TheOldGuy @TheOldGuy@qoto.org

Was it worth it HAMAS????
https://t.me/visegrad24official/2421

While we cannot predict exactly which U.S companies will be awarded new contracts, we do know the funding will be used to acquire advanced capabilities to defend against attacks on civilians in Israel and Ukraine—for example, air defense systems built in Alabama, Texas, and Georgia and vital subcomponents sourced from nearly all 50 states. We will modernize vital munitions and equipment like Javelins made in Alabama; Guided Multiple Launch Rocket System (GMLRS) made in West Virginia, Arkansas and Texas; tactical vehicles made in Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Michigan and Indiana; and 155mm artillery shells made in Pennsylvania, Arkansas, and Iowa and many other states.

I must stress that helping Ukraine defend itself and secure its future as a sovereign, democratic, independent, and prosperous nation advances our national security interests. It prevents larger conflict in the region that could involve NATO and put U.S. forces in harm’s way and deters future aggression, making us all safer.

As President Biden has said, when dictators do not pay a price for their aggression, they will cause more chaos and death and destruction. They just keep on going, and the cost and the threats to America and to the world will keep rising. The path that Congress chooses will reverberate for many years to come.

We are out of money to support Ukraine in this fight. This isn’t a next year problem. The time to help a democratic Ukraine fight against Russian aggression is right now. It is time for Congress to act.

Sincerely,

Shalanda D. Young

KHARKIV, Ukraine (AP) — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky says the war with Russia is in a new stage, with winter expected to complicate fighting after a summer counteroffensive that failed to produce desired results due to enduring shortages of weapons and ground forces.

Despite setbacks, however, he said Ukraine won’t give up.

“We have a new phase of war, and that is a fact,” Zelenskyy said in an exclusive interview Thursday with The Associated Press in Kharkiv in northeastern Ukraine after a morale-boosting tour of the region. “Winter as a whole is a new phase of war.”

Asked if he was satisfied by the results of the counteroffensive, he gave a complex answer.

“Look, we are not backing down, I am satisfied. We are fighting with the second (best) army in the world, I am satisfied,” he said, referring to the Russian military. But he added: “We are losing people, I’m not satisfied. We didn’t get all the weapons we wanted, I can’t be satisfied, but I also can’t complain too much.”

With winter set to cloak a wartime Ukraine once again, military leaders must contend with new but familiar challenges as the conflict grinds toward the end of its second full year: There are freezing temperatures and barren fields that leave soldiers exposed. And there’s the renewed threat of widespread Russian aerial assaults in cities that target energy infrastructure and civilians.

On Nov. 25, Moscow launched its most extensive drone attack of the war, with most of the 75 Iranian-made Shahed drones targeting Kyiv in a troubling precedent for the months ahead.

“That is why a winter war is difficult,” Zelenskyy said.

He gave a frank appraisal of the last summer’s counteroffensive.

“We wanted faster results. From that perspective, unfortunately, we did not achieve the desired results. And this is a fact,” he said.

Ukraine did not get all the weapons it needed from allies, he said, and limits in the size of his military force precluded a quick advance, he said.

Daily losses
https://t.me/liveukraine_media/15994

From "The Analyst":

FRONT UPDATE 3/4 DECEMBER

NORTH

The Russians seem to have made a quick advance from their westward pointing salient around Kremina. It suddenly increased in combat tempo with both sides claiming ground taken - it seems the Ukrainians advanced in one area but a Russian attack advanced to the south of it and took a considerable slice of land.
There’s not a great deal of granular detail on how this unfolded so hopefully more later.
Literally just south of this salient in the Surabianski forest the Ukrainians seem to have made some gains.

BAKHMUT

Russian forces have continued to push back on the length of the Klieshievka-Andrivka line making small put continuous gains along the various water features there. They have almost completely pushed Ukraine away from the railway line now.

AVDIVKA

Russian forces continue to make gains pushing north from Opytne on the southern pincer.
On the northern pincer Russian forces have gained control over the eastern outskirts of Stepove and have seemingly managed to keep it this time. A significant tree line to the south of Stepove is also under clear Russian control and is most of a kilometre long.
These two events mark a significant weakening of the defence lines. It places the main road in to Avdivka even closer and threatens the enveloping of the coking plant form the north. Coupled to the moves up from the south it’s not a pretty picture mid to long term.
Unless there is some kind of major counter attack to reverse Russian gains the depth of the neck that has Avdivka at the end of it is going to become rapidly untenable.
The Russians seem to have chosen the pincers as the primary pressure points now. Even small advances here on what’s is a very long and difficult Ukrainian defence line, mean they will either have to withdraw at a rapid pace or face complete encirclement in the city and a siege they can’t ultimately win.

MARINKA

This area has been static for months and suddenly there has been and exchange over the past week with some Russian and Ukrainian gains.
The area has suddenly become contested again and combat has intensified.

ROBOTYNE SALIENT

Ukraine keeps the Russians focused here by continuing to make attacks towards Kopani and Novopropopivka, but this seems to me more about keeping the Russians engaged and disinclined to leave and get deployed somewhere they might do more damage. I suspect too, that as long as Ukraine maintains light offensive operations its stops the Russians from building up forces to expunge the salient.

KHERSON: nothing new to report except more of the same. Russia tries to remove the Ukrainians and they aren’t going anywhere.

The real concern is of course, Avdivka. It’s slowly deteriorating. Russia loses stacks of men and equipment but it hasn’t stopped them and unless the tempo of destruction can be stepped up to a level where it does make them pause, it seems otherwise relentless. It’s at this point the lack of aid packages from the US and the lack of artillery ammo promised from Europe is starting to notice. Ukraine doesn’t have enough to stop what’s happening.

Slava Ukraini 🇺🇦!

https://t.me/warinukraineua/1603

They are already suffering from inadequate supplies of ammunition

https://t.me/warinukraineua/1601

This missile will be able to hit the Russians where it hurts.

Threatening a witness should lead to bail revocation and a fresh new charge
https://www.palmerreport.com/analysis/another-trump-co-defendant-now-in-danger-of-having-bail-revoked/53433/

Israel's Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar has vowed to eliminate every Palestinian terrorist.

"The cabinet has set us a goal, in street talk, to eliminate Hamas. This is our Munich. We will do this everywhere, in Gaza, in the West Bank, in Lebanon, in Turkey, in Qatar. It will take a few years but we will be there to do it."

Here is a bit of historical context to Shin Bet Chief Ronen Bar's statement. "The Wrath of God" hit squad, code-named Bayonet, was created by Israel after the 1972 massacre of Israeli Olympic athletes in Munich. The squad largely composed of Mossad members, Israel's foreign intelligence agency and IDF special operations teams, spent years tracking down and killing those suspected of planning or participating in the Munich massacre.

Eva Kalmus, the head of the border department of the Department of Police and Border Guard of Estonia, highlighted in a statement to Yle that Estonia possesses the capability to promptly close its border with the Russian Federation following a government decision.

The current trend shows an average increase of around one thousand individuals crossing the Estonian-Russian border per week since Finland's closure of its border crossing points with Russia. Kalmus stressed that Estonia is prepared to take similar action.

"We urge individuals not to travel to Russia. Those who have already crossed into the Russian Federation may encounter difficulties returning as the situation evolves," she cautioned.

Kalmus also emphasized the agility of implementing such a decision, affirming that checkpoints on the Estonian border could be closed within an hour of the government's directive.

IDF statement:

IDF: The Cooperation Unit of the Israeli Air Force has conducted thousands of airstrikes on terror targets in the Gaza Strip and operated to rapidly complete missions

Since the beginning of the war, approximately 10,000 airstrikes were carried out under the guidance of IDF soldiers on the ground in short time frames. The soldiers quickly completed missions and thwarted terrorist cells, terrorist infrastructure, command centers, tunnel shafts, weapons depots and more.

Following Hamas’ violation of the operational pause agreement, the fighting in the Gaza Strip has resumed, and the IDF soldiers are continuing the ground operation in full cooperation with aircraft of the IAF. The cooperation between the ground forces and the IAF is one of the most prominent elements in the IDF’s ground operation in the Gaza Strip.

https://t.me/NewsWorld_23/2706

The message being preached in France.

It appears the Russians have been executing POWs regularly.
https://t.me/warinukraineua/1570

He got confused like Donnie Chump. He is listing Russian losses.
https://t.me/warinukraineua/1573

https://t.me/warinukraineua/1548

Daily losses

The Palestinian Authority controlled by Hamas terrorists has announced the reduction of critical municipal sanitation services in Gaza. Why doesn't Hamas provide fuel to Gaza municipal critical infrastructure? Once again the decisions of Palestinian terrorists are the direct cause of Palestinian civilians suffering.

From the Palestinian Authority controlled by Hamas terrorists. Gaza Municipality

"The Gaza Municipality announces that it will regrettably be forced to completely stop the waste collection service and the sewage station operating service, reduce the number of operating water wells, and reduce the number of operating hours due to the depletion of fuel.

The municipality calls on citizens to transport waste to Yarmouk Station, Firas Market land, empty plots, or any places that do not cause traffic obstruction or health hazards, noting that a water filling point will be provided for citizens from some of the wells that will be operated, with the need to rationalize consumption to a minimum."

Ukraine and Lithuania collaborated to thwart the candidacy of the Russian Federation within the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW).

In this year's OPCW Executive Council, three seats were available under the Eastern European quota, contested by Poland, Ukraine, and Russia. At the mutual agreement of Kuleba and Landsbergis, Lithuania also put forth its candidacy.

"During the OPCW voting process, it's uncertain how others will cast their votes. The element of surprise played a role – many opted to support both Lithuania and Ukraine, assuming that Russia would secure enough votes, and we'd be 'on the winning side.' Ultimately, Russia fell short of votes, which came as a surprise to many," revealed a knowledgeable Ukrainian diplomat to EuroPravda.

A day later, the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs attributed their defeat in the OPCW to "unprecedented political pressure, financial and economic coercion, and, frequently, direct threats from the 'collective West' to participating states that might have supported our country."

❗️ Another blackout occurred at the Zaporizhzhia NPP: there is a threat to radiation safety.

Tonight there was a complete blackout at the Zaporizhzhia NPP.

The biggest security threat in this state exists at power unit No. 4. It is caused by the fact that the occupiers used it contrary to the terms of the license for the operation of nuclear reactor installations of the Ukrainian regulator and stored it in a hot state. De-energizing the main circulation pumps that cool the core leads to the transition of the reactor plant to the mode of natural circulation. This mode is difficult for the reactor plant, its duration is limited by the project and can lead to failure of the main equipment of the power unit. The block needs to be transferred to a cold state urgently.

Thanks to the efforts of Ukrainian specialists, at 7 a.m. on December 2, the connection with the Ukrainian power system was restored, namely, the operation of the 750 kV transmission line was restored.

Another blackout poses a threat to nuclear and radiation safety.

❗️In Luhansk Oblast, the occupiers banned Santa's Day! (St. Nicholas Day)

According to the head of the Luhansk OVA, the celebration of St. Nicholas Day was banned in all educational institutions in the temporarily occupied city of Starobilsk.

"I said, it's a purely Ukrainian holiday, so you shouldn't prepare gifts for children. Instead, the children will be welcomed by Kish Babai from Tatarstan , who was given the so-called patronage of some occupied communities of the Luhansk region," the official explained.

Note: In Ukraine children wait for St. Nicholas to come and to put a present under their pillows provided that the children were good during the year. Children who behaved badly may expect to find a twig or a piece of coal under their pillows.

The American Santa Claus, as well as the British Father Christmas, derive from Saint Nicholas.

GLSDB. coming soon to a HIMARS near you

https://mil.in.ua/en/articles/glsdb-new-weapon-for-ukrainian-himars/