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| Evgeniy Maloletka/Associated Press |
Russia’s invading army shelled the positions of Ukrainian defenders along the front line as both sides girded for the next battles for control of Ukraine’s east.
After capturing the city of Lysychansk over the weekend, Russian forces are turning their sights to parts of the Donetsk region that remain under Ukrainian control, including the cities of Slovyansk and Bakhmut.
The General Staff of Ukraine’s Armed Forces said Russian troops were seeking to strengthen their tactical positions on the Slovyansk front, firing on the area near the towns of Krasnopillya and Bohorodychne using mortars, rockets and other artillery.
Russian forces are now effectively in full control of the Luhansk region. Donetsk and Luhansk together form the heavily industrial Donbas region, where Russia has concentrated its firepower since retreating from around the capital Kyiv in March.
Russia fomented a rebellion in Donbas in 2014, carving out two Kremlin-run statelets in parts of the region, after annexing Crimea from Ukraine the same year. Russia is now seeking to take full control of Donbas.
Western countries are steadily increasing their military support for Ukraine’s armed forces, sending more advanced artillery systems, among other weapons. But Ukraine’s government has pressed the U.S. and its European allies in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization to send more weapons faster, to help its defenders to cope with Russia’s advantage in firepower and ammunition. --->READ MORE HERE
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| Illustration by Alexander Hunter/Washington Times |
Accomplishing America’s legitimate objectives in Ukraine will require a radical adjustment in U.S. and European policy.
We should want Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s army to push back the frontiers of Russian control to Feb. 24. That would be tough enough if his army were adequately equipped but retaking the Crimea as he aspires, though morally justifiable, is impossible absent direct NATO military engagement.
The United States should seek an outcome that disables Russian President Vladimir Putin’s ability to pursue more land grabs and sends a message — even plain through Mandarin translation — that a Chinese invasion of Taiwan or other adventurism in the Pacific would have dire consequences.
The Ukrainian army is simply outnumbered and outgunned — the Russians have longer-range artillery. Over the long haul, Moscow can make what it needs to resupply its army — if necessary, Mr. Putin can escalate to national mobilization and draft, train and replace lost troops.
The United States has refused to equip Ukrainian soldiers with rockets, artillery and intelligence that can reach Russian artillery positions and strike Moscow’s military leaders and supply chain within Russia.
Mr. Biden has been intimidated by Mr. Putin’s threats of a nuclear rebuttal, even though we could deter such recklessness.
Instead, America chooses a white glove war by relying on economic sanctions and leaving Ukrainian soldiers naked to suffer unsustainable losses and civilians to bear indiscriminate bombing and war crimes. --->READ MORE HEREFollow links below to +++++relevant+++++ and related stories:
+++++Russia-Ukraine News LATEST UPDATES: (REUTERS) (AP) (NY POST) and (WSJ)+++++
+++++No more dithering: Ukraine hangs in the balance and Putin needs to be stopped+++++
+++++Russia pounds rebel-claimed region, Ukraine pushes back+++++
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