The Blagodatnoye settlement near Soledar in the DPR has come under control of Russia’s forces, Yevgeny Prigozhin, founder of the Wagner private military company, said on Sunday.
"The units of the Wagner PMC took Blagodatnoye. Blagodatnoye is under our control," his press service quoted him as saying on its Telegram channel. The commentary is accompanied by an audio recording of remarks by a commander of an assault unit that reached the southern outskirts of Blagodatnoye.
Crews of Russian 120-mm mortars and 152-mm "Hyacinths" destroyed a group of Ukrainian militants in the Avdiivka direction
On January 12, Soledar was cleared of Ukrainian formations, the Russian Defense Ministry reported earlier. According to Russian Defense Ministry Spokesman Lieutenant General Igor Konashenkov, full control over this city makes it possible to cut off the supply routes for Ukrainian troops in Artyomovsk and subsequently block and encircle the units holed up there.
The village of Blagodatnoye is located southwest of the city of Soledar, which was liberated from Ukrainian forces on January 12.
The territory of the DPR can be completely liberated from Ukrainian militants in a month and a half. This was stated by the commander of the special forces “Akhmat” Apty Alaudinov. According to him, the human resource of the Armed Forces of Ukraine is not unlimited. The Ukrainian army begins to withdraw.
Prigozhin, who had repeatedly reproached military correspondents for hasty reports about the capture of one or another settlement, confirmed the capture of Blagodatny near Soledar. According to the information posted on the Wagner PMC TG channel, assault groups are actively cleaning the village from Ukrainian militants remaining there. In addition, Prigozhin posted on the channel an audio recording of the commander of the assault unit, who reported on control over the village.
ing it simply fled, unable to withstand the pressure of the advancing "musicians". The front line reported that about two tank platoons of the Armed Forces of Ukraine refused to defend the settlement and left in the direction of the Ukrainian rear.
The capture of Blagodatny jeopardizes the encirclement of the village of Krasnoe Gora near Paraskovievka, this is practically the outskirts of Artemovsk (Bakhmut). Now fierce battles are going on in this direction, the "orchestras" are trying to knock out the Vushniks from these settlements and practically encircle the city. The fall of Krasnaya Gora will significantly worsen the situation of the Ukrainian Armed Forces garrison.
Meanwhile, the attack aircraft of the "musicians" are advancing in the other direction, the night before they came close to the village of Sacco and Vanzetti.
Chair of the NATO Military Committee Rob Bauer said that the US-led bloc is ready for a direct confrontation with Russia in an interview with Portugal’s RTP TV channel.
Replying to a question on the matter, he asserted: "We are ready." That said, he added that NATO is going to respond only if Russia crosses the red line by invading one of NATO member states.
The military official stressed that NATO should be better prepared because currently Russia has the military initiative. "The fact that your enemy has better weapons is not the problem of the enemy. That is your problem," he said.
The interview also raised the issue of introducing "a war-time economy but in peace time," however, Bauer admitted that this process would be difficult.
"This is an important signal for Russia… That we are prepared if they decide to go after NATO. This is a red line. If there is a red line, then it is the Russians crossing our borders," the Chair of the NATO Military Committee said.
He added that he believes that Russia’s strategic objectives go beyond Ukraine, with Moscow wanting to claim the territory of the former Soviet Union.
When asked whether NATO feared escalation in the Russian-Ukrainian war, Bauer said that while the beginning of the Russian aggression constituted an escalation, Ukraine’s desire to reclaim the territories that rightly belong to it is not an escalation.
"If (the Russians) stop the war today, there will be no escalation," Bauer stressed.
He also noted that the industrial production of the North Atlantic Alliance countries should be reoriented to the military sphere. In order to carry out rearmament, he believes that it is advisable to introduce a "peacetime war economy"
Seorang petugas polisi Perbatasan Israel berjalan ke rumah pria bersenjata Palestina Khaire Alkam di A-Tur di Yerusalem Timur, setelah Alkam menembak mati setidaknya tujuh orang di dekat sebuah sinagog di Neve Yaacov yang terletak di tanah yang diduduki yang dianeksasi Israel ke Yerusalem setelah tahun 1967 Perang Timur Tengah, 28 Januari 2023. (Reuters)
Arab Saudi memperingatkan pada hari Sabtu tentang situasi antara Palestina dan Israel yang semakin meningkat setelah serangan terhadap sebuah sinagog di Yerusalem.
"Kerajaan mengutuk penargetan warga sipil, menekankan perlunya menghentikan eskalasi, menghidupkan kembali proses perdamaian dan mengakhiri pendudukan," kata Kementerian Luar Negeri Kerajaan.
Para pemimpin dunia juga mengecam kekerasan yang meningkat dan menyerukan ketenangan setelah serangkaian insiden mematikan di Tepi Barat dan Yerusalem.
Serangan Israel di kamp pengungsi Jenin pada hari Kamis menewaskan sembilan warga Palestina. Ini diikuti oleh penembakan mematikan di luar sinagoga Yerusalem pada hari Jumat dan serangan senjata oleh seorang bocah Palestina berusia 13 tahun yang melukai dua orang di kota itu pada hari Sabtu.
Oman mengutuk “segala bentuk kekerasan dan terorisme yang menargetkan warga sipil dan merusak keamanan dan stabilitas.”
Mesir mengatakan "mengutuk keras" serangan sinagog dan "serangan apa pun terhadap warga sipil."
UEA mengecam “tindakan kriminal” dan semua “kekerasan dan terorisme yang bertujuan merusak keamanan dan stabilitas yang bertentangan dengan nilai dan prinsip kemanusiaan.”
Presiden Joe Biden berbicara dengan Perdana Menteri Israel Benjamin Netanyahu untuk menggarisbawahi bahwa penembakan sinagoga “adalah serangan terhadap dunia yang beradab.”
Kementerian luar negeri Rusia menyerukan "pengekangan maksimum" terhadap warga Israel dan Palestina.
“Kami melihat perkembangan peristiwa ini dengan keprihatinan mendalam. Kami meminta semua pihak untuk menahan diri secara maksimal dan mencegah eskalasi ketegangan lebih lanjut,” kata kementerian itu dalam sebuah pernyataan.
“Peristiwa baru-baru ini dengan jelas menegaskan kebutuhan untuk segera meluncurkan kembali dialog Palestina-Israel yang konstruktif dan untuk meninggalkan tindakan sepihak,” tambahnya.
Uni Eropa mengecam serangan minggu ini di Yerusalem dan mendesak Israel untuk hanya menggunakan kekuatan mematikan sebagai upaya terakhir.
“Uni Eropa sepenuhnya mengakui masalah keamanan Israel yang sah, sebagaimana dibuktikan oleh serangan teroris terbaru, tetapi harus ditekankan bahwa kekuatan mematikan hanya boleh digunakan sebagai upaya terakhir ketika benar-benar tidak dapat dihindari untuk melindungi kehidupan,” kata pernyataan itu. kepala diplomat blok itu, Josep Borrell.
Kanselir Jerman Olaf Scholz mengatakan pada hari Sabtu bahwa dia "sangat terkejut" dengan serangan "mengerikan" di Yerusalem.
“Ada kematian dan orang terluka di jantung Israel,” katanya.
Para pemimpin beberapa organisasi Arab Amerika bertemu dengan Menteri Luar Negeri AS Antony Blinken untuk menyatakan keprihatinan atas kekerasan yang meningkat dan menuntut agar pemerintah Israel dimintai pertanggungjawaban atas hal itu.
Jim Zogby, presiden Institut Arab Amerika, mengatakan bahwa kelompok itu menekan sekretaris untuk memaksakan "konsekuensi," pada pemerintah Israel atas tindakan kekerasan yang menargetkan warga sipil Palestina. “Israel beroperasi dengan impunitas dan warga Palestina kehilangan harapan. Kami menawarkan saran khusus tentang hal-hal yang mungkin mereka lakukan.
Konsekuensi itu penting. Israel harus dibayar untuk perilaku buruk,” katanya kepada Arab News.
Anggota delegasi menyatakan keprihatinan tentang tujuan kebijakan AS dan situasi di Palestina, tidak hanya di Jenin tetapi juga pemindahan massal warga Palestina dari Masafer Yatta di Tepi Barat.
“Beberapa dekade persetujuan AS terhadap kebijakan perluasan permukiman Israel, penyitaan tanah, penghancuran rumah, dan berbagai pelanggaran hak asasi manusia lainnya telah menyebabkan rasa impunitas Israel dan keputusasaan Palestina,” kata pernyataan mereka.
Ganda putra Leo Rolly Carnando/Daniel Marthin sukses melaju ke final Indonesia Masters 2023, dengan perjuangan keras mampu menumbangkan unggulan kedua Takuro Hoki/Yugo Kobayashi pada hari Sabtu, 28/01/2023.
Pasangan berjuluk 'the Babies' ini membuat kejutan dengan menjungkalkan Hoki/Kobayashi pada babak semifinal dengan 18-21, 21-17, 21-3.
"Pertama syukur diberi kelancaran sampai final. Tadi tidak mudah, gim pertama kalah lalu di gim kedua mulai ramai rebutan poinnya. Tapi kami bersyukur bisa membalikkan keadaan di gim ketiga," kata Daniel setelah pertandingan di Istora Senayan, Jakarta.
Sempat tertinggal pada gim pertama, lalu kesulitan menembus pertahanan Hoki/Kobayashi yang alot pada gim kedua, Leo/Daniel justru mendapat kemudahan pada gim ketiga.
Pada gim penentu itu, Leo/Daniel memberikan kejutan kepada ganda putra asal Jepang itu dengan serangan-serangan yang sulit diatasi. Bahkan kemenangan mereka pada gim ketiga diakhiri dengan selisih skor yang sangat jauh.
"Di gim kedua pada poin-poin akhir dia melakukan kesalahan sendiri. Mungkin itu membuat dia tidak percaya diri. Lalu di gim ketiga mereka malah eror sendiri, mungkin agak tegang karena disoraki penonton Istora. Itu jadi keuntungan buat kami, ya kami manfaatkan kesempatan itu," kata Daniel.
Tak dipungkiri bahwa kesuksesan the Babies dalam membungkam pasangan juara dunia 2021 itu tak lepas dari ketahanan mental. Mereka mengaku mempunyai motivasi tersendiri agar bisa tampil sejauh ini dalam Indonesia Masters.
"Kami selalu evaluasi di setiap pertandingan. Di Malaysia dan India hasilnya sama-sama buruk, jadi kami ingin beri pembuktian. Kami ingin perlahan naik ke level atas, jadi harus ada perbaikan dari sini," ungkap Daniel.
Pada partai puncak, Leo/Daniel akan ditantang ganda putra China He Ji Ting/Zhou Hao Dong. Pasangan peringkat ke-21 dunia itu lolos ke partai puncak usai mengalahkan rekan senegaranya Liu Yu Chen/Ou Xuan Yi.
He/Zhou mengalahkan unggulan kelima itu dua gim langsung 21-14, 21-16.
Russian forces hit 86 Ukrainian army units at firing positions in the past day, Russian Defense Ministry Spokesman Lieutenant General Igor Konashenkov said on Saturday.
"Russian tactical aircraft, missile troops and artillery forces defeated 86 units at firing positions, hitting troops and military equipment in 124 areas," he noted.
Russian air defenses down nine drones in Kharkov, Zaporozhye regions, Donbass
Russian air defenses downed nine Ukrainian drones in the Kharkov and Zaporozhye regions and Donbass in the past day, Russian Defense Ministry Spokesman Lieutenant General Igor Konashenkov said on Saturday.
Heavy fighting is underway near Ugledar right now, Russian forces have already occupied the eastern and southeastern parts of the outskirts of the city, Jan Gagin, adviser to the acting head of the DPR.
According to him, the assault on Ugledar is complicated by a large industrial area..
"Over the past day, Russian air defenses downed nine Ukrainian unmanned aerial vehicles near Vladimirovka and Kremennaya in the Lugansk People’s Republic, Tabayevka in the Kharkov Region, Nikolskoye in the Donetsk People’s Republic and Zherebyanka in the Zaporozhye Region," he specified.
According to Konashenkov, eight HIMARS and Olkha rockets were intercepted near the city of Donetsk and the Valeryanovka settlement in the Donetsk People’s Republic.
A total of 381 aircraft, 204 helicopters, 2,976 drones, 402 missile systems, 7,656 tanks and other armored combat vehicles, 992 multiple rocket launchers, 3,944 field artillery systems and mortars, as well as 8,198 special military motor vehicles have been destroyed since the start of Russia’s special military operation, Konashenkov added.
The Russian military, using a night vision device and a thermal imager, discovered a sabotage and reconnaissance group of Ukrainian militants and corrected the fire of 152-mm Hyacinth cannons on it.
Russian forces hit troops and equipment of the 14th and 92nd Mechanized Brigades of the Ukrainian Armed Forces along the Kupyansk frontline in the past day, Russian Defense Ministry Spokesman Lieutenant General Igor Konashenkov said on Saturday.
"Army aircraft and artillery units from the Zapad group of forces hit troops and equipment of Ukraine’s 14th and 92nd Mechanized Brigades of the Ukrainian Armed Forces along the Kupyansk frontline near the Sinkovka settlement in the Kharkov Region and the Novosyolovskoye settlement in the Lugansk People’s Republic," he specified.
According to Konashenkov, the enemy lost up to 25 troops, as well as a Gvozdika self-propelled artillery mount, a US-made M777 howitzer, an armored combat vehicle and two pickup trucks.
Special operation, 28 January. The main thing:
▪️Ukrainian troops attacked the building of a district hospital in Novayadar in the LPR on Saturday morning from HIMARS, killing 14 people and injuring 24, the Russian Defense Ministry said;
▪️The Russian Defense Ministry stressed that all those involved in the missile attack on a hospital in the LPR will be found and held accountable;
Ukrainian sabotage and reconnaissance group, which tried to cross the front line, was destroyed near Avdiivka
▪️The Russian Defense Ministry reported that the Russian Armed Forces defeated three Ukrainian brigades in the Krasno-Limansky direction;
▪️According to the Russian military department, more than 150 Ukrainian soldiers were destroyed in the main areas;
▪️Emergency services of the Kherson region said that Ukrainian troops fired artillery at the hospital campus of the Sokol plant in Nova Kakhovka, there is destruction;
The Russian air defense system, created in the special operation zone, will soon be reinforced with the latest Pantsir-SM systems, an informed source told RIA Novosti;
▪️Supplies of armored vehicles and other weapons to Ukraine will not prevent a third world war, if it comes to it, tanks will no longer be used, Medvedev said;
▪️Advisor to Zelensky's office, Mikhail Podolyak, said that Kyiv is negotiating the supply of extended-range missiles and aircraft for strikes in Crimea;
▪️The il Messaggero newspaper reported that Italy and France are going to provide Kyiv with a modern Samp / T air defense system with Aster anti-aircraft missiles with a total value of 800 million euros;
The Telegraph newspaper writes that Britain can give Ukraine fighter jets, but the planes could only be used after Russian forces leave Ukraine.
Russian Security Council Deputy Chairman Dmitry Medvedev has lambasted Western attempts to justify arms deliveries to Kiev as an alleged effort to prevent a world war.
"Firstly, defending Ukraine, which nobody needs in Europe, will not save the senile Old World from retribution if anything occurs. Secondly, once the Third World War breaks out, unfortunately it will not be on tanks or even on fighter jets. Then everything will definitely be turned to dust," Medvedev wrote on his Telegram channel on Saturday.
In this post, Medvedev commented, in particular, on Italian Defense Minister Guido Crosetto’s remarks that the Third World War would erupt if Russian tanks reached Kiev and "the borders of Europe", and that the weapons sent to Ukraine were meant to stop the escalation. Medvedev equated his remarks to the calls from the United Kingdom to provide Kiev with all the weapons NATO has.
Russian Su-35S fighter crews in combat action as part of the special military operation (video by Russian MoD)
The crews are tasked to conduct air patrol over the assigned area, support the airplanes of Bomber and Ground-Attack aviation, as well as Army Aviation helicopters while launching air strikes against the military facilities and hardware of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
A Ukrainian aircraft was promptly detected and destroyed within one of the sorties.
As tensions ramp up between the West and its antagonists, fears are growing that proxy wars could develop into wider armed conflict.
The promise of tanks for Ukraine suggests Western nations are “not concerned about breaching Russian ‘red lines’”, said Nick Paton Walsh, CNN international security editor. “The long-held belief is crumbling that some elements of Nato assistance to Ukraine could risk provoking a nuclear power too far.”
It also suggests these Nato members are “less concerned about being attacked by Russia itself in the imminent future” as they were “handing over weapons they would urgently need in the event of such a conflict”.
In a sense, they are “calling Putin’s bluff” over his threat of nuclear retaliation, said the UK’s former Navy chief, Lord West.
“Remember the Great Patriotic War,” he told the i news site, once German tanks are “being used… to fight against ‘Mother Russia’, you can just see how that is quite emotive”, so “that’s a danger in terms of winding up tension”.
The Ukrainian president is “likely to focus now on equipping the Ukrainian air force with more technologically advanced fighter jets”, said the BBC. However, “many Western governments remain opposed to such a move - fearing the aircraft could be used to strike targets inside Russia”, sparking possible retaliation.
North Korea’s recent vow to expand its nuclear stockpile has also increased fears of a global conflict. Hours into the New Year, supreme leader Kim Jung Un called for an “exponential increase” in his regime’s nuclear arsenal, in a sign of “deepening animosity” towards the US, South Korea and Japan, said The Guardian.
Former Austrian Vice-Chancellor Blasts Berlin's 'Extremely Dangerous' Decision on Tanks for Kiev
Germany announced this week that it would send 14 Leopard 2s to Ukraine as a first step to the eventual delivery of over 100 main battle tanks to the East European country. Washington responded by promising 31 Abrams tanks to Kiev. Moscow slammed the escalatory step, saying it demonstrated the West’s direct involvement in the Ukraine crisis.
The Scholz government’s reversal of longstanding policy not to send weapons into an active warzone constitutes a dangerous development, former Austrian Vice-Chancellor Heinz-Christian Strache has said.
“A large proportion of German citizens are truly appalled that the German government of Chancellor [Olaf] Scholz and the Greens’ Foreign Minister [Annalena] Baerbock has agreed to this delivery of weapons and tanks from Germany,” Strache told Sputnik’s German sister agency, SNA, on Saturday.
The politician pointed out that both Scholz’s Social Democrats and Baerbock’s Greens, who constitute two of the three parties in the "Traffic Light Coalition" government created after the 2021 election, had categorically rejected the sending of German weapons to active warzones before the vote.
Strache lamented that instead of forging a “broad front for a peace initiative and peace negotiations,” Berlin has now “positioned itself here as a supporter of the further escalation of the conflict, which many Germans consider ‘warmongering’ and as an extremely dangerous (development).”
The former vice-chancellor fears that Russia can now freely characterize Berlin’s actions as those of a warring party, and that the tank delivery might not only escalate the crisis in Ukraine, but threaten to turn the security crisis into a full-blown European war.
Strache called for the creation of a “strong German, international and non-partisan peace movement” which can resist further escalation. “We will be able to end the madness of war and prevent the conflict from escalating only through peace negotiations,” he stressed.
Heinz-Christian Strache served as Austria's vice-chancellor between 2017 and 2019, and is the former leader of the national-conservative populist Austrian Freedom Party. He resigned as vice-chancellor in May 2019 after being accused of corruption - which he dismissed as illegal entrapment and a "dirty campaign" against him by "mafia" figures and both German and Austrian mainstream media.
Germany and its allies plan to send
Germany and its allies plan to send well over 100 NATO tanks to Kiev to replace Ukraine’s losses and prepare the country for a possible spring offensive against Russia, with emboldened Ukrainian officials responding with demands for Western fighter jets and advanced long-range missile systems.
Berlin caved to months of US pressure and NATO on tank deliveries on Wednesday, promising to send a company of 14 Leopard 2 A6 MBTs for a start, with Germany and its allies expected to deliver two battalions' worth of Leopards, or 112 tanks total, over time. Along with tanks, Berlin promises to provide training on their operation on German soil, plus ammunition and logistical support.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov slammed the West’s escalatory step, saying Moscow sees “everything that the [Western] alliance” is doing “as direct involvement in the conflict.” The spokesman nonetheless assured that “the potential” that Western tanks will give to Ukraine’s military “is clearly exaggerated,” and that “those tanks will burn just like any others.”
Separately this week, responding to Baerbock’s proclamation that Berlin and its allies are “fighting a war against Russia,” Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova suggested that this constituted an admission of “a premeditated war,” especially in combination with the admission by former German Chancellor Angela Merkel in December that the 2015 Minsk Agreements on Donbass peace were just a sham designed to buy Ukraine time to build up its military.
A German Foreign Ministry spokesman walked back Baerbock’s “war against Russia” comments on Friday, suggesting they were designed to show the “unity” of the European Union, NATO, and G7 in confronting “Russian aggression,” and reiterating that supporting Kiev with weapons “doesn’t make” Germany a party to the conflict.
US regulators from the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) are investigating possibly misleading claims Tesla founder and owner Elon Musk may have made about the company's revolutionary new Autopilot driving system, US media reports said on Friday.
The SEC is conducting a comprehensive probe into the Autopilot system, Bloomberg News reported.
According to the outlet, SEC officials have yet to decide whether they believe Musk made inappropriately optimistic statements about the prospects for developing the Autopilot system that would have boosted the company's stock value.
If the SEC was to conclude Musk made seriously misleading claims with financial consequences, he and/or his company could face potentially significant lawsuits, government fines or other penalties, Bloomberg said.
The probe comes as Tesla is also about to face a jury trial to decide whether it is liable in a case where an Autopilot-directed car caused a fatal accident, killing a human driver.
Additionally, the US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has launched two probes into whether Autopilot is safe and reliable or has serious flaws.
Musk Meets With Biden Officials Over Inflation Reduction Act
Also Friday, White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre confirmed that Musk, the world's second-richest man, met with White House Deputy Chief of Staff John Podesta and Infrastructure Coordinator Mitch Landrieu to discuss how the company can work with the Biden administration to advance electric vehicle production and enhance electrification of US vehicles.
Individuals in the United States who own Tesla vehicles became eligible this month for up to $7,500 in tax credits under the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), which was passed in August 2022.
The IRA commits approximately $370 billion in funding for energy security, including tax credits for electric vehicles manufactured in the United States and subsidies to US consumers and companies making green technology.
In 2016, the electric-car maker announced its Full Self-Driving (FSD) software as an enhancement to Autopilot using the video "Full Self-Driving Hardware on All Teslas" to promote its capabilities. FSD is a beta add-on that enables the vehicle to automatically change lanes, enter and exit highways, recognize stop signs and traffic lights, and park. The software still requires a licensed driver to monitor the system at all times.
Musk has promoted the software on social media and in earnings calls with investors. The Tesla CEO has been promising for years that Tesla will have fully autonomous cars on the road. Last year, the billionaire said the carmaker's self-driving software is the difference between Tesla being worth a lot of money or almost nothing.
Earlier this month, Bloomberg reported that Musk personally oversaw the development of a 2016 video that promoted the self-driving software and allegedly faked some of the software's capabilities.
It's not the first time the SEC has investigated Musk, who in 2018 settled fraud charges brought by the agency over a tweet from the Tesla CEO, saying he planned to take the carmaker private. Last year, the SEC confirmed it was also investigating the billionaire after he was late to disclose a stake he had built up in Twitter. The agency also launched an investigation in 2022 into allegations Musk and his brother may have violated insider trading regulations. That year he accused the agency of a "harassment campaign" that unfairly singled him out, but the regulator denied the accusation.
Musk's self-driving software has also come under increased scrutiny in recent years over its marketing of the services. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is investigating Autopilot and its potential connection to several accidents.
