(C) Daily Kos This story was originally published by Daily Kos and is unaltered. . . . . . . . . . . Ukraine Invasion Day 421: Swedish backlash halts Absolut Vodka exports to Russia [1] ['This Content Is Not Subject To Review Daily Kos Staff Prior To Publication.', 'Backgroundurl Avatar_Large', 'Nickname', 'Joined', 'Created_At', 'Story Count', 'N_Stories', 'Comment Count', 'N_Comments', 'Popular Tags'] Date: 2023-04-19 As they have since the beginning of this war, the Ukrainians will continue to show the world that with their sense of purpose, adaptive mindset and pride in defending their nation, they are unbeatable. Yet the battlefield, whether actual or ideological, has a complex nature, as we’ll soon see. The Biden administration is moving to shore up Ukrainian munitions and logistical supplies in advance of an expected counteroffensive. Ukrainian Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Malyar reported on April 19 that Ukrainian forces are already conducting some counteroffensive actions. Malyar stated that Ukrainian forces will never preemptively announce when the counteroffensive starts and reiterated that Ukrainian forces aim to liberate all Ukrainian territory.[5] Malyar also reported that Russian forces are concentrating on offensives in the Lyman, Bakhmut, Avdiivka, and Marinka directions and that Russian forces have concentrated weapons, equipment, and all professional units – including Wagner Group forces, Spetsnaz, and airborne forces (VDV) – around Bakhmut.[6] Malyar noted that Ukrainian counteroffensive actions will be both offensive and defensive in nature given the complex nature of the battlefield. www.understandingwar.org/... The United States is sending another weapons package to Ukraine — this one valued at $325 million, Pentagon officials said on Wednesday, as the Biden administration moves to shore up Ukrainian munitions and logistical supplies in advance of an expected counteroffensive. The new package includes ammunition for HIMARS rocket systems, artillery rounds, anti-armor weapon systems and antitank mines. Two weeks ago, the administration announced a $2.6 billion package that included munitions for Ukraine’s air defense systems. The $325 million will provide weaponry from military stockpiles, officials said. www.nytimes.com/… x The new security package aims to bolster Ukraine’s long-range and precision strike capabilities. https://t.co/PPdlZTAEyN — Military Times (@MilitaryTimes) April 19, 2023 Key Takeaways The Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) appears to be conducting a large-scale overhaul of domestic security organs. Ukrainian Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Malyar reported on April 19 that Ukrainian forces are already conducting some counteroffensive actions. Russian forces continue to use Shahed drones and other lower-precision systems to offset the degradation of Russia’s precision munition supply. Russian forces conducted limited ground attacks near Kreminna. Russian forces continued ground attacks in and around Bakhmut, along the Avdiivka-Donetsk frontline, and in western Donetsk Oblast. Russian sources claimed that Ukrainian forces conducted limited ground attacks in Zaporizhia Oblast. Russian officials continue to prepare to send electronic summonses and establish a digital registry for those eligible for military service. A State Duma deputy proposed a bill that would expand contract conditions for the OMON and SOBR units of Rosgvardia and set conditions for the mobilization of Rosgvardia reservists. Russian officials and occupation authorities continue efforts to further integrate occupied territories into the Russian economic system. www.understandingwar.org/... x ⚡️ WAR IN #UKRAINE - APR 18 9:2 🇷🇺/🇺🇦 added by @Rebel44CZ (losses added from backlog in increments) VISUALLY CONFIRMED: 3.2x losses to date ➡ 2.9x since 🇺🇦 counteroffensive (Aug 29) ⬆ 5.8x 30-day average ⬆ 📈 https://t.co/VNnIHiGJsf pic.twitter.com/MAL8uY0Q83 — Ragnar Gudmundsson 🇮🇸🇺🇦 ragnarbjartur@masto.ai (@ragnarbjartur) April 19, 2023 x Ukraine has transformed at least one of its T-64 tanks into a heavy armored personnel carrier. And not just any APC, but one that works best while advancing toward the enemy. https://t.co/PXIvPOKlGp — Forbes (@Forbes) April 19, 2023 At some point, any fair-minded observer of American history will be forced to confront the reality that America’s position as the global hegemon was built, at least in part, on a foundation of cynical lies. From the Thornton Affair and the sinking of the Maine to the Gulf of Tonkin incident and Iraqi WMD, successive generations of American leaders have perpetrated incredible feats of dishonesty to advance their foreign-policy agendas. And it is hard to deny the tremendous human costs of the American empire—especially those imposed on the peoples of the Global South. Of course, the machinations of America’s empire-builders have rarely gone unchallenged. From Whig opposition to the Mexican-American War to the mass protests against George W. Bush’s misadventure in Iraq, there is a long tradition of homegrown opposition to the country’s foreign entanglements and expansionist ambitions. Yet too often lately, anti-imperialism has become merely the mirror image of the worldview of the foreign-policy establishment. Much like their neoconservative or liberal-internationalist opponents, today’s anti-imperialists hold fast to American exceptionalism. Only, for the anti-imperialists, it’s an inverted exceptionalism that casts the United States as an irredeemable villain, a uniquely evil force upon the world stage. Meanwhile, America’s foes are treated as misunderstood and maligned victims of Western propaganda. In maintaining this Manichaean moral binary, the anti-imperialists inadvertently reaffirm the basis upon which neoconservatives and liberal internationalists seek to exercise imperial power. compactmag.com/... x The #Kyiv regional military administration reports that the explosion in the sky over #Kyiv is the result of air defense work. pic.twitter.com/DTLWMLzy43 — Ukraine Alert🇺🇦 (@alert_ukraine) April 19, 2023 www.understandingwar.org/... Russian Subordinate Main Effort #1 – Luhansk Oblast (Russian objective: Capture the remainder of Luhansk Oblast and push westward into eastern Kharkiv Oblast and northern Donetsk Oblast) Russian forces conducted limited ground attacks near Kreminna on April 19. The Ukrainian General Staff reported that Russian forces conducted unsuccessful offensive operations near Kreminna and Dibrova (5km southwest of Kreminna).[13] Russian milbloggers claimed that Russian forces also attacked far north of Kreminna in the Kupyansk area near Synkivka (8km northeast of Kupyansk) and repelled Ukrainian forces near Kreminna.[14] Another milblogger published footage purportedly showing elements of the 76th Airborne Assault Division (VDV) operating near Kreminna.[15] The Russian Southern Group of Forces spokesperson Ivan Bigma claimed that Spetsnaz units of the Southern Military District and artillery of the 2nd Luhansk People’s Republic (LNR) Army Corps disrupted two Ukrainian troop rotations near Bilohorivka (10km south of Kreminna) and Spirne (25km south of Kreminna).[16] Some milbloggers amplified claims that Ukrainian forces withdrew from Spirne while others claimed that Ukrainian forces control Spirne and battles continue east of the settlement.[17] ISW has not observed visual confirmation that suggests that Ukrainian forces have withdrawn from Spirne. www.understandingwar.org/... www.understandingwar.org/... Russian Subordinate Main Effort #2 – Donetsk Oblast (Russian Objective: Capture the entirety of Donetsk Oblast, the claimed territory of Russia’s proxies in Donbas) Russian forces continued ground attacks in and around Bakhmut on April 19. The Ukrainian General Staff stated that heavy fighting is ongoing within Bakhmut itself and that Ukrainian forces repelled Russian ground attacks near Stupochky (12km southwest of Bakhmut along the T0504 Kostyantynivka-Chasiv Yar-Bakhmut highway).[18] Ukrainian Eastern Group of Forces Spokesperson Colonel Serhiy Cherevaty stated that Russian and Ukrainian forces engaged in 34 combat clashes in Bakhmut over the past day.[19] The commander of a Ukrainian territorial defense brigade, Colonel Dmytro Zavorotnyuk, noted that Russia forces in Bakhmut are attacking in squad-sized assault groups of five to six people.[20] Russian milbloggers claimed that Wagner Group forces made significant progress in urban areas in northwestern Bakhmut and have taken control of the area north of Vesela Street, including the territory of Bakhmut Hospital No. 2.[21] One milblogger claimed that Wagner fighters are storming Ukrainian positions as far west as Marshal Tolbukhina Street, which lies between western Bakhmut and eastern Khromove.[22] Donetsk People’s Republic (DNR) advisor Yan Gagin claimed that Russian forces control about 90% of Bakhmut.[23] ISW’s current control of terrain estimate shows that Russian assessed advances and claimed territory amount to about 87.9% of Bakhmut. A Russian milblogger claimed that Russian forces are using FAB air-dropped bombs to destroy Ukrainian fortified areas in Bakhmut.[24] www.understandingwar.org/... www.understandingwar.org/... www.understandingwar.org/... Russian Supporting Effort – Southern Axis (Russian objective: Maintain frontline positions and secure rear areas against Ukrainian strikes) Russian forces continued defensive operations in southern Ukraine. The Ukrainian General Staff reported on April 19 that Russian forces continue to conduct defensive actions in the Zaporizhia and Kherson directions.[32] Satellite images published on April 18 show Russian forces continuing to use a base that they constructed at the end of 2022 near Henicheska Hirka (180km southeast of Kherson City) in far southeastern Kherson Oblast in the Arabat Spit.[33] Kherson Oblast occupation administration head Vladimir Saldo claimed on April 18 that Russian forces have built several echelons of defensive structures on the east (left) bank of the Dnipro River in Kherson Oblast that could repel Ukrainian forces in the upcoming counteroffensive.[34] www.understandingwar.org/... www.understandingwar.org/... x Returning Crimea to Kyiv is in America’s interests, whether or not U.S. policy makers care about Ukraine’s territorial integrity, writes Luke Coffeyhttps://t.co/iASVG1JoEw — Wall Street Journal Opinion (@WSJopinion) April 19, 2023 (pre-war) “There is a lot of effort by Russia and China to make the dollar [less influential] — to stop it from being the petrodollar,” he said. The price has fallen 4.4 per cent this month as euphoria about China’s post-coronavirus reopening has waned. The recent policy changes in Russia are similar to the way China opened up its gold market at the beginning of the 2008 financial crisis, he said. “The Chinese made it much easier for investors to buy into gold. And that is when we saw the boom.” Despite last year’s surge, Russian demand for gold bars and coins last year was only 2 per cent of the global total, according to World Gold Council data. China, at 19 per cent, remains the world’s biggest buyer, followed by Germany and India. Russian gold miners are also desperate to find new buyers as people seek to diversify their savings. Before the war, Russia consumed just a fifth of its gold, exporting the rest. Towards the end of 2022, Russia succeeded in redirecting gold exports to Asia, specifically China, said Valery Yemelyanov, stock market analyst at BCS World of Investments. Russian gold exports to China skyrocketed by 63 per cent, growing $150mn year on year, Chinese customs data shows. www.ft.com/... x Daniil Orain’s team has shot dozens of videos asking Russians on the street about the Ukraine invasion during official wartime censorship, which punishes those alleged of “discrediting” the Russian military with prison time. https://t.co/teuyoHuP8t — The New Republic (@newrepublic) April 19, 2023 The maker of #Absolut_Vodka has stopped all exports of its branded liquor to #Russia with immediate effect, following a consumer backlash. French spirits group Pernod Ricard said it is suspending exports entirely of its premium vodka Absolut to Russia, having previously reduced sales following Moscow's invasion of Ukraine. x Absolut war crime. 🍸 Please do not buy any Absolut vodka unless and until they stop selling in Russia. Tariffs and taxes support the Russian war machine and the damage is makes. #Russia #Ukraine #vodka #Sweden https://t.co/lQsTVLbzs7@Pernod_Ricard @absolutvodka @AbsolutUS — David August 🌻 (@DavidAugust) April 19, 2023 x Meanwhile on Russian state TV: after months of calling Marjorie Taylor Greene dim-witted and funny, Russian propagandists are more than happy to feature her on their multiple programs. As Vladimir Solovyov says, thank goodness she exists. pic.twitter.com/WLcvqpMykA — Julia Davis (@JuliaDavisNews) April 19, 2023 x Up till 1721, Russia was known as Moscovia. Only after conquering Ukraine did it steal the name of Kyivan Rus 25,000 Ukrainians signed the petition to Ukraine’s president, advocating for officially renaming imperial Russia to its historical name Moscovia https://t.co/n7nvNEq2QW — Euromaidan Press (@EuromaidanPress) April 20, 2023 [END] --- [1] Url: https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2023/4/19/2164784/-Ukraine-Invasion-Day-421-Swedish-backlash-halts-Absolut-Vodka-exports-to-Russia Published and (C) by Daily Kos Content appears here under this condition or license: Site content may be used for any purpose without permission unless otherwise specified. via Magical.Fish Gopher News Feeds: gopher://magical.fish/1/feeds/news/dailykos/