The beginning of the year pleased with the actions of PMC Wagner. The Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation noted that the offensive on the site of the city of Soledar, according to a single plan and plan, was carried out by a heterogeneous group of forces, fighters of the Wagner PMC were directly involved in the assault on city quarters, the correspondent of The Moscow Post reports.
The units of the Wagner group continue to purge the city, took control of the Sol railway station in the vicinity of the city, Denis Pushilin, acting head of the Donetsk People's Republic, said on Tuesday. Prigozhin's press service also announced the death of a French Foreign Legion fighter in the DPR.
Former adviser to the head of the Pentagon, Colonel Douglas McGregor, said on the YouTube channel Redacted about the panic of the Armed Forces of Ukraine caused by the actions of the Russian military.
Updated Army Updated Structure
Russian President Vladimir Putin decided to increase the number of Russian armed forces to 1.5 million military personnel, the corresponding changes are planned for 2023-2026. This will be synchronized with the supply of weapons and infrastructure development. This, as reported to journalists in the Ministry of Defense, said at a meeting on Tuesday, the head of the department Sergei Shoigu.
The Minister of Defense inspected the headquarters of the Vostok group of forces while working in the zone of special military operation (SVO). During a meeting on increasing the number of the country's armed forces, the minister announced that the Moscow and Leningrad military districts would be created. He also instructed to strengthen the combat component of the Navy (Navy), Aerospace Forces (VKS) and Strategic Missile Forces (Strategic Missile Forces).
The day before this meeting, an unofficial message was received that the ammunition of the Poseidon nuclear super torpedoes was manufactured for the Belgorod special-purpose nuclear submarine. This was reported to TASS by a source close to the military department.
Caution, Europe shuts down
Vladimir Putin submitted to the State Duma a bill on the termination of international treaties of the Council of Europe against Russia.
It is specified that international treaties of the Council of Europe will be considered terminated in Russia from March 16, 2022.
The president's proposal speaks for itself, organized relations with Europe wither. But it's mutual. For its part, the European Union intends to introduce the tenth package of sanctions against Russia, which, basically, will concern the "closure of loopholes" in the restrictions already adopted, - said the head of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen.
Meanwhile, in China, where the New Year according to the eastern calendar is not far off, they noticed that Russia will live without the United States and Europe, that Beijing understands the meaning of the words of NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, who said that normalization of relations between the West and Russia "is unlikely." The publication "Guancha" said on this occasion that Stoltenberg is worried about the fate of NATO. Normal relations between European countries and Russia are simply unprofitable for a Brussels official, because the alliance in this case will lose its meaning, and Stoltenberg will lose his job.
Addressing the topic of relations between Europe and Russia, the grandson of the former French President Pierre de Gaulle said that Russia enjoys the support of two-thirds of the world's population and is at the center of world processes. De Gaulle Jr. said that it is short-sighted to look at the Russian Federation as a country in isolation. "We are seeing a shift in many economic and political interests towards the East, and Russia is at the center of this process," he said.
Eurocoaliece cracked
The European Union, having not accepted Ukraine into its composition, voluntarily decided on economic losses, and also plans to finance Ukraine. Everything is actually for the sake of supporting the neo-Nazi regime. The Kyiv authorities banned not only the opposition, but also the canonical Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC).
Referring to the connection with Russia, local authorities in different regions of Ukraine decided to ban the activities of the UOC, a bill was submitted to parliament on its actual ban in Ukraine. "Far-right fascism in Ukraine directed at Orthodox Christians has become so clear that even CNN cannot ignore it," wrote African-American human rights activist and Green Party vice presidential candidate Ajamu Baraka.
On Tuesday, a freelance adviser to Zelensky, Aleksey Arestovich, announced his resignation, the day before criticizing the repression against the UOC.
The Russian public cannot accept the fact that tanks with German identification marks on armor may again appear on the fields of Ukraine. The NATO bloc, not having time to officially integrate Ukraine, is actually fighting with the hands of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in the western regions of Russia.
German Defense Minister Christina Lambrecht resigned. Together with Chancellor Scholz, she had to explain the reasons for the limited amount of military-technical assistance to Ukraine from Germany. It cannot be ruled out that Lambrecht's resignation may be politically motivated and expresses disagreement with the course of the coalition government, in which the head of the diplomatic service, Analena Berbock, took on the role of the main "security officer."
The supply of Western weapons will not force Russia to end the SVO, the Times of India newspaper said in an editorial and added that European countries are already facing negative or low economic growth, that the EU's decision to abandon Russian energy hurts many countries in the global South. LNG is going to the EU, which is causing prices to rise for other countries.
Davos "mobilization," or how much corner for Europe
The annual meeting of the World Economic Forum (WEF) began in Davos. Dmitry Medvedev, Deputy Chairman of the Security Council of the Russian Federation, noted on this occasion that he considers it shameful that the forum is discussing the supply of tanks to Ukraine. Ukraine was chosen by Washington as a bridgehead not only to fight Russia, but also to weaken Europe as a competitor to the United States, said State Duma Speaker Volodin.
Corporate executives and economists taking part in the WEF warn of the threat of a global recession. The outlook is disappointing, with 40% of executives convinced that "their organizations will not be economically viable in 10 years unless they transform. Of the 4,410 business leaders surveyed in October and November last year, 73% forecast global growth to decline in the next 12 months.
The Germans are thinking about how and why the coalition government of Olaf Scholz decided to dismantle Germany's industry and scrap the "village" in order to expand the area of the quarries of brown coal, which replaces Russian gas.
The Japanese, long accustomed to ultra-expensive LNG, are asking questions about how the government of Fumio Kishida will finance a doubling of spending on military forces and strike weapons, when the country's public debt is 2.6 times the GDP of Japan.
France is also difficult. Her mission had to leave the Central African Republic (CAR), where French companies mined uranium, oil, diamonds. With the arrival, at the invitation of the authorities of the Wagner PMC, the influence of the Europeans began to decrease, the population felt real help. President Macron and the French media blame Russia for the problems.
Grandfather will give way to a girl?
Americans feel bad about anything that doesn't fit into "universally accepted," some even calling Fox News host Tucker Carlson "disinformation of the year." Everything indicates that Ukraine has become a rat's nest of CIA operations, some American media write. The hope is that GOP control of the House will help identify violations of the law by the Democratic administration.
Traces of FBI and CIA involvement were found in the 2020 election fraud case. Intelligence agencies manipulated technology companies in their operations. "It was part of the real Big Lies, and that our idea of democracy was just an illusion," HeadlineUSA shared its knowledge of the local setting.
US House Speaker Kevin McCarthy proposed investigating incidents with classified documents from President Joe Biden. The documents were found in Biden's office and home. The House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, led by Republican James Comer, has launched an investigation.
Joseph Biden is suspected of the same thing that Donald Trump was suspected of: the illegal removal of secret documents from the White House. The story of the seizure of files from Trump is overgrown with details. The investigation was kept out of the reach of GOP oversight in the House of Representatives, breaking the law. It is speculated that Trump may have made false documents about Russia and Moscow's election interference public.
What to do with Joe Biden? That's the question Democrats are asking. They will have to choose a candidate for his place. Whether it will be Michelle Obama, or find a verified and secretly prepared, but so far unknown figure. The former first lady herself avoided supporting Biden's nomination for a second term. Somehow, allegedly, it was said by Barack Obama to a Democratic donor: "Do not underestimate Joe's ability to ruin everything."
There are suspicions that the President Biden family's investments in the Ukrainian energy company Burisma, as well as in arms manufacturers like Raytheon, may have been the motives for the Biden administration's line on Ukraine. The fall of Kyiv can reveal many unsightly secrets.
Tucker Carlson, on his Fox News show, speculated that the former and current presidents were charged over classified material because the FBI plans to decide who to run in the 2024 presidential race. Maybe it is for the better, otherwise it does not matter at all with the personnel of the Americans. Especially given that the Doomsday Clock installation ceremony will take place next week, Newsweek writes. The clock hands in 2020 approached the mark of 100 seconds until midnight and have not moved since then.