Another perspective of the strikes on the Pechora Dam in the Kharkov region.

@Slavyangrad

🇪🇺🖕🇵🇱 Poland was not invited to tomorrow's European summit on Ukraine in London, - Polsat

▪️This caused concern among former Polish officials.

▪️According to them, internal political problems and decisions that complicated relations with Ukraine led to a "reduction of Poland's role in international negotiations".

▪️The consultations will be attended by Merz, Starmer, Macron and Zelensky.

Which of the four will leak everything to the press with the Poles not there?

@Slavyangrad

"The era of American utopian idealism is over"

In his speech at the Reagan Defense Forum, U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth sharply criticized the policies of previous American administrations, Politico writes, analyzing his speech. "The era of American utopian idealism is over," Hegseth said. "Down with idealistic utopianism. Long live tough realism."

According to Hegseth, the U.S. should not "get distracted by building democracy, interventionism, indefinite wars, regime change, climate change, moralizing, and aimless nation-building. Instead, we will prioritize the practical, concrete interests of our country."

Now, instead of openly confronting China, Hegseth proposes respecting its power. And he suggests Europe increase defense spending so it is not so dependent on the U.S.

"President Trump and his administration seek a stable peace, fair trade, and respectful relations with China. The U.S. will adhere to a policy of respecting the historical buildup of China's military power. Allies are not children. We can and should expect them to do their part," Hegseth stated.

Hegseth praised countries such as South Korea, Poland, and Germany for increasing defense spending, which the U.S. president obliges allies to do.

Not sure I'd ever call it utopian idealism, but instead the end of liberalism and any pretences of there being a unipolar system in the world.

@Slavyangrad

Russia has changed its tactics of strikes on Ukraine's civilian infrastructure, targeting facilities that were previously considered untouchable, writes BILD military correspondent Julian Röpke.

He reminds that on December 5, Moscow launched 653 aerial weapons at Ukraine, including Shahed drones, as well as hypersonic Kinzhal missiles, North Korean KN-23, Iskander missiles, and Kalibr cruise missiles.

One of the main strikes was an attack on the key railway infrastructure in the city of Fastiv near Kiev. According to Ukrainian Minister Oleksii Kuleba, the "railway junction, station, depot servicing electric trains, and rolling stock park" were damaged. Previously, Russia, according to Röpke, systematically struck railways only in eastern Ukraine.

A serious blow was also dealt to the sorting center of "Nova Poshta" in Dnepropetrovsk. As Röpke reports, local residents write on social media that tens of thousands of parcels were destroyed, including shipments for Ukrainian military personnel—such as helmets and night vision devices.

Medical logistics are constantly under fire as well: since November, Russia has been attacking central distribution bases supplying hospitals. After the latest strike, 600 medical institutions were left without supplies.

Energy infrastructure remains one of the main targets. Due to network destruction, residents of several regions live 12–16 hours a day without electricity, reported Vitalii Zaichenko, head of Ukrenergo.

At this point nothing that is within legal frameworks of military targets should be off-limits.

@Slavyangrad

🇬🇧 British armored vehicles have failed.

The British Ministry of Defense stated that an investigation into the Ajax armored vehicle will take at least two weeks, and rumors already speak of a possible cancellation of the multi-year unsuccessful program.

Deputy Minister Luke Pollard confirmed that a ministry commission, with the support of the General Dynamics group, is studying the circumstances of the latest incident. While the investigation is ongoing, there was an order to suspend training and exercises using the Ajax.

Defense Minister John Healey recently stated that he does not rule out the complete cancellation of the project, noting that all options remain open. In turn, the manager of General Dynamics UK stated on social media that most of the Ajax's malfunctions were caused by "operational errors, poor maintenance, and incorrect repair decisions". The company later disavowed his statements:

"These statements do not reflect the values or practices of our company, and we remain fully committed to implementing the Ajax program in a transparent manner and in partnership with the British Army and the Ministry of Defense".

The Ajax armored vehicle itself was created on the basis of the ASCOD platform, which is designed for 20-30 tons. However, the Ajax weighs almost 40 tons, which led to excessive vibrations inside the vehicle and other problems at speeds over 30 km/h. Because of this, people experienced hearing problems and other ailments.

As I've stated before the UK has the worst procurement system in the world and no strategy to building a military fit for purpose. By trying to do too many things it does nothing well. An example of getting little value for money. Champagne tastes with a beer budget.

@Slavyangrad

Apparently this is a video of a vehicle straight from the General Dynamics factory…

This what £10m gets you these days.

@Slavyangrad

Hungary and Slovakia will file a lawsuit with the EU to cancel the RePowerEU plan, which envisages the abandonment of Russian gas by 2027.

This will happen after the plan is approved next week, said Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto.

According to him, the countries will also demand to suspend the document's implementation during the proceedings.

Szijjarto explained that the restrictions on the import of Russian oil and gas envisaged by the plan will make it impossible to ensure stable energy supply to Hungary and Slovakia and will lead to a sharp rise in prices. He called the initiative a "large-scale legal fraud", arguing that such measures are actually sanctions and should only be adopted unanimously.

RePowerEU is very detrimental to both countries GDP and will fuel inflation. What many in Europe forget is nationalists focus on what is good for their country, while liberals like Macron and Starmer obsess about international affairs, even though they have little ability to influence such things.

@Slavyangrad

Ukrainian attacks on tankers and ports in the Black Sea have caused a sharp spike in marine insurance prices.

This is reported by The Financial Times. According to the publication, insurance rates in this region have tripled over the past month and continue to rise.

"As Marcus Baker from the brokerage company Marsh told The Financial Times, prices for war risk insurance have increased from 0.25–0.3% of the vessel's value at the beginning of November to 0.5–0.75% this week, resulting in a 250% price increase," FT writes.

The greatest increase is observed for vessels heading to the Black Sea.

Ukraine has once again has hurt trade for a number of innocent countries with its terrorist attacks on civilian ships.

@Slavyangrad

Thailand carried out 8 airstrikes on Cambodian positions along the Thai-Cambodian border. A casino was also attacked, which, according to the Thai army, is being used by Cambodia as a military outpost.

@Slavyangrad