Russia Risks Knockout Blow in War as Putin Hits Rock Bottom; Zelensky: Peace solutions not including liberation of Crimea are ‘waste of time’; Forbes estimates Russia has spent $82 billion on war with Ukraine; Kremlin expects up to 100,000 conscripts will be killed or injured before spring 2023, LIVE UPDATES and MORE

By admin On Nov 27, 2022

Russia Risks Knockout Blow in War as Putin Hits Rock Bottom:

After a string of Russian defeats in the war, U.K. Defence Secretary Ben Wallace is urging Ukraine to “keep up the pressure, keep up the momentum” and continue their rapid-fire attacks on Vladimir Putin’s forces through the winter months.

“Given the advantage the Ukrainians have in equipment training and quality of their personnel against the demoralized, poorly trained, poorly equipped Russians, it would be in the Ukraine’s interest to maintain momentum through the winter,” Wallace said. “They have 300,000 pieces of arctic warfare kit, from the international community”—a crucial requirement for any winter offensive.

Wallace told The Daily Beast that this was the advice he would give to his Ukrainian counterparts, who he speaks to “almost weekly.” He praised the Ukrainians for shocking the world by showcasing their own courage and skills, as well as the huge deficiencies in the Russian armed forces.

The intervention comes at a time when senior American officials have tried to nudge Ukraine away from the battlefield and towards the negotiating table.

Two weeks ago, General Mark Milley, Chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, warned that, because Ukraine may not reach a full victory on the battlefield, it should use the expected slowdown in military operations over the winter as a “window” for discussions with the Russians.

But President Volodymyr Zelensky has declared that he will not negotiate with Russia while Putin remains in power, and has said that any settlement must end with Ukraine in control of all its post-independence territories, including the Donbas and Crimea. —>READ MORE HERE

Zelensky: Peace solutions not including liberation of Crimea are ‘waste of time’:

President Volodymyr Zelensky told Financial Times that he is in favor of liberating Crimea by “non-military means” if possible, but “no one should waste their time” on excluding the liberation of Crimea in potential solutions to ending Russia’s war.

“We must return all lands… because I believe that the battlefield is the way when there is no diplomacy,” Zelensky. “If you can’t get your land back entirely, the war is simply frozen. It’s a question of time before it resumes.”

Some Western partners are concerned that Ukraine’s efforts to liberate Crimea may lead to dangerous escalation by Russia, potentially even the use of nuclear weapons, according to the Financial Times.

Zelensky maintained that Russia’s incessant attacks on Ukraine’s civilian infrastructure demonstrated that Russia has no intention of negotiating an end to the war.