recover even if the war should end tomorrow.

Meanwhile, Russia’s manpower problems are less severe. Moscow has been replenishing its supply of front-line troops through an unpopular conscription program at home that has now been extended to the territories in Ukraine that it occupies.

Russia’s proxy army, the Wagner Group, also has been significantly enlarged from 8,000 last April to nearly 40,000 now. Many Wagner Group fighters have been recruited from Russian prisons and some have been brought in from other countries, especially the Middle East and Africa.
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Nuclear Monitors Near Accord on Ukraine Security Zone at Zaporizhzhia Plant
➖IAEA’s Grossi is in talks on Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Plant
➖Russia hasn’t provided any information on possible retreat
ByJonathan Tirone for Bloomberg
2 December 2022 at 17:36 GMT

International nuclear monitors say they are closing in on an agreement between Ukraine and Russia that would set up a security zone around Europe’s largest atomic energy plant, potentially easing concerns about an accident.
“We are getting closer to something that could be acceptable,” Rafael Mariano Grossi, director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency said in an interview Friday with Bloomberg Television. IAEA monitors are at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, whose six reactors are shut down after months of attacks, while Grossi tries to persuade the governments in Kyiv and Moscow to cease military activities around the facility.

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Military reporter Aleksandr Harchenko in his channel "Witness of Bayraktar" tells about his conversation with the paratroopers of the Ukrainian elite 25th separate airborne brigade, which recently have surrendered to the Russian Army:

Our interviewees have been mobilized. They never served in the army before. They have been preparing hard since the summer. First in the Zhytomyr region, then in Britain. In the depths of foggy Albion, they ran for 20 days with an AK-47 and learned to storm buildings. The paratroopers generally don't rate British training too highly. Interestingly, they were given special lectures on the rights and duties of military personnel. In particular, they said that it was forbidden to kill and torture prisoners (Iraqi prisoners of British prisons must weep somewhere here).

In a word, the guys were seriously prepared for serious operations, and now, finally, they were sent to the front line. On November 5, they were in position and realized that it was an asshole. The road to the outpost was shot through. Food and water were literally beaten out from the authorities. And besides, their unit was not allocated a fashionable foreign uniform, so they had to freeze in the Ukrainian one. In addition, constant shelling seriously thinned out the personnel. After a month, 80% of the personnel on the stronghold were injured. In the end, drivers and other service personnel were sent to the front line. The technology is also bad. They had one MTLB assigned to their battalion. The wounded had to be dragged across an open field for 2 km in the hope that they would not die from loss of blood.

Such is the bleak picture. It is not surprising that at the first shooting battle, the entire stronghold raised their hands up and surrendered. And the most interesting thing is that they were stormed by yesterday's mobilized. Yes, yes, the same men who were sent to the army a month ago. I don’t know if ours were given lectures on the humane treatment of prisoners, but the Ukrainian POW were neatly delivered to headquarters, unlike the Ukrainian butchers who shot our prisoners near Makiivka. Here are the European values ​​for you...

At this point, one could finish with the consolation of the thought that the Ukrainians have lost their offensive potential, but I will not be so optimistic. It is felt that a shortage of equipment has been created at the forefront. At the same time, supplies from abroad do not stop. This means that equipment and personnel are concentrated in the rear. Today we were able to drive an SUV across the field and did not get stuck. Frost bound the earth. If this weather continues for another week, the tracked vehicles will easily be able to move forward. And this means that Ukrainian attacks can be expected in a week. They have strength, even though they pretend to be poor and unhappy. I think that they will hit Zaporozhye and Svatovo at the same time. They will try to repeat the successes of the autumn campaign.
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Translated from Rusvesnasu:

Train with US military equipment destined for Ukraine derails in Greece

The incident occurred near the port of Alexandroupolis, through which American weapons arrive in the country for further delivery to Ukrainian militants.

Activists of the Communist Party of Greece organized a protest action at the scene. They chanted the slogans "Alexandroupolis is the port of the nations" and "Let the military bases and the American imperialists get out."

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The Future of American Warfare Is Unfolding in Ukraine
Aid to Ukrainian forces is achieving more than the long U.S. intervention in Afghanistan did.

By Phillips Payson O’Brien for the Atlantic
...
America’s failure in Afghanistan, by contrast, seemed so complete in 2021 that it may have encouraged Russian President Vladimir Putin to launch his full-scale invasion of Ukraine. The American response to this year’s crisis—providing a high level of military support without deploying American forces—is not just the best way to help Ukraine secure its independence and thwart Putin. It also offers a model for how the U.S. should define its international military involvement.
...
Although the decline of U.S. power has been significantly overstated in some quarters, America’s economic decline relative to the rest of the world is real. Economic strength and technological strength have become more dispersed around the globe, and over time military strength is likely to follow the same pattern. This is one reason avoiding boots-on-the-ground interventions will become ever more of an imperative.

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It is amazing how that American analyst may found moral grounds for fighting until the last Ukrainian in the interests of the USA. Masterclass in hypocrisy and double standards... Actually, he is not even arguing, just assuming that what is good for the American elites is universally good and worth dying for (for somebody else). What a naïve primordial selfishness!
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Global Economy Out of West’s Control, Professor Fabio Massimo Parenti Tells RT

As the EU challenges China for refusing to sanction Russia over the conflict in Ukraine, we hear from Fabio Massimo Parenti, an associate professor at the China Foreign Affairs University, who says Moscow and Beijing are emerging powers that are transforming the global economy.

RT
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NASA has banned China from cooperating on the International Space Station

Therefore, China has built its own Tiangong Space Station.

Now the US is saying that China is threatening America by having its own space station.

Something must be done with this unscrupulous, tightly closed country. And I'm not talking about China right now.

imsindi_z
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Putin – Scholz: strikes on Ukraine's infrastructure were "inevitable"

The conversation between President Putin and Chancellor Scholz, which took place for the first time since September, caused an explosion of emotions among Figaro readers. The general conclusion is this: Ukraine's strikes on Crimea caused Russia's retaliatory actions. Nevertheless, everything that is happening is trouble and madness. But they have been brought closer by the collective West for more than one year.

Vva22
Without the USA, we would have behaved smarter. After all, Europe's real interest is in appeasement, in having normal relations with all its neighbors... Proof that Europe had more peaceful intentions than the United States is the fact that it was French President Hollande and Chancellor Merkel who helped formulate and guarantee the Minsk agreements. But the Ukrainian authorities, who were "under the influence" of the Americans, did not make the slightest effort to fulfill these very Minsk agreements. And so, this winter Ukrainians will die of cold, and we, Europeans, will pay 8 times more for Russian gas, for American shale LNG.

Mens sana
It seems that for Putin, an acceptable condition for negotiations is only the unconditional surrender of Ukraine. And all Putinists adhere to the same line.

LUCA COSTA
Do you expect the Russians to be calmly joking and joking about the prospect of the appearance of even "informal" NATO bases with Tomahawk missiles at a distance of 500 kilometers from Moscow? Strategy is a cruel thing. And you, with your alleged naivety in the style of Bernard-Henri Levy, make me laugh, and nothing more.
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Jihad of Dagestan Muvvahids will continue until not one SALOfite is left alive. Inshallah.

🇪🇺 Ursula gives out pearls again:

"The EU agreement on limiting oil prices will significantly reduce Russia's revenues. This will help us stabilize global energy prices, which will benefit developing economies around the world."...OPEC+ is about to have meeting soon on this matter.
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Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto: "The European Union is introducing a ceiling on oil prices. However, it's time for Brussels to realize that this and similar measures harm the European economy the most. An increase in the number of energy carriers is necessary, because this would lower prices. During negotiations on a price ceiling for oil, we fought a lot for Hungarian interests and in the end we succeeded: Hungary was exempted from the application of the oil price ceiling."
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Macron - promises the French power cuts, but persuades not to panic: No need to panic. Panic does not help, and it is groundless. The government is working to prepare as a last resort if a power outage of several hours is required. It is right to prepare in advance, because experience shows that sometimes the unbelievable comes true. But I tell you with all responsibility that if we all follow the rules of “energy sobriety” and reduce consumption by 10%, we can safely go through the winter period even in the case of very cold December and January. It's up to us. My message is to act responsibly and never panic."

- Are you serious? Have you been to America to bring this advice to your country and voters?
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Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas: "At the moment, we are in a situation where there is not enough electricity in the entire region. One of the reasons is that 1000 megawatts of electricity are no longer coming from Russia, so much is not enough. Estonia's problem is that we still we consume as much electricity as if we don't have these problems. In the short term, we have two options — power outages or savings. I'm not scaring anyone, I'm stating the fact that we need to reduce consumption. If we don't, then we should be forced to produce regional blackouts for several hours. So I really urge everyone to consume wisely."

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The feat of a Russian soldier.

After a truck with ammunition caught fire as a result of shelling by the Ukrainian Armed Forces, a Russian fighter jumped into the burning cabin and drove him away from the house where his comrades had taken refuge.

The feat of an ordinary soldier caught on a drone camera.

"Stronghold"

Sorry, Russia's Winning the War

by James Rickards for The Daily Reckoning

Here’s the mainstream narrative:The status of the war in Ukraine is best understood as a competition between the narrative and reality. The narrative consists of what you hear from mainstream media, the White House, the Pentagon and official sources in the U.K., France, Germany and both EU and NATO headquarters in Brussels.

The reality consists of what’s actually going on based on the best available sources. Let’s consider the narrative first.

According to the White House, EU and NATO, things are going relatively well for Ukraine. The Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) have advanced in eastern Ukraine along a line that runs parallel to the Russian fortified lines between Donetsk and Luhansk.

Ukraine has also reoccupied the regional capital of Kherson, which lies strategically on the Dnieper River, and is Kyiv’s main access to the Black Sea and international trade.

Based on these advances, the narrative says that Russia is in retreat, Russian troops are demoralized, Putin is in jeopardy of being replaced and complete victory for Ukraine is just a matter of time.

The narrative is then used as a basis for increased financial aid from the United States (over $60 billion and growing) and increased weapons shipments from NATO members. President Zelenskyy touts these accomplishments in his customary green T-shirt on video presentations to the U.N., G20 and other international audiences.

Here’s the reality…

The actual situation on the battlefield is almost completely at odds with the narrative. Ukraine did make advances in the east, but they were against lightly defended Russian positions on or near open terrain.

The Russians organized an orderly retreat to fortified lines and let the Ukrainians have the open land. Russia withdrew from Kherson because they regarded it as a nonstrategic salient.

They withdrew to the east bank of the Dnieper River while allowing Ukrainian troops to reoccupy the center of Kherson. Russia avoided a fight over a city of little strategic value while retaining a chokehold on river traffic from the east bank. Russia regarded Kherson as a nonstrategic salient.

The Russians withdrew to the east bank of the Dnieper River while allowing Ukrainian troops to reoccupy the center of Kherson. Russia avoided a fight over a city of little strategic value while retaining a chokehold on river traffic from the east bank.

The Russians essentially organized an orderly retreat to fortified lines and let the Ukrainians have the open land, which will become a killing field for Russian artillery.

Even with that withdrawal, almost all the industrial, technological and natural resource capacity of former Ukraine is in the Donbas now under Russian control.

In the meantime, Russia is now preparing to launch a massive counteroffensive. Russia has completed its 300,000-person mobilization. Over 180,000 of those troops are now deployed behind Russian lines in combat formations. The remaining 120,000 troops will arrive soon. This brings total Russian strength up to about 30 divisions.

They are being supplemented with Iranian drones, a major force multiplier. The major objectives of this counteroffensive are Kharkiv in the northeast, Odesa in the southwest, and Zaporizhzhia in the center part of the country on the Dnieper River.

Completion of these missions will give Russia control of the entire coast from the Sea of Azov to the Black Sea. It will also give Russia control of the Dnieper River and the largest nuclear power plant in Europe.

Russia will incorporate all of this territory into the Russian Federation and will likely move further into Moldova to reunite with a pro-Russian corridor called Transnistria with its capital in Tiraspol. At that point, Russian strategic objectives will be complete. Ukraine will be left as a rump state between Kyiv and Lviv.

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Continuation from above ⬆️⬆️⬆️
Ukrainian officials are preparing for a brutal winter ahead by evacuating civilians from cities likely to be the scene of new battles with Russian troops. These Ukrainian expectations seem at odds with the mainstream narrative of victorious Ukrainians on the offensive against demoralized Russian troops.

Meanwhile, AFU strength has been greatly diminished due to high casualty rates. Meanwhile, advanced weapons supplied to the AFU will be of little use because the AFU has not been trained to use them and there are logistical obstacles to moving them to the front lines.

Many so-called Ukrainian troops are actually Polish forces in Ukrainian uniforms. Again, Russian forces are well-rested and well-supplied, and are being supplemented with Iranian drones, a major force multiplier.

The economic impact of these developments is momentous. Biden has vowed that the sanctions will not be lifted until Russia leaves Ukraine. But Russia is not leaving. This implies that sanctions will continue indefinitely.

The sanctions have had little economic impact on Russia. But the effect on Europe and the U.S. has been devastating including energy shortages, inflation and supply chain disruption. These effects will persist and cause the EU and U.S. to fall into a severe recession in the first half of 2023.

These effects will persist and cause the EU and U.S. to fall into a severe recession in the first half of 2023.

The dollar will remain strong for reasons independent of the war in Ukraine, having to do with a growing global liquidity crisis. Stocks will fall significantly due to recessionary conditions.

Bonds will perform well as interest rates decline alongside economic decline. Gold will remain strong as more countries look for ways to avoid U.S. economic sanctions and as central banks diversify away from dollars toward gold.

Brace yourself for more volatility as we head toward the winter months. Moving cash to the sidelines is a prudent thing to do.

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