During a Monday press briefing, National Security Council spokesman John Kirby claimed that Russian forces have suffered more than 100,000 total casualties in the strategic city of Bakhmut since December. According to Kirby, that estimate includes 20,000 troops killed in combat and another 80,000 wounded.
On Saturday, Ukrainian forces aggressively shelled a Russian village in the Bryansk region close to the Ukrainian border, with initial reports indicating that 2 people had been killed in the attack. However, the number of casualties has risen as emergency responders have continued to search the rubble for survivors. According to governor Aleksandr Bogomaz, 4 civilians have been killed, with another two wounded in what he said was “as a result of the actions by Ukrainian nationalists.”
Among other rather unsavory revelations from the trove of Pentagon materials leaked by Airman Jack Teixeira, it has been discovered that the Biden administration’s efforts to slow Putin’s war in Ukraine by imposing sweeping sanctions on Russia are failing. According to the classified assessments, U.S. intelligence believes that Putin can afford to fund Russia’s war in Ukraine for at least another year. The assessments confirm what many in the West already knew to be true – economic sanctions are having little effect on Russia’s war.
Rep. Joe Wilson (R-SC) is planning to introduce a resolution in the House that would declare it is US policy to seek a Ukrainian victory against Russia, which includes returning all Russian-controlled territory to Kyiv, including Crimea.
According to classified documents leaked by Airman Jack Teixeira, Ukraine’s military intelligence, known as HUR, was planning large strikes inside Russian territory in February but delayed the attacks due to pressure from the U.S.
According to Pentagon documents leaked by Airman Jack Teixeira, Washinton does not believe Ukraine will be able to recapture any significant territory during its much-anticipated spring offensive. The doubt expressed in the leaked February assessment has left the Biden administration preparing for failure.
Beijing is backpedaling and referring to comments made by its ambassador to France, Lu Shaye, as personal views after his statements regarding former Soviet states erupted in controversy and fury across Europe and resulted in the summoning of ambassadors.
During a recent visit to China, Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said that the U.S. should stop “encouraging” the war in Ukraine and support peace efforts instead. In response, on Tuesday, the White House accused Lula of repeating Chinese and Russian propaganda.
A trove of classified documents allegedly leaked by Air National Guardsman Jack Teixeira has led to the public revelation that the U.S. is closely spying on UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and is concerned about his engagement with Russia.
The Russian Navy started live-fire snap drills in the Pacific on April 14th. On Monday, Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu announced that the snap combat readiness check of the Russian Pacific Fleet involved more than 25,000 servicemen being put on high alert.