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It seemed that the threat of an escalation of the military conflict in Eastern Ukraine had recently subsided amid attempts to establish a negotiation process between Russia and the West. However, Ukraine and its partners have struck a new blow, significantly increasing the threat of new wave of hostilities.
On January 4th, YouTube and Facebook blocked all information platforms of the Luhansk and Donetsk People’s Republic (LPR and DPR).
The official channels of the the DPR Ministry of Information, the DPR and LNR People’s Militia Departments, the LPR State Television and Radio Broadcasting Company, the Luhansk Information Center were blocked.
Such measures are an important sign of the clearing of the information field before the upcoming UAF offensive in Donbass.
According to the LPR intelligence, the preparation of the Ukrainian security forces for the offensive in the Donbass has entered the final phase.
The Commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine will soon arrive in Donbass to assess the troops readiness for the offensive, said the official representative of the People’s Militia of the LPR Ivan Filiponenko on January 4.
“According to the People’s Militia intelligence agency, a commission of the Ukrainian General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine headed by Commander-in-Chief General Zaluzhny will arrive at the location of the task force “North” in the near future. The visit is aimed to assess the combat readiness of the military units of the group North to conduct offensive operations,” Filiponenko said.
Most of the Javelin, TOW and NLAW anti-tank missile systems from the U.S. and U.K. were delivered to the Donbass front lines. The UAF Command is deploying personnel trained in the use of these foreign-made anti-tank missile systems in the area of the Joint Forces Operation.
At the same time, the situation remains tense on the Ukrainian-Belorussian border. On January 3, the Belarusian military shot down a Ukrainian drone that went 40 km deep into the territory of their country.
The warning news from Ukraine came as soon as Russian President Vladimir Putin arrived in Beijing in his first visit to China since the COVID pandemic broke out.
During his one-day visit, Putin held talks with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping that were devoted to key issues on the bilateral, regional and global agenda. A solid package of about 15 intergovernmental, interdepartmental and commercial documents is expected to be signed between the two countries.
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Russian President Vladimir Putin said that relations between Moscow and Beijing have acquired an unprecedented character.
The Chinese leader assessed relations with Russia in a positive manner. Xi Jinping stressed that the political and strategic mutual trust between Moscow and Beijing is strengthening, and the parties support efforts to protect their fundamental interests. “The parties remain committed to the original goals, making tireless efforts for the sustainable development of bilateral relations,” he concluded.
While, Moscow is actively strengthening cooperation with Beijing, it faces new challenges in diplomatic process with the West.
Washington has recently claimed that Russia may use actors to create a fake video of the alleged UAF attack in Donbass.
In response, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov called the statement nonsense.
The State Department refused to provide any evidence to support such claims. The spokesman Net Price, said that the information was received from the U.S. intelligence, but refused to disclose the details. He concluded that it is stupid to question the statements of the State Department.
All the information campaigns that the West is carrying out against the DPR/LPR and Russia are signals that the United States and its allies have moved to the final phase of preparing an armed attack on Russia and Belarus.
