The US and South Korea begin their joint military exercises in view of North Korean nuclear threat

North Korean nuclear threat prompts the US and South Korea to undertake the Ulchi Freedom Shield exercises. These are their biggest combined military training in years and will continue through 1 September in South Korea. It will cover field exercises and involve aircraft, warships, tanks and tens of thousands of troops. North Korea describes these exercises as rehearsals for an invasion. Pyongyang has raised the pace of its weapons testing activity and has been simultaneously threatening conflicts with Seoul and Washington. There is a long state of stalemate in diplomacy. Incidentally, a spokesperson of the Unification Ministry of South Korea says there is no immediate signs of any unusual activities from the North. The Unification Ministry handles inter-Korean affairs. US and South Korea begin biggest military training in years amid growing North Korean nuclear threat. The United States and South Korea already canceled some of their regular drills in recent times in order to create space for diplomacy with North Korea apart from concerns associated with COVID-19.

Last week, North Korea rejected South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol's offer to exchange denuclearization steps and economic benefits. To this, Kim Yo Jong described the proposal as foolish. She also stressed the North did not have any intention to barter away an arsenal her brother apparently sees as his strongest guarantee of survival. She is the increasingly powerful sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un. She heaped criticism on Yoon Suk Yeol and the military exercises with the US. moreover, she also blamed him for the failure to stop South Korean civilian activists from using balloons to send anti-Pyongyang propaganda leaflets across the border. There are worries in certain quarters that the threats might end up in something worse like a nuclear or missile test or even border skirmishes.

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Advantage Ukraine as Russia unable to build on the initial advances

It is the 27th day of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The resistance offered by Ukrainian troops have forced the invaders to rethink their strategies. Russia continues to bombard cities in Ukraine destroying buildings, infrastructures and loss of lives. Its forces continue to lay siege to the city of Mariupol while their troops and artillery are on the outskirts of the capital Kyiv. However, Ukraine remains in control of Kharkiv even as the Russians are in Odessa. These details are provided by The BBC

The war between Ukraine and Russia has been going on for more than three weeks. That must be a worry for Russia. The Institute for the Study of War (ISW) feels the failure to capture major cities of Kyiv, Kharkiv and Odesa could lengthen the war. In fact, it could go on for many more days and have serious repercussions. The BBC says the resistance of Ukraine has compelled the Russians to modify their approach. The UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) confirms this. They would now become more aggressive and try to destroy the cities with corresponding increase in civilian casualties.


Incidentally, those who have drawn up the plan to take over Kyiv probably did not bother to get the lowdown on the local topography. In order to take over the capital the Russians have to cross the Irpin River. The terrain is of marshlands and bogs and those have thwarted the advances of the Russians. Many of their vehicles have run out of fuel.



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At least 50 sleeping soldiers killed in Mykolaiv due to Russian missile attack, toll could increase

This time the Russians targeted a military base in Mykolaiv. It was another missile attack and a part of a full-scale invasion of Ukraine by Russia. The calculations of Russian President Vladimir Putin appear to be off course. This is because of the defiance of the Ukrainians. There were 200 troops inside the barracks and the attack took place as they slept. The exact number of casualties yet to be ascertained but the authorities have recovered at least 50 bodies. A serviceman of Ukraine has indicated this to a media agency. Details are provided by Sky News.

It will take time to assess the full extent of losses. This is because the site was under the control of the military. Many more bodies could still be in the rubble. A media outlet from Belgium visited the scene of the missile attack. They tried to record the scenes of destruction. According to the media outlet, the Russians had launched at least two missiles. In the words of a soldier, probably someone wants to test his weapons. A war does provide opportunities to test out new weapons.


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Claims and counter claims on chemical weapons in the Ukraine-Russia conflict

Ukraine claim its forces have seized items related to chemical warfare from Russian troops. The items are gas masks. The seizure is after the West warned about possibility of use of chemical weapons by Russia in its barbaric invasion. The Ministry of Defense brought forward images of the captured equipment. These included World War II era helmets and other items of the military. On the other hand, a spokeswoman of the Russian Foreign Ministry claimed that Ukraine was running biological weapons labs with support from the United States. The West has dismissed these allegations.

The invasion is into its third week and President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the threat of Russian forces deploying chemical weapons is “very real.” There are fears of Russia using chemical weapons. This is borne out by the masks that Russia has issued to its troops. Prime Minister of Britain Boris Johnson echoed the concerns of Zelensky. The Prime Minister said Russia is preparing a “fake story.” it wants to deny using such weapons and blame the West. Russia has already accused Ukraine of a chemical weapons strike without providing any evidence. Officials believe the accusation could be an excuse for launching their own attack. Russia has a stockpile of chemical weapons but these have not been in combat for decades.

Source -

dailymail.co.uk dated 11/3/2022

More than 11,000 Russian soldiers killed in the war with Ukraine

A war is on between Russia and Ukraine. Both sides have suffered losses and it is too early to assess the casualties. The estimates of the United Nations mentions more than 1,000 civilian casualties against 11,000 from the Russian military side. This is since the invasion began. According to the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights OHCHR, there have been 1,058 civilian casualties so far in Ukraine. The breakup is 351 killed and 10 of them are children. This covers the period of 4am on 24 February to midnight on 4 March. The figures could be considerably more. Another source is the Ukrainian Parliament's Telegram channel. It says in the Donetsk region, 52 civilians died in Russian attacks and 267 suffered injuries. These figures do not take into account the dead or the injured in the cities of Mariupol and Volnovakha. A media outlet says the death toll is higher on the Russian side. It is around 11,000 since the invasion began on 24 February.

The UK's Ministry of Defense indicated that the Russian defense ministry admitted to the death of 498 Russian soldiers with another 1,597 wounded. Of course, the actual figures would be considerably higher and it would show an upward trend. There was a second evacuation attempt in Mariupol but it did not succeed. The UN mentions about more than 1.5 million refugees who have fled to neighboring countries. In the opinion of the UN, this figure could go up to 4 million by July. The Interior Ministry of Poland said it has received more than 650,000 refugees from Ukraine and has opened eight reception centers at the border to accommodate them.

Source -

news.sky.com dated 7 March 2022