It is rumored that the Western weapons seized by the Russian army on the battlefield were shipped to Iran for imitation of the “knockoff version”. Iran said that it plans to buy Sukai 35 fighter jets from Russia. When Russia and Iran publicly deepened their alliance, it was suddenly reported that Chinese President Xi Jinping will hold talks with Russian President Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky next week. The outside world is speculating which one Beijing wants to play? However, the Russo-Ukraine war has made the CCP “revealed” in the West, and the United States and Europe have made progress in their plan to jointly set up a “key raw material club” in order to get rid of their dependence on China’s supply chain. The outside world continues to pay attention to whether the CCP is aiding Russia, but Qin Gang, the foreign minister of the CCP, “compared” Taiwan with Russia. The Ukrainian ambassador to Japan responded to Qin Gang’s fallacy. The Russia-Ukraine war has led to a rapid increase in imports of major weapons by European countries, and Finland is considering military aid for Ukrainian fighter jets. Moldova uncovered the subversive state group, pointing out that it was controlled by Russia behind the scenes.
The border state of Russia was bombed and the mercenary organization attacked the center of Bachemt in multiple ways
Vyacheslav Gladkov, the governor of the Belgorod region in southern Russia bordering Ukraine, said the Russian army had shot down four missiles in the state and over the city of Belgorod on the 13th. At least one person is known to have been injured. He did not name who fired the missiles, but he has accused Ukrainian forces in neighboring countries of similar attacks in the past.
Belgorod, which shares a border with Ukraine’s Kharkiv region, has come under fire several times since Russia began its full-scale invasion of Ukraine a year ago.
Ukraine has rarely publicly claimed responsibility for attacks on Russian territory and Russian-controlled Ukrainian territory.
Fighting continues between Russia and Ukraine in Bakhmut, eastern Ukraine. The Ukrainian military stated in a briefing on the morning of March 13, “Wagner’s attacking forces are advancing from several directions, trying to break through our defensive positions and attack the city center.” “Our defenders caused heavy losses to the enemy during fierce fighting.”
The industrial city of Bakhmut has been the core area of fighting between Russia and Ukraine in recent months. The Russian mercenary organization “Wagner Group” (Wagner Group) claims to be leading the Russians to capture this place. Its leader Yevgeny Prigozhin said on the 12th, He staked his personal reputation and the reputation of Wagner’s organization on the capture of Bachemt, and the closer his troops approached the city center, the harder the fight and the more intense the artillery fire.
According to Reuters, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on the 12th that since March 6, the Ukrainian army has killed more than 1,100 Russian soldiers in the Bakhmut region alone, making Russia “irreversible”. Loss. He also mentioned that another 1,500 Russian soldiers were unable to fight due to serious injuries, and more than 10 Russian ammunition depots and dozens of enemy equipment were destroyed.
In response to Uzbekistan’s announcement of the number of enemy annihilation, the Russian side is not to be outdone. The Russian Ministry of Defense pointed out on the 12th that the Russian army killed more than 220 Ukrainian soldiers and destroyed an infantry fighting vehicle in the Donetsk region (Donetsk) in the past 24 hours. , 3 chariots and 1 artillery.
Reuters could not independently confirm the claims.
According to Reuters, Ukrainian presidential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak told the Italian media La Stampa about the Bakhmut war situation in an exclusive interview. He said, “Russia has changed its strategy. They have trained soldiers, professional army remnants and Private business meets at Bahemut.”
Podolyako said that Ukraine has two goals. One is to reduce their available troops as much as possible, confine them to a few key difficult battlefields, disrupt their offensive, and at the same time do something for the Ukrainian army to carry out spring counteroffensive elsewhere. Prepare. Therefore, today’s Bahemut is quite important, even surpassing some of the original key tasks.
The report pointed out that Bakhmut has become one of the bloodiest battlefields since the start of the Russo-Ukrainian War. Moscow set it as an important target during the winter and invested a large number of soldiers and mercenaries in an attempt to take it as a goal in the past six months. First big win.
Large-scale recruiting and buying horses to make up for the loss of war. Russian mercenary leader raves about running for the 2024 Ukrainian president. Russian military documents reveal that conflicts are intensifying
The Russian and Ukrainian armies have been fighting fiercely in Bakhmut for 7 months, and the Ukrainian troops are still resisting tenaciously. The bloody level of this battle was described as a “meat grinder” by the head of the “Wagner Group”, and Wagner was one of them Played a key role in many of the fiercest battles. Prigozin said on the 10th that he has opened multiple recruitment stations across Russia to recruit new blood to supplement the troops lost due to Bakhmut.
Prigozin broadcast a talk through his propaganda media, saying that he has set up 58 strongholds in 42 cities in Russia to recruit manpower, and newly recruited fighters are joining, but he did not disclose how many people have been recruited. “Despite the enormous resistance of the Ukrainian armed forces, we will move forward,” Prigozin said.
Prigozin recently admitted that Wagner suffered heavy losses at Bachemt and publicly criticized the Russian military leadership for lack of ammunition. In his speech on the 10th, he said that the supply situation provided by the Russian army has improved, the Russian government is producing ammunition in “large quantities”, and his troops have also begun to receive ammunition “made in 2023”; however, he contradicts himself “I am worried not only for Wagner, but also for the lack of ammunition and shells for all units of the Russian army,” he said.
However, the contradiction between Wagner and the Russian regular army has intensified. It is reported that the Russian Ministry of Defense even ordered that if there is a problem with military discipline, it must lie about being a member of “Wagner”.
Alex Kokcharov, a British risk analyst, published a Russian military document captured by Ukrainian soldiers on Twitter PO. If you cause trouble under the influence of alcohol or drugs, civilians are injured or killed, etc., please identify yourself as a member of “Wagner”.
At the same time, the Russian Ministry of Defense also called on soldiers to be cautious when dealing with civilians in the “liberated areas”, not to take the initiative to contact them, not to accept any food or items from them, and to call the Ukrainian army Nazis, nationalists, radicals, and invaders. What the leaders said is absolutely correct.
In addition, Anton Gerashchenko, an adviser to the Minister of Internal Affairs of Ukraine, posted a video on Twitter PO. In the video, Prigozin stood in front of the camera in full armor, expressing his intention to run for the Ukrainian president in 2024, and declaring that if he wins the election, many things will change. improve.
Anton tweeted: “Prigezin says he wants to run for Ukrainian president in 2024, statement meant to divert attention from his political ambitions in Russia, where he dreams of taking power and possibly becoming Putin’s successor .”
British Ministry of Defense: Russian frontline suffered the most casualties among minority soldiers
The British Ministry of Defense stated in a daily intelligence bulletin on the 12th that the Russian army continued to suffer heavy casualties on the front lines of the Ukrainian battlefield, and the casualties of soldiers from different regions of Russia varied greatly. In terms of population ratio, Moscow and St. Petersburg, the wealthiest cities, were relatively free from casualties, especially the children of Russia’s elite families.
Soldiers from many parts of eastern Russia may have lost 30 to 40 times more deaths than soldiers from Moscow in proportion to the population.
In many parts of Russia, soldiers from ethnic minorities suffer the most casualties. For example, about 75% of the casualties in the Astrakhan region were Kazakhs and Tatars.
Russian mother and wife protest to stop sending men to ‘slaughterhouses’
CNN reported on the 12th that a group of Russian mothers and wives called on Russian President Vladimir Putin (Vladimir Putin) to stop sending their sons and husbands “to the slaughterhouse” (to the slaughterer), forcing them to live without adequate training or supplies. , died in vain in Ukraine.
The women said in a video shared by the independent Russian Telegram channel SOTA that their relatives had only received four days of training since being mobilized last September and were “forced to join assault groups” in early March. ).
The video shows the women holding a sign in Russian that reads “580 Separate Howitzer Artillery Division” (580 Separate Howitzer Artillery Division) dated March 11, 2023.
“My husband…is on the front lines fighting the enemy,” one woman said in a recorded narration. “Our mobilized ‘sons’ are sent like lambs to the slaughterhouse to attack fortified areas – 5 at a time against 100 heavily armed enemies”.
CNN was unable to independently verify the claims of the women in the video.
Putin’s announcement last September that Russia was mobilizing hundreds of thousands of people to fight in Ukraine sparked doubts and protests at home and prompted many Russians, especially young people, to flee their homes. This is the first time Russia has mobilized since World War II.
Families of the Russian men who were conscripted have criticized the mobilization, alleging problems with the Russian army, including disciplinary issues, lack of leadership by mid-level officers, lack of training, and logistical difficulties plagued by inadequate uniforms, poor food and a lack of medical supplies.
To prevent the leakage of state secrets from abroad, the Russian government seizes the passports of civil servants and employees of state-owned enterprises
According to comprehensive media reports, according to two media surveys including Current Time and Radio Svoboda, since the outbreak of the war in Russia, the seizure of passports of officials and employees of state-owned enterprises has become more and more frequent, because the government judges that the risk of these personnel fleeing Russia is quite high, and they are also worried. They leak state secrets.
The survey found that the closer to the center of power, the stricter the rules. For example, Kremlin officials are not allowed to leave Russia at all; the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) even threatens them that if they refuse to hand in their passports, their passports may be “destroyed” and they cannot leave the country for life.
The “Moscow Times” pointed out that these restrictions actually vary from person to person. Those who have no direct relationship with the government or have no deep contact with state secrets, such as employees of state-owned enterprises, can keep their passports from being confiscated by resigning.
The report mentioned that according to the current Russian law, it is legal to impose travel restrictions on employees and officials of state-owned enterprises. As for military, FSB and other related officials, they are still restricted from traveling within 5 years after retirement.
CNN reported that the United States, NATO and Western officials have seen cases of small Western military aid equipment captured by the Russian army in the past year from the Ukrainian army, including Javelin anti-tank missiles and Stinger anti-aircraft missiles, all of which are missiles that can be carried by individual soldiers system. According to people familiar with the situation, Ukrainian soldiers sometimes left such weapons on the battlefield due to the situation, but they were seized by the Russian army and then sent to Iran for disassembly and analysis.
According to people familiar with the matter, Russia continues to provide Iran with weapons from Western countries in order to gain Iran’s support and assist Russia in continuing to wage wars. At the same time, the Iranian military can also use Western weapons provided by Russia to imitate them.
The report pointed out that it is still unclear whether Iran has copied the US-made weapons seized in Ukraine, but looking at past cases, Iran is very good at copying US-made weapons and equipment. Iran’s “Typhoon” anti-tank missile (Toophan) is an imitation of the American “tow” anti-tank missile; Iran also intercepted the U.S.-made RQ-170 “Sentinel” unmanned reconnaissance aircraft in 2011, and then imitated the “Tow” anti-tank missile. Shanzhai machine”.
Jonathan Lord, director of the Middle East program at the Center for a New American Security think tank, pointed out that Iran has demonstrated in the past the ability to “reverse engineer” American weapons by reverse engineering towed missiles to create a A near-perfect replica, the Typhoon missile, has now spread to Hezbollah and the Huthi rebel group in Yemen. Lord said that if Iran imitates the “Javelin” and “Needle”, it may affect the aviation security in the Middle East; if it falls into the hands of Iranian proxies, it will also pose a threat to Israel’s military power.
In addition, as defense cooperation between Iran and Russia is deepening, Agence France-Presse reported that the Iranian News Agency (IRNA) reported on the evening of the 10th that Iran had finalized a contract to purchase Sukai 35 fighter jets from Russia. Under Iran’s sanctions, the Air Force’s fighter jets are getting old day by day, and it is difficult to obtain parts to continue to fly in the sky.
Iran said in a statement to the United Nations that after the end of the Iran-Iraq War from 1980 to 1988, it began approaching “relevant countries to purchase fighter jets” to expand its fleet. “Russia has declared” its “willingness to sell Iranian warplanes” after the expiration of UN Resolution 2231, which restricts Iran’s acquisition of conventional weapons, in October 2020, the statement said. “Iran is technically acceptable to the Sukai 35 fighter jets,” the statement added.
Ukraine accused Iran of providing the Witness-136 “suicide” drones used by the Russian military to attack civilian targets since the Russian army invaded Ukraine last February, but Iran denied it.
The United States has expressed concern about the continued strengthening of military cooperation between Iran and Russia. The US Department of Defense spokesman John Kirby warned in December last year that Russia seems likely to sell Iranian fighter jets. Iranian pilots have reportedly learned to fly Sukai fighter jets in Russia. Strengthen the capabilities of the Iranian Air Force vis-à-vis its regional neighbors.”
Just as Iran officially and publicly purchased fighter jets from Russia, indicating that the two sides are deepening their alliance, Reuters exclusively reported on the 13th that according to sources familiar with the situation, Chinese President Xi Jinping plans to meet with Putin next week, which is longer than previously expected. Come early. This visit will be Xi Jinping’s first overseas visit after winning his third term.
Russia’s Tass news agency reported on January 30 that Putin had invited Xi Jinping to visit Russia this spring. The Wall Street Journal reported last month that Xi could visit Moscow in April or early May.
China’s foreign ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the possibility of Xi’s trip to Moscow; the Kremlin declined to comment.
Additional details were not immediately available to Reuters. The source who revealed Xi’s plans for a visit to Moscow declined to be named because of the sensitivity of the issue.
At the same time, the “Wall Street Journal” exclusively reported on the 13th that according to people familiar with the matter, Xi Jinping plans to hold the first meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky since the outbreak of the war in Ukraine. The timing may be scheduled for his visit to Moscow next week to meet with Putin after.
The report quoted people familiar with the matter as saying that the talks between Xi Jinping and Zelensky are expected to be held via videoconference, while Xi’s separate talks with Russian and Ukrainian leaders reflect Beijing’s attempt to play a more role in mediating the end of the war in Ukraine.
Neither the Ukrainian President’s Office nor the Chinese Foreign Ministry responded immediately.
According to Reuters, Xi’s visit to Russia will be a big event for Putin, who has described the war in Ukraine as a conflict with the combined forces of the West and has often spoken of his plans to host Xi in the coming months. Russia relies on China to buy oil and gas it can no longer sell to Europe, and to finance its war.
But if Xi’s visit coincides with a video conference with Zelensky, it could be a bigger change for Ukraine, which wants Beijing to remain neutral rather than staunchly behind Moscow. Zelensky has repeatedly called on Xi to talk to him.
Reuters said that the CCP refused to accuse Russia of invading Ukraine and opposed Western sanctions against Russia. The CCP unveiled a proposal for a “peace plan” in February, met with skepticism in the West but praised in Moscow and welcomed “cautiously” by Zelensky.
Since last month, the United States has repeatedly stated that there is intelligence that the Chinese Communist Party is considering military aid to Russia. Beijing has denied this and blamed why the United States is aiding Ukraine. Zelensky once said that if the Chinese Communist Party assists Russia, it will trigger World War III, but he said that he believes that Beijing is aware of this risk.
In February last year, weeks before the Russian invasion of Ukraine, China and Russia reached an “unlimited” partnership, and the two sides have publicly reaffirmed their firm relationship several times since. In February, the week after the war’s final anniversary, China’s top diplomat Wang Yi visited Moscow, and U.S. President Joe Biden made a precedent-setting visit to war zone Kiev.
At a time when Europe and the United States are suspecting that the CCP may aid Russia and step on the red line of the West, it is suddenly reported that Xi Jinping will hold separate talks with Putin and Zelensky next week, making the outside world guess which one Beijing wants to play? However, in the past three days, an economic and security cooperation plan aimed at the CCP in Europe and the United States may be able to see some clues.
The “Liberty Times” reported that US President Biden met with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen at the White House on the 10th. The two sides made progress on establishing a “key raw material club” to reduce dependence on China. “We agreed that we will work together so that key raw materials that are sourced or processed in the EU will have access to the US market, just as they are sourced in the US market,” von der Leyen said.
Two months ago, von der Leyen talked about at the World Economic Forum in Davos, “cooperate with like-minded partners to establish a key raw material club; collectively strengthen the supply chain and get rid of a single supplier.” She admitted that Europe “depends on China for 98% of its critical minerals, which are expected to play a key role in the transition to clean energy”. She also criticized Beijing for heavily subsidizing its “energy-sensitive companies” and called for “a level playing field”.
China controls more than 50 percent of the world‘s supply of many key minerals, including nickel, lithium and cobalt. The minerals are critical to military supply chains and clean energy technologies, and the United States and the European Union fear Beijing could withhold them to weaken their economies and security.
In a joint statement issued on the 10th, the United States and Europe will immediately start negotiations on a trade agreement on key minerals. rights and interests.
The two sides will also further announce a dialogue aimed at increasing the transparency of subsidy measures. The new “Clean Energy Incentive Dialogue” mechanism will be part of the establishment of the “US-EU Trade and Technology Committee”. reach an agreement. The dialogue will also “accelerate the sharing of information on the non-market policies and practices of third parties, such as China, as a basis for joint action.”
The joint statement also said the two sides would take additional measures to target third-country actors who help Russia evade sanctions. Von der Leyen emphasized at the news conference that the focus is on preventing Russia from circumventing sanctions.
Deutsche News Agency pointed out that the joint statement did not mention specific measures, nor did it mention the CCP. If it is confirmed that Beijing provides arms support to Russia, the EU and the United States may impose sanctions on the CCP.
Ahead of the meeting on the 10th, a senior Biden administration official said that “the U.S. and European positions are unprecedentedly aligned” on concerns raised by China, especially its non-market behavior. Another official said the U.S. and Europe also share the view that Russia’s war in Ukraine has put China in a “difficult position” and that “every step China (the Communist Party) takes against Russia makes China’s relationship with Europe more difficult.” . In other words, the West has jointly taken practical actions to deal with the threat of the CCP.
Leak?Qin Gang “Compared Taiwan to Russia” Uzbekistan’s Ambassador to Japan Criticizes CCP’s Fallacy
As the outside world continues to pay attention to whether the CCP will provide military assistance to Russia, Xi Jinping will visit Moscow at this time. Previously, on the 7th, Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang held the first foreign ministers’ press conference since taking office. When asked how he viewed the current situation in the Taiwan Strait, Qin Gang pointed the finger at “Taiwan independence” and the United States, and even questioned the United States “why ask China not to Russia provides weapons, but on the other hand sells arms to Taiwan for a long time.”
In this regard, Ukrainian state news agency reported that Ukrainian ambassador to Japan Sergiy Korsunsky criticized that it is “absolutely unacceptable” to compare the CCP’s supply of arms to Russia with the US’s supply of arms to Taiwan. First, Taiwan is not an aggressor; second, Taiwan has not waged war against anyone, let alone killed or raped children. He therefore considers such analogies “totally unacceptable”.
Does the statement against Qin Gang mean that the CCP is about to provide weapons to Russia? Krsonski said he wouldn’t jump to conclusions yet because it was a serious matter. However, he also mentioned that since the total trade volume between China and Europe and the United States is more than ten times that of Russia, when hearing this statement from the Chinese side, it must still be considered that if Beijing disputes with Europe and the United States, it will be counterproductive, and this factor must also be taken into consideration.
And Krsunsky also emphasized that the CCP has always acted with its own interests as the top priority. Now that China’s economic situation is not good, the largest state-owned investment banks and companies have stopped investing in Russia. They just regard Russia as a source of cheap energy , “Turning Russia from a gas station into a “power bank””, Russia has forced itself into a dilemma where the economy cannot be diversified, and it can only sell everything to China or India for a penny. And how to deal with the Indian ruble and the Chinese renminbi in the future will also cause Russia quite a headache.
However, Qin Gang questioned why the United States could sell arms to Taiwan, and why China could not provide arms to Russia. A proxy war, and Russia is backed by the CCP. Beijing’s reason is that since the United States can provide military aid to Ukraine, and the CCP provides weapons to its ally Russia, what other countries have to make irresponsible remarks? Qin Gang’s statement is more like a real reaction after being caught, which makes people suspect that the CCP’s military aid to Russia may already be in progress.
The Russia-Ukraine war continues to be stalemate, and the willingness of Western countries to provide Ukrainian fighter planes is increasing. The Finnish Broadcasting Company (Yleisradio Oy) reported on the 11th that Prime Minister Sanna Marin said that Finland is considering military aid to Ukraine’s F/A-18 “Hornet” fighter jets and providing corresponding training for the Ukrainian army. However, Marin also emphasized that the discussion of military aid to F/A-18 fighters is still at a very early stage and requires extensive international cooperation.
The report mentioned that the Finnish Air Force currently has about 60 F/A-18C/D fighters. Last year, Finland announced that it had signed an order with the United States for about 9.4 billion US dollars to purchase 64 F-35 fighters. Since Finland decided to purchase new fighter jets, it had the idea of considering military aid to Ukraine’s F/A-18 fighter jets.
The Russia-Ukraine War has led to a rapid increase in the import of major weapons by European countries
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine prompted Europe to bolster its combat capabilities with major weapons purchases. Reuters and Agence France-Presse reported that Pieter D. Wezeman, a senior researcher at the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), said in a statement on the 12th: “Despite the decline in global arms transfers, the Arms transfers to Europe have increased dramatically due to tensions between Russia and most other European countries.”
The researchers said that in the five years to 2022, European arms imports will increase by 47%, and Ukraine will become the world‘s third largest arms export destination. The institute defines “primary weapons” as aircraft, warships, tanks, artillery, missiles and various heavy defense systems.
Arms imports by European countries in NATO led by the United States have increased by 65% compared with five years ago, but according to data from the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, globally, international arms transfers have fallen by 5.1%.
The United States and Russia have been the world‘s largest and second largest arms exporters for the past 30 years. U.S. arms exports increased by 14% from 2013 to 2017, accounting for 40% of global arms exports, while Russia’s share of global arms exports fell from 22% to 16%.
Weisman said that the invasion of Ukraine is likely to further limit Russia’s arms exports. In addition to Russia’s priority supply of weapons to its own troops, demand from other countries will remain at a low level due to trade sanctions against Russia.
Moldova Cracks Subversive State Bloc Alleges Russia is Behind It
Agence France-Presse reported on the 12th that Moldovan police suspected that Russia was instigating anti-government demonstrations to destabilize the former Soviet republic and had arrested a group member.
Police chief Viorel Cernauteanu told media that seven of the 25 men were questioned after the search began on the evening of the 11th, and seven of them were detained.
He said an agent had attempted to infiltrate a group headed by Russians of Moldovan origin, and said he had recorded 10 hours of video and audio recordings of “people from Russia playing very specific training roles”. .
The Moldovan authorities said they had “received information that Russia uses this organization to instigate demonstrations and carry out special operations to destabilize our territory”.
The party of the exiled pro-Russian oligarch Ilhan Shor has again mobilized against the pro-European government in recent weeks amid heightened tensions between Moscow and the authorities in Moldova’s Chisinau. He allegedly organized several anti-government rallies and protests by paying people to participate.
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