Major Escalation Towards WWIII | Greg Reese
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By [Jonathon Riley September 16, 2024
THE past week has seen what appears to be a rush to war with Russia by Sir Keir Starmer’s government – although what he proposes to use to prosecute such a war, given the parlous state of British defence, is not clear. In this article, I will review current events and try to see where matters are heading.
First, let us consider the state of the armed forces engaged in the war. The international affairs think tank Chatham House has examined the combat performance of Russian forces, identifying weaknesses and resource issues as well as basic force structures on land, by sea and in the air. It assesses that, in spite of heavy losses in manpower and equipment, the Russians have shown themselves capable of keeping up the pressure on Ukrainian forces at the tactical level and have continued to take territory in the East. Losses have been absorbed and replaced with new recruits and munitions, while the high command is looking hard at wholesale reforms for the long term, building on the increasing professionalisation of the armed forces that I identified in my last article. US official figures give up to 300,000 Russians killed, wounded and missing, detailed here and here. Ukrainian sources double that number, claiming in excess of 600,000 Russian casualties out of 3.57 million personnel in military service from an estimated pool of 69.4 million. Russia, as will be seen from the next section of this article, is therefore drawing in a far smaller proportion of its male population than its opponent.
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Col. Douglas MacGregor News Update | Redacted News
Russia is warning that Ukraine is about to launch a massive false flag operation where they would strike children's hospitals using Russian weapons in order to rally support from the west.
https://www.thetruthseeker.co.uk/?p=294984
Pray for peace, as the madmen of the West are about to plunge the world into a mass-death scenario that will catch Americans completely by surprise
JUST HAPPENED HOURS AGO!! Drone Strike on Arsenal Triggers Largest Explosion on Russian Soil
Ukraine drone attack triggers earthquake-sized blast at Russian arsenal
A huge ball of flame was seen at the site where ammunition was stored, and the explosion was picked up by earthquake sensors
A large-scale Ukrainian drone attack on Russia triggered an earthquake-sized blast at a major arsenal in the Tver region on Wednesday, forcing the evacuation of a nearby town, war bloggers and some media reported.
Unverified video and images on social media showed a huge ball of flame blasting into the night sky and multiple detonations thundering across a lake about 380km (240 miles) west of Moscow.
Nasa satellites picked up intense heat sources emanating from an area of about 14 sq km (5 square miles) at the site in the early hours and earthquake monitoring stations noted what sensors thought was a small earthquake in the area.
“The enemy hit an ammunition depot in the area of Toropets,” said Yuri Podolyaka, a Ukrainian-born, pro-Russian military blogger. “Everything that can burn is already burning there (and exploding).”
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, speaking in his nightly video address, hailed the outcome of the attack without referring specifically to the target.
“A very important result was achieved last night on Russian territory and such actions weaken the enemy,” Zelensky said. “I thank everyone involved. Such precision is truly inspiring.” He thanked the SBU security service, the HUR intelligence service and the Special Operations Forces.
A source in Ukraine’s SBU state security service had earlier said the drone attack had destroyed a warehouse storing missiles, guided bombs and artillery ammunition.
Russian state media have in the past reported that a major arsenal for conventional weapons was located at the site of the blasts. State media, now subject to military censorship laws, was muted in its reporting on Wednesday.
Igor Rudenya, governor of the Tver region, said that Ukrainian drones had been shot down, that a fire had broken out and that some residents were being evacuated. He did not say what was burning.
One woman said that members of her family had been evacuated from Toropets.
“A fire started with explosions,” said the woman, who identified herself only as Irina.
Rudenya later said the situation in Toropets was stable as of midday local time and that evacuated residents could return. The fire had been put out and there were no recorded fatalities, he said.
Russia and Ukraine each reported dozens of enemy drone attacks on their territory overnight, with Russian forces advancing in eastern Ukraine.
The size of the main blast shown in the unverified social media video was consistent with 180-218 tonnes (200-240) of high explosives detonating, said George William Herbert of the Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey in California.
A Toropets chat room on the Russian social media site VK was flooded with messages of support from other parts of the country and offers of help to people fleeing the town.
Some people were asking whether buildings at specific addresses were still standing.
“People, does anyone know what’s happened to Kudino village??? They told me nothing is left of our house,” posted one woman.
Another woman replied: “It’s horror there.” Kudino is a village 4.5km (2.8 miles) northeast of Toropets.
Some war bloggers asked how drones could trigger such large blasts at what was thought to be a highly fortified facility.
According to an RIA state news agency report from 2018, Russia was building an arsenal for the storage of missiles, ammunition and explosives in Toropets, a 1,000-year-old town, with a population of just over 11,000.
Dmitry Bulgakov, then a deputy defence minister, told RIA in 2018 that the facility could defend weapons from missiles and even a small nuclear attack. Bulgakov was arrested earlier this year on corruption charges, which he denies.
“It [the concrete facilities] ensures their reliable and safe storage, protects them from air and missile strikes and even from the damaging factors of a nuclear explosion,” RIA quoted Bulgakov as saying at the time.
Some Russians on chat groups expressed anger.
“Why wasn’t the ammunition underground?! What are you doing???? In Kudino, houses were blown away! Why is the forest burning and no one is there … What kind of negligence is this!!!!” one woman posted.
Russia reported that its air defence units had destroyed 54 drones launched against five Russian regions overnight, without mentioning Tver.
Ukraine said it had shot down 46 of 52 drones launched by Moscow overnight and that Russia had used three guided air missiles which did not reach their targets.
