re: Latest Updates: Russia-Ukraine Conflict

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I'm going to bet you don't know much about the new speaker.

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Mike Johnson has been a personal friend of mine for 20 years -- from well before he got involved in politics.

He's not going to be on Team Putin.

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Mike Johnson has been a personal friend of mine for 20 years -- from well before he got involved in politics.

He's not going to be on Team Putin.

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Jesus H Christ, please make the LARPs stop!

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??What's new in the world:

??The G7 countries will announce restrictions on the import of russian diamonds by the end of October, after which the European Union will finalize the proposal for the 12th package of sanctions against the russian federation, — Reuters.

??Hungary refused to consider Sweden's application to join NATO, — Associated Press.

?? Minister of Foreign Affairs of Hungary Peter Szijjarto arrived in minsk. There he will take part in a conference on "Eurasian security", - the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Hungary.

??Finland says Chinese ship's anchor likely damaged underwater gas pipeline in Baltic Sea,- WSJ.

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LINK

ETA

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Slovakia has announced the end of military aid to Ukraine. A country of 5.5 million people which shares a border with Ukraine, Slovakia has until now been a staunch supporter of Kyiv since Russia invaded in February last year, donating arms and opening its borders for refugees fleeing the war.

Slovakia’s president swore in a new government Wednesday, led by a former populist prime minister Robert Fico.

There are concerns the victory of Fico's Smer, or Direction, Party in September's election could mark a dramatic turnaround in the country’s foreign policy and strain a fragile unity in the European Union and NATO.

He opposes EU sanctions on Russia, questions whether Ukraine can force out the invading Russian troops and wants to block Ukraine from joining NATO.

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LINK

A Russian Telegram source claims that ATACMS just took out three S-400 systems.

If confirmed, that would be a very big deal.

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Putin remains a master strategist. Turkey might just turn theirs in at this rate..

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Russian equipment is crushed by old/outdated NATO gear.

It'll take decades for Russian MIC to recover lost revenue from weapon sales after this war.

ISW Update

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Heavy Russian equipment losses around Avdiivka will likely undermine Russian offensive capabilities over the long term. Ukrainian Tavriisk Group of Forces Spokesperson Colonel Oleksandr Shtupun stated on October 26 that Russian forces have suffered 5,000 personnel killed and wounded and 400 armored vehicles losses near Avdiivka and Marinka (southwest of Donetsk City) since October 10.[1] Satellite imagery has confirmed that the Russian military has lost at least 109 military vehicles, primarily armored fighting vehicles and tanks, near Avdivika between October 10 and 20.[2] A Ukrainian reserve officer stated that Russian forces appear to be using fewer armored vehicles near Avdiivka, although Russian forces may be regrouping for renewed large mechanized assaults as they did between the initial mechanized assaults on October 10 and a second series of large mechanized assaults on October 19 and 20.[3] The Russian command has funneled additional forces to the Avdiivka front to offset heavy manpower losses and maintain the Russian military’s ability to sustain its ongoing offensive effort.[4]

The Russian command will likely struggle to offset Russian equipment losses, particularly in armored vehicles, however. Widespread Russian equipment losses and shortages in the first year of the full-scale invasion heavily restricted Russia’s ability to conduct effective mechanized maneuver warfare during the Russian military's winter-spring 2023 offensive, contributing to further losses in disorderly mechanized assaults near Vuhledar, Donetsk Oblast in January and February 2023.[5] Heavy losses around Vuhledar likely prevented the Russian command from committing to sustained mechanized assaults elsewhere in Ukraine later in the winter-spring 2023 offensive.[6] Recent Russian equipment losses around Avdiivka appear to be much larger than earlier equipment losses around Vuhledar. It remains unclear if the prospect of further heavy equipment losses will deter the Russian command from launching another series of large, mechanized assaults near Avdiivka. Russia has gradually mobilized elements of its defense industrial base (DIB) to address equipment shortages but has not done so at a scale remotely sufficient to offset the cumulative Russian equipment losses in Ukraine.[7] Recent Russian equipment losses around Avdiivka will likely lead to even more pronounced Russian equipment shortages and setbacks for any progress that the Russian military has made in addressing degraded mechanized maneuver warfare capabilities.

Ukrainian forces marginally advanced on the east (left) bank of Kherson Oblast and continued offensive operations near Bakhmut and in western Zaporizhia Oblast. Geolocated footage published on October 25 shows that Ukrainian forces marginally advanced north of Pidstepne (15km east of Kherson City).[8] The Ukrainian General Staff reported that Ukrainian forces continued offensive operations in the Bakhmut and Melitopol (western Zaporizhia Oblast) directions.[9]

Ukrainian officials denied reports that Ukraine suspended a corridor for civilian vessels in the Black Sea on October 26. Reuters reported that British security firm Ambrey, Ukrainian consulting firm Barva Invest, and specialized Ukrainian news outlet Ukrainian Ports stated that Ukraine had temporarily suspended traffic through the corridor on October 26.[10] Barva Invest stated that the Ukrainian Sea Ports Administration announced the suspension on the evening of October 25 and that a de facto suspension had already been in place for two days.[11] Ukrainian Southern Operational Command Spokesperson Captain First Rank Nataliya Humenyuk stated that many factors, including threats from Russian forces and weather, affect the Ukrainian military’s decisions to allow individual civilian vessels to pass through the corridor.[12] The Ukrainian Ministry of Reconstruction and the Ukrainian Minister for Communities, Territories, and Infrastructure Development, Oleksandr Kubrakov, later clarified that reports about the suspension are false and that civilian vessels are using all available routes established by the Ukrainian Navy.[13] Russia has continually pursued efforts to disrupt Ukrainian grain exports and curtail maritime traffic to Ukrainian ports and will likely continue escalatory posturing in the Black Sea meant to undermine confidence in the Ukrainian corridor.[14]

An amendment to the Russian citizenship law allowing for the revocation of naturalized Russian citizenship came into force on October 26, providing the Russian government with a new mechanism to coerce migrants into Russian military service. The amendment most notably allows Russian authorities to revoke Russian citizenship from naturalized citizens who are convicted of discrediting the Russian military and of committing “certain crimes encroaching on public and personal safety” regardless of when the crime was committed, the date of sentencing, or for how long the convicted has held Russian citizenship.[15] Russian authorities have recently increased raids against migrants accused of committing crimes to deliver summonses and impress migrants into signing military contracts.[16] Russian authorities will likely use this new amendment to further recruit naturalized migrants under threat of revoking their Russian citizenship or after having done so.[17] It is unclear what procedure Russian authorities will follow once they deprive someone of their citizenship, and Russian authorities may intend to use deportation procedures to increase the number of migrants in detention centers, where Russian officials regularly try to recruit.[18] Russian authorities will also likely exploit denaturalized migrants whose labor options will become limited upon conviction of a crime and loss of their Russian citizenship and therefore more vulnerable to military recruitment efforts. The new amendment to the citizenship law also streamlines the process for allocating Russian citizenship to certain individuals, including children with at least one Russian parent, migrants currently residing in Russia, and participants in the Russian state resettlement program, by removing certain entrance requirements.[19]

The EU is reportedly behind on its artillery ammunition round provision to Ukraine. Unspecified sources told Bloomberg in an article published on October 25 that the EU has currently delivered only 30 percent of the promised one million shells that are expected by March 2024.[20] Bloomberg also reported that some unspecified counties have asked to extend the provision deadline.

The US Department of Defense (DoD) and the UK Ministry of Defense (MoD) recently announced new military aid packages to Ukraine. The UK MoD announced on October 11 a new package of military material support for Ukraine valued at over 100 million pounds (about $121 million).[21] The US DoD announced on October 26 a new security assistance package valued at up to $150 million in materiel.[22]

Armenia continues to distance itself from Russia amid deteriorating Armenian-Russian relations. Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan stated in an interview with the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) published on October 25 that there are no “advantages” to the continued presence of Russian military bases in Armenia.[23] Pashinyan also stated that Armenia is in the process of diversifying its security partnerships.[24] Pashinyan previously stated on October 11 that Russian peacekeepers should return to Russia instead of the Russian bases in Armenia if they leave Nagorno-Karabakh.[25]

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Mike Johnson is America First, unlike some people I know...

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NO. No, no, no.

Mike Johnson is very, very much Jesus First.

Mike and I did a lot together at Parkview Baptist Church 20 years ago -- back when I was the political pro and I was trying to convince him that he should get involved in politics. My last in-depth conversation with him about theology and politics was in 2017, but that's because he's a busy guy, and I don't bother him.

Mike's faith is very real and very deep.

Conservative Christians such as Mike and myself have a special heart for Israel, because as the Apostle Paul says in Romans 9:

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They are the Israelites, and to them belong the adoption, the glory, the covenants, the giving of the law, the worship, and the promises. To them belong the patriarchs, and from their race, according to the flesh, is the Christ, who is God over all, blessed forever.

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Most conservative evangelicals also have a special heart for Israel because we believe that, in the end times, a great many Jews will come to believe in Jesus.

And I think a lot of people don't realize the clarity that the Hamas terrorism has brought to evangelicals.

Hamas is a direct arm of the Iranian military, and that military has also conducted some 19 other attacks on US forces in the Middle East since October 7th. We are getting very close to war with Iran.

The truth is that it's all one fight. It makes everyone who called Ukrainians "Nazis" look like the retards they truly are. The reason that we now remember the Nazis as particularly evil was because of the Holocaust, the particularly vicious hatred of the Jewish people.

And now that Hamas has murdered the most Jews since the Holocaust, and has done so in the most gruesome and horrific ways imaginable, we can all see who the real Nazis are.

Plus, we got this today:



That's Russia, supporting the Nazis.

Here's Al Mohler today: LINK. For those of you who don't know who he is, he's the head of Southern Seminary, the flagship seminary of the Southern Baptist Convention, and probably the leading Baptist voice on political matters. Mike Johnson is very likely to have read this.

The new axis of evil
Are we ready to defend our civilization?

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Now, as Ukraine fights against a Russian invasion and Israel fights against a massive attack by the Islamic terrorist organization Hamas, the picture coming into view reveals a new axis of evil that poses a civilizational challenge that the United States and its allies cannot ignore. The new axis powers pose an existential threat to Western civilization, and they have declared themselves to be our enemies. Worse, they are joining in combined action. Once again, an axis threat looms.

The new axis of evil includes Russia, China, Iran, and North Korea. All four nations pose a direct threat to the West. Each is working to subvert the world order. All four are autocracies or dictatorships who see the United States and our allies as decadent, weak, rich, and temporary. All four are deeply rooted in history and driven by an aggressive ideology.

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Despite Russia's official rejection of recent reports, it is almost certain that North Korean munitions have now reached ammunition depots in western Russia. These depots support Russian military operations in Ukraine.

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Errerrwhere and SirWinston support this.

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Oh, I miss the time where there were just a few years of peace on earth!

TRUMP 2024!

S-400 is less than Patriot due it's all about the radar capability which S-400 is lacking. Aegis is far better than Patriot.