Small Wars Journal

1/15/23 National Security and Korean News and Commentary

Sun, 01/15/2023 - 12:11pm

Access National Security News HERE.

Access Korean News HERE.

National Security News Content:

1. RUSSIAN OFFENSIVE CAMPAIGN ASSESSMENT, JANUARY 14, 2023

2. New Jersey requiring students to learn 'media literacy' to fight 'disinformation'

3. The sun is crackling with ‘solar flares’. Here’s what that means.

4. Rare earths find in Sweden: A gamechanger?

5. Former Russian president says Japanese leader should disembowel himself

6. Hate speech rises on Twitter in its largest markets after Musk takeover

7. UK to send Apache helicopters and modern tanks to Ukraine

8. The Taiwanese Expedition – Xi Jinping has read Thucydides. Have the China hawks?

9. US should help arm Taiwan with missiles to destroy Shanghai, says ex-general

10. Call for PLA to use AI for ‘smart deterrence’ against US over Taiwan

11. Logistical challenge looms for Ukraine over promised tanks

12. Pentagon Balks at Sending Ukraine Long-Range Bombs

13. To Make Japan Stronger, America Must Pull It Closer

14. Joint Statement of the 2023 U.S.–Japan Security Consultative Committee ("2+2")

15. Japan Coast Guard’s rising role in a rules-based Indo-Pacific

16. Will the Ukraine war slow Russia’s Arctic push?

17. Japan sells Tokyo as US linchpin of security against China, Russia

18. GOP officially launches probe into chaotic Afghanistan withdrawal

19. MLK Jr.’s dream not yet achieved, but still attainable, advocates say

20. From phishing scams to propaganda: How Russia, rogue nations utilize cyber capabilities against the US

Korean News Content:

1. N. Korean nuclear test inevitable, China unwilling and unable to help: Victor Cha

2. N. Korea to hold key parliamentary meeting this week

3. S. Korea seeks formal consultations with US, EU on NK human rights

4. South Korea, US in talks on how to modernize UN Command: ministry

5. Yoon Suk Yeol takes economic diplomacy to Davos Forum

6. Yoon says he expects 'big achievements' from UAE visit

7. UAE announces decision to invest US$30 bln in S. Korea

8. Yoon meets with S. Korean troops of Akh unit in UAE

9. N. Korea slams U.N. secretary-general's comment on its 'unlawful' nuclear weapons program

10. S. Korean population falls for 3rd consecutive year in 2022

11. Koreans' per capita spending on luxury goods highest in world

12. Does the American Dream still exist? ( A Korean view)

13. Japanese prime minister vows to resolve any issues with Korea

14. Undeterred giant – China slammed for 'emotional' retaliation (Against South Korea)

15. [Column] How not to keep fighting yesterday’s war (South Korea)

Readying for Urban Disaster, Post One

Sat, 01/14/2023 - 9:54pm

Readying for Urban Disaster, Post One

Russell W. Glenn

The first of a series of blog posts on Urban Disasters: Readiness, Response, and Recovery by Russ Glenn.

Baghdad

Photograph by Dr. Russell W. Glenn, Baghdad, Iraq

Introduction

This is the first of what will be fourteen posts coming over the next equal number of weeks. I will shoot for putting them online around 6 PM Mondays or a bit before. The material covers select observations from Come Hell or High Fever along with several historical examples and additional insights uncovered since the manuscript went to the publisher. The book’s focus (and that of the fourteen posts) is readying for urban disasters (four posts, of which this is the first), responding to those calamities (another four), and recovering from catastrophes (six). The last group receives greater attention in terms of posting numbers because of the understandable need to denote recovery’s challenges given events ongoing in Ukraine. Focusing on recovery alone would be short-sighted, however, for decisions made and actions taken during recovery should always keep in mind possible futures in which Mother Nature, mankind, or (often) the two in cahoots bring urban areas their darker hours. I offer that plans and responses to these yet-to-be events should incorporate lessons from both the past and ongoing challenges.

The fourteen posts seek to lend a bit of insight for practitioners: government authorities, civilian and inter-governmental organizations, and private citizens who will or might play a part in lessening others’ suffering during or in the aftermath of urban crises. The material will also be of interest to readers for whom the topic of urban disasters sparks a desire to know more about what are sure to become increasingly common as nature adds climate change’s ills to already familiar occurrences seen in years past. Coverage provided by both these online offerings and forthcoming book are sudden disasters: cyclones, earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, war, major acts of terrorism, flooding, heat waves, pollution catastrophes, and the like. We will consider gradual or creeping misfortunes due to climate change, longtime degradation of an urban area’s water or air, criminality, misgovernment, or social inequality only in terms of how they might hasten or exacerbate the consequences of more abrupt events.

Though the words are my own, any wisdom these pages offer is the consequence of good fortune in what I have learned from the over 1,000 individuals who have in recent years granted time and insights during interviews in Iraq, Afghanistan, the Philippines, Korea, Japan, East Africa, Europe, Canada, at home in the USA, and elsewhere or by phone. So too, many are the books, articles, studies, and additional materials that have advised these observations. Endnotes to this and following posts should provide a starting point for readers who want to pursue any historical event or topic more fully. The book will offer a far more extensive list of references in its bibliography.

There’s also a bit of “been there, done that” in these pages given travels over the past now nearly three decades. Yet one person’s experiences provide only a soda straw view of any problem or event. It’s surely apocryphal, but the tale of Frederick the Great’s mule serves as a reminder for any of us who might like to believe that our personal experiences provide general knowledge. As it goes, the tale has a Prussian general approaching Frederick and demanding a promotion because of the many battles in which he participated. Frederick’s response: “Well, in that case, my horse should be a field marshal.”

Readying

So, let’s get on with it. I will tend to provide one or more historical examples with each posting. We’ll start here with World War II Hamburg. The extensive bombing and related firestorm damage suffered by the city meant that its leaders were all but overwhelmed in deciding what to take on first after the destruction. Potable drinking water was a concern from immediate survival and disease prevention perspectives. Rubble clogged streets, making delivery of aid or relief difficult. Some of the debris concealed corpses. Other dead lie in the open, offering fulfillment to insects, rats, and any other animal that might seek a meal. Survivors slept in bunkers, the luckier of those lucky instead housing with friends or relatives. Yet others moved into structures still habitable. Rightful owners sometimes later returned to find their properties occupied by strangers. The squatters were often permitted to stay until other suitable shelter could be found, something that could take months. During all this struggling to survive, bureaucrats in Berlin demanded rapid restoration of the city’s war industries.[1]

Could any plan have readied Hamburg for such an eventuality? Is it fair to expect leaders in WWII London, Manila, Tokyo, Hiroshima, Korean War Seoul, or early 2022 Kiev to have readied for the tragedies that struck their populations? Probably not in terms of the specifics of those woes, but could they have prepared a well-considered “generic” disaster plan to act as the sturdy bones on which to hang details of more specialized plans when crises presented themselves? Might Los Angeles or Tokyo’s existing earthquake planning provide an 80% solution should massive flooding, tsunami, or (the gods forbid) a weapon of mass destruction event visit?  There is a saying in the military that it is easier to frag off an existing plan than start from scratch. (“Frag” is an adaptation of “fragmentary order.” The military routinely creates master plans for a contingency knowing it will later adapt the base plan by issuing complementary fragmentary orders to provide adaptations as situations dictate.) The same is certainly true regardless of the challenge at hand. Such preparations need not be limited to plans alone. Forward-looking policies, flexible initiatives, well-conceived training, and broad-vision decisions can be—should be—routine. It is a point to which we will return in future posts.

“Unfair!” you shout. How could Hamburg’s leaders have known of devastation to come? Surely it is wrong to expect them to have been ready for events never seen in history! Methinks you are too kind. Leaders in Berlin, Hamburg, and other German cities would surely have been naïve to believe that Germany’s bombing of London and other British cities would go unavenged. Didn’t those events offer some idea of events to come for any willing to consider the possibility? Or what of insights leaders could have drawn from disasters of other sorts, Lisbon’s trifecta of earthquake, tsunami, and fires in 1755, for example? Or Tokyo’s preparations for and recovery from its devastating 1923 earthquake and resultant fires responsible for over 100,000 lost lives? Officials’ provided Hamburg anti-aircraft guns and fighters to engage Allied bombers, but those initiatives addressed military issues alone. Preparations for disasters that do not encompass the full spectrum of likely requirements, at least generally, do not merit the label “prepared.”

Let’s leap some sixty years forward and 4,000 miles distant from WWII Hamburg to India’s megacity of Mumbai. Many readers will be familiar with Adrian Levy and Cathy Scott-Clark’s intriguing book The Siege: 68 Hours Inside the Taj Hotel or the movie Hotel Mumbai, both of which address the 2008 terrorist attacks on that city. Ten individuals assaulted the country’s second most populous urban area on a Wednesday. Their attacks continued into the following Saturday before they were killed (nine of the ten) or captured (one). Ten individuals, only ten, held much of the world’s fifth most populous urban area hostage for going on three days![2] The failures in preparation (and response) are epic.

Though it was only one of several targets struck in Mumbai, let us focus on events in the Taj Hotel. Two, later four, terrorists in the facility counted AK-47 automatic rifles among the weapons carried as they killed those in common areas and later went room-to-room, executing innocents unwittingly answering their doors, found hiding, or seeking to escape. (Amazingly, people were still trying to get into the Taj twenty-five minutes after the attacks began as they fled from gunfire and explosions elsewhere in the vicinity. There had yet to be any organized police response or effort to communicate with or control the frantic citizenry.) Among the other locations attacked were the Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus (CST) railway station, another hotel, a café, and a Jewish centre. Police, poorly trained in how to use what were often inadequate weapons, ran from the danger.[3] Law enforcement failure would be the order of the day as the terror dragged on, the perpetrators shocked at how little resistance alleged public defenders offered. Police only four blocks from a besieged maternity hospital chose to remain in their headquarters. Across the city, some 174 innocents and security force personnel would eventually be killed and another 300 wounded due to the lack of preparation and ineffective response.[4]           

There was little excuse for the failure to better prepare. Officials had received over twenty-five warnings before the attacks from sources that included the US Central Intelligence Agency.[5] Nor was Mumbai virgin terrain when it came to such criminality. The city had previously experienced twelve prominent acts of terrorism. Together these tallied over five hundred dead and nearly four times that number injured. It took less than eleven minutes for 181 to die in the bombing of seven of the megacity’s trains a little over two years before. As with WWII Hamburg, preparations for the scattered attacks in November could have benefited from these previous events’ lessons had officials been willing to learn and act. They might also have incorporated experiences from earlier strikes such as those in London on July 7th of the year before.        

There were preparations. Unfortunately, there is little evidence that those preparations were “red teamed,” tested in sessions during which individuals assume devil’s advocate roles to challenge assumptions and other aspects of plans, rehearsals, or exercises. (The good guys are generally depicted on maps with blue symbols in the US, the bad guys with red. Red teamer responsibilities include viewing plans or exercises from enemy perspectives.) The Taj Hotel, for example, installed blast-resistant glass. However, combined with a decision to seal entries and exits to keep additional terrorists from entering the building (an action that failed as a second pair of terrorists nevertheless gained entry), some individuals trying to escape found the glass further trapped them as furniture and other objects thrown against windows bounced off. Other failures in preparation included not incorporating Indian navy MARCOS personnel, akin to US Navy SEALs, into plans as state-level decisionmakers felt the naval personnel’s expertise was not in keeping with the challenges at hand, and not addressing glaring disaster coordination disconnects between city officials and those of Maharashtra state (of which Mumbai is the capital).          

Before identifying our first key point (a series of which will appear throughout future postings), it is worth noting that activities taken in readying for urban disaster should address more than actions to be taken once calamity visits. Well-advised plans and other preparations can also address actions taken before crises to lessen their impact. Authors David Adams and Peter Larkham, in their book The Everyday Experiences of Reconstruction and Regeneration, provide an observation in keeping with our own that it is easier to adapt an existing plan than start from scratch. Recalling two British cities in the aftermath of WWII bombing destruction, they found“Birmingham was in far stronger position than Coventry to proceed with reconstruction because of the range of plans for zoning (from 1913) and road plans (of 1919) that had already been well developed before the onset of the Second World War.”[6]      

Readying for urban disasters is not cheap. Effective preparations inevitably consume money and other resources such as training time and equipment. Rare, however, is the case when good groundwork does not ultimately save more—likely much more—than the cost of disaster response and recovery in the absence of readiness. Smart planning, training, and other steps need not be as expensive as they might otherwise be either, which brings us to our first key point:

Key Point #1: Preparation for any urban disaster helps to prepare an urban area for catastrophes regardless of cause or type.

Endnotes

This post first appeared as Russ Glenn, “First of fourteen weekly urban disaster posts; Readying for Urban Disaster, Post One.” LinkedIn, 10 October 2022, https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/first-fourteen-weekly-urban-disaster-posts-russ-glenn/.

Author’s original preface: I realize it has been a long hiatus since my last urban posting. Been busy reviewing editor’s comments for Come Hell or High Fever: Readying the World’s Megacities for Disaster [my forthcoming book from Australian National University Press in January 2023, which ANU Press will both offer for sale in hardcopy form (as will Amazon, I am told) and provide online with free access for readers. Either way, the author’s (my) royalties are the same: ($0)(number of copies sold/downloaded) = $0. That’s true whether the dollars are US or Australian.] 

[1] Material from this description of Hamburg’s woes comes from Keith Lowe, Inferno: The Fiery Destruction of Hamburg1943, New York: Scribner. 2007, pp. 266 & 278.

[2] Demographia World Urban Areas, which I prefer for insights on the world’s urban environments given its rigor and annual updating, identifies Mumbai’s just less than 25 million as number five in world urban area populations. Delhi is India’s most populous with just over 32 million, making it third. (Tokyo and Jakarta rank first and second, respectively.) See Demographia World Urban Areas, 18th edition, July 2022, p.21, http://www.demographia.com/db-worldua.pdf (accessed 9 September 2022). 

[3] Sources differ regarding the number of casualties suffered during the 2008 attacks both in terms of individual locations and total. Those used here draw on what are thought to be particularly well researched sources.

[4] Shanthi Mariet D’Souza, “Mumbai terrorist attacks of 2008,” Encyclopedia Britannica, www.britannica.com/event/Mumbai-terrorist-attacks-of-2008 (accessed 8 July 2020).

[5] Material in the remainder of this discussion capitalizes on the following unless otherwise cited: Cathy Scott-Clark and Adrian Levy, The Siege: 68 Hours Inside the Taj Hotel. New York: Penguin, 2013. 

[6] David Adams and Peter Larkham, The Everyday Experiences of Reconstruction and Regeneration, Cambridge: MIT Press. 2006, p. 59. (Emphasis in original.)

1/14/23 National Security and Korean News and Commentary

Sat, 01/14/2023 - 10:54am

Access National Security News HERE.

Access Korean News HERE.

National Security News Content:

1. RUSSIAN OFFENSIVE CAMPAIGN ASSESSMENT, JANUARY 13, 2023

2. Condoleezza Rice: U.S. Arming Ukraine 'Just Common Decency,' Upholding 'International Law'

3. Why Should We Listen to Gates and Rice About Ukraine?

4. How Finland Is Teaching a Generation to Spot Misinformation

5. Taiwan ready to assist Ukraine with digital reconstruction

6. Authorities Fear Extremists Are Targeting U.S. Power Grid

7. US-China chip war: America is winning

8. US carrier strike group begins operating in South China Sea as tensions with China simmer

9. Ukraine, Japan and the Korean War’s 21st-Century Parallel

10. The world has entered the fifth wave of anti-government terrorism

11. China committee, NDS commission signals new Congress will focus on Beijing

12. Beyond the Quad: Booming Security Cooperation Efforts in the Indo-Pacific

13. The 6 Horsemen of the Apocalypse for China

14. U.S. Policy Refuses to Win in Ukraine By Bing West  

15. In Bakhmut, modern warfare meets World War I-style brutality.

16. Talking to an Investigative Reporter Who Exposed Chinese Influence in Canada

17. Bradley Fighting Vehicle Platoon Leader: Ukraine Can't Use Them Immediately to Fight Russia

18. Could Beijing Risk a Diversionary War Against Taiwan?

19. Hard-line House Republicans set up fight over military budget, Pentagon ‘wokeism’

Korean News Content:

1. Why US policy on North Korea should prioritize nonproliferation, not denuclearization

2. Biden, Kishida call for denuclearization of N. Korea, reaffirm cooperation with S. Korea

3. Ukraine, Japan and the Korean War’s 21st-Century Parallel

4. S. Korea's advanced Army unit, U.S. Stryker team hold joint drills near border with N. Korea

5. South Korean President Takes Aim at North Korea, U.S. With Nuclear Comments

6. US quickly downplays Yoon’s ‘nuclear prospect’

7. CNO Gilday: Expanding Military Cooperation Between South Korea, Japan 'A Necessity'

8. <Inside N. Korea>Why are food prices skyrocketing at the start of the new year? Anxiety over food shortages leads to hoarding and even people wandering around after falling into financial ruin

9. Seung-Whan Choi: What could bring the Korean Peninsula to the brink of war

10. North Koreans struggle to escape, thanks to covid and Kim

11. South Korea vows to fix name errors of soldiers at US memorial

12. Why Biden is wrong about North Korea

13. 'Outrageous': South Korean President Under Fire for Considering Nuclear Weapons

14. South Korea: Mixed Progress on Rights

1/13/23 National Security and Korean News and Commentary

Fri, 01/13/2023 - 9:46am

Access National Security News HERE.

Access Korean News HERE.

National Security News Content:

1. RUSSIAN OFFENSIVE CAMPAIGN ASSESSMENT, JANUARY 12, 2023

2. US spies lag rivals in seizing on data hiding in plain sight

3. Pentagon Says Policy on Taiwan Strait Transits Is Unchanged Despite 2022 Decline

4. The World Needs More Nuclear Power

5. Ukraine's Battlefields Are Freezing. Here's What That Means for the War.

6. Russia says its forces capture Soledar in east Ukraine

7. China COVID peak to last 2-3 months, hit rural areas next - expert

8.  The PLA’s People Problem

9. More can be done to ban US government use of Chinese drones

10. Ukraine live briefing: Russia’s Defense Ministry claims control of Soledar; Civilians trapped in ‘bloodbath’

11. Survey finds ‘classical fascist’ antisemitic views widespread in U.S.

12. What is the Wagner Group, the mercenary organization working for Russia in Ukraine?

13. Readout of Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III's Meeting With Japanese Minister of Defense Hamada Yasukazu at the Pentagon

14. Crenshaw, Waltz introduce joint resolution to give Biden military authority to combat cartels

15. The propaganda of “propaganda”

16.  Taiwan must not suffer the same fate as Ukraine

17. Moscow Shakes Up Command of Its Forces in Ukraine (Again)

18. Army special operators face drug investigation at Fort Bragg

19. House China committee’s mission: Military imbalance is foremost among many challenges

20. No Escape: Camp Survivor Describes Life Under House Arrest in Xinjiang

21. Despite Everything You Think You Know, America Is on the Right Track

Korean News Content:

1. U.S. remains fully committed to defense of S. Korea with extended deterrence: Pentagon

2. Support for Nuclear Weapons Is Growing in South Korea

3. North Korea has 80-90 nuclear weapons: Seoul researchers

4. N. Korea likely to continue provocations despite completely failed economy: Amb. Cho

5. South Korean President Says Country Could Develop Nuclear Weapons

6. S. Korea capable of developing nuclear prototype within six months

7. Japan Should Take Responsibility for 'Comfort Women' Now

8. Report: Donald Trump Wanted to Nuke North Korea and Then Blame It on Another Country

9. Did Crazy Donald Trump Almost Start a Nuclear War with North Korea?

10. S.Korea, U.S. Practice Attacking N.Korea's WMD Facilities

11. Does S.Korea Need Its Own Nuclear Weapons?

12. Police refer 23 people to prosecution after investigating Itaewon crowd crush

13. Biden says 'Katchi Kapshida' on Korean American Day

14. NK human rights groups urge president to allow loudspeaker broadcasts, leaflets

15. A different take on Pak Jong Chon’s supposed sacking

16. N. Korean military targets military wives for ideological “laxness”

17. N. Korea delivered gifts celebrating Kim Jong Un’s birthday to the elite of the elite

 

Urban Disasters: Readiness, Response, and Recovery

Thu, 01/12/2023 - 10:11pm

Urban Disasters: Readiness, Response, and Recovery

Introducing a series of blog posts by Russ Glenn

Urban disasters are one of a range of urban scenarios that  both civil and military responders may face. In this blog, we introduce a series of Urban Disaster blogs by long-time Small Wars Journal contributor Dr. Russell W. Glenn.

Russ is a seasoned urban operations analyst. He served in a range of military roles, as an officer and after his retirement as a civilian. A graduate of the United States Military Academy, he served in the US Army Corps of Engineers, with combat tours in Iraq during Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm, as well as tours at the School of Advanced Military Studies (SAMS). His most recent position with the US Army was Director, Plans and Policy, G-2, at the Training and Doctrine Command (TRADOC). He is a well-respected subject matter expert on urban operations and urban warfare and previously contributed to the Small Wars Anthology: Blood and Concrete: 21st Century Conflict in Urban Centers and Megacities.  

The Urban Disasters Series

The “Urban Disasters” series is based on research for Dr, Glenn’s forthcoming book Come Hell or High Fever: Readying the World's Megacities for Disaster published by the Australian National University Press.

Glenn Book

The series will consist of fourteen posts, which were initially posted on Dr. Glenn’s LinkedIn page. These series places special emphasis on preparing the world’s megacities for disaster. Both military and civil responders (emergency services and humanitarian responders) will benefit from Glenn’s assessment of the complexity of urban operations and his salient insights into managing that complexity. The  fourteen posts are presented in three groups:

  • Readying: The first group of posts consists of four posts on readiness for disasters.
  • Response: The second group of posts includes four posts on responding to disasters.
  • Recovering: The third and final group of posts is comprised of six posts on disaster recovery.

Each theme will be presented over the next few weeks. Each thematic group summarizes key points that are discussed in greater depth in Come Hell or High Fever.

For Additional Reading

Russell W. Glenn, Come Hell or High Fever: Readying the World's Megacities for Disaster. Canberra: The Australian National University/ANU Press. DOI: http://doi.org/10.22459/CHHF.2023.

1/12/23 National Security and Korean News and Commentary

Thu, 01/12/2023 - 9:51am

Access National Security News HERE.

Access Korean News HERE.

National Security News Content:

1. Ukraine:  WAR BULLETIN  January 10, 6.00 pm EST and Ukraine's Ten Steps for Peace
2. RUSSIAN OFFENSIVE CAMPAIGN ASSESSMENT, JANUARY 11, 2023
3. Congress announces commission to review National Defense Strategy
4. Three steps toward a ‘whole of nation’ approach for national security
5. Gallagher: Time to Push Back on CCP Aggression in Bipartisan Fashion
6. New US Congress agrees on one thing: China threat
7. 65 Dems vote against new China committee - who were they?
8. Joint Statement of the 2023 U.S.–Japan Security Consultative Committee ("2+2")
9. Opinion | Japan’s prime minister warns of a historic — and dangerous —moment in Asia
10. Japan’s Shift to War Footing
11. Russia names Valery Gerasimov new commander of Ukraine invasion
12. Discussing "leadership" around "information warfare" with Asha Rangappa, plus other stuff
13. What Does It Mean to Provide ‘Security Guarantees’ to Ukraine?
14. Russia Replaces Commander for Ukraine War, as Signs of Dissension Grow
15. With F.B.I. Search, U.S. Escalates Global Fight Over Chinese Police Outposts
16. China's authorities are quietly rounding up people who protested against COVID rules
17. As China Reopens, Online Finger-Pointing Shows a Widening Gulf
18. Iran Hangs Two Protesters While 109 Face Prospect of Execution
19. Launch of #WithoutJustCause Political Prisoners Initiative - United States Department of State
20. Gamers Beware: The CCP Is Coming for You
21.  New nation, new ideas: A study finds immigrants out-innovate native-born Americans
22. Analysis | The war in Ukraine tests how cyberattacks fit into rules for war crimes
23. Analysis | There are TikTok bans in nearly two dozen states
 

Korean News Content:

1. In a First, South Korea Declares Nuclear Weapons a Policy Option
2. Yoon's comment on nuclear armament indication of will to defend nation: officia
3. S. Korea to promote 3-way ties with Japan, China via trilateral secretariat: deputy FM
4. U.S., Japan, S. Korea enhancing trilateral cooperation against N. Korean provocations: Blinken
5. ROK-U.S. to hold joint exercises in May
6. Nuclear energy will be Korea’s largest energy source by 2036
7. South Korea upholds firewall against North
8. North Korea Ordered Jeju Spy Ring in South Korea to “Fight Using KCTU Labor Union and NGOs”
9. Rehearsal for Pyongyang military parade spotted
10. Ministry's forced labor hearing degenerates into shouting match
11. New book highlights Kim Yo Jong’s place in N. Korea’s ruling hierarchy
12. Why Is China Singling out Korea for COVID Retaliation?
13. Defense minister says South should deal with North through 'power'
14. China’s ‘retaliatory’ visa ban sign of stormy times ahead
15. Experts: North Korea’s Purge of Top Official Shows Loyalty May Be Insufficient
 

Ukraine: WAR BULLETIN January 10, 6.00 pm EST and Ukraine's Ten Steps for Peace

Wed, 01/11/2023 - 5:07pm
The Ten Steps for Peace is pasted below.
 
 

 

Embassy of Ukraine in the USA

 

WAR BULLETIN

January 10, 6.00 pm EST

 

 

 

WAR ROOM

General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine

 

The total combat losses of the enemy from 24.02.2022 to 10.01.2023 were approximately:

personnel ‒ about 112470 (+710) persons,

tanks ‒ 3084 (+4),

APV ‒ 6154 (+7),

artillery systems – 2073 (+4),

MLRS – 434 (+0),

anti-aircraft warfare systems ‒ 217 (+0),

aircraft – 285 (+0),

helicopters – 275 (+0),

UAV operational-tactical level – 1860 (+4),

cruise missiles ‒ 723 (+0),

warships / boats ‒ 17 (+1),

vehicles and fuel tanks – 4817 (+8),

special equipment ‒ 183 (+0).

Data are being updated.

 

Russian occupants continue their full-scale armed aggression against Ukraine. To support the offensive and replenish its losses in manpower, the adversary continues the mobilization activities.

The enemy does not cease to launch missile and air strikes, artillery shelling of critical infrastructure and civilian residences on the territory of Ukraine. Doing so is a blatant violation of the rules of International Humanitarian Law, the laws and principles of war.

During the day of January 10, the adversary launched 2x missile strikes and 7x MLRS attacks, including on the civilian infrastructure of Donetsk and Kherson oblasts.

The threat of air and missile strikes on critical infrastructure facilities across all of Ukraine remains high.

The adversary continues shelling the positions of Ukrainian troops and civilian targets all along the line of contact.

Sivershchyna axis: the vicinities of settlements of Syn’kivka (Chernihiv oblast) and Pokrovka (Symy oblast) were shelled with mortars and artillery.

Slobozhanshchyna axis: the adversary shelled the positions of Ukrainian troops in the vicinities of 13x settlements, in particular: Sosnivka, Zelene, Vovchans’k, Khatnje, Krasne Pershe, and Dvorichna (Kharkiv oblast).

Kup’yans’k axis: the enemy fired tanks and entire range of artillery in the vicinities of settlements of Vil’shana, Orlyanka, Kyslivka (Kharkiv oblast), Novoselivs’ke, and Stel’makhivka (Luhansk oblast).

Lyman axis: the vicinities of settlements of Makiivka, Nevs’ke, Chervonopopivka (Luhansk oblast), Terny, and Serebryanka (Donetsk oblast) were shelled with tanks, mortars, artillery and missile systems.

Bakhmut axis: the adversary fired tanks and artillery of various types at the positions of Ukrainian troops in the vicinities of settlements of Bilohorivka, Bakhmut, Klishchiivka, Bila Hora, Druzhba, Paraskoviivka (Donetsk oblast).

Avdiivka axis: the enemy fired tanks, mortars, artillery and missile systems in the vicinities of settlements of Avdiivka, Vesele, Nevel’s’ke, Heorhiivka, Mar’inka, and Pervomais’ke (Donetsk oblast).

Novopavlivka axis: the adversary fired tanks and the entire spectrum of artillery at the positions of the Ukrainian Defense Forces in the vicinities of settlements of Vremivka, Velyka Novosilka, and Vuhledar (Donetsk oblast).

Zaporizhzia axis: the enemy fired tanks, mortars, artillery and missile systems at the positions of Ukrainian troops and civilian infrastructure in the vicinities of 18x settlements, in particular: Vil’ne Pole, Novopil’ (Donetsk oblast); Ol’hivs’ke, Zaliznychne, Hulyaipole, Stepove, Shcherbaky, and Bilohir’ya (Zaporizhzhia oblast).

Kherson axis: the adversary keeps shelling the settlements along the right bank of the Dnipro river. Artillery shelling has damaged civilian infrastructure of 12x settlements, in particular: Antonivka, Vesele, Dudchany, Mylove, Zolota Balka (Kherson oblast), and the city of Kherson, there are civilian casualties.

The adversary continues to suffer losses. According to the available information, hospitals in the city of Berdyans’k (Zaporizhzhia oblast) have exceeded their capacity to take in the wounded. This caused the russian occupation troops to set up 3x more military hospitals over the past week.

During the day of January 10, the Ukrainian Air Force launched 14x air strikes on the concentrations of enemy personnel, weapons, and military equipment, as well as 4x air strikes on the positions of anti-aircraft missile systems.

During the day of January 10, Ukrainian missile and artillery troops attacked

2x command posts, 2x positions of missile troops and artillery and 5x concentrations of manpower and military equipment of the russian invaders.

 

POLICY

President of Ukraine

Free world has everything necessary to stop Russian aggression; it is important for global democracy - address by the President of Ukraine

Good health to you, fellow Ukrainians!

Today is a new stage of our diplomatic marathon. Four more conversations with European leaders: President of the European Council, Prime Minister of Belgium, President of Estonia and Prime Minister of Ireland.

I informed them about the situation on the battlefield - about the difficult situation in the Donetsk region, about the constant Russian attacks and the fact that Russia does not count its people, does not spare the locals and does not stop before any criminal actions.

This can - and must! - be countered only by a new level of modern military equipment that Ukraine can receive from partners. I thank all the leaders who help us for understanding that now is the time for new powerful decisions, for new powerful support.

The free world has everything necessary to stop Russian aggression and bring the terrorist state to a historic defeat. And it is important not only for us. It is important for global democracy, for all those who value freedom. It is even more important now, when Russia is gathering forces for another escalation.

Together with our partners, we must do - and we are doing! - everything to make it clear to Russia's masters that no escalation will help them. The defeat of the Russian aggression must remain unalterable, no matter who and what Russia tries to throw into the battle.

I am grateful to the President of the European Council for understanding how important it is to maintain the unwavering support of Ukraine. In this confrontation, in which Russia is trying to exhaust all of us - Ukrainians, Europeans, other partners - there must be clarity of signals. Signals that we will go all the way to the defeat of Russian terror. We will go together and with the preservation of stability in Ukraine - financial and social. And that is why financial support was one of the main topics of my conversation with Charles Michel, as well as weapons and further European integration of Ukraine.

I thank the Prime Minister of Belgium for supporting our diplomatic efforts, in particular our Peace Formula, all its fundamental elements: restoration of security, restoration of our territorial integrity, restoration of justice.

I am confident that the leadership of Belgium will help us achieve a fair peace. And I am thankful for the willingness to really bring peace closer by increasing the armed support for our state. The already provided Belgian defense assistance has significantly strengthened our state, and we agreed today that our teams would work on a new supply.

I am grateful to the President of Estonia and all Estonians for new decisions to strengthen our defense. We have also discussed with Mr. President our further steps in the European and Euro-Atlantic integration. I thank Estonia for a very strong representation of Ukraine's interests in Europe. Even when someone doubts, Estonia finds arguments to support Ukraine and to increase sanction pressure on Russia.

I am grateful to the new Prime Minister of Ireland for the willingness to continue the course of Ireland's comprehensive support for Ukraine. We have agreed on a powerful energy support. And I thanked Ireland for freezing Russian assets - we will work together to ensure that these funds are used for the restoration of Ukraine.

In general, since my visit to Washington, I have already held about thirty talks with leaders and representatives of partner states. And I literally feel every day how the world's determination to overcome Russian aggression is growing.

I thank everyone who helps us defend Ukraine and freedom!

I thank everyone who fights for independence!

Today, I would like to pay special tribute to the warriors of the 46th separate airmobile brigade for their bravery and steadfastness in the defense of Soledar! Thank you, warriors!

I thank everyone who works to strengthen Ukraine!

And one more thing.

Based on the materials prepared by the Security Service of Ukraine and the State Migration Service of Ukraine, and in accordance with the Constitution of our state, I have decided to terminate the citizenship of four persons: Andriy Leonidovych Derkach, Taras Romanovych Kozak, Renat Raveliyovych Kuzmin and Viktor Volodymyrovych Medvedchuk.

If people's deputies choose to serve not the people of Ukraine, but the murderers who came to Ukraine, our actions will be appropriate.

And these are not the last such decisions. The services are working.

Glory to Ukraine!

https://www.president.gov.ua/en/news/vilnij-svit-maye-vse-neobhidne-shob-zupiniti-rosijsku-agresi-80305

 

 

UKRAINE’S TEN STEPS FOR PEACE

 

Ukraine’s battlefield victories, strong stance by international community and Russia’s depleting military capabilities force Kremlin to seek for operational pause at any cost.

Russian occupier forces would then use it to re-group, replenish supplies and relaunch the armed attack against Ukraine on an even wider scale.

All the calls by Russia, either directly or through the third countries, to start peace negotiations serve to that goal.

Kremlin does not want peace. It needs instead a respite.

Russia continues blackmailing Ukraine and the world to reach its goals and to deny Ukraine from its sovereignty and statehood.

Ukraine, to the contrary, is very precise in our vision of future just and sustainable peace.

On 15 November, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy presented Ukraine’s position on this issue at the G20 summit.

He proposed a clear plan of ten steps to peace that should end the war.

These steps, implemented one by one, or simultaneously, will bring long-awaited and long-lasting peace to Ukraine, Europe and entire world.

 

The first step is radiation and nuclear safety.

We emphasize that any form of nuclear blackmail is unacceptable. Russia’s aggressive rhetoric and actions in the territory of Ukraine threaten the global nuclear security.

Russian leaders must stop their threats of use of nuclear weapons.

Russia must immediately withdraw all its military from the territory of the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant. The station must be transferred to the control of the IAEA and the Ukrainian personnel. The normal connection of the station to the power grid must be restored immediately so that nothing threatens the stability of the reactors.

Ukraine proposed that IAEA missions are sent to all Ukrainian active nuclear plants and to the Chornobyl plant, which has been shut down and is under conservation. Such missions can verify that any hostile activity against Ukrainian nuclear facilities has indeed ceased.

 

The second challenge is food security.

The right to food is a fundamental right of every person in the world.

We are grateful to Türkiye, the UN and other partners for their support of the Black Sea Grain Initiative, which was extended for a further 120 days period on November 19. It helped to improve situation with the global food security.

Since July, Ukraine has exported over 15 million tons of food by sea. We can increase exports, including to the countries which have problems with food security.

Russia must refrain from attacks on Ukrainian infrastructure and grain initiative should be expanded to Ukrainian ports in the Mykolaiv region.

 

 

The third issue is energy security.

Russia carries out terrorist attacks against Ukrainian critical infrastructure, blowing up power plants, transformers, and electricity supply lines. It is trying to deprive millions of Ukrainians of electricity, heating, water and communication.

Russia wants to turn the cold into a weapon during the winter season. Another goal of this terror is to prevent the export of Ukrainian electricity to neighboring countries, as Russia is interested in the energy

crisis.

One of the key tasks for Ukraine is to protect our territory from these attacks. We are grateful to our partners for the supply of air defence and missile defence systems. We insist that Russia must stop its terror campaign in order to prove that it is interested in the peace process. At the same time Russia must abandon the use of energy factor as a tool of hybrid aggression against Europe.

 

The fourth challenge is the release of all prisoners and deported persons.

Thousands of Ukrainian soldiers and civilians are being held in the Russian captivity. They are being tortured and executed – such policy of Russia is illustrated by the terrorist act in Olenivka and mass graves, which we have found on the liberated territories near Kyiv, in Kherson and Kharkhiv regions.

More than 11 thousand children, whom we know by name, were forcibly deported to Russia.

Ukrainian citizens are being held as political prisoners in Russia and in the temporarily occupied territory, in particular in Crimea.

We will never leave our people to suffer in aggressor’s hands, and we demand the release of all of them.

 

The fifth point is the implementation of the UN Charter and restoration of Ukraine’s territorial integrity and the world order.

Russia must respect the Article 2 of this document and refrain from use of force against Ukraine.

It must reaffirm the territorial integrity of Ukraine within the framework of the relevant resolutions of the UN General Assembly and the applicable international legally binding documents.

 

The sixth challenge is withdrawal of Russian troops and cessation of hostilities.

Russia must withdraw all its troops and armed formations from the territory of Ukraine within its internationally recognized borders.

Ukraine's control over all sections of state border with Russia must be restored.

The crimes of the aggressor, discovered in the liberated territories, demonstrate threats which our people face under occupation.

Ukraine will not leave them alone: we have an absolute consensus on this issue in Ukrainian society.

 

 

The seventh point is restoration of justice.

Russian political and military leaders committed the crime of aggression against a sovereign state. Russian soldiers committed countless atrocities and war crimes in the territory of Ukraine. Thousands of civilians were killed by Russia’s rocket strikes and artillery fire, tortured and executed in the temporarily occupied territories. Russian aggression brings not only death to Ukrainian people, but the destruction to Ukrainian economy and infrastructure. That was the reason why we proposed establishment of the Special Tribunal on the crime of Russia’s aggression against Ukraine and creation of an international mechanism to compensate for all the damages caused by this war.

 

The eighth challenge is countering ecocide.

Russian aggression caused large-scale destruction of Ukrainian nature. Almost two hundred thousand hectares of our land are contaminated with mines and unexploded shells. Dozens of coal mines in the territories of Ukraine, which have been under occupation since 2014, are flooded, including the mine in which an underground nuclear test explosion was carried out in 1979.

We must find common responses to all environmental threats created by the war, which is a challenge for the whole world. Ukraine needs support from our partners to solve this problem.

 

The ninth step is the preventing escalation.

We need effective security guarantees. On 30 September, Ukraine signed an application for accelerated accession to NATO. Ukraine also suggests implementing our proposals on the security guarantees (“Kyiv Security Compact”) aimed at mobilizing necessary political, financial, military, and diplomatic resources for Ukraine’s self-defense. We propose to hold an international conference to agree upon the key elements of the post- war security architecture in the Euro-Atlantic space, including guarantees for Ukraine. The main outcome of the conference should be the signing of the “Kyiv Security Compact”.

 

The tenth point is the confirmation of the end of the war.

In the end, we need an official document signed by the parties.

This will become possible after all above mentioned antiwar measures are implemented, and when security and justice start to be restored.

 

Summing up.

Ukraine is not ready for “peace at any price”.

We will not make any concessions or compromises that would involve the continuation of the occupation of Ukrainian territories. This is our unequivocal position and we expect Russia to fulfill the announced conditions.

Only real actions – the cessation of terrorist attacks on Ukrainian infrastructure, the withdrawal of troops from Ukrainian territory, the release of all prisoners and deportees – can open the way to peace.

 

 

Currently, we do not see such readiness from the Russian side.

Moreover, it has already openly admitted that its missile attacks on critical infrastructure of Ukraine are carried out with the aim of forcing our country to negotiations. But Putin's regime miscalculated - it will not force Ukrainians to give up their freedom and independence.

Ukraine is ready to continue fighting until victory.

Only Ukrainians will determine when and how to negotiate with the aggressor.

We are grateful to our partners for repeatedly confirming their agreement with this position and demonstrating unity. We hope for continued support of Ukraine and increased pressure on Russia. This is the only way to force the Kremlin to end the war and restore peace.

 

If anyone is tempted to try to force us to negotiate on the basis of compromises regarding our territorial integrity and sovereignty, they should immediately tell their societies that at the same time they are offering compromises regarding their own security. Any concessions to Russia will definitely encourage aggressor to the next steps.