Tag: troops

Big News: State Govt Issues Shoot At Sight’ Orders, More Troops Developed In The State – Kashmir News
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State Govt Issues Shoot At Sight’ Orders: The Manipur government has issued “shoot-at-sight orders” as a last resort to control the situation amid spiralling violence in the state between tribals and the majority Meitei community which has displaced over 9,000 people from their villages.
Clashes first broke out on Wednesday in Churachandpur town after tribal Kuki groups called for protests against a proposed tweak to the state’s reservation matrix, granting scheduled tribe (ST) status to the majority Meitei community. Violence quickly engulfed the state where ethnic fault lines run deep, displacing thousands of people who fled burning homes and neighbourhoods.
The violence didn’t abate till late on Thursday evening even as thousands of army and paramilitary personnel fanned across the state, marching through the deserted streets of the state’s violence-hit towns to restore peace, and evacuating at least 9,000 people.
The Indian army in statement late on Thursday said that the situation in the towns of Moreh and Kangpokpi was stable and had been brought under control.
Here are 10 facts on this big story:
The Manipur government on Thursday issued “shoot at sight” orders in “extreme cases” after violence in the state spilled over to Imphal. Rapid Action Force (RAF) was flown in and 55 army columns were deployed to contain the spiraling violence.
According to sources, Centre is rushing additional troops to the state. The Indian Air Force (IAF) will airlift forces from Guwahati and Tezpur in Assam. Former CRPF chief Kuldeep Singh has been appointed as the security advisor for Manipur while senior IPS officer Ashutosh Sinha made the overall commander overseeing the peace restoration operations in the state.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah will not be travelling to Manipur today. Mr Shah on Thursday spoke with the chief ministers of Manipur and its neighbouring states and held meetings with top central and state bodies through video conferencing to review the situation in the state.
Although the government is yet to confirm the number of lives lost, if any, or how many have been injured in the clashes, over 9,000 people from various districts have been evacuated and given shelter in special camps. Around 5,000 have been shifted to Churachandpur, another 2,000 people were shifted to Imphal Valley, and 2,000 people to the border town of Moreh.
“The government is taking all measures to maintain the law and order. We are committed to protecting the lives and property of all our people,” Manipur Chief Minister N Biren Singh said on Thursday.
In the wake of the violence, Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma on Thursday directed officials to evacuate students of his state studying in various schools and colleges in Manipur.
The violence began on Wednesday during protests by various tribal groups of Manipur over a court order on Scheduled Tribe status.
The All Tribal Student Union Manipur (ATSUM) called a ‘Tribal Solidarity March’ in Torbung area of Churachandpur district to protest against the non-tribal Meitei community’s demand for a Scheduled tribe status. According to the police, thousands took part in the rally during which violence broke out between some tribal groups and non-tribals.
The Meitei, who are the majority in the state, primarily inhabit the Manipur valley. The Meitei’s claim that they are facing difficulty in view of “large-scale illegal immigration by Myanmarese and Bangladeshis”. As per existing law, the Meiteies are not allowed to settle in the hill areas of the state.
Given the volatile atmosphere in the state, internet services have been suspended across the state till Monday, train operations have been stopped and curfew imposed in non-tribal dominated Imphal West, Kakching, Thoubal, Jiribam and Bishnupur districts and tribal-dominated Churachandpur, Kangpokpi and Tengnoupal districts.
(With Inputs From Agencies)

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( With inputs from : kashmirnews.in )
May 5, 2023
‘Unacceptable’: Top Dem rips Biden plan to send 1,500 more troops to southern border

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The move comes as Title 42, the public health law that permits the U.S. to deny asylum and migrations claims for public health reasons, is set to expire on May 11. Some senior U.S. officials say the end of Title 42 could entice more people seeking a better life in America to present themselves at the U.S.-Mexico border.
“The administration has had over two years to plan for the eventual end of this Trump-era policy in a way that does not compromise our values as a country,” Menendez said. “I have offered them a strategic and comprehensive plan, which they have largely ignored. Trying to score political points or intimidate migrants by sending the military to the border caters to the Republican Party’s xenophobic attacks on our asylum system.”
The service members, mainly coming from Army units, will not have a law enforcement role. They will be armed for self-defense but will be performing monitoring and administrative tasks only, freeing up Border Patrol officials to process migrant claims, officials said.
The additional troops, which are being sent to fill a request from the Department of Homeland Security, will fill “critical capability gaps,” including detection and monitoring, data entry and warehouse support. They will be there for up to 90 days, after which military reservists or contractors will do the work.
“U.S. Customs and Border Protection is investing in technology and personnel to reduce its need for DoD support in coming years, and we continue to call on Congress to support us in this task,” the Department of Homeland Security said in a statement.
Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin approved the official request from DHS, sending soldiers to join 2,500 National Guard troops already activated to assist law enforcement at the border.
The National Guard troops already at the border are deployed in active-duty status, which means their mission is funded by the federal government and not their respective states, according to the DoD official. They are assisting border agents with detection and monitoring.
President Joe Biden last week signed an executive order authorizing the administration to call up active-duty forces to address drug trafficking at the southern border, essentially preapproving the mission. DHS then asked the Pentagon for assistance.

Fox News first reported the development.
Last week, DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas previewed how his agency would be stretched by the end of Title 42.
“We have been preparing for this transition for more than a year and a half. Notwithstanding those preparations, we do expect that encounters at our southern border will [be] increasing, as smugglers are seeking to take advantage of this change and already are hard at work spreading disinformation that the border will be open after that,” he told reporters. “High encounters will place a strain on our entire system, including our dedicated and heroic workforce and our communities.”
Biden admin to set up migrant processing centers in Latin America ahead of end of Title 42
While the politics of the border crisis have shifted in recent years, Biden could see similar reactions to Menendez’s. Many Democrats fiercely resisted the Trump administration’s deployment of active-duty troops to the U.S.-Mexico border, arguing the move was politically motivated, would harm readiness and service members would be quietly involved in law enforcement. The House Armed Services Committee’s first hearing after Democrats took control in 2019, for instance, was on the Pentagon’s support for DHS at the border.
But the Senate’s top appropriator on defense, Jon Tester (D-Mont.), said he wouldn’t object to the move as an emergency measure. He added that the news highlights the need to fully fund the Department of Homeland Security.
“We need a secure border, if that’s what we need to do now, do it,” Tester said. “The real issue here is that we have to empower the Department of Homeland Security, and Customs and Border Protection to do that job.”
The Senate Armed Services Committee’s ranking member, Sen. Roger Wicker (R-Miss.), said he hadn’t been briefed on the matter.
He said Biden, who’d previously shown “a lack of concern about the border” might now be “reading the polls.”
“If they would begin to resume enforcement of the law, it would be the best step possible,” Wicker said. “We are told by agents along the border that their hands are tied and they’re not allowed to enforce the law as they were earlier.”
The Biden administration’s move continues the trend of presidents using troops to fill in for the personnel-strapped Border Patrol as Congress hasn’t fully funded the agency to do its work.
In 2006, then-President George W. Bush deployed 6,000 troops to the border in California, Arizona, New Mexico and Texas for Operation Jump Start, which lasted two years. While there, the troops assisted with more than 185,000 apprehensions of undocumented immigrants.
Four years later, then-President Barack Obama and then-Vice President Biden sent up to 1,200 troops to the border during Operation Phalanx, which stretched for about a year. Soon after, the Obama administration also deployed troops, including a Stryker unit, from Fort Bliss to the border communities in Arizona and New Mexico for two months.
In 2018, then-President Donald Trump sent some 2,100 National Guardsmen to the southwest, though they mostly stayed miles from the border and largely performed support tasks for the U.S. Border Patrol. Months later, days before midterm elections, he deployed another 5,200 troops to fortify the border, drawing backlash from former military officials and Democrats who accused Trump of abusing the military to rile up his base.
Matt Berg and Connor O’Brien contributed to this report.
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( With inputs from : www.politico.com )

May 2, 2023
Taliban take out ‘mastermind’ of bombing that killed 13 U.S. troops in Afghanistan

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After U.S. officials learned of the Taliban operation, the intelligence community worked with the military in recent days to independently confirm the terrorist’s death with “a high level of confidence,” the official said. The Biden administration is holding off on announcing the news until the family members of the victims of the Abbey Gate attack have been notified.
“We are not partnering with the Taliban, but we do think the outcome is a significant one,” the senior official said.
Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle have criticized the chaotic withdrawal after the rapid collapse of the Afghan government in August, 2021. They have also questioned whether the Biden administration has the ability to prevent another terrorist attack on the homeland without a presence on the ground in Afghanistan.
But the senior administration official noted that the Taliban operation validates Biden’s decision to withdraw American troops from Afghanistan.
It “reflects moreover the president’s judgment that we did not need to remain on the ground, in harm’s way, in Afghanistan in perpetuity in order to effectively address any threat that might emanate from Afghanistan,” the official said.
Kirby said the Biden administration has “made clear to the Taliban that it is their responsibility to ensure that they give no safe haven to terrorists, whether al Qa’ida or ISIS-K.”
The U.S. government has been hunting the Islamic State member responsible for the attack since Aug. 26, 2021, when a suicide bomber detonated an explosive device outside of the Abbey Gate at Hamid Karzai International Airport where U.S. service members were working to evacuate American citizens and at-risk Afghans. In addition to the service members killed, at least 170 Afghans also died in the attack.
At the time, ISIS-K claimed responsibility for the bombing. After an investigation, the Pentagon concluded that it was the result of a single bomber, not the “complex” attack U.S. officials initially described.

Since the U.S. military withdrew from Afghanistan on Aug. 31, 2021, Pentagon officials have warned that ISIS-K is becoming an increasing threat. In October of that year, Colin Kahl, the undersecretary for policy, told lawmakers that the group could be able to launch attacks on the West and its allies within six months to two years.
Although the U.S. military no longer has a presence on the ground in Afghanistan, the U.S. still maintains an “over-the-horizon” capability to hunt terrorists there, military leaders have said. The Pentagon has conducted a number of operations in the country since August 2021, including one that resulted in the death of 9/11 architect and al Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri in August of 2022.
In January, the military took out Bilal al-Sudani, a financial facilitator for ISIS and ISIS-K, who was hiding in Somalia, Kirby said. The U.S. and its partners have also killed many ISIS leaders in Syria in recent years, he added.
“We have made good on the president’s pledge to establish an over-the-horizon capacity to monitor potential terrorist threats, not only from in Afghanistan but elsewhere around the world where that threat has metastasized as we have done in Somalia and Syria,” Kirby said.
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( With inputs from : www.politico.com )

April 26, 2023
Turkish troops kill 21 terrorists in Syria, Iraq: Defence Minister

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Ankara: A total of 21 “terrorists” were killed by Turkish troops over the past four days in northern Syria and Iraq, Turkish Defence Minister Hulusi Akar said.
Three of the “terrorists” were killed in Iraq’s Zap region, semi-official Anadolu Agency quoted Akar as saying during an event in the Turkish central province of Kayseri on Saturday, Xinhua news agency reported.
Calling the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) a “tool in the hands of imperialists” to hinder Turkey’s development, Akar said that the Turkish government is determined to eliminate the PKK.

The fight against “terrorists” will not end until the security of Turkey’s borders and the nation is ensured, he said.
The PKK has been involved in armed clashes with Turkish forces for more than three decades and is designated as a terrorist organisation by Turkey, the US, and the European Union.
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( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

April 23, 2023
U.S. positioning troops ahead of possible Sudan embassy evacuation

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A Defense Department spokesperson confirmed that the U.S. was prepositioning troops, but stopped short of saying they were heading to Djibouti.
“The Department of Defense, through U.S. Africa Command, is monitoring the situation in Sudan and conducting prudent planning for various contingencies. As part of this, we are deploying additional capabilities nearby in the region for contingency purposes related to securing and potentially facilitating the departure of U.S. Embassy personnel from Sudan, if circumstances require it,” said DoD spokesperson Lt. Col. Garron Garn.
Some in the administration are hoping to avoid scenes reminiscent of the evacuation from Kabul, Afghanistan, in 2021. The crush of thousands pleading to leave the city as the Taliban took control became a defining image of America’s withdrawal.
Lawmakers, meanwhile, are worried about the safety of U.S. staffers in Khartoum.
Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.), a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said worried senators took a detour to a Capitol briefing Thursday on the document leaks to ask about the safety of U.S. personnel in Khartoum. Declining to provide specifics because of the classified setting, Kaine said there was a plan in place to take care of them.
“Arrangements have been made. They’re sheltering in place and currently all secure, all accounted for and in communication with them,” he said. “There’s a whole-of-government effort to figure out exactly how to make sure that they continue in safety. We’re very much on top of it.”
Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah), also on the committee, added “I, of course, have concerns about our personnel there.” He declined to discuss specific plans.
A military evacuation seems more likely by the hour.

The airport, located in central Khartoum, is closed but would be inoperable even if it reopened due to damage from bombardment and fighting. The roughly 70 U.S. staff at the embassy have no options to leave Sudan on their own without immense risk to their safety. For the most part, U.S. diplomats in Sudan are unaccompanied, meaning they do not have their family with them at what’s considered a challenging post, a State Department official said.
The American mission in the capital warned Thursday that “due to the uncertain security situation in Khartoum and closure of the airport, it is not currently safe to undertake a U.S. government-coordinated evacuation of private U.S. citizens.”
Also on Wednesday, Molly Phee, the top State Department official for African affairs, told congressional staffers that it was too late to order a departure of the mission because of the deteriorating security situation that has already led to around 300 deaths and about 3,000 more wounded, two congressional aides said.
Another U.S. official familiar with the planning said papers had been drawn up at the State Department for an evacuation order. The official added that State Department leadership held a call with embassy staff Thursday morning to discuss options, including a ground evacuation. But the assessment, per the official, was that travel by road was currently more dangerous than by air.
A potential option would be to move the personnel to Wadi Seidna Air Base for an air evacuation. Dozens of Egyptian soldiers captured by the Rapid Support Forces paramilitary group were released this week and flew home from that base, which is 14 miles north of Khartoum.
The United States was also in touch with other countries with embassies in the Sudanese capital about evacuation plans, a different U.S. official said.
The State Department didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
The Biden administration has faced similar situations multiple times since the chaotic Kabul evacuation.
As the situation deteriorated in Ethiopia amid a major conflict, the State Department urged Americans to leave the country while preparing U.S. forces and diplomats for a potential full embassy closure that ultimately did not have to happen. (A partial drawdown of non-emergency embassy personnel was ordered.)
The administration shut down the U.S. Embassy in Kyiv in the days before Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Within months it had reopened the embassy, though not at full staffing.
The Biden administration in both cases said it would not stage another Kabul-style evacuation that involved people beyond U.S. government employees. To that end, it sent out warnings for weeks and months telling Americans to leave Ethiopia and Ukraine.
The political situation in Sudan has been volatile for years, and the State Department has long urged Americans not to travel there. The last time a similar fight broke out in the region between two top leaders, 400,000 people died — and that was in South Sudan.
Nahal Toosi and Joe Gould contributed to this report.

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( With inputs from : www.politico.com )

April 20, 2023
Reduction Of Troops From JK Not Anytime Soon, Media Reports

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SRINAGAR: The de-induction of the Army from the union territory of Jammu and Kashmir has been put on hold for the time being as the move has faced opposition from different security agencies. Quoting a top officer in the Unified Command, The Tribune reported that the reduction of troops would happen but not at least until next year.
“It has been made clear that there won’t be any talk on the withdrawal as of now,” he said while referring to a security review meeting held by Home Minister Amit Shah in the first week of December.
“We want it to happen but we have told the government that let’s not do it in a hurry. There is a growing militancy threat in Srinagar,” he added.
Srinagar has become a hub of militancy and around 10 foreign militants are active in the city, he said while adding that they are lying low on the directions of their handlers across the border but they certainly are a big threat.
He rejected the notion that the troops would be removed from J&K and shifted to the Line of Actual Control (LAC) to reinforce the Indian position against China.
“We have sufficient forces along the LAC. We are improving the capabilities now,” he said.
Quoting another senior defense officer, The Tribune reported, “There is certainly a pressure on the LAC due to the Chinese aggression. The security situation in Kashmir is under control. Infiltration from Pakistan has also gone down. If the counter-insurgency is handled by the CRPF and the police in Kashmir, I don’t think there is any harm in withdrawing the Army.”
He also said that the Army had been engaged in counter-insurgency operations in J&K for over three decades, having no experience of war.

However, the Unified Command officer said soldiers were involved in live situational training in J&K.
Pertinent to mention, The Central Government has been discussing the proposal to withdraw the Army from hinterland in J&K and hand over the counter-insurgency and counter-terrorism operations to the CRPF and the police.
The government has not provided figures that indicate a draw-down but there is the possibility of removing the Army’s nearly 60,000 Rashtriya Rifles soldiers, who are mainly engaged in counter-insurgency operations since mid 1990s, from J&K.
Nearly 1.3 lakh soldiers are deployed in J&K of which around 80,000 are deployed on the Line of Control (LoC).
As per the proposal, the Army would continue to dominate the LoC with Pakistan but would be withdrawn in a phased manner, starting from the relatively peaceful districts.

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( With inputs from : kashmirlife.net )

March 11, 2023
Biden faces Republican probe into US troops’ withdrawal from Afghanistan

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Washington: US President Joe Biden seems to be the “Man on Fire” as he faces a Republican probe into the hasty withdrawal of American troops from Afghanistan in August 2021 which led to the Taliban taking over Kabul and forcing the country’s former leader Ashfraf Ghani to flee amid utter chaos and panic amongst the people as anarchy set in.
The new Republican majority in the House of Representatives has demanded information from the heads of the Defence and State Departments among others on the rapid troop withdrawal and the situation that ensued to launch a probe against the Biden administration for losing a valuable ally in the region and causing humanitarian problems to the citizens.
The House Oversight Committee on Friday sent letters to top Biden administration officials demanding information about the chaotic withdrawal of US forces from Afghanistan in 2021.
“The Biden administration was tragically unprepared for the Afghanistan withdrawal and their decisions in the region directly resulted in a national security and humanitarian catastrophe,” committee Chairman James Comer said in a statement.
“The American people deserve answers and the Biden administration’s ongoing obstruction of this investigation is unacceptable,” he was quoted by the media as saying.
The problem here is that it’s not the Biden administration that took the decision on withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan. His predecessor Donald Trump took the decision to withdraw the troops totally under pressure from public opinion that was building up since the draft of 18 year olds to fight a war in Iraq from distraught families who lost their young ones in a battle which served no interests to them. It was domestic politics that overruled geopolitics of the region.
Biden merely followed Trump’s decision to withdraw the troops but the hasty manner in which troops were withdrawn was perhaps a serious error as the US defence brass or the intelligence agencies did not anticipate the Taliban would regroup and overtake the city even so rapidly even as the US marines were being withdrawn, reports said.
Engaging US marines outside of the United States in the Asian region has always been a bone of contention between the government, the defence ministry and the people of America as citizens have felt it was highly improper to meddle in the internal affairs of another country for one and for another sending American troops to fight out the battles for the local people in other continents was not a concern of the US government.

There has been much public outcry not just in the US but also NATO allies in keeping troops in Afghanistan in a war not of their concern and the aftermath of the Taliban takeover has caused much consternation among politicians in not just US but also Europe. Like losing a base in the region. Pakistan is not a trusted ally as it harbours terrorists and there is a home grown Taliban in Pakistan causing much trouble to the Muslim state.
Comer issued the statement as he and the chairs of several subcommittees sent letters demanding records, documents and communications about the withdrawal to Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Mark Milley, Secretary of State Antony Blinken, national security adviser Jake Sullivan, Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas and US Agency for International Development Administrator Samantha Power.
Twenty years of US engagement in Afghanistan after the Soviet Union quit, the Hezbollah and the Taliban, whom the US intelligence armed to oust the Russian forces, turned against the US itself like the Frankenstein’s Monster. US forces pulled out in August 2021. The mass evacuation of scared people and thousands of Americans and Afghan allies turned ugly as terrorists overran the airport that left 13 service members and hundreds of civilians dead, media reports said.
“US servicemen and women lost their lives, Americans were abandoned, taxpayer dollars are unaccounted for, the Taliban gained access to military equipment, progress for Afghan women was derailed, and the entire area is now under hostile Taliban control,” Comer said.
“Every relevant department and agency should be prepared to cooperate and provide all requested information.”
Comer complained that House Democrats never held a hearing on the withdrawal when they controlled the committee, although the House Armed Services Committee held a hearing on the topic in September of 2021 that had testimonies from Austin and Milley.
Blinken testified about the withdrawal before the House Foreign Services Committee, and multiple Senate committees held hearings as well.
Milley has gone on record to admit that the US was caught off-guard by the swift fall of the US-backed Afghan government. “We absolutely missed the rapid, 11-day collapse of the Afghan military and the Afghan government,” he said.
A US State Department spokesperson said it “does not comment on Congressional correspondence”, but “is committed to working with Congressional committees with jurisdiction over US foreign policy to accommodate their need for information to help them conduct oversight for their legitimate legislative purposes”.
The spokesperson claimed 150 briefings to lawmakers and staff on Afghanistan policy since the withdrawal from the strife torn country.
Nearly 2,500 service members and 3,800 US contractors were killed over the span of the nearly 20-year war, reports said.
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( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

February 18, 2023
U.S. focuses on training Ukrainian troops to use less ammo

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As the U.S. and Europe look for ways to increase their output of shells to keep their own warehouses stocked and supply Ukraine for its warm weather offensives, they are looking at the current training efforts in England and Germany to change how Ukraine moves on the battlefield. Part of that means figuring out ways to fend off Russia without expending too much ammo.
“We are working with the Ukrainian soldiers in various places throughout Europe to emphasize additional training on maneuver,” Austin said, “so that as they place more emphasis on maneuver, and shaping the battlefield with fires and then maneuvering, there’s a good chance that they’ll require less artillery munitions.”
The U.K., which has already trained 10,000 Ukrainian soldiers in infantry tactics, has pledged to train another 20,000 this year with the help of Norway, the Netherlands and other NATO trainers on the ground.
There was some movement on the artillery issue in Tuesday’s Ukraine Defense Contract Group meeting in Brussels, a gathering of defense leaders from over 50 countries who meet once a month to coordinate military aid for Kyiv.
France and Australia have agreed to work together to produce more 155mm munitions, which are the backbone of Ukraine’s newly-acquired Western artillery arsenal.
The U.S. has also scrambled over the past year to increase its own output of 155mm shells, as Ukraine continues to fire thousands of rounds a day, burning through the one million-plus 155mm munitions the U.S. and allies have sent.
The U.S. Army has pledged to triple its monthly output of shells from the prewar total of about 14,000 a month to up to 90,000 a month by 2025.
The dwindling of ammunition stocks aren’t limited to cannon artillery. In recent meetings at the Pentagon, U.S. officials have informed the Kyiv’s representatives that it doesn’t have enough Army Tactical Missile Systems in its warehouses to spare for the Ukrainian military, POLITICO reported Monday.

Transferring the ATACMS, which would more than double the range of current Ukrainian rocket artillery to about 190 miles, would dwindle America’s stockpiles and harm the U.S. military’s readiness for a future fight, the Pentagon has told them.
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( With inputs from : www.politico.com )

February 14, 2023
Yemen, Saudi-led coalition discuss combat readiness of troops

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Aden: Yemen’s Defence Minister received a military delegation from the Saudi Arabia-led coalition in the country’s southern port city of Aden, according to state media.
Mohsen Muhammad Al-Daeri, along with local Yemeni government officials, held a meeting with the high-ranking Saudi delegation on strengthening cooperation on the combat readiness of local pro-government armed forces, reports Xinhua news agency.
Al-Daeri thanked the Saudi-led coalition for “generous support” and for their commitment to “the legitimate government and the rights of the Yemeni people”.
For its part, the Saudi delegation, headed by Major General Hamid Muhammad Al-Ghamdi, affirmed the “steadfast and supportive position of the coalition towards Yemen’s people until ending the Houthis, restoring the state and achieving lasting peace”t.
Various regions in Yemen have witnessed sporadic armed confrontations between the local warring factions after a cease-fire brokered by the UN expired in October last year.
Yemen has been mired in a civil war since late 2014 when the Houthi militia stormed several northern cities and forced the government out of the capital Sanaa.
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( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

February 10, 2023
As Kyiv steels for offensive, Russia launches missile raids and builds up troops near Kupyansk

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KYIV — Russia has launched extensive missile raids across Ukraine and is building up troops near the northeastern city of Kupyansk to test Ukrainian defenses, just as Kyiv is warning that Moscow is gearing up to launch a new offensive.
Valeriy Zaluzhnyy, commander in chief of Ukraine’s army, said in a statement that two Kalibr cruise missiles entered the airspace of Moldova and NATO member Romania, before veering into Ukrainian territory. Romania, however, cautioned that radar only detected a missile launched from a Russian ship in the Black Sea traveling close to its airspace — some 35 kilometers away — but not inside its territory.
“At approximately 10:33 a.m., these missiles crossed Romanian airspace. After that, they again entered the airspace of Ukraine at the crossing point of the borders of the three states. The missiles were launched from the Black Sea,” Zaluzhnyy said.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy added, “Several Russian missiles flew through the airspace of Moldova and Romania. Today’s missiles are a challenge to NATO, collective security. This is terror that can and must be stopped. Stopped by the world.”
Governors in Kharkiv, Ivano-Frankivsk, Lviv and Khmelnytskyi reported power cuts due to the barrage.
The attack started before dawn in the eastern region of Kharkiv, according to the governor, Oleg Synegubov.
“Today, at 4:00 a.m., about 12 rockets hit critical infrastructure facilities in Kharkiv and the region. Currently, emergency and stabilizing light shutdowns are being employed. About 150,000 people in Kharkiv remain without electricity,” Synegubov said.
Synegubov said the barrage came the same morning as Russian invasion forces increased their attacks near Kupyansk, a city in the Kharkiv region that Ukrainian forces liberated last fall. “The enemy has increased its presence on the front line and is testing our defense lines for weak points. Our defenders reliably hold their positions and are ready for any possible actions of the enemy,” Synegubov said in a statement.
He also reported that about eight people were injured in one of the latest Russian missiles strikes in Kharkiv. Two of the victims are in critical condition.
Meanwhile, in the west of the country, Ukrainian air defense units are firing back at multiple cruise missile attacks. “That is Russian revenge for the fact that the whole world supports us,” Khmelnitskyi Governor Serhiy Hamaliy said in a statement. He also reported a missile strike in the city, saying that part of Khmelnitsky was without power.
Ukrainian Air Force Command reported the destruction of five cruise missiles and five of seven Iranian Shahed kamikaze drones Russia launched from the coast of the Sea of Azov. The Russians also launched six Kalibr sea-based cruise missiles from a Russian frigate in the Black Sea.
The Ukrainian Air Force added that air defense units shot down 61 of 71 cruise missiles that Russia launched.
“The occupiers also launched a massive attack with S-300 anti-aircraft missiles from the districts of Belgorod (Russia) and Tokmak (occupied territory of the Zaporizhzhia region),” the air force said in a statement. “Up to 35 anti-aircraft guided missiles (S-300) were launched in the Kharkiv and Zaporizhzhia regions, which cannot be destroyed in the air by means of air defense. Around 8:30 a.m. cruise missiles were launched from Tu-95 MS strategic bombers.”
This article has been updated.

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( With inputs from : www.politico.eu )

February 8, 2023

Tag: troops

Here are 10 facts on this big story: