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Russian Long-Range Heavy Bombers Activated And Flying Combat Missions...

Ukrainian Official: Mariupol ‘Doesn’t Exist Anymore’ After Russia Blockade...

Russian Long-Range Heavy Bombers Activated and Flying Combat Missions



By Samantha Chang April 18, 2022 at 6:03am

In yet another sign that America’s cachet is rapidly disintegrating under President Joe Biden, Russia’s war on Ukraine appears to be escalating — not subsiding — despite this administration’s repeated threats and sanctions against President Vladimir Putin.
Col. Oleksandr Motuzianyk, a spokesman for the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense, said Friday that Russia had deployed long-range Tu-22M3 bombers against the war-ravaged Ukrainian city of Mariupol, according to CNN.
The fact that strategic aircraft are now being sent on bombing missions represents a significant escalation in the conflict since Russia invaded Ukraine on Feb. 24. It’s yet another indication that the fighting won’t end anytime soon as both sides dig in their heels.

“On April 14, two Russian strategic heavy bombers Tu-95/-160 have launched cruise missiles hitting the territory of Ukraine from Krasnodar Krai of Russian Federation airspace,” Motuzianyk said.
“Also, for the first time from the start of the armed aggression, bombs were dropped by a long-range bombers Tu-22M3. This airstrike took place, hitting Mariupol.”

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AZ Military News
@AZmilitary1

An official representative of the Ukrainian Defense Ministry said that Russia had used long-range Tu-22M3 bombers for the first time since the beginning of the operation. The bomb attack hit "Azovstal" His face doesn't look like they are winning the war

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2:34 PM · Apr 15, 2022


When the Russian invasion first began two months ago, it was believed that Putin did not want to inflict serious damage on Ukraine because he didn’t want to destroy cities that Russia wants to annex.Now, more aggressive measures are being taken because Ukraine still has not surrendered, as many believed would happen early on in the dispute.
An ongoing foreign war — involving a nuclear power — erupting on the doorsteps of America’s NATO allies threatens global stability and draws us closer to World World III.




Sp3cul8r
@sp3cul8r

Russia going the long range bomber route now. Both sides have stopped negotiations as Russia declares peace talks a “dead end”. As expected, this will drag on for a loooong time. Many on my timeline thought this would be a one month war. Could be just beginning for wheat



9:12 AM · Apr 15, 2022


As a reminder, Vladimir Putin warned in 2018 that Russian missiles can reach anywhere in the world — including the United States — within minutes.

The Russian leader ramped up the saber-rattling last week by sending a note to the United States demanding it stop arming Ukraine.
In the diplomatic démarche viewed by The Washington Post, Russia warned of “unpredictable consequences” if the U.S. and NATO continue to ship weapons systems to Ukraine.

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The veiled threat was a reaction to Biden‘s move to send an additional $800 million in aid to Ukraine, including shipments of long-range howitzers, anti-aircraft and anti-tank weapons, coastal defense drones, armored vehicles and millions of rounds of ammunition.
“We call on the United States and its allies to stop the irresponsible militarization of Ukraine, which implies unpredictable consequences for regional and international security,” Russia said in the note, according to the Post.

While the Russian invasion was reprehensible, it’s also wrong for the United States and NATO to fan the flames.

Sending weapons to Ukraine will only prolong the fighting and lend credence to Putin’s assertion that the U.S. is engaging in a proxy war in a bid to effect regime change.
A strong leader must step in right now to de-escalate this conflict before the U.S. and other nations get dragged into another pointless, bloody, expensive world war.

In the past, this person would have been the American president. However, inept Biden is not that leader, as evidenced by this humiliating skit last week on a Saudi TV station. As a reminder, Saudi Arabia is a U.S. “ally.”



Greg Price
@greg_price11

A Saudi TV station mocks Joe Biden and Kamala Harris.

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8:57 PM · Apr 11, 2022

The demeaning spoof mocked the 79-year-old career politician as feeble and senile.

The previous month, Saudi leaders refused to take Biden’s call to address the alarming global oil crisis exacerbated by the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
If America’s “allies” openly laugh at Biden, you can be sure its enemies are increasingly emboldened by his anemic leadership.

Russian Long-Range Heavy Bombers Activated and Flying Combat Missions (westernjournal.com)

A view shows the gates of the Illich Steel and Iron Works damaged during Ukraine-Russia conflict in the southern port city of Mariupol, Ukraine, on April 15, 2022. (Alexander Ermochenko/Reuters)

RUSSIA-UKRAINE WAR
Ukrainian Official: Mariupol ‘Doesn’t Exist Anymore’ After Russia Blockade

By Allen Zhong
April 17, 2022 Updated: April 18, 2022

A Ukrainian official said that Mariupol city “doesn’t exist anymore” after Russia announced the urban area of the city is clear of Ukraine troops.
“The situation in Mariupol is both dire militarily and heartbreaking. The city doesn’t exist anymore. The remainder of the Ukrainian army and large group of civilians are basically encircled by the Russian forces,” Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said during an interview with CBS’ “Face the Nation.”
The Kremlin announced on Saturday that there were no Ukrainian troops in the urban area of Mariupol, a key battlefield in the east of Ukraine.
“The entire urban territory of Mariupol is completely cleared of militants of the Nazist group ‘Azov,’ foreign mercenaries, and Ukrainian troops,” the Russian Defense Ministry wrote in a social media post.
About 2,500 Ukrainian troops are blocked from leaving Azovstal, one of Europe’s biggest metallurgical plants located in the east of Mariupol, by Russian troops who have surrounded the plant, the Russian Defense Ministry estimated.



This picture shows the partially destroyed Mariupol drama theatre, bombed last March 16, in Mariupol on April 12, 2022, as Russian troops intensify a campaign to take the strategic port city, part of an anticipated massive onslaught across eastern Ukraine, while Russia’s President makes a defiant case for the war on Russia’s neighbour. – *EDITOR’S NOTE: This picture was taken during a trip organized by the Russian military.* (Alexander Nemenov/AFP via Getty Images)

Several Ukrainian officials said their troops are still struggling in Mariupol and have defied the deadline offered by Russian forces to surrender.
The Russian Defense Ministry gave the Ukrainians at Mariupol’s giant Azovstal steel mill until 1 p.m. on April 17 to surrender, saying that those who put down their weapons will be “guaranteed to keep their lives.”
Ukrainian troops refusing to surrender in the besieged port of Mariupol would be destroyed, the Russian military warned.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy threatened to cut all talks with Russia if the remaining Ukrainian troops in Mariupol were eliminated.
“The more Borodianka-like cases appear, there will be no chance that negotiations will be held, actually,” he said during an interview with Ukrainian media. “The destruction of all our guys in Mariupol—what they are doing now—can put an end to any format of negotiations.”
Borodianka is an urban-style settlement about 37 miles northwest of the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv from which the Russian forces recently withdrew. Zelenskyy said that more than 300 civilians were killed by Russian forces, with about 30 of them executed.

However, Kuleba said that Russia and Ukraine have had no contact for weeks at the diplomatic level.
“The only level of contact is the negotiating team that consists of representatives of various institutions and members of parliament,” he said.
He downplayed the ceasefire talks and labeled the efforts as “consultations at the expert level.”



Russian soldiers and volunteers distribute bread in Mariupol on April 12, 2022, as Russian troops intensify a campaign to take the strategic port city, part of an anticipated massive onslaught across eastern Ukraine, while Russia’s president makes a defiant case for the war on Russia’s neighbor. – *EDITOR’S NOTE: This picture was taken during a trip organized by the Russian military.* (Alexander Nemenov/AFP via Getty Images)Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered a full-scale invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24, which the Kremlin calls “a special military operation.”
The United Nations said that as of April 15, 1,982 civilians had been killed and 2,651 injured in Ukraine since Russia’s invasion, and more than 4.8 million people had fled the country.

Russian forces recently shifted focus to the south and east of Ukraine where the separatist or disputed territories are located. The Kremlin is apparently intending to occupy the corridor connecting Crimea and Donbas, with Mariupol being a key city along the corridor.



A map by the U.K. Ministry of Defense shows the troop locations of Russia and Ukraine as of April 17. (U.K. Ministry of Defense) However, a ceasefire over this area seems stuck, with the two sides having taken on irreconcilable stances.
The gap between Russian and Ukrainian demands seems unbridgeable on the issue of Crimea and Donbas; both areas have been de facto occupied by Russia or pro-Russian separatists.
Putin clearly demanded that Ukraine recognize Crimea as part of Russia, and Donetsk and Luhansk as independent. Meanwhile, Zelenskyy has agreed to possibly set aside the disputes for those territories but also vowed to not give them up.

Ukrainian Official: Mariupol ‘Doesn’t Exist Anymore’ After Russia Blockade (theepochtimes.com)