re: Latest Updates: Russia-Ukraine Conflict

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Go on…

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Hell, I don't know what it could mean. But it almost certainly isn't just one of only two possibilities.

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One concrete takeaway from this development is that in the run-up to the party's national congress, the No. 1 priority in foreign policy is to rebuild Chinese diplomacy with the U.S.

There is probably a lot of different things going on with this, but this development doesn't make this conclusion concrete IMO.

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Think about it. Both the level of the demotion and the timing would be of major significance in any country, but in China it is as close to concrete as you get.

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force Putin into doing something so stupid his generals depose him.

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Putin is less hawkish than the military leadership, and the security services as a whole.

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quote: The demotion of Le Yucheng, China's first vice foreign minister, has sent shock waves through national political circles.

quote: That meant the pro-Russian diplomat was no longer frontrunner in the race to become foreign minister.

quote: His dismissal indicates that China intends to take its diplomacy in a new direction. One Chinese source noted that it was noteworthy that President Xi Jinping has allowed the benching of a figure who held the key to his relationship with Putin and diplomacy toward Russia.

quote: Le's pro-Russia stance seemed to fit China's recent "wolf warrior diplomacy," which doesn't hesitate to confront the West. But like it or not, the reality for China is that its top diplomatic relationship is with the U.S.

quote: One concrete takeaway from this development is that in the run-up to the party's national congress, the No. 1 priority in foreign policy is to rebuild Chinese diplomacy with the U.S.

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Given the value of trade and potential longer term benefits here, and the growing security concerns in that region, this may alone be worth the money we’ve spent in Ukraine. Seems pretty clear, assuming his successor is not similarly pro-Russian, that this is the result of the US led western response to Russia in Ukraine.

Gleb Bazov

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Lisichansk Cauldron Update:

1—the Allied troops are reported to have constructed pontoon crossings near Shepilovo and Privolye and traversed Seversky Donetsk;

2—yesterday (June 27), several columns of Ukrainian troops attempting to break to Seversk through Verkhnekamenka were crushed by Allied artillery;

3—today, Ukrainian troops changed their tactic and have been attempting to fight their way through Allied artillery barrage to Belogorovka;

4—Ukrainian reserve units have been taken out of Novodruzhevka, Privolye, and Shepilovo, and transferred to Seversk, with very few still remaining behind;

5—there are reports of Ukrainian reinforcements totalling 5-7k troops arriving from Kramatorsk to Seversk—they have taken up positions on the outskirts of the town [GB: This suggests that, contrary to my prognosis, the Ukrainians have decided to stand ground in the far less defensible Seversk, rather than withdrawing further to the significantly more fortified Soledar-Pokrovsk-Artyomovsk (Bakhmut) urban triangle, though it could also be that the reinforcements were brought in to cover the retreat of the Lisichansk garrison];

6—there is hope that the path from Lisichansk to Seversk passing through Belogorovka and Serebryanka will imminently be taken under artillery fire control by the Allied troops, cutting off the last remaining tenuous escape path out of the Lisichansk Cauldron;

7—in Lisichansk itself, fighting is taking place within city limits, at the football stadium. The Allied forces are moving westwards through the city.

8—reports of the fall of the Lisichansk oil refinery are likely somewhat premature, though definitely not impossible. As of approximately three hours ago, the Allied forces were still engaged in a fierce clashes with the Ukrainian troops for control of the oil refinery, Verkhnekamenka, and Maloryazantsevo;

9—as of about 4 hours ago, the Ukrainian Terrorist forces opened significant artillery fire from their positions at the Lisichansk oil refinery and struck the residential area is Lisichansk—staying perfectly true to their terrorist tactics.

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ISW Update

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Key Takeaways:

Russian forces struck a shopping mall in Kremenchuk as part of a recent escalation in strikes against Ukrainian infrastructure and cities.

Russian forces made incremental advances southwest of Lysychansk near the T1302 Bakhmut-Lysychansk highway but have not entirely severed Ukrainian lines of communication into Bakhmut.

Russian forces made measured advances during offensive operations to the east of Bakhmut.

Ukrainian forces repelled Russian offensives north of Slovyansk.

Russian forces made limited and localized attacks along contested frontlines around Kharkiv City but did not make any advances on June 27.

Ukrainian counteroffensives along the Southern Axis continue to force Russian troops to prioritize defensive operations along the line of contact.

Russian occupation authorities are taking steps to strengthen economic control of occupied territories and force Ukrainian civilians to switch to the ruble.

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I see why you don’t provide sourcing for your updates:

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Ukrainian Terrorist forces

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Ukrainian Terrorist forces

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I was at a loss for awhile, “Allied forces”?????

Did you just really refer to Russia as the Allied forces? The amount of Putin cock you suck is absolutely astounding. You support a bunch of thugs and terrorists what does that say about you? Oh and while you’re at it please tell me how great General lardass Pavel is going to be the greatest commander since Patton. Just the picture of that man makes me want to puke and is a disgrace to wear a military uniform. The man needs two sets of body armor to cover his fat arse.

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Russians & Wagner lol

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I don't know why but this really made me curious of the Russian Foreign Legion
LINK This is a recent article, but doesn't really say anything other than Putin asked for 16,000 foreign volunteers

LINKBut this article from 2016 is interesting

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Would You Like to Know More?
But not every interested foreigner is a Trump supporter. Some — like Rachel, an 18-year-old girl from the American Midwest — just considered the opportunity a good way to take a stand against what they see as imperialist U.S. foreign policy.

Rachel turned her attention to Russia's foreign contractor program after striking out with the pro-Russian separatists fighting in eastern Ukraine. She explained that they turned her away "due to my gender and my intermediate level knowledge of the language."

"To me, Russia represented a bulwark against American globalist interests. So, I tried to join the [pro-Russian] rebels in a foolish attempt to fight against this too. But that went belly up. I looked into the Russian military after that … but I was ineligible for that too," Rachel said.

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A former British Royal Air Force serviceman named Mark, who now resides in Australia, said that despite knowing just a handful of Russian phrases, he was "willing to take the oath [of service] for the Russian government and serve it well."

"President Putin is a man with a country that is not going to be bullied by the west or intimidated," Mark said. Though he sent his documents to the Defense Ministry, he has not heard back from them about his chances for recruitment.

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A former U.S. soldier named Will, who served in the U.S. army for eight years, explained by email that he missed being a soldier. "I love my country, BUT, I am very upset by the path my government has taken," he said.

"Our founding fathers are rolling in their grave, I miss America and the values it ONCE stood for. The things [the U.S. government] makes our men and women fight for is not why our military was created. We were created for the American people. Putin is for the Russian people and his country, not for the rest of the world," he concluded.

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Or it's just money

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"I come from a very poor family," said John from Gambia told The Moscow Times. "I am single and want to help get my parents out of poverty [but] I've been jobless since graduating from high school in 2010. I don't want to remain like this for the rest of my life … and the salary is quite a bit compared to jobs here."

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