Comment: Common sense from the unwashed masses:

Comment: The article admits to Ukrainian losses, and even more losses recently. A question is whether it is real. We know that the Biden administration has been looking for money, but did not find quite what was hoped for. Those who did not support more funding need to be told how needed it is. That is only possible to infer from the RT article from knowing the unstated context. If one tries to find the original article this becomes clearer.

Leading House Republicans and the Biden administration are still locked in negotiations on what additional measures should be implemented at the US border. Those talks are linked to a wider funding deal for Ukraine.

If additional U.S. funding for Ukraine is not agreed soon, then the fear for local officials is that Ukrainian casualties in the war will mount further.

ABC needs to boost support for NATO too, so they continue:

Vitaliy, 32, who is originally from Latvia, was being treated for major shrapnel wounds to his arms and legs.

He said he came to fight for Ukraine at the beginning of the war because he didn't want Moscow to threaten his country, which is a member of the European Union and the NATO alliance. [...]

He said he believes that if Russia defeats Ukraine and takes control of wider areas of the country the Kremlin will not stop there.

"The Russians definitely would go further," he said, and "continue to invade countries."

ABC will not tell their readers how this war began, what contribution the US and their states in Europe made to the Maidan coup in Kiev in 2014, and all that followed, or how US-led NATO built up tensions in Europe over decades. The story of ABC concerning Russia can be found in most European media with few exceptions, and since people have been exposed to this daily for years on end, their beliefs are still mostly intact.

See also:

• To avoid losing control of Europe, the U.S. has a war plan for Europe and Russia
• NATO's new secret plan for nuclear war & space battles with Russia risks spiraling Europe into a new arms race between East & West
• Zakharova: US' colonies in Europe are called NATO
• Fyodor Lukyanov: NATO has already destabilized Europe, is it about to deliver the same medicine to Asia?
• NATO has completed its post-Cold War transformation from Europe's guard dog into America's attack dog

• 'Momentary lapse of honesty?' US Defense Sec. Esper gaffes NATO must 'avoid peace in Europe'
• US commander of NATO forces in Europe insists Euro-Atlantic vassals maintain hostile relations with Russia
• Europe needs 'NATO healthcare' to deal with Covid-like crises - German health minister
• 'EU can't defend Europe': Stoltenberg fires away at Macron's 'brain-dead' NATO caricature

People die at the front, that is what the article confirms. The front line has changed very little, as the daily reports are about this or that tree line having been gained or lost. An increased number of casualties often indicates an intensification of fighting. It can also mean that the logistics are worse and that the injured arrive a longer time after having received the injury. The distance to the frontline from Dnepr is from 80 km and up to around 250 km.

When soldiers are injured or die, there is a need for replacements. Perhaps that explains why:

• Ukrainians in UK told to register for military service (January 2024)
• Ukraine buys 50,000 women's military uniforms (January 2024) See the links!
• Women with medical education to be banned from leaving Ukraine and forced to sign up for military service - Kyiv Post (September 2023)

Short clips of forced mobilization keep coming from Odessa, Nikolaev, Kharkov - areas where traditionally many Russian-speaking people live. The videos typically show people taken off the street, bus, fitness center, club, or at home. Similarly in Western Ukraine, where there are ethnic Slovakians and Hungarians. Some might say that these videos only reflect that the Ukrainian-speaking Ukrainians do not dare to protest being carried away, record a video, or that their videos are not uploaded, thus not noticed. Nevertheless, a situation like the current one in Ukraine offers many opportunities to adjust the demographic distribution according to political aims.

Will the situation for the conflict in Ukraine change as violence erupts elsewhere, especially following the Israeli invasion of Gaza, which now has spread to involve the US and the UK in Yemen, again:

• Targeting the Houthis: The West's Obliteration of Yemen by Covert Means (2016)
• Best of the Web: US & UK launch strikes on Yemen, Houthis warn Red Sea blockade will expand to include ships of any country that attacks - UPDATE (January 12, 2024)

2024 may bring some changes to Ukraine, if not on the battlefield then in people's perception. From the last few days there are:

• Ukrainians will benefit from Zelensky's fall - exiled opposition leader
• Ukraine and Palestine: A double threat to US hegemony
• 'Plan B' for Ukraine: Calls for concessions to Russia are growing in both Kiev and the West, but are they realistic?
• Swedes told to 'prepare for war'

In a speech on Sunday, Foreign Minister Tobias Billstrom hailed his country's expected membership in NATO as "the biggest change in Swedish security policy in more than 200 years."

Billstrom warned:

"Russia will constitute a serious threat to the security of Sweden and Europe for the foreseeable future. Stockholm must be realistic and assume - and be prepared for - a drawn-out confrontation."

Echoing the sentiment, Defense Minister Pal Jonson said, "war can also come to us," claiming that Ukraine is acting as "Europe's shield" in the conflict with Russia.

It takes time for politicians to see the light of day:

• West got Ukraine 'painfully wrong' - EU state's PM

Slovakia's Robert Fico has slammed "stupid liberal demagogues" who still support military aid to Kiev...

Funding and arming Ukraine is a "futile waste of human resources and money" that will serve only to fill Ukrainian cemeteries with "thousands of dead soldiers," Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico wrote in an op-ed on Tuesday. Fico's article was a rebuttal to his country's president, who has urged him to send weapons to Kiev.

If one compares the statement of Robert Fico with that of the Swedish war hawks there appears to be a potential in Sweden to add "thousands of dead soldiers," some of whom near the end would end up in a hospital like that in the Ukrainian city of Dnepr.

Comment: Russia has called for an emergency meeting at the UN:

Russia requested the UN Security Council to convene on Friday, January 12, in connection with massed air strikes, delivered by the United States and the United Kingdom on the territory of Yemen, the Russian Permanent Mission to the UN said on its Telegram channel.

"Russia has requested an urgent UN Security Council meeting on January 12 in connection with US and UK strikes on Yemen," the mission said.

The mission told TASS that the meeting was scheduled for 10:00 a.m. local time (3:00 p.m. GMT).

On Wednesday, the UN Security Council adopted a resolution demanding an immediate end to attacks on ships in the Red Sea. As many as 11 UNSC members voted for the document, while four countries, namely, Russia, China, Algeria and Mozambique, abstained. Prior to that, the UNSC rejected three Russian proposals to amend the text of the draft resolution, including the one that mentioned the conflict between Palestine and Israel as the reason behind the recent escalation in the Red Sea.

After the escalation of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict in the Gaza Strip, the Houthis claimed that they would launch strikes on Israeli territory and would not allow ships associated with it to pass through the waters of the Red Sea and the Bab el-Mandeb Strait until the operation in the Palestinian enclave stopped. According to CENTCOM, over 20 commercial carriers and ships have been attacked in these waters since mid-November. In response, the US government declared it was launching operation Prosperity Guardian to ensure the safety of navigation and protect ships in the Red Sea.

In the early hours of January 12, the US and the UK military used surface ships, warplanes and submarines to deliver air strikes on Houthi positions in a number of Yemeni cities.

Turkey's Erdogan responds:

US, Britain of trying to turn Red Sea into 'sea of blood'

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan slammed the United States and Great Britain for a disproportionate use of force in their attacks on the Ansar Allah (Houthi) rebel movement in Yemen and for trying to turn the Red Sea into "a sea of blood."

"They used force disproportionately and they are trying to turn the Red Sea into a sea of blood. Israel is doing the same in Palestine," the Turkish leader told reporters. "We are currently getting news through numerous channels. And through various channels we learn that the Houthis are mounting a successful response," he added.

The Yemeni capital Sanaa, as well as four provinces — Hodeidah, Taiz, Hajjah and Saada — were hit as the US and UK have so far delivered 73 strikes on Yemen, killing five Houthi fighters and leaving six others injured, the Houthi military spokesman, Yahya Saria, said.

Blinken claims his recent trip in the Middle East was intended to deescalate tensions:


Flashback:




See also: US & UK launch strikes on Yemen, Houthis warn Red Sea blockade will expand to include ships of any country that attacks - UPDATE

Comment: Not surprising since this comes from the American media, but they've left out a significant part of the story; namely that the tanker originally belonged to Iran! From PressTV:

The Navy of the Islamic Republic of Iran has announced the seizure of an American oil tanker with a court order in the Sea of Oman.

The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) identified the tanker Marshall Islands-flagged St Nikolas, saying it was boarded at about 7:30 am (0330 GMT) off Sohar in Oman and changed course towards Bandar-e-Jask in Iran.

Ambrey, a British maritime risk company, said the recently renamed tanker was previously prosecuted and fined for carrying Iranian oil, which was confiscated by US authorities.

"Iran has previously taken action against those it has accused of cooperating with the US," it added.

The vessel had been loaded with 145,000 tonnes of crude oil in Basra, Iraq and was destined for Aliaga in Turkey via the Suez Canal, the tanker's Greece-based management company Empire Navigation said.

"Following the violation of the Suez Rajan in April and the theft of Iranian oil by the United States, the oil tanker renamed St Nicholas was seized in retaliation this morning by the court order and the approval of the Ports and Shipping Organization by the strategic Navy of the Islamic Republic of Iran Army and transferred to Iranian ports," Iran's Fars news agency reported.

The tanker, it said, had stolen the cargo of oil belonging to the Islamic Republic of Iran under the direction of the United States and transferred it to the country's ports and put it at the disposal of American authorities.

Last August, the US Navy unloaded a tanker of stolen Iranian oil worth around $56 million off the Texas port, despite warnings from Iran and after American oil firms had resisted the temptation of touching the 800,000-barrel tanker for fear of Iranian retaliation in the Persian Gulf waters.

The decision came as Iran was marking the 70th anniversary of the CIA-engineered military coup against Iran's then-PM Mohammad Mosaddeq.

The Marshall Islands-flagged Suez Rajan tanker carrying Iranian oil was illegally seized by Washington in April 2023 under the guise of "a sanctions-enforcement operation" and guided toward the Texas port.

It came days after a group of US senators and House representatives, at the behest of the Israeli lobby in Washington, began mounting pressure on the Joe Biden administration to unload the tanker, without considering its possible repercussions.

How dare Iran take back it's stolen property!

Comment: This reeks of a publicity stunt and in no way appears that Hunter is attempting to be compliant with the ongoing investigation. As Comer said, it shows "the arrogance and entitlement that he's had his entire life."

See also:

• House approves impeachment inquiry into Joe Biden after Hunter dramatics
• Hunter Biden facing contempt proceedings headed by Comer and Jordan for dodging deposition
• Hunter's newest criminal indictment shows links to Joe Biden's personal lawyer Mel Monzack, who is authorized to act on the president's behalf in financial matters
• Weiss charges Hunter Biden with three tax felonies but ignores foreign influence-peddling to protect Joe
• Rep. James Comer says Hunter Biden indictment was 'to protect him'
• Indictment shows Ukrainian firm Burisma halved Hunter Biden's 1M/yr salary when Donald Trump took office
• Hunter Biden indicted on tax charges

Comment: UPDATE: Friday 12th January @ 00:40 GMT

Air Space Forces Magazine reports:

American and British aircraft and warships launched cruise missiles and airstrikes against multiple targets in Houthi-controlled Yemen on Jan. 11, in response to continuing attacks on commercial shipping, a U.S. official said.

"Tonight, a multinational force, including the US military conducted strikes in Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen. We will have more details to share soon share soon," a defense official added.

The strikes were aimed at more than a dozen targets.

Footage of the strikes:




Alleged footage of Yemen responding:


President Biden was, unsurprisingly, unavailable to make a live statement, choosing to issue a press release instead, and US commentators have taken to the mainstream media to voice their concern:



See also: Iran warns it could cut off Mediterranean Sea as France, Spain and Italy pull out of Red Sea Op - Israeli vessel hit off India's coast

A few thoughts on the US and UK's plans to imminently bomb Yemen in retaliation for Houthi attacks on ships in the Red Sea, which the Houthis have struck to pressure Israel to cease its slaughter in Gaza.

First of all, the UN resolution that condemns the Houthis does not authorize the use of force, though it acknowledges the right of self-defense for the countries whose vessels have been attacked.

Secondly, if the objective is to stop Houthi attacks without escalating matters toward a full war, then bombing them has proven quite inefficient in the past. Just ask the the Saudis.

Moreover, bombing them very likely will escalate matters, which means that not only will the attacks not be stopped, but the broader war that Biden seeks to prevent will likely become a reality.

Indeed, if the objective is to stop them, a ceasefire in Gaza is far more likely to succeed. The Houthis have declared that they will stop if Israel stops, and during the 6 days there was a ceasefire (in November), there was only one attack in the Red Sea that can be attributed to the Houthis.

A ceasefire would also pacify tensions in Iraq/Syria vis-a-vis the US, not to mention win the release of the Israeli hostages held by Hamas.

The question then is why the US and the UK are so adamant about rejecting the policy that is most likely to succeed and instead pursuing the policy that is the most likely to escalate matters even further?

This shows, once more, that for every day that there is no ceasefire in Gaza, we will move closer and closer to the war spreading and the US once again fighting a war of choice in the Middle East.//

'The press room in The Hague watches a video shown to the judges by a South African team in the adjacent courtroom, in which Israeli soldiers dance and sing for the genocide of Palestinians in Gaza.'

Comment: See also:

• Armed gang storms Ecuador TV studio after state of emergency declared - military deployed to 'neutralize narco-terrorist' groups
• Ecuador declares prison emergency after 116 killed, five beheaded in riot - Worst in country's history
• 60-day state of emergency declared in Ecuador as government focuses on soaring drug violence