Ukraine..What's the Next Step?

It also appears that the NATO nations have renewed their vows to increase military spending to at least 2% GDP.

Ukrainian Defense Forces continue to advance in the Berdiansk direction.

Spokesman for the Joint Press Center of the Tavria Defense Forces Valerii Shershen said this on the air of the United News telethon, Ukrinform reports.

"We have partial success in the Berdiansk direction. Having advanced along the front line, our units and military units are consolidating their positions. They are conducting mine clearance," informed the spokesman.

He noted that the enemy put up fierce resistance, but Ukrainian defenders systematically put pressure on certain areas and mercilessly destroyed the occupiers. 

As reported, 19 Russian soldiers surrendered in the Tavria direction yesterday.

Source associated press product

Meanwhile in blood city...

The Bakhmut direction. The rocket artillery of the 22nd separate mechanized brigade is working," Syrskyi wrote.

According to him, aerial reconnaissance spotted Russian soldiers in a forest strip. The enemy was eliminated with the help of BM-21 Grad MLRS.

As reported by Ukrinform, the Russian army is focusing its main efforts on five directions - Kupiansk, Lyman, Bakhmut, Avdiivka, and Marinka. Almost 30 combat engagements were recorded there in the past day.

I know...and mtg should stop spinning putins propaganda. 

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) put forth one amendment to strike $300 million in Ukraine funding that failed 89-341, with 130 Republicans joining all Democrats in voting against it. 

Another proposal from Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.), which would have prohibited all security assistance for Ukraine, similarly failed 70-358 on the House floor, with 149 Republicans opposing it. 

Ahead of the votes, the two GOP-sponsored amendments drew strong opposition from within the party, including from Rep. Joe Wilson (R-S.C.), who said he would “oppose any cutting of the defense.”  

“We know this is a worldwide war that we’re in of authoritarians versus democracies; this is not a war we chose, war criminal [Russian President Vladimir] Putin is the person who started the war” Feb. 24, 2022, Wilson said on the House floor.  

“We know this is a worldwide war that we’re in of authoritarians versus democracies; this is not a war we chose,"

Republican congressman from South Carolina Joseph Wilson.

Mea while southern front Ukraine reports. 

Natalia Humeniuk, head of the joint press center of the Southern Defense Forces, said

She explained that the enemy in the South is now trying to restore its positions, including those lost during the flooding of the Kakhovka reservoir.

"They are trying to restore the first line of defense, which was washed away by the high water, which confused all their maps, including minefields. They are trying to clear these areas of mines and return to the positions that are possible for artillery deployment, but we continue to work in the face of counter-battery countermeasures, and our work is effective," said Humeniuk.

According to her, the occupants are also increasing the number of attacks in the South.

If a few days ago, due to a certain lack of ammunition, which we provided them with by destroying field ammunition depots, they brought their shelling per day to 60, now they are gradually raising it to 70+. This means that they have carried out a certain rotation, tightened up some logistics, although it is complicated, but it is there. And this is a signal for us to work more efficiently in the areas of logistics," said Humeniuk.

As reported, overnight in the south of the country, the Defense Forces destroyed up to 10 UAVs.

Ukraine potions Nato for member ship.

Russia has continued to target Ukrainian cities this week with missile and drone strikes, including attacks for three nights in a row on the capital Kyiv.

Ukraine's air force said it had shot down about 20 Iran-made drones over the city's airspace on Thursday, hours after a Nato summit in Lithuania ended.

The two-day summit in Vilnius saw Western support for Ukraine at the top of the agenda.

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky used his attendance to push for Ukrainian membership of the alliance, but was told this would only be possible "when allies agree and conditions are met".

This lack of a solid timeframe appeared to anger the Ukrainian president, who called it "absurd". He had earlier said there seemed to be "no readiness" to invite Ukraine to Nato or make it a member.

Russian troops are striking the city of Kharkiv for the third time in a day.

Source: Oleh Syniehubov, Head of Kharkiv Oblast Military Administration, Ihor Terekhov, Mayor of Kharkiv on Telegram

Quote from Syniehubov: "The invaders are again attacking Kharkiv Oblast. Stay in shelters!"

Quote from Terekhov: "The city is under attack… According to preliminary information, another shelling of the Osnovianskyi district."

Meanwhile striker brigade is still being held in reserve. 

 a video that appeared online on Friday is a reminder that the 2,000-person formation—with its 14 Challenger 2 tanks, 40 Marder tracked infantry fighting vehicles and 90 Stryker wheeled IFVs—is ready to roll into action at the time and place of Ukrainian commanders’ choosing.

Ukraine’s American allies have anticipated the day when the 82nd Brigade finally makes contact with the Russians. The United States already is sending fresh vehicles to replace the brigade’s eventual combat losses.

The Friday video depicts Strykers, apparently belonging to the 82nd Brigade, speeding along a dirt road presumably somewhere in southern Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia Oblast, the locus of the counteroffensive.

The 82nd’s vehicles—plus the two dozen 105-millimeter howitzers that support them—together form a potent assault force. One that could breach Russian defenses, or exploit an existing breach.

Russian treatment of civilians in Ukraine. 

https://www.1news.co.nz/2023/07/13/thousands-of-ukraine-civilians-being-held-in-russian-prisons/

The Ukrainian civilians woke long before dawn in the bitter cold, lined up for the single toilet and were loaded at gunpoint into the livestock trailer. They spent the next 12 hours or more digging trenches on the front lines for Russian soldiers.

Many were forced to wear overlarge Russian military uniforms that could make them a target, and a former city administrator trudged around in boots five sizes too big. By the end of the day, their hands curled into icy claws.

Nearby, in the occupied region of Zaporizhzhia, other Ukrainian civilians dug mass graves into the frozen ground for fellow prisoners who had not survived. One man who refused to dig was shot on the spot - yet another body for the grave.

Thousands of Ukrainian civilians are being detained across Russia and the Ukrainian territories it occupies, in centres ranging from brand-new wings in Russian prisons to clammy basements. Most have no status under Russian law.

And Russia is planning to hold possibly thousands more. A Russian government document obtained by The Associated Press dating to January outlined plans to create 25 new prison colonies and six other detention centres in occupied Ukraine by 2026.

The notion of adding a country to NATO  is silly  " after" said  country has already been invaded.  

The NATO edict of "an attack on one is an attack on all" is supposed to have some weight and meaning to it.  

* There is quite a difference between supporting a country in its war, and adding their membership to NATO. 

You can thank Trump for pushing that.  

No president before or hence has  pushed European members to pony up and spend on their military per NATO agreement.  

Reports Russia has staged 100,000 troops in the northern front. They have cut un brokered grain shipments.  And started to embargo all fleets moving in or out of Odessa.. 

Putin is setting up for an assault on kyiv in my opinion.  He has very little time left and this seems like a battle of the bulge moment for the Russian president.

Internationally he can't leave Russia due to the arrest warrant for war crimes.

Yep.   Trump emboldened Putin when he sold out democracy in Helsinki as we all witnessed on TV and threatened to pull out of NATO to help his Russian pal, but now the NATO unity is stronger than ever under president Biden's international leadership!

@nature1970

I see it the same way, nature1970.    President Biden's international leadership to rally Euro nations has worked to make it much more difficult on Putin than he imagined!  

I also believe that when the huge battle of the bulge assault happens and if it looks like Ukraine will fall then other Euro nations will finally send in troops to help defend Ukraine and force Russia out. 

Trump falsely claims credit for NATO increased spending.  In 2014, NATO agreed to increase military spending to 2% of GDP by 2024.  However under Trump, enemies don't fear and allies don't trust the US.  No other president has undermined US moral authority so much in foreign relations.

ing at Russian-controlled ports in the Black Sea “may be considered by Ukraine as carrying military cargo with all the relevant risks”.

The warning, issued in a statement on Thursday by Ukraine’s Ministry of Defence, said this takes effect at midnight on Friday (21:00 GMT Thursday).

The explosions rocking the temporarily occupied Crimea indicate a certain advance of Ukraine’s Defense Forces deep into the enemy’s rear.

The relevant statement was made by Head of the United Coordinating Press Center of the Southern Defense Forces Natalia Humeniuk during a nationwide telethon, an Ukrinform correspondent reports.

“We warned that the ‘bavovna’ [a Ukrainian word for ‘cotton’, used as a euphemism for an explosion – Ed.] season will be blooming, colorful and bright. So far, we have been fulfilling everything we promised, keeping our word and moving forward. The advance of the Defense Forces is not only the movement along the front line and the movement of this front line – it is the movement of the Defense Forces in the deep rear, where the enemy feels restless,” Humeniuk told.

Commenting on the situation in southern Ukraine, Humeniuk noted the activity of Russian aircraft.

“Now we can see that the missile carriers are at sea bases and are being re-equipped, while there is a certain activity of aircraft. We are currently recording the activity of strategic aircraft, and the activity of tactical aviation was detected in the afternoon. Partially, these are reconnaissance efforts. We can also see the enemy’s active unmanned surveillance and are actively countering this,” Humeniuk explained.

In her words, attacks on ammunition depots in the enemy’s rear significantly affect the scale of Russian shelling, as the occupiers are starting to face ammunition shortages.

“Over the past day, there have been 69 strikes. They can no longer reach 90, which means that they are already facing a certain ammunition hunger. They felt that the ammunition depots, which we had worked remotely on, were destroyed,” Humeniuk stressed.

A reminder that, on the night of July 22, 2023, Ukrainian warriors downed five enemy Shahed-type loitering munitions in southern Ukraine

Ukraine’s Secretary of the National Security and Defence Council Oleksiy Danilov described “the number one task” of the armed forces as “the maximum destruction of manpower, equipment, fuel depots, armoured vehicles, command posts, artillery, and air defence forces of the Russian army”.

These are softening operations in advance of a major attack, say military experts, and they reflect the tactics Ukraine employed ahead of major advances in September last year.

‘Every metre given by blood’
Ukrainian commander of the armed forces Valery Zaluzhny told the Washington Post he was “pissed off” by those who complained about the slow pace of the counteroffensive.

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/7/5/steady-deliberate-ukrainian-advance-meets-russian-resistance

Since counter offensive began in June Russia has lost 300km of territory and the city of bakrut has been liberated...on to maripol... and a new pavement of Russian blood to walk through.....

@thirdperson

Not only that but while I have long since given the convicted fraud/SEX OFFENDER for demanding more from Euro nations toward their 2% pledge,  fact is, MOST including Canada didn't heed trump's advice at all.  (most hate trump)

But under Biden and admin efforts, the NATO nations have renewed their vow to reach 2%  and are very determined to do so this time (they like Biden)

trump failed......Joe Biden succeeding 

Ukraine has lobbed missles at Russian cities.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/davidaxe/2023/07/28/ukraine-is-lobbing-eight-ton-air-defense-missiles-at-russian-cities/?sh=1605b6a0348b

Sometime before this month, the air force pulled obsolete S-200 surface-to-air missile systems out of long-term storage, apparently replaced the command-guidance units in their V-860/880 missiles with GPS seekers—thus converting them into surface-to-surface missiles—and began firing them at targets inside Russia.

The Friday S-200 strike targeted Taganrog, a city on Russia’s Black Sea coast 20 miles from the border with Ukraine, and a hundred miles from the front line. A driver’s dashboard camera captured the eight-ton missile in the instant before it smashed into a city block, reportedly damaging a cafe and an apartment building and wounding a dozen people.

The S-200 strike in Taganrog comes 19 days after the first confirmed strike by the same missile type. That attack damaged an industrial site in Bryansk, in Russia around 110 miles from the Ukrainian border

What you dopey lefties don't realize is that Joe Biden's weakness made all this possible. 

His weakness allowed war to break out in the first place,  scaring the $hit out of other NATO European members... so do you think they're going to ramp up military spending to the 2%GDP that was required in the first place??

You guys are so dopey.. giving credit to idiot Biden when his weak  policies set in motion for European members to fear for their own well being.  

NATURE ?? 

They do seem very determined