American About-Face
By:Giorgio Provinciali
Live from Ukraine ????????
Chernivtsi After spending over a month continuously in Donbas, where we documentedthe most significant problem plaguing the Ukrainian army the lack of weapons, equipment, and ammunition we traveled for a few days to western Ukraine. Upon entering Chernivtsi, we encountered men from the 107th Territorial Defense Brigade and the 94th and 95th,with yellow-blue and red-black flags draped over their shoulders and a clear plastic box around their necks, begging for donations in the middle of the street to buy vehicles and basic equipment for use in Donetsk.
A heartbreaking scene for us, still carrying the mud of Donbas on our bodies and vehicles, where we struggled for over a month with the men from those brigades. After lengthy conversations with them and with the local command leaders stationed in Bukovyna, we received definitive confirmation of our impressions from the field, including a significant detail that we had previously avoided reporting to prevent alarmism:the chronic shortage of artillery, counterbattery fire, spare parts, and heavy weapons a sector in which Russia holds overwhelming superiority has been worsened by the unannounced interruption of several types of U.S. weapons.
Without going into detail about the specific weapons involved, to avoid making things easier for the Russians, its important to understand thatthis isnt due to logistical issues but ratherpolitical decisions aimed at influencing the course of the war.
This wasconfirmeda few hours ago by the commander of the German Armed Forces, Christian Freyding, revealing that the Trump administration did not even notify Berlin of the supply blockade. Freyding alsoreportedthat the direct channel with the Pentagon, through which he too could exchange messages intensively, has been closed.
NATO is paying us. At the same time, Donald Trump started a press conference by openlyclaimingthat the US no longer spends money on aid to Ukraine.The allies cover the full cost for everything. They pay us and then distribute what we send them. They no longer steal from us like when Biden was in charge.
Referring thus to the Prioritized Ukraine Requirements List (PURL), the program under which NATO countries buy American weapons for Ukraine, the White House leader implicitly confirmed that this mechanism, however, depends on Washingtons whim.Washington is free to set the rules, dictate the timing, set prices, and apply caveats.
As Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andriy Sybihanotedyesterday, 21 nations have joined the PURL, bringing the total to over $4 billion. NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte alsorecalledthat Australia and New Zealand (which are not members of the Atlantic Alliance) have also committed to covering the costs of arms to Ukraine to ensure a stable flow.
As we have verified in the field, this is not happening becausethe flow of American weapons paid for with PURL funds remains all but stable.
For over a month, we have traveled along the front lines of Zaporizhzhia, Dnipropetrovsk, Kharkiv, and Donetsk, meeting men fromdozens of brigades: all ready to fight but without the weapons to do so.
Sleepless nights and painful hours spent in tunnels so narrow we could barely stand. Endless journeys aboard old Ladas equipped with anti-drone wire mesh. Emergency stops that would test even the best military technician. Throughout that time, which spans at least four years during which we have been compiling daily dispatches from the field, we have documented a simple truth:
Ukraine lacks ammunition, weapons, and the means to fight. Not men, nor courage. To solve this enormous problem, we dont need more unarmed human resources (mobilizing the 1824 age group, whom the government has instead allowed to leave the country), butreliable partners who can ensure that the flow of weapons is stable and secure.
The Russian Federation can rely on loyal allies who, under the pact of steel between regimes against the West, continue to support it in every way: millions of artillery shells, thousands of mortars and soldiers, hundreds of missiles, dozens of cannons from North Korea; dual-use systems, drones, equipment, and financial backing from China; recruitment campaigns carried out in over 40 countries, and sadly a steady flow of money not only from India but also from the European Union.
After nearly 12 years of war, the European Unionannouncedon Wednesday that it had reached an agreement on the rules forthe gradual suspension of Russian gas imports: it will expire on September 30, 2027.An eternity during which Moscow will continue to be able to count on European support to produce the missiles that Ukraine lacksand that the other guarantors of the agreementsignedin Budapest on December 5, 1994, refuse to provide. The rest trickles in gradually, with pointless bans and sudden shutdowns.
The PURL idea might have been good if someone on the right side of history had been in the Oval Office of the White House. Sadly, instead, a man who, in the past few hours, evenaskedthe EU to halt the reparation loan to Ukraine, funded with interest from frozen Russian assets, now sits there.
Thirty years ago, Kyiv gave up the worlds third-largest nuclear arsenal in exchange for a promise that its independence and sovereignty would be protected.
What it received in return is in the outstretched hands of the men we met.
If you look closely at this photo, in the offering box used by the soldiers to ask for alms (it goes without saying that we and you, through your donations have contributed) you will see a picture of the same star of Donetsk that we used in our Charity.
????????You can see it in the link below here:
THANKS TO ALL WHO BACK US IN THESE HARD TIMES
????????您可以在下麵的鏈接中看到它：
????????致任何相信我們工作並想支持它的人????????????
在過去三年裏，作為自由撰稿人，我們一直在烏克蘭戰爭的所有前線進行報道，自從大規模
https://www.paypal.com/pools/c/9k3lwAl8Wo
感謝所有在這些困難時期支持我們的人
美國的反轉
作者: Giorgio Provinciali
烏克蘭前線報道????????
切爾尼夫齊在頓巴斯連續待了一個多月，記錄了烏克蘭軍隊麵臨的最大問題武器、裝備和彈藥的匱乏後，我們花了幾天時間前往烏克蘭西部。在進入切爾尼夫齊時，我們遇到了來自107號領土防衛旅和94、95號旅的士兵們，他們肩上披著黃藍色和紅黑色的旗幟，脖子上掛著透明的塑料盒，在街道中間乞求捐款，以購買車輛和基本裝備用於頓涅茨克。
（圖：就在撰寫這篇文章前，我在切爾尼夫齊拍了這張照片。在我車窗前，仍沾著頓巴斯的泥土，那些人在乞求捐款，以支持還在頓涅茨克（我們剛剛離開的地方）作戰的他們的旅版權所有，Giorgio Provinciali）
對我們來說，這是一個令人心碎的場景，我們的身上和車輛上仍沾著頓巴斯的泥土，在那裏我們與那些旅的士兵們奮鬥了一個多月。在與他們以及駐紮在布科維納的地方指揮官的長時間交談後，我們得到了對我們在前線印象的明確確認，包括我們之前避免報道以防止引發恐慌的一個重要細節：火炮、反炮火、備件和重型武器的長期短缺這是俄羅斯占據絕對優勢的領域因美國在未通知情況下對多種類型武器的供應中斷而更加惡化。
為了避免讓俄羅斯人輕易獲利，此處不詳細說明具體涉及的武器，重要的是要明白，這並不是因為後勤問題，而是出於旨在影響戰爭進程的政治決定。
德國武裝部隊指揮官克裏斯蒂安弗雷丁在幾小時前確認，川普政府甚至沒有通知柏林有關供應封鎖的消息。弗雷丁還報告稱，他與五角大樓直接溝通的渠道也已關閉，通過這個渠道他本可以進行頻繁的信息交流。
（圖：我在頓涅茨克的奧列克桑德裏夫卡錄製了這段視頻版權所有，Giorgio Provinciali）
（圖：切爾尼夫齊街頭乞求募捐的士兵們版權所有，Giorgio Provinciali）
NATO在資助我們。與此同時，唐納德川普在一個新聞發布會上公開宣稱，美國不再對烏克蘭提供援助。盟友們承擔了所有費用。他們付錢給我們，然後分配我們發過去的東西。他們不再像拜登執政時那樣從我們這裏偷東西。
因此提及優先烏克蘭需求清單（PURL），即北約各國為烏克蘭購買美國武器的計劃，白宮的領導者暗示該機製實際上取決於華盛頓的意願。華盛頓可以自由設定規則、決定時機、定價並施加附加條件。
正如烏克蘭外長安德烈西比哈昨天所指出的，目前已有21個國家加入了PURL，累計金額超過40億美元。北約秘書長馬克魯特也提到，澳大利亞和新西蘭（這兩個國家並非大西洋聯盟成員）也承諾承擔給烏克蘭提供武器的費用，以確保穩定的供應。
正如我們在前線核實到的，這一切並未發生因為使用PURL資金購買的美國武器供應幾乎沒有任何穩定性。
（圖：幾天前我在頓涅茨克州與烏克蘭第28號冬季遠征旅的第二機械營的士兵們一起。保持士氣高昂至關重要，尤其是在困難時期。在我們身後，是一條反無人機走廊，烏克蘭的後勤在此不斷運行版權所有，Giorgio Provinciali）
一個多月以來，我們在紮波羅熱、第聶伯羅彼得羅夫斯克、哈爾科夫和頓涅茨克的前線往返穿梭，遇到了來自數十個旅的士兵：他們都準備戰鬥，卻沒有足夠的的武器。
無眠的夜晚和在狹窄隧道中幾乎無法站立的痛苦時光。乘坐配備反無人機網的老舊拉達車進行無盡的旅程。緊急停車，甚至對最優秀的軍事技術人員都構成考驗。在這段跨越四年的時間裏，我們堅持每日從前線編錄現場報告，我們記錄了一個簡單的真相：
烏克蘭缺乏彈藥、武器和進行戰鬥的手段。缺乏的不是士兵，也不是勇氣。要解決這一巨大問題，我們不需要更多沒有武裝的人力資源（動員18到24歲的人群，而政府卻允許他們離開國家），而是需要能夠確保武器供應穩定和安全的可靠的盟友。
（圖：這篇文章中描述的一輛老舊拉達。考慮到烏克蘭31年前的付出，她應該得到的不止是這些版權所有，Giorgio Provinciali）
（圖：在這篇文章發表的前一晚，俄羅斯聯邦向烏克蘭發射了704個死亡彈，包括無人機和其它多種類型的導彈。俄羅斯人瞄準了烏克蘭的6個主要能源基礎設施，而烏克蘭幾乎沒有武器可以反擊圖形和數據來源：烏克蘭武裝部隊）
俄羅斯聯邦可以依靠忠實盟友，其在反對西方的鋼鐵公約之下，以各種方式持續支持俄羅斯：數百萬發炮彈、數千門迫擊炮和士兵、數百枚導彈、數十門來自北朝鮮的火炮；來自中國的雙用途係統、無人機、設備和財務支持；在40多個國家的招募活動，以及可悲的是不僅來自印度，還有來自歐盟的穩定資金流入。
經過近12年的戰爭，歐盟周三宣布達成了逐步暫停俄羅斯天然氣進口的規則協議：該協議將於2027年9月30日到期。在此漫長的時間裏，莫斯科將繼續依靠歐洲的支持，生產烏克蘭缺乏的導彈，而1994年12月5日在布達佩斯簽署協議的其他擔保國則拒絕向烏克蘭提供這些導彈。其他資源則逐漸流入，伴隨著無意義的禁令和突如其來的撤銷。
（圖：那些後來的背叛烏克蘭的國家領導人們在1994年簽署了布達佩斯備忘錄照片來源：國家安全檔案館）
若站在曆史正確一方的人坐在白宮的橢圓形辦公室裏，PURL的構想或許是個好主意。可悲的是，現在坐在那裏的人，幾小時前甚至要求歐盟停止對烏克蘭的賠償貸款，而這筆貸款是用凍結的俄羅斯資產的利息資金構成。三十年前，基輔放棄了世界第三大核武庫，以換取對其獨立和主權保護的承諾。
它所得到的回報就在我們所見到的那些人的伸開的雙手裏（用透明塑料盒做的募捐箱）。
（圖：如果你仔細觀察這張照片，在士兵們用來求施的募捐箱中（不言而喻，我們以及你，通過你的捐款做出了貢獻），你將看到與我們用於眾籌的同一頓涅茨克明星的照片版權所有，Giorgio Provinciali）
