Russian forces fighting in the proxy war against NATO in Ukraine are used to seeing, hearing from and being fired at by foreign mercs, and coming into contact with alliance weaponry ranging from small arms to heavy battle tanks. But once in a blue moon, the ‘surprises’ they receive from Kiev's Western sponsors are of a more pleasant variety.
Russian Spetsnaz troops in the ruins of the liberated city of Artemovsk (Bakhmut) have decided to show off the diverse range of foods sent to Ukraine by NATO countries.
Footage shows soldiers in a makeshift storage facility filled with “mountains of food” left by Ukrainian forces during their retreat from the city, including vast stocks of baked beans from Turkiye, Starbucks coffee, Italian canned pork, rice packaged in Poland and even British chicken broth.
“We’ve been coming here for six months, like to a supermarket. Thank you to the Europeans, the Poles, the Dutch, the Germans, the Italians…Guys, keep up the good work! You provide the Ukrainian Armed Forces with tasty food,” the soldier behind the camera quipped.
The US and its allies have sent close to $175 billion in military, economic and humanitarian aid to Ukraine, including thousands of tons of military field rations and other food that can be stored over long periods and doesn't require much work to prepare.
It's unclear how long this 'Manna from Heaven' will continue, however, with Biden White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby warning this week that the US aid won't be "indefinite," and that Washington is "coming near to the end of the rope" as it shifts its focus to Israel.
Ukrainian Military Casualties Reach Nearly 1,600 in Donetsk in Past Week
The Russian forces repelled 17 attacks in the Donetsk direction in the past week, where the Ukrainian troops lost nearly 1,600 soldiers as killed and injured, the Russian Defense Ministry stated on Friday.
“Over the past week, in this direction, the enemy lost more than 1,580 military personnel as killed and wounded, four tanks, 30 armored combat vehicles, 22 cars, 14 field artillery guns, as well as a Grad MLRS combat vehicle,” the ministry reported.
The Russian forces also repelled eight attacks in the South Donetsk direction in the past seven days, where Kiev lost over 1,285 soldiers as killed in injured. In the Zaporozhye direction, the Russian troops repelled four attacks, in which Ukraine lost over 385 soldiers.
In the Kupyansk direction, the Russian forces repelled 46 Ukrainian attacks in the past week, and Kiev lost over 830 soldiers as killed or injured. Moreover, 22 attacks have been repelled in the Krasny Liman direction, where Ukraine’s military casualties reached over 895.
Israel has compared Saturday's breakout from the besieged Gaza Strip by Hamas and other groups, which has left 1,300 civilians and soldiers dead, to the Nazi genocide of millions of Jews and others. Western allies have pledged full backing for Israel's military offensive.
The UK has joined the US in sending naval forces to back Israel following the latest escalation of its conflict in the occupied Palestinian territories — but will other NATO members follow suit?
British Response
British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak announced on Thursday that he had ordered to Royal Navy amphibious warfare ships to sail for the eastern Mediterranean, along with Royal Air Force (RAF) P-8 Poseidon maritime patrol and reconnaissance aircraft "to deliver practical support to Israel and partners in the region, and offer deterrence and assurance."
The vessels are the Royal Fleet Auxiliary (RFA) Argus, a Littoral Strike Ship fitted out with a 100-bed medical complex to receive casualties, and the RFA Lyme Bay, an amphibious assault ship.
The ships are reportedly carrying a detachment of Royal Marine Commandos and three Merlin medium-lift transport helicopters — strongly suggesting planning for an operation to rescue some of the British citizens believed to have been taken hostage in the coastal enclave of Gaza.
"Alongside our allies, the deployment of our world-class military will support efforts to ensure regional stability and prevent further escalation," Sunak said. "Our military and diplomatic teams across the region will also support international partners to re-establish security and ensure humanitarian aid reaches the thousands of innocent victims of this barbaric attack from Hamas terrorists."
The move contradicted assurances by Sunak's spokesman earlier in the week that there were "no plans to redeploy UK military assets to Israel."
US Deployment
The British move follows the US deployment of a the USS Gerald Ford aircraft carrier and its supporting battlegroup, along with other military units to the Mediterranean and Middle East to threaten Hamas' allies Iran and Lebanon's Hezbollah.
Two US Air Force B-1B strategic bombers redeployed to RAF Fairford in the south-west of England on Thursday, with another pair expected to arrive on Saturday.
Germany
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and Defence Minister Boris Pistorius also offered military aid to Israel on Thursday.
Two Israeli-made IAI Eitan armed drones — designated Heron TP for export — sold to the Bundeswehr armed forces will be lent back to Israel for use in the conflict. German personnel were already in Israel, training to use the systems.
"There is only one place for Germany — that place is at Israel’s side," Scholz told the Buundestag parliament on Thursday morning, adding that his government would "immediately examine and also grant" any further requests from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
"Israel’s security is Germany’s national interest," Scholz declared.
Speaking during a visit to the Belgian capital Brussels, some to the NATO headquarters, Pistorius said the German government would also consider an Israeli request for ammunition for its naval fleet.
The chancellor also warned Hezbollah, the Lebanese Islamic resistance movement that saw off Israel's 2006 invasion of its northern neighbour, against opening a sceond front.
"Hezbollah must not intervene in the fighting," Scholz said. "There would then be the threat of a devastating conflagration — with possible repercussions as far as north Africa and Yemen. Together with our partners, we are using all channels to prevent such an apocalyptic scenario."
Gaza War as Indicator of West's Crumbling Dominance
The Gaza crisis serves as a reflection of the crumbling unipolar rules as the world is embracing multipolarity and seeking new approaches to simmering conflicts.
Neither Israeli nor American intelligence seemed to be aware about the preparations for Hamas' surprise assault on Israel last Saturday.
"The Middle East region is quieter today than it has been in two decades," US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan claimed at the Atlantiс Festival on September 29, suggesting that Washington could now shift its focus on the Ukraine conflict and containing China's rise in the Asia Pacific.
As it turned out later, the night before the Hamas attack the Israeli intelligence agencies spotted signs of irregular militant activity in Gaza but IDF and Shin Bet's top brass decided not to put the Israeli military patrolling the border on high alert, according to the US press. Apparently, the Israeli security leadership also believed that the situation was largely under control.
The Hamas brutal rocket strike and sudden infiltration of Hamas militants in Israel's territories where the group met little if any resistance became a wake-up call for both Washington and Tel Aviv.
However, the erupted conflict is the result of a string of mistakes made by the international community and the US, in particular, during its unipolar moment, according to Alexander Asafov, political scientist, member of the Russian Association of Political Consultants.
"It was [the US] who sowed the seeds of these mistakes, which have led to these smoldering conflicts," Asafov told Sputnik. "And, of course, we see a clear manifestation. [The current crisis] in the Middle East, this is the result of just such a conflict. After all, it was [US President Donald] Trump who moved the US Embassy to Jerusalem. The Americans did a lot of things to prevent pacification in this area, not to mention the implementation of the 1947 UN Security Council decision on the creation of an Arab state in Palestine. Therefore, of course, this is a clear manifestation of the fact that there is no longer any Pax Americana, no unipolar world. And now the world is entering a new transition period, towards multipolarity, including through pain, blood and awakening conflicts."
According to Asafov, the US and its Western allies did not seek ways to resolve the contradictions once and for all: they capitalized on festering wounds of local crises in the Middle East, Africa, Central Asia and elsewhere.
"The world's hegemon [the US] has kept many conflicts smoldering through manipulation, forceful pressure and various other tools that they call 'soft' or 'smart' power," the political scientist continued. "And [Washington] did this deliberately, because it helped both earn money and, among other things, ensure a certain influence and control through dormant conflicts."
The bombing and fragmentation of Yugoslavia, the invasion of Iraq, Afghanistan, Libya and Syria by the US and its NATO allies led to rewriting maps, dragging countries into chaos and looting their national wealth. However, the US' Iraqi war created a power vacuum leading to the emergence of Daesh (ISIS/ISIL)* and other Islamist groups, while the Washington-backed Afghanistan government collapsed in just hours after the Taliban takeover of Kabul.
Likewise, the US administration's manipulation of the Israeli-Palestinian issue led to unintended consequences in the Gaza Strip, which dealt a third blow to the Biden administration after the botched Afghanistan withdrawal and the failed Ukrainian counteroffensive.
"The Palestinian question is unresolved and, as recent events demonstrate, it is still smoldering," noted Dr. Marco Marsili, associate fellow at the Centre for Strategic Research and Analysis, who holds research positions in major civil and military institutions in Portugal, the UK and Italy.
Earlier, Sputnik's interlocutors warned that the US and UK's naval deployments near the region could fan the flames of the crisis even further instead of calming it down since Iran and Lebanon's Hezbollah might consider the Western military buildup as a provocation and a direct threat.
Per Asafov, old rules of show of force and intimidation don't work, and international players need to tread carefully to avoid bigger conflicts. Thus, the irresponsible militarization of Ukraine, Taiwan and Israel will make the world less safe and more turbulent.
"The fact is that only this way they could show that their old rules, bloc rules – not civilizational ones based on values, but colonial rules based on financial gain, and pumping out resources from other countries – still work and can defend themselves. This could only be demonstrated in this way. This is what they do," said the political scientist.
However, these colonial rules no longer work, per the academic, meaning that global and regional players would have to sit at the negotiating table as equals and find the solutions to the urgent crisis including the unfolding conflict in the Gaza strip.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has encouraged reporters to read the American media less. The remark came during a press conference in the Kyrgyz capital of Bishkek in response to a question about reports that the Russian Kant air base in Kyrgyzstan had been abandoned due to the conflict in Ukraine.
“American media outlets are saying that all the equipment is in Ukraine, and that the [Kant] base is deserted,” claimed an Izvestia journalist at the press conference. He did not specify which US outlets had made such claims.
“You are reading the American media in vain,” Putin told the reporter who had asked the question. “First, they very often distort reality – just listen to the former president of the United States. Listen to him, he will give you a good description of the current level of development of the American media,” the president said, apparently referring to Donald Trump and adding that American media will “teach you bad things.”
Putin insisted that the Kant military base remains active and continues to act as a “deterrent factor for various extremists.” He added that there is also an active aviation unit there which includes combat aircraft and helicopters.
“They are at Kant, on combat duty and service,” Putin said.
On Thursday, the Russian leader, together with his Kyrgyz counterpart Sadyr Japarov, took part in a ceremony dedicated to the 20th anniversary of the opening of the Kant base.
During the ceremony, Putin declared that Russia will continue to provide the base with the most modern weapons and promised to solve all the issues that the military personnel serving at the base may have.
The Russian president’s visit to Kyrgyzstan marks the first time he has traveled abroad since the International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant for him earlier this year. Next week, Putin is expected to travel to China to meet with President Xi Jinping during the international Belt and Road forum.
Putin comments on Ukrainian weapons in Hamas hands
That some of the weapons sent to Ukraine ended up in the hands of Hamas militants probably has more to do with corruption than deliberate deliveries, Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Friday.
“I doubt that there were deliveries of weapons from Ukraine, but I have no doubt there were leaks of weapons from Ukraine,” Putin explained at a press conference in the Kyrgyz capital of Bishkek.
“We know the level of corruption in Ukraine is very high. The black market arises when there are many who want to buy, and in Ukraine there are many who want to sell,” he added, noting that Ukrainians were “definitely selling” weapons on the international market through countries in Africa and the Middle East.
“Why, they even sell [weapons] to Russia, and if they can sell them to Russia, nothing surprises me anymore,” the Russian president said.
The issue of Hamas using weapons the US and its allies had sent to Ukraine was first raised by former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, who claimed such equipment was “being actively used in Israel.” Kiev’s military intelligence responded by accusing Russia of sending Western weapons captured in Ukraine to Hamas in a “false flag” operation designed to make Kiev look bad to its backers.
Israel has neither confirmed nor denied Medvedev’s weapons claim, but rejected the Ukrainian insinuations of Russian involvement in the Hamas attack as “complete nonsense.”
Hamas militants fired hundreds of rockets into Israel on Saturday, followed by raids into nearby Israeli settlements, villages, and towns. Israeli authorities said more than 1,300 people died in the surprise attack. West Jerusalem has responded by declaring a “war” against Gaza.
Speaking about the escalating conflict, Putin noted that Israel is facing an unprecedented attack but that its response has been “quite brutal.”
He also offered Russian mediation, given that Moscow had “very good relations” with Israel, as well as traditional ties with the Palestinians, “so no one can suspect that we want to play some kind of games.”
The military wing of the Palestinian movement Hamas, the Al-Qassam Brigades, said that it launched 50 rockets towards Sderot in southern Israel on Thursday afternoon.
"This afternoon, Al-Qassam Brigades launched a missile strike at Sderot with 50 rockets," the military wing said in a statement
Israel's Sderot Mayor Calling on Military to Evacuate Residents - Reports
The mayor of the Israeli city of Sderot, Alon Davidi, with a population of more than 27,000, is calling on the military to evacuate residents, according to media reports. Earlier, media reported that seven rockets fired from Gaza hit Sderot in southern Israel, increasing the number of wounded to five.
Israeli Army Calls on Civilians of Gaza City to Evacuate Southwards 'For Their Own Safety'
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said Friday that it has called on all civilians of Gaza City to evacuate southwards "for their own safety."
מטוסי קרב של צה"ל תקפו פעילים של ארגון הטרור חמאס והשמידו חמ"ל של הארגון.
בהמשך התקיפות של צה"ל מטוסי קרב תקפו חמישה בתים ששימשו פעילים של ארגון הטרור חמאס>> pic.twitter.com/v6FtpAfhth
"The IDF calls for the evacuation of all civilians of Gaza City from their homes southwards for their own safety and protection and move to the area south of the Wadi Gaza," the IDF said on Telegram, adding that the city's population will be able to return to their homes "only when another announcement permitting it is made."
The IDF claimed that forces of Palestinian movement Hamas "are hiding in Gaza City inside tunnels underneath houses and inside buildings populated with innocent Gazan civilians," adding that it will "continue to operate significantly in Gaza City and make extensive efforts to avoid harming civilians."
The IDF also called on civilians not to approach "the area of the security fence with the State of Israel."
Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian said during a meeting with Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani on Thursday that nobody in the region needs or seeks Tehran’s “permission to open a new front” against Israel, warning that everything is “dependent” on the Israeli government’s next moves.
“In a situation where the Zionist regime has imposed a complete siege on Gaza, cutting off its water, electricity, and fuel supply, and preventing the delivery of food and medicine, the United States and some parties are sending weapons to Israel and allowing this criminal regime to continue its ruthless massacre of Palestinian civilians in Gaza,” he said, adding that “in such circumstances, anything is possible, and we may witness new events in the region.”
Israel’s military orders civilians to evacuate Gaza City, ahead of feared ground offensive
Israel’s military directed the evacuation of northern Gaza, a region that is home to 1.1 million people, within 24 hours Friday, a UN spokesman said, as Israel presses its war to eradicate the Hamas militant group after its deadly attack.
The order could signal an impending ground offensive, though the Israeli military has not yet confirmed such an appeal. On Thursday it said that while it was preparing, no decision has been made.
The order, delivered to the UN, comes as Israel presses an offensive against Hamas militants. UN spokesman Stéphane Dujarric called the order “impossible” without “devastating humanitarian consequences.”
A UN official says that the United Nations is trying to get clarity from Israeli officials at the senior most political level.
“It’s completely unprecedent,” the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak publicly.
A ball of fire erupts in Gaza City after an Israeli air strike on Oct. 12, 2023. (AFP)
Panicked rumors of an evacuation had begun to spread in north Gaza, home to almost half the population of the territory, in the early morning Friday.
A ground offensive in Gaza, which is ruled by Hamas and where the population is densely packed into a sliver of land only 40 kilometers (25 miles) long, would likely bring even higher casualties on both sides in brutal house-to-house fighting.
Hamas’ assault Saturday and smaller attacks since have killed more than 1,300 people in Israel, including 247 soldiers — a toll unseen in Israel for decades — and the ensuing Israeli bombardment has killed more than 1,530 people in Gaza, according to authorities on both sides. Israel says roughly 1,500 Hamas militants were killed inside Israel, and that hundreds of the dead in Gaza are Hamas members. Thousands have been wounded on both sides.
As Israel pounds Gaza from the air, Hamas militants have fired thousands of rockets into Israel. Amid concerns that the fighting could spread in the region, Syrian state media reported that Israeli airstrikes on Thursday put two Syrian international airports out of service.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed to “crush” Hamas after the militants stormed into the country’s south on Saturday and massacred hundreds of people, including killings of children in their homes and young people at a music festival.
Amid grief and demands for vengeance among the Israeli public, the government is under intense pressure to topple Hamas rather than continuing to try to bottle it up in Gaza.
The number of people forced from their homes by Israel’s airstrikes soared 25 percent in a day, reaching 423,000 out of a population of 2.3 million, the UN said Thursday. Most crowded into UN-run schools.
Earlier, the Israeli military pulverized the Gaza Strip with airstrikes, prepared for a possible ground invasion and said its complete siege of the territory — which has left Palestinians desperate for food, fuel and medicine — would remain in place until Hamas militants free some 150 hostages taken during their grisly weekend incursion.
A visit by Secretary of State Antony Blinken, along with shipments of US weapons, offered a powerful green light to Israel to drive ahead with its retaliation in Gaza after Hamas’ deadly attack on civilians and soldiers, even as international aid groups warned of a worsening humanitarian crisis. Israel has halted deliveries of basic necessities and electricity to Gaza’s 2.3 million people and prevented entry of supplies from Egypt.
“Not a single electricity switch will be flipped on, not a single faucet will be turned on and not a single fuel truck will enter until the Israeli hostages are returned home,” Israeli Energy Minister Israel Katz said on social media.
Lt. Col. Richard Hecht, an Israeli military spokesman, told reporters Thursday that forces “are preparing for a ground maneuver” should political leaders order one.
39.793 Anak Kekurangan Gizi, Pemprov DKI Diminta Siapkan Rumah Sakit Khusus
Anggota Komisi E DPRD DKI Jakarta Merry Hotma/Ist
Komisi E DPRD Provinsi DKI Jakarta meminta Dinas Kesehatan (Dinkes) mengkaji keberadaan rumah sakit khusus untuk menangani stunting. Hingga saat ini tercatat sebanyak 39.793 anak masuk dalam kategori gangguan pertumbuhan akibat kurangnya asupan gizi.
Anggota Komisi E DPRD DKI Jakarta Merry Hotma mengatakan, keberadaan rumah sakit khusus stunting diperlukan untuk merealisasikan salah satu program prioritas Raperda APBD tahun anggaran 2024, yakni percepatan penurunan stunting di Jakarta.
“Jadi kalau pun kita belum (bisa) membangun, namun hari ini, malam ini kami minta dibuatkan kajian anggaran untuk pembangunan RSUD khusus. Soalnya ini harus segera, untuk menangani stunting dan gizi buruk,” kata Merry dikutip dari laman DPRD DKI Jakarta, Jumat, 13/10/2023.
Sementara, Anggota Komisi E Stephanie Oktavia meminta Pangan Keperluan Medis Khusus (PKMK) diberikan secara berkelanjutan sesuai pedoman yang telah diberikan Kemeterian Kesehetan, sehingga anak yang mengalami stunting dinyatakan sembuh dan menunjukan pertumbuhan yang baik.
“Bentuk PKMK ini apakah memang dia PMT (pemberian makan tambahan). Tapi apakah memang diberikan continue sampai gizinya membaik? RSUD harus serius menangani stunting,” kata Stephanie.
Di kesempatan yang sama, Pelaksana Tugas (Plt) Kepala Dinas Kesehatan DKI Jakarta Ani Ruspitawati menyatakan pihaknya siap untuk menyalurkan PMT secara berkelanjutan kepada ribuan anak penderita stunting dengan anggaran Rp46 miliar di tahun 2024 mendatang.
Ani juga menjelaskan pihaknya sudah bersinergi dengan satuan kerja perangkat daerah (SKPD) lain seperti Dinas Sumber Daya Air (SDA), Dinas Pemberdayaan Perlindungan Anak dan Pengendalian Penduduk (PPAPP), Dinas Pendidikan (Disdik), Dinas Ketahanan Pangan Kelautan dan Pertanian (KPKP), dan Dinas Sosial (Dinsos) untuk menekan angka stunting di Jakarta.
“Dinkes itu secara intervensi spesifik sebetulnya hanya 30% dari penyelesaian stunting, karena ada faktor lain salah satunya akses masyarakat terhadap air bersih, karena itu sangat berpengaruh terhadap kesehatan balita,” kata Ani.
Kemudahan Akses Pendidikan Harus Konsisten Diwujudkan
Kemudahan akses dan kualitas pendidikan harus terus didorong untuk ditingkatkan demi pemerataan hak setiap warga negara mendapatkan pendidikan yang layak.
"Berbagai upaya untuk pemerataan kesempatan mendapatkan pendidikan yang layak harus terus dilakukan dengan dukungan seluruh pemangku kepentingan di tingkat pusat dan daerah, serta masyarakat," kata Wakil Ketua MPR RI, Lestari Moerdijat dalam keterangan tertulisnya, hari Kamis, 12/10/2023.
Sejumlah upaya dilakukan pemerintah pusat dan daerah dalam rangka memberikan kemudahan masyarakat mengakses pendidikan sejak dini.
Di Jakarta misalnya, saat ini tercatat memiliki 167 pendidikan anak usia dini (PAUD) negeri dan 4.000 PAUD swasta yang tersebar di lima wilayah kota dan satu kabupaten yang mendapatkan bantuan biaya operasional dari pemda, untuk memudahkan masyarakat mengakses layanan itu.
Sementara itu Kementerian Pendidikan, Kebudayaan, Riset, dan Teknologi (Kemendikbudristek) juga mendorong sekolah adat di Indonesia bisa menjadi salah satu sarana untuk mengentaskan buta huruf.
Pada 2022 angka buta huruf masyarakat Indonesia usia 15-59 tahun mencapai 2.666.859 orang atau 1,5% dari total keseluruhan penduduk.
Pemerintah menargetkan pada 2030 angka buta huruf menjadi 0,40% atau yang belum dientaskan sekitar 711 ribu orang. Program pengentasan buta aksara ini bisa berlanjut untuk mengikuti program kejar paket sehingga yang bersangkutan bisa mendapatkan ijazah.
Menurut Rerie, sapaan akrab Lestari, kemudahaan akses pendidikan bagi masyarakat merupakan langkah strategis yang mampu membuka peluang pengembangan potensi yang dimiliki setiap warga negara.
Upaya membuka akses seluas-luasnya agar masyarakat menikmati layanan pendidikan sejak dini, seperti PAUD misalnya, menurut Rerie, yang juga anggota Komisi X DPR RI dari Dapil II Jawa Tengah itu, membuka peluang bagi negara untuk sedini mungkin memperluas upaya menanamkan nilai-nilai kebangsaan bagi generasi penerus bangsa.
Sedangkan upaya konsisten menekan angka buta huruf, ujar Anggota Majelis Tinggi Partai NasDem itu, membuka kesempatan seluas-luasnya bagi masyarakat untuk meningkatkan taraf hidupnya melalui pendidikan.
Dengan kemampuan membaca, menulis dan berhitung masyarakat yang lebih luas, ujar Rerie, peluang untuk bekerja di sektor formal pun semakin terbuka.
Rerie berharap upaya mempermudah akses pendidikan kepada masyarakat konsisten dilakukan dengan dukungan semua pihak, pemerintah, dunia usaha dan masyarakat, demi mengakselerasi proses pembangunan sumber daya manusia (SDM) yang berdaya saing dan berakhlak mulia.
