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Focus Today: Ukrainian Army Strikes a Thousand Miles to Decapitate – World’s First All-Robot Combat; North Korean Soldiers’ Documents Exposed, Chinese Mercenaries Reveal Food Like Pig Feed; Trump Officially Chooses Sides with Russia and Ukraine – Want to Merge with Canada?
Since Trump was elected as the new President of the United States, the question of whether he would support Ukraine’s dispute has been troubling many who have been following the Russia-Ukraine war. Undoubtedly, the continued support of the United States over the past three years, whether in terms of weapons, funds, or politically, has been the most significant external factor that has helped Ukraine to persevere until now. Now, this controversy has a result, as Trump has made an official statement.
For those who have been concerned about Ukraine, they can relax now. On December 20, Western media reported that the Trump team has officially informed European officials that the new U.S. government will continue to support Ukraine, including providing military assistance. It’s worth noting that someone in Trump’s team once said: Once Trump gives weapons, he won’t limit their use like the current government does, but will provide full support.
However, Trump is indeed a skilled negotiator. He also made demands to NATO countries: NATO member countries need to increase their defense spending to 5% of their respective GDP.
Previously, during Trump’s first term four years ago, he had demanded that NATO countries increase defense spending to 2%, with most countries dragging their feet. Now, it seems that Trump had foresight. Following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, countries realized that supporting Ukraine wasn’t enough; their own defense capabilities were at issue, so they quickly increased their spending to 2%.
But Trump thought times had changed. 2% was the market rate four years ago. If you didn’t increase then, do you realize the urgency now? Sorry, but the 2% market rate is gone. Please raise it to 5%. However, he seemed considerate by suggesting a step-by-step approach, requesting to raise it to 3.5% before aiming for 5%.
Ukrainians can now breathe a sigh of relief, but Russians are having a tough time these days. Not only did Trump make his position clear, but the United Nations also did not give face. On December 17, the UN General Assembly passed a resolution on human rights violations in the occupied territories of Ukraine, referring to Russia’s war on Ukraine as an “aggressive war” for the first time, with the support of 81 countries.
Some may wonder, the Russia-Ukraine war has been going on for nearly three years now. Why did it take the UN so long to respond? Let’s not forget that among the five permanent members of the UN Security Council, there are at least Russia and its close ally, China: one playing the good guy directly, while the other plays the bad guy behind the scenes.
In fact, on March 2, 2022, the sixth day after the Russian army invaded Ukraine, the UN General Assembly passed a resolution condemning Russia’s invasion and demanding the unconditional withdrawal of troops, but it’s the first time the term “aggressive war” has been used.
It seems that Russia knew in advance that Trump wouldn’t stand by Putin’s side. On December 18, the Russian Deputy Foreign Minister abruptly stated that Russia was ready to study any proposals put forward by the US to normalize bilateral relations. This “any proposals” implies a two-faced approach, with Lavrov issuing tough statements while the Deputy Foreign Minister lays the groundwork for a compromise.
I personally believe that the groundwork for this compromise was laid out by Putin long ago, subtly indicating who would be offered the “olive branch”. As early as November 8, Putin had stated that Russia had no intention of abandoning the US dollar and was prepared to restore relations with the United States.
The timing of this statement is interesting: November 8, just a few days after Trump was elected as the new president, and shortly after the BRICS summit where the Chinese-led initiative to abandon the US dollar was openly supported by Russia.
The Russia-Ukraine war has escalated again, with both sides targeting civilian buildings. On December 20, as Christmas approached, over 110 Russian attack drones targeted cities in Ukraine such as Kyiv, Kherson, Kharkiv, Mykolaiv, and Donetsk regions.
In addition, the capital city of Kyiv was hit by 8 ballistic missiles. The destruction of residential buildings, the before and after images of St. Nicholas Cathedral in Kyiv after the Russian bombings, and even foreign embassies were damaged this time. Zelensky stated that over the past week, Russia used more than 550 precision-guided bombs, nearly 550 attack drones, and over twenty missiles targeting civilian areas in Ukrainian cities.
War is like this, the more it’s fought, the greater the damage and the deeper the hatred, leading to an escalation of conflict. After the bombing of Ukrainian cities, the retaliatory attacks by the Ukrainian army are also escalating. On December 21, Ukrainian drones flew over 1000 kilometers, attacking the top floor of a 21-story residential building in Yevkhanivska at Kakhovka on the “Azure Coast”, which is believed to be the apartment of a Russian war criminal recognized by Ukraine.
Ukrainian attack drones also targeted another luxury residential building in the Kakhovka region of Russia, but it’s unclear who the target was. However, a message was found on the wreckage of a Ukrainian drone, which read: “How do you feel, Kyiv, on the third day?”
The escalation of the Russia-Ukraine war also includes a comprehensive upgrade of new weapons. Recent reports from Western media indicate that the US-made Tomahawk missiles, long sought after by Ukraine, were secretly delivered to Ukraine, although Ukrainian officials have not confirmed this.
The Tomahawk cruise missile has been used in combat with over 2300 missiles, and after several improvements, it’s now in its 4th generation with powerful combat capabilities, having a range of up to 2800 kilometers and specialized for large ground targets. It can be launched from land, ships, aircraft, and submarines.
If this is true, the Russian military will soon feel the power of the Tomahawk, and all rear military bases, airfields, and arsenals supporting the front line will face the impact of the Tomahawk missiles, possibly leading to a change in the war situation.
Another astonishing event that has recently occurred is that Ukraine carried out what may be the world’s first robot system attack operation without infantry involvement. This incident took place near a village called Liptsy in northeastern Kharkiv, Ukraine. Ukrainian forces used dozens of robot systems, including unmanned ground vehicles armed with machine guns, drones carrying mines, and others, completing the attack operation with no human presence on the battlefield. The final result was the destruction of the Russian positions.
Ukraine has not yet released the video of this unmanned robot combat, but I have seen a Ukrainian unmanned mine-laying vehicle designed to target tanks and armored vehicles. It is simple in structure, agile in operation, and swift in deployment. If rapidly deployed on the enemy’s attack or retreat routes, it could greatly disrupt the enemy’s advance.
On December 20, North Korean troops once again took on the main attack mission in the Russia’s Kursk region, with Ukrainian drones continuously distributing surrender leaflets in Korean. These leaflets, with brief and simple language, stating “Surrender today, and you can be in South Korea tomorrow,” were considered by the North Korean soldiers as intense reminders not to defect. To prevent individual North Korean soldiers from surrendering, the North Korean army adopted a dense formation in this attack, keeping watch over each other, ensuring loyalty and unity. This provided an excellent opportunity for the Ukrainian army to launch a powerful artillery strike without any dissent. Note: The video shows the live scene on the right and an infrared thermal imaging screen on the left.
On December 21, the Ukrainian army obtained a document from the body of a North Korean soldier at the Kursk battlefield, exposing the Russian military’s attempt to “legitimize” North Korean soldiers. The document was a Russian military ID issued in the name of Kim Khan-Borat Albertovich from the Tuva Republic, born on April 13, 1997. However, the signature on the front page was in Korean, translated into Chinese as Li Dahe. Interestingly, the military ID had no photo of the person. This method of “legalizing” North Korean soldiers was quite crude.
Why complicate matters so much? Learn from the Chinese Communist Party; they simply call them the “Chinese People’s Volunteer Army,” regardless of the numbers, all counted as “volunteers.” If questioned, “Who said you volunteered?” Look at the first four words: “Chinese People,” with no connection to the CCP. It seems that Kim Jong-un should not have studied abroad in Switzerland; besides eating cheese and drinking red wine, he didn’t learn anything useful, whereas if he had studied at the People’s University of China, he would have learned the art of naming things like “People’s Volunteer Army.”
North Korean troops are now most afraid of their soldiers receiving surrender leaflets, while Chinese soldiers, no matter where they are, always worry about their “beloved food.” On December 18, a Chinese soldier participating in the war in Russia complained in a video, saying the food was too poor and compared it to pig feed.
Weekends are always about fighting and killing, which I find not quite right. So, let’s end with something fun. Something only Trump would dare to conceive: Trump has officially proposed to turn Canada into the 51st state of the United States.
After meeting Canadian Prime Minister Trudeau, Trump referred to Trudeau as the governor of Canada during a dinner at Mar-a-Lago, causing laughter, as many thought Trump was joking. Well, he wasn’t. On December 18, Trump posted on his social media, saying: “No one can explain why we subsidize Canada with over $100 million a year? It makes no sense! Many Canadians want Canada to become the 51st state. They will save a lot of taxes and military protection costs. I think it’s a good idea. The 51st state!”
Some people make big moves, having already designed a new national flag for the merged United States and Canada. Instead of representing the US states with stars, they used a maple leaf.
Whether you like Trump or not, you have to admit that with him around, the world has become a lot more interesting. Well, let’s wrap up with an unscientific poll, asking everyone: If you were Canadian, would you be willing for Canada to join the US? If you are American, would you accept the merger with Canada? Other friends, what are your thoughts on this, do you support the merger?
That concludes this edition of “Current Events Scan”. We appreciate your support; please subscribe to our channel, support us, like, comment, and share. If you’re willing to support us financially, we would be even more grateful. Until next time.
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