Daily Archives: September 3, 2022

There have been numerous reports that the Ukrainian military is outfoxing the Russians on the battlefield in a modern adaptation of deception tactics that go back to ancient times. Videos posted on social media platforms seem to show Ukrainian forces using US-made High Mobility Artillery Rocket System, or HIMARS, against Russian forces with a devastating effect.

Strikes with the long-range rocket artillery system have indeed destroyed large ammunition and fuel dumps deep behind Russian lines in southern Ukraine in recent weeks, wreaking havoc on Russian logistics. So targeting HIMARS is a high priority for Russia.

But now media reports indicate Ukrainian has a fleet of wooden HIMARS replicas set up to draw Russian fire, which reveals the location of Russian weapon placements and leads the Russian military to squander its finite supply of precision missiles. Though made of wood, the HIMARS reproductions bear a strong enough resemblance to their real counterparts, which may well help even the odds Ukraine faces against a larger, better-equipped Russian army.

Though the Ukrainian subterfuge replicates some of the most modern American equipment on the battlefield today, their imitation game is hardly new.

The Chinese military general, strategist, and philosopher Sun Tzu recommended this tactic in his military treatise The Art of War, written in the 5th century BCE. There, he called on military commanders to "set up decoys and feign confusion"and cause an enemy to miscalculate the opposing force. "All warfare is based on deception,"Sun Tzu wrote.

While at camp during Rome's Gallic Wars in what is today France and Belgium in the 50s BCE, Julius Caesar stationed some of his legionaries in such a way that they appeared to be a much larger force than they actually were and thereby exaggerated Roman strength. Caesar's accounts of his wars in Europe describe approaching and destroying Gaulish forces that had been distracted by his deceptively large forces at camp.

For centuries, military commandersalso sought to dupe enemy forces with fake equipment. During the American Civil War (1861-1865), Confederate troops employed "Quaker guns large wooden logs painted black to look like cannons and named after the pacifist Quaker religious group to trick Union generals. At Centreville, in Virginia, Confederate General Robert E. Lee built extensive fortifications with many rows of Quaker guns, appearing from a distance to be a heavily fortified defensive line.

Wooden so-called Quaker Guns were used in the American Civil War

After the advent of the internal combustion engine and its more widespread application in war, battlefield decoys gained new importance. The tank made its combat debut during World War I(1914-1918). With it, the British Army attempted to break the stalemate of trench warfare. Quickly, both the British and Germans employed dummy tanks, made of wood and painted burlap cloth, to deceive the other side and lead the opponents to overestimate the adversaries' strength.

Although motorized military machines made their widespread operational debut during World War I, Europe's armies were not yet fully motorized but still relied partly on horses to move material across the battlefield. So the armies erected dummy horses made of wooden, blanket-covered frames to deceive enemy reconnaissance pilots' observations from the air.

During World War II (1939 - 1945), Nazi Germany and its allies, as well as the alliance of their opponents practiced deception on a much grander scale. Before the Western Allies crossed the channel and landed in Normandy, France, in 1944, troops in England had already made extensive use of inflatable tanks.

These dummies inflated German estimates of Allied strength, and in combination with false intelligence, this served to convince the Germans that the Allied invasion would take place elsewhere, which helped draw German forces away from the Normandy beaches.

So great was the importance placed on tactical trickery that the United States Army created the 23rd Headquarters Special Troops also known as the Ghost Army which was described as a "traveling road show of deception. Armed with inflatable tanks, trucks, and airplanes, and audio recordings of troop and vehicle movements which blasted out via powerful speaker systems, the American Ghost Army staged large deception operations in Belgium, France, Germany, and Luxembourg and is credited with saving the lives of thousands of US soldiers through their reception.

Both parties to World War Two used dummy tanks made of wood to dupe their enemies

Wartime trickery extends to nonstate actors as well. In 2016, the Iraqi Army captured wooden replicas of Humvees and tanks built by the terrorist Islamic State militia, intended to draw fire from the US-led air campaign. Though they were made primarily of wood, the imitation vehicles appeared genuine from a distance some even had bearded mannequins in the driver seats to complete the deception.

Lacking any airpower, the Islamic State hoped to distract coalition warplanes, negate the allied coalition's advantage in the air, and preserve the Islamic States' fleet of captured trucks, tanks, and personnel carriers.

Edited by: Rina Goldenberg

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Ukraine war and the long tradition of deception - DW (English)

The Ukraine war and the worlds reaction to it will be a decisive factor in shaping the global political and economic order in the decade ahead. In particular, the Western allies actions, narratives, and planning regarding both Russia and the role of the Global South in Ukraines postwar reconstruction will indicate what their long-term strategic goals are. Does the West simply want to see Russia defeated and NATO enlarged and strengthened, or can it envisage a victory in Ukraine that lays the foundations for a world in which democracy is more secure and global governance more inclusive and effective?

While the outcome of the fighting remains uncertain, the Wests strategic aims, particularly how it intends to treat Russia in the event that Ukraine prevails, will have huge consequences. The big question is whether the allies will seek to punish Russia as a whole by imposing severe reparations or instead target President Vladimir Putins autocratic regime in a way that limits the burdens imposed on the Russian people.

At the beginning of the war, the Western allies emphasized that defending the United Nations Charter and democracy were their primary objectives. In late spring, some U.S. strategists and officials advocated permanently weakening Russiaas a strategic goal, although it is not clear whether this would still be an objective in the event of regime change in Russia.

While any overall settlement of the Ukraine conflict must require Russia to bear some part of the reconstruction burden resulting from a war that it started, the severity of the terms imposed on the Russian people will have political ramifications. The harsher the terms, the more likely it will be that Russia embraces China even more closely, so that a tight Sino-Russian bloc becomes part of the postwar geopolitical order.

The effect of such an alliance should not be underestimated. While China would be the blocs center of gravity, Russias relatively small GDP (which isless than that of Italy) should not lead one to dismiss the countrys scientific capabilities, the size of its nuclear arsenal, its natural-resource wealth, and the strategic importance of its vast territory.

By pursuing measures that treat the Russian people differently than Putin and his autocracy, the worlds democracies might hope to prevent a long-term outcome in which Russia would be lost to them. Banning all Russians from entering the European Union, as some policymakersnow propose, is the type of measure that will push the country toward China. And misleadingly dividing the world into democracies and autocracies comes from the same ineffective, polarizing playbook. When dealing with dictatorships like Putins, a key element of any successful diplomatic strategy is to distinguish between political leaders and ordinary citizens.

True, Russias veto power in the U.N. Security Council made it impossible for the U.N. to play a coordinating role in countering Russias aggression in Ukraine. But the Western allies that assumed that task made little effort to consult the Global South in their decisionmaking, or to involve it in the postwar planning process.

It is of course also true that much of the Global South abstained from voting on thetwo major U.N. General Assembly resolutions condemning Russia in March. But the West should have recognized that developing countries response to the war reflected old and deep-seated reflexesnamely, the bitter collective memory of European colonialism and recollections of the Soviet Unions support for many of these countries during the struggle for independence.

Moreover, theLugano conferenceorganized by the Western allies in early July to launch aplatformfor Ukraines reconstruction did not include any countries from the Global South. One could argue that this was primarily a donors meeting, but it excluded rich Gulf states and included countries such as Albania and North Macedonia, neither of which is likely to be able to contribute.

Rebuilding Ukraine will requirehundreds of billions of dollars. This effort thus risks diverting substantial aid from the Global South, which is still trying to get rich countries to fulfill their longstandingpledgeto provide $100 billion per year to support climate-change mitigation and adaptation in poorer countries. It will also be interesting to see the extent to which the procurement rules for reconstruction projects in Ukraine will allow non-donor developing countries to bid effectively.

But it may not be too late for the West to involve the Global Southparticularly countries like India and South Africa, which have good technical capacities in certain sectorsin Ukraines reconstruction. The West should also include developing countries in setting the rules regarding possible remaining sanctions against Russia after the first phase of a settlement, as well as the regulations governing frozen Russian assets.

In the event that Ukraine prevails, the Wests treatment of Russia and its stance toward the Global South during Ukraines reconstruction will determine whether the wars outcome serves as the launchpad for global progress toward a more inclusive and equitable multilateralism. In the worst case, the West will have a achieved a pyrrhic victory that ends up strengthening autocracy and further deepening global divisions.

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What are the Wests strategic goals in the Ukraine war? - Brookings Institution

Sep 1, 2022

Aishwarya KumarESPN.com

NEW YORK -- After her straight-set loss to former World No. 1 Victoria Azarenka, Ukraine's Marta Kostyuk refused to shake hands with her Belarusian opponent. Instead, she raised her racket for a quick tap.

Kostyuk, who has been vocal about her unhappiness about Russian and Belarusian players' silence on the tour, said it was not appropriate to shake hands with Azarenka at the news conference after the match.

"It was my choice -- I don't feel like I don't know any single person who condemned the war publicly, and the actions of their government, so I don't feel like I can support this," she told ESPN.

"Don't get me wrong, she's a great competitor. But, it has nothing to do with her being a human being," Kostyuk added.

After the Citi Open in Washington, D.C., Ukrainian player Dayana Yastremska also refused to shake hands with Azarenka after the match. Yastremska fled Ukraine with her younger sister days after the Russian invasion began in February.

Belarus has been sanctioned by the United States for its "support" and "facilitation" of the invasion.

Kostyuk said that Azarenka has not reached out to her to have a conversation since the beginning of the war. Kostyuk said given Azarenka's reach both in Belarus and as a part of the WTA's Players' Council, she should use her voice to condemn the war.

Kostyuk also said she had texted Azarenka Wednesday after her practice session to "warn her" that she will not shake hands with her after the match today. Kostyuk also said she wanted to have a broader conversation with Azarenka on the war and hear her thoughts on where the Belarusian stood. Kostyuk said Azarenka responded that she was not on-site, and so they did not have the conversation.

Azarenka was removed from last week's USTA's Peace for Ukraine event -- a humanitarian event to raise funds for Ukraine -- after Kostyuk expressed her discomfort with Azarenka's participation in an interview with Ukrainian outlet BTU. Kostyuk said she refused to participate in the event as a result.

"Imagine there is World War II and there is a fundraiser for Jewish people and a German player wants to play," Kostyuk said of her decision following Thursday's match.

Immediately following Kostyuk's news conference, Azarenka told reporters that she had reached out via the WTA to have conversations with Ukrainian athletes in the past few months.

"I've been told it's not a good time," she said.

Azarenka added that she didn't have a close relationship with Kostyuk, and has never had a conversation with her, but has reached out to other Ukrainian players to listen and build relationships with them and would be willing to have a face-to-face with Kostyuk.

"I'm open to any time to listen, to try to understand, to sympathize. I believe that empathy in the moment like this is really important, which has, again, been my clear message in the beginning," she said.

Regarding the Peace for Ukraine fundraiser event, Azarenka said she was asked to participate in it and immediately agreed to do it, as "it's a no-brainer for me. Like, why wouldn't I participate in a humanitarian aid for people who are really struggling right now," she said.

"I thought that this was a gesture that really shows commitment," Azarenka said. "I'm not sure why it wasn't taken it that way."

Azarenka also said that she has had a clear message from the beginning of the war.

"I'm here to try to help, which I have done a lot. Maybe not something that people see. And that's not what I do it for. I do it for people who [are] in need, juniors who need clothes, other people who need money or other people who needed transportation or whatever. That's what is important to me, to help people are in need."

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Ukraine's Marta Kostyuk refuses to shake hands with Victoria Azarenka over perceived silence regarding war - ESPN

MILAN (AP) Ukraine held the lead for all of 55 seconds in its EuroBasket game against Estonia on Saturday.

They were the final 55 seconds.

Illya Sydorovs layup gave Ukraine its first lead of the game, and the war-torn nations team moved to 2-0 in the European championship tournament by topping Estonia 74-73 in a Group C matchup.

Its a super important game for us, Sydorov said. The main goal, why we get this win, is because we fight until the end and we stayed together for all four quarters.

It was a massive victory for Ukraine, which has its three toughest games of Group C play against Croatia, Italy and Greece still looming.

But its likely that Ukraine already has done enough to earn a spot in the second round, regardless of what happens in those three remaining contests.

And that is an enormous lift for a team carrying the weight of representing a country that has been devastated by the war that Russia started by invading nearly seven months ago.

Our main goal was to beat Great Britain and Estonia, Sydorov said. We all understand the main part was to win both games, and we did, and were very happy about it.

Svi Mykhailiuk led Ukraine with 18 points. Volodymyr Herun scored 12 and Sydorov added 11.

Maik-Kalev Kotsar led Estonia (0-2) with 17 points.

GROUP C

CROATIA 86, GREAT BRITAIN 65

Croatia outscored Great Britain 35-9 in the third quarter, building a 35-point lead, and cruised to a win.

Bojan Bogdanovic, Dario Saric and Ivica Zubac each scored 15 for Croatia (1-1), while Mario Hezonja finished with 13 points and 10 rebounds.

Myles Hesson scored 18 and Patrick Whelan finished with 14 for Great Britain (0-2).

GROUP B

FRANCE 77, LITHUANIA 73

At Cologne, Germany, France rallied from a 13-point deficit and took the lead for good on Evan Fournier's 3-pointer with 3:08 remaining.

Fournier led all scorers with 27 points for France (1-1).

Jonas Valanciunas scored 15 for Lithuania (0-2), which got 14 from Rokas Jokubaitis, 13 from Marius Grigonis, 12 from Ignas Brazdeikis and nine rebounds from Domantas Sabonis.

GERMANY 92, BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA 82

Germany used an 18-0 run spanning the second and third quarters to erase what was an 11-point deficit and take the lead for good.

Franz Wagner and Dennis Schroder each scored 18 for Germany (2-0), which got 14 points from Johannes Thiemann and 13 from Andreas Obst.

Dzanan Musa scored 30 and Jusuf Nurkic added 21 for Bosnia and Herzegovina (1-1).

GROUP A

MONTENEGRO 76, BELGIUM 70

Bojan Dubljevic scored 21 points and Montenegro (1-1) led nearly the entire way against Belgium (1-1).

Kendrick Perry scored 19 and Vladimir Mihailovic added 14 for Montenegro, which survived getting outscored 20-8 in the fourth quarter.

Retin Obasohan led all scorers with 25 for Belgium, and Manu Lecomte scored 10.

TURKEY 101, BULGARIA 87

Cedi Osman scored 25 points, Alperen Sengun added 20 and Turkey (2-0) used an 18-6 run in the fourth quarter to pull away.

Shane Larkin had 13 points and nine assists for Turkey. Aleksandar Vezenkov led Bulgaria (0-2) with 28 points, while Chavdar Kostov scored 15 and Dee Bost finished with 12 points and 13 assists.

SPAIN 90, GEORGIA 64

Willy Hernangomez scored 14 points, Jaime Pradilla added 12 and Spain (2-0) used a balanced attack on the way past Georgia (0-2).

Spain used 12 players; nine of them had at least seven points.

Rati Andronikashvili led Georgia with 13 points.

GROUP D

FINLAND 89, POLAND 59

At Prague, Sasu Salin scored 18 points, Lauri Markkanen added 17 and Finland (1-1) had no problem with Poland (1-1).

Elias Valtonen scored 12 for Finland. Mateusz Ponitka and Michal Sokolowski each had eight points for Poland.

SERBIA 81, CZECH REPUBLIC 68

Two-time reigning NBA MVP Nikola Jokic scored 18 points and grabbed 11 rebounds, and Serbia (2-0) led by as many as 23 in its win over the Czech Republic (0-2).

Vasilije Micic scored 13 for Serbia, Vanja Marinkovic had 11 and Nikola Kalinic added 10.

Vit Kerjci and Vojtech Hruban had 13 points apiece for the Czech Republic.

SUNDAY'S SCHEDULE

Group A and Group B are in action, while Group C and Group D get the day off.

In Group A, Bulgaria meets Montenegro, Spain faces Belgium and Turkey plays Georgia. In Group B, Lithuania squares off with Germany, Slovenia plays Bosnia and Herzegovina, and France meets Hungary.

___

More AP sports: https://apnews.com/hub/sports and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

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Ukraine rallies in the end, tops Estonia 74-73 at EuroBasket - USA TODAY

More than 1.8 million pounds of medical aid have been shipped to Ukraine since February. Shipments continued this week to Ukraine, as well as 11 other countries.

ver the past seven days, Direct Relief has delivered 307 shipments of requested medical aid to 39 US states and territories and 12 countries worldwide.

The shipments contained 5.4 million defined daily doses of medication, including antibiotics, insulin, antihistamines, cardiovascular medications, and more.

This week Direct Relief and Anera, a local NGO in Lebanon, announced an effort to establish reliable energy at medical clinics in the country. With solar panels, inverters, and batteries donated by Direct Relief, Anera will support four medical centers throughout Lebanon with solar power systems that will increase access to quality health services for refugees.

Since February 24, Direct Relief has provided medical aid to Ukraine weighing more than 1.8 million pounds, or 900 tons, with more on the way.

Over the past seven days, shipments including wound care supplies, PPE, nutritional supplements, and more departed Direct Reliefs warehouse in California bound for Ukraine.

Pakistan has endured an extreme and unprecedented monsoon season, leading to more than 1,000 deaths and causing widespread destruction of homes and public infrastructure.

Direct Relief is preparing a shipment of insulin, in coordination with Life for a Child, for distribution to 10 hospitals and healthcare facilities in Pakistan.

The shipment from Direct Relief contains enough long-acting insulin for 3,773 children and young adults under the age of 25 living with Type 1 Diabetes.

Direct Relief is also helping to inform response efforts by working with the World Food Program to analyze population movements and assess where evacuations have taken place and where aid may be needed.

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Operational Update: Medicines Arrive in Kharkiv, Ukraine, Resilient Power for Lebanon, and More - Ukraine - ReliefWeb

Minister for Communities and Territories Development Oleksiy Chernyshov has discussed the reconstruction of Ukraine with American non-governmental organizations and analytical centers.

According to Ukrinform, this was reported by the Ministry for Communities and Territories Development

"As part of the visit to the United States of the government delegation led by Minister for Communities and Territories Development of Ukraine Oleksiy Chernyshov, a meeting was held with American non-governmental structures and analytical centers. The further reconstruction of Ukraine was discussed and the Ukrainian government program Rapid Recovery for Survival was represented, the report reads.

It is noted that Chernyshov named ensuring the stable passage of the heating season as main current challenge. Ukraine will also work on restoring infrastructure: housing, healthcare and educational institutions, kindergartens, utility facilities, roads, and bridges.

The minister emphasized that the government is getting ready for all possible crisis situations and has a developed work plan, quality and cost control tools, but needs financial assistance from partners to confront the enemy and survive in difficult conditions.

As reported, the Ministry for Communities and Territories Development of Ukraine and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) will cooperate in restoring Ukrainian communities. Deputy Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine Kyrylo Tymoshenko has already held more than 20 meetings with ambassadors of various countries regarding the restoration of Ukraine.

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Chernyshov discusses reconstruction of Ukraine with American NGOs - Ukrinform