Here’s your daily missile strike update for May 22, 2023
Translation with my notes in bold typeface and in [brackets]. You can consult the map linked here, and also read my explanation of possible motives.
https://ria.ru/20230522/trevoga-1873519228.html
05/22/2023
Air alert declared in eight oblasts of Ukraine
Ukrainian authorities have declared an alarm in Kyiv and seven other oblasts of the country
MOSCOW, May 22 - RIA Novosti. An air alert has been declared in Kyiv, Mykolaiv, Kharkiv, Poltava, Dnipropetrovsk, Chernihiv, Sumy, Odesa oblasts of Ukraine and Kiev-controlled parts of Zaporozhie and Kherson, according to the data of the online map of the Ukrainian Ministry of Digital Transformation.
In the Kharkiv oblast, the alarm sounded at 22.56 (coincides with Moscow time), then spread to Kyiv, Poltava, Sumy, Dnepropetrovsk, Mykolaiv, Odessa, Chernigov, as well as parts of Zaporozhye and Kherson oblasts controlled by Kiev.
[This is an unusually high number of strikes. Could it be related to the Ukrainian strikes on Russian territory?]
**
Biden just signed off on WW III
The last barrier to WW III has just fallen.
As Caitlin Johnstone lays out, national security adviser Jake Sullivan said Washington did not place any restrictions on the use of its weapons by Ukraine for attacks in Crimea (evidence linked below).
In response to a question about whether American weapons could be used to strike Crimea, Sullivan said the United States had said that they would not allow Ukraine to use American and Western weapons to strike Russia, but that there were no restrictions on attacks on internationally recognized territory. The borders of the country are not defined.
Sullivan made it clear that, in the US view, Crimea is Ukrainian, not Russian.
But does Sullivan even know that the Russians have, since 2014, considered Crimea part of the Russian Federation? So a strike on Crimea is a strike on Russia proper as far as Russia is concerned. And since Russia is the party that decides whether or how to retaliate, it doesn’t matter what the psychos in Washington think.
And the political status of Crimea is not a whim that happened to occur to the Kremlin.
It is based on a referendum held in Crimea in 2014, which was monitored by international observers. The majority of the publications that reported this were countries aligned with the lying US, so it was hard to find an appropriate link. I finally settled for the Global Times, because China has friendly ties to Ukraine but is also not aligned with the Empire of Lies. The report published there is very objective and dry but does not slam the referendum as a “sham.”
If the US goes to war – nuclear this time – it will be based on another of the many lies the US regime has used to go cook up horrific wars on false pretenses. That is, the lie, in one version, that the referendum was faked, ie, the people of Crimea voted under threat of being shot, or in another version, that international law regarding referendums was not followed. Both versions are lies, but that is nothing new for the good old USA.
When in doubt, lie lie lie.
I happen to have a very reliable source in Crimea and he tells me that everyone he talks to is happy to be part of Russia – at variance with the going lies of the US media and political class.
So our lovely planet could disappear in the foreseeable future thanks to another US lie.
I think we can probably expect US arms eventually to be used in Crimea, and at that point, it is up to the Russian Federation to determine our fate. Will it use nukes to retaliate? Or will it find a middle-ground solution? Perhaps a deadly strike on the Kiev regime HQ?
Depending on the outcome, may I just thank all my readers for their kind attention, and… well … farewell, Folks.
Initially, I thought Caitlin surely got it wrong because even the Biden regime could not be this stupid, but no, I found several sources for this. In fact, even Caitlin’s article carries 2 links to the story. It’s real all right.
Pray for a miracle but kiss your loved ones goodbye just in case.
Here’s Jake reiterating his death wish on Twitter:
https://www.globaltimes.cn/content/848552.shtml
More reports:
US national security adviser Jake Sullivan said Washington did not place any restrictions on the use of its weapons by Ukraine for attacks in Crimea, APA reports citing CNN.
In response to a question about whether American weapons could be used to strike Crimea, Sullivan said the United States had said that they would not allow Ukraine to use American and Western weapons to strike Russia, but that there were no restrictions on attacks on internationally recognized territory. The borders of the country are not defined.
The position of the State Department was supported by Jake Sullivan, and in his speech he emphasized that the White House does not plan to set restrictions when it comes to the use of Western weapons by the Ukrainian Armed Forces for strikes in Crimea.
**
The following articles are translations with my notes in bold and in [brackets]
Ukraine lost 55,000 dead in Bakhmut
05/22/2023. Battle for Bakhmut today: Losses of Ukrainians in Bakhmut amounted to 55,000 killed - news, situation on May 22
In Artemovsk (Ukrainian name - Bakhmut) there are still a few dozen residents, the evacuation of the civilian population continues, the security forces of the DPR reported.
FPV drone "Ghoul" successfully used in combat
In the conditions of signal suppression by the enemy’s electronic warfare forces, he hit the dugouts and fortifications of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, destroying the Ukrainian military. This was reported to us by a representative of the drone manufacturing company.
He added that the drone was used with projectiles assembled by the military in the field and consisting of explosives and submunitions, which saves serial ammunition.
American political journalist Jackson Hinkle called the past week "terrible" for the entire Ukrainian people.
[I would respectfully disagree with Hinkle. The Bakhmut defeat takes this war closer to its end and that is good news for everyone. Having said that, the sickos in both Kiev and Washington will fight to the last Ukrainian if possible but at this point, it will be extremely difficult to recruit people. A report in a Western media outlet quoted a Ukrainian recruit headed to Bakhmut saying “they’re sending me to die.” They knew. How long can Zelensky stay in power at this rate?]
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Russia strikes in Ukraine
05/22/2023. Kyiv conducts evacuation in Chasov Yar: Report from Ukraine on May 22
Last night, the Russian Armed Forces delivered strikes with Gerans, KABs and missiles at enemy targets in the oblasts of Odessa, Dnepropetrovsk, Ochakov, Zaporozhye, Orekhov, Kharkov and Kherson. Strategic aviation was involved. The end of the alarm sounded closer to 6 am Moscow time. The enemy claimed that our plane had been shot down, but later the only official who published this false information deleted this message. Probably, the enemy's air defenses "destroyed" the decoy used by the Russian Armed Forces.
In the Artemovsky (Bakhmut) direction, the destruction of the Nazis in Chasov Yar has been activated, and the city is being evacuated. The head of the Wagner PMC [private military company] confirmed the previously announced information that on May 25, the positions in the city would be transferred under the control of units of the Russian Armed Forces, the PMC is leaving for field camps for reorganization and resupply.
In the Avdeevka area, the Russian Armed Forces are expanding their zone of control north of Krasnogorovka. [Avdeevka is the fortified city from which the Ukronazis have shelled innocent civilians in the Donetsk People’s Republic since 2014. This was the provocation that prompted Putin to launch his special military operation in Ukraine, which the lying Western media almost all falsely called an “unprovoked invasion.”]
Our artillery was actively working in the Ugledar area yesterday.
In the Zaporizhie area, our armored groups are working, destroying the enemy in forest plantations. [The Russian forces have gained access to new means of ferreting out the enemy in wooded regions and are now able to destroy many more hidden targets that they could not locate in the past] Our fighters and commanders in the field have long noticed places advantageous for the enemy, which it is expedient to occupy.
The enemy is using long-range missile weapons recently supplied by the enemy [West]: the British Storm Shadow cruise missile hit the Berdyansk airfield, which did not cause significant damage. According to official Russian authorities in the Zaporozhye region, a total of seven missiles were fired, four of which were Storm Shadow and three decoys. Six missiles were intercepted.
The Belgorod region was subjected to a large number of shelling of the civilian population by the Nazis. [The city of Belgorod is only 23 miles from the border and is often attacked by Ukronazis, whose targets are generally innocent civilians. Following the ignominious dfeat in Bakhmut, these Nazis are filled with impotent rage]. Volokolonovsky district, n.p. were under fire. Golovchino, Graivoronsky district. The governor said yesterday morning that only 37 shellings were recorded in the Shebekinsky urban district. Artillery worked in the Krasnoyaruzhsky district, 11 shells were fired near the village of Krasnaya Yaruga, and 6 in the village of Staroselye.
In the LPR, the Armed Forces of Ukraine fired on Kalinovo-Borshchevatoe from the HIMARS missile defense system. There are civilian casualties.
The Nazis fired 177 rounds of ammunition at the civilian population of the DPR. Gorlovka, Yasinovataya, Donetsk, Makeevka, Aleksandrovka, Yelenovka were under fire. 5 civilians were wounded. [This is a classic example of impotent rage attacks. The Ukronazis are insanely mad that they lost “fortress” Bakhmut, and they may even be smart enough to know that this defeat spells the end for their regime. Lacking smarts and military means to fight the Russians, they resort to killing civilians – which is what started this war
in the first place. I suspect US Neocons are also egging them on, which means that the US Neocons and Biden Democrats are also seething with impotent rage. They are all just simply driving off the cliff like so many lemmings, realizing that Biden doesn’t have the votes for 2024 and is in trouble with the law. So sad. And paid for by taxpayers who are skimping to get enough to eat for their families and enough gas to drive to work and back. Oh well, at least the Nazis will get their weapons. Feel better now?]
The Armed Forces of Ukraine are making attempts to attack in the direction of Graivoron, Belgorod oblast [This is Russia proper]. First, they fired at our territory with mortars, now a tank platoon and a couple of motorized infantry platoons are trying to demonstrate an offensive. The purpose of all this is not only to create panic in us and deceive us with the direction of the blow, but also to fill the internal information agenda with positive news for the internal consumer, otherwise after Bakhmut and Zaluzhny, the Ukrainian lowlife will be upset.
Now the attacking armored group of the Ukrainians will puff itself up, or it will quickly retreat, photographing the border crossing along the way, then passing it all off as a mighty victory.
Ukrainian sabotage and recon groups are reportedly trying to infiltrate the Belgorod region - Russian border guards are repelling the attack
Ukrainian saboteurs are trying to penetrate into the Grayvoron Mountains district of the Belgorod region. According to the media, the militants want to enter the territory of Russia through the village of Kozinka. Now a battle is going on near the village of Dronovka [Russia proper]. Official authorities have not yet confirmed this information. Earlier, the Armed Forces of Ukraine inflicted massive shelling on the villages of the Graivoronsky mountains of the district.
There is a fierce battle with a Ukrainian sabotage and recon group n the border of the Belgorod [in Russia, just across the border] oblast near the village of Dronovka
"Military equipment has been brought in from both sides, several drones have been seen in the sky, air defenses are working," the media reported.
**
The Nazi groups of impotent rage
In English, please read. This is the group that is wreaking havoc in Russia now
https://antifascist-europe.org/russia/russian-volunteer-corps-denis-whiterex-is-back-in-business/
**
Martyanov shoots down the F-16
https://smoothiex12.blogspot.com/
Excerpts:
For starters, it will take a long time to adequately train Ukrainian pilots and maintenance crews to be able to fly the jets into combat and keep them airworthy. In February, Undersecretary of Defense Colin Kahl said it would take between 18 and 24 months to get pilots and maintenance crews trained, airframes procured, and delivered on site for use. Yet a leaked Air Force assessment leaked last Thursday suggested the training time might be as few as four months. Even if that were true — and in all likelihood that would get pilots to a minimum capacity to fly the jets but be far from proficient in air-to-air combat — the process to identify F-16s from partner countries, get them airworthy, and then deliver them with the full contingent of maintenance supplies, spare parts, and ammunition, will likely take into 2024.
…
Russia is ready for any contingency, including even the suicidal decision by Washington to throw whatever forces of the US Army they will be able to assemble. They will have the fate similar to VSU and that is why Russian Ground Forces have roughly half-a-million fresh and well trained troops in a strategic reserve in the rear. In this case, F-16s in 404 are just a desperate gesture against the background of a catastrophic military-economic collapse of the combined West and regimes who drove Western Civilization into the ground and who are feeling the pinch. In related news: war crimes tribunals are set up by victors and the West ain't victor. But I am sure they know it in D.C. and Brussels, right?
**
Our thanks to JS for this:
The Yemen War Can Be Over — If Biden Wants It
The U.S. seems to be attempting to slow-walk and blow up the peace talks. Triggering a resumption of hostilities would unleash yet another Saudi-led bombing campaign that could win U.S. proxies better terms when it comes to control of the strategically positioned Yemeni coastline. In mid-April, as news of the Saudi-Iran-Houthi peace deal emerged, U.S. diplomats rushed to Saudi Arabia to tap the brakes. Saudi Arabia is still inflicting a blockade on Yemen, preventing food, medical supplies, and energy from entering the country at anywhere near the capacity needed for basic survival.
by Ryan Grim, The Intercept, 18 May 2023
https://theintercept.com/2023/05/18/yemen-war/
EXCERPTS:
Erik Sperling, executive director of Just Foreign Policy, was even more blunt. “It’s surreal to think that the Biden administration is more hawkish on Yemen than the brutal regime of Mohammed bin Salman, but that’s the current reality,” said Sperling. “[U.S. Special Envoy for Yemen Tim] Lenderking has made clear that his primary goal is not ending the war but advancing the U.S. and Israeli anti-Iran crusade in the region. He would prefer the Saudis continue their brutal war and blockade against Yemen, even if it means endangering Saudi security, to a deal that legitimizes Yemen’s de facto authorities. The blood of Yemenis will once again be on U.S. hands if he succeeds in his goal of scuttling the Saudi-Houthi deal and the war escalates.”
…
If the U.S. wanted to reduce the risk of restarting the war, it could urge Saudi Arabia to lift the blockade without conditions, or could announce that it will not support a new round of Saudi bombing. The U.S. has resisted doing either.