NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said on Monday that Russia is preparing to mobilize more than 200,000 troops, while the UK ministry of defense said in December that Putin had been presented with plans to expand Russia's military by around 30%, to 1.5 million active personnel.

Russian students, people without combat experience, the elderly, and those with health issues were among those who had been called up to fight.

The symbol of Wagner Group reminds us of the "Totenkopf" of the SS.

Russia is planning a major offensive against Kyiv by the one-year anniversary of its invasion of Ukraine.

China unsettled by Russia's 'poor performance', the Chinese are getting more worried.

CIA Director William Burns said on Thursday the intelligence agency assesses that the next six months will be "critical" for Ukraine in its fight against Russia's invasion.

Ukraine's Zelensky vows to hasten EU membership after Kyiv summit

https://www.france24.com/en/europe/...-on-bloc-membership-new-russia-sanctions

Here we go!

Now that the Dutch armed forces are struggling with a screaming shortage of personnel, it is time to reintroduce conscription. That says Christen Democrat leader Wopke Hoekstra. He argues for compulsory military service, whereby 18-year-olds can choose to join the army or do social service.

Hoekstra makes his remarkable proposal today at the CDA party congress, one and a half months before the provincial elections. He wants about 200,000 young people to join the armed forces or opt for social service every year.

According to the CDA Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs, the war in Ukraine 'has forced us to face the facts'. “Security, democracy and a strong society are not free, that is a hard lesson,” says Hoekstra.

It is not the first time that the CDA advocates compulsory service. But because of the war in Ukraine and the 'lack of solidarity in the Netherlands', Hoekstra believes it is now necessary to take 'a step further'.

Zelensky On Tour...

https://www.france24.com/en/europe/...ault-as-ukraine-braces-for-new-offensive

Britain's King Charles will hold an audience with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky during his trip to the United Kingdom on Wednesday, Buckingham Palace said.

Zelensky is scheduled to meet Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and address Britain's parliament, as well as visit King Charles at his London residence.

Zelensky's trip to Britain will be his second foreign visit since Russia invaded Ukraine nearly a year ago, and comes at a time when Kyiv is urging the West for more military support.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky will arrive in Paris on Wednesday evening following his visit to London, the Élysée Palace told AFP, confirming previous media reports.

Zelensky is then expected to head to Brussels for a European Union summit on Thursday.

WAR CRIMINAL

The UK is seriously considering sending fighter jets to the Ukraine.

The western allies will do that.
Ukraine need them to protect the airspace Eurofighter's, F-16's and MIG's.

https://www.france24.com/en/europe/...travel-together-to-eu-summit-in-brussels

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Thursday that his country has intercepted plans by Russian secret services to destroy Moldova.

Speaking to European Union leaders in Brussels, Zelensky said he recently told Moldovan President Maia Sandu about the alleged scheme. “I have informed her that we have intercepted the plan of the destruction of Moldova by the Russian intelligence," Zelensky said through a translator.

The Ukrainian president said the documents showed “who, when and how" the plan would "break the democracy of Moldova and establish control over Moldova". Zelensky said the plan was very similar to the one devised by Russia to take over Ukraine.

Fury in Ukraine as Elon Musk’s SpaceX limits Starlink use for drones

A senior Ukrainian presidential aide has reacted with anger after Elon Musk’s SpaceX said it had taken steps to prevent its Starlink satellite communications service from controlling drones, which are critical to Kyiv’s forces in fighting off the Russian invasion.

Gwynne Shotwell, SpaceX’s chief operating officer, said at a conference in the US that the surprise decision had been taken because it had never been the company’s intention to allow Starlink to be used “for offensive purposes”.

That prompted an immediate complaint on Thursday morning from Mykhailo Podolyak, a senior adviser to Ukraine’s president, Volodymr Zelenskiy, who argued that Musk’s business had failed to recognise Ukraine’s right to self-defence.

When will get the Ukraine version of "MiG Alley"???

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MiG_Alley

United States tells citizens: Leave Russia immediately
Reuters
MOSCOW, Feb 13 (Reuters) - The United States has told its citizens to leave Russia immediately due to the war in Ukraine and the risk of arbitrary arrest or harassment by Russian law enforcement agencies.

"U.S. citizens residing or travelling in Russia should depart immediately," the U.S. embassy in Moscow said. "Exercise increased caution due to the risk of wrongful detentions."

"Do not travel to Russia," it added.

"Russian security services have arrested U.S. citizens on spurious charges, singled out U.S. citizens in Russia for detention and harassment, denied them fair and transparent treatment, and convicted them in secret trials or without presenting credible evidence," the embassy said.

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Ukrainian soldiers train on Leopard tanks in Poland
Ukrainian soldiers who have arrived at a Polish military base straight from the front line have praised the Leopard battle tanks whose ins and outs they have been learning under the watchful eye of allied instructors.

“As of today, I can say that the machine is very high quality, very good,” Ukrainian army Major Vadym Khodak told reporters attending the training showcase in the southwestern village of Swietoszow.

“And what I like is that our soldiers like it very much,” he said of the 105 Ukrainian soldiers who are receiving tank training from Polish, Canadian and Norwegian instructors.

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Norway says Russia poses main security threat to Europe
Norway’s intelligence agencies see Russia as posing the main security threat to the country and to the remainder of Europe, the Nordic nation’s defence minister says.

“Russia today poses the biggest threat to Norwegian and European security, and the confrontation with the West will be long-lasting,” Bjorn Arild Gram predicted.

Gram made the remarks after Norway’s government received annual threat assessments from the country’s three security services: the domestic and foreign intelligence agencies and the Norwegian National Security Authority, or NSM.

The deputy head of the foreign Norwegian Intelligence Service, Lars Nordrum, said Norway’s oil and gas installations could be targeted by Russian sabotage. NSM head Sofie Nystrøm warned that “all of Europe will suffer” if Norwegian gas and oil installations were hit.

Dutch F-35s intercept three Russian military aircraft over Poland - Netherlands' defence ministry
Reuters
Feb 14 (Reuters) - Two Dutch F-35 fighters intercepted a formation of three Russian military aircraft over Poland and escorted them out, the Netherlands' defence ministry said in a statement late on Monday.

"The then unknown aircraft approached the Polish NATO area of responsibility from Kaliningrad," according to Reuters' translation of the ministry's statement.

Kaliningrad is a Russian Baltic coast enclave located between NATO and European Union members Poland and Lithuania.

"After identification, it turned out to be three aircraft: a Russian IL-20M Coot-A that was escorted by two Su-27 Flankers. The Dutch F-35s escorted the formation from a distance and handed over the escort to NATO partners."

The Il-20M Coot-A is NATO's reporting name for the Russian Ilyushin Il-20M reconnaissance aircraft while the Su-27 Flankers are NATO's reporting name for the Sukhoi Su-28 fighter aircraft.

Russia's defence ministry did not immediately respond to Reuters' request for a comment.

The Netherlands' defence ministry said that eight Dutch F-35s are stationed in Poland for February and March.

The 155th Marine Brigade destroyed at Voehledar
Vladimir Putin suffered one of his most humiliating losses in Ukraine recently . An elite Russian brigade was decimated near Voehledar, a mining town in Donetsk.

Rishi Sunak pushes for Ukraine charter and long-range missiles for Kyiv

The Prime Minister said he hoped the coming Nato summit in Vilnius would build long-term assurances. "Our aim should be to forge a new charter in Vilnius to help protect Ukraine from future Russian aggression," he said.

Mr Sunak said Ukraine's forces had reached an inflection point in the battle against Russian troops and called on fellow leaders at the summit to “double down” on military support for President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

https://www.thenationalnews.com/wor...-standard-capabilities-rishi-sunak-says/

The west has backed Ukraine to a degree Vladimir Putin, and the west itself, never expected, it's a terrible brutal war with trences like WWI. One year now and still no end in sight.

Zelensky knows the west may get tired now we are not used to this kind of warfare in Europe anymore.

US: China considering military aid to Russia
The United States has information that China is 'seriously considering' providing military aid to Russia. That said US Secretary of State Antony Blinken after a meeting with China's top diplomat Wang Yi in Munich. The US warns China that this will create a "serious problem" in their relations.

Biden planned to meet for extended discussions with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and other officials, he said in a statement.

Biden's also plans to meet in Poland with leaders of the Bucharest Nine, a group of eastern NATO allies formed in 2015 in response to Russia's annexation of Crimea.

https://abcnews.go.com/Internationa...t-signalling-strong-us/story?id=97328622

It's a historic visit and a big signal to Russia and China.

What does Biden's visit to Ukraine mean - and how will Russia spin it?
Sky's experts assess US president's trip to Kyiv

https://news.sky.com/story/what-doe...sess-us-presidents-trip-to-kyiv-12815934

Chinese top diplomat visits Russia

Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang says he is very concerned that the conflict in Ukraine could escalate "out of control". “We call on certain countries to immediately stop pouring oil on the fire,” Qin said in a speech.

Qin's statements come in the same week that top Chinese diplomat Wang Yi, who until recently was foreign minister, is in Moscow. According to the Kremlin, there is much to discuss with the Chinese guest. The top Chinese diplomat would talk about the possibilities of ending the war with Ukraine through negotiations and a peace agreement. Beijing and Moscow entered into a "borderless" friendship last year and maintain close ties. China has not condemned the invasion.

During a stopover in Hungary on Monday, Wang called for negotiations to end the war in Ukraine. The Chinese top diplomat is expected to explore the possibilities of a peace agreement in Moscow. On Friday, exactly one year after the invasion, President Xi Jinping was due to deliver a "peace speech".

China is eyeing the doubling of Japan's defense budget with suspicion
China and Japan will hold security talks today and tomorrow for the first time in four years.
After 2019, things went quiet between Beijing and Tokyo. The corona pandemic was in between, but in the meantime tensions were also rising. About the disputed islands in the East China Sea, about defense exercises, and also about the war in Ukraine.
'It will never work out politically, but they need each other economically.' Every year, USD 300 billion is exchanged between the two countries.
Even when it comes to the war in Ukraine, the two are diametrically opposed. China's top foreign representative, Wang Yi, was in Moscow this week with Russian President Vladimir Putin. While Japan announced that it would support Ukraine with the enormous amount of 5.5 billion euros.