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Is something going on in Ukraine?
- Thread starter Cardboard55
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so i was watching pbs newshour to get caught up on the narratives and they flashed up a graphic that up to 7500 ukrainian civilians have died since the start of the war almost a year ago. i consider each death a tragedy, but that isn't so bad considering we had killed up to 4500 civilians in the first few days of the iraq war.
It’s a rough figure for confirmed deaths, no confirmed data from occupied territories. Some estimates for total civilian casualties go up to 250,000
British Intelligence has reported last year that there are at least 70 towns that have mass burial sites like Bucha.
british intelligence helped try to frame trump, probably so he wouldn't interfere with their plans to arm terrorists to topple assad so that british petroleum could build their pipeline from the sunni gulf states, through syria and turkey into the eu.It’s a rough figure for confirmed deaths, no confirmed data from occupied territories. Some estimates for total civilian casualties go up to 250,000
British Intelligence has reported last year that there are at least 70 towns that have mass burial sites like Bucha.
Saw RU do it to in videos. The fuckery that is going on in this war on both sides sure is next level! haha!
If I'm not mistaking this ended up being a military facility with troops taking cover. Saw this and thought the same. Then days later the word got out that it was a military camp of sorts. Both sides are also doing it. Saw UA cry about getting buildings hit. Only to find out the dumb asses had troops in the building hiding out.
The Russian Double Strike That Killed a U.S. Medic in Ukraine. ‘They Had Us in Sight.’ — The Wall Street Journal
A group of medics believe they were the victims of a ‘double-tap’ attack by Russia in Bakhmut
apple.news
The Russian Double Strike That Killed a U.S. Medic in Ukraine. ‘They Had Us in Sight.’
A group of medics believe they were the victims of a ‘double-tap’ attack by Russia in Bakhmut
Norwegian medics Simon Johnsen, front, and Sander Sørsveen Trelvik were injured by a missile strike while helping victims at the scene of a previous explosion in Bakhmut, Ukraine. Credit: EMANUELE SATOLLI FOR THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
BAKHMUT, Ukraine—Minutes after an explosion rang out near the bus station in this war-torn eastern city, a team of medics arrived to find a mangled car and an elderly woman lying wounded at the roadside.
Seconds later, a missile slammed into the volunteers’ white van, unleashing a fireball that blew the medics off their feet.
Simon Johnsen, a Norwegian, quickly came round, checked himself for injuries then ran for cover. Another Norwegian medic, his back burned and legs bloodied, screamed as he hobbled away. Four of the others also dashed for cover as Russian mortar rounds then began exploding around them.
Sprawled alongside the burned-out rescue van lay Pete Reed, a 33-year-old trained paramedic, a former U.S. Marine, a one-time ski instructor, a jokester who had devoted his recent years to treating the wounded in wars in Iraq and, now, Ukraine. He was dead.
The medics say that the Feb. 2 strike, the aftermath of which was witnessed by a team from The Wall Street Journal, was an example of a brutal tactic known as a “double tap,” where a location that has already been struck is hit again when first responders arrive. Humanitarian organizations in Syria, where Russia intervened in 2015 to prop up the regime of Bashar al-Assad, have long accused Moscow of using the tactic to kill and maim caregivers and terrorize civilians.
“They had us in sight and were definitely waiting for medics to come,” said Mr. Johnsen. “They were shooting at civilian vehicles.”
The Russian Defense Ministry didn’t respond to a request for comment. Russia has denied targeting civilians, despite extensive evidence to the contrary presented by Ukraine and its Western backers, nongovernmental organizations and media.
Mr. Reed and four others from his team were in Bakhmut that morning visiting civilian hubs that provide food, warmth and medication to the several thousand who remain in a city that was once home to some 80,000.
Mr. Reed was country director for Global Outreach Doctors, a U.S. medical organization providing humanitarian relief for those in need, coordinating with other groups on the ground to share resources, and seeking to establish a critical-care point near Bakhmut.
Mr. Reed had met the founder of GoDocs, Andrew Lustig, during the battle of Mosul in Iraq, where they bonded over efforts to treat anyone injured, from civilians to Iraqi troops to Islamic State fighters.
“Pete doesn’t care where you’re from or which side you’re on,” Mr. Lustig said. “If you need medical help, he’s going to help you.”
It was also in Iraq in 2016 where Mr. Reed met his future wife, Alex Potter, then working as a photojournalist. She recalled in an interview how she and Mr. Reed once came under mortar fire by Islamic State in what they believed was a double-tap attack.
“It’s a pretty common tactic in every war,” said Ms. Potter.
Mr. Reed was struggling to find a job as a paramedic in Alaska, she said. Then Russia invaded Ukraine early last year, so he headed there to help.
Around midday on Feb. 2, he and his team were at a civilian hub in Bakhmut when a blast rang out close by. It was nothing unusual for the city, which Russia is trying to encircle and seize through brutal, house-to-house combat.
When the team heard there were casualties, the medics sped in that direction in their cars. Mr. Reed’s team, consisting of another American, an Australian and two Ukrainians, were in white and blue vans. Mr. Johnsen, the Norwegian medic, along with his compatriot Sander Sørsveen Trelvik and an Estonian medic, followed in a green Land Rover. The three, part of an organization called Frontline Medics, were all wearing camouflage.
The site where the explosion happened was dotted with shrapnel and at least two burned-out vehicles. They found a man cradling an injured woman on the roadside. The medics went to treat her, crouching around her body.
Seconds later, a missile slammed into the white vehicle parked just a couple of yards away. A video of the incident shot on the cellphone of Estonian medic Erko Laidinen, who had remained in the Frontline Medics’ car, shows what weapons experts identified as a Kornet antitank missile slamming into the van.
The blast knocked the medics down. Mr. Reed, who was closest to the van, was killed instantly. The two Norwegians managed to scramble away and take shelter behind a concrete block with Mr. Laidinen. The rest of Mr. Reed’s team, some of them bloodied, managed to get into their other car and speed away.
Less than a minute later, a second Kornet missile tore into a nearby building, said Mr. Laidinen and Jonathan Zirkle, chief executive of Frontline Medics, who described a second video of the incident from their car’s dashcam that they haven’t released publicly.
Then mortar bombs started raining down on the area in a series of explosions. The three medics still on scene frantically searched for shelter in nearby houses. A Wall Street Journal team, which had just arrived there, joined the search, but found the houses locked. With mortars landing all around, the Journal team decided to pull out and took the Norwegians with them. Mr. Laidinen, who had become separated, made his own way out on foot.
“It was a big operation to murder everybody,” said Mr. Laidinen. “The mortar rounds were to finish off those left behind.”
Mr. Laidinen, a 35-year-old who runs a small electrical company, said he later found out that other vehicles had been destroyed on that section of road days earlier, including a military vehicle.
The direction of travel of the Kornet missile, which is laser guided and has a range of 5 miles, suggests that the Russians were able to set up a firing position on the eastern side of Bakhmut, which they are occupying, with direct line of sight to that section of road, said Mr. Laidinen and weapons experts.
Ms. Potter, Mr. Reed’s wife, heard her husband’s car had been hit while she was on an overnight shift at an Alaska hospital, where she now works as a nurse. She spent hours on the phone trying to find out what happened, and eventually saw a video with what looked like her husband’s body lying next to the burned-out van.
She said she knew for sure he was dead the next day, when an acquaintance identified Mr. Reed by a tattoo of a Spartan helmet, a symbol used by U.S. Marines, on his upper left arm.
Mr. Johnsen, the Norwegian medic, is recovering from his wounds, but says he plans to return to Ukraine as soon as possible. Mr. Laidinen just picked up a new ambulance in Poland and also plans to return.
“Russia is like a big fat bully beating up small skinny boys in the schoolyard,” said Mr. Laidinen. “It’s our place to step in. It’s something I can do.”
Write to James Marson at [email protected]
Russia’s Invasion of Ukraine
News and insights on Russia’s attack on Ukraine and the West’s response, selected by the editors
Russia Has Deployed 97% of Army in Ukraine, U.K. Says
Ukraine’s Troops Will Need Fewer Bullets and Shells After Training, U.S. Hopes
Suspected Iranian Weapons Seized by U.S. Navy May Go to Ukraine
Ukraine Faces Painful Choice as Russia Tightens Chokehold on Bakhmut
Ukraine, IMF Begin Loan Talks as Country’s Economic Woes Deepen
Zelensky Calls for More Help in EU Meeting
In Besieged Bakhmut, Everyday Life Is a Struggle to Survive
yup, they were caught with armor hiding in schools, then cried foul when the schools were hit. common tactic for terrorists.
You know a day or two ago USA shot down an Iranian drone over oil wells we are protecting in Syria. While our Sanctions against Assad and Russia complicate international humanitarian aid to the region after the earth quake.
US shoots down Iranian-made spy drone over patrol base in northeast Syria
CENTCOM says UAV conducting reconnaissance above site, which was struck last month in rocket attack attributed to pro-Iranian groups
www.timesofisrael.com
Our sanctions on Iraq killed more people from 1990 till now than the war did.
Oh my didn't know that "elderly old women" tend to drive around in their cars in one of the worlds hot spots where hot really means hot...
But really kudos to the noble medics trying to save her from raping Russian hordes....luckily for some of them they only received half of what they deserve for being mercs in a civil war half a planet away from homeland that has its own share of problems and "fixings to do"...
But really kudos to the noble medics trying to save her from raping Russian hordes....luckily for some of them they only received half of what they deserve for being mercs in a civil war half a planet away from homeland that has its own share of problems and "fixings to do"...
What is just as tragic as the tale of the old woman is the fact that most of those young men fighting for justice don't realize the sad reality. They are pawns being played by old men under the guise of false pretense.
And then there are those just fighting for material gain and the thrill, pretty much fuck those guys.
That is generally why wars are fought. Some one either wants your stuff or you want there's.
sometimes it's over pussy (trojan war, cough cough)
This is one of the reasons I take no part in the “thank a soldier” propaganda campaign here. It’s fake as fuck and many young men fall for the manufactured illusion of valor. It’s a recruitment tactic and nothing more. I’ll say it again, there is no honor in fighting and/or dying in foreign wars under false pretenses for evil men and I will talk a young man down any chance I get.
exactly. .gov says that you must support Ukraine with all your heart, all your mind, and all your soul. And remember what happens if you disagree with .gov
our noble and totally trustworthy overlords don't like to be argued with. and don't forget:
In September 2022, yet another whistleblower revealed to Republicans that the FBI views the Betsy Ross flag, the original design of the American flag with 13 stars, “as a terrorist symbol.”
The Scotfree | Chicago Dad Placed On Watchlist After Opposing Pornography In Schools
Authored by Joseph Lord via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),
thescotfree.com
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who fking caresYou know a day or two ago USA shot down an Iranian drone over oil wells we are protecting in Syria. While our Sanctions against Assad and Russia complicate international humanitarian aid to the region after the earth quake.
US shoots down Iranian-made spy drone over patrol base in northeast Syria
CENTCOM says UAV conducting reconnaissance above site, which was struck last month in rocket attack attributed to pro-Iranian groups
Our sanctions on Iraq killed more people from 1990 till now than the war did.
you guys crack me up. War sucks, people die. Don't want to die, don't fk around
zero fks given, Russia better steamroll ukies before summer and can't believe how involved we are. Russia truly showing restraint here
I think if Russia had a more robust ISR capacity to inform their Fires WFF they may not have to fire near as many munitions to achieve the same effect. Makes me wonder how Russian tactical & operational commanders & staffs are conducting CAsthat's a lot of artillery fire.
Intel Slava Z
Ihor Zhovkva, deputy head of Volodymyr Zelensky's office, said this on Friday in an interview with Bloomberg. “Now we have almost zero ammunition," Zhovkva said. According to him, the Ukrainian troops "run out of ammunition very quickly" due to the intensity…
SkyNews: Ukraine’s backers can’t keep up with munitions demand
Not since the huge battles of the Second World War has artillery been used so ferociously and intensively as it is now in Ukraine. At times, Russia has been firing a staggering 20,000 artillery shells a day.
Ukraine has been letting loose an average of 5,000 to 6,000 a day.
Ukraine's NATO backers are hard-pressed to keep up - the alliance secretary-general admitted as much this week. It has been a badly kept secret for some time now. Some analysts believe NATO would not have enough supplies to fight Russia itself if it came to it now. Germany is reported to have two days' worth of ammunition supplies for instance if Russian tanks came rumbling over its borders.
Data surrounding munitions is hard to come by and classified. But what is clear is there are not enough and production needs to be ramped up.
NATO been enjoying peace dividend since early 90s and not invested in readiness including munitions stockpiles
maybe they had trouble finding primers under Clinton; like the rest of us did
where are all my Neocons? Here's something else you can hate on Russia for:
Intel Slava Z
Anti-LGBT flag may appear in Russia.
According to media reports, employees of the Institute of Modern Psychology in Moscow sent a letter to the President's Office with a request to create a flag of traditional family values as opposed to the rainbow one. The new symbol, in their opinion, will unite brave, honest and sensible people.
Intel Slava Z
Anti-LGBT flag may appear in Russia.According to media reports, employees of the Institute of Modern Psychology in Moscow sent a letter to the President's Office with a request to create a flag of traditional family values as opposed to the rainbow one. The new symbol, in their opinion, will unite brave, honest and sensible people.
Nothing in all the world is more dangerous than sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity.©
where are all my Neocons? Here's something else you can hate on Russia for:
Intel Slava Z
According to media reports, employees of the Institute of Modern Psychology in Moscow sent a letter to the President's Office with a request to create a flag of traditional family values as opposed to the rainbow one. The new symbol, in their opinion, will unite brave, honest and sensible people.
There is already a flag for that...
The rest of NATO, USA had been investing in everything because the US is basically NATO.
Our Pro-Family Flag
The Russians have designed a new flag to counter the rainbow flag, which has sadly come to represent “gay fever” in the world. Abiding Truth Ministries has modified the flag to …
www.scottlively.net
Wait a German with Arab patches fighting for a jew.
2023 is a very confusing year.
2023 is a very confusing year.
we need that flag herewhere are all my Neocons? Here's something else you can hate on Russia for:
Intel Slava Z
According to media reports, employees of the Institute of Modern Psychology in Moscow sent a letter to the President's Office with a request to create a flag of traditional family values as opposed to the rainbow one. The new symbol, in their opinion, will unite brave, honest and sensible people.
Those munitions are sometimes fired from several kilometers away. Often targets engaged from distance are just a fuzzy image in the sight picture. Without intelligence to make a determination, more often than not, the target is engaged.
The Russian Double Strike That Killed a U.S. Medic in Ukraine. ‘They Had Us in Sight.’ — The Wall Street Journal
A group of medics believe they were the victims of a ‘double-tap’ attack by Russia in Bakhmut
The Russian Double Strike That Killed a U.S. Medic in Ukraine. ‘They Had Us in Sight.’
A group of medics believe they were the victims of a ‘double-tap’ attack by Russia in Bakhmut
View attachment 8076554
Norwegian medics Simon Johnsen, front, and Sander Sørsveen Trelvik were injured by a missile strike while helping victims at the scene of a previous explosion in Bakhmut, Ukraine. Credit: EMANUELE SATOLLI FOR THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
BAKHMUT, Ukraine—Minutes after an explosion rang out near the bus station in this war-torn eastern city, a team of medics arrived to find a mangled car and an elderly woman lying wounded at the roadside.
Seconds later, a missile slammed into the volunteers’ white van, unleashing a fireball that blew the medics off their feet.
Simon Johnsen, a Norwegian, quickly came round, checked himself for injuries then ran for cover. Another Norwegian medic, his back burned and legs bloodied, screamed as he hobbled away. Four of the others also dashed for cover as Russian mortar rounds then began exploding around them.
Sprawled alongside the burned-out rescue van lay Pete Reed, a 33-year-old trained paramedic, a former U.S. Marine, a one-time ski instructor, a jokester who had devoted his recent years to treating the wounded in wars in Iraq and, now, Ukraine. He was dead.
The medics say that the Feb. 2 strike, the aftermath of which was witnessed by a team from The Wall Street Journal, was an example of a brutal tactic known as a “double tap,” where a location that has already been struck is hit again when first responders arrive. Humanitarian organizations in Syria, where Russia intervened in 2015 to prop up the regime of Bashar al-Assad, have long accused Moscow of using the tactic to kill and maim caregivers and terrorize civilians.
“They had us in sight and were definitely waiting for medics to come,” said Mr. Johnsen. “They were shooting at civilian vehicles.”
The Russian Defense Ministry didn’t respond to a request for comment. Russia has denied targeting civilians, despite extensive evidence to the contrary presented by Ukraine and its Western backers, nongovernmental organizations and media.
Mr. Reed and four others from his team were in Bakhmut that morning visiting civilian hubs that provide food, warmth and medication to the several thousand who remain in a city that was once home to some 80,000.
Mr. Reed was country director for Global Outreach Doctors, a U.S. medical organization providing humanitarian relief for those in need, coordinating with other groups on the ground to share resources, and seeking to establish a critical-care point near Bakhmut.
Mr. Reed had met the founder of GoDocs, Andrew Lustig, during the battle of Mosul in Iraq, where they bonded over efforts to treat anyone injured, from civilians to Iraqi troops to Islamic State fighters.
“Pete doesn’t care where you’re from or which side you’re on,” Mr. Lustig said. “If you need medical help, he’s going to help you.”
It was also in Iraq in 2016 where Mr. Reed met his future wife, Alex Potter, then working as a photojournalist. She recalled in an interview how she and Mr. Reed once came under mortar fire by Islamic State in what they believed was a double-tap attack.
“It’s a pretty common tactic in every war,” said Ms. Potter.
Mr. Reed was struggling to find a job as a paramedic in Alaska, she said. Then Russia invaded Ukraine early last year, so he headed there to help.
Around midday on Feb. 2, he and his team were at a civilian hub in Bakhmut when a blast rang out close by. It was nothing unusual for the city, which Russia is trying to encircle and seize through brutal, house-to-house combat.
When the team heard there were casualties, the medics sped in that direction in their cars. Mr. Reed’s team, consisting of another American, an Australian and two Ukrainians, were in white and blue vans. Mr. Johnsen, the Norwegian medic, along with his compatriot Sander Sørsveen Trelvik and an Estonian medic, followed in a green Land Rover. The three, part of an organization called Frontline Medics, were all wearing camouflage.
The site where the explosion happened was dotted with shrapnel and at least two burned-out vehicles. They found a man cradling an injured woman on the roadside. The medics went to treat her, crouching around her body.
Seconds later, a missile slammed into the white vehicle parked just a couple of yards away. A video of the incident shot on the cellphone of Estonian medic Erko Laidinen, who had remained in the Frontline Medics’ car, shows what weapons experts identified as a Kornet antitank missile slamming into the van.
The blast knocked the medics down. Mr. Reed, who was closest to the van, was killed instantly. The two Norwegians managed to scramble away and take shelter behind a concrete block with Mr. Laidinen. The rest of Mr. Reed’s team, some of them bloodied, managed to get into their other car and speed away.
Less than a minute later, a second Kornet missile tore into a nearby building, said Mr. Laidinen and Jonathan Zirkle, chief executive of Frontline Medics, who described a second video of the incident from their car’s dashcam that they haven’t released publicly.
Then mortar bombs started raining down on the area in a series of explosions. The three medics still on scene frantically searched for shelter in nearby houses. A Wall Street Journal team, which had just arrived there, joined the search, but found the houses locked. With mortars landing all around, the Journal team decided to pull out and took the Norwegians with them. Mr. Laidinen, who had become separated, made his own way out on foot.
“It was a big operation to murder everybody,” said Mr. Laidinen. “The mortar rounds were to finish off those left behind.”
Mr. Laidinen, a 35-year-old who runs a small electrical company, said he later found out that other vehicles had been destroyed on that section of road days earlier, including a military vehicle.
The direction of travel of the Kornet missile, which is laser guided and has a range of 5 miles, suggests that the Russians were able to set up a firing position on the eastern side of Bakhmut, which they are occupying, with direct line of sight to that section of road, said Mr. Laidinen and weapons experts.
Ms. Potter, Mr. Reed’s wife, heard her husband’s car had been hit while she was on an overnight shift at an Alaska hospital, where she now works as a nurse. She spent hours on the phone trying to find out what happened, and eventually saw a video with what looked like her husband’s body lying next to the burned-out van.
She said she knew for sure he was dead the next day, when an acquaintance identified Mr. Reed by a tattoo of a Spartan helmet, a symbol used by U.S. Marines, on his upper left arm.
Mr. Johnsen, the Norwegian medic, is recovering from his wounds, but says he plans to return to Ukraine as soon as possible. Mr. Laidinen just picked up a new ambulance in Poland and also plans to return.
“Russia is like a big fat bully beating up small skinny boys in the schoolyard,” said Mr. Laidinen. “It’s our place to step in. It’s something I can do.”
Write to James Marson at [email protected]
Russia’s Invasion of Ukraine
News and insights on Russia’s attack on Ukraine and the West’s response, selected by the editors
Russia Has Deployed 97% of Army in Ukraine, U.K. Says
Ukraine’s Troops Will Need Fewer Bullets and Shells After Training, U.S. Hopes
Suspected Iranian Weapons Seized by U.S. Navy May Go to Ukraine
Ukraine Faces Painful Choice as Russia Tightens Chokehold on Bakhmut
Ukraine, IMF Begin Loan Talks as Country’s Economic Woes Deepen
Zelensky Calls for More Help in EU Meeting
In Besieged Bakhmut, Everyday Life Is a Struggle to Survive
The medical teams there drive vehicles and wear uniforms that the regular army is wearing. Would a "Red Cross" symbol on all sides have helped? Probably but the vehicles are not clearly marked. The medical team should have parked the vehicle on the side of a building. They were in the moment of treating the wounded and were not tactically smart and became victims when their vehicle was destroyed.
USA military was taught to wound the first target and then kill the team who tries to recover the wounded. Nothing immoral about the tactic unless the team are medics with visible identifying markings. Usually there is a temporary ceasefire to recover the dead and wounded but sometimes not. It's natural to try and save the fallen during battle but it comes with risk.
Combat is chaos and one action is not a characterization of a particular side. Innocents unfortunately die in combat because of all the elements of stress and quick life or death decisions. This article is pro-Ukrainian so it's written to portray Russian actions in a negative light. Everything has to be analyzed objectively without bias to see how the situation really is.
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yea maybe......
OR
Russia did a double strike; because if you kill the people who can save you; they can't save future victims.
Lob some shells, take coffee break (or vodka) for 7 - 10 minutes, lob some more. Don't have to readjust artillery, just fire for effect.
No.So they are jihad Nazis, would that make them Naz-hadis!
Ohhhhh so bad
Just the heirs of Handschar tradition.
Look it up.
So you mean exactly what the USA did when making sure to kill civilian firefighters and medics during the last real big global war?
Of course "medics" seem to be interchangeable with "mercs" in the Ukraine these days so you know...
By Daniel N. Hoffman - - Thursday, February 16, 2023
OPINION:
One year into the most devastating war in Europe since World War II, China is ruthlessly focused on taking maximum advantage of a weakened Russia and an isolated Vladimir Putin. For Beijing, Russia’s massive, unexpected reverses on the battlefield since invading Ukraine in February 2022 offer an opportunity to dominate the Kremlin and turbo-boost its own grand strategy of becoming the world’s dominant power by 2049.
Mr. Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping have met over 40 times since Mr. Xi came to power in 2012, relentlessly ratcheting up bilateral ties to challenge a U.S.-dominated “unipolar” world. Their armies routinely conduct major military exercises. They share intelligence and regularly coordinate their policies and messages against the U.S., NATO and the international rules-based order they seek to overthrow.
At a virtual summit in December, Mr. Putin described Russia’s relationship with Communist China as “the best in history” and invited Mr. Xi to visit Moscow this spring. Just before last year’s invasion, the two famously declared their partnership of dictators had “no limits.”
But among the many lessons to be gleaned so far from Russia’s murderous war on Ukraine is that today’s purported Sino-Russian alliance — just like the Soviet Union’s with Communist China in the last century — has clearly definable limits and, in many spheres, elements of outright competition.
And unlike during the Cold War, it’s China that is setting the boundaries this time. It is clear that Mr. Xi wants to win big at the expense of his “ally.”
Seeking to avoid secondary sanctions, China supports Russia diplomatically and with its Orwellian propaganda machine but provides Russia with none of the military equipment Moscow so desperately needs. Russia’s defense industrial base is struggling, but the Kremlin has been forced to rely on Iran for drones and North Korea for artillery rather than China, supposedly Russia’s “most important strategic partner,” in Mr. Putin’s words.
Russia began reorienting its economy to China after the West imposed sanctions in response to the illegal annexation of Crimea and invasion of eastern Ukraine in 2014. China is now poised to supplant the European Union as Russia’s primary economic partner.
China is importing Russian hydrocarbons at reduced prices and capturing Russia’s market for strategic commodities for both high technology and manufactured goods. In 2022, China’s oil, gas, liquefied natural gas, and coal imports from a cash-desperate Russia topped $60 billion, up $41 billion from 2021.
The result is a massive trade imbalance and a Russian economy that is increasingly dependent on China, while Beijing, by contrast, enjoys exceptionally diverse commercial relationships around the globe.
With Mr. Putin’s attention — and his struggling armies — focused on Ukraine, China has seized the opportunity to encroach on Russia’s traditional sphere of influence in Central Asia. In September 2022, Mr. Xi made a rare visit to Tashkent, Uzbekistan’s capital, to attend the Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit. China is aggressively developing a strategic economic and strategic partnership with that country.
Kazakhstan has become a bridgehead for China’s “Belt and Road” financing initiative, including promoting Chinese construction projects. China’s imports of Kazakh oil increased by over 400% last year, and Mr. Xi pointedly and publicly defended Kazakhstan’s decision to stay neutral rather than support Russia’s war on Ukraine.
Desperate to preserve his regime, Mr. Putin has made a Faustian bargain with his country’s long-term strategic competitor. As long as Mr. Putin remains in power, Russia will be economically and strategically subservient to China, the junior partner to an increasingly powerful Beijing.
Mr. Putin claimed his “special military operation” in Ukraine would be completed in a matter of days. Instead, one year into his misguided war of choice, Russia has spilled massive blood and treasure, will have to contend with an expanded NATO with new members on its border and has become an easy mark for Chinese exploitation.
The Russians have a saying: “Svaya rubashka blizhe k telu” — “One’s own shirt is closest to one’s skin.” China, over the past year, has been acting in its own self-interest — one that is counter to Russia’s national interests.
Ukraine has sacrificed more and accomplished more to halt Russia’s brazen aggression than any NATO member in the history of the alliance. And Kyiv is demonstrating to Mr. Putin’s detractors and his inner circle the folly of the decision to rely so heavily on Chinese goodwill in the fight.
NATO, of course, must carry on as the arsenal of democracy, supporting Ukraine’s right to self-defense and preventing a nuclear-armed state from successfully winning a war of territorial aggrandizement. But let’s also keep in mind that this strategy can also serve our interests in another major way by exposing, stressing and puncturing the faux Sino-Russian “alliance.”
OPINION:
One year into the most devastating war in Europe since World War II, China is ruthlessly focused on taking maximum advantage of a weakened Russia and an isolated Vladimir Putin. For Beijing, Russia’s massive, unexpected reverses on the battlefield since invading Ukraine in February 2022 offer an opportunity to dominate the Kremlin and turbo-boost its own grand strategy of becoming the world’s dominant power by 2049.
Mr. Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping have met over 40 times since Mr. Xi came to power in 2012, relentlessly ratcheting up bilateral ties to challenge a U.S.-dominated “unipolar” world. Their armies routinely conduct major military exercises. They share intelligence and regularly coordinate their policies and messages against the U.S., NATO and the international rules-based order they seek to overthrow.
At a virtual summit in December, Mr. Putin described Russia’s relationship with Communist China as “the best in history” and invited Mr. Xi to visit Moscow this spring. Just before last year’s invasion, the two famously declared their partnership of dictators had “no limits.”
But among the many lessons to be gleaned so far from Russia’s murderous war on Ukraine is that today’s purported Sino-Russian alliance — just like the Soviet Union’s with Communist China in the last century — has clearly definable limits and, in many spheres, elements of outright competition.
And unlike during the Cold War, it’s China that is setting the boundaries this time. It is clear that Mr. Xi wants to win big at the expense of his “ally.”
Seeking to avoid secondary sanctions, China supports Russia diplomatically and with its Orwellian propaganda machine but provides Russia with none of the military equipment Moscow so desperately needs. Russia’s defense industrial base is struggling, but the Kremlin has been forced to rely on Iran for drones and North Korea for artillery rather than China, supposedly Russia’s “most important strategic partner,” in Mr. Putin’s words.
Russia began reorienting its economy to China after the West imposed sanctions in response to the illegal annexation of Crimea and invasion of eastern Ukraine in 2014. China is now poised to supplant the European Union as Russia’s primary economic partner.
China is importing Russian hydrocarbons at reduced prices and capturing Russia’s market for strategic commodities for both high technology and manufactured goods. In 2022, China’s oil, gas, liquefied natural gas, and coal imports from a cash-desperate Russia topped $60 billion, up $41 billion from 2021.
The result is a massive trade imbalance and a Russian economy that is increasingly dependent on China, while Beijing, by contrast, enjoys exceptionally diverse commercial relationships around the globe.
With Mr. Putin’s attention — and his struggling armies — focused on Ukraine, China has seized the opportunity to encroach on Russia’s traditional sphere of influence in Central Asia. In September 2022, Mr. Xi made a rare visit to Tashkent, Uzbekistan’s capital, to attend the Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit. China is aggressively developing a strategic economic and strategic partnership with that country.
Kazakhstan has become a bridgehead for China’s “Belt and Road” financing initiative, including promoting Chinese construction projects. China’s imports of Kazakh oil increased by over 400% last year, and Mr. Xi pointedly and publicly defended Kazakhstan’s decision to stay neutral rather than support Russia’s war on Ukraine.
Desperate to preserve his regime, Mr. Putin has made a Faustian bargain with his country’s long-term strategic competitor. As long as Mr. Putin remains in power, Russia will be economically and strategically subservient to China, the junior partner to an increasingly powerful Beijing.
Mr. Putin claimed his “special military operation” in Ukraine would be completed in a matter of days. Instead, one year into his misguided war of choice, Russia has spilled massive blood and treasure, will have to contend with an expanded NATO with new members on its border and has become an easy mark for Chinese exploitation.
The Russians have a saying: “Svaya rubashka blizhe k telu” — “One’s own shirt is closest to one’s skin.” China, over the past year, has been acting in its own self-interest — one that is counter to Russia’s national interests.
Ukraine has sacrificed more and accomplished more to halt Russia’s brazen aggression than any NATO member in the history of the alliance. And Kyiv is demonstrating to Mr. Putin’s detractors and his inner circle the folly of the decision to rely so heavily on Chinese goodwill in the fight.
NATO, of course, must carry on as the arsenal of democracy, supporting Ukraine’s right to self-defense and preventing a nuclear-armed state from successfully winning a war of territorial aggrandizement. But let’s also keep in mind that this strategy can also serve our interests in another major way by exposing, stressing and puncturing the faux Sino-Russian “alliance.”
The munition was caught in someone's pic and shows that it was almost parallel to the ground indicating that it was launched from line of sight nearby and deliberately targeting the medic team. Typical for a fascist terrorist.
you sure those weren't imported from Afghanistan curiosity of Joe B?
Waiting for the black hawks and up-armored HumVs
you might be right. that looks like the old Knight handguard system, which is the kind of old issue shit we would have left in Afghanistan.
So we helfire nuke an Aid worker and seven of his kids from a drone in Kabul. Guess your boy Biden is a fascist terrorist, it does sound like you work for him.
If the only source of news is the NYT then I can see why you are so ignorant. There is nothing there to indicate those were medics. They looked like Georgian mercs to me.
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