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| Location of Kerch |
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| The Kerch Strait Bridge engulfed in flames |
UPDATE 8 October 2022: Speaking of an escalation in the war between Russia and Ukraine - it took place within hours of Vladimir Putin's 70th birthday. Some birthday present!
As noted in previous SITREPs, going all the way back to Russia's initial invasion and annexation of Ukraine's Crimean peninsula in 2014-2015, the Kerch Strait Bridge linking the eastern city of Kerch (the Kerch Strait) with Russia proper was destined to be struck if Ukraine were to have any hope of recovering Crimea from Russia's annexation. The strike, and major escalation, occurred at 06:00 Moscow time (0300 GMT) this morning.
According to several sources, this strike on the 12-mile long Kerch Strait Bridge was a clandestine strike carried out by Ukraine's SBU (Security Intelligence Service), although Ukraine has not said so officially. It appears a truck bomb was detonated as it passed below the fuel tanker railcars heading for Russian forces in Crimea and Southern Ukraine.
The fuel tanker railcars erupted in flames, a massive fire ensued, and al least two sections of the lower level roadway collapsed into the water below. The bridge is effectively and entirely out of commission at this time. There's little doubt this strike is the beginning of Ukraine's effort to retake Crimea. Also without doubt this strike flies in the face of Putin's threat to employ nukes if Russia or its annexed territories were attacked. Bottom line: this war is now at the anticipated crisis point with an undetermined limit on the level of escalation ahead. It will be swift, no doubt.
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| Banners on Red Square, Moscow: "Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaphorizhzhia, Kherson - RUSSIA! |
30 September 2022: Russian Federation president Vladimir Putin just wrapped up a speech in the Kremlin in which he announced the annexation of four occupied, or partially occupied, Ukrainian oblasts as de facto Russian territory, as well as the defense of which from external attacks from any source can be met with the use of Russian nuclear weapons. This unilateral action by the regime of Putin will result in an escalation and intensification of the war into realms previously only discussed in thrilling war novels and action films a la the late Tom Clancy.
Today's announcement in Moscow has occurred as the Armed Forced of Ukraine (AFU) have encircled and entrapped two regiment-sized forces of the Russian Army. Those units are the BARS-13 "Russian Legion" and 572nd Guards Motor Rifle Regiment of the 20th General Army which have been in a weeks-long, hard-pressed defense of Lyman, Donetsk Oblast. Lyman will fall to the AFU shortly as all Ground Lines Of Communication (GLOC) and resupply have been cut off. This is day 219 of the war.
What remains to be seen: will Putin deploy nuclear weapons in defense of the illegally annexed "Russian" territory, and how will NATO respond to it. At the moment US and NATO aircraft are airborne scouring the entire spectrum for any sign of deployed Russian nuclear weaponry.
UPDATE 3 October 2022: The U.S. does have the capability to detect in advance a Russian deployment of nuclear weaponry. Several former and current US government officials have made this information public knowledge in recent days, not so much to assure civilians, but to let Russia's leadership know that our side will know if and when that happens.
The Nord Stream 1 and 2 gas pipelines, as reported by Denmark's military forces, ceased leaking methane gas this past weekend. This is not due to any repair effort, but because the remaining methane gas in the pipeline is not strong enough to overcome the pressure of the Baltic Sea at the depth where the sabotage ruptures occurred.
Probably of the utmost importance was the text of Vladimir Putin's annexation speech. This speech was couched in unhinged and wildly erroneous pseudo-religious rhetoric, about a "holy war" against the West. Putin's speech was preceded in Red Square by a rally in which the battle-cry for this war and an open call within ultra-nationalist Russian society for total war against the West. The battle cry is the Russian word "Goida!" A video of the Red Square rally where this call for holy war was made can be viewed at The American Conservative website. The video is most informative. Think in terms of Ezekiel 38/39 when you view it.
So, we wait...
ReplyDeleteUkraine's response: application today to join the NATO alliance.
DeleteIf the application is accepted, how long until ratification? And how long until NATO forces intervene more than providing weapons? So, we wait ...
DeleteThe NATO application will be fast-tracked because it is de facto. Making it de jure is semantics.
Delete“De facto, we have already made our way to NATO. De facto, we have already proven compatibility with Alliance standards. They are real for Ukraine — real on the battlefield and in all aspects of our interaction. We trust each other, we help each other and we protect each other.
This is what the Alliance is. De facto.
Today, Ukraine is applying to make it de jure.
In a process that is consistent with our value in protecting our entire community. In an expedited manner. We are taking our decisive step by signing Ukraine’s application for accelerated accession to NATO.” - Volodymyr Zelensky
The US, EU and Israel have, as expected, rejected the Russian annexation. Many other nations will join them. Kazakhstan is one of them.
ReplyDeleteThe US is establishing a unified "Ukraine Command" in Wiesbaden, Germany.
The U.S. announced today there are no currently detected indications for the use of nuclear weapons by Russia.
DeleteWho blew up the NS pipeline and why did they do it. An end time finger print is very much visible.
ReplyDeleteRussia blames the US, and the US blames Russia, as does Poland and Ukraine. The EU is officially silent, and, in a first, no one blames Israel.
DeleteEach of the pipelines, NS1 and NS2, are actually a pair of pipes. One of the NS2 pair is undamaged.
At present the damage and escaping gas are too volatile/dangerous to repair according to the West.
I would say in a few months....follow the money.
DeleteOne thing the guy in Red Square got right...
ReplyDeleteThe world is run by madmen, perverts and satanists.
The lines of restraint are stretching thin.
He reminded me of Nazi orators. Moral equivocation as an excuse for mass murder, rape, grand larceny, and other unspeakable barbarianism.
ReplyDeleteI was surprised by how many people were there. I imagine it was a forced assembly.
DeleteRegime approved 100%.
DeleteNow, about the Nord Stream sabotage... found this online today. Pretty intense.
MonkeyWerxUS NS2 Sabotage whodunit
Whoa! Intense is right.
DeleteIf Nordstream is now out of the picture and Russia is out of all those rubles and the U.S. is involved and came up with a deal with Israel on the two state solution and they were rewarded with supplying the E.U with gas. The shekels may indeed hit the fan.
Wow!
DeleteYes, shekels will fly Big Time but not in the manner most are expecting.
ReplyDeleteAfter the election the incoming Likud government will quickly scrap (abrogate) the Biden/U.S.-dictated maritime border and sovereign territory giveaway.
A genuine casus belli for Hezbollah.
Russia's loss of Syria (Isaiah 17) is, IMHO, the final nail.
ReplyDeleteFWIW, Israel's election will take place on Tuesday, Nov. 1.
ReplyDeleteThe US mid-term election with take place 7 days later on Tuesday, 8 Nov.
Fireworks in November.
Intel says that an 18-mile long front line north of Kherson is defended by 1 Russian soldier for every 65 yards.
ReplyDeleteNo wonder the entire front is collapsing before the massed UAF attacks like a hot knife through butter.
Russ and All,
ReplyDeleteIn occupying ourselves in anticipation of the Harpazo, we should do as Paul instructed by the Spirit in II Thessalonians 2:15
"Therefore, brethren, stand fast and hold the traditions which you were taught, whether by word or our epistle."
Putin has given Ramzan Kadyrov (Chechnya) the rank of Colonel General in the Army of the Russian Federation.
ReplyDeleteHe's my leading candidate for the role of Gog in Ezekiel 38/39.
Kadyrov advocates for nukes to be used in Ukraine.
Heads Up: Israel's political-security cabinet this evening has authorized Prime Minister Yair Lapid, Defense Minister Benny Gantz and Alternate Prime Minister Naftali Bennett to make security decisions in the event of an escalation in the north.
ReplyDeleteDM Gantz has placed the IDF on a war alert.
DeleteSome may have completely discounted what has been written in this and previous SITREPs concerning nuclear weapons use in the near term.
ReplyDeleteAs we've been warned, "this is no bluff."
Not by Russia. Not by North Korea. Not even by Joe Biden and his warning about the potential for a "nuclear Armageddon."
This is no bluff; this is no drill. We have been warned multiple times.
Belarus is joining the war against Ukraine on Russia's side.
ReplyDeleteLukashenko and Putin agreed on Friday to invoke the Union State "Joint Forces Group" to defend the Union State (Russia and Belarus) from threats to its western borders. Ukraine and NATO constitute the alleged threat to the Union State.
The Union State's Joint Forces are the armed forces of Belarus and 1,000 Russian troops deployed in Belarus.
Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko on announced this morning that a joint Union State task force is being deployed to the western border of the country near Ukraine.
ReplyDeleteAnyone with two functioning brain cells can see on a map of Europe that Belarus' western border is with NATO member Poland, from the city of Grodno in the northwest to the city of Brest in the southwest. Belarus' southern border is with Ukraine.
Either the Union State intends to open a second front into western Ukraine from the vicinity of Brest, or a new direct war against NATO via Poland.
How many are aware that the Russian missile blitz on 10 October crossed a red line.
ReplyDeleteThe Russian missiles struck a German diplomatic office and the EU mission in Kyiv. An act of war.
A G7 crisis meeting occurred today.
A new wave of Russian missilies have struck across Ukraine today. War crimes galore!
ReplyDeleteMissile warhead impacts in and around Lviv have come within 30 miles of hitting Polish territory.
NOTE: All "anonymous" comments are deleted instantly.
Today Belarus was used as the launch origin for several Iranian Shahed-136 kamikaze drones. Belarus is now an active participant in Russia's war on Ukraine.
DeleteNATO has warned Russia, Belarus and Lukashenko personally, to stand-down on their attacks on civilian infrastructure.
NATO Defense Ministers will meet tomorrow and Thursday.
NATO nuclear prep drills will begin next week.
Escalation begets more escalations.
Hi Sean; Steve G here. What do we know about Sergei SUROVIKIN? Nickname 'General Armageddon'. Syrian veteran (Air Force commander) and been jailed previously for arms dealing. In Chechnya also (2004). Wagner Group ties. Allegations of chemical weapons use on civilians and believes that fighting in Syria is essentially fighting for the Rodina. Thoughts?? YBIC, Steve
DeleteSteve,
DeleteGen. Sergei Surovikin is himself an escalation of Russia's war against Ukraine. His over-the-top brutality is well known.
I expect him to introduce WMD into this war.
He is another high-profile candidate for Gog of Magog.
According to Jewish sources...
ReplyDeleteRosh Hashanah on 25-27 September 2022 marked the start of a new shmita 7-year cycle and the year 5783.
The new 7-year cycle will conclude in 2029 AD / 5790.
Here's the issue:
DeleteAs noted before on Eschatology Today, the Jewish counting of 7-year shmita is in error by 3 years.
By their recokoning the 7-year count began in 1945, three years prior to Israel's miraculous rebirth in a single day 1948 as foretold by Isaiah 66:8.
Using May 1948 as a start for counting the 7-year shmita, there have been 10 shmita as of May 2018.
The 11th shmita since then is therefore in progress, in its 4th year, and concludes in May 2025.
In this we've used 365-day years. However, if prophetic 360-day years are actually used since 1948, then we're on the cusp (+/- 3 years) of Israel's 70th week, and the end of the 80-year generation of strength per Psalm 90:10.
Marana'tha!
As we all should know, the so-called maritime border "agreement" between Israel and Lebanon is much-ado about nothing.
ReplyDeleteNo such agreement between Lebanon and Israel exists.
The fact is there is a signed agreement between Lebanon and the US; but not between Lebanon and Israel. This is what Israel's current government has accepted.
Another fact is this: Israel gets nothing but an utterly worthless guarantee from the globalist US Biden Administration.
Lebanon received sovereign Israel territory in the "agreement" and to which Iran's terrorist proxy Hezbollah is NOT a party.
An important bullet item from ISW's assessent of 12OCT22:
ReplyDelete"Russian forces may have imported Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC)-affiliated personnel to occupied areas in Ukraine to train Russian troops in the use of Shahed-136 drones."
This military observation is consistent with the inspired prophecy of Ezekiel 38/39. Not only are Iranian IRGC Qods Force personnel in Russia, but they are also in Ukraine; they are actually launching Shahed-136 drones on missions against civilian targets. A war crime. The Iranian IRGC are under Russian military guardianship in the war zone.
SITREP D4-22 Exit Question:
DeleteDoes anyone not see the decimation and destruction being done to the Russian Federation's military machine as related to an ongoing pre-Ezekiel 38/39 Divine judgment?
FACT: There are nearly 100,000 KIA/WIA Russian soldiers and thousands on tons of military equipment that have been taken away permanently from any role in Ezekiel 38/39.
Ok, I do accept that no one else agrees with this. The silence is deafening; message received loud and clear.
DeleteHello Bro. Sean; Steve G again. I suspect that quite a few ET'ers agree with your analysis. For myself - and I suspect I'm not alone in this - I'm digesting the comment and its inherent concept. This situation certainly does resemble a precursor process to what will ultimately befall RF forces in the ME and in the near term. Certainly, the current in-process decimation (of the Russians) will contribute to an overall and increased sense of rage and also make the deployment of non-conventionals in the conflict TO a much more likely outcome. YBIC, Steve G.
DeleteSteve,
DeleteUnless there's some type of feedback I've no way of knowing, but I do accept your notion that this may take more digestion for others to see what I'm seeing.
In Ezekiel 38/39 I see the narrative of Gog of Magog commanding an overwhelming invasion force, even with the other coalition forces, well, that is something the Russian Federation is clearly not capable of now per Ezekiel's description.
This is besides the point Ezekiel makes that the appointed time is a time when Israel has recovered from a significant war and is living in peace and security with no other nations or foes threatening them.
This speaks to a tactical, even a strategic situation, that bears little resemblance to the current.
Big events are essential going forward to fit the prophetic Scripture narrative.
Yes - I see your point. I'll keep mulling this over - it's a very material point vis. (Ez.38/39) timing. Thanks for raising it - and for the feedback. Steve G.
DeleteIndeed. All eschatological treatments to date that we have are couched in the paradigm and terms of the 20th century "Cold War." Three decades out of date and grossly exposed due to the Ukraine war.
DeleteEschatology Today holds that Ezekiel's reference to Israel living peacefully and securely in the land points to the post-Psalm 83, Isaiah 11:12-14, Ezeliel 28:24-26 and Joshua 7:1-13 prophetic fulfillments -- which are obviously pre-Ezekiel 38/39, and which is also obviously pre-70th Week of Years. It is in the aftermath of these wars which enables FULL ISRAELI SOVEREIGNTY on Temple Mount and the building of the 3rd Temple so that it is standing when the Two Witnesses begin their 1,260 ministry in Jerusalem.
DeleteThis is a hard and long-studied staple of this blog, backed 100% by Scripture. Others personal "opinions" carry no weight at all here.
Also post-Isaiah 17.
DeleteThe predicted escalations of the Russia-Ukraine war (a localized world war at this point) are now established facts. They will continue, as well as increase in their severity.
ReplyDeleteIt is now time to return focus in a new SITREP to events in Israel, in Jerusalem especially, but also Shiloh, Judea and Samaria where warfare is occurring daily.
Arab terrorists in two vehicles threw an IED at an IDF checkpoint on the outskirts of Nablus.
ReplyDeleteThe IDF opened fire on the vehicles, one vehicle was abandoned, a second IED was found inside it. The terrorists escaped in the second vehicle.
Righteous indignation is full-bloom this morning as I'm reminded of the THOUSANDS of innocent Ukrainian children being forcibly abducted by Russian troops and sent to institutions all across Russia.
ReplyDeleteAnd the Christian world is silent. The USA and the West in general is silent.