News From Eastern Europe- Bosnia, Hungary, Russian Sanctions, Energy, Training Ukrainian Forces

There are so many important news items, some of them with very subtle nuances regarding events and possibilities, that can only be found by digging a little deeper. Most of these will not even merit a mention in what passes for news sources in the US. Here are a few points of note from the last few days.

• From the Balkan Insight website, Bosnia closer to joining EU. Another milestone is reached towards EU membership for BiH.
• Also from the Balkan Insight website, Hungary considers its suspension of funds by EU as positive. Bosnia moves closer, Hungary moves away.
• From the RFE website, “Hungary, Romania, Georgia, Azerbaijan Agree To Black Sea Electricity Project.” The article notes the move towards reducing independence on Russian energy for all countries, praised even by Orban, and mentions Georgia’s moving “closer to Europe.”
• Also from RFE, Russian victory centers on permanent occupation of Crimea. A follow-up on articles noted in my last post abut strategic goals in Ukraine and the retaking of Crimea, permanently.
• Last post of note from RFE, so many fires all around Russia… the call to those within the country to defeat the Putinist regime is not completely ignored.
• From OvertDefense.com- the US will expand training of Ukrainian troops, as many as 500 personnel per month, on advanced tactics and the use of M777 howitzers and M142 HIMARS.
• Posted on the Ukrinform website, Putin to pressure Lukashenko to join war. 
• From the Foreign Affairs website, if you have access, is an article by Wally Adeyemo, the U.S. Deputy Secretary of the Treasury. In “America’s New Sanctions Strategy,” Adeyemo reviews the implementation of sanctions against Russia, noting its three major foci: the Russian financial system, elites and oligarchs, and its military industrial complex. The article also stresses the importance of sanctions on today’s battlefield, in this time of the hybrid war. 
• ISW RUSSIAN OFFENSIVE CAMPAIGN ASSESSMENT, December 16, 2022
• Finally, as of today according to the Telegram channel Ищи своих 97,690 Russians have died fighting Putin’s imperialist war in Ukraine. If they are trying to reach 100,000 by Christmas day, my guess is they will make it.