CaptainTruth
CaptainTruth's JournalA Private Company Has Evacuated 6,500 People From Ukraine
Global Guardian is now evacuating Ukrainians who work for Western companies and their families.
President Joe Biden repeatedly made clear that he would not send American troops to evacuate people stuck in Ukraine at risk of sparking a “world war.”
That doesn’t mean evacuations aren’t happening. But they’ll cost you.
Global Guardian, a private security firm, has evacuated more than 6,500 people from Ukraine over the past month, according to Dale Buckner, a former Green Beret who owns the firm. Buckner said Global Guardian completed 12 missions on Sunday and another nine on Monday. He said evacuations may be hitting their peak as the Russian invasion of Ukraine extends to its third week.
[link:https://www.defenseone.com/threats/2022/03/private-company-has-evacuated-6500-people-ukraine/363225/|]
Anyone who doesn't trust Defense One as a source, please just don't click on the link, please don't attack & insult me for posting it, thank you.
White House: Fact Sheet on U.S. Security Assistance for Ukraine
I'm sorry if this was already posted, I didn't see it.
The White House
President Biden today announced an additional $800 million in security assistance to Ukraine, bringing the total U.S. security assistance committed to Ukraine to $1 billion in just the past week, and a total of $2 billion since the start of the Biden Administration. The assistance will take the form of direct transfers of equipment from the Department of Defense to the Ukrainian military to help them defend their country against Russia’s unprovoked and unjustified invasion.
The new $800 million assistance package includes:
800 Stinger anti-aircraft systems;
2,000 Javelin, 1,000 light anti-armor weapons, and 6,000 AT-4 anti-armor systems;
100 Tactical Unmanned Aerial Systems;
100 grenade launchers, 5,000 rifles, 1,000 pistols, 400 machine guns, and 400 shotguns;
Over 20 million rounds of small arms ammunition and grenade launcher and mortar rounds;
25,000 sets of body armor; and
25,000 helmets.
In addition to the weapons listed above, previous United States assistance committed to Ukraine includes:
Over 600 Stinger anti-aircraft systems;
Approximately 2,600 Javelin anti-armor systems;
Five Mi-17 helicopters;
Three patrol boats;
Four counter-artillery and counter-unmanned aerial system tracking radars;
Four counter-mortar radar systems;
200 grenade launchers and ammunition;
200 shotguns and 200 machine guns;
Nearly 40 million rounds of small arms ammunition and over 1 million grenade, mortar, and artillery rounds;
70 High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicles (HMMWVs) and other vehicles;
Secure communications, electronic warfare detection systems, body armor, helmets, and other tactical gear;
Military medical equipment to support treatment and combat evacuation;
Explosive ordnance disposal and demining equipment; and
Satellite imagery and analysis capability.
In addition to the U.S.-produced short-range air defense systems the Ukrainians have been using to great effect, the United States has also identified and is helping the Ukrainians acquire additional, longer-range systems on which Ukraine’s forces are already trained, as well as additional munitions for those systems.
[link:https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2022/03/16/fact-sheet-on-u-s-security-assistance-for-ukraine/|]
CEPA: Too Late for Russia to Stop the Foreign Volunteer Army
(CEPA is the Center for European Policy Analysis)
The Kremlin makes dark threats about the fate of foreign volunteers captured on the battlefield, but these are likely to rebound.
Vladimir Putin’s war on Ukraine has produced some strange and unexpected results, not least the rush among Western citizens to join President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s armed forces.
Ukrainian defense officials claim that over 20,000 individuals from 52 nations have volunteered to join the Ukrainian armed forces resisting the Russian invasion, perhaps the most notable volunteer effort since the International Brigades during the Spanish Civil War.
Among them are US software developers, Canadian cooks, numerous ex-service personnel, and even (the UK government has admitted) a soldier from one of Britain’s most venerable regiments, the Coldstream Guards, who is reported to have gone absent without leave to head for Ukraine. At least three other serving UK personnel have done likewise; the government has pledged to prosecute them on their return.
Russia has responded with threats, trying to scare and sway potential volunteers to reconsider, and threatening repercussions if captured by Russian forces. Russia says that those joining the Ukrainian armed forces are bandits, criminals, and mercenaries and will be punished accordingly.
Defense Ministry spokesperson, Igor Konashenkov, said on March 3 that any foreign volunteer taken in Ukraine will not be accorded prisoner of war (PoW) status, but will be treated as a law-breaker accountable for their acts. Konashenkov hinted at executions by stating that, “at best, they can expect to be prosecuted as criminals.” Naturally, if that is the best-case scenario, then the worst-case scenario would suggest execution as a possible outcome.
In fact, international law is clear and applies to Russia’s treatment of PoWs. Under the Geneva Convention, article 4, reads; “Prisoners of war, in the sense of the present Convention, are persons belonging to one of the following categories, who have fallen into the power of the enemy: Members of the armed forces of a Party to the conflict as well as members of militias or volunteer corps forming part of such armed forces.”
As long as these volunteers themselves follow the laws of armed conflict, they are by international law protected as prisoners of war (PoW). There is no ambiguity about this: those who volunteer to join the Ukrainian armed forces are protected by the Geneva Convention and international humanitarian law. There is an established legal doctrine, and there is no space for contrarian interpretation.
[link:https://cepa.org/too-late-for-russia-to-stop-the-foreign-volunteer-army/|]
US military vets are in Ukraine for elite medical mission
A group of former U.S. military service members, including a retired U.S. Army Special Forces sergeant, traveled to Ukraine earlier this month to assist resistance forces fighting the Russian invasion.
ABC7 San Francisco reported March 4 that Aaron Epstein, a surgeon from Buffalo, New York, and founder of Global Surgical and Medical Support Group (GSMSG), was contacted by Ukraine’s Minister of Defense, who asked for the group’s support in the nation’s resistance against Russia.
“We would ask for all possible cooperation from GSMSG in the field of medical/surgeon training,” the message from the Defense Minister said in a message to GSMSG.
Shortly after receiving the request, Epstein organized 10 GSMSG volunteers, including a surgeon, a pediatrician, an OR nurse, medics, and a recently retired U.S. Army Special Forces sergeant, who headed to Ukraine.
“I’ve told them that they can be armed, if it’s starting to look like where they will be is going to be a hostile combat area,” Epstein said.
When asked if the volunteers can return fire should they find themselves under attack, Epstein responded, “Yeah, yeah, absolutely. Absolutely.”
Epstein’s group also translated the U.S. military’s “Tactical Combat Casualty Care Course” into Ukrainian and shared it online.
[link:https://americanmilitarynews.com/2022/03/us-military-vets-are-in-ukraine-for-elite-medical-mission/|]
Interesting observations on Russian forces losses...
[link:https://twitter.com/DanLamothe/status/1503417237184593920?s=20&t=DCfiwGksbgV1XhEfKi-h-A|]
[link:https://twitter.com/RALee85/status/1503432571006369802?s=20&t=DCfiwGksbgV1XhEfKi-h-A|]
[link:https://twitter.com/RALee85/status/1503434251139788810?s=20&t=DCfiwGksbgV1XhEfKi-h-A|]
Dan Lamothe @DanLamothe
Military beat @washingtonpost.
Russia now has 100 percent of the forces it assembled prior to invading committed to the fight. It has under 90 percent of those forces available to them, after taking losses, senior U.S. defense official says.
Rob Lee @RALee85
PhD student @warstudies. Senior Fellow @FPRI. Previously @USMC, @ColumbiaSIPA, @CentreAST, and @AlfaFellowship. Focused on Russian defense policy.
Russia deployed 75% of its permanent readiness ground forces to Ukraine, so this would mean it has lost ~6-7% of its total. Keep in mind that much of these losses have been sustained by Russia's elite forces: VDV, spetsnaz, 1st Tank Army, etc. That will take time to reconstitute.
Not to mention, Russia has struggled to meet its targets for contract servicemen in the Russian military. It is losing many of them here and of course there will be a question as to whether future conscripts decide to continue their service after watching this war.
Bermuda CAA suspends certificates of around 740 Russian aircraft
The Bermuda Civil Aviation Authority (BCCA) has suspended the licenses of around 740 Russian aircraft operating under the agreement between Bermuda and the Russian Federation.
The suspension of all Certificates of Airworthiness of those aircraft was brought into effect at 23:59 UTC on March 12th 2022. In a press release, a BCCA spokesperson said:
“International sanctions on the aviation sector have had a significant impact on the ability to sustain safety oversight on Russian operated aircraft on the Bermuda Aircraft Registry.
“The airworthiness system has been restricted to the point that the Bermuda Civil Aviation Authority [BCAA] is unable to confidently approve these aircraft as being airworthy.”
According to the government, around 740 out of 900 aircraft registered in Bermuda are operated by Russian carriers.
Bermuda’s Premier David Burt also confirmed that the island, in effect, will follow UK sanctions. The premier said, “In response to the Russian military invasion of Ukraine, many countries, including the United Kingdom, have introduced a wide range of sanctions against the Russian Federation.”
Russian carriers are re-registering their aircraft in Russia to avoid their plane from being seized. Around 180 aircraft have been reportedly registered in the Russian state register of civil aircraft since the end of February.
[link:https://www.airlive.net/bermuda-caa-suspends-certificates-of-around-740-russian-aircraft/|]
Oil Falls to $100 With Ukraine-Russia Talks and China Lockdowns
Bloomberg Financial
Oil fell below $100 a barrel as negotiations between Ukraine and Russia appeared to grow more substantive and China imposed a lockdown on an entire province to stem the spread of Covid-19.
Futures in New York fell more than 8% to a low of $99.76, trading in a $10 range on Monday. A further round of talks between Russian and Ukrainian officials focused on discussing a potential ceasefire with an immediate withdrawal of troops and security guarantees, Ukraine negotiator Mykhailo Podolyak said.
The negotiations between the two countries are driving prices lower in the near term as markets are “much more sensitive to sentiment than actual supply and demand calculation,” said Rebecca Babin, senior energy trader at CIBC Private Wealth Management.
[link:https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-03-13/oil-resumes-decline-as-iran-russia-and-fed-jostle-for-limelight|]
Missiles strike near US consulate in north Iraq; no injuries
Apologies if this has already been posted, I did a quick search & didn't see it.
BAGHDAD (AP) — As many as 12 missiles struck Iraq’s northern city of Irbil on Sunday near the U.S. consulate, Iraqi security officials said. A U.S. defense official said missiles had been launched at the city from neighboring Iran.
No injuries were reported. Officials in Iraq and the U.S. gave different accounts of the strike and the damage it caused. A second U.S. official said there was no damage at any U.S. government facility and that there was no indication the target was the consulate building, which is new and currently unoccupied.
[link:https://www.militarytimes.com/flashpoints/2022/03/12/missiles-strike-near-us-consulate-in-north-iraq-no-injuries/|]
Ukrainian women are showing the world what they're made of in the fight against Russia
Ukrainian women are showing the world what they’re made of in the fight against Russia
It was not so long ago that women in Ukraine were fighting for equal rights in the military. Now, women throughout the country are proving themselves a critical part of the battle against Russia.
According to CNN, 15% of the soldiers currently fighting Russia are women. Some are not officially members of the military, CNN’s Christina Macfarlane said, but have taken “crash courses” in things like how to shoot a firearm.
Kira Rudik, a Ukrainian Parliament member who decided to remain in Kyiv, told Macfarlane it’s a privilege that women have the choice to support the Ukrainian military and are not being told to leave with their children. “We are fighting right now by our own choice,” she said, adding that she believes the numbers are higher in terms of how many women are serving. While 15% of the soldiers may be women, there are even more women fighting in resistance groups.
[link:https://taskandpurpose.com/news/ukraine-women-military/|]
The bride wore fatigues. The wedding party carried rifles and RPGs.
KYIV, UKRAINE — The groom wore a helmet. The bride wore fatigues.
So did the priest and the wedding party with comrades in the Ukrainian defense forces who lined up for the marital procession carrying shoulder-fired rocket-propelled grenades and antitank missiles.
Others guests included Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko, who wore a bulletproof vest and took a selfie with the bride, and a throng of journalists invited to watch the spectacle of a wedding next to a checkpoint in the midst of Russia’s war on Ukraine.
[link:https://www.stripes.com/theaters/europe/2022-03-06/the-bride-wore-fatigues-and-the-wedding-party-carried-rpgs-5251585.html|]
Profile Information
Member since: Sun May 25, 2014, 11:27 AMNumber of posts: 6,591
