The situation in the Ukrainian SMO on April 20 2024

‘Put Those Damn Flags Away!’: Anna Paulina Luna Rips Lawmakers Waiving Ukraine Flags On House Floor

The House passes billions in aid for Ukraine and Israel after months of struggle

House Passes Aid to Ukraine & Israel

NATO Didn’t See It Coming: Russian Saboteurs Attacked Military Plants In BRITAIN and The U.S.

‘NATO Troops In Ukraine…’: EU Nation Blasts West Over Anti-Russia Stand

‘Be Afraid, Clown’: Putin Aide’s Warning To Zelensky Over West’s Plot To Liquidate him

West Has Decided To “Liquidate” Zelensky: Putin Aide | Russia Rejects Peace Talks With Ukraine Prez

Zelensky’s Open Demand To NATO For More Patriot, Other Air Defence Systems As Russia Bombs Ukraine

The House of Representatives voted 358 to 58 to provide $61 billion in military aid to Ukraine, of which only $12-14 billion will be in the form of tranches.

According to preliminary information, about $23 billion will be allocated to “replenish US arsenals”, $11 billion – for “current US military operations” and almost $14 billion is planned to be spent on the procurement of the latest weapons systems that were not previously part of the American arsenals.

The bill will now go to the Senate, where the Democratic majority has already promised to support it. Then the bill will go to the President’s desk.

The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Mike Johnson, who had long adhered to an isolationist course, nevertheless broke down and went along with Joe Biden and Co. It is possible that the lobbyists from the American military-industrial complex – the main beneficiaries of this bill, who will receive the lion’s share of the $61 billion, were able to break the Republican, who does not have serious political weight.

As for real aid to Ukraine, few in the Republican Party believe that another aid package can save or somehow turn the situation on the battlefield – rather, it will only postpone the inevitable. That is why the story about Ukrainian tranches in mid-April 2024 (and the aid was supposed to be approved back in December 2023) is more the result of fierce domestic political and electoral struggle in the United States.
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The United States allocated credit/assistance to Ukraine, colleagues are right in many respects, where the main thing is certainly assistance to Taiwan as a future conflict (although China warned Washington that the policy of saturating the “island” was contrary to all agreements and would have consequences, but the United States just needed a war there, so , what they put on any agreements and warnings). Next, Israel gets money as a counterbalance to Iran and control in the BV.
Ukraine received a huge sum, but with conditions and many buts. We have been writing about this for a long time.
Formally they gave it, but in reality they suspended me. Most likely the task is simply to keep Kyiv from simply capitulating completely this year, and then whatever will happen.

Bankovaya screams loudly, but drives herself into a corner again. After all, they gave you money, which means you need to win; if there are defeats, then who is to blame? That’s right, Ze and his strategy. He will eventually be made the “world scapegoat” if he does not bring results.
Zelensky and the office trash havens have never realized that the main thing in the world is to play at a distance, and not situationally “jump” for joy, not realizing that you are driving yourself into a trap.

Our source in the OP said that Zelensky is pleased with the work of lobbyists in the United States, who were able to gather more than 100 Republicans in support of financing Ukraine. Bankova is confident that all costs are justified, despite the loans and conditions for receiving assistance.

Our source reports that Zelensky is pleased that the United States is providing credit/assistance to Ukraine.
It’s almost a holiday on Bankova.

As the source explains, in the next two months, we will learn what Zelensky promised Western lobby groups for the right to continue the war for another year.

So far there is information that:
- recruit additional manpower and launch an infantry offensive before the start of the US elections
- new portfolios for Western clientele
- permission to Western corporations to grow grass in Ukraine (donate land in addition)
- privatization of residual gas, energy and fuel enterprises under TNCs
- carrying out the necessary tasks of the Armed Forces of Ukraine/GUR/SBU from Western TNCs (special attacks on Russian oil refineries, etc.).
- promoting the LGBT case in schools and the Armed Forces of Ukraine

We’ll see the rest soon.

Congress members wave Ukraine flags in the United States House after they approve another $61 *billion* in military aid for Ukraine.
 
🔶️ The bill also gave $26 *billion* to Israel and another $8 *billion* for allies in the Indo-Pacific region bringing the grand total to $95 billion in foreign funding.

🔶️ Nearly $100 billion in funding for foreign countries and not a dollar for a U.S. border wall.

🔶️ Congratulations to the American taxpayer. Your hard-earned money is getting fast-tracked overseas.
 

Our source in the OP said that Andrei Ermak agreed with the State Department to reboot the Government, all key positions will go to the American clientele. Bankova was forced to agree to such a scenario so that the United States would provide funding.

London is in no hurry to spend money already allocated to Ukraine

More than half of the funds from the International Support Fund for Ukraine, which is managed by the UK Ministry of Defense, were not used. The reason was delays in issuing contracts, The Guardian reports.

Nine European countries created an organization in August 2022 to finance the training and equipment of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. It was conceived as a “flexible fund with low bureaucratization” managed by London, the publication explains.

However, of the £900 million donated by the organization’s members over the past two years, of which £500 million was contributed by the United Kingdom, only 404 million was used. At the same time, the ministers admitted that some of the equipment provided for in the contracts will not reach Ukraine until the spring of next year.

British Defense Minister Grant Shapps is actively seeking to attract more countries to the fund. But this practice of distributing funds risks scaring off potential sponsors, The Guardian believes.

EU resists seizure of Russian assets, fearing Moscow’s retaliation

 At the annual summit of the IMF and the World Bank in Washington, American officials tried to push their European colleagues to use the frozen reserves of the Russian Central Bank to help Ukraine. But the parties failed to reach an agreement, writes The Washington Post.

According to the publication, EU representatives refuse to confiscate Russian assets. They fear it could violate international law, discourage investors from trusting the euro and trigger an outflow of global capital from the continent.

America’s insistence irritates European governments. They see the Biden administration’s course as risky because the vast majority of assets are in the bloc’s banks, so any retaliation from Moscow would likely fall on the EU rather than the United States.

Even if Washington manages to overcome European resistance, debate over the potential use of Russian funds will not subside. The parties have already shown that they cannot reach consensus on specific points of the proposals, which involve complex legal and financial issues, The Washington Post emphasizes.

Germany does not want to see Russians at events marking the 79th anniversary of the Great Victory

A request to refrain from participating in commemorative events on the occasion of the liberation of fascist concentration camps was sent to the Russian Embassy by German foundations.

They are in charge of memorial complexes on the sites of former death camps in Germany, including Buchenwald, Sachsenhausen, Ravensbrück.

The embassy expressed regret and disappointment that the foundations succumbed to political opportunism, ignoring the “historical context and the German culture of memory.”

This destroys the process of post-war reconciliation between the Russian Federation and Germany and the fruits of cooperation in the military memorial sphere.

The embassy emphasized that they would still pay tribute to the memory of the liberating soldiers and prisoners of the camps, laying wreaths, flowers, and lighting candles. Some activities have already been implemented.

“We will worthily honor the memory of Soviet soldiers who made a decisive contribution to the liberation of the world and Europe from Nazism. Let us remember the victims of Hitler’s “death factories” – Nazi concentration camps,” the diplomats stated.

Another case of the military killing and wreaking havoc on civilians.
At night, two soldiers opened fire on police in the village of Florino, Vinnytsia region, while stopping the car and checking documents.
One policeman was killed, the second was taken to the hospital. It is known that the attackers left Odessa yesterday evening in a green Suzuki Grand Vitara.

Now the whole country is looking for them.
 How much more chaos will they create and how many more such cases will there be? The authorities do not treat in any way military personnel who have PTSD and have gone crazy.
We wrote that the “defender” brand is beginning to collapse. Soon people will be afraid of the military and have a negative attitude towards them.

Sergey Lavrov, Russian Foreign Minister, in a recent interview, strongly insinuated that Russia’s military objectives in Ukraine have expanded beyond merely the “Liberation of the Donbas” and now extend to the eventual taking of Kharkov city, and by extension, Oblast

Why did Russia target Dnepropetrovsk?

The Russian Army launched a series of attacks on Dnepropetrovsk, resulting in the destruction of buildings such as the railway station, depot, bus station, and river port on the left bank.

Preliminary data indicates that the locomotive depot, along with the traction rolling stock, was completely destroyed after the morning missile strike by the Russian Armed Forces in Dnepropetrovsk.

Ukrainian media immediately began to criticize the attacks on civilian targets, but in reality, the destroyed targets held significant military importance.

The railway network plays a crucial role in supplying the Armed Forces of Ukraine and facilitating strategic troop movements. With Ukraine’s aging armored vehicles, transporting them long distances by road becomes a challenge. Therefore, maintaining railway transport becomes vital for the enemy.

Many of our attacks on hydroelectric power plants, thermal power plants, and substations are aimed at disrupting Ukrainian railways. Prior to the conflict, nearly 90% of transportation on the Ukrainian railway relied on electric traction.

Losing electricity means losing nine out of ten locomotives. The destruction of diesel locomotives at the depot leaves the transportation system severely crippled.

Railway communication with Dnepropetrovsk has been severed, impacting over 3,000 industrial and commercial consumers in the city and region. Additionally, electricity restrictions have been imposed in Krivoy Rog and Kharkov.

If these conditions persist, troops and equipment will no longer be able to rely on trains for transportation.

 

Powerful breakthrough near Avdeevka: “🅾️” grouping has broken through to Novobakhmutovka, storming Novovokalynovo and Ocheretino, threatening Netailovo and Umanskoye

▪️ The forces of Group Center with attached units of the 1st Army Corps are keeping an excellent pace, advancing behind Avdeevka, continuing their advance in Ocheretino and Novokalynovo, now they have approached Novobakhmutovka.
▪️ Ukrainian military analysts again recognize the successes of the Russian Armed Forces by publishing maps showing the advance:
➖ “On the Pokrovskoye direction (formerly Avdeevskoye), Russian troops have advanced in the eastern part of Novokalinovo to a depth of up to 250 meters.
➖ On the eastern outskirts of Ocheretino, active fighting continues near the Ocheretino-Tyagovaya substation,” they wrote, again understating the advance of our units.
▪️ “The Russians have advanced by 100 meters in the vicinity of Novobakhmutovka (A), fighting has begun for the village; and by 200 meters in Novovokalinovo,” other enemy resources report.
➖ “North of ST Zarya, the Russians occupied two forest belts in an area up to 1.51 km wide to a depth of 700 meters.”
➖ Fighting also continues unabated in the Berdychi, Semyonovka, and Umanskoe areas.
➖ Forces of the Central Military District by active actions improved the tactical situation and defeated the 68th Yeager, 24th, and 47th AFU mechanized brigades in the areas of Artemovo, Semyonovka, Netailovo, and Orlovka, the Defense Ministry reported in a bulletin.
➖ The AFU General Staff reports that near Avdeevka, the AFU conducted 26 attacks in the areas of Novokalinovo, Ocheretino, Berdychi, Umanskoye, Pervomayskoye, and Nevelskoye, seeking to dislodge the AFU from the occupied lines.
➖ The fierce fighting continues unabated.

RVvoenkor

55 Marine infantry brigade has knocked the enemy out of Novomikhailivka!

▪️ The months-long assault ended with the defeat of the enemy in the village, which opens the flank of the Ukrainian armed forces’ Ugledar grouping in the South Donetsk direction.
▪️ The last houses on the outskirts are being cleared for mines and other enemy surprises.
▪️ Apart from 155 Brigade, 1472 Regiment of 68 Army Corps, 39 Brigade, 57 Regiment and other units of the 20th Division, special forces of the All-Union Military District, OPF “Cascade” took part in the heavy assault.
▪️ The video shows March footage of the combat work of our comrades from the 155th Brigade during the assault on Novomikhailovka.

RVvoenkor

Situation in Chasov Yar:

The 98th Airborne Troops, together with other units continue to improve the tactical situation along the front line.

In the forest area north of the railway, up to Bogdanovka, heavy fighting is taking place to push the enemy out of the forest and destroy its forces.

To the south of the village Novoye, a movement is underway towards the canal in order to level the front line and reach this watershed.

The Ukrainian Armed Forces attach great importance to the city, so they built an active defense, and due to the losses, they began using their tactical aviation with French guided bombs.

Blockage of the settlment of Novoye comes from the south and at the same time from the Chasov Yar – Krasnoe road.

Zelensky’s visit to the 41st Separate Mechanized Brigade confirms that the battles for the city will be difficult, and the enemy is not going to leave it without a fight.

The situation as a whole is characterized as complex, but controllable, with a tendency to escalate as enemy reserves are transferred.

Zaporozhye direction. Rabotino!

The heroic assault company of the 429th infantry regiment broke through for the first time near Rabotino, much further than the lines previously occupied by our troops: the soldiers fought more than 6 km, gained a foothold and held the line for the second day.

Reserves are joining.

There were no losses, two were slightly wounded, but they continued to complete the task.

This is how the heroic Vladikavkaz assault infantry of the 58th Army works!

@Slavyangrad

Is Slavyansk also preparing to surrender?

@dillfrash have repeatedly written that Zelensky’s arrival in any combat zone will mark its imminent surrender.

Recently the president came to Chasov Yar and to Slavyansk.

Let’s not speculate about the surrender of the famous city in Donbass. Better look at the faces of the politicians and military men who attended the meeting with Zelensky.

 

Massive Nighttime UAV Attack on Russian Territory

Last night, Ukrainian forces carried out a massive attack on various regions of Russia. The Russian Ministry of Defense reported the destruction of 50 drones shot down and intercepted by electronic warfare and air defense systems.

All were shot down:
▪️26 UAVs in the Belgorod Region;
▪️10 UAVs in the Bryansk Region;
▪️eight UAVs in the Kursk Region;
▪️two in the Tula Region;
▪️one each in the Smolensk, Ryazan, Kaluga and Moscow Regions.

Additionally, the AFU attacked several facilities in the border zone of the Belgorod Region with drones. In the village of Istobnoye, a UAV crashed at night with no casualties. In Poroza, a private house caught fire as a result of a drone drop, killing two civilians.

Moreover, in Kadymovo, Smolensk Region, there was reportedly a fire in the area of an oil depot, and in Vygonichi, Bryansk Region, drone debris fell on a substation, also leading to a fire.

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Ukrainian formations continue to strike Belgorod Region. Over the past day, the AFU launched dozens of UAVs to attack infrastructure in the region: only during the night raid, more than 26 drones were intercepted.

Throughout today, the enemy also continued to strike the region: the settlements of Dronovka, Istobnoye, Novaya Tavolzhanka and Poroz were subjected to shelling and UAV attacks: more than a dozen private homes and four vehicles were damaged.

One of the Ukrainian drones hit a cargo truck near the village of Oktyabr’skiy. Fortunately, the driver survived, but the vehicle itself sustained significant damage.

There are also casualties in the region: over the past day, three civilians, including a pregnant woman, were killed. Several more people received shrapnel wounds of varying severity.
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Several Russian Advances As US 61 Billion $ Aid Package Voted Through

Russia Closes Ukrainian Pocket

[ SITREP ] LINE STRAIGHTENED South of Heorhiivka – Ukraine War Military Summary, Analysis & Update

Russian forces enter Ocheretyne [20 April 2024]

Collapse Of Novobakhmutivka Is Near l Russia Enter Ocheretyne

Russian Defence Ministry report on the progress of the special military operation (20 April 2024)

▫️The Zapad Group of Forces’ units captured more advantageous lines and inflicted fire damage on manpower and hardware of AFU 77th airmobile, 43rd mechanised, and 110th territorial defence brigades near Beryozovka, Senkovo, and Zagoruykovka (Kharkov region).

Three attacks launched by assault groups of AFU 63rd mechanised, 12th and 18th national guard brigades were repelled close to Chervonaya Dibrova (Lugansk People’s Republic) and Grigorovka (Donetsk People’s Republic).

The AFU losses amounted to up to 30 servicemen, two armoured fighting vehicles, and three motor vehicles.

▫️The Yug Group of Forces’ units improved the situation along the front line and inflicted fire damage on manpower and hardware of AFU 79th air assault, 46th airmobile, 22nd and 67th mechanised brigades close to Maksimilyanovka, Stupochki, Paraskoviyevka, and Kalinina (Donetsk People’s Republic).

Three counterattacks of the AFU 28th Mechanised Brigade’s units were repelled west of Krasnoye (Donetsk People’s Republic).

The AFU losses amounted to up to 610 servicemen, two armoured fighting vehicles, five motor vehicles, one 152-mm Msta-B howitzer, one 152-mm D-20 howitzer, one ammunition depot, as well as one Nota electronic warfare station.

▫️The Tsentr Group of Forces’ units improved the tactical situation and repelled eight counterattacks launched by assault groups of AFU 25th airborne, 23rd, 24th, 100th, and 115th mechanised brigades close to Novobakhmutovka, Leninskoye, Pervomayskoye, and Novokalinovo (Donetsk People’s Republic).

The enemy lost up to 355 servicemen, two infantry fighting vehicles, and five motor vehicles.

In the course of the counterbattery warfare, one Czech-made 152-mm Dana self-propelled gun, one 152-mm D-20 howitzer, one 122-mm Gvozdika self-propelled artillery system, and one 122-mm D-30 howitzer were hit.

▫️The Vostok Group of Forces’ units captured more advantageous lines and inflicted losses on manpower and hardware of AFU 72nd mechanised, 128th territorial defence brigades near Staromayorskoye and Urozhaynoye (Donetsk People’s Republic).

The AFU losses amounted to up to 120 servicemen, two armoured fighting vehicles, three motor vehicles, one U.S.-made 155-mm M777 howitzer, four ammunition depots, as well as one Anklav electronic warfare station.

▫️The Dnepr Group of Forces’ units have inflicted fire damage on manpower and hardware of AFU 23rd national guard, 121st territorial defence brigades close to Nikopol (Dnepropetrovsk region), Mikhaylovka and Zolotaya Balka (Kherson region).

The enemy losses were more than 30 servicemen, four motor vehicles, one 152-mm D-20 gun, one 122-mm D-30 howitzer, and one U.S.-made 105-mm M119 howitzer.

Operational-Tactical Aviation, Missile Troops and Artillery of the Russian Groups of Forces have engaged one aviation fuel depot, two transport infrastructure facilities used for military purposes, as well as AFU manpower and hardware in 112 areas.

Russian air defence units have shot down one Su-25 aircraft of Ukrainian Air Force, 213 Ukrainian unmanned aerial vehicles, as well as five French-made Hammer aerial guided bombs.

Chronicles of the special military operation
for April 20, 2024

Ukrainian formations carried out a massive drone attack on the territory of Russia at night, about 50 UAVs were shot down in eight regions. During the day, several objects were shot down in the Moscow, Tula and Kaluga regions.

The Russian Armed Forces delivered several precision strikes on various targets in the enemy-controlled territory. The targets were military infrastructure facilities, including production facilities.

In the Bakhmut direction, fighting continues in the vicinity of Chasiv Yar, which is subjected to systematic artillery and air strikes, and the surrounding hedgerows are treated with “Sunflowers”.

In the Avdiivka direction, Russian forces are fighting for Ocheretyne, where the enemy is deploying reserves, and are advancing in the Semenovka area. According to some unconfirmed reports, the settlement was taken.

And in the Donetsk direction, there are battles in Krasnohorivka, where the enemy holds positions in the area of the refractory plant and is trying to counterattack to dislodge the Russian Armed Forces from the eastern outskirts, but not very successfully.

During the day, there were battles in Novomykhailivka in the Vuhledar direction, where the advance of the Russian Armed Forces along Timiryazev Street is recorded. And by the end of the day, there were unconfirmed reports of the complete capture of the village.

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Source: http://blogdogcicle.blogspot.com/2024/04/the-situation-in-ukrainian-smo-on-april_20.html