US Air and Missile Defense to Ukraine: A Brief Message to President Biden and Mr. Zlatev on the U.S.-Measurement of Defense

Martin Zlatev fell out of favor with his partner at a limousine company, so he decided to start selling weapons to the Ukrainian military.

“Time is of the essence,” the pair recently wrote to Ukraine’s Ministry of Defense. They outlined a plan to sell American, Bulgarian and Bosnian arms to Ukraine.

A second senior administration official provided the following summary of air defense aid provided to Ukranian from the US. We enabled our Allies to transfer air defense systems of their own to Ukraine – including Slovakia’s transfer of a critical S-300 system in April. And in August, President Biden announced a new assistance package for Ukraine that included orders for 8 new NASAMS—National Advanced Surface to Air Missile Systems. We will continue to provide Ukraine with what it needs to defend itself.”

When Zelensky arrives to the White House, he will meet for lengthy talks with Biden, along with key members of the US national security team. The official said Biden and Zelensky would engage in an “in-depth strategic discussion on the way ahead on the battlefield,” along with the training and capabilities Western partners are providing Ukraine, the sanctions they have imposed on Russia and economic and energy assistance to the Ukrainian people.

The military support for Ukrainians has been credited with helping to limit Russia’s invasion and has aided successful counteroffensives that were able to recapture territory from Russia.

The US made a new aid package to Ukraine that included the first ever transfer of the air and missile defense system from the US to the country.

NASAMS toUkraine was not delivered by the US as of late September. At the time, he was a brigadier. Gen. Patrick Ryder said two systems were expected to be delivered in the next two months, with the remaining six to arrive at an undetermined date.

Russia launched a number of cruise missiles against targets in Ukraine, according to a post on Facebook.

Russia has unleashed a wave of air strikes on civilians in the hopes that this will makeUkraine submission during the winter months. The bombing campaign has made life in Ukraine miserable, but there are few signs of Ukrainians backing down.

If Putin deemed the “territorial integrity of Russia to be jeopardized,” the speech he delivered raising the spectre of nuclear weapons, would include a warning about Russia’s nuclear weapons. And the Russian president recently announced the annexation of four Ukrainian regions in defiance of international law.

“Paradoxically, Zelensky achieved the thing that Putin most wanted to achieve but failed … to rally support domestically with a patriotic war in order to deflect and distract from his abject failures at home. In Putin’s mind, to be shown up by a mere ‘decadent’ comedian must be excruciatingly painful for him,” New York-based geopolitical and business analyst Michael Popow told me.

Recent successes of Ukraine in the war on the front lines and in the city of Kherson: a direct message to the Kremlin

John Kirby, a spokesperson for the National Security Council, said Monday that there will likely be additional support packages for Ukraine announced “in the very near future.”

“It’s clear that he’s feeling the pressure both at home and overseas, and how he reacts to that only he can say,” Kirby told CNN’s Kate Bolduan on “Erin Burnett OutFront.”

Last week, Biden delivered a stark warning about the dangers of Putin’s nuclear threats, invoking the prospect of “Armageddon.” But multiple US officials have said the comment was not based on any new intelligence about Putin’s intentions or changes in Russia’s nuclear posture.

The air raid sirens and Russian attacks shattered the relative calm inUkrainian cities far from the country’s battlefields.

A wave of missiles, rockets and drones has been launched at numerous locations across the country since Monday, targeting civilians and infrastructure in several major cities, including Ukraine’s capital, which is 800 miles from the front lines in the east and south.

With the cold months near and likely bringing a halt in ground combat, experts say the next few weeks are critical to the war and another spike in intensity looms over Ukraine as each side seeks to strike another blow.

The war is nearing a new phase, not for the first time. Keir Giles, a senior fellow at Chatham House’s Russia and Eurasia programme, said this was the third war they had been observing.

It means that, as winter approaches, the stakes of the war have been raised once more. Giles said there was no doubt that Russia would like to keep it up. The successes of the Ukrainians recently have sent a direct message to the Kremlin. Giles said they are able to do things that take us by surprise.

Oleksii Hromov, a senior Ukrainian military official, said last week that Kyiv’s forces have recaptured some 120 settlements since late September as they advance in the Kharkiv, Donetsk and Kherson regions. On Wednesday, the Ukrainians said they had liberated five settlements in Kherson.

Anticipation is mounting for a possible battle for Kherson, a Russian-occupied city in southern Ukraine. Kremlin officials have been on the lookout for a counteroffensive by the Ukrainians.

These counter-offensives have shifted the momentum of the war and disproved a suggestion, built up in the West and in Russia during the summer, that while Ukraine could stoutly defend territory, it lacked the ability to seize ground.

“The Russians are playing for the whistle – (hoping to) avoid a collapse in their frontline before the winter sets in,” Samir Puri, senior fellow at the International Institute for Strategic Studies and the author of “Russia’s Road to War with Ukraine,” told CNN.

“If they can get to Christmas with the frontline looking roughly as it is, that’s a huge success for the Russians given how botched this has been since February.”

In the first days and weeks of the Russian full-scale invasion, a Russian attack intended to take advantage of the leader’s absence might have stirred confusion in the Ukrainian military. But 10 months into the war, no prominent military analyst has recently questioned Ukrainian command and control in the military.

Ukrainian troops are focused primarily on pushing Russian forces eastwards, having crossed the Oskil River in late September, with Moscow likely preparing to defend the cities of Starobilsk and Svatove in the Luhansk region, according to the Institute for the Study of War (ISW).

Landing a major blow in Donbas would send another powerful signal, and Ukraine will be eager to improve on its gains before temperatures plummet on the battlefield, and the full impact of rising energy prices is felt around Europe.

There were at least 76 missile and drones strikes on critical power infrastructure in the Ukrainian city of Ukranians on Friday. As winter bites, millions of Ukrainians are enduring long periods without heat, electricity and water. Ukrainians have displayed resilience since the start of the war, and many say they are prepared to endure hardship for another two to five years if they win the war.

The international support for Ukraine is being tested near the one-year anniversary of the war. Sanctions on Moscow have contributed to higher energy prices, particularly in Europe, which is heavily reliant on Russian oil and gas. The Republicans who will control the House of Representatives in the United States have indicated they will not quickly approve new assistance for Ukraine.

The national electricity company of Ukrenergo claims it is in a position to restore the power supply to the central and eastern parts of the country. But Ukrainian Prime Minister has warned that “there is a lot of work to do” to fix damaged equipment, and asked Ukrainians to reduce their energy usage during peak hours.

Experts believe it remains unlikely that Russia’s aerial bombardment will form a recurrent pattern; while estimating the military reserves of either army is a murky endeavor, Western assessments suggest Moscow may not have the capacity to keep it up.

“We know – and Russian commanders on the ground know – that their supplies and munitions are running out,” Jeremy Fleming, a UK’s spy chief, said in a rare speech on Tuesday.

The ISW said in its daily update that the strikes waste some of Russia’s dwindling precision weapons against civilian targets, as opposed to militarily significant targets.

Patriot air defense systems could intercept a large number of Russia’s missiles and attack drones – although Ukraine already claims a high success rate; on Monday, for example, it said 30 out of 35 missiles had been stopped. The Patriot is also a sign NATO’s best technology is on the table to help Ukraine win the war, or at least hold Russia back.

“The barrage of missile strikes is going to be an occasional feature reserved for shows of extreme outrage, because the Russians don’t have the stocks of precision munitions to maintain that kind of high-tempo missile assault into the future,” Puri said.

The psychological impact could be caused by more involvement in the war. In the West, everyone has been focused on fighting one army. Inside Russia, Belarus joining the invasion “would play into Putin’s narrative that this war is about reuniting the lands of ancient Rus states.”

“The reopening of a northern front would be another new challenge for Ukraine,” Giles said. It would provide Russia a new route into the Kharkiv oblast (region), which has been recaptured by Ukraine, should Putin prioritize an effort to reclaim that territory, he said.

The timing appeared ripe for Zelensky to make a dramatic gesture like slipping out of Ukraine for the first time since the invasion began. For Biden, the visit presents an opportunity to reinforce his convictions for supporting Ukraine, even as the war plods on.

Ukraine has been calling for the US to send the advanced long-range air defense system that is highly effective at intercepting ballistic and cruise missiles as it comes under a barrage of Russian missile and drone attacks that have destroyed key infrastructure across the country.

“These air defense systems are making a difference because many of the incoming missiles [this week] were actually shot down by the Ukrainian air defense systems provided by NATO Allies,” he said.

The IRIS-T, which arrived this week from Germany and the NASAMS expected from the United States, is badly needed in Ukraine.

The War Between Ukraine and the United States: What Will We Do if Ukraine Were Left Behind? A Conversation with Marta Makarova

“There are many things Russia can do to make the war personal, not just for people of Ukraine but around Europe, to try to force pressure on governments to remove their support for Ukraine,” Giles said.

The coming weeks are therefore crucial both on the battlefield, as well as in Europe and around the globe, experts suggest. “As ever, where Putin goes next depends on how the rest of the world is responding,” Giles said. The failure of the Western countries to confront and deter Russia is the primary reason for the country’s attitude.

KYIV, Ukraine — Sitting on a park bench by a tram stop in Kontraktova Square, Marta Makarova, a 21-year-old budding social media influencer, takes a break from talking with two friends about Instagram to talk instead about the war. Makarova explains how much of their safety depends on U.S. support.

The upcoming U.S. elections and Musk’s controversial comments about negotiating an end to the war are the most popular issues on his social media channels.

If Republicans win control of the US House of Representatives this week, there will be a chance that they will restrict funding forUkraine, which is a concern for the country.

This week, House Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy warned that his party members will not write “a blank check” to Ukraine if they win control of the lower chamber next year.

“I think people are gonna be sitting in a recession and they’re not going to write a blank check to Ukraine,” he told Punchbowl News in an interview published Tuesday.

Others indicated late Tuesday that their support for Ukrainian aid would be outweighed by their opposition to the spending measure, which must be passed by Friday to avoid a government shutdown. Cramer voted against the spending bill, but said he didn’t mean to diminish support for Ukraine.

A group of people from the country have traveled to Washington in order to lobby for more aid prior to the elections.

Yevheniia Kravchuk is a member of parliament with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s Servant of the People party. She’s traveled to Washington multiple times since the beginning of the war to try and meet with both Democrats and Republicans.

But Kniazhytskyi worries about the influence of a vocal group of Republicans, many aligned with former President Donald Trump, as well as conservative TV personalities who have been speaking out against the billions of dollars going to Ukraine.

In May the percentage of Americans who said they were very concerned about the Ukrainian defeat was 45%, but then it fell to 32% in September.

That’s an important perception for the US since Ukraine, importantly, is not an official member of NATO, the treaty alliance Putin fears. One major reason the US has not provided more direct aid to Ukraine is concern that Putin would be provoked against NATO.

Zelenskyy came very close to submitting to Trump’s demand to announce an investigation into the family of Joe Biden, after whichUkraine got sucked into his first impeachment.

When a Member of House speaks about why we are spending money, they say it means ‘Oh my God,’ and people in Ukraine hear it.

The balance of power in Washington means that a few Republicans can’t change the direction of U.S. support for the war, he believes. And he emphasizes that Ukraine has much bigger problems than U.S. politics.

The Dean Obeidallah Show: Defending for Ukraine in the War of the Cold War with the U.S. In the Light of Kevin McCarthy

The host of The Dean Obeidallah Show, is a former attorney who is now an author. Follow him @DeanObeidallah. The opinions that are expressed in this commentary are his own. CNN has a lot of opinion on it.

“The battle is not only for life, freedom, and security of Ukrainians or any other nation which Russia attempts to conquer,” he said. The struggle will determine what world our children and grandchildren will live in.

The GOP Senate candidate in Ohio later flip-flopped, saying that he wanted “the Ukrainians to be successful.” The Washington Post reports that Vance’s remark is causing Ukrainian American Republicans who are lifelong GOPers to back Tim Ryan in the Senate race.

“The notion that now Kevin McCarthy is going to make himself the leader of the pro-Putin wing of my party is just a stunning thing. Cheney said on NBC that it was dangerous.

“He knows better, but the fact that he’s willing to go down the path of suggesting that America will no longer stand for freedom, I think, tells you he’s willing to sacrifice everything for his own political gain.”

If Republicans win the House in the upcoming elections, Marjorie Taylor Greene said that she would expect to get a lot of power and a lot of latitude from McCarthy.

Conservative Fox News stars, including Laura Ingraham and especially Tucker Carlson, have been laying the groundwork with members of the Republican base, readying them for the possibility of an end to US assistance for Ukraine.

Carlson — who declared on his show in 2019 when there was a potential conflict between the neighboring countries that he was “root(ing) for Russia” — did his best in the months before Putin’s attack to paint Ukraine in a negative light. Carlson made up that Ukraine was not a democracy and called Zelensky a puppet of the Biden administration.

And just last week, Ingraham derided former Vice President Mike Pence for referring to the United States as the “arsenal of democracy” and suggested our massive military is too depleted to help other countries such as Ukraine. In that episode, Jim Banks of Indiana was welcomed into the house by Ingraham as he echoed McCarthy’s comments that America should not give aid to those around the world in order to solve problems.

Biden said McCarthy and his fellow Republicans might or may not get it. But there’s one person who fully gets it: Vladmir Putin. If the GOP wins back control of the House, they will have a lot of reason to celebrate.

State of Ukraine: NPR’s Coverup of NATO and the Cold War Between Russia and the U.S. Theoretical Aspects

Also Tuesday, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan will host Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson. Erdogan insists Sweden must meet certain conditions before it can join NATO.

Ukraine is expected to be on the agenda when the UN General Assembly discusses an International Atomic Energy Agency report on Wednesday.

Russia rejoined a U.N.-brokered deal to safely export grain and other agricultural goods from Ukraine, on Nov. 2. Russia had stopped cooperating with the deal after it said that Ukraine had launched a drone attack on its Black Sea ships.

guidance kits and Joint Direct Attack Missiles (JDAMs) are likely to be supplied in the new deal. The accuracy and rate at which they burn through their bullets will increase as a result. It is thought that the $1.8 billion will go towards replacements and stocks.

Iran acknowledged for the first time that they provided drones to Russia, but denied they were continuing to supply them. Zelenskyy countered that Iran was “lying” because Ukrainian forces “shoot down at least 10 Iranian drones every day.”

You can see past recaps here. You can see more of NPR’s coverage here. Also, listen and subscribe to NPR’s State of Ukraine podcast for updates throughout the day.

But Milley’s position is not widely backed by President Joe Biden’s national security team, including Secretary of State Antony Blinken and national security adviser Jake Sullivan, neither of whom believe it’s time to make a serious push for talks over Ukraine, according to two administration officials familiar with the discussion.

The Ukrainians seem to think the war will end at the negotiating table. Price said that the Russians had voiced that sentiment a few times, before laying the burden of proof on Putin.

Administration officials were unsurprised by the comments, but also concerned about the administration appearing divided in the eyes of the Kremlin, given Milley’s advocacy for the position internally.

Sullivan and other US officials have been urging Ukraine to signal that it is still open to diplomatic talks with Russia even after Zelensky signed a decree that ruled out negotiations with Putin.

In internal deliberations, officials said Milley has sought to make it clear that he is not urging a Ukrainian capitulation, but rather that he believes now is an optimal time to drive toward an end to the war before it drags into spring or beyond, leading to more death and destruction without changing the front lines.

There is not a commonly held view of that aspect within the administration. One official explained that the State Department is on the opposite side of the pole from Milley. Military brass are pushing for diplomacy more than US diplomats due to the dynamic.

Milley’s position comes as the US military has dug deep into US weapons stockpiles to support the Ukrainians and is currently scouring the globe for materials to support Ukraine heading into winter – such as heaters and generators – which has raised concerns about how long this war can be sustained, officials said.

A US official said the US will purchase 100,000 rounds of South Korean-made fire arms for Ukraine, as part of its effort to find weaponry for the high-intensity battles unfolding in the country. The 100,000 rounds of 155mm howitzer ammunition the US will purchase will be sent to Ukraine through the US.

Ned Price meets Vladimir Zelensky: the case for a diplomatic solution to the Russian-Russian war at the Aharonov-Bohm border

Ned Price wouldn’t say if the State Department agrees with Milley’s position. Instead, Price deflected to a position that US officials have often made in recent months: the US sides with Zelensky who has said that a diplomatic solution is needed.

“As the leadership of our country has stated, the tasks set within the framework of the special military operation will be fulfilled, taking into account the situation on the ground and the actual realities,” Zakharova added, referring to Russia’s war in Ukraine.

Editor’s Note: Michael Bociurkiw (@WorldAffairsPro) is a global affairs analyst currently based in Odesa. He is a senior fellow at the Atlantic Council and a former spokesperson for the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe. He contributes to CNN Opinion. The opinions expressed in this commentary are his own. CNN has more opinion.

After meeting with Mr. Biden and members of his national security team, Mr. Zelensky is expected to hold a news conference at the White House, officials said. He will then head to Capitol Hill, where he will speak before a joint session of Congress as the Democratic Control of the House nears its end.

In Paris at the time, I witnessed how Zelensky pulled up to the Élysée Palace in a modest Renault, while Putin motored in with an ostentatious armored limousine. The host, the French President, shook hands with Zelensky after hugging Putin.

Zelensky is a well-known wartime president in trademark olive green who is known for stirring the imaginations of people around the globe, as well as naming and shaming allies who didn’t arm his military.

Failure to demonstrate progress with billions of dollars worth of military kit could cause unease among Western backers. capitulation to Russia is a political death sentence.

Volodymyr Zelensky: From Nightclub to City Hall During World War I: A Story of a Great Hero and a Hero

Zelensky is described in the book as an ordinary man thrust into extraordinary circumstances.

After being bullied by Putin, he was aware of what he needed to do and he was able to do it.

The leader of the US who offered to evacuate when Russia launched a full scale invasion joked that he needed a ride instead.

It has been a long time since Zelensky celebrated his victory in a nightclub that was turned into a campaign office. Standing on stage among the fluttering confetti, he looked in a state of disbelief at having defeated incumbent veteran politician Petro Poroshenko.

His ratings appear to have been turned around by the war. Just days after the invasion, Zelensky’s ratings approval surged to 90%, and remain high to this day. Zelensky was rated highly for his handling of international affairs by Americans early in the war, which was ahead of US President Joe Biden.

His bubble includes many people from his previous professional life as a TV comedian in the theatrical group Kvartal 95. A press conference held on the platform of a metro station in the middle of the war featured perfect lighting and camera angles to emphasize a wartime setting.

As for his skills as comforter in chief, I remember well the solace his nightly televised addresses brought in the midst of air raid sirens and explosions in Lviv.

Source: https://www.cnn.com/2022/12/19/opinions/volodomyr-zelensky-profile-ukraine-russia-bociurkiw/index.html

The Emerging Global Power of Zelensky: From the World to the Emerging Online and Off-The-Grish End of the Cold War

Zelensky’s attire, which includes T-shirts and hoodies, is reminiscent of Silicon Valley’s youthful uniform of Silicon Valley, rather than suits, a fashion historian said.

“He is probably more comfortable than Putin on camera, too, both as an actor and as a digital native,” she added. “I believe both of them want to come across as relatable, not aloof or untouchable, although Zelensky is definitely doing a better job balancing authority with accessibility.”

Zelenska has shown herself to be a great international fora communicator, showing how smart and compassionate she is as she journeys to where her husband cannot. Most recently, she met with King Charles during a visit to a refugee assistance center at the Ukrainian Catholic Cathedral of the Holy Family in London. (Curiously, TIME magazine did not include Zelenska on the cover montage and gave only a passing reference in the supporting text).

Despite the strong tailwinds at Zelensky’s back, there are subtle signs that his international influence could be dwindling. For example, last week, in what analysts called a pivotal moment in geopolitics, the G7 imposed a $60 a barrel price cap on Russian crude – despite pleas from Zelensky that it should have been set at $30 in order to inflict more pain on the Kremlin.

As Zelensky said in a recent nightly video address: “No matter what the aggressor intends to do, when the world is truly united, it is then the world, not the aggressor, determines how events develop.”

Congress had planned to vote this week on the spending bill, which includes emergency assistance to Ukraine and NATO allies.

The bill, which runs for 4,155 pages, includes about $772.5 billion for non-defense discretionary programs and $858 billion in defense funding and would last through the end of the fiscal year in September.

The last major bill of the current Congress was worked to as many priorities as possible. They are racing to complete passage before a midnight Friday deadline or face the prospect of a partial government shutdown going into the Christmas holiday.

Subsequent Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and the Senate Selective Count Act: What Can We Do About the Future of the U.S.?

“If our friends in Ukraine want to triumph against Russia, America must stand firmly on the side of our democracy abroad,” said Senate majority leader Chuck Schumer.

The legislation also includes historic revisions to federal election law that aim to prevent any future presidents or presidential candidates from trying to overturn an election. The bipartisan overhaul of the Electoral Count Act is in direct response to former President Donald Trump’s efforts to convince Republican lawmakers and then-Vice President Mike Pence to object to the certification of President Joe Biden’s victory on Jan. 6, 2021.

Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell has warned that if the fiscal year 2023 spending measure fails to gain bipartisan support this week, he would seek another short-term patch into next year, guaranteeing that the new Republican majority in the House would get to shape the package.

The choice is clear, that’s what Leahy said in releasing the bill. We can either do our jobs and fund the government, or we can abandon our responsibilities without a real path forward.”

“We’ve transferred huge sums of money away from Democrats’ spending wish list toward our national defense and armed forces, but without allowing the overall cost of the package to go higher,” McConnell said.

A statement was issued by Shalanda Young, director of the Office of Management and Budget. But she praised the measure as “good for our economy, our competitiveness, and our country, and I urge Congress to send it to the President’s desk without delay.”

Source: https://www.npr.org/2022/12/20/1144365502/congress-spending-omnibus-shutdown-bill

Pelosi-Schumer Spending During the Second Half of the Clinton-Bushera Era: Black Communities and the U.S. Military

The spending on non-defense programs will increase by about 6%. The increase in VA medical care will help pay for an expansion of health care services for veterans who have been exposed to toxic burn pits during their service. Some environmental advocacy groups expressed frustration with the funding increases for agencies such as the Environmental Protection Agency and the National Park Service, which they said don’t keep up with inflation.

The bill was delayed because of disagreements over the location of the FBI’s future headquarters. Lawmakers in Maryland believe that it is necessary for Black communities to receive their fair share of federal investments. They wish to build their headquarters in Prince George’s County, a majority-Black county. Virginia is also trying to get the headquarters.

A Senate Democratic aide familiar with the negotiations said Schumer worked to incorporate language in the spending bill ensuring the General Service Administration conduct “separate and detailed consultations” with lawmakers representing the Maryland and Virginia sites to get their perspectives.

The last time Congress enacted all its spending bills by then was in 1996, when the Senate finished its work on Sept. 30, the very last day of the budget year. Then-President Bill Clinton signed it that same day.

The Senate is expected to vote on the spending bill first where support from at least 10 Republican senators will be needed to pass it before the measure is considered by the House. As has been the case with recent catchall spending bills, lawmakers voiced concerns about passing legislation containing thousands of pages on short notice.

“We still haven’t seen a single page of the Pelosi-Schumer spending bill, and they’re expecting us to pass it by the end of this week,” tweeted Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla. “It’s insane.”

McConnell said he shares “many of my colleagues dissatisfaction” with the process. He cited national security concerns for wanting to pass the bill, as well as the fact that China would pour money into new research and weapons for its military if the bill wasn’t passed.

The Two-Day Campaign for Democracy: Zelensky’s Visit to the White House and the Preliminary Report of His Visit to Kyiv

He received both ten months later. Zelensky arrived in the US on a military plane from Washington on Wednesday, capping a 10-day sprint by US and Ukrainian officials to arrange his visit to rally support for the fight against Russia.

The visit to the White House hasn’t been finalized but it will include a meeting between Biden and top administration officials and will coincide with the Administration’s intent to send a new defense assistance package. Biden will announce an additional $1.8 billion in security assistance to Ukraine during the expected visit, a significant boost in aid headlined by the Patriot missile systems within the package, a US official told CNN.

He’s delivered those appeals virtually, beaming into international summits and global legislatures to make his case for more weapons and funding. He remained in his country during the war because he wanted to rally his nation and also because he wanted to face a much worse security situation outside of Ukranian.

Zelensky handed out awards when he met with soldiers. The president was presenting awards to troops in a video posted by state TV. Bakhmut has seen some of the most ferocious fighting in the whole of the country since Russian forces launched their siege on the city in earnest in May, turning it into ruins.

One member said that Pelosi has been calling Members to tell them to come to the Capitol on Wednesday over fears that the chamber would be empty before the holiday break. Pelosi asked for members to be in attendance Wednesday night “for a very special focus on Democracy.”

Nancy Pelosifacilitated Zelensky’s appearance as a final act before she relinquished the speaker’s gavel. She visited Zelensky in Kyiv earlier this year for a surprise meeting.

The visit of Ukraine to the United States during the 10 months of the Ukrainian War in Ukraine – and what will he tell us about the operation of the Patriot system?

Kyiv has repeatedly asked for the US Army’s Patriot – an acronym for Phased Array Tracking Radar for intercept on Target – system, as it is considered one of the most capable long-range air defense systems on the market.

It is not clear how many missile launchers will be sent but a typical Patriot battery includes a radar set that detects and tracks targets, computers, power generating equipment, an engagement control station and up to eight launchers, each holding four ready-to-fire missiles.

Once the plans are finalized, the Patriots are expected to ship quickly in the coming days and Ukrainians will be trained to use them at a US Army base in Grafenwoehr, Germany, officials said.

Logistical challenges of delivering it and operating it are immense, as Ukraine has been requesting the system for months. Despite those obstacles, “the reality of what is going on the ground” led the administration to make the decision, the senior administration official told CNN, noting the continuing intense Russian missile barrages.

Unlike smaller air defense systems, Patriot missile batteries need much larger crews, requiring dozens of personnel to properly operate them. The training for Patriot missile batteries normally takes multiple months, a process the United States will now carry out under the pressure of near-daily aerial attacks from Russia.

The visit by the Ukrainian leader to Washington, expected to last only a matter of hours, nonetheless amounts to a remarkable moment 10 months since Russia’s war in Ukraine began.

The US set to work on executing the parameters Zelensky determined met his needs and he was very keen to visit the US. The trip was confirmed on Sunday.

Some details about the security plan for the trip were not provided by US officials, including whether Zelensky boarded a US military plane out of his country. In and out of the country has been very difficult. Western leaders who have traveled to Kyiv in recent years have used a train ride from Poland to get there.

Russia will continue to do what they do and we will do what we do. Zelensky will not be deterred from traveling as he sees fit to advance his peoples’ interests, and that is to not be deterred from our support for Ukraine.

Analyzing anonymous sources for the paper’s publication of the Pelosi report on the New Year’s Democrat and House Speaker: a critical appraisal of the Times

The appearance would mark a potentially electrifying moment as Democratic control of the House — and Ms. Pelosi’s reign as speaker and a member of Democratic leadership — comes to a conclusion, with Republicans set to take over on Jan. 3.

Before we use anonymous sources we have to think about what we consider. Do the sources know the information? What’s their motivation for telling us? Have they proved reliable in the past? Can we corroborate the information? Even with these questions satisfied, The Times uses anonymous sources as a last resort. The reporter and at least one editor know who the source is.

USA’s responsibilities to Ukraine: The case against Putin and Russia and the prospects for cooperation with the Russian Army and the Kremlin

There are two key headline deliverables: first, the Patriot missile systems. Complex, accurate, and expensive, they have been described as the US’s “gold standard” of air defense. NATO requires personnel who operate them to be properly trained, since almost 100 are in a battalion for each weapon.

The second are precision-guided munitions for Ukrainian jets. Russia and the Ukraine are mostly equipped with weapons that are hard to fire at a target. Ukraine has been provided with more and more Western standard precision artillery and missiles, like Howitzers and HIMARS respectively.

The Ukrainian people are going to suffer, the Kremlin said, and the US will prolong that.

This is not easy. Congress’s likely new Speaker, Republican Kevin McCarthy, has warned the Biden administration cannot expect a “blank cheque” from the new GOP-led House of Representatives.

The remnants of the Trumpist “America First” elements of that party have doubts about how much support the US should be giving to eastern Europe.

Washington does not spend a ton of money on defense, but it is relatively light for the bill for the slow defeat of Russia.

Zelensky strengthened both Democrats and Republicans who understand what is at stake in the fight against Putin and Russian aggression and also with their ally, Iran, she said.

It was important for the American people to hear directly from the president about the fight against the Ukrainians and how they can continue to support one another.

“I hope that they will send more than one,” she added. She said there have been some reluctance in the past by the US and the NATO to give advanced equipment to the Ukrainian military.

Clinton, who previously met Russian President Vladimir Putin as US secretary of state, said the leader was “probably impossible to actually predict,” as the war turns in Ukraine’s favor and his popularity fades at home.

The bodies of Russian conscripts will be used in the fight in Ukraine, according to Clinton.

Zelensky, Biden and the American Revolutionary War: A Symbolic Address to the House Floor of the House of Representatives

Shrouded in secrecy until the last minute, the historic visit was heavy with symbolism, from Zelensky’s drab green sweatshirt to President Joe Biden’s blue-and-yellow striped tie to the Ukrainian battle flag unfurled on the House floor.

Emerging from their talks, both men made clear they see the war entering a new phase. Russian troops are on the frontline with a brutal air campaign against civilian targets, and fears are growing of a stalemate.

On Wednesday, Zelensky argued that the road to peace would not involve making concessions to Russia.

“For me as a president, ‘just peace’ is no compromises,” he said, indicating he doesn’t see any road to peace that involves Ukraine giving up territory or sovereignty.

Peskov added that “there were no real calls for peace.” But during his address to the US Congress on Wednesday, Zelensky did stress that “we need peace,” reiterating the 10-point plan devised by Ukraine.

For his part, Biden said it was up to Zelensky to “decide how he wants to the war to end,” a long-held view that leaves plenty of questions unanswered.

Zelensky peppered his address to lawmakers with references to American history, from the critical Battle of Saratoga during the American Revolutionary War to the Battle of the Bulge in World War II.

He delivered his address in English, a purposeful choice he telegraphed ahead of the speech. Even his attire – the now-familiar Army green shirt, cargo pants and boots – seemed designed to remind his audience they were in the presence of a wartime leader.

What does Zelensky want from the American people? How will he respond to his nation’s suffering? How does Biden try to make a difference

Over the course of the conflict, Zelensky has demonstrated an acute ability to appeal to his audience, be they national legislatures or the audience of the Grammys.

On Wednesday, he sought to harness Americans’ emotional response to his country’s suffering, evoking dark winter nights as Russia seeks to interrupt Ukraine’s power supply.

“In two days we will celebrate Christmas. It is possible that it is candlelit. Not because it’s more romantic, no, but because there will not be – there will be no electricity,” he said.

He was aware that a lot of Americans, including some Republicans, wondered aloud why billions of US dollars were needed for a conflict thousands of miles away. He sought to make the cause about more than his own homeland.

Zelensky’s candid request for more Patriots – and Biden’s lighthearted response – amounted to a window into one of the world’s most complicated relationships.

Biden has found that that has been a problem with his team. Biden appeared to be trying to translate his physical proximity into a better understanding of his counterpart Wednesday, as he has with other foreign leaders.

It is about looking into someone’s eye. I mean that very sincerely. He does not think it is possible to sit down face to face with a friend or foe and look them in the eye.

The battle of the bulge for the American soldiers: Zelensky, the elephant in the room, and Winston Churchill on Boxing Day

Fresh from a trip to the bloody front lines in Ukraine, President Volodymyr Zelensky strode onto the ornate US House floor on Wednesday evening in his signature green military wear to shore up his supply line.

On the dais where heads of state usually sport suits, Zelensky embraced the look of a warrior as he used confident English to claim “joint victory” in what he said was the defeat of Russia in the “battle for minds of the world.”

Although he did not mention the elephant in the room, the speech was a clear plea to Republican lawmakers, who will control the House in January, to stay with Ukraine.

Blinken said the administration would work with Congress to “to provide an additional $907 million of Foreign Military Financing under the Additional Ukraine Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2022.”

He returned to US military history Wednesday, referring to the Battle of the Bulge during World War II, when US troops were surrounded in the snow after gaining a foothold in Europe on D-Day.

“Just like the brave American soldiers, which held their lines and fought back Hitler’s forces during the Christmas of 1944, brave Ukrainian soldiers are doing this same to Putin’s forces this Christmas,” Zelensky said.

The historian Doris Kearns Goodwin compared Zelensky’s address to one given by Winston Churchill on Boxing Day in 1941 after the attack on Pearl Harbor.

“He’s already established in the American people’s mind we’re in this together, but then pointing out that they’ll do the fighting for us – ‘just give us the tools and we will finish the job.’ That’s what Churchill said,” Kearns Goodwin told CNN’s Anderson Cooper Wednesday evening.

The Ukraine Crisis: What Do We Really Need to Do Now? The American Congress Needs to Reengage with Russia During Ukraine’s War

An address to Congress is the ultimate platform for a foreign president in the US and maybe around the world. It is similar to what Putin did, he canceled his yearly year-end press conference.

He handed over a Ukrainian flag signed by troops from the besieged area of Bakhmut to Pelosi, asking her to support the country. She handed him an American flag that had been flown over the US Capitol, which he carried out of the chamber.

But at the same time, it’s clear to Zelensky, and also to Biden, that this is the time to re-engage the US public as Russia’s war drags toward its one-year marker with no indication there is an end to fighting on the way.

It was substantive because of the new money pledged by the White House and in a larger bill that lawmakers need to pass before Friday.

Kevin McCarthy, the leader of the House GOP, met with Zelensky and the other three congressional leaders to convince them to vote for him in the speaker’s race.

A majority of Americans remain behind supporting Ukraine and keeping sanctions on Russia, according to recent polling, but in a December survey by the Chicago Council on Global Affairs, the share of Americans who believe the US should support Ukraine for “as long as it takes” dropped 10 percentage points since the summer to about half. In the survey, only a third of Republicans were in favor of indefinite support.

The only Ukrainian-born member of Congress, Indiana GOP Rep. Victoria Spartz, has expressed skepticism about some of the aid to Ukraine and concerns about corruption in Zelensky’s administration.

After President Volodymyr Zelensky visited Washington last week, Moscow said that the war inUkraine is set for a long confrontation.

Russia’s foreign ministry condemned what it called the “monstrous crimes” of the “regime in Kyiv,” after US President Joe Biden promised more military support to Ukraine during Zelensky’s summit at the White House on Wednesday.

Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said that no matter how much military support the West provides to the Ukrainian government, “they will achieve nothing.”

The United States and other countries are doing everything they can to raise the technical level of their weapons for use againstUkraine, according to the Kremlin. “This does not contribute to a speedy settlement of the situation, on the contrary.”

Peskov told journalists, however, that Wednesday’s meeting showed the US is waging a proxy war of “indirect fighting” against Russia down “to the last Ukrainian.”

At the time, Putin insisted his forces were embarking on a “special military operation” — a term suggesting a limited campaign that would be over in a matter of weeks.

War against Ukraine has left Russia isolated and struggling with more turbulent-ahedral-state-properties-and-with-more-tumult. A warning from the government and the media

The war upended Russian life, disrupting a post-Soviet period in which the country pursued democracy and financial integration with the West.

The military or leadership has been upended by the new laws passed in February. 45% of people who have been arrested for protesting against the war are women, according to a leading independent monitoring group.

Lengthy prison sentences have been meted out to high profile opposition voices on charges of “discrediting” the Russian army by questioning its conduct or strategy.

The repressions extend elsewhere: organizations and individuals are added weekly to a growing list of “foreign agents” and “non-desirable” organizations intended to damage their reputation among the Russian public.

The group’s activities were stopped due to alleged violations of the foreign agents law.

The state has also vastly expanded Russia’s already restrictive anti-LGBT laws, arguing the war in Ukraine reflects a wider attack on “traditional values.”

For now, repressions remain targeted. Some of the new laws aren’t enforced. Should the moment come, the measures are intended to crush wider dissent.

Leading independent media outlets and a handful of vibrant, online investigative startups were forced to shut down or relocate abroad when confronted with new “fake news” laws that criminalized contradicting the official government line.

Restrictions extend to internet users as well. American social media giants such as Twitter and Facebook were banned in March. More than 100,000 websites have been blocked by the Russian internet regulators since the beginning of the conflict.

Russian’s still have access to independent sources of information via technical workarounds. Older Russians prefer state media because of its propaganda and they watch TV talk shows to spread conspiracy theories.

Source: https://www.npr.org/2022/12/31/1145981036/war-against-ukraine-has-left-russia-isolated-and-struggling-with-more-tumult-ahe

War Against Ukraine Has Left Russia Isolated And Struturing With More Tortuttle Ahel: An Analysis of the Russian Response to the September 11, 2001 Outflow

Thousands of perceived government opponents — many of them political activists, civil society workers and journalists — left in the war’s early days amid concerns of persecution.

Yet Putin’s order to mobilize 300,000 additional troops in September prompted the largest outflow: Hundreds of thousands of Russian men fled to border states including Kazakhstan, Mongolia and Georgia in an attempt to avoid the draft.

It was a way of ridding ourselves of traitors and spies in Russia, argued Putin. Russian officials have suggested taking away passports from people who left the country. Yet there are questions whether Russia can thrive without many of its best and brightest.

Meanwhile, some countries that have absorbed the Russian exodus predict their economies will grow, even as the swelling presence of Russians remains a sensitive issue to former Soviet republics in particular.

Helped by Russian price controls, the ruble regained value. McDonald’s and several other brands ultimately relaunched under new names and Russian ownership. By year’s end, the government reported the economy had declined by 2.5%, far less than most economists predicted.

Source: https://www.npr.org/2022/12/31/1145981036/war-against-ukraine-has-left-russia-isolated-and-struggling-with-more-tumult-ahe

War against Ukraine: Why Russia isn’t ready to respond to Putin’s frustrations in the light of recent economic and political failures

President Putin believes that when it comes to sanctions, Europe will blink first in order to appease Europeans angry over rising energy costs at home. He announced a five-month ban on oil exports to countries that abide by the price cap, a move likely to make the pain more acute in Europe.

The economic damage has already put an end to Putin’s two-decades strong reputation for providing “stability” — once a key basis for his support among Russians who remember the chaotic years that followed the collapse of the USSR.

There’s no outward change in the government’s tone when it comes to Russia’s military campaign. Russia’s Defense Ministry provides daily briefings recounting endless successes on the ground. Putin repeatedly assures that everything is going to plan.

Yet the sheer length of the war — with no immediate Russian victory in sight — suggests Russia vastly underestimated Ukrainians’ willingness to resist.

Russian troops were not able to conquer either of the second cities of Kharkiv or Kyiv. Kherson, the only major city seized by Russia in November, was abandoned during the Ukrainian counteroffensive. Russian forces have been shelling the city.

Russia’s illegal annexation of four territories of Ukraine following unrecognized referendums in September has only underscored Moscow’s problems: it hasn’t been able to establish full control over the lands it now claims as its own.

The true number of Russian losses – officially at just under 6,000 men – remains a highly taboo subject at home. Western estimates place those figures much higher.

A series of explosions, including along a key bridge connecting Russia to Crimea, which it annexed in 2014, have put into question Russia’s ability to defend its own strategic infrastructure.

Since Russia’s invasion has backfired in its main goals, NATO is likely to expand towards Russia’s borders with the additions of long-neutral states Finn and Sweden.

It was unthinkable in Soviet times to criticize Russia’s actions out of concern for their own sovereignty. India and China have been avid buyers of discounted Russian oil, but they have not provided full support for Russia’s campaign.

Source: https://www.npr.org/2022/12/31/1145981036/war-against-ukraine-has-left-russia-isolated-and-struggling-with-more-tumult-ahe

A new commitment from the Russian parliament to Ukraine despite the delay of the December big press conference – and how putin will feel after 10 months of war

An annual December “big press conference” – a semi-staged affair that allows the Russian leader to handle fawning questions from mostly pro-Kremlin media – was similarly tabled until 2023.

The Kremlin has not given a reason for the delays. Many suspect it might be that, after 10 months of war and no sign of victory in sight, the Russian leader has finally run out of good news to share.

Biden affirmed the new commitment in a telephone call with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz on Thursday. New fighting vehicles will be sent to Ukraine by Germany and they will also put a missile battery in the country.

The Bradley fighting vehicle is able to hold 10 troops and is used to transport personnel into battle. The White House said the US and Germany would provide training to Ukrainian forces on the respective vehicles being provided to Kyiv.

Zelensky had wanted those systems to be able to target Russian missiles at a higher altitude than they were before, which would make it easier to shoot down their missiles.

The Biden administration on Friday announced that it was withdrawing its largest amount of military aid to Ukraine yet, but there are some concerns that Republicans in Washington could impede future assistance.

Several Republican members who switched their votes to vote for McCarthy on Friday said that they are encouraged by the framework of an agreement, but have not seen any specifics about the deal.

The Ukraine Crisis: Why it’s Too Late for Aid in the 21st Century and How it Might Affect the US’ Standing Committee

The number was higher than Biden requested, a reflection of Democrats fear that additional funding won’t be forthcoming in a Republican dominated House. The White House thought that number would be enough insurance against Republican resistance to allow the US to continue supporting it for several months.

Rules changes to the budgetary process could significantly hamper Congress’ ability to pass new aid come September and certain conservative Republicans have vowed to oppose any new Ukraine funding.

The diplomat said that they believe the issue signals trouble for aid to the country, as many of the people who fought McCarthy have previously spoken out against more assistance.

The diplomat said that the Freedom Caucus has just showed its clout and that it was a sign of a long legislative paralysis.

Some people were watching closely to see the kind of maneuvering McCarthy would make to get the role, which could include cuts to aid.

The diplomat told CNN that they were concerned about McCarthy making policy concessions that could affect the US role in the world.

A third diplomat expressed concerns concessions like crucial committee assignments, such as the House Rules Committee, could be given to lawmakers who have advocated against more aid to Ukraine, which could create immense hurdles for passing additional assistance legislation.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Friday welcomed the latest drawdown, saying it was an “awesome Christmas present for Ukraine!” And lawmakers in Ukraine told CNN they are not concerned that the future of assistance is at risk, noting the strong past bipartisan and public support for aiding their country.