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Caucasus/Russia/Central Asia

Ukrainian Perspective: Invasion of Ukraine: May 9, 2025

2025-05-10

Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited.

Worth noting, korrespondent.net has compiled its Invasion of Ukraine series into separate months, beginning May 9th, 2023. Linked in the title.
[Korrespondence] 22.57 Russia "supports" the idea of a 30-day truce between Ukraine and the Russian Federation, but it is allegedly necessary to "take into account certain nuances in order to reach an agreement." This was stated by Kremlin press secretary Dmitry Peskov, according to the Russian propaganda news agency RIA Novosti.

22.25 The United States Embassy in Kiev reported on Friday, May 9, "specific information" about a possible serious air attack on Ukraine in the near future. This is stated in a statement on the website of the US Embassy in Ukraine.

21.59 US President Donald Trump hopes that the Russian Federation and Ukraine will agree to a 30-day ceasefire. This was stated by White House Press Secretary Caroline Levitt at a briefing.

21.48 Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine Andriy Yermak and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio spoke on the phone. The main topic of discussion was the ceasefire between Ukraine and Russia. Yermak reported this on his Telegram channel.

18:43 Journalist from Zhitomir, officer of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Bohdan Lysenko died in the Zaporizhzhya direction of the front. This was reported by the Institute of Mass Information with reference to the journalist's son Anton Lysenko.

18:33 Another nine children have been returned to government-controlled territory of Ukraine, said Daria Zarovna, adviser to the head of the Presidential Office.

Zarovna said that among those who were brought back was 14-year-old Dmitry, whose house was next to a Russian firing position and whose family lived under the constant sounds of gunfire.

"At school, the young man was forced to sing war songs and throw grenades, and some of his classmates were sent to military camps where they were trained by Wagnerites," she added.

They also returned Ekaterina, whose mother was forced to obtain a Russian passport, otherwise she would have been denied medical care during a difficult birth.

Another boy, 9-year-old Stas, despite threats and persecution from teachers and the FSB, refused to sing the Russian anthem and participate in militarized events.

18.21 A meeting of the leaders of the "coalition of the determined" countries will take place in Ukraine. This was announced by President Volodymyr Zelensky. French President Emmanuel Macron also confirmed that a meeting of the "coalition of the determined" will take place, which will be held partly virtually and partly in person.

18.00 German Chancellor Friedrich Merz believes that a ceasefire agreement in Ukraine is possible in the next two days. This was reported by Bild.

17.27 The Shevchenkivskyi District Court of Kyiv sent two citizens suspected of working for Hungarian intelligence to pretrial detention. This was reported by Suspilne.

17:00 The Security Service and the National Police have eliminated six new schemes for evading mobilization in different regions of Ukraine. Thirteen dealers who sold fake medical certificates to evaders or helped them escape abroad have been detained. The cost of such "services" was 20 thousand dollars.

16.33 Mass events are banned in Chernihiv on May 9, 10 and 11. This was reported by the head of the city military administration, Dmitry Brizhinsky. He also called on residents not to ignore air raid sirens and avoid mass gatherings.

16.10 EU countries have already committed to providing Ukraine with at least 1.35 million artillery shells by the end of 2025. This was announced by Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiha following a meeting in Lviv. According to him, work to increase this quantity is ongoing.

15.30 In Konstantinovka, Donetsk region, emergency rescue and search operations have been completed at the site of a partially destroyed nine-story building damaged as a result of a Russian airstrike on May 7.

402 tons of destroyed structures were dismantled. Emergency workers removed a woman's body from under the rubble.

14:50 A meeting of the EU foreign ministers on the creation of a special tribunal for the Russian Federation for crimes against Ukraine was held in Lviv. The coalition gave political approval to the creation of a special tribunal, the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry reported .

14.22 President Volodymyr Zelensky appealed to representatives of partner countries to create a tribunal for the crime of Russia's aggression against Ukraine. Vladimir Putin started a full-scale war against Ukraine because he escaped punishment for previous wars. This can no longer be allowed, the president noted.

14.15 In Belgorod, a strike drone hit the regional government building. Deputy Governor of the Belgorod Region Alexander Lorenz, who was near the epicenter at the time of the explosion, was injured. He was diagnosed with a concussion and acubar trauma. A Rosgvardia employee was also injured in the attack.

13.52 Russian troops dropped guided aerial bombs on Sumy Oblast, killing a woman. This was reported by the Sumy Oblast Prosecutor's Office. It is noted that on the evening of May 8, the enemy dropped, according to preliminary data, 8 guided aerial bombs on the Rechkovskaya community of Sumy District. Only in the morning of May 9, the body of a 63-year-old woman with no signs of life was found on the territory of one of the households. A criminal case has been opened.

13.13 A 30-day ceasefire in Ukraine will be a test for Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin's readiness to negotiate a lasting peace. This was stated by German Chancellor Friedrich Merz. If the Russians do not agree to a 30-day truce, then Western allies will not hesitate to increase sanctions pressure, he warned.

12.22 Delegations from 35 countries and the Council of Europe arrived in Lviv on Friday. This was reported by the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry. A meeting of EU foreign ministers and a meeting of the Core Group on the creation of a Special Tribunal for the crime of aggression against Ukraine will take place.

11.16 British Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced that his country is introducing the largest package of sanctions against Russia ever.

10.24 Russia is producing munitions at an extraordinary rate – more than 1,400 Iskander ballistic missiles a year, as well as 500 Kh-101 cruise missiles a year, The Economist reports, citing Ukraine’s assessment and a report by the Royal United Services Institute for Defence and Security Studies.

9:50 For the first time in the history of Ukraine, the Security Service has exposed a network of agents of the Hungarian military intelligence, which carried out espionage activities to the detriment of our state.

The organization's task was to collect information on the military security of the Zakarpattia region, search for vulnerabilities in the land and air defense of the region, and study the socio-political views of local residents: in particular, scenarios of their behavior if Hungarian troops enter the region.

As a result of complex measures in Zakarpattia, the SBU detained two agents from the network of the Hungarian special service. The curator of both defendants was a career employee of the Hungarian military intelligence, whose identity has already been identified.

8.52 Over the past 24 hours, 193 combat clashes have been recorded at the front, with the Ukrainian Defense Forces repelling most of the Russian assaults in the Pokrovsk direction. This was reported on May 9 by the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. It is noted that aviation, missile troops and artillery of the Defense Forces hit 16 areas of concentration of personnel and equipment of the Russian invaders, two command posts, five artillery weapons, a military supply warehouse and four other important Russian facilities.

8.22 Troops attacked the Nikopol district of the Dnipropetrovsk region with drones and artillery. As a result of the shelling, one person was injured, a fire started and residential buildings were damaged. This was reported by the head of the OVA Serhiy Lysak. According to him, the invaders fired at the district center, Pokrovsk, Krasnogrigorevsk, Mirovsk and Marganets communities. An 83-year-old man was injured. He is undergoing outpatient treatment. A garage and an outbuilding caught fire. Rescuers tamed the fire.

7.51 Ukrainian military destroyed 1,300 Russian invaders in one day, as well as 4 tanks, 36 artillery systems, MLRS and air defense systems of the enemy. This was reported on May 9 by the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

7.22 Fighters of the border unit of unmanned aerial systems Phoenix, using drones, destroyed military equipment of the Russians in the eastern direction. This was reported by the operational-strategic group of forces Khortytsia, which published a video filmed by border guards. We are talking about a tank, an MSTA-B cannon and a dozen trucks of the occupiers.

02.58 Georgian volunteer Tarbey (Tabo) Arkania died in the battles near Pokrovsk. He is a refugee from Abkhazia. He lived in Ukraine, was a national and European champion in taekwondo. He is survived by his wife and two small children.

01.11 The 10% decrease in the number of mobilized in December-January is explained by the Christmas and New Year holidays. After that, the mobilization figures returned "to a certain level." This was stated by the head of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on National Security, Defense and Intelligence, Oleksandr Zavitnevich.

Link

Africa Subsaharan

JNIM's Growing Pressure on Benin

2025-04-26

[UNDERSTANDINGWAR.ORG] Benin
Benin

...Benin, a French-speaking West African nation, that they put where Dahomey used to be. It is a birthplace of voodoo and zombies. In Abomey, Dahomey's former capital, the Historical Museum occupies two royal palaces with bas-reliefs recounting the kingdom’s past and a throne mounted on human skulls. To the north, Pendjari National Park offers safaris with elephants, hippos and lions and tigers and bears, oh my!...
. Al Qaeda's affiliate in the Sahel carried out its deadliest-ever attack in Benin as it continues to increase the lethality of its operations in Benin throughout 2025. The latest attacks are significantly more lethal despite no increase in frequency. Benin is a key US security partner in West Africa. Jama'at Nusrat al Islam wa al Moslemeen's (JNIM's)

…in Arabic it’s called JNIM and in French is GSIM. Recent estimates of its size range from 2,000-6,000 turbans…

growing strength in Benin

…that range was last year. That sounds like there may be more now…

undermines US efforts to contain the Salafi-jihadi insurgency in the Sahel and to demonstrate to African states that the West is a more effective and reliable security partner than Russia.

Link

Israel-Palestine-Jordan

24 Germans and their families have been evacuated from Gaza, Berlin says

2025-04-18

[IsraelTimes] The German government says it has evacuated a group of 24 Germans and their close family members from the war-battered Gaza Strip.

“After months of being stuck in Gaza, a group of 24 Germans and their family members were able to leave Gaza today in close coordination with the Israeli authorities,” a spokeswoman for the German foreign ministry says.

Nine members of the group are understood to be German citizens, while the rest are Palestinian family members.

The group was taken by bus through Israel and the West Bank to Jordan, where they will take a flight to Germany, the spokeswoman says.

Foreign ministry spokesman Christian Wagner earlier told journalists that “roughly two dozen” Germans were leaving the territory.

Today’s evacuation is the third carried out by Germany since the closure of the Rafah border crossing in May 2024.

In total, the German government has enabled almost 700 Germans and their family members to leave Gaza since October 7, 2023.

Link

Home Front: WoT

New Mexico man charged with Tesla, local GOP arson attacks

2025-04-15

See also here.

[TOWNHALL] An Albuquerque man with a disturbing criminal history has been charged in connection with two politically charged arson attacks—one targeting a Tesla dealership and the other the Republican Party of New Mexico's headquarters. The suspect, who had previously expressed anti-establishment and krazed killer views, is now facing federal charges as authorities investigate what appears to be a deliberate assault on political and economic symbols that don't align with far-left ideology.

On Monday, authorities charged Jamison Wagner in connection with two separate arson attacks—one at a Tesla showroom and the other at the Republican Party of New Mexico headquarters. In the first incident, Wagner allegedly set fire to two Tesla vehicles and vandalized the building with graffiti, including phrases like ''Tesla Nazi Inc.'' and red and black swastikas. Two months later, the GOP office was similarly targeted in an arson attack. Investigators linked Wagner to both crimes after discovering matching improvised incendiary devices—glass containers filled with flammable liquid and sealed with distinctive green lids—at both scenes. Investigators also noted a hand-written capital ''I'' or ''H'' letter on the top of the green metal lid.

''Let this be the final lesson to those taking part in this ongoing wave of political violence,'' Attorney General Pamela Bondi said. ''We will arrest you, we will prosecute you, and we will not negotiate. Crimes have consequences.''

On April 12, the FBI and ATF searched Wagner's home and uncovered significant evidence tying him to both arson attacks. Among the items found were a white cardboard box containing eight suspected incendiary devices, blue Styrofoam egg cartons matching the polystyrene used in the improvised napalm at the Tesla fire, and jars with green gingham-style lids similar to one recovered at the Republican Party of New Mexico fire. Investigators also found several jars labeled with handwritten capital letters ''I'' or ''H,'' consistent with markings seen on lids at both scene of the crimes.

Link

Caucasus/Russia/Central Asia

Rundown on Redut - Current Leading Russian PMC

2025-03-05

[GreyDynamics] Redut PMC: The Kremlin’s Private Army

Redut is a Russian Private Military Company (PMC) also known as Centre R, PMC Redut, and Redut Security. The organisation is part of the “anti-terror family,” a grouping of PMCs that protects Russian commercial interests and also advances Russian geopolitical goals. Nominally controlled by the foreign military intelligence agency of the Russian Federation, the Main Directorate of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation (GRU), it acts as a proxy umbrella organisation that manages several different PMCs. Established in 2008, it has operated in a variety of fields and theatres, including Syria and, during the Russo-Georgia War of 2008, in Georgia. It is currently active in both Ukraine and Africa through its sub-units.

1.6 REDUT RE-ORGANISATION AND GROWTH (2024-)
As of December 2024, Redut reportedly has an estimated 25,000 mercenaries and other contractors. It has emerged as the main Russian PMC organisation, is very active in Africa and Syria, and has operated alongside other Russian PMCs on the continent, such as the BEAR Brigade.

The reported leader of Redut, Konstantin Mirzayants, is allegedly tied to the Russian MOD, its operations in Africa, and the creation of “Africa Corps,” which is also reportedly assuming Wagner’s operations on the continent.

2 ORGANISATION OF REDUT
As Redut is not a sole military group, much like Wagner, it operates as an umbrella organisation. This means that it encompasses and also delegates tasks to several different units that operate underneath it.

Additionally, an investigation by the Ukraine-based Skhemy project and the Russian media Sistema confirmed that Redut is less of a private military company than it is a GRU front. This involved the recruiting of fighters for Redut by the GRU, operating through a network of ‘shadow companies,’ non-existent military units and additionally, fictitious legal entities to legally distance Moscow from ‘special operations.’

A useful table of organization can be seen at the link, even showing which units are partially and fully staffed. Following that comes brief descriptions of key units, weaponry, and so forth.

5 CONCLUSION
Redut, also known as PMC Redut, is a Russian Private Military Company (PMC). Part of the “anti-terror family,” a grouping of PMCs that protect Russian commercial interests, it is currently active in Ukraine and also Africa and stands accused of war crimes against Ukrainian forces. Its sub-units have been seen in active combat all across the Eastern front of the Ukrainian War. Using a variety of equipment–such as small arms, artillery and drones–it is a highly lethal collection of privatised fighters used by both the Russian Government and the GRU to advance their aims in areas, and in ways, deemed unsuitable for regular forces.

Link

Caucasus/Russia/Central Asia

Ukrainian Perspective: Invasion of Ukraine: March 3, 2025

2025-03-04

Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited.

Worth noting, korrespondent.net has compiled its Invasion of Ukraine series into separate months, beginning May 9th, 2023. Linked in the title.
[Korrespondent] 22:58 President Volodymyr Zelensky held a meeting of the Headquarters of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief on Monday, March 3. Its participants discussed special issues of Ukraine's stability. This was stated in the evening address of the head of state.

22:47 German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius convened a virtual conference of defense ministers from five European NATO countries, where they reaffirmed their continued political and military support for Ukraine, MDR reports.

21:44 During the first three days of March, the activity of Russian troops on the front in the area of responsibility of the Khortitsa operational-strategic group of troops decreased slightly compared to February. This was reported by Viktor Tregubov, a representative of the Khortitsa operational-strategic group of troops, on the air of Unified News.

21:26 A solution to end the war cannot be found without either Kiev or Moscow. This was stated by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan during his speech at an iftar with ambassadors.

20:58 Ukraine continues cooperation with all partners and hopes for US support in achieving peace. This was stated by President Volodymyr Zelensky on the social network X on the evening of March 3.

19:44 During the battle for Bakhmut, the Russian PMC Wagner suffered a crushing defeat, losing more than 20 thousand fighters, which made this region the most difficult for the enemy. The Ukrainian Armed Forces, in turn, suffered minimal losses, maintaining an advantage of one to seven.

19:28 Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Oleksandr Syrsky respects the work of the DeepState platform, but notes that the military still has questions about the resource. This is stated in the video interview of the commander-in-chief.

18:25 US President Donald Trump is ready to resume talks on natural resources with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, and it will take "not that much," the US leader's national security adviser Mike Waltz said on Fox News.

17:50 The Airborne Assault Troops of the Armed Forces of Ukraine continue testing and training personnel for landing on modern T-11 parachute systems.

17.24 Since the beginning of the current day, 57 combat clashes have occurred on the front, mainly in the area of Pokrovsk and Kurshchina. The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine reported the details in the operational summary as of 16:00.

16.59 Russian singer Grigory Leps (real name Lepsveridze) has been suspected in absentia for publicly supporting and financing Russia's war against Ukraine. This was reported by the SBU.

16.43 Support for the war against Ukraine among Russians has reached its maximum. According to Russians, the so-called peace talks and the end of the war should take place on the Kremlin's terms. This is evidenced by data from the Russian Levada Center, which positions itself as independent.

16.30 A possible halt to American aid to Ukraine would only benefit Putin's Russia. This was stated by President Volodymyr Zelensky during a conversation with journalists after the summit in London. At the same time, he expressed hope that the United States would not help the aggressor country.

16.20 In the period from November 29, 2024 to March 1, 2025, almost 21,100 military personnel returned to service after unauthorized abandonment of the military unit (SU).

Most of the fighters returned to the Armed Forces of Ukraine, and the military also actively returned to the National Guard and Border Service.

After March 1, military personnel who left their units without permission must also return to service, but the mechanism for their legalization in the unit will be different.

15:39 The European Commission plans to present a plan for the rearmament of Europe to EU member states tomorrow. This was stated by EC President Ursula von der Leyen during a conversation with journalists in Brussels.

15:00 Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Oleksandr Syrskyi has suspended the head of the unit training center and the commander of the military unit from their duties due to the Russian missile strike on a training ground in Dnipropetrovsk Oblast. A complex commission headed by the head of the Main Directorate of the Military Law Enforcement Service of the Armed Forces of Ukraine is working on the scene.

14:47 Russian troops continue to try to break through to the Ukrainian border in the direction where the Defense Forces are conducting an operation in the Kursk region. The occupiers are trying to enter the territory of Ukraine to cut off logistics routes, but these attacks are not massive. This was reported by the representative of the State Border Service, Colonel Andrey Demchenko, on the air of the telethon.

14:33 Russia has launched another military satellite into orbit. This was reported by the Russian Defense Ministry. The successful launch of the Soyuz-2.1b carrier rocket was carried out from the Plesetsk Cosmodrome in the Arkhangelsk Region.

13.45 Law enforcement officers have opened a criminal case into the death and injury of Ukrainian servicemen as a result of a Russian missile strike on a training ground in Dnipropetrovsk region. This was reported by the State Bureau of Investigation.

13:30 The Security Service detained three accomplices of the Russian special services in the Poltava region, who were carrying out information sabotage against Ukraine.

13.13 Last week alone, Russia launched more than 1,050 attack drones, almost 1,300 aerial bombs and more than 20 missiles at Ukraine, President Volodymyr Zelensky reported.

12.55 Russian dictator Vladimir Putin is "aware of all the nuances" of the dispute between the presidents of Ukraine and the United States in the White House. This was stated by Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov at a briefing. In his opinion, this incident between Volodymyr Zelensky and Donald Trump shows how difficult it will be to "settle the situation in Ukraine."

12:29 The Armed Forces of Ukraine have launched a large-scale project, the Drone Line, which provides for the creation of a network of specialized units that will receive modern equipment, the necessary resources, and specialists. This was reported by the press service of the Ministry of Defense on Monday, March 3.

11:47 A man born in 1977 died suddenly in the Kremenchuk district territorial center for staffing and social support. The Poltava regional TCC and SP reported the details.

11:43 Foreign components were found in the examined samples of guided missiles of the Russian Tornado-S multiple launch rocket system. According to the GUR, components made in the USA, Great Britain, China and Switzerland were found.

11.22 US President Donald Trump plans to meet with senior officials of his administration on Monday to discuss possible options for action regarding aid to Ukraine, The New York Times reported, citing an unnamed representative of the presidential administration.

It is claimed that this could involve ending American military aid to Ukraine, which was approved and paid for during the Joe Biden administration.

11:13 A Russian drone hit an eco-park in the suburbs of Kharkov. In the village of Lesnoye, the hit was recorded on the territory of the eco-park not far from the petting yard. The enclosures were destroyed, the animals died.

11:12 Deputy Chief of the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defense, Major General Vadim Skibitsky, said that Russia is increasing the production of some types of missiles. In particular, the Kh-101 cruise missiles and the Kinzhal missiles. According to him, the production of missiles in Russia in 2025 has not undergone significant changes compared to 2024, although a redistribution of production was recorded.

10:55 A 61-year-old woman, seriously wounded as a result of the shelling of a minibus in the Dniprovsky district the day before, died in a hospital in Kherson. The number of wounded has risen to ten.

Thus, as a result of the Russian attack on the minibus, 12 people were injured: two died and 10 received injuries of varying degrees of severity.

10:44 The Commander of the Ground Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Major General Mykhailo Drapatiy, confirmed the fact of the Russian strike on the training ground where the Ukrainian military were located. He wrote about this on Facebook.

10:35 Over the course of several days, explosions and arson attacks were to occur in four regions of Ukraine on orders from the Russians. However, the Russian scenario was averted, and all suspects were detained.

In the Kiev region, an agent of the Russian special services was detained who was preparing to blow up one of the military units in Bucha. In Lviv, SBU cyber specialists prevented a series of terrorist attacks that were being prepared near the local TCC and SP buildings, as well as the city's main railway station.

In Chernihiv, an accomplice of the Russian special services was exposed, who was involved in preparing a number of terrorist attacks in the region. In Vinnytsia, a group of arsonists was neutralized who, on orders from Russia, burned two relay cabinets of signal installations regulating traffic on important sections of Ukrzaliznytsia.

10:27 The Nomad unit, consisting of representatives of various indigenous peoples of the Russian Federation, has become part of the International Legion of the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine (GUR MOU). This was reported in the Legion's Telegram channel.

9:48 Russians have increased the production of drones and plan to launch 500 drones simultaneously in Ukraine. This was stated by the Deputy Head of the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defense Vadim Skibitsky.

9:35 The Russian National Guard is guarding wounded Russian soldiers who are in hospitals in the temporarily occupied Crimea to prevent them from escaping, the ATESH partisan movement reports.

In Crimea, against the backdrop of increasing cases of escapes from hospitals during treatment, security for Russian military personnel has been strengthened. The reason for the escapes is the systematic sending of wounded and under-treated servicemen to the front.

9:30 As a result of the fall of the downed Russian drone in Cherkassy, a fire broke out on the territory of a furniture factory. This was reported by the head of the Cherkassy OVA Igor Taburets. According to him, the fire has been extinguished. Windows and roofs of two buildings and trucks were also damaged. The blast wave knocked out windows at several neighboring enterprises, and vehicles were damaged.

9:15 At night, the Russian army attacked Krivoy Rog. As a result of the attack, a 52-year-old woman was injured. A fire broke out in the city, which rescuers extinguished. An industrial enterprise, a medical facility, six high-rise buildings, and a car were damaged.

9:12 The Ukrainian Defense Forces shot down 46 Russian drones, and another 31 UAVs were lost. This was reported by the Ukrainian Air Force. As a result of the enemy attack, there was damage in the Kharkiv, Sumy, Kyiv, Cherkasy, Dnipropetrovsk and Zaporizhia regions.

8:50 The Russian troops have intensified their offensive actions in the Kursk region; in total, 109 combat clashes occurred on the front over the past day. This was reported on March 3 by the General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces. It is noted that in the Kursk direction, Ukrainian defenders repelled 30 attacks over the past day. The occupiers fired 444 artillery shells, including 12 from multiple launch rocket systems. They also carried out 19 airstrikes, dropping 30 guided aerial bombs.

8:14 The Special Operations Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, together with artillerymen, destroyed the Russian self-propelled artillery unit 2S43 Malva. This was reported by the command of the Special Operations Forces.

7:45 The Ukrainian military destroyed 1,350 Russian invaders in one day. The total combat losses of the Russians from 24.02.22 to 03.03.25 amounted to approximately 878,070 people. This was reported on March 3 by the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

7:23 In occupied Mariupol, the Russians held military exercises Storm-2025, in which local men were involved. This was reported by the Center for National Resistance. It is noted that the participants in the exercises were representatives of the security forces of the so-called DPR, with the involvement of civilian men who are listed in the occupation administration of the city as "reservists".

04:20 Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said he is ready to leave his post in exchange for Ukraine joining NATO and ending the war. The president also criticized the interference of foreign officials in domestic political processes in Ukraine, stressing that the issue of choosing a president should be decided only by Ukrainian citizens.

04:00 Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban said that European leaders "decided to continue the war instead of choosing peace" during the London summit. According to him, this is "bad, dangerous and wrong."

02:30 Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said that Ukraine will never agree to the legal or actual recognition of the occupied territories as part of the Russian Federation. He stressed that this is not only a principled position of the Ukrainian people, but a matter of compliance with international law.

01:20 FBI Director Cash Patel said he has asked the US Congress to investigate where the money sent to help Ukraine went. According to him, the US cannot have full confidence in Volodymyr Zelensky, who allegedly does not say where the money goes.

Link

Caucasus/Russia/Central Asia

'PTSD is something everyone has.' Post-SVO sniper helps soldiers return to the world

2025-02-07

Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited.
by Ol'ga Borisova

[REGNUM] Two snipers, having worked on targets as part of a sabotage and reconnaissance group, were returning to their own. They went deep into the enemy's rear - they had to walk about five kilometers to their positions. The path lay along a narrow path, which the soldiers called "the run."

There is no way to turn left or right - everything around is mined. The path is covered by enemy mortars and machine guns. You can only run.

"I came up, crossed myself and ran - whether I would be lucky or not. I was unlucky. First, a mortar, a shot threw me back, and then a machine gun caught up with me," sniper Ivan Ivankov, call sign Django, tells IA Regnum.

The wound was serious, the bullet entered the abdominal cavity. But the man and his partner decided not to call an evacuation team - it would have to move along the same "run".

Ivankov knew that even two fighters would immediately become a target for Ukrainian drones, so he told his partner to go forward, letting him go twenty to thirty meters away from him. He himself went behind. Or rather, first he walked, and then simply crawled towards his own.

TO THE FRONT AFTER PRISON
Ivan Ivankov is 49 years old. He was born and raised in Irkutsk, and served in the border troops of the KGB of the USSR. He received an education as a psychologist, but never worked in his profession. He got a job as a security guard, then as a bodyguard.

And then, recalls the interlocutor of IA Regnum, “I met some comrades and decided to organize my own organized crime group.”

"We got involved in banditry. Of course, there's nothing good about it... We had episodes from 2012 to 2015. I was convicted of armed robbery of ATMs in Irkutsk," Ivankov says.

In 2015, he was arrested, spent two and a half years in a pretrial detention center, and in 2017, was sent to a penal colony — a prison for former employees of the internal affairs agencies. In the colony, especially in the pretrial detention center, it was harder than at the front, says Ivankov. Although, he admits, it is a “special experience.”

"Places of imprisonment teach you everything, it's a serious training, " says Ivankov. "For me, at least, it was quite comfortable later, both in the forest hole where I had to sleep, and in other situations."

In the pretrial detention center, the man's education as a psychologist came in handy. Firstly, to help himself - "with meditation and relaxation." Secondly, Ivankov was appointed senior in the cell, and had to resolve conflicts among aggressively minded men.

He was released from prison in March 2023 on parole.

" Many of my friends went to the front directly from the colony - both through Wagner and through the Ministry of Defense. Many friends left, and many stayed there: they died during the capture of Soledar, Bakhmut. I had a patriotic desire to punish that scum that was there..." - the man recalls.

After returning from the colony, he underwent basic military training at the Rokot organization in Irkutsk. There, they taught him fire training and tactical medicine. Then Ivankov signed a contract with the Redut PMC, where he "began to prepare more professionally."

The skills of handling weapons and marksmanship, developed during his military service, came in very handy. At the training ground, all recruits took a test: they had to hit a target, an A4 sheet of paper, from a distance of 100 meters to get a group of four even "holes". Ivankov passed the test successfully and received the sniper specialization.

When asked how his relatives reacted to his decision to go to the North Military District, the Regnum news agency’s interlocutor answered confidently:

"Nobody tried to talk me out of it, and it wouldn't have helped. My ex-wife said that I should think about it, but she is patriotic, and she understood that I was already determined to do it, and I couldn't be swayed. My mother also took it well. Of course, she was worried in her heart, but nevertheless... My friends and brother raised money for me, bought me equipment, helped with everything."

It took two months to prepare, then to the SVO zone. And three months later that same sortie into the enemy's rear, the wounding and the return on a "run" happened.

"When I crawled to my own people, they immediately sent me to the medical unit. There they found out that the wound was serious, they took me to Artemovsk for surgery. And a day later - to the hospital in St. Petersburg," recalls the interlocutor of IA Regnum.

Then began a long process of rehabilitation, returning to Irkutsk, and again trips to St. Petersburg for new operations. Ivankov himself admits that he was lucky: they allocated a quota to a military hospital, although by that time the contract had ended and the man was listed as a "civilian". Despite this, the doctors literally got Ivankov back on his feet: "they did everything perfectly, stitched everything up."

He was especially worried about his physical fitness because he had always been involved in sports and did not want to quit.

"Last April, when I had my last operation, I was forbidden to lift objects heavier than five kilograms. The restriction was for six months, it was April then, but in May I had already signed up for a gym and started lifting weights little by little. I started with five, then ten... Now I lift 140 kilograms - I have fully recovered," Ivankov says.

"THEY MUST UNDERSTAND THAT THEY ARE NEEDED IN PEACEFUL LIFE"
Already in the first days after the injury, the man realized what PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder) was - he experienced an acute attack. In the hospital, the most ordinary sounds seemed unbearable.

"I remember it as if it were yesterday: someone turns on, for example, an electric razor, and you perceive it in your sleep as if a drone is flying over you. And such a burning, incredible desire to fall, hide under the bed. You perceive the slam of the door as an explosion or gunfire. Various methods of meditation and relaxation helped me, thanks to them I more or less coped with it," recalls the interlocutor of IA Regnum.

And just recently, when he went to Baikal with friends, he experienced similar feelings: someone decided to take pictures with drones, the man heard a characteristic buzzing - “it immediately gave me goosebumps.”

While still in the hospital in St. Petersburg, Ivankov realized that he wanted to help the soldiers who would return from the front - "they will experience the same thing as me." He began looking for courses to train military psychologists, and saw a program at the St. Petersburg training center "Kupol." In October, he left the hospital and immediately signed up for the course. He studied remotely from November 2023 to February 2024, and received a diploma in military psychology.

I posted an ad and started holding online consultations. I worked mainly with the wives and widows of fighters. Their main request was "help me cope with loss, bereavement."

MAY 9
And then Ivankov, as he says himself, "got into the flow." He saw a message from the Fatherland Defenders Fund that they were recruiting for training in entrepreneurship from the public organization "Business Russia." The man applied, talked to the organizers. He said that he wanted to help the fighters.

Through joint efforts, the concept of a non-profit Center for Psychological Rehabilitation of SVO Participants and Their Family Members was born. The Center has already been registered, and the start of work is scheduled for February 2025.

"It is very important that support is not only from family, but that there are organizations that help cope with everything. I would like our project to develop, to grow into an all-Russian network. I know this from my own experience: you can't drag a person who came from the front to a psychologist, he will twirl his finger at his temple and go drink some moonshine," Ivankov says.

All those who returned have post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), Ivan is convinced, but some people cope with it easier, while others have a really hard time. That is why, the man decided, the Center should become a real community - a club for veterans of the Fatherland.

"His activities will be aimed at maximum adaptation to peaceful life. Sooner or later, everything will end, the guys will come back - it will be hard for everyone. We all remember how the Afghan war ended, the Chechen wars: there were all sorts of organized crime groups, drug addiction, alcoholism, suicidal syndrome...

We need to be prepared and help the kids, involve them in social activities. They must understand that they are needed, that they are already in a peaceful life, the world is no longer divided into friends and foes, there are much more colors in it," Ivankov explains.

According to him, the Center will also employ child and family psychologists who will be able to help the children and wives of soldiers.

Link

Government Corruption

What Happened When DEI Came to the Military?

2025-01-29

[The Free Press] Retired Air Force Brigadier General Christopher Walker, 59, spent almost two years as a senior adviser to the Air Force’s Office of Diversity and Inclusion at the Pentagon, attending dozens of meetings about implementing DEI initiatives. This was an unusual role given Walker’s career path: He had over 400 hours of combat flights and, most recently, had overseen West Virginia’s Air National Guard.

But in 2021, when the Air Force established its Office of Diversity and Inclusion, staffers assumed that Walker would be on board with their belief that DEI was a "warfighting imperative." Why? Because Walker is black. But that assumption was wrong.

Walker was a mole.

Alarmed by DEI programs that were little more, in his view, than "Soviet indoctrination," he leaked information to an organization called Stand Together Against Racism and Radicalism in the Services (STARRS). This group consists of retired military veterans and civilians who oppose woke ideology in the military. They, in turn, alerted lawmakers like Sen. Tom Cotton and Rep. Mike Waltz about what they were hearing from Walker and other active duty service members who opposed the military’s diversity policies.

"No one delved into how I thought," Walker told The Free Press. "They took one look at me and assumed I believed these things. I learned to listen and had to bite my tongue a lot."

Walker, who prefers to go by his pilot call sign, Mookie, took notes and mostly kept his head down, so he could keep reporting what was going on. "I thought, If this is allowed to stand, all of the senior people within the [Department of Defense] are going to bring along this propaganda and get rid of anybody who doesn’t go along with it."

Mookie recalled a private meeting in 2022 attended by generals and other key Pentagon staffers. At the meeting, Alex Wagner, the Air Force assistant secretary, asked the group to brainstorm ways to get the general public to accept drag shows on Air Force bases.

Close to retirement and with nothing to lose, Mookie finally spoke up. "I reminded the group that since the 1980s, the Air Force has not allowed lingerie shows," he said. "They don’t allow burlesque shows. So why would we allow drag shows?"

His comment seemed to have an effect. In June 2023, the Department of Defense officially banned drag shows on all military installations.

But that was the exception, not the rule. In 2022, Mookie recalls attending a training course at Georgetown University for Air Force generals and senior officers called "Managing for Inclusion." The professor, he said, informed the group that white people were oppressors and black and Hispanic people were the oppressed, so they couldn’t be racist. The professor also taught the class how to ask someone for their pronouns at the beginning of a conversation.

Link

Caucasus/Russia/Central Asia

Ukrainian Perspective: Invasion of Ukraine: January 26, 2024

2025-01-27

Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited.

Worth noting, korrespondent.net has compiled its Invasion of Ukraine series into separate months, beginning May 9th, 2023. Linked in the title.
[Korrespondent] 13.49 Russian troops have struck positions of the Defense Forces and populated areas of Ukraine this week using about 1,250 aerial bombs and more than 750 attack drones, President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Sunday, January 26.

13.27 Israel has begun supplying Ukraine with Russian weapons seized in Gaza, Lebanon and Syria, according to OSINT data.

12.43 Units of the Unmanned Systems Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine have again hit the facilities of the Ryazan Oil Refinery Company, which is involved in providing the Russian occupation army. This was reported by the press service of the General Staff on Sunday, January 26.

11:37 In the area of Chasovy Yar, enemy units of Akhmat appeared, which include former members of the Wagner PMC and Russian neo-Nazis from the Rusich formation. This was reported on the air of Suspilne Novyny by Andrey Polukhin, a representative of the press service of the 24th separate mechanized brigade named after King Daniel.

10:29 Russian troops attacked the Dniprovskyi district at night with artillery and drones. This was reported by the head of the Dnipropetrovsk OVA Serhiy Lysak on Sunday, January 26.

The shelling did not cause any damage, the situation is under control.

09:43 The Defense Forces shot down 50 drones with which Russian troops attacked Ukraine since the evening of January 25, another nine enemy UAV simulators were lost without negative consequences. This was reported by the Air Force of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

08.33 The thousand and sixty-eighth day of large-scale armed aggression of the Russian Federation against Ukraine has begun. Ukrainian defenders are steadfastly holding back the onslaught of the occupiers, inflicting significant losses on them. In total, 167 combat clashes have been recorded over the past day. This was noted in the General Staff report on Sunday, January 26.

07.31 Over the past 24 hours, the Russian army lost 1,720 soldiers killed and wounded at the front. This was reported by the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in the morning report on Sunday, January 26.

07.27 Russian troops carried out 325 strikes on 13 settlements in the Zaporizhia region in 24 hours, including attacks by aircraft and drones. Houses and infrastructure were damaged, there were no civilian casualties. This was reported by the head of the Zaporizhia OVA Ivan Fedorov on Sunday, January 26.

07.19 The military recorded an enemy ship in the Black Sea in the morning of January 26. Russia has withdrawn the vessel from Kalibrama again after weeks of absence. This was reported by the press service of the Naval Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine on Sunday, January 26.

05.10 Russians attacked Kharkov with drones. City authorities reported that one of the strikes hit a private home in the Osnovyansky district of the city. According to preliminary information, the windows, roof and part of the building were damaged. There were no casualties.

04.58 Russian troops captured the settlement of Vremovka in Donetsk region and advanced in Velyka Novosilka, Toretsk, Kotlino, near Nadeyevka, Petrovpavlovka and Kotlino, the DeepState project reported.

02.52 Drones have again attacked an oil refinery and oil depot in the Russian city of Ryazan. A large fire broke out. The Center for the Prevention of Cruelty to the NSCDC commented on this: "The Ryazan refinery is trying to achieve this. This is fuel for military equipment and more." The previous attack was two days ago.

Link

Europe

Psychological Trauma: What the Swedes Can't Forgive the Russians

2025-01-25

Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited.
by Victor Lavrinenko

[REGNUM] According to the findings of sociologists studying public opinion, one of the most Russophobic countries is, oddly enough, Sweden. It is the Swedes who are the most bloodthirsty towards Russians, demanding that the war continue until the last Ukrainian. In Russia, such information can cause confusion.

Most of us know Sweden only a few stereotypes: wealthy comfort, fat "social life", Carlson and Pippi Longstocking, wall bars, Swedish tables

...I think that might mean a smorgasbord…

and the Swedish family. However, Swedish Russophobia did not arise out of nowhere. It has a long tradition and is based on a long-standing historical trauma.

Simply put, Sweden cannot forgive Russia for the fact that several centuries ago the Russians decisively and ruthlessly broke up the Swedish Empire.

BLOODTHIRSTY MOODS
In January 2025, a survey was conducted on behalf of the Swedish TV channel TV4 news service, in which over a thousand people took part; they tried to form a sample taking into account all the main strata of Swedish society.

The question was simple: should the fighting in Ukraine be stopped through immediate negotiations?

75% of respondents spoke out against negotiations and expressed a desire to see “Ukraine’s victory.” For this, they are ready to wait – even if the conflict continues for a long time.

The most bloodthirsty of all (85%) are young Swedish women: the strongest support for the Kyiv regime is observed among women aged 18 to 34. This is a well-known phenomenon - always and everywhere the most militant are those who personally do not face the fate of ending up in the trenches under any circumstances.

The TV channel published the words of some of the women interviewed.

"I can only hope that they can continue to fight. I would like this to be the end of the terrible Putin. He is working to destroy the world," says Heather Persson.

However, a number of Swedish women did speak out in favor of peace. “I think the most important thing is to save as many lives as possible, and then to achieve that you have to make some compromises,” said Charlene Smith.

But overall, only 25% of the total number of Swedes surveyed expressed a desire to see peace talks in the near future. Where does such belligerence come from?

"THE CHOICE OF THE UKRAINIAN PEOPLE"
The origins of Swedish Russophobia – in the original sense of the word, that is, fear of Russians – can be traced very well.

Sweden was once a powerful empire, and the Baltic Sea was effectively a "Swedish lake." The country had been moving toward this for several centuries: the Swedes demonstrated good endurance over the long haul, consistently defeating other contenders for regional dominance - Denmark, the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, pre-Petrine Russia (it is worth recalling, for example, the results of the Livonian War and the Time of Troubles).

And everything was going well for Sweden until their regional empire fell into the teeth of the “Russian bear,” the giant renewed by Peter the Great, who slowly crumbled it and reduced the formerly powerful state to the level of a second-rate country.

It is very important in the context of the current situation to remember that the decisive battle between Peter I and the Swedish King Charles XII, who enjoyed a reputation as the best European commander at that time, took place precisely on the territory of Ukraine.

No less important is the fact that the Ukrainian hetman Ivan Mazepa, having committed an act of treason against Peter, defected to the banner of Charles, presenting himself to him as a full-fledged representative of Ukraine. In fact, only a few thousand people followed Mazepa, but, according to today's propagandists, this means nothing. They write about the "historical choice of the Ukrainian people", about "fighting elbow to elbow with a common enemy" - such narratives are now in great demand both in Sweden and in the territories controlled by the Kiev regime.

As is well known, the outcome of the Northern War was catastrophic for Sweden.

The fighting began with the defeat of Russian troops near Narva, and towards the end of the war, Russian troops landed on Swedish soil in the immediate vicinity of Stockholm.

Faced with disaster, the Swedes agreed to recognize Peter's victory, and on August 30, 1721, a peace treaty was signed in the city of Nystad, ending the 21-year war. This treaty preserved Russia's conquests in the Baltics and today's Leningrad Region. Peter I agreed to return only Finland to the Swedes, which, incidentally, was originally captured as a future "bargaining chip."

ATTEMPTS AT REVENGE
Sweden emerged from the Northern War practically half destroyed.

The Swedes lost a huge number of young men and most of their empire. Sweden was reduced from being a great power to a minor one.

It is not surprising that revanchist sentiments began to grow stronger in Stockholm, especially since after Peter’s death the Russian Empire entered a period of political instability.

The Swedes considered that the right moment for revenge had come in the summer of 1741, when the infant Ivan VI nominally ruled Russia, but his mother, the inexperienced regent Anna Leopoldovna, was in charge. In starting this war, Stockholm aimed to win back everything lost in the Northern War, and also to seize, if possible, the lands between Lake Ladoga and the White Sea.

However, this war also turned into a series of defeats for Sweden - largely due to the efforts of the now half-forgotten Russian Field Marshal Peter Lassi In 1719, he personally participated in the landing on the Swedish coast and was now preparing new landings. But in Stockholm, seeing the hopelessness of the situation, they went for peace. Sweden, which initially intended to profit from Russian lands, itself was forced to give Russia a solid piece of Finland.

The Swedes made another attempt at revenge in 1788 - King Gustav III dreamed of the laurels of Charles XII and the return of what was lost. He believed that victory would be easy, since the main forces of Russia under the command of Grigory Potemkin were distracted by the war with the Ottoman Empire.

Gustav sent Catherine II an ultimatum, demanding that she give up not only the Baltic conquests of Peter the Great, but also return to the Turks the territories that Russia had conquered from them, including Crimea! However, the war again brought the Swedes a series of bitter defeats - the only "consolation pill" for them was the defeat of the Russian rowing fleet at Rochensalm. As a result, in 1790, the parties concluded a peace treaty, according to which they remained with their own.

The last war in Swedish history took place in 1808-09, and as a result, Russia took almost half of the Swedes' then territory, Finland.

One of the culminating moments of that war was the landing in March 1809 of a detachment led by the famous hussar, Major General Yakov Kulnev, who crossed the South Kvarken Strait with his units on the ice to the coast of Sweden. Approaching the shore, Kulnev overthrew the Swedish detachment, which had tried to prevent the Russians from leaving the ice. For the first time since the time of Peter the Great, Russian soldiers came to Sweden again. Less than a hundred miles remained to Stockholm.

As Kulnev's immediate superior, Prince Pyotr Bagration, reported to the command, the rapid arrival of the Russians in Sweden horrified the coastal inhabitants. "The telegraph signal about this terrified the capital of the Vandals." The report paints a "picture of widespread confusion and fear." The sortie turned out to be a shock for the Swedes, a deep psychological shock. They were once again convinced that if the Russian bear wanted to, he could get them at any moment.

PROPAGANDA PUMPING
Having learned this lesson, the Swedes, after concluding a disastrous peace treaty in 1809, proclaimed a policy of eternal neutrality – which they adhered to, albeit with certain reservations, for more than two hundred years. The fear of a gigantic Russia, which had reduced the former Swedish Empire to the status of a small country, was ingrained in their flesh and blood, holding the Swedes back from new adventures.

This injection of fear proved to be very powerful.

Stockholm even managed to refrain from joining the anti-Russian coalition that Great Britain and France had put together on the eve of the Crimean War.

Recently, as is known, the Swedes joined NATO. Thus, the state was officially removed from its neutral status.

But the psychological trauma received during the numerous Russo-Swedish wars has not gone away - especially since it is carefully fueled by Swedish historians and propagandists.

In order to understand the current mood of Swedish society, it is enough to familiarize yourself with the content of their news sites.

Currently, the following types of headlines predominate: “Convicted spy confesses to collaborating with Russian special services,” “Swedish Koran arsonist accused of links to Wagner PMC,” “Belarusian nuns in Sweden accused of collecting money for the Russian army,” etc.

They constantly write about omnipresent intelligence agents and saboteurs, creating the illusion among the population that Russia is waging a "hybrid war" against Sweden. Even the Orthodox Church has recently been suspected of espionage.

It is characteristic that this did not start recently, but a long time ago.

One of the most popular themes in Swedish popular culture is Soviet and later Russian submarines, which allegedly secretly violate the borders of Swedish waters to carry out some sinister missions.

A typical example: in the autumn of 2014, the Swedish Navy "registered a radio transmission of an unidentified underwater object" from its territorial waters. A large-scale operation to search for the mysterious submarine began - military ships, helicopters and several units of the ground forces were involved.

A "sensation" was thrown out that the strategic nuclear-powered missile-carrying submarine Dmitry Donskoy was allegedly in distress off the coast of Sweden, and the Russian authorities, of course, were "concealing" it. Rumors were spread about mysterious objects lying on the seabed, about dents left in the ground by the submarine's hull, about a diver allegedly seen by someone who immediately climbed into the submarine...

The combination of long-standing historical traumas, bitter memories of lost battles, lost territories and Russian landings synergize with a paranoid fear of Russian "spies" and "saboteurs". All together, ordinary Swedes hate Russia, wish for its defeat and disintegration.

So they really got the impression that "Ukraine is fighting for us." Moreover, the Swedes are seriously afraid that if "Ukraine surrenders," then "we will be next."

The seriousness of this fear is demonstrated by the fact that Sweden is already searching for grave sites in which to bury tens of thousands of war victims. Considering the mental state of the average Swede, who is daily fed the poison of hatred towards Russia through the media, his desire to fight to the last Ukrainian should not be surprising.

Link

Africa North

'We Will Have to Fight.' Will Russia Seize the Chance to Get Even with the West?

2025-01-17

Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited.
by Victor Vasiliev

[REGNUM] One of the main newsmakers of the beginning of 2025 in Africa has become the Republic of Chad. Its young leader Mahamat Deby, who visited Moscow a year ago, gives tough ultimatums to the French military, becomes the target of an armed attack and wins the elections.

On January 8, shots rang out near the presidential palace in N'Djamena, the capital of Chad. Rumors began to circulate about an attempted coup and an attack by Boko Haram terrorists. But everything turned out well.

And already on January 12, Mahamat Deby's Patriotic Salvation Movement (MPS) won 124 of the 188 seats in the National Assembly of Chad following the parliamentary elections. The vote, which also included municipal and regional elections, was the first in Chad in more than a decade. The previous parliamentary elections were held in the country in 2011.

It's funny that since 2015, the European Union has allocated considerable funds for holding parliamentary elections, or rather, for equipping the work of the electoral commission, conducting the population census and much more. Including France.

And now, finally, the elections took place. But without any real opposition, largely with French money - under the noise of anti-French statements and against the backdrop of the humiliating withdrawal of French troops from Chad. Africa knows how to give what is deserved.

REVENGE ON MACRON

Macron, like Biden, has not been interested in competence, but in saying the fashionable thing. There are consequences for that.

Chadian President Mahamat Déby is not just positioning himself as the successor to the “great cause” of his father, Idriss Déby, who was killed by terrorists in 2021. Déby is so ambitious that he has already surpassed his father in some ways. In particular, he received the highest military rank of marshal at the age of 40.

While Deby Sr. received and held his marshal title for 31 years largely thanks to the French military presence in the region, Deby Jr. asked the French to “get out” soon after his legitimization following last year’s presidential elections.

Deby Jr. wrote an autobiography, not devoid of literary talent, “From Bedouin to President,” and in April 2024 he presented it to Vladimir Putin, whom he had visited in Moscow earlier that year. And this alone can be considered, if not a revolution, then a real rebellion against the French. Albeit symbolic: the son of a bloody pro-French dictator came to his senses and moved toward rapprochement with Russia, which in the case of Africa means the path to real sovereignty.

The decision to withdraw French armed forces from Chad by January 31, 2025 was also a symbolic humiliation for Paris. The loss of positions in Africa makes French President Emmanuel Macron noticeably nervous.

He recently said that African countries are ungrateful to France for its help in the fight against jihadism. He also explained that France did the right thing by deploying its troops in the Sahel region, but the region did not even say "thank you." And in general, there would be no talk of any sovereignty of the Sahel states today if it were not for France and its armed intervention against jihadists.

The statements have sparked a wave of anger across Africa.

Chad's president said Macron's comments were disrespectful to Africa. Deby accused Macron of being "stuck in the colonial era" and reiterated that France had until the end of January to withdraw its troops.

In his New Year's address to the nation, Mahamat Deby outlined the possible consequences of the withdrawal of French troops.

" I know that we will have to fight," he said. "I am fully aware of the security, economic, diplomatic and media implications of this historic decision. We do not rule out that our compatriots will, unfortunately, be used to destabilise our country. But, firmly convinced that this decision is a response to the common and legitimate aspirations of the people of Chad, I have accepted it and I take full responsibility for it."

Deby knew what he was warning citizens about. Already on the evening of January 8, his presidential palace was subjected to an intense attack by unknown persons, the circumstances of which still raise questions.

ISLAMIC FACTOR
It is technically unlikely that the French will be able to withdraw their troops in the two weeks remaining until the end of January. Chad has long served as the largest base for France's military presence in the Sahel region and throughout Central Africa.

According to rumors, Mahmat Deby was even ready to "concede" to the French and give them another month to pack up, but on the condition that they would definitely leave the territory of sovereign Chad by February 28. On February 28, the holy month of Ramadan begins for Muslims in the country.

And the symbolism here has a double bottom. Until relatively recently, Chad was a predominantly Christian country. But the French placed their bets on the more passionate and, as it seemed to them, more obedient northern Muslim peoples - in defiance of the representative of the Christian south of the country, the first president of independent Chad, François Tombalbaye, who allowed himself a policy that was too independent from Paris.

And of course the Moslems are ever so much more romantic than everyday, boring, bourgeoise Christians of any skin tone. How were the French authorities to resist such a charming idea?

Already in 2014, the French tried to use semi-Islamist and semi-gangster formations to expel François Bozizé, who had been playing at independence, in the neighboring Central African Republic and unleashed a civil war there. They tried to use these same gangs repeatedly against the Wagner Group when they began to restore order in the CAR at the end of 2017.

And now the Islamic factor is turned against the French themselves.

Mahamat Deby is rumored to be an extremely vindictive person. His attitude toward former colonizers is due to the fact that it was Macron who questioned the legitimacy of his rise to power. One of his informal conditions for supporting Chad and the current government after the death of Idriss Deby was the renunciation of the presidential ambitions of Deby Jr.

However, this development of events called into question the future of the entire "Debi clan" and the dominant Zaghawa ethnic group.

The contender for power after the dictator's death was his beloved wife, the daughter of the Chadian ambassador to the United States, a representative of the Arab Tunjur tribe, Hinda Itno, who became a successful conductor of Washington's influence and, at the same time, an effective negotiator with international institutions in favor of her husband.

Under the threat of this internal coup, the entire numerous "Deby clan" united and nominated the most legitimate leader - Deby's eldest son Mahamat. He came to power largely unexpectedly for himself and on the wave of fateful events. The fact is that, legally, power in Chad after the death of the leader should have passed to the head of parliament, but not to the former commander of the main department of the security service of state institutions, a major general of the army and the son of the deceased president.

The political model of Chad is extremely fragile in its foundations. To understand: the East Saharan ethnic group Zaghawa, having a 1% share in the total population of the country, has concentrated 99% of power and resources in its hands. The ruling "Déby clan" belongs to it, all officers of the Chadian army and special services. A classic example of ethnocracy, formalized as a political dictatorship.

In essence, the political and power center in Chad has been constantly shifting vertically since its independence from the predominantly Christian and densely populated agricultural South to the sparsely populated Muslim pastoral North. This is the main geographic axis, the historical pattern and, frankly speaking, the tragedy of Chad's political system.

Given the limited resources (and Chad remains one of the poorest countries on the Black Continent), this state of affairs cannot but cause discontent. And there have always been those who take advantage of this discontent.

But the authorities are usually challenged by the same representatives of the more militant northern and northeastern nomadic peoples. For example, the most implacable opponent of Idriss Deby's rule, the rebel Front for Change and Accord (Front pour l'Alternance et la Concorde au Tchad, FACT), at whose hands Deby died three years ago, consists mainly of the Goran ethnic group. This Muslim ethnic group from the border with Libya has been the main competitor to the privileged position of the Zaghawa for many years.

That is why, despite the apparent stability of the regime, its durability is questionable. And young Deby, to his credit, is well aware of this. This explains his attempts to use the pan-African agenda and play on the patriotic feelings of young Chadians. This is how he finds additional support.

No matter how formal the recent presidential and parliamentary elections were for Chad, the current authorities are still trying to turn the prevailing mood in society to their advantage.

And they are, to put it mildly, anti-French. But it is not only President Deby who would like to take advantage of this.

THE FAILURE OF THE AMERICANS
The only serious political opponent of Mahamat Deby in the recent presidential elections was the leader of the political party "Transformers" Sukse Masra. And it is no coincidence that he focused on the socialist and pan-African agenda, appealing to the ideas of justice and patriotism.

Some even note the complete external and ideological similarity between Sukse Masra and the leader of the successful opposition party PASTEF in Senegal, Ousmane Sonko. At the same time, American money and technology stood behind both political projects.

The very fact of the return of oppositionist Masr to N'Djamena directly from New York and his subsequent appointment as Prime Minister of Chad in January of last year meant nothing less than certain behind-the-scenes agreements between the "Deby clan" and the Americans.

The Americans have been in Chad for a long time. At the same time, their interests here differ significantly from the French. The US quite openly supports the opposition here. During the presidential campaign itself, already in April-May of last year, Western English-language media did not hide their sympathies specifically for Masra "in defiance" of the French.

But the latter, apart from populism, did not have any decisive team, so his political ambitions failed. But the Americans' hope to realize their own influence at the expense of their yesterday's ally in Paris also failed.

It was the American military contingent that was the first to be expelled from Chad, back in April of last year. The fate of the American military in Chad was decided at the same time as the American military contingent in Niger (which literally replaced the "Africa Corps" of the Russian Defense Ministry).

The phenomenal nature of the situation is that, despite the apparent coordination of the actions of the authorities of Chad and Niger and the obvious benefit for Russia, the reasons and circumstances for the expulsion of the Americans are completely different. In the case of Niger, the Americans were counting on remaining in the region until the very end and were clearly implementing their own strategy, somewhere even pushing their "strategic partners", the French, in the back.

This had its risks and, judging by the fact that a year ago there was a significant correction of the American strategy of presence in the region (the bet on coastal locations), it can be assumed that the Americans allowed for the scenario of complete failure and calculated alternative options. And they were not at all embarrassed by either the material or strategic losses associated with leaving Niger.

In the case of Chad, the demands of local military authorities for the withdrawal of the task force of US military advisers and special forces (100 people in number) came as a complete surprise and a harsh reputational slap in the face for Washington.

At an informal level, this decision of the Chadian authorities was supported by the French side. It was a kind of retaliation for the unfriendly actions of American "allies" in a number of locations of traditional presence and influence of Paris.

But, like the Americans in Niger before them, the French are in for a nasty surprise after just over six months. They, too, are forced to abandon the military bases they have occupied since 1976.

The collapse of Françafrique and the withdrawal of French troops from Chad is an event that is not without approval from the Republicans of the Trump administration. This is another illustration of how complicated things are in the African direction in the relations between yesterday's allies.

And all of these are quite positive processes that Russia, among others, can take advantage of.

CHAD AND RUSSIA
The fact is clear, and few can argue with it now. N'Djamena is now moving from a policy of being a conductor of Paris' interests (the "French gendarme" in Africa) in the Sahel and Central Africa to an independent foreign policy.

The place left by France will not remain empty. And if the US could not fill it, then, by breaking relations with Paris, N'Djamena is simultaneously creating a new defense alliance with Ankara.

Turkey and Chad recently signed an agreement that provides for training of Chadian military personnel by Turkish instructors. In addition to the defense agreements, the Turkish armed forces will train the Chadian army. Turkey has been providing military assistance to Chad for several years, including modern training of military personnel and the supply of weapons. The cooperation is aimed at strengthening Chad's defense capabilities and its ability to fight terrorism.

Chad has been and remains an extremely important space for the implementation of geopolitical interests of a number of major powers, if only due to its geographical location.

Chad is a crossroads of multidirectional and complex interests: the Sahel, Central Africa, influence on North Africa (Libya), and North-East Africa (Sudan), etc., etc. Whoever controls Chad has influence over vast areas both in the interior of the African continent and on its outskirts.

Russia is an active player in this area.

Recently, the military authorities of Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger have turned away from the West in favor of Russian military support. The Central African Republic has been stabilized since 2017 with the help of Russian military instructors. Let us also note the Russian presence in Libya.

All these countries are neighbors of Chad. In this context, the mentioned visit of Deby to Moscow is not just a symbolic story, but also a geopolitical necessity.

It was one thing when Chad was behind the attempted rebellion of the “Coalition of Patriots for Change” in the pro-Russian Central African Republic in 2020. And it was quite another when in the summer of 2023 N’Djamena took a position of demonstrative neutrality against the backdrop of a pro-Russian military coup in neighboring Niger. Although Paris tried to persuade Chad to join ECOWAS in the blockade of Niamey and a military invasion to restore the status quo and free pro-French ex-President Mohamed Bazoum (the latter, by the way, is still in prison).

One cannot help but recall the words of the head of the Russian Foreign Ministry, Sergey Lavrov : "I can assure you that our friendship with the Republic of Chad will not affect its relations with France. We never ask anyone to choose their friends, but France has a different approach. In Paris's opinion, either you are with us or you are against us."

Chad was the last stop on the Russian Foreign Minister's African tour last June. But it was perhaps the most significant. During the visit, Lavrov prudently avoided making harsh anti-colonialist statements and focused on economic cooperation with the Central African Republic.

Chad has already significantly diversified its military cooperation over the past 5 years at least: along with France, N'Djamena also focused on the UAE, Turkey and Hungary. Now Russia can join this ranks on equal terms.

There are already obvious advantages for us at the level of foreign policy cooperation.

Immediately after Lavrov's June visit, the head of the Chadian Foreign Ministry made a statement that N'Djamena sees no point in a peace conference on Ukraine without Russia's participation. Now Chad is becoming a neutral and friendly party for the pro-Russian "Confederation of Sahel States." The long-standing tension on the border between Chad and the Central African Republic, when jidahids and armed opposition found refuge in their northern neighbor, is also completely removed.

Was Russia making a deliberate effort in this direction? No. It was simply geopolitical luck and, if you like, a historic chance for Russia to get even with the West.

The current situation, the current tectonic changes in the Sahel, are more a result of a series of accidents and changes within African communities themselves than the result of our own game.

The request for cooperation and an "open door" regime for Moscow comes from African countries - and for us this is somewhat unexpected. As it turns out, we are not particularly capable of the famous "security case", nor do we know how to back it up with anything.

We need to learn, and as quickly as possible. Because we have serious competitors.

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