#1
And refine the ore there instead of outsourcing the task to China?
RETRO What China’s Ban on Rare Earths Processing Technology Exports Means At present China produces 60 percent of the world’s rare earths but processes nearly 90 percent, which means that it is importing rare earths from other countries and processing them. This has given China a near monopoly.
Worth noting, korrespondent.net has compiled its Invasion of Ukraine series into separate months, beginning May 9th, 2023. Linked in the title
[Korrespondent] 21.11 Over the weekend, Russia seriously damaged one of the generating facilities . This was stated by the Minister of Energy of Ukraine Herman Galushchenko after a meeting with the Director General of the IAEA Rafael Grossi, Interfax-Ukraine reports.
20.21 Russian troops attacked the Sinelnykivsky district with a kamikaze drone on February 4. A civilian was killed as a result of the enemy shelling. This was reported by the head of the Dnipropetrovsk OVA Serhiy Lysak on Tuesday, February 4.
19.41 In Donetsk Oblast, a mandatory evacuation of children with their parents or persons replacing them, or other legal representatives from 12 settlements of the Shakhovskaya community to safe regions will be carried out. This was reported by the head of the Donetsk Oblast Military Administration, Vadim Filashkin.
19:19 In Germany, the majority of citizens are in favor of extending military aid to Ukraine, and some of them even support the idea of increasing supplies, as shown by the results of a survey conducted by the Wahlen research group for ZDF frontal.
18.01 The Ministry of Defense has approved the Gimli line of ground robotic systems for use in the Defense Forces . This was reported by the Main Directorate for Support of the Life Cycle of Weapons and Military Equipment.
The Gimli NRC can be equipped with weapons and act as a mobile combat module, delivering fire damage to enemy targets.
17.38 Ukraine is using new 1,000-pound JDAM-ER guided aerial bombs weighing over 450 kg against the Russian army. This is reported by The Aviationist. Reportedly, two years ago the US transferred 500-pound (over 220 kg) GBU-62 JDAM-ER guided aerial bombs to Ukraine, significantly enhancing the capabilities of Ukrainian Su-27 and MiG-29 fighters. However, a recently published video shows how the Su-27 strikes with 1,000-pound JDAM-ER bombs, which had not previously been recorded in open sources.
17.07 Russian authorities are preparing to soften the criteria for fitness for military service in order to replenish the army, which lost about 500 thousand killed and wounded in the war against Ukraine (according to Western estimates). This is evidenced by the data of the draft regulation on military medical examination, which was prepared by the Russian Defense Ministry.
16.07 On February 4, Russian troops fired artillery at the Krasnopolskaya community in the Sumy region. As a result of the enemy attack, one person was killed and one was wounded. This was reported by the Sumy Regional Prosecutor's Office on Tuesday, February 4.
15.16 On February 3, JSC Ukrainian Defence Industry and Polish Arms Group (PGZ) signed a memorandum on cooperation in the production of ammunition, maintenance of equipment and strengthening of air defence. This was reported by the Ministry of Strategic Industries.
12:33 The SBU together with the National Police prevented a terrorist attack in Bukovina, detaining two Russian agents who planned to blow up a police squad. They planned to lure law enforcement officers into a trap by making a fake call to the 102 line. This was reported by the SBU on Tuesday, February 4.
12:19 Russian aggressors launched a missile attack on the city of Izyum. Four people were killed and 20 more were injured. According to preliminary data, the occupiers used a ballistic missile.
12:16 Operators from the 413th Raid Battalion discovered and destroyed a Russian Osa anti-aircraft missile system in one of the key areas of the front.
The Osa air defense missile system is a short-range mobile air defense system designed to protect military units and strategic facilities of the Russian Armed Forces from air strikes, cruise missiles and drones.
11:22 North Korean troops have retreated from Russia's Kursk region due to significant losses and are not participating in combat operations, South Korean intelligence reported and released intelligence data. North
Korean soldiers who fought Russian troops in battles against Ukraine were withdrawn from the front line in mid-January.
10:45 As a result of active fire from units of the Defense Forces, the enemy was forced to abandon its forward positions near one of the settlements in the Kupyansk direction.
According to intelligence, the Russian command, threatening to shoot, is trying to return personnel to their positions.
9:56 On the night of February 4, Russian troops attacked Ukraine with 65 Shahed-type attack drones and various types of drone imitators. Air defense managed to destroy 37 drones, 28 were lost. Sumy and Cherkasy regions suffered as a result of the enemy attack.
9:40 As a result of the attack by Russian attack drones in Kiev, windows were damaged in several educational institutions, an outpatient clinic and utility buildings. Falling debris was also recorded on the roof of a multi-story building in the Pechersk district. There were no casualties.
9:06 Russian troops attacked Cherkasy region with drones. Air defense forces shot down 12 enemy "Shakheds" in the sky above the region.
However, there were consequences. In Cherkassy, as a result of enemy attacks, fires broke out on the territory of three private enterprises. In one case, the liquidation is ongoing.
8:43 In the Pechersky district of the capital, fragments of a Russian drone were found on several floors of an 18-story unfinished building. There was no damage or casualties. There was no fire.
8:20 Over the past 24 hours, aviation, missile forces and artillery of the Defense Forces have hit nine areas of concentration of personnel and equipment, two command posts, three artillery systems, and two electronic warfare stations of the Russian invaders. Over the past 24 hours, 110 combat clashes have been recorded at the front. In particular, in the Pokrovsk direction, Ukrainian defenders have stopped 38 assault and offensive actions by the Russians.
7:45 As of February 4, the total combat losses of Russian troops on Ukrainian territory amounted to approximately 842,930 people (+1,270 per day).
4:58 The Russians are still advancing in Ukraine, but their pace has slowed. At the same time, the occupiers' losses remain just as high. This was stated by analysts at the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) in their daily report.
2:27 The UN condemned the bombing of a boarding school in Sudzha, Kursk Oblast, by Russian aircraft, which killed and injured civilians. This is evidenced by a statement by the representative of the UN Secretary-General Stephane Dujarric.
Linked article is available only through a VPN.
[EngMilRu] The Armed Forces of the Russian Federation continue the special military operation.
In Kharkov direction, units of the Sever Group of Forces defeated units of two territorial defence brigades near Volchansk (Kharkov region).
The AFU losses were up to 35 troops, one armoured fighting vehicle, and four motor vehicles. Four field artillery guns and one electronic warfare station were neutralised.
Units of the Zapad Group of Forces improved the tactical situation. Russian troops hit manpower and hardware of two mechanised brigades, one assault brigade, one airborne brigade of the AFU, and two territorial defence brigades near Kupyansk, Peschanoye, Novomlynsk, Novaya Kruglyakovka, Zapadnoye, Zagoruykovka, Zeleny Gai (Kharkov region), Nevskoye (Lugansk People's Republic), Yampolovka, and Yampol (Donetsk People's Republic).
The AFU losses were more than 290 troops, one tank, three armoured fighting vehicles, including two U.S.-made M-113 armoured personnel carriers, and 14 motor vehicles. Nine field artillery guns including three Western-made ones and three ammunition depots were eliminated.
Units of the Yug Group of Forces took more advantageous lines and positions. Russian troops inflicted fire damage on formations of three mechanised brigades, one airmobile brigade of the AFU, one formation of the International Legion, and two territorial defence brigades near Dyleyevka, Konstantinovka, Zelenovka, Ivano-Daryevka, Orekhovo-Vasilevka, Yantarnoye, Chasov Yar, and Dachnoye (Donetsk People's Republic).
The AFU losses were up to 260 troops, one armoured fighting vehicle, four motor vehicles, and four field artillery guns including three NATO-manufactured ones. Two ammunition depots and three electronic warfare stations were eliminated.
Units of the Tsentr Group of Forces continued active offensive operations. Russian troops eliminated manpower and hardware of five mechanised brigades, one motorised brigade, one jaeger brigade of the AFU, one naval infantry brigade, one National Guard brigade, and the Lyut Brigade of the National Police of Ukraine near Krasnoarmeysk, Udachnoye, Sergeyevka, Dzerzhinsk, Druzhba, Novoaleksandrovka, Baranovka, Lysovka, Kotlino, Uspenovka, Andreyevka, and Yasenovoye (Donetsk People's Republic).
The AFU losses were up to 510 troops, one tank, two armoured fighting vehicles, including one Bradley infantry fighting vehicle, and ten pickup trucks as well as eight Polish-made 155mm Krab self-propelled artillery system.
Units of the Vostok Group of Forces continued advancing into the depth of enemy defences. Russian troops hit formations of one tank brigade, two mechanised brigades of the AFU, and two territorial defence brigades close to Bogatyr, Razliv, Burlatskoye, Razdolnoye, and Novopol (Donetsk People's Republic).
The AFU losses were more than 140 troops, six armoured fighting vehicles, two motor vehicles, and seven field artillery guns. One ammunition depot was destroyed.
Units of the Dnepr Group of Forces engaged manpower and hardware of one mechanised brigade and two coastal defence brigades of the Armed Forces of Ukraine close to Nesteryanka, Novodanilovka, Kamenskoye, and Stepovoye (Zaporozhye region).
The AFU losses were up to 30 troops, three motor vehicles, and two electronic warfare stations.
Operational-Tactical Aviation, attack unmanned aerial vehicles, Missile Troops and Artillery of the Russian Groups of Forces delivered strikes at the infrastructure of military airfields, manufacturing shops, storage and preparation facilities for the launch of unmanned aerial vehicles, ammunition and POL depots of the AFU as well as clusters of enemy manpower and military hardware in 149 areas.
Over the course of the day, air defence facilities shot down one Neptune long-range guided missile, one U.S.-made HIMARS MLRS projectile, and 68 fixed-wing unmanned aerial vehicles.
In total, since the beginning of the special military operation, 653 aircraft, 283 helicopters, 42,406 unmanned aerial vehicles, 590 anti-aircraft missile systems, 21,023 tanks and other armoured fighting vehicles, 1,513 MLRS combat vehicles, 21,222 field artillery guns and mortars, and 31,186 units of support military vehicles have been neutralised.
The Armed Forces of the Russian Federation continue the operation to neutralise AFU formations on the territory of Kursk region.
During the offensive, units of the Sever Group of Forces inflicted fire damage on formations of one heavy mechanised brigade, four mechanised brigades, three air assault brigades, one naval infanry brigade, and two territorial defence brigade of the AFU close to Bogdanovka, Viktorovka, Goncharovka, Guyevo, Daryino, Zazulevka, Zaoleshenka, Kazachya Loknya, Kositsa, Kubatkin, Kurilovka, Lebedevka, Loknya, Malaya Loknya, Martynovka, Maryevka, Makhnovka, Melovoy, Mirny, Nikolsky, Novaya Sorochina, Pogrebki, Pravda, Sverdlikovo, Staraya Sorochina, Sudzha, Cherkasskoye Porechnoye, and Yuzhny. In addition, three enemy counter-attacks were repelled.
Operational-Tactical and Army aviation and artillery hit manpower and hardware of the AFU close to Basovka, Belovody, Vodolagi, Zhuravka, Ivolzhanskoye, Miropolye, and Obody in Sumy region.
Over the course of the day, the AFU losses were up to 345 troops, two tanks, one infantry fighting vehicle, one armoured personnel carrier, 27 armoured fighting vehicles, one Tunguska anti-aircraft gun, 24 motor vehicles, four field artillery guns, and two mortars.
Since the beginning of hostilities in Kursk direction, the AFU losses amounted to more than 57,330 troops, 331 tanks, 244 infantry fighting vehicles, 192 armoured personnel carriers, 1,708 armoured fighting vehicles, 1,798 motor vehicles, 406 artillery guns, 45 MLRS launchers, including 13 of HIMARS and six of MLRS made by the USA, 17 anti-aircraft missile launchers, eight transport-loading vehicles, 106 EW stations, 15 counter-battery warfare radars, five air defence radars, 33 units of engineering and other materiel, including 14 counterobstacle vehicles, one UR-77 mine clearing vehicle, nine armoured recovery vehicles, and one command post vehicle.
The operation to neutralise the AFU units is in progress.
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited.
[NewsFront] 20:58 In the Kursk border area, the operator of the reconnaissance UAV of the 44th Army Corps GV "Sever" was firing on the position of a mortar crew of Ukrainian soldiers. The kamikaze drone flew right on target, destroying both the weapon and the enemy personnel. 20:25 Krasnoarmeyskoye direction. Assault groups of the Russian Armed Forces approached Yelizavetovka from the south –MAP.
20:17 Russian Armed Forces approached Dachny from the south –MAP.
19:51 IMR-2 will cope with any obstacles.
Servicemen of the engineering unit of the "Center" group of forces continue to carry out tasks to clear mines from sections of roads and terrain to liberated settlements in the Krasnoarmeysk direction.
18:50 "Lightning" found its target.
The crew of the Molniya-2 strike unmanned aerial vehicle of the Arctic motorized rifle brigade from the Dnepr group of forces destroyed enemy observation post in the Kakhovka direction in the Kherson region.
18:15 They crept up unnoticed.
Calculation of the FPV drone of the North group of forces destroyed temporary deployment point of the Ukrainian Armed Forces in the forest belt of the Khar'kov region.
17:47 152mm 2S19 "Msta" always catches up with the enemy.
Self-propelled artillery units crews are destroying enemy armored vehicles, artillery and mortar batteries, air defense systems, command posts and permanent firing points.
16:28 Destruction by artillery of the Russian Armed Forces, 60mm mortar LMP-2017 of the Ukrainian Armed Forces in the area of the village of Zeleny Gai, Khar'kov region.
15:59 Around 15:20 Moscow time, air defense systems on duty destroyed one Ukrainian unmanned aerial vehicle over the territory of the Kursk region.
15:50 "Solntsepek" burned down the positions of the Ukrainian Armed Forces.
TOS-1A "Solntsepek" crew and UAV operators with the ammunition drop system of the "West" force group destroyed a stronghold and manpower of the Ukrainian Armed Forces in the forest belt of the Khar'kov region.
15:06 The Russian army entered the village of Zaporozhye in the Novopavlovsk direction –MAP.
14:50 Advance of the Russian Armed Forces in Chasov Yar –MAP.
14:42 In the Kursk border area, guardsmen from the 119th PDP GV "North" successfully towed away into the base area of the enemy BMP M-113.
14:16 Snipers of the "East" group of forces destroyed Ukrainian militants in the South Donetsk direction.
After the liberation of Velyka Novosyolka, units of the "East" group of forces disrupt attempts to regroup Ukrainian Armed Forces formations and transfer enemy personnel and equipment to the South Donetsk direction.
Our UAV operators, working closely with the sniper company, identified the movement of enemy equipment and immobilized the American MaxxPro armored vehicle, which was transporting Ukrainian Armed Forces personnel, with a precise hit.
13:33 In the area of the Nikolsky farm in the Kursk region, the location of a tank of Ukrainian soldiers was discovered. The target was hit by fire inflicted loitering munition "Lancet".
As a result of a direct hit, the tank's ammunition detonated.
13:08 The Brave captured another stronghold of the Ukrainian Armed Forces in the Krasnoarmeysk direction.
The offensive actions of the attack aircraft of the Atlant battalion of the 35th Guards Motorized Rifle unit of the Center group of forces were accompanied by operators of unmanned aerial vehicles.
11:41 Calculation of FPV drones of the Sever group near Kursk's Staraya Sorochina destroyed a Ukrainian reconnaissance group of 4 people.
11:06 Reconnaissance UAV operator opened movement of a pickup truck with Ukrainian soldiers. The "drone" accompanied the vehicle to the enemy's temporary deployment point, and without detecting a large concentration of personnel, a decision was made to fire at the enemy group moving in the vehicle.
09:49 Servicemen of a tank regiment of the "Southern" group of troops provide assistance to residents of the liberated village of Elizavetovka in the DPR –Ministry of Defense.
08:42 Our scouts opened it, and the X-men destroyed a Ukrainian Armed Forces self-propelled artillery unit, camouflaged in a forest plantation near the village of Frunzenka (Ukrainian: Dibrova) in Sumy Oblast, was fired with a Lancet loitering munition.
07:55 Servicemen of the assault units of the separate guards motorized rifle brigade of the North group of forces, with the support of artillery and aviation, continue to destroy the enemy in the border area of the Kursk region –Ministry of Defense.
07:13 During the past night, air defense systems on duty destroyed Ukrainian long-range guided missile "Neptune" over the waters of the Sea of Azov.
05:03 152mm rounds land down on target.
Crews of 2S19 Msta-S self-propelled howitzers of the 20th Guards Combined Arms Army of the West Forces Group carry out daily fire missions to destroy various targets in the special operation zone.
The group's servicemen identified the launch point of enemy drones, a UAV control point in a destroyed building, armored vehicles, and a concentration of Ukrainian Armed Forces personnel.
The coordinates were transmitted to the artillerymen, who destroyed the identified targets.
01:36 Armed Forces of Ukraine retreat to the west of Kurakhovo to the highway to Zaporozhye.
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited. by Alexander Rokhlin
[REGNUM] Nightingales do not sing in Kursk in winter. This extremely profound thought comes to me unexpectedly on the veranda of the bishop's house with windows overlooking the garden. The garden steeply descends to the river, over which there is a suspension bridge and a part of the city that Kursk residents for some reason call Venice.
To be honest, I am not a bishop, but a passing bird. I am here completely by accident. From everything that is happening, there is a feeling that I got "Venice" undeservedly, not according to my rank. That is why thoughts come to my mind that do not correspond to the situation.
Nightingales don't sing in Kursk in winter. Should they?
Instead of nightingale trills, the city is filled with a three-part invention throughout the day - a polyphonic work of three incompatible voices and musical themes: the ringing of bells, an air raid siren, and the barking of "Venetian" dogs beyond the Tuskar River.
I am sitting on the bishop's veranda, it is already evening. I understand that the whole day has passed with these voices - the strange music of the city, next to which there is a war, inside which ordinary life goes on.
And each of the voices changes the way you feel about life.
Everything is clear with the bell, it always sounds unbearably, like conscience. Only conscience, in theory, speaks quietly, more often silently burning than speaking words. But the church alarm takes you by surprise: you were walking and walking, not bothering anyone, and then suddenly a dance begins in the air from sounds and colors, a slow powerful saraband, against which you are unarmed. It explodes you from within, carries you along with it, although you are standing, nailed to the spot by the sound.
The bell awakens an unbearable longing for another life, a life with God as with someone very close and dear, and not terribly distant and detached. You have a vague idea of this life, an equally vague thirst - and only at times an acute need.
You forget about that life constantly, but the bell reminds you, calls you to come to church at the appointed hour, as if your soul had an appointment there, but without your feet it cannot be there. And it also tells your memory that exactly the same way, a hundred, two hundred, three hundred years ago, with the same voice and saraband, it called your ancestors for the same thing - to come to church and stand before the unknown God as before a beloved Father.
And even when everything around was changing, collapsing, disappearing, and falsehood obscured the truth like a solar eclipse, his voice and main theme remained unchanged.
They say that the sound of the air raid alarm in Kursk is different from the same one in Belgorod. Two sirens, two melodies. The locals claim that theirs, the Kursk one, has a richer and more velvety timbre. Gallows humor?
To me, they both roar sadly and terribly, there is nothing alive in them. But this is, of course, not so, there is something. The howl of the air raid alarm spreads over the entire city and reigns, dominates the city for a few minutes, taking power over a person, his hearing and consciousness.
In these few minutes you, not accustomed to such "music", are caught off guard, immediately turn into a hare under the headlights, something falls inside to the heels. "The hare under the headlights" looks at the sky, does not understand anything and expects the worst. Nothing happens, it only intensifies the badness.
It is strange that an empty sky can deceive, carry such strong anxiety, awaken melancholy. And where are the promised nightingales?
And of course, the siren tells your memory that 80 years ago, with a rich, velvety and eerie voice, it called your ancestors to hide, to hide in any crack. What seemed impossible, gone forever, consigned to firm and eternal oblivion since that war, has come again.
It never went anywhere, it just hid until the right time.
Surprisingly, fear, anxiety and melancholy, awakened by the bell and siren, disappear without a trace in one single place - when you stand in the temple and pray. Prayer turns a hare under the headlights into a man, returns to the latter hearing, consciousness, dignity and confidence in the invisible.
In the temple you hold on to the sky with your hands, and with your teeth you hold on to Christ. It is not scary to die with Him, because it is impossible.
The third voice that constantly sounds in the Kursk Invention is the dog's. From the bishop's veranda one can hear barking, whining and barking: languid, cheerful, interested, bored, energetic, melancholy, Chekhovian, Ostrovskyian and Fitzgeraldian - all sorts...
It's strange that in the morning, in the evening and even at night it doesn't end. You suddenly wake up, and far, far away you can hear how an unknown, street-dog-dog fool is howling at the moon. The moon is not visible, and she doesn't need the moon. You look, someone across the river will respond to her, coughing hoarsely. And from that, strangely enough, my heart becomes cozy. As if I understand what one soul shared with another.
What is beyond the Tuskar River? Venice, Venice - the crown of creation: it is we, people! The sound of dogs' negotiations - the same human conversations: quiet, tired, expectant, sighing, short, sad, about nothing, about everything, remembering - about life, about the house-garden-vegetable garden, about children, cursing the war...
Today I listened to so many of them in the Trinity Monastery, where the Mission of the Synodal Department for Church Charity lives, where from morning till night the Kursk refugees flow with their troubles and sorrows, illnesses and spiritual cramps! They crowd in the vestibule, sit decorously on benches, wait to talk with the volunteer young ladies, who smile beyond the edge of fatigue from the amount of other people's troubles on their little heads.
The people of Kursk look at me, a passing bird: what kind of fruit is this? They are curious, like sparrows: what did you bring? And you brought them one drop from the sea - some cubic meters of warm clothing. And then, so as not to waste the day, you will bring a trailer of food sets from the warehouse to the temple.
To relieve them, we will all start dancing the saraband. We will stand in a stream, one after another, passing from hand to hand bags of cereal and stew, tea and sugar, butter and condensed milk. Only at these moments will we suddenly be filled with warmth. Although small, but a common cause. A few minutes of unity, taken away from trouble and cold.
A visiting non-Kursk non-bird feels like the hero of the day - a non-nightingale.
It is dark on the bishop's veranda, the tiles are white, and an empty diamond of broken glass gapes between the windows. The cold air from the river comes onto the veranda in a familiar way, like the bishop's cat.
For the harmony to be complete, I need one more, a fourth voice. The Inventions are the Johann Sebastian Bach kindergarten. The bell is the bass. The sirens are the tenors. The Tuskar dogs are the altos. Where is the soprano?
And then suddenly through the window - no, through the telephone - comes the news that a girl is being born to close people five hundred miles from here, in a city that knows the least about the war. With the quiet name Nina, with the heavenly patronymic Tikhonovna and the eternally childish surname Zaitseva.
In January, nightingales do not sing in Kursk. Newborn Ninas sing for them throughout the January land.
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited.
[Regnum] The Kalashnikov Concern shipped the first batch of modernized AK-12 assault rifles in 2025, produced under government contracts for the Russian Armed Forces. The company's press service reported this on February 4.
It is noted that the AK-12 model 2023 has become the main individual automatic weapon in the Russian army, so the concern produces it in large volumes. The company has increased the number of machines and continues large-scale modernization of production.
“Kalashnikov, as the flagship of the domestic small arms industry, not only fulfills its contractual obligations ahead of schedule, but also constantly improves the products it produces, the quality of which determines the lives of military personnel,” the press service quoted the concern’s general director, Alan Lushnikov.
As reported by Regnum News Agency, the Russian Defense Ministry adopted the AK-12 in 2018. In 2023, Kalashnikov modernized the assault rifle, taking into account the experience gained during the special operation in Ukraine. Deliveries of the improved weapon to the Russian army began in January of the following year.
In December 2023, the AK-12 was adopted by the Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs. In August 2024, the Russian National Guard also adopted this improved model of the assault rifle.
A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
