Ukrainian army retakes strategic Liman in Donetsk region - will attack on annexed region push Russia into a state of war?
2022-10-03
Category:Ukraine
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Ukraine regains eastern Liman
Ukraine has recaptured the strategic town of Liman in the eastern Donetsk region. It seems that they have advanced further since Kharkiv the other day. What is surprising is the operational capabilities of the Ukrainian military, as well as the weakness of the Russian military. Russian army is too weak. After the mobilization order for 300,000 people was issued, there is no end to the number of Russians fleeing near the border, and Russian soldiers who were captured from the beginning said, ``I want to see my mother, I want to go home.'' Cried.
Will the division strategy become an enemy?
From the beginning, Russia marched in an arc across the east, attempting to divide the Ukrainian army. However, the situation is now reversed, with the Ukrainian military now targeting areas where it is weak. It has been pointed out that this way of positioning is effective when going on the offensive, but it puts you at a disadvantage when going on the defensive.
Will Russia declare war?
What will be interesting to see in the retaking of Liman is whether Russia will declare a state of war. Currently, Russia is framing this as a special military operation aimed at peacekeeping operations. In other words, the people are not directly involved in this, it is a military operation and a policy of the Russian government. That is why the sudden partial mobilization order for 300,000 people caused so much unrest.
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Continued invasion of Ukraine - The Iraq War lasted for 8 years and 9 months with the participation of more than 40 countries.
There is a view that Russia is not as strong as expected as it was revealed in this invasion of Ukraine. Ukraine has a population of about 44 million and the regular army has a population of about 210,000. Russia has a population of 140 million and the Russian army has a population of 900,000. Ukraine's GDP is 55th in the world, lower than Iraq. And in terms of location, it can be said that the Russian army is most likely to invade because it is a neighboring country. Belarus and Russia can also invade the capital Kyiv. Even so, even one month after the start of the war, it has not been suppressed. It is attracting attention in the sense that it is possible to fight so far just by providing weapons from developed countries.
The Iraq War lasted eight years and nine months. An airstrike on Baghdad by the US military was carried out on March 20, 2003, and Saddam Hussein was captured on December 13, 2003. More than 40 countries, including the United States and other developed countries, allies, and friendly countries, have made military intervention in Iraq. Still, it took eight years and nine months to conquer the whole of Iraq. What is different from Ukraine is that Iraq and its neighbors Turkey, Syria, Jordan and Saudi Arabia have not participated in the operation, and the countries that have conducted military intervention are dispatched to distant places.
After the capture of Hussein, destabilization in Iraq and guerrilla warfare continued. Even if we count the capture of Hussein, it will be about 9 months. Without nuclear weapons, it would take so much time to conquer a country even with modern weapons. And the common keyword is "national defense". In this sense, the Ukrainian war is likely to be prolonged if the goal is to control the whole country. On the other hand, Russia has said from the beginning that it is not thinking of controlling the whole of Ukraine. At what stage will the ceasefire agreement be reached? It presupposes that Russia's original goals will be achieved to some extent. There are many difficulties in the current negotiations as to how much Ukraine can accept Russia's demands.
If Russia is attacked
In the event of a state of war, martial law would be imposed and military conscription could be carried out at random. That is exactly the situation in Ukraine. Liman is in a region that was recently incorporated into Russia, so in theory it means that Russia was attacked. It is also said that Mr. Putin's decision to annex Russia was to raise the country to a state of war.
Putin's power domestically
If Putin is unable to declare a state of war, it would mean that his power in domestic politics has weakened. If martial law were to be declared, the sons of politicians would also have to be sent to the battlefield.
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[related article]
Japan, the United States, Germany, the United Kingdom and the EU announced sanctions against Russia.The content is limited, not enough to corner Russia.
Sanctions include (1) suspension of visa issuance and freezing of property for two "Republic" , (2) prohibition of import and export of two "Republics", and (3) prohibition of the issuance and distribution of new sovereign bonds in Japan.
Before that Japan's Foreign Minister Hayashi announced Japan will do sanctions in line with the G7, but the sanctions are not very strong.
German Chancellor Helmut Scholtz said on Wednesday he would suspend the approval process for a new gas pipeline (Nordstream 2) in Germany and Russia.Nordstream 2 is a pipeline that imports natural gas from Russia in the future without going through Ukraine, but will be suspended.However, it is doubtful how effective the sanctions will be because the current pipeline is exported to European countries via Ukraine.
The sanctions announced by the U.S. government are very limited.Pro-Russian-controlled areas are prohibited from doing economic transactions with the U.S. It was not sanctions against Russia.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has imposed sanctions on five banks and three Russian billionaires, saying they will be banned from traveling to Britain.
The EU said it agreed to target 27 individuals and organizations that "play a role in weakening or threatening Ukraine's territorial integrity, sovereignty and independence."
In any case, it is not a comprehensive plan to corner Russia's economy, but a partial, limited, and future solution.
Russia was subject to economic sanctions over the Crimean Peninsula last time, and based on its experience and current economic relations between the U.S. and Europe, it predicted the size of the sanctions and decided to send troops to Donetsk and Lugansk.Territorial disputes will benefit the region permanently after its conquest.Crimea ,Donetsk and Lugansk have 3,796,000 people, and after all Russia will occupy their economy.
Economic sanctions against territorial aggression cannot be used as a countermeasure from the beginning.Unless Russia returns it, losses from economic sanctions will be recovered from the region.
Is Russia sending 1,000 mercenaries to Ukraine?Are the troops attacking Kiev really regular?
There are many reports that Ukrainian troops are fighting well to prevent Russian aggression, but Russian soldiers captured by Ukrainian soldiers are questionable."I came all the way here without knowing where I was going," "I participated in the battle without any training."Surprisingly, soldiers who make video calls with their mother in Russia and cry, "I want to go back to Russia soon."It is clear that they are conscripts and trainees, but what percentage of them participate?
The question from the beginning is whether the Russian camp attacking Kiev is really a regular army.It seems this Russian soldiers are not professional combat groups.So where is the regular army?Will it be a second wave?
CNN reported that Russia is expected to send up to 1,000 mercenaries to Ukraine in the next few days or weeks.A high-ranking Western intelligence official said, "The Russian government warned that it could "subdue multiple cities by bombing," adding, "As the war intensifies, many civilians will be killed."Where will Russian professional soldiers engage in operations and how will 1,000 mercenaries be deployed in the future?
The procession to Kiev seems to be aimed at concentrating Ukrainian soldiers on the defense of the capital.Russia, on the other hand, is continuously suppressing Zapoliza and Helson in the region from Donbas to Crimea.Are they going to take the time to attacking Kiev and buy time, while you subdue other key points?
Russia seems to be invading Ukraine for several purposes.What will be done before the fall of the capital and what will the next troops to be deployed in the future?
The U.S. - Russia negotiations are expected to take place in the U.S. - Russia intelligence war. an outpost for the summit.
US President Biden announced on the 19th that Russia would invade Ukraine within the next few days, and President Putin said that he had decided to go to war. Russia has consistently stated that it has no intention of advancing into Ukraine. In an unprecedented move, President Putin made public a conversation he had with Foreign Minister Lavrov about the possibility of dialogue with Western countries. When Russia says it has withdrawn some of its troops, the US says it is increasing its troops. The purpose of this information warfare is currently a hot topic.
The only thing that is clear is that Ukraine has been militarily cut off from the West. President Biden immediately denied participation in the war, citing World War III. The longer this problem drags on, the more the Ukrainian economy will suffer. Currently, many foreign companies are withdrawing and foreigners are evacuating abroad. President Zelenskiy has ordered Western countries to refrain from making statements that suggest Russia is about to invade. In the first place, there was a strong view that Russia's original purpose was to shake up Zelensky's government. If the pro-American government continues, Russian troops will always be stationed on Ukraine's border, and if NATO membership becomes a reality, they will also deploy nuclear weapons to authoritarian Belarus.
At the U.S.-Russia summit meeting held on the 13th, Mr. Biden asked Mr. Putin first what Russia's demands were. There is criticism that it is impractical for diplomacy to listen to the other party's demands first. Therefore, Mr. Putin immediately demanded that NATO not expand to the east.
If this trend had continued, the negotiations would have resulted in the withdrawal of Russian troops in exchange for canceling Ukraine's membership in NATO. Mr. Biden agreed to hold a second meeting with Mr. Putin. Sanctions against the Ukrainian and Russian economies have already begun due to information warfare. By strengthening this, it appears as if Mr. Biden is trying to turn his position from being at a disadvantage to an advantage.
It will not be easy for the US to gain a negotiating advantage now that it has abandoned the military option. Economic sanctions have already begun.
Negotiations on Ukraine broke down.Russia's goal is to neutralize and demilitarize Ukraine.NATO provides logistical support.
Negotiations on a ceasefire between Ukrainian and Russian delegations ended for five hours in Gomeri, southeastern Belarus, near the border with Ukraine.Ukraine has already notified of unconditional negotiations, and what this means is that it does not object to the recognition of independence of Lugansk and Donetsk.Russia seems to have offered conditions.
Russia's conditions are "neutralization" and "demilitarization" of Ukraine.This may seem like a peaceful settlement, but it is a completely different request."Neutralization" means Ukraine's non-NATO membership, and Ukraine's current intentions may be put aside but it would be accepted.However, "unarmed" means that there is no military, and that having an army is a legitimate right under international law included in a country's right to live, which means that it will no longer be a sovereign state.In other words, Russia has offered unacceptable conditions.As a result, the negotiations broke down and the negotiations were decided to negotiate next time.
Russia's original demand is NATO's non-expansion to the east.This has not changed since the beginning.So why can't Ukraine compromise on the terms of "neutralization" that it can accept?This also seems to mean that there will be no will of Russia to negotiat with Ukraine.Russia has taken military action against the possibility of NATO's eastern expansion to Ukraine and the deployment of NATO forces near the Russian border.In other words, it is fundamentally a matter of NATO and Russia.
NATO has consistently said that it is up to the will of the applicant countries to join NATO.In other words, NATO's passive stance is that it is the will of the applicant countries rather than the will of NATO.However, the war is continuing.Perhaps what Russia wants to negotiate is NATO troops.NATO wants further commitment to the non-expansion of the East.In this sense, Ukraine may not be Russia's negotiating partner.NATO is trying to stop the Russian military by imposing economic sanctions and arousing international public opinion.
If NATO agrees on non-expansion to the East ,and Ukraine as a neutral country, Ukraine's sovereignty and peace will be maintained, and both Russia and NATO will have important buffer states.If NATO or Russia sends troops to Ukraine, it will be a war between NATO and Russia.Then the military balance will be maintained.Indeed, for NATO, Ukraine's membership has little advantage.Therefore, Western countries immediately announced that they would not send troops to Ukraine to avoid war.
In Japanese history, there is a Tianjin Treaty signed with Qing in 1885.This means that the two sides will withdraw from the Korean Peninsula in order to ease tensions between Japan and China after the Kim Ok-kyun Gapsin Incident.In other words, the Korean Peninsula is considered a neutral military zone of military neutrality.As a result, Queen Min, who failed to suppress the Donghak Party's rebellion on the Korean Peninsula, asked Qing for reinforcements, which triggered the Japan-Qing War.Without such a blunder, Ukraine could become an independent country, and on the contrary, a stable and protected country between Russia and NATO.
Russia's request is simple and nothing has changed.NATO Western countries have become third parties to economic sanctions without participating in the war.Will NATO negotiate with Russia?
Biden Emphasizes Polish Defense - Defense as NATO's Right to Collective Self - Defense.
In a meeting with President Duda in Poland on Wednesday, Biden stressed that as a member of NATO, he will take responsibility for the defense of Poland in connected with Ukraine."We see Article 5 of the North Atlantic Treaty as a sacred obligation.I don't care if you trust me," he said.Article 5 of the North Atlantic Treaty provides for the right to collective self-defense of NATO members.Shouldn't he have issued a statement immediately after the invasion of Ukraine instead of making a promise at the summit?
Article 5 of the North Atlantic Treaty
Contracting States agree to regard armed attacks on one or more Contracting States in Europe or North America as attacks on all Contracting States.Consequently, the Contracting States agree that, in the event of such an armed attack, each Party shall assist the attacked Party by exercising the right of individual or collective self-defense permitted under Article 51 of the United Nations Charter, individually and immediately.
Any such armed attack and any resulting action shall be immediately reported to the Security Council.Such measures shall be terminated when the Security Council has taken necessary measures to restore and maintain international peace and security.
This will allow NATO to exercise its right to collective self-defense against attacks on member states.This is why NATO is a powerful military alliance.After Russia's invasion of Ukraine began, it should have been the first to refer to this Article 5.By the way, after Trump took office, there was widespread concern that member states would not fulfill their defense obligations unless they increased their defense spending, but in June, at a joint press conference with Romanian President Johannes, he declared his support for Article 5.