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Britain sends largest single military aid of 500 million pounds
It is forbidden to create mirror websites on Chinese websites. Return to the genuine Chinese website.
25,000 Russian troops besieged strategic location in eastern Ukraine
Kharkiv TV Tower bombed, creating new crisis for Russia
The evidence of China’s aid to Russia is conclusive and the U.S. envoy’s trump card
Focusing on battlefield dynamics and analyzing geopolitical disputes, welcome to the New Cold War Situation Room. My name is Yu Tong.
Today is April 24, 2024, and the Russia-Ukraine war has entered its 791st day.
April 23 was a bad day for Putin. When he woke up, all he saw was bad news.
After the U.S. Congress passed an aid bill to Ukraine, the British government announced $617 million in military assistance to Ukraine, the largest support since the outbreak of the war.
The funding will be used to quickly deliver the munitions, air defense systems, drones and engineering support Ukraine needs. These include 60 operating vessels, notably assault boats and submarines, as well as gunboats; more than 1,600 missiles and anti-aircraft missiles, as well as additional long-range Storm Shadow missiles; more than 400 pieces of land equipment, including 160 protected vehicles, 162 armored vehicles and 78 all-terrain vehicles, and nearly 4 million small arms ammunition.
The UK is also considering whether to provide Ukraine with a DragonFire laser weapon prototype. If the plan is realized, it will be another weapon against the Russian army.
DragonFire is a laser beam that can silently shoot down drones and missiles. Its range has not been disclosed, but it is said to be capable of shooting down fast-moving projectiles such as ballistic missiles. Moreover, the cost of this system is extremely low, the manufacturer claims that it only costs $12 a time. In January 2024, the UK tested the DragonFire laser weapon, which is planned to be added to the UK arsenal by 2027.
In addition, Greece expressed its willingness to donate one or even two Patriot air defense systems to Ukraine, but only if the United States provides security guarantees to Greece to deal with the threat from Turkey. Latvian Defense Minister Andris Sprouz announced that the country is ready to provide Ukraine with short-range air defense system equipment. EU Foreign Affairs Representative Josep Borrell said that under the framework of the Czech initiative, the first batch of artillery shells will be delivered to Ukraine at the end of May or early June.
At the same time, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said that Ukraine is actively seeking to negotiate for another four new Patriot missile systems from its allies. Not only that, Ukraine has also developed a new intelligent suicide drone, which can autonomously determine its target and avoid objects flying towards it.
25,000 Russian troops besieged strategic location in eastern Ukraine
Of course, Russia has not stopped its actions. According to information provided by the Ukrainian military, about 20,000 to 25,000 Russian soldiers are now gathered outside Chasiv Yar in eastern Ukraine and are trying to attack this area. Attack.
Although the Ukrainian army currently has full control of Chasiv Yar, according to previous statements by Ukrainian President Zelensky, the Kremlin hopes to occupy it before Victory Day on May 9, the anniversary of the Soviet Union’s victory over Nazi Germany in World War II. town.
Volosin, spokesman for the Ukrainian Army’s Eastern Military Command, said that the Russian army is trying to attack Chasiv Yar and its surrounding areas. Despite the difficult situation, the Ukrainian army has accepted reinforcements and successfully stabilized its defense lines.
Russia claimed that they had taken control of the frontline village Bohdanivka, less than 3 kilometers northeast of the town of Chasiv Yar.
Chasiv Yar is located on strategic high ground and is a place with a superior defensive position that could block Russian advances towards the major cities in the Donbas region.
Chasiv Yar is located to the west of Bahmut City. It is an important supply artery for Bahmut and a protective buffer zone for the key cities of Sloviansk and Kramatorsk controlled by the Ukrainian army. The two cities were the more important strongholds. If the area is lost, Russian forces will be able to target and approach nearby cities.
However, taking advantage of the terrain, Ukraine can have more time to strengthen its defensive positions. Moreover, the road between Chasif Yar and Bahmut has several bridges spanning waterways that pass through the eastern part of the town, forming a natural defensive barrier. If resources are properly allocated, Chasif Yar will become a significant obstacle to the Russian advance.
In addition, if the Ukrainian army retreats from the east to the west, they can destroy the bridge. Although this waterway is not very deep, it can block the advancement of Russian military vehicles.
A few days ago, the Russian army repeatedly used “human assault” tactics to carry out frontal attacks. It has lost more than 200 main battle tanks and armored vehicles as well as a large number of soldiers. The Ukrainian army achieved initial success, but the outside world discovered that the Russian army rebuilt the armored column. Route of travel. They advanced along dirt roads to Chasiv Yar without encountering minefields, suggesting the Ukrainian army may have serious defense problems.
Some analysts believe that Russia will generally use airborne troops in key directions. Although the current airborne troops have similar capabilities to regular infantry, they will be a bit more mobile. It is likely that Russian forces will eventually enter the canal area, especially given the destructive power of aerial bombs, which have the advantage of destroying fortifications and buildings as well as artillery, complicating the defense of the area.
Kharkiv TV Tower bombed, creating new crisis for Russia
Recently, taking advantage of the time window when Ukraine’s air defense is insufficient, Russia has stepped up its strikes and intelligence operations against Ukraine’s second largest city, Kharkiv. According to a report from the Kharkiv Regional Administration, on the 22nd, the Russian army used Kh-59 missiles Attacked Kharkiv TV Tower. The attack resulted in the disruption of digital broadcast signals in the city of Kharkiv and surrounding areas. According to reports, the total height of the TV tower before the impact was 250 meters, while the height after the attack was about 140 meters, and the technical facilities were severely damaged.
Sinegubov, director of the Kharkiv Region State Administration, said: “Experts are assessing the damage to television equipment.” At present, Kharkiv residents can still obtain information through cable and satellite TV, while broadcasting, Internet Network and mobile communications are working fine.
The outside world has discovered that Kremlin spokesmen are taking advantage of people’s concerns about Russia’s imminent attack on Kharkov and launching a series of propaganda activities in an attempt to create undue panic among Ukrainians.
Russia’s “Tsar” magazine recently stated that the Russian army is preparing to launch a powerful offensive on Kharkov and may adopt “blockade tactics” and warned that the situation may be worse than at previous conflict locations. One Russian propagandist even suggested that Ukrainians should evacuate Kharkov before the Russians began to massacre.
Bloomberg pointed out that the main purpose of Russia’s attack on Kharkiv was to force Ukrainians to leave here, thereby forming a no-man’s land here and creating space for its military operations. Analysts pointed out that it is crucial for the West to provide timely military assistance to Ukraine, especially the provision of air defense systems and missiles to help Ukraine defend Kharkov.
There is also a view that Russia has realized that it cannot achieve the occupation of Ukraine, so their strategy is to destroy it if it cannot be obtained.
According to a report by the New York Times, the current situation shows that Russia is preparing to launch a fierce offensive, while the Ukrainians are actively building defenses to slow down the advance of the Russian army. Ukraine may not launch a large-scale counteroffensive this year, instead spending its time rebuilding its forces. They must go all out to stop the Russian offensive and prevent any local breakthrough from turning into a serious impact on the entire front.
The evidence of China’s aid to Russia is conclusive and the U.S. envoy’s trump card
According to the Wall Street Journal, citing people familiar with the matter, the United States is drafting sanctions that may target some of the CCP’s banks, with the aim of cutting off the CCP’s connection with the global financial system. U.S. officials hope the move will stem China’s commercial support for Russian military production.
According to open source trade data, in the more than two years since Russia started war on Ukraine, the number of military goods exported by the Chinese Communist Party to Russia has surged, which has played a key role in strengthening Russia’s defense and counter-offensive capabilities on Ukrainian territory.
Voice of America pointed out that China’s excavator exports to Russia more than tripled, especially when the Ukrainian army’s consecutive victories forced the Russian army to adopt a defensive posture and begin construction of the so-called “Sulovi Gold Line.”
We know that drones played an important role in the war in Ukraine, and the CCP also seized the opportunity to export a large number of drones to Russia, far exceeding its exports to Ukraine. There are also reports that Chinese commercial drone manufacturer DJI continues to sell products to entities linked to Moscow’s military-industrial complex after halting its operations in Russia.
In addition to drones, China also exports a large number of heavy-duty trucks, tractors, ball bearings, chips and integrated circuits to Russia. These products are of great significance to Russia’s logistical support and military industry. Chips and integrated circuits are key components necessary to manufacture weapons such as missiles, tanks, and fighter jets. It can be seen that these components provided by the CCP to Russia have become a great savior for the Russian military industry.
This time, Blinken visits China as officials hope to persuade the Chinese government to change its stance by threatening to cut off Chinese banks’ access to U.S. dollars and the risks that could affect Sino-European trade relations. U.S. officials have said sanctioning banks is an escalation option if diplomacy fails to persuade the Chinese government to rein in those exports. U.S. officials have increased pressure on the Chinese government in private meetings and phone calls, warning that the United States stands ready to take action against Chinese financial institutions that handle trade in such dual-use products.
However, although the threat of Western sanctions had a short-term effect, the CCP soon found a workaround. The Chinese Communist Party positions trade as a strategic investment for both China and Russia, and the trade relationship between the two countries is already very close, including promoting trade settled in rubles and yuan to cope with the impact of Western sanctions.
The United States believes that Europe’s financial and trade relations with China mean that Europe has greater diplomatic influence on the CCP than the United States. However, European allies are more cautious about sanctioning the CCP. They have only sanctioned a small number of CCP companies that are included in the U.S. blacklist. Other observers believe that despite the dominance of the dollar and euro in the financial system, the West is not fully leveraging its leverage on the issue. This could be a promising way to solve the problem in the future.
Okay, that’s it for today’s New Cold War Situation Room. See you next time!
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