MOSCOW: The front lines in Ukraine have reached an impasse, as parity in equipment, training and morale between Russian and Ukrainian forces stalls momentum on both sides, nationalist Russian senator Dmitry Rogozin said in an interview.
“(The map of the front lines) is moving with enormous difficulty, at a colossal price, which our military is paying in order for it to move,” Rogozin, who has fought in Ukraine, told the Bloknot media outlet in an interview published on Russian social media site VKontakte on September 19.
“Nevertheless we are moving, our pressure is definitely there. Victory will be ours, the question is just at what price. And the price will be very big.”
Russia’s slow advance is tactical, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said on Wednesday, a day after US President Donald Trump said Russia has been fighting “aimlessly” in Ukraine.
In a striking rhetorical shift in Ukraine’s favor, Trump said that a “real military power” would have won the war in less than a week, describing Russia as a “paper tiger.” Trump, who has sometimes echoed Russia’s views on the conflict, said he believed Ukraine could retake all the land occupied by Russia.
In his comments, Rogozin said it was very difficult to advance in Ukraine as assault groups consist of three-to-four middle-aged men, who are weighed down by armor and weaponry and surrounded by mines and with drones buzzing overhead.
“It’s impossible to get up from a chair, let alone go somewhere to attack,” he said, adding that any military equipment brought within 20 kilometers of the line of contact, on either side, would get burned.
“There are only bare fields, no forest belts, a hare appears and I can see it,” he said, referring to drone footage he had seen around Stepnohirsk, in Zaporizhzhia region, at his command post.
“How is it possible to move and get through? And all equipment will be blown up because the roads are mined by us and by them.”
Ukraine front lines are locked in stalemate, Russian senator says
https://arab.news/m45vw
Ukraine front lines are locked in stalemate, Russian senator says
- “(The map of the front lines) is moving with enormous difficulty, at a colossal price,” Rogozin said
- Russia’s slow advance is tactical, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said
Louvre Museum closed as workers launch rolling strike
- After the memo, French President Emmanuel Macron announced a massive renovation plan for the museum, expected to cost €700 million to €800 million (up to $940 million)
PARIS: The Louvre closed its doors to thousands of disappointed visitors on Monday as staff launched a rolling strike to protest working conditions at the Paris landmark, two months after a shocking robbery.
Staff assembled outside the museum’s world-famous glass pyramid, blocking the main entrance and holding signs, as security agents turned tourists away.
“The Louvre on strike,” said a banner.
“All together all together,” striking staff shouted. “Who does the Louvre belong to? To us!“
Workers are demanding extra staff and measures to tackle overcrowding, adding to the woes of the world’s most visited museum just as France gears up for the Christmas holidays.
“We are angry,” Elize Muller, a security guard, told reporters. “We disagree with the way the Louvre has been managed.”
The strike comes nearly two months after the museum was victim of an embarrassing daylight heist that saw crown jewels worth $102 million stolen.
A notice in the museum’s courtyard said the Louvre would remain closed on Monday.
At a general meeting, around 400 employees voted unanimously to launch a strike, which can be renewed, to protest the “deterioration” of working conditions, the CGT and CFDT unions said.
Another general meeting was scheduled to take place Wednesday. The museum is closed on Tuesdays.
“I’m very disappointed, because the Louvre was the main reason for our visit in Paris, because we wanted to see the ‘Mona Lisa’,” said 37-year-old Minsoo Kim, who had traveled from Seoul with his wife for their honeymoon.
Natalia Brown, a 28-year-old tourist from London, said she understands “why they’re doing it,” but called it “unfortunate timing for us.”
Rachel Adams, a 60-year-old real estate agent from Utah, said she had heard of the plans to strike.
“I think that the Louvre makes a lot of money and they should be handling their finances quite a bit better. They had the big water leak. I mean, this is important stuff.”
Speaking on the eve of the action, Christian Galani, from the hard-left CGT union, said the strike would have broad support across the museum’s 2,200-strong workforce.
“We’re going to have a lot more strikers than usual,” Galani said.
“Normally, it’s front-of-house and security staff. This time, there are scientists, documentarians, collections managers, even curators and colleagues in the workshops telling us they plan to go on strike.”
All have different grievances, adding up to a picture of staff discontent inside the institution, just as it finds itself in a harsh public spotlight following the shocking robbery on Oct. 19.
Reception and security staff complain they are understaffed and required to manage vast flows of people, with the home of Leonardo da Vinci’s “Mona Lisa” welcoming several million people beyond its planned capacity each year.
A spontaneous walk-out protest in June led the museum to temporarily close.
The Louvre has become a symbol of so-called “over-tourism,” with the 30,000 daily visitors facing what unions call an “obstacle course” of hazards, long queues, and sub-standard toilets and catering.
Documentarians and curators are increasingly horrified by the state of disrepair inside the former royal palace, with a recent water leak and the closure of a gallery due to structural problems underlining the difficulties.
“The building is not in a good state,” chief Louvre architect Francois Chatillon admitted in front of lawmakers last month.
Under-fire Louvre boss Laurence des Cars, who faces persistent calls to resign, warned the government in January in a widely publicized memo about leaks, overheating and the declining visitor experience.
After the memo, French President Emmanuel Macron announced a massive renovation plan for the museum, expected to cost €700 million to €800 million (up to $940 million).
Questions continue to swirl since the break-in over whether it was avoidable and why the national treasure appeared to be poorly protected.
Two intruders used a portable extendable ladder to access the gallery containing the crown jewels, cutting through a glass door with angle grinders in front of startled visitors before stealing eight priceless items.
Investigations have since revealed that only one security camera was working outside when they struck, that guards in the control room did not have enough screens to watch the coverage in real time, and that police were initially misdirected.
