Rat u Ukrajini

Lukašenko je naveo da su Ukrajinci pokušali da izvrši udar na vojne objekte na teritoriji Belorusije, ali da su sve rakete presretnute.

"Provociraju nas. Moram da kažem: pre tri dana, nešto više, pokušali su da udare na vojne ciljeve na teritoriji Belorusije sa teritorije Ukrajine", rekao je Lukašenko na svečanom sastanku uoči Dana nezavisnosti Belorusije, prenela je agencija RIA Novosti.

Mór Thököly wrote:Bila bi fora da mu se razbezi vojska, a neka ukrajinska TO krene na Minsk.

BREAKING: Three people killed in attack on Belgorod, Russia, along the border with Ukraine.

— The Spectator Index (@spectatorindex) July 3, 2022

Российский Белгород Украина обстреляла из нового, полученного от НАТО дальнобойного оружия
США, Германия, Франция, Великобритания и другие союзники Киева должны быть признаны пособниками международного терроризма

...
Практически нет сомнений, что в этих обстрелах Белгорода и Курска виноват Запад. Тот самый, что предоставил новые вооружения Украине. Нет практически никаких сомнений, что удар был нанесен из предоставленного США и их союзниками оружия. Специалисты разберутся по осколкам, что это было – американские РСЗО, французские "Цезарь" или американские дальнобойные гаубицы М777 или те же немецкие САУ Panzerhaubitze 2000. Скорее всего, были применены все же американские РСЗО HIMARS, дальность которых позволяет накрыть оба из подвергшихся обстрелу городов.

Но в этом разберутся эксперты. Однако, главное в том, что этот обстрел стал возможным только после поставок этих вооружений. Раньше ничего подобного не происходило. Артобстрел из украинских наземных вооружений доставал только до пограничных сел на территории России, а что касается городов, то их редкие бомбардировки проводили вертолеты и беспилотники.

Все разговоры и первоначальные заверения Вашингтона, что эти вооружения предоставляются Киеву для оборонительных действий, что, дескать, руководство Украины дало гарантии о неприменении этих вооружений по территории России, все рассыпалось, как карточный домик. Украина применила поставленные вооружения не просто по территории России, а по обычным городам с мирными жителями. По городам, в которых, в отличие от украинских, не находится военные и их техника, а уж, тем более, они не рассредоточены во дворах жилых домов. В США не могли не понимать, что они дают оружие психически неуравновешенным нацистам, для которых нет ни голоса разума, ни морали, которые поглощены лишь стремлением как можно больше разрушить все, до чего смогут дотянуться.
...
Читайте на WWW.KP.RU: https://www.kp.ru/daily/27413.5/4611984/

https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2022/07/02/ukraine-russia-us-assessments/

As Ukraine war bogs down, U.S. assessments face scrutiny

The growing conjecture is fueled by U.S. assessments of other wars, notably Afghanistan, where officials habitually sidestepped questions of whether success was sustainable

Spoiler:

Leaders gather to work out ‘Marshall Plan’ to rebuild Ukraine


Leaders from dozens of countries, international organisations and the private sector are set to gather in Switzerland today to hash out a ‘Marshall Plan’ to rebuild war-ravaged Ukraine.

Ukrainian President, Volodymyr Zelensky, who will take part virtually, earlier warned that the work ahead in the areas that have been liberated alone was “really colossal”.

“And we will have to free over 2,000 villages and towns in the east and south of Ukraine,” he said.

It is estimated that more than 120,000 homes in Ukraine have been destroyed during the Russian invasion, creating the need for billions in income to restore the country economically and make it a Europe-faced economy.

Lingering concerns about widespread corruption in Ukraine mean far-reaching reforms remain in focus and will be a condition for any recovery plan.

Lugano is not a pledging conference, but will instead attempt to lay out the principles and priorities for a rebuilding process aimed to begin even as Russia’s war in Ukraine continues to rage, according to AFP.

In practice, the scale of the reconstruction will depend on the outcome and length of the war, and whether eastern Ukraine – where there has been the worst devastation – is returned to Kyiv or remains in Russian hands.

The cost of the war is estimated at $1tn if it lasts until the end of the year. The International Monetary Fund has estimated Ukraine’s balance of payments gap until June to be roughly €14.3bn ($15bn).

One of the goals of the conference will be to sketch out a vision of a Ukrainian economy that dovetails with Europe, providing specialisms in agriculture, renewable energy and technology sectors.

One of the most sensitive issues will be a programme of de-oligarchisation and how to entrench powerful anti-corruption institutions at a time when large flows of money from the US and Europe are likely.

Ukraine’s ambassador to Switzerland, Artem Rybchenko, said ahead of the conference that it would help create “the roadmap” to his country’s recovery.

In all, around 1,000 people are scheduled to participate in the conference, including European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, several government chiefs and numerous ministers, according to AFP.

Rebuilding Ukraine is expected to cost hundreds of billions of dollars.

Kyiv School of Economics (KSE) has estimated the damage done so far to buildings and infrastructure at nearly $104bn.

It estimated that at least 45m square metres of housing, 256 enterprises, 656 medical institutions, and 1,177 educational institutions had been damaged, destroyed or seized, while Ukraine’s economy had already suffered losses of up to $600bn.

https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-kyiv-donetsk-government-and-politics-f9f2b30b90a10b31f16aca18dae4eb65

‘Hell on earth’: Ukrainian soldiers describe eastern front
By FRANCESCA EBEL
2 hours ago

BAKHMUT, Ukraine (AP) — Torched forests and cities burned to the ground. Colleagues with severed limbs. Bombardments so relentless the only option is to lie in a trench, wait and pray.

Ukrainian soldiers returning from the front lines in eastern Ukraine’s Donbas region — where Russia is waging a fierce offensive — describe life during what has turned into a grueling war of attrition as apocalyptic.

In interviews with The Associated Press, some complained of chaotic organization, desertions and mental health problems caused by relentless shelling. Others spoke of high morale, their colleagues’ heroism, and a commitment to keep fighting, even as the better-equipped Russians control more of the combat zone.

Lt. Volodymyr Nazarenko, 30, second-in-command of the Ukrainian National Guard’s Svoboda Battalion, was with troops who retreated from Sievierodonetsk under orders from military leaders. During a month-long battle, Russian tanks obliterated any potential defensive positions and turned a city with a prewar population of 101,000 into “a burnt-down desert,” he said.

“They shelled us every day. I do not want to lie about it. But these were barrages of ammunition at every building,” Nazarenko said. “The city was methodically leveled out.”

At the time, Sievierodonetsk was one of two major cities under Ukrainian control in Luhansk province, where pro-Russia separatists declared an unrecognized republic eight years ago. By the time the order to withdraw came on June 24, the Ukrainians were surrounded on three sides and mounting a defense from a chemical plant also sheltering civilians.

“If there was a hell on Earth somewhere, it was in Sievierodonetsk,” Artem Ruban, a soldier in Nazarenko’s battalion, said from the comparative safety of Bakhmut, 64 kilometers (40 miles) to the southwest of the since-captured city. “The inner strength of our boys allowed them to hold the city until the last moment.”

“Those were not human conditions they had to fight in. It is difficult to explain this to you here, what they feel like now or what it was like there,” Ruban said, blinking in the sunlight. “They were fighting until the end there. The task was to destroy the enemy, no matter what.”

Nazarenko, who also fought in Kyiv and elsewhere in the east after Russia invaded Ukraine, considers the Ukrainian operation in Sievierodonetsk “a victory” despite the outcome. He said the defenders managed to limit casualties while stalling the Russian advance for much longer than expected, depleting Russia’s resources.

“Their army incurred huge losses, and their attack potential was obliterated,” he said.

Both the lieutenant and the soldier under his command expressed confidence that Ukraine would take back all occupied territories and defeat Russia. They insisted morale remained high. Other soldiers, most with no combat experience before the invasion, shared more pessimistic accounts while insisting on anonymity or using only their first names to discuss their experiences.

Oleksiy, a member of the Ukrainian army who started fighting against the Moscow-backed separatists in 2016, had just returned from the front with a heavy limp. He said he was wounded on the battlefield in Zolote, a town the Russians also have since occupied.

“On the TV, they are showing beautiful pictures of the front lines, the solidarity, the army, but the reality is very different” he said, adding he does not think the delivery of more Western weapons would change the course of the war.

His battalion started running out of ammunition within a few weeks, Oleksiy said. At one point, the relentless shelling kept the soldiers from standing up in the trenches, he said, exhaustion visible on his lined face.

A senior presidential aide reported last month that 100 to 200 Ukrainian troops were dying every day, but the country has not provided the total number killed in action. Oleksiy claimed his unit lost 150 men during its first three days of fighting, many from a loss of blood.

Due to the relentless bombardments, wounded soldiers were only evacuated at night, and sometimes they had to wait up to two days, he said.

“The commanders don’t care if you are psychologically broken. If you have a working heart, if you have arms and legs, you have to go back in,” he added.

Mariia, a 41-year-old platoon commander who joined the Ukrainian army in 2018 after working as a lawyer and giving birth to a daughter, explained that the level of danger and discomfort can vary greatly depending on a unit’s location and access to supply lines.

Front lines that have existed since the conflict with pro-Russia separatists began in 2014 are more static and predictable, whereas places that became battlegrounds since Russia sent its troops in to invade are “a different world,” she said.

Mariia, who refused to share her surname for security reasons, said her husband is currently fighting in such a “hot spot.” Everyone misses and worries about their loved ones, and though this causes distress, her subordinates have kept their spirits high, she said.

“We are the descendants of Cossacks, we are free and brave. It is in our blood,” she said. “We are going to fight to the end.”

Two other soldiers the AP interviewed — former office-workers in Kyiv with no prior battle experience — said they were sent to the front lines in the east as soon as they completed their initial training. They said they observed “terrible organization” and “illogical decision-making,” and many people in their battalion refused to fight.

One of the soldiers said he smokes marijuana daily. “Otherwise, I would lose my mind, I would desert. It’s the only way I can cope” he said.

A 28-year-old former teacher in Sloviansk who “never imagined” he would fight for his country described Ukraine’s battlefields as a completely different life, with a different value system and emotional highs as well as lows.

“There is joy, there is sorrow. Everything is intertwined,” he said.

Friendship with his colleagues provide the bright spots. But he also saw fellow soldiers succumbing to extreme fatigue, both physical and mental, and displaying symptoms of PTSD.

“It’s hard to live under constant stress, sleep-deprived and malnourished. To see all those horrors with your own eyes — the dead, the torn-off limbs. It is unlikely that someone’s psyche can withstand that,” he said.

Yet he, too, insisted that the motivation to defend their country remains.

“We are ready to endure and fight with clenched teeth. No matter how hard and difficult it is,” the teacher said, speaking from a fishing store that was converted into a military distribution hub. “Who will defend my home and my family, if it is not me?”

The center in the city of Sloviansk provides local military units with equipment and provisions, and gives soldiers a place to go during brief respites from the physical grind and horrors of battle.

Tetiana Khimion, a 43-year-old dance choreographer, set up the center when the war started. All kinds of soldiers pass through, she says, from skilled special forces and war-hardened veterans to civilians-turned-fighters who signed up only recently.

“It can be like this: For the first time he comes, smiles widely, he can even be shy. The next time he comes, and there is emptiness in his eyes,” Khimion said. “He has been through something, and he is different.”

Behind her, a group of young Ukrainian soldiers on rotation from the front lines sit sharing jokes and a pizza. The thud of artillery can be heard a few miles away.

“Mostly they hope for the better. Yes, sometimes they come in a little sad, but we hope to raise their spirits here, too,” Khimion said. “We hug, we smile at each other and then they go back into the fields.”

On Sunday, Russian forces occupied the last Ukrainian stronghold in Luhansk province and stepped up rocket strikes on Donetsk, the Donbas province where the center is located.