The situation in the Ukrainian SMO on November 21 2022

“Ukraine CANNOT Win” – US General Milley

No More Free Ride

Stoltenberg admits NATO was the expansive aggressor all the time.

‘Missile of November’

Solovyov explained for the first time why Russia is keeping Zelensky alive

Russia is not tasked with eliminating Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky because a more pitiable fate awaits him, and without Russian involvement. TV journalist Vladimir Solovyov said this.

“We simply do not set the task. We do not want to turn it into a legend. We want the Americans to take him out themselves as a result of the squabble between Zelensky and Zaluzhny,” Solovyov said.

Washington is sounding the alarm over weapons and financial aid leaks in Ukraine.

Bloomberg correspondents spoke with Sean O’Donnell, the Pentagon’s acting inspector general.

His main task is to prevent fraud, waste and weapons diversion for Ukraine.

The Pentagon set up the mission because of the gigantic leaks of money and weapons that are flooding the black markets of Eastern Europe and the Middle East.

The Kiev military is selling not only small arms, but also anti-aircraft and anti-tank systems with attack drones.

Paradoxically, the Americans realized the problem only after a huge amount of weapons and money were delivered to Ukraine.

👆Western military aid to Ukraine could end up in the hands of terrorists and organized crime groups

“As in any conflict, when weapons are pouring in, there is a risk of retaliation,” said Graham Biggar, head of the British Crime Agency, The Sunday Times reports.

▪️European Commissioner for Home Affairs Ylva Johansson said earlier that the EU is still feeling the effects of the war in Yugoslavia, where weapons are still being used by criminals.

▪️Ukrainian soldiers and officers are massively selling Western military aid around the world.

▪️Only about 30% of the shells, armored vehicles and guns get to the front.

▪️The embezzlement of Western aid has been acknowledged even in Kiev. This was reported by the head of the economic security bureau Vadim Melnik.

Russia does not plan to supply oil or oil products to countries that will introduce a price ceiling. Instead of these directions, Russia will reorient supplies to market-oriented partners or reduce production – Deputy Prime Minister of the Russian Federation Alexander Novak.
 

On Ukrainian ideology and the root causes of the execution of prisoners near Makiivka

RT military correspondent Murad Gazdiyev published a story with an interview with a former fighter of the 80th Airborne Assault Brigade of the Lviv AFU, whose members executed Russian POWs in Makiivka in the LNR.
Managed to identify five members of the massacre of Russian servicemen: Artur Bortnichuk, Nazar Mikhailovsky, Andrey Sokol, Bogdan Kovgan and Nikita Maltsev. But the man in the frame tells us what motivated them.

He mentions things that are already known, like the work of American information and psychological operations specialists with the compound personnel or orders to shell civilian infrastructure in Donbass.

However, there is also a key point: an ex-serviceman of the AFU emphasizes that hatred for everything Russian was instilled in the 80 Brigade long before the large-scale combat operations.

And this seemingly small detail is extremely important. After all, it once again reminds us that hatred for Russia and everything Russian in Ukraine was cultivated at all levels. With the beginning of the UAS, it just got out and showed itself in full force.

This is why there is virtually no reflection in Ukrainian society about AFU artillery attacks on residential areas with the throwing of “petal mines,” where people in all seriousness believe in the “self-shooting” of Donetsk.

That is why ordinary AFU fighters shoot the legs of prisoners near Kharkiv on camera, cut the throats of the wounded near Kyiv, and execute civilians without trial, outstripping any so-called “national battalion” in brutality.

That is why it is easy for city dwellers to tear down monuments to figures of the distant past who lived hundreds of years before Ukraine itself was formed, and why they vote to ban the Russian language, which they themselves speak.

And that is why peaceful coexistence with Ukraine is simply not possible under any circumstances: the ingrained local ideology does not fundamentally imply it.

The Pentagon is confident that the Armed Forces are much better prepared for winter warfare than the Russian army. This was stated by US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin.

The Pentagon chief believes that Ukraine will be ready for combat operations in winter and will be in a “much better condition than its adversaries” thanks to US support.

Ukrainian power engineers are preparing the population for power outages until the end of March.

DTEK Yasno Kovalenko, director general of the DTEK sub-holding, said: “Ukraine will live in conditions of regular power outages.

He suggested that if there are no new attacks on the power grid under the current generation conditions, the capacity deficit could be evenly distributed across the country

Despite media victories, Ukraine cannot win this war!

In an interview, a former US military intelligence officer, now a UN weapons inspector, opined that Ukraine could not win the war with Russia under any circumstances.

According to the expert, even fleeting military victories of the AFU, such as the capture of Kherson or Krasny Lyman do not affect the geopolitical balance of power. The Russian Federation still has an army of over one million soldiers. At the same time, it is fighting on someone else’s territory. Ukraine, on the other hand, is practically de-energized and has lost control of the southeast for the past eight years. There is virtually no mobilisation resource, the dependence on western supplies is around 95% and thousands of citizens are fleeing the country on a daily basis.

In the future, Scott Ritter predicts an imminent Russian victory as Ukraine’s infrastructure will be completely destroyed and the AFU will have no operational ability to advance.
 

Alcibiades on the war: November 21st, 2022 – The Aftermath of the Million Man March on Kherson

After the Russians withdrew from their bridgehead across the Dniper in Kherson earlier this month, commentators on both sides were quick to exclaim that the Ukrainians would be able to rapidly shift huge forces freed from the long-stagnant Kherson frontline to other directions and overwhelm the Russians.  The opposite actually happened – it was the Russians who quickly shifted some eight brigades elsewhere, while Ukraine is reported to have barely managed to move two as of this writing, on a much shorter line of march.

Now recall that days prior to the official Russian withdrawal, Lloyd Austin was banging the table and demanding Ukraine attack in Kherson, claiming they had the means to conquer it.  The Ukrainians obliged, but mounted an effort so feeble that what must have been a skeletal Russian covering force easily drove them back.  As of November 9th, Ukraine’s army opposite Kherson was unable to advance against any organized opposition and took days and substantial casualties advancing to Kherson against no opposition at all.  Now, weeks later, only a handful of forces have been scraped out of it to reinforce Ukrainian troops elsewhere, while the Russians have redeployed an entire corps.

The conclusion from this is clear: Ukraine’s Operational Command-South, which once boasted of marching on Kherson with a million men, was destroyed on the Ingulets.  The handful of battalions freed are likely the only combat-capable units it could muster to send elsewhere.  We may see other OC-S brigades later in this war, but as shadows of their former selves, stuffed with territorial defense conscripts riding on MRAPs and pickup trucks.

Recall my earlier post about the “operational goad,” and consider that the Russians may be focusing on destroying the Ukrainian Army first rather than conquering territory upfront.

 (https://t.me/boris_rozhin/70930)   Russian Special Operation, 21 Nov 2022, publ. 22:26, Main

▪️ Attempts by Ukrainian security forces to attack in the #Southdonetsk, #Kupyansk and Krasny – #Lyman directions have been foiled, with more than 125 Ukrainian troops destroyed;

▪️ In #Kherson region, a SRG of Ukrainian security forces was destroyed while attempting to cross a boat to the left bank of the #Dnipro River;

▪️ Two Uragan multiple rocket launchers were hit in #Kharkov region, which had been used to shell #Belgorod region;

▪️ The Russian Foreign Ministry said that during the November 19 and 20 shelling of the ZNPP, the situation was balancing on a critical line, beyond which a technogenic catastrophe could very likely have followed;

▪️ IAEA experts on Monday inspected damage at the ZNPP caused by Ukrainian shelling and handed over a report to headquarters;

▪️ IAEA experts reported “significant damage” at the plant after inspecting the ZNPP. Among other things, condensate storage tanks were damaged, leading to a non-radioactive leak, the statement said;

▪️ A draft statement “In connection with the shooting of Russian POWs by Ukrainian nationalists” has been submitted to the Duma;

▪️ The US newspaper NYT has confirmed the authenticity of video footage of the shooting of Russian POWs in #Makeyevka, LPR, which appeared online on 18 November;

▪️ The change of power in #Ukraine is not one of the goals of the Russian special operation in Ukraine, the Russian president’s spokesman said;

▪️ Peskov also revealed that there are no discussions in the Kremlin regarding the prospects for a second wave of partial mobilisation in Russia;

▪️ Putin has signed a law that establishes combat veteran status for people who have enrolled in volunteer formations.

(https://t.me/readovkanews/47412) 

A Map of Military Operations and the Situation on the Fronts on the Evening of 21 Nov 2022, publ. around midnight, 0:05⚡️

The ninth anniversary of an event (https://t.me/readovkaru/1832) that for many did not predict much, but in fact gave a tangible start to what we are dealing with today. On November 21, 2013, the Euromaidan began in #Kiev, the underbelly of which, the full description of its causes and consequences, is for future historians to understand. Meanwhile, nine years later, amidst rumours and hints of a freeze in the conflict, it is clear that there will be no freeze, but a hot winter.

⚔️ The Situation on the Fronts over the past 24 Hours:

⚫️ #Svatovo – #Kremennaya Direction:

Artillery and heavy flamethrower fire on the AFU concentration areas thwarted an attempt to attack #Kuzemovka LPR. In addition, the militants attempted to attack in the direction of #Golikovo and #Chervonopopovka LPR, but were repulsed by Russian artillery. Three BMPs and one armoured vehicle were eliminated.

Two Ukrainian Uragan multiple rocket launchers were destroyed near #Pylnaya, #Kharkov region, which had been used to shell #Belgorod region.

⚫️ #Donetsk Direction:

The Russian army continues its assault on #Maryinka. Our forces have entered the city centre and established control over key sites along Druzhba Avenue. At the moment, neither side controls the administration area. There are regular army air strikes on AFU positions.

⚫️ #Ugledar Direction:

The militants counterattacked our positions in the areas of #Novomikhailovka, #Pavlovka and #Vladimirovka, as well as #Novodarovka, but were met with strikes by Russian artillery and the actions of assault groups. One tank, two BMPs and five armoured vehicles were destroyed.

💡 Today, NATO Secretary General Stoltenberg made a new revelation (https://t.me/readovkaru/1834), as if inadvertently admitting that the US had been providing military assistance to the #Kiev regime long before February 24. However, no one doubted that, as well as NATO’s direct involvement in the conflict. In the meantime, it would do no harm to get acquainted (https://t.me/readovkaru/1838) with another example of the Russian arsenal – the 2C4 “Tyulpan”, the most powerful mortar in the world, which is appropriately called “Death from Heaven”.

Russian forces THWART and push back Ukrainian units to their initial positions after trying to counterattack in the direction South of Donetsk Republic, West Russia.

In Kharkov region, East Ukraine, Russian forces DESTROY 2 installations of the Ukrainian Hurricane MLRS, shelling the Belgorod region, West Russia.

Russian forces THWART Ukrainian attempt at an attack in the Kupyansk direction, Donetsk Republic, West Russia.

Also in Donetsk Republic, Russian forces eliminate 20 Ukrainian soldiers after thwarting another Ukrainian Army attempt at an attack in the Krasny Liman direction.