The Ukrainian military has not made any significant progress during the counteroffensive, as the areas where Kiev claimed it made gains were not even close to the battlefield or Russia's key defensive build-up, ex-Pentagon official and military historian Douglas Macgregor said.
"You begin to look at these reports of Ukrainian gains, you discover that in many cases the areas where they are claiming that they made gains are nowhere near the battlefield, they are not even in the security zone... I would tell you there have been no gains at all because everything always finished on the ability of the Ukrainian counteroffensive to reach the main defensive build-up, crack it, move through it in order to reach something of importance like Melitopol; it has not happened," Macgregor told the Judging Freedom show on YouTube.
Ukraine has touted its coming offensive since late 2022. It was first scheduled for the spring, then rescheduled to the summer. The Ukrainian government said the postponement was due to a shortage of weapons, all while pushing its Western donors to supply progressively heavier arms, including tanks, drones and fighter jets.
Ukrainian troops launched a large-scale offensive in five sectors of the South Donetsk direction on June 4 but failed to achieve their goals, the Russian Defense Ministry said.
France’s Le Pen says Crimea 'has nothing to do' with conflict in Ukraine
Crimea is an inseparable part of Russia and has nothing to do with today’s conflict in Ukraine, Marine Le Pen, the leader of the parliamentary faction of the National Rally party, told France Info radio on Thursday.
"Crimea has nothing to do with the conflict in Ukraine," she maintained. "Residents in Crimea decided to join Russia. This position was also shared by former French Presidents Nicolas Sarkozy and Valery Giscard d’Estaing, and I stand with them, too, that this issue has nothing to do with today’s conflict in Ukraine," emphasized Le Pen, who was incumbent French leader Emmanuel Macron’s main rival in the presidential election in 2017 as well as last year. According to the parliamentarian, "the conflict in Ukraine is related to the Minsk agreements, which do not concern Crimea."
Le Pen underlined that she views Crimea to be a part of Russia. "I have been saying this for 10 years already, and I have not changed my mind," the far-right politician said. She insists that "the Donbass issue should be central at talks to resolve the conflict in Ukraine."
Taking questions from members of the lower chamber of the French parliament, the National Assembly, in late May, Le Pen said she considers Crimea a legitimate Russian territory. The politician said she had her own impressions from her trips to the peninsula, where she talked to Crimean residents and could see for herself that they are more inclined towards Russia.
Crimea was transferred to the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic in 1954 at the initiative of Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev.
After a coup in Ukraine in February 2014, the governments of Crimea and Sevastopol held a referendum on the peninsula’s reunification with Russia. The overwhelming majority of voters supported reunification (96.7% in the Republic of Crimea and 95.6% in the City of Sevastopol, respectively), with turnout reaching 80%. Despite the convincing results of the referendum, Kiev and the EU have refused to recognize Crimea as being part of Russia.
‘Monitor’ Russians like US did with Japanese in WWII – Czech president
Russians living in the West should be closely monitored by security services, Czech President Petr Pavel has argued. He mentioned the treatment of ethnic Japanese by the US during World War II as an example of wartime security measures.
Pavel made his case in an interview with the US government-funded outlet Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty on Thursday.
“When there is an ongoing war, the security measures related to Russian nationals should be stricter than in normal times,” he said. “All Russians living in Western countries should be monitored much more than in the past.”
The Czech leader drew a comparison to the treatment of Japanese Americans during World War II, which he described as a “strict monitoring regime” and “scrutiny of security services.”
“That’s simply the cost of war,” Pavel declared.
As tensions between the US and Imperial Japan grew, there was a growing suspicion of disloyalty in American society directed against ethnic Japanese. The mistrust was fueled by historic anti-Asian sentiment on the West Coast.
Two months after the December 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor, President Franklin Roosevelt issued an executive order, under which at least 125,000 such people, most of them US nationals, were forced to live in dozens of detention facilities around the country. The policy remained in place until 1946.
President Jimmy Carter authorized a commission to review the controversial decision and its effect on national security and advise on how to redress its victims. Its report, which was released in 1983, said the order was not justified by military necessity and rooted in racial prejudices and war hysteria.
“A grave injustice was done to Americans and resident aliens of Japanese ancestry who, without individual review or any probative evidence against them, were excluded, removed and detained by the United States during World War II,” the document said.
The conclusions were disputed by some media. A 1983 Washington Post article stated that a “significant number” of Japanese spies were living on the West Coast, giving Roosevelt a reason to act the way he did.
Russian Tornado-G MLRS Crews in Combat Action During Special Op
The Tornado-G Multiple Launch Rocket System (MLRS) is a highly advanced military weapon system that provides long-range artillery support to ground forces. One of the key features of the Tornado-G MLRS is its ability to return rapid fire.
Russia's Defense Ministry has released a video of Tornado-G MLRS crews in combat action during the special military operation in Ukraine.
During the ongoing Kiev counteroffensive, the Russian Army has been crushing the enemy on land and in the air.
The Tornado-G MLRS is highly mobile, capable of being easily transported and rapidly deployed in different terrains.
Its mobility enables military units to reposition it swiftly and adapt to changing battlefield conditions, enhancing their tactical flexibility and survivability.
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