Oct 26 Buonasera Mag
Day 245: Zelensky, deportations, Rev Guards dead, Belarus RR, grain, Australia, EU weapons, Zara/Mercedes, Poland-A&Ps-Hodges, Schmitt, Babji, Stratcom, Raskin, Burgess, Whithorn
Catching up…
EA Worldview’s Ukraine Up-date- hop over to Scott’s amazing hourly Ukraine up-date page. I’ll fill in with some bits and bobs.
Stories we’re following…
Four injured following Russia's strike on Dnipro gas station. Dnipropetrovsk Oblast Governor Valentyn Reznichenko reported that four people were injured following a Russian strike that hit a gas station in the city of Dnipro in the evening on Oct. 25.
About 1,000 bodies – including civilians and children – have been exhumed in the recently liberated territories of the Kharkiv oblast. This includes the 447 bodies found at the mass burial site in Izium, according to Ukraine's Reintegration Ministry.
About 70,000 civilians have been relocated from the right bank of the Dnipro river to the left bank in the Kherson oblast, the Russian-appointed governor of the region told Russian media. Zelensky advisor Arestovych says that Russia is replenishing its forces in Kherson and the heaviest battles await Arestovych's comments build on the view that Russia's evacuations from Kherson were a feint.
About 2,000 Ukrainian children were taken out of temporarily occupied Donbas by the Russians, 350 of whom were adopted. One of them was illegally adopted by the children's ombudsman of the Russian Federation Maria Lvova-Belova.
UK intelligence: Russia fails to maintain air superiority in Ukraine. Russian forces can’t perform adequate air support as their attack helicopters suffer attrition from Ukrainian air defense and their artillery ammunition is running out, the U.K. Defense Ministry said.
Ukrainian intelligence: Russian conscripts to be equipped with Iranian-made helmets, body armor. About 1,500 bulletproof vests and 1,500 helmets produced in Iran are already in storage in Russia, ready to be supplied to the Russian army, reports Ukraine's Defence Ministry.
General and Colonel in the Islamic Revolutionary Guard in Iran are dead. They were responsible for the program that sent drones to Russia that have been murdering Ukrainian civilians.
The Kremlin also said assets in the four Ukrainian regions that Russia claimed it had annexed last month may in future be transferred to Russian companies. Kremlin spokesman Peskov said it was obvious that “abandoned assets” could not be left inactive, and the government would deal with the issue.
The railway line connecting Russia and Belarus was blown up in Bryansk, which was used to transport military equipment from Russia to Belarus.
Putin likely to use UN-backed Black Sea grain deal to ‘gain leverage’ at G20 summit. An unnamed European diplomat told Reuters that Putin is “likely to use the possible extension” of the deal, which expires on Nov. 19, “to gain leverage and dominate” the G20 summit.
The first batch of 10 American Switchblade 600 drones will arrive in Ukraine within a few weeks. — The Minister of Defense of Ukraine, Oleksii Reznikov, announced this, Politico reports.
Up to 70 Australian defence force personnel will be deployed to the UK to train Ukrainian troops in the latest increase in Australia’s support for Kyiv. The Albanese government announced the decision late on Wednesday while emphasising that the ADF members would not be entering Ukrainian territory. Up to 70 ADF members will fly to the UK in January to join Operation Interflex, a mission that also involves personnel from other countries including New Zealand, Canada, Sweden and Finland.
The crew of the large American aircraft carrier USS George H. W. Bush (CVN-77), which is in European waters, has declared its readiness to engage in battle with Russia, if necessary, - Sky News
Dr Benjamin Schmitt: Despite heavy objection by six German ministries on the national security risks of the deal, the Scholz government will allow Chinese state-owned shipping firm Cosco to purchase 24.9 percent of a section of the Port of Hamburg. “Olaf Scholz backs China: ignores government warnings in Hamburg port deal” as reported in Politico.
The EU urged the bloc’s defence ministers today to coordinate purchases of weapons, to obtain better terms from suppliers as they seek to replenish supplies depleted by shipments to Ukraine.
Poland's Senate recognized Russia's regime as terrorist state. This is the second state to do so, after Estonia's similar decision of a week ago.
Spain fashion giant Inditex, owner of Zara chain, says it is selling stores & leaving Russia. Mercedes also announced today that it would be leaving Russia.
Larissa Babji, A Kind of Refugee, 23.10.2022
When the power goes out (which has happened four times since October 10), it helps to be in my own apartment, where my body knows the routes from bedroom to bathroom, from kitchen to the hall, from years of repetition.
Despicable. Disorienting. Cowardly. Abhorrent. Undaunting. These words come to mind when I think about russia’s ongoing massive missile strikes of Ukraine’s energy infrastructure throughout the country.
It makes life less pleasant (literally, colder and darker) but it also misses the point. Does life depend on my attachment to my iphone?
Raskin Restates the Fundamental Importance of the Ukrainian Struggle for National Sovereignty, Democracy and Freedom
Ukrainians today give the democratic world a chance for a critical and historic victory, and we must rally to their side. It is important to be on the right side of a just war, and it is even more important to be on the right side and win. Just as Ukrainian resistance gives us hope, a Ukrainian victory would give us an opening to a much better future for all humanity. All champions of democracy over autocracy—whether they call themselves progressives, conservatives or liberals—should be doing whatever we can to ensure that Ukraine wins this just war as quickly as possible. Diplomacy by the Biden administration will inevitably follow as sustained diplomacy always marks the conclusion of war—even with tyrants and despots. But first Ukraine must win—let us continue to unite as Americans and focus on that central and historic imperative.
Christopher Burgess, Russian Intel Takes Another Hit – This Time in Norway- Clearance Jobs
Russia’s illegal support officers within the Russian intelligence services are having a conniption as their deep cover officers continue to be rolled up across Europe in 2022. The Norwegian Police Security Service (Politiets sikkerhetstjeneste (PST)) announced the arrest and detention of an individual documented as a Brazilian citizen, whom the PST tells us is in reality a Russian intelligence officer.
The accusation made by the PST to the courts is that “Jose Assis Giammaria” a Brazilian researcher at the University of Tromsø is in reality a Russian intelligence officer and not an academic and has requested he be expelled from Norway.
Thanking Poland…
This video message is a touching thank you to Poland and the people of Poland for having given precious aid and shelter to Ukrainians when it was and still is most needed. Sitting in my home, far away from the front, it served as a reminder that support to Ukrainians and Ukraine for its defence is fundamental. Sergei is sincere and authentic in his emotions. We see so many videos of death and destruction: I thought this one touches your heart.
Your rapid who’s who guide from Nicholas Whithorn
