By David Sole
There are signs that the Ukrainian military is disintegrating. One of the strongest units, the 67th Separate Mechanized Brigade (Right Sector Volunteer Corps) is being broken up by Ukraine’s military command. The unit has its roots in the ultra-right militias that helped the CIA-led 2014 Maidan coup. It was then incorporated into the nation’s military and used to attack ethnic Russian people who opposed the coup.
According to Ukraine Pravda, the 67th “is being investigated and the military personnel who served as the brigade’s backbone are being transferred to other units.” A statement from the 67th to the media stated “the high command of Ukraine’s Armed Forces has begun the process of transferring all commanders and fighters from the Right Sector.”
Apparently the most ideologically motivated pro-Nazi troops were being withheld from combat situations while new, inexperienced recruits were being sent to fight and die in battle. The Nazi elements and their commanders seem to have viewed combat orders as “political persecution.”
The severe setbacks suffered by Ukraine as it fights its proxy war for the United States against the Russian Federation are finally being admitted by the Western press. The New York Times reported on April 16 that shortages in ammunition, soldiers and air defenses “add up to a dire situation for Ukraine…presenting commanders with near impossible choices.”
The passage of a long delayed military aid package for Ukraine by the U.S. Congress is not likely to shift the tide of battle. $61 billion was allotted for Ukraine with $34 billion more going to finance Israeli genocide against Palestinians along with billions more to arm Taiwan, perhaps to prepare for its proxy war against Peoples China.
Russia, meanwhile, is strengthening its military position as it pursues goals of denazifying Ukraine’s military and stopping NATO from establishing military bases on its long border with Ukraine. On April 15 the Kyiv Post reported that “Russia Forms New ‘North’ Military Group in Regions Bordering Ukraine.” Previously Russia has been operating with five major armies. This new force is being assembled and centered around the Belgorod region where Ukraine has been launching many cross border military raids on civilian targets.
The Kyiv Post estimates the North Army has 48,000 troops, 350 tanks, around 860 armored fighting vehicles, 950 artillery systems, 110 multiple rocket launchers and 4-6 launchers of tactical missiles. A glance at the map shows this powerful new force is in striking distance of Kharkiv, the capital of Kharkiv province. As Russian forces continue to press forward from the south and east, the North Army could be put in motion to provide a second pincer to take the entire province if Ukraine’s military collapses.
It is even questionable if Ukraine can prepare and hold new defensive lines as Russian Federation forces break through older, more solid defenses. Reports admit the dire situation facing the exhausted, out-gunned, outnumbered and undertrained Ukrainian troops. It is even questionable whether Ukraine can establish and hold “ambitious defensive lines that are frantically being built.”
The U.S. is unsure if the billions in new weapons will even get to its Ukrainian proxy soldiers. Corruption has long been rampant in Ukraine. Politico reports that “US weighs sending additional military advisors to Ukraine as Russia gains momentum.” The April 20 article says that Major General Pat Ryder announced “we are considering sending several additional advisers to … support logistics and oversight efforts for the weapons the U.S. is sending.”
The U.S. House of Representatives also voted in favor of taking Russia’s financial assets that were frozen in 2022 at the start of the Special Military Operation and giving those funds to Ukraine. This bill was passed on April 20 along with the foreign aid package. Russia has responded to this threat promising to retaliate in kind.
Even more alarming is the report that Poland’s President Andrzej Duda is “ready to host US nuclear weapons.” Currently US nukes are in Belgium, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands and Turkey, all NATO members. A report in The Hill on April 22 says “the topic was one of frequent discussion between Warsaw and Washington.” Poland borders Ukraine and is the major shipping point for Western weapons being sent to the Ukraine proxy regime.
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