Russia Ukraine Update Thread - part 2

this is an ethnic war.

Humiliation --- Chechen Soldiers Are Killing Russian Troops Who No Longer Want To Fight

A Russian commander claimed on Friday that Moscow now wants "full control" of southern Ukraine in addition to the Donbas region in the east.

The surprise announcement goes much further than the goals Russian President Vladimir Putin has stated publicly, and on its surface seems unlikely.

Senior Russian Commander Rustam Minnekayev made the comments during a defense industry meeting and said Moscow wants to win control over a territory that stretches into Moldova, Ukraine's southern neighbor. It is unclear whether Minnekayev's comments are official Russian policy.

If Moscow is able to take over the swath of land, it would cut off Ukraine's access to the Black Sea, allowing Russia to "influence critical elements of the Ukrainian economy," Minnekayev said. The plan would also give Putin's forces another point of access to the pro-Russian Moldovan enclave of Transnistria, the New York Times reported.

The Russian commander also issued the same ominous threat to Moldova that it had made to Ukraine to justify its Feb. 24 invasion.

"Control over the south of Ukraine is another connection to Transnistria, where there is also evidence of oppression of the Russian-speaking language," Minnekayev said.

Putin used false claims of genocide and a push to keep the Russian culture and language alive as part of the reason he invaded the Eastern European country eight weeks ago.

THE GUNS OF APRIL: The latest arms package just announced by President Joe Biden — the eighth drawdown of weapons directly from the U.S. military inventory — is carefully tailored to deliver precisely the kind of firepower the Ukrainian military needs to counter the Russian offensive in the eastern Donbas region.

Front and center are 72 M777 55mm howitzers, made by BAE Systems, which have a longer range and lighter footprint than the 18 howitzers sent in the last batch of U.S. military aid to Ukraine.

“Highly portable by land, sea and air, the system features a minimal logistical footprint alongside maximum reliability,” says BAE Systems on its product page. “This means that it can be frequently moved and re-deployed, maximizing survivability, without encountering the IED risks faced by self-propelled systems. The M777 can strike over extended distances, regardless of terrain and obstacles.”

Included in the package are 144,000 artillery rounds and the 72 tactical military vehicles designed to tow the guns around the battlefield.