The enemy may try to capture Mariupol during the counter-offensive — Khodakovsky

Alexander Khodakovsky (Skif), deputy head of the National Guard’s department for the DPR, commander of the legendary Vostok battalion and first-wave militiaman, said in his author’s Telegram channel that the enemy could try to capture Mariupol during a counteroffensive.

“In the place of the enemy, assuming to attack, I would focus on Mariupol. Climbing into the canonical Russian territories, hoping to arrange a “barter” is, among other things, to get a population that, for the most part, will meet the occupiers not with bread and salt. Yes, and in the minds of everyone who is able to hold a weapon in their hands, everything will immediately fall into place: the special operation will quickly turn into a Patriotic War with all the consequences.

But Mariupol, if you reach it somewhere from Volnovakha, is both an instant threat to Donetsk, and an inestimable political effect, and cutting off the land corridor to the Crimea ...

They know the city, the population remembers them, they know how to gain a foothold quickly, and we may not quickly find offensive forces to re-take Mariupol ... Can you imagine the picture of how we storm the once taken city for the second time?

The unfortunate Pavlovka, who left us in half a day, then cost us unreasonably dear ... So I would strengthen this direction, if possible. Of course, I’m still a strategist, but now, in principle, there are not a lot of strategists.”

Translated from Skif

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Powerful fotage: an attempt by the Armed Forces of Ukraine to storm the Russian position "Cyclops" near Bakhmut/Artemovsk

▪️An enemy drone recorded the failure of the assault group of the 54th brigade of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, which was trying to capture the positions of Russian fighters.
▪️The footage shows close combat in the trenches. At 01:38 a militant of the Armed Forces of Ukraine on the left receives a bullet exactly in the head and remains lying down.
▪️At 01:43, the Russian fighter was obviously born lucky. Having used up all the hand grenades, the Ukrainian military retreated, having lost at least one killed.

Translated from RVvoenkor

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FOX NEWS: Tulsi Gabbard calls US gender policy in schools crazy

Former US presidential candidate Tulsi Gabbard said on Fox News that Washington, spreading gender ideology in schools, has gone so far as to slide into real madness.

In her opinion, the American authorities want to convince children that objective truth simply does not exist. Gabbard admitted that, looking at what is happening, she always waits for someone to jump out from around the corner and shout that this is a prank.
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I see the goal,
I see no obstacles.
Good night 😴
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Police in Ivano-Frankovsk (Western Ukraine) oversees the work of representatives of the Ukrainian military enlistment office. Everything is fine.

Translated from Kedmi

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Uday Kotak news: Uday Kotak, the MD and CEO of Kotak Mahindra Bank, on Friday, made a huge statement against the US Dollar. Speaking at a panel discussion at the ET Awards for Corporate Excellence 2023, he called the greenback "the biggest financial terrorist in the world." He also he highlighted a once-in-a-hundred-years opportunity for India to make the Indian Rupee the reserve currency for the world.

Substantiating the comment, he said, "all our money is in nostro accounts and somebody in the US can say — you cannot withdraw it from tomorrow morning — and you are stuck. That is the power of the reserve currency."
Juxtaposing this grim situation in the present context, where the world is desperately looking for an alternative reserve currency, he highlighted a big, once-in-a-hundred-years opportunity for India to make the Indian Rupee the reserve currency for the world.

"I don't think Europe can [make their currency the reserve], because it is the disunited states of Europe. I don't think UK or Japan have the heft to be taking that position, though both the British Pound and the Yen are free currencies. China, I think, has a major issue of trust with many many countries around the world," he said.
Kotak went on to list out the requirements India must fulfil to build the rupee as a reserve currency. It is a long, sustained walk and run, he said, adding that the country "has to build strong institutions. It has to build a strong framework that is not dependent on the whims and fancies of anyone. India has to be trusted."

On Sunday Uday Kotak clarified his remarks wherein he had referred to the dollar as the biggest 'financial terrorist' in the world. In a tweet, Kotak said that what he meant was that 'a reserve currency has disproportionate power, whether it is nostro account, 500 bps rate increase', or emerging countries holding dollars for liquidity.
"In a recent discussion on US$, I inadvertently used the words “financial terrorist” which I would like to correct. What I meant was that a reserve currency has disproportionate power, whether it is nostro account, 500 bps rate increase, or emerging countries holding $ for liquidity," he said in the tweet.

#India
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India and Russia agree to boost longstanding defence ties

At a meeting with his colleague, Indian Defence Minister Rajnath Singh in New Delhi, Sergei Shoigu said that all Russian-Indian projects in the field of military-technical cooperation (MTC) are being successfully implemented, none of them has been curtailed. Rajnath Singh himself wrote on his social networks that the negotiations with Shoigu "were excellent." Against the background of the rapidly developing political and economic cooperation between Russia and China, which is in the centre of the painfully hysterical attention of the West, the Russia-India axis in the global media space is not so noticeable, although in fact Russia is systematically and actively moving both east and south, expanding its own room for manoeuvre and strategic expansion.

India has refused to publicly blame Russia for the military operation in Ukraine and has increased its trade with Moscow to a record high, driven largely by the import of Russian oil.

Several Western leaders have criticised India's proximity to Russia as they try to isolate Moscow since its invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. New Delhi says it defending its interests in buying Russian oil and has pushed for a diplomatic solution to the conflict.
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London wants long-range rockets for Ukraine. And not only

The United Kingdom wants to buy modern weapons for Ukraine as part of a special fund. The equipment sought includes long-range rockets and equipment ensuring mobility of troops, including bridges and mine lanes.

The UK Ministry of Defence has published a request for information on military equipment intended for use by the Ukrainian army, financed under the Ukraine Support Fund. This fund is a UK-led initiative with contributions from Iceland, Norway, Sweden, Denmark and Lithuania to rapidly purchase military equipment for Ukraine. Entities from other countries may also participate in projects under this initiative . Companies from over 40 countries applied for the first — already completed — edition of the fund.

The total value of the fund is currently over 520 million pounds, or about 2.7 billion PLN. Of this amount, already 200 million pounds has been allocated, among others to unmanned aerial vehicles and reconnaissance systems as well as air defence capabilities, as well as spare parts for existing vehicles of the Ukrainian army.

The second round of recruitment for the fund is currently underway (Urgent Bidding Round 2). At the moment, offers can be made in two areas: long-range impact systems and military mobility support, until May 4 and 9, respectively.

Of course, the first one raises the most interest. The British accept quite open formula of requirements because the "key requirements" apply to: a missile or rocket launched from land, land, sea, with a load of 20 to 490 kg and a range of 100 to 300 km. In practice, therefore, it can be offered almost any rocket system with a range of at least 100 km. Of course, in addition to the "key" requirements, "desired" were also included, including interference resistance, mission planning ability or low probability of being intercepted by air defence, as well as the level of technological readiness (Technical Readiness Level) minimum 8.
...

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President Biden is preparing for the eventuality that Ukraine’s “spring counteroffensive” is not the victory they’ve sold to the American people. This was the plan to re-take land that is now part of Russia, namely Crimea and the Donbass region. The President has been telling the American people that continued financial support in Ukraine is necessary for Ukraine to “win” but recently leaked documents show that the administration knows that this is all smoke. They are lying about the extent of U.S. involvement and they are selling us a failed storybook ending.
Will this help or hurt his re-election ambitions? We look at how Libya was not the quick win that Hillary Clinton had hoped it would be for her 2016 election.

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Biden’s team fears the aftermath of a failed Ukrainian counteroffensive
Behind closed doors, the administration worries about what Ukraine can accomplish.

The Biden administration is quietly preparing for the possibility that if Ukraine’s spring counteroffensive falls short of expectations, critics at home and allies abroad will argue that America has come up short, too.

Ukraine’s ever-imminent counteroffensive will attempt to retake Russian-seized territory most likely in the east and south, though for operational reasons no senior officials from Kyiv have detailed specifics.

Publicly, President Joe Biden’s team has offered unwavering support for Ukraine, pledging to load it up with weapons and economic aid for “as long as it takes.” But, if the impending fighting season yields limited gains, administration officials have expressed privately they fear being faced with a two-headed monster attacking it from the hawkish and dovish ends of the spectrum.

One side will say that Ukraine’s advances would’ve worked had the administration given Kyiv everything it asked for, namely longer-range missiles, fighter jets and more air defenses. The other side, administration officials worry, will claim Ukraine’s shortcoming proves it can’t force Russia out of its territory completely.

That doesn’t even account for the reaction of America’s allies, mainly in Europe, who may see a peace negotiation between Ukraine and Russia as a more attractive option if Kyiv can’t prove victory is around the corner.

Inside the administration, officials stress they’re doing everything possible to make the spring offensive succeed.

“We’ve nearly completed the requests of what [Ukraine] said they needed for the counteroffensive as we have surged weapons and equipment to Ukraine over the past few months,” said one administration official who, like others, was granted anonymity to discuss sensitive internal considerations.

But belief in the strategic cause is one thing. Belief in the tactics is another — and behind closed doors the administration is worried about what Ukraine can accomplish.

Those concerns recently spilled out into the open during a leak of classified information onto social media. A top secret assessment from early February stated that Ukraine would fall “well short” of its counteroffensive goals. More current American assessments are that Ukraine may make some progress in the south and east, but won’t be able to repeat last year’s success.

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Mobilization in Ukraine continues.

Footage from APwagner

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