Political strategic level
Chinese officials have stated that the Chinese army is "ready to fight". This was preceded by three days of large–scale exercises around Taiwan, simulating a complete blockade of the island. This was ostensibly China's reaction to the Taiwanese President's trip to the US last week.
The "combat readiness patrols" are a warning to self–ruled Taiwan, the Chinese military said earlier. "The army is ready <...> and can fight at any time to decisively crush any form of 'Taiwan independence' and attempts at foreign interference", the Chinese military threatened.
President Tsai Ing–wen's trip to the US was intended to strengthen Taiwan's weakening diplomatic ties in Central America and increase US support. White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby reiterated the position of President Joe Biden's administration that Tsai's transit through the US and the congressional visit to Taiwan was not an aberration in normal diplomatic communication. Tsai transited the United States six times in 2016–2019.
"There was no reason for any military response," Kirby said. "There's no reason for tensions across the Taiwan Strait to escalate into any conflict."
China says foreign officials' contacts with the island's democratic government are encouraging the Taiwanese to seek formal independence, a move the Chinese Communist Party says would lead to war.
Unfortunately, the entire rhetoric and actions of Xi and his loyal Communist Party stooges show that their repeated assertion that the island must rejoin the mainland, by force if necessary, is an unequivocal demonstration of intent. The ability and determination of the world powers to stop China by all means is directly linked to the security of every corner of our tiny Earth.
Watching the terrorist Russia act with impunity and encouraged by China, the dictator of North Korea, Kim Jong Un, yesterday threatened to strengthen his nuclear arsenal in 'more practical and offensive' ways. Meeting with his generals and other senior military officials, Kim once again discussed the country's preparations for war.
The dictator ordered the improvement of war preparedness plans to counter the threat of allied exercises, which Shakorei calls invasion rehearsals. "Great" Kim reviewed the country's frontline attack plans and various combat documents and stressed the need to strengthen nuclear deterrence "with increasing speed and practicality".
While China and Shakorea are limited to exercises and threats, Armenia and Azerbaijan are firmly on the path of military escalation. Yesterday, the two countries' militaries clashed along the border. At least seven soldiers were killed in the exchange of fire. The confrontation follows months of tension over the blockage of the only road linking Armenia to Nagorno–Karabakh, an enclave of ethnic Armenians in Azerbaijan.
The Armenian defence ministry reported that Azerbaijan fired on soldiers carrying out unspecified engineering work near the Armenian village of Tegh, some 3 km from the border. It said that four Armenian soldiers were killed and six wounded.
Azerbaijan claimed that Armenian soldiers opened fire and three Azerbaijani soldiers were killed.
Unfortunately, military tensions are rising around the world. The war in Ukraine caused by Russia, although it has not yet spread directly to other countries, the indirect links are more pronounced than ever. All countries and all significant events in the world are interconnected. Only Mr Macron can believe that, with France turning a blind eye and pretending that nothing is happening, the flaws in the global security architecture will not affect his country.
The influx of migrants, fuelled by food shortages and the pressures of the effects of climate change in Africa and Asia, is also contributing to rising military tensions. The Italian government yesterday declared a six–month state of emergency to help cope with the influx of migrants arriving off the country's southern coast.
Meloni's government, like several previous ones, has demanded more solidarity from other EU countries, which have often reneged on promises to take some of the asylum–seekers hoping to find relatives or jobs in northern Europe.
According to the Italian Ministry of Interior, since the beginning of this year, some 31,000 migrants have entered the country, either rescued by Italian warships or charity ships, or reached Italy without help. This is almost four times more than the approximately 8,000 in the same period in each of the previous two years.
Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva flies to China to strengthen ties with his country's largest trading partner and "to bring peace to Ukraine". Lula wants Brazil, China and other countries to help broker an end to the war in Ukraine. He hopes that Brazil will succeed in "ending the war" as part of the country's return to the world stage. However, the recently elected Brazilian President's proposals to end the conflict have provoked dissatisfaction in both Ukraine and some Western countries.
China is Brazil's largest export market, buying tens of billions of dollars worth of soya beans, beef, iron ore, poultry, pulp, sugar cane, cotton and crude oil every year. According to Chinese state media, Brazil is the largest recipient of Chinese investment in Latin America.
Ukraine resumed electricity exports to European countries yesterday, its energy minister said. The announcement by Energy Minister Herman Halushchenko that Ukraine is not only meeting its domestic consumption needs, but is also ready to resume exports to neighbouring countries, sends a clear message that Moscow's missiles, which were aimed at destroying Ukraine's energy infrastructure, have been fired in a completely futile manner. Ukraine's domestic energy needs are being met "100%", Halushchenko said, and Ukraine has reserves for exports thanks to the "titanic work" done by its engineers and international partners.
Operational level
The Russian occupiers in Ukraine are shaking hands and twisting guts out of control. The Moscow–appointed leader of occupied Crimea said yesterday that Russian forces in Crimea are preparing and have built up "modern, in–depth defences" and have "more than enough" troops and equipment to repel a possible Ukrainian attack. "We cannot underestimate the enemy, but we can say for sure that we are ready (for an attack) and that there will be no catastrophe," he tried to reassure the Russian "tourists" who were leaving the peninsula en masse.
The concerns of the Muslims were reinforced by US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin, who expressed his opinion that Ukraine now has the capability to mount a successful counter–attack. The Pentagon chief said in a speech at the State Department that he was "absolutely confident that they (the Ukrainians) will achieve what good leaders, great leaders achieve".
Austin said that Ukraine has an excellent plan of proactive action, but that its details are known only to the President and his inner circle. "They have a lot of capabilities that they need to succeed. We have trained a lot of troops, we have provided a lot of platforms," he said.
CIA Director William Burns also stressed the importance of Ukraine's planned counter–offensive, saying that the stakes are high in the coming months. Burns believes that it is Ukraine's progress on the battlefield that may determine the "prospects for diplomacy". At the same time, he stated that Russian President Putin is not prepared to negotiate seriously on the war in Ukraine. "Instead of retreating, he has redoubled his efforts", the CIA Director said of Putin, adding that he believes he can crush Ukraine and the West.
But the West does not want to be crushed. That is why Canada has announced additional military aid to Ukraine. This includes the transfer of machine guns, thousands of automatic weapons and more than 2 million rounds of ammunition. In addition, the Canadian Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau, has announced that the Canadian Government has also imposed sanctions on nine entities linked to the Belarusian financial sector in order to put additional pressure on Russian intermediaries in Belarus.
Tactical level
Further evidence of a Trinidadian war crime is circulating on social networks. The Russian occupiers executed a Ukrainian soldier by beheading him alive with a knife. Ukrainians (Igor Lachenkov) started spreading the information about him on Twitter so that the whole world could see the atrocities committed by the Russian army in Ukraine.
In the Kremlin, the Mussolinians, even with thermobaric charges, cannot break through the Ukrainian defences.
On 11 April, the Ukrainian Defence Forces repelled a total of 72 attacks by the Russian invaders. The main efforts of the invaders were concentrated in the directions of Lyman, Bakhmut, Avdiivka and Maryinka, with Maryinka being the hottest point.
Some units of the Russian armed forces are present in Belarus, as well as in the border areas of the Kursk and Belgorod oblasts, where they are carrying out engineering works on the area.
The Ukrainian Air Force has carried out 13 air strikes against Russian troop and equipment sites. In addition, Ukrainian defenders shot down 2 enemy Orlan–10 UAVs.
During the day, Ukrainian rocket and artillery forces attacked 5 enemy troop, weapon and equipment sites, as well as 2 enemy radio–electronic warfare stations.
Lithuania
The media, social networks and taxi drivers are buzzing with "news" about "leaked secret documents". Many people, who know nothing about either the secrecy or the documents, are quick to point out in a firm voice that "the documents also contain evidence of a UFO hovering over Kyiv".
Before the storm in the glass over the documents has had time to die down, the experts and the cashiers have a new horror in their hands – some survey where some Russians, or rather one third of them, are already attacking the Baltic countries, and especially Lithuania.
We tell you, dear readers, that we will not hear any more of this. Especially today, which is International Aviation and Space Day.
In Lithuania, as you know, cosmonauts are always held in high esteem.
Photo: According to the New York Times, Russia has lost around 220 000 of its so–called troops in Ukraine.
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