(C) Daily Kos This story was originally published by Daily Kos and is unaltered. . . . . . . . . . . Ukraine Invasion Day 714: 'troubled waters' [1] ['This Content Is Not Subject To Review Daily Kos Staff Prior To Publication.'] Date: 2024-02-06 Feb 6 (Reuters) - President Volodymyr Zelenskiy on Tuesday ordered the creation of a separate branch of Ukraine's armed forces devoted to drones, weapons he and military officials say are crucial to fighting the war against Russia. In the past year, he said, drones had "fundamentally changed the situation on the battlefield. They are effective in stopping Russian attacks and back up counterattacks by Ukraine's armed forces." "This is not a question for the future. Rather, it must provide concrete results in the very near future. This year must be decisive in a great many aspects. And clearly on the battlefield. Drone systems have shown their effectiveness on land, in the skies and on the seas." On the night of February 6-7, militants of the Russian terrorist state attacked Ukraine with "Shahed-136/131" strike UAVs supplied by the Iranian terrorist state. Ukrainian defenders shot down 12 out of 15 of the kamikaze drones. –Armed Forces of Ukraine, 06:00, 7 February 2024 The EU diplomacy chief, Josep Borrell, has visited a course for Ukrainian law enforcement personnel whose job it is to restore law and order in territories returned from Russian control . It covers arresting dangerous residents as well as dealing with war crimes and mass graves. “Discovering mass graves and then having to inform the relatives, this is not a joke, this is something that has to be done with adequate psychological capacities,” Borrell said. Training is run by gendarmes from EU countries including France, Spain, Portugal and Lithuania. A former commander of Russia’s Wagner mercenary group who fought in Ukraine and fled to Norway in 2023 has been denied asylum but will not be deported as it is too dangerous to send him back, his lawyer has said. Andrei Medvedev escaped Russia in January 2023 across its Arctic border with Norway. Russia requested the security council meeting after it said Ukraine killed at least 28 people when it hit a bakery in Russian-controlled Lysychansk , eastern Ukraine. Senior Ukrainian UN diplomat Serhii Dvornyk accused Russia of misusing the security council “for disseminating fakes” . Russia has admitted one of its senior occupation officials died in the bakery strike, while Ukrainian news outlets have reported the bakery was a supplier to the Russian side and a meeting place for Russian officials. At the UN security council, the US and Russia have traded accusations over illegally supplied North Korean missiles being fired at Ukraine and the downing of a Russian military transport. “To date, Russia has launched DPRK-supplied ballistic missiles against Ukraine on at least nine occasions ,” said Robert Wood, deputy US ambassador. Russia’s UN ambassador, Vassily Nebenzia, said there was “irrefutable evidence” a Patriot missile shot down a Russian air force Il-76 on 24 January. Russia claims it was carrying Ukrainian soldiers to a prisoner exchange but has produced no evidence to back this up. Nuclear power station staffing at the Zaporizhzhia plant is being cut to dangerous levels by the Russian occupiers, officials have warned , as the UN nuclear watchdog chief, Rafael Grossi, prepares to visit it on Wednesday. Grossi said the plant was “operating with a very, very small number of operators” . Ukraine’s energy minister, German Galushchenko, said the Russians had locked out several hundred “skilled and, most importantly, licensed [operators]. You can’t just take them away.” Zaporizhzhia’s radioactive fuel is also reaching the end of its useful life and potentially needs safe removal and storage. Grossi described the nuclear plant’s state as “very delicate”. Frontline soldiers have little patience for rumours that Zelenskiy may soon fire Zaluzhnyi, according to the AFP news agency. “Replacing the commander during fighting, especially when they are so intense in our area, is not appropriate,” said an army medic with the callsign “Beria”. Sergeant “Luntik” said the issue was damaging morale and feeding “all sorts of conspiracy theories” . But troops said they would not stop fighting even if Zaluzhnyi is removed. “Nothing will change. I will continue to carry out my tasks like I have until now,” said Vitaly, 32. Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, has decreed the creation of a separate branch of Ukraine’s armed forces devoted to drones . Zelenskiy has pointed to drone production domestically and with partner nations as strategically vital, and pledged Ukraine will produce a million in 2024. The commander in chief of Ukraine’s armed forces, Valerii Zaluzhnyi, said in a comment for CNN last week that drones “along with other types of advanced weapons” help Ukraine avoid being drawn into costly positional warfare . Some parts of the eastern Ukrainian town of Avdiivka are in a “critical” condition as they fight off Russian shelling and incursions , according to Vitaliy Barabash, head of the town’s military administration. “This does not mean that everything is lost, that everything is very bad. But the enemy is directing very large amount of forces at our city,” he told Ukrainian TV. A two-month-old baby was killed and three people were injured on Tuesday in a Russian strike on Zolochiv, north-eastern Ukraine , officials said. “Around 2.30am a three-storey hotel was destroyed in Zolochiv … following two S-300 missile strikes,” said Oleg Sinegubov, the Kharkiv regional governor. Thirty buildings were damaged including cafes, a market, pharmacies and a hotel, police said. Joe Biden told Republicans in Congress to “show some spine”, stand up to Donald Trump and stop playing into Vladimir Putin’s hands as he acknowledged that an exhaustively negotiated, bipartisan bill that includes security funding for Ukraine is stalled . “All indications are this bill won’t even move forward to the Senate floor,” said the US president. “Why? The simple reason: Donald Trump. Because Donald Trump thinks it’s bad for him politically .” Ukrainian special forces have said they blew up a drilling platform in the Black Sea that Russia was using to increase the range of its drones . The operation, dubbed Citadel, was conducted at night and also captured “important enemy equipment”. ⚡️ WAR IN #UKRAINE - FEB 6, 2024 ■ Most engagements in close to three weeks, 🇷🇺 strikes up but still below 7-day average as well as 🇺🇦 ones ■ 1000+ casualties & massive equipment losses including impressive APV & tank losses ■ Oryx: 18 🇷🇺 2 🇺🇦 added to records (after… pic.twitter.com/AyxBXtj0ai Russian Subordinate Main Effort #1 – Luhansk Oblast (Russian objective: Capture the remainder of Luhansk Oblast and push westward into eastern Kharkiv Oblast and northern Donetsk Oblast) Positional engagements continued along the Kupyansk-Svatove line on February 6, but there were no confirmed changes to the frontline in this area…. Ukrainian and Russian sources stated that positional engagements continued northeast of Kupyansk near Synkivka and southeast of Kupyansk near Tabaivka.[38] Russian forces reportedly recently advanced near Kreminna, but there were no confirmed changes to the frontline in this area on February 6. … Ukrainian and Russian sources stated that positional engagements continued west of Kreminna near Terny, Torske, and Yampolivka and south of Kreminna near the Serebryanske forest area, Bilohorivka, and Hryhorivka.[40] Elements of the Russian 7th Motorized Rifle Brigade (2nd Luhansk People’s Republic [LNR] Army Corps) reportedly continue to operate near Bilohorivka, Luhansk Oblast.[41] Russian Subordinate Main Effort #2 – Donetsk Oblast (Russian objective: Capture the entirety of Donetsk Oblast, the claimed territory of Russia’s proxies in Donbas) Russian forces recently made a confirmed advance north of Bakhmut. Geolocated footage published on February 3 confirms that Russian forces captured Vesele (northwest of Bakhmut).[42] Russian sources, including the Russian Ministry of Defense (MoD), claimed on January 18 that Russian forces captured Vesele, and this is the first time ISW has observed visual confirmation of these Russian claims.[43] Elements of the Russian 106th Airborne (VDV) Division are reportedly operating near Vesele.[44] Positional engagements continued near Bakhmut on February 6, but there were no confirmed changes to the frontline in this area. ... Ukrainian and Russian sources stated that positional engagements continued near Bohdanivka, Ivanivske, and southwest of Bakhmut near Klishchiivka.[46] Elements of the Russian 200th Motorized Rifle Brigade (14th Army Corps, Northern Fleet) and the “Sever-V” Volunteer Brigade (Russian Volunteer Corps) are reportedly operating near Bohdanivka; elements of the Russian 58th Spetsnaz Battalion (1st Donetsk People’s Republic [DNR] Army Corps) are reportedly operating near Bakhmut; and elements of the Russian 88th Motorized Rifle Brigade (2nd Luhansk People’s Republic [LNR] Army Corps) are reportedly operating near Klishchiivka.[47] Russian and Ukrainian forces recently made confirmed advances near Avdiivka amid continued positional fighting in the area on February 6. Geolocated footage published on February 5 indicates that Ukrainian forces recently regained limited tactical positions in a residential area in southern Avdiivka.[48] Additional geolocated footage published on February 6 indicates that Russian forces recently advanced in northern Avdiivka.[49] … Avdiivka Military Administration Head Vitaly Barabash noted that Ukrainian forces are clashing with small Russian sabotage and reconnaissance groups within Avdiivka, but emphasized that there are still no large-scale urban street battles ongoing.[52] Barabash and the spokesperson for a Ukrainian brigade operating in Avdiivka both emphasized that the situation in the area is very difficult and that Russian forces are trying to capture the town for political and informational reasons before the Russian presidential elections in March 2024.[53] The Ukrainian brigade spokesperson also stated that Russian forces are equipping their armored vehicles with electronic warfare (EW) systems to protect against Ukrainian drones.[54] … Ukrainian and Russian sources stated that positional engagements continued northwest of Avdiivka near Novobakhmutikva; near Avdiivka itself; south of Avdiivka near Vesele; and southwest of Avdiivka near Pervomaiske, Tonenke, Stepove, and Nevelske.[56] Elements of the Russian 21st Motorized Rifle Brigade (2nd Combined Arms Army, Central Military District) reportedly continue to operate near Avdiivka.[57] The EU and its member states have made available 138 billion euros (about $148.5 billion) - including its recently announced support package of 50 billion euros (about $54 billion) - to Ukraine since Russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2022.[6] In comparison, the US has appropriated $113 billion to Ukraine since the full-scale invasion, of which over $75 billion was directly allocated to Ukraine for humanitarian, financial, and military support.[7] The US government allocated the other $38 billion to security assistance-related funding, which the US government spent largely in the US and on US companies or personnel.[8] As European partners continue to increase their support for Ukraine, US aid provision in the near to medium-term remains vital to help Ukraine build its defense industrial base (DIB). ISW continues to assess that the US will not need to send large security assistance packages to Ukraine indefinitely if Ukraine successfully continues to actively pursue measures aimed at domestically producing its own weapons, building bilateral and international defense industrial partnerships, and creating industrial joint ventures with Western enterprises aimed at co-producing defense materials.[9] The US will need to continue supporting Ukraine for several years as Ukraine builds its own DIB, but Ukraine’s international security requirements will decrease in the long run as it builds out its own capabilities to become self-sufficient. The ultimate success of Ukraine's efforts to build its DIB, however, depends on Ukraine’s ability to liberate strategically vital areas currently occupied by Russian forces. US and partner military aid to Ukraine in the near term therefore continues to be crucial as the US remains the main source of sufficiently large quantities of essential military equipment, such as M1 Abrams tanks, armored personnel carriers, advanced air defense systems such as Patriots, and long-range strike systems - equipment which previous US aid packages prioritized.[10] The US Army plans to significantly increase US domestic production of 155mm artillery shells and shell components for Ukraine in 2024 and 2025, should the proposed Congressional supplemental appropriations bill pass. US Assistant Secretary of the Army for Acquisition, Logistics, and Technology Doug Bush stated on February 5 that the US Army aims to double the US monthly production of 155mm artillery shells from 28,000 shells per month in October 2023 to about 60,000 shells per month in October 2024 - if the Congressional bill passes.[11] The US Army hopes to further increase production to 75,000 shells per month in April 2025 and 100,000 shells per month in October 2025. Bush stated that the construction of a new factory in Texas, which will “have an entirely new way” of using technology to make artillery shells, will contribute to the Army’s increased production goals. Bush noted that US shell production in part depends on US domestic production of explosive materials. Bush stated that the proposed supplemental bill includes $600 million for increasing the production of explosives at the Holsten Army Ammunition Plant in Tennessee from five million pounds of explosives a year to 13 million pounds.[12] The proposed bill would also include $93 million to reestablish the production of M6 propellant (used to fire artillery shells but no longer in production in the US) at the Radford Army Ammunition Plant in Virginia, and $650 million would go to constructing a facility (likely also at the Radford Army Ammunition Plant) to domestically produce TNT, which the US currently does not produce. Bush stated that the proposed bill also includes $14 million to construct and recommission a black powder explosive production line in Louisiana. Such investments in US manufacturing are necessary to help support US strategic readiness by rebuilding America’s atrophied defense industrial base, separate and apart from the need to support Ukraine in its fight against Russia. www.understandingwar.org/... [END] --- [1] Url: https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2024/2/6/2221888/-Ukraine-Invasion-Day-714-troubled-waters?pm_campaign=front_page&pm_source=trending&pm_medium=web Published and (C) by Daily Kos Content appears here under this condition or license: Site content may be used for any purpose without permission unless otherwise specified. via Magical.Fish Gopher News Feeds: gopher://magical.fish/1/feeds/news/dailykos/