Ukraine 2

[Cyber Liberty]

Gee, it's so bloody difficult finding out what's going on, with an entire Press corps that can be credibly accused of outright lying.  Both "sides."

[Hoodat]

Two British fighters sentenced to death in separatist area, Russian state media says

Aiden Aslin, 28, and Shaun Pinner, 48, were detained in April before appearing in court in the separatist Donetsk People's Republic (DPR).

Andy Hayes  |  9 June 2022  |  19:05, UK



Two Britons who were captured by Russian forces while fighting in Ukraine have been sentenced to death, state-owned Russian news agency RIA Novosti has said.

Aiden Aslin, 28, and Shaun Pinner, 48, have been accused of being mercenaries, another Russian news agency said.

They were captured in Mariupol in April during the intense fight for control of the port city, before appearing in court in the separatist Donetsk People's Republic (DPR).

It is understood they have admitted "training in order to carry out terrorist activities".

A third man, Moroccan national Saaudun Brahim, has also reportedly been sentenced to death.

The punishments were handed down by the DPR's supreme court, RIA said.

The men were found guilty of "mercenary activities and committing actions aimed at seizing power and overthrowing the constitutional order of the DPR", the Interfax news agency quoted a court official as saying.  .  .  .

https://news.sky.com/story/ukraine-war-two-british-fighters-sentenced-to-death-in-separatist-area-russian-state-media-says-12630854


The "constitutional order of the DPR"?  The occupational entity calling itself the DNP is headed by a Russian and has no Constitution.  The two Brits were members of the Ukrainian 36th Marine Brigade and were wearing that uniform when captured.

[libertybele]

We aren't going to be fighting hand-to-hand in our back yards because we're supporting Ukraine with arms against the Russian nazis.  There is no need for such silly hyperbole.

Wow.  Not what I stated at all.   

[libertybele]

Gee, it's so bloody difficult finding out what's going on, with an entire Press corps that can be credibly accused of outright lying.  Both "sides."

Exactly.

[DB]

Two British fighters sentenced to death in separatist area, Russian state media says

Aiden Aslin, 28, and Shaun Pinner, 48, were detained in April before appearing in court in the separatist Donetsk People's Republic (DPR).

Andy Hayes  |  9 June 2022  |  19:05, UK



Two Britons who were captured by Russian forces while fighting in Ukraine have been sentenced to death, state-owned Russian news agency RIA Novosti has said.

Aiden Aslin, 28, and Shaun Pinner, 48, have been accused of being mercenaries, another Russian news agency said.

They were captured in Mariupol in April during the intense fight for control of the port city, before appearing in court in the separatist Donetsk People's Republic (DPR).

It is understood they have admitted "training in order to carry out terrorist activities".

A third man, Moroccan national Saaudun Brahim, has also reportedly been sentenced to death.

The punishments were handed down by the DPR's supreme court, RIA said.

The men were found guilty of "mercenary activities and committing actions aimed at seizing power and overthrowing the constitutional order of the DPR", the Interfax news agency quoted a court official as saying.  .  .  .

https://news.sky.com/story/ukraine-war-two-british-fighters-sentenced-to-death-in-separatist-area-russian-state-media-says-12630854


The "constitutional order of the DPR"?  The occupational entity calling itself the DNP is headed by a Russian and has no Constitution.  The two Brits were members of the Ukrainian 36th Marine Brigade and were wearing that uniform when captured.

Stupid Russians. Who will surrender then? If you going to be killed anyway, take of some of them out with you. It also provides even more incentive to fight to the death. Russia's already bragged about hiring mercenaries. Just a wee bit of hypocrisy?

[Smokin Joe]

Stupid Russians. Who will surrender then? If you going to be killed anyway, take of some of them out with you. It also provides even more incentive to fight to the death. Russia's already bragged about hiring mercenaries. Just a we bit of hypocrisy?

Exactly. Russia's Wegner Group doesn't count, even though touted as Mercenaries?

[sneakypete]

Gee, it's so bloody difficult finding out what's going on, with an entire Press corps that can be credibly accused of outright lying.  Both "sides."

@Cyber Liberty

As a famous man once noted,"Truth is the first causality of war."

[Hoodat]

Russian Elite Unit 'Absolutely Annihilated' After 100 Days of War: Report

ZOE STROZEWSKI  |  6/3/22 AT 1:27 PM EDT

An elite airborne Russian military unit has seen significant losses amid the war in Ukraine, so much so that one military analyst said that it was "absolutely annihilated" at one point in the offensive, according to The Moscow Times.

The Times tracked and reconstructed the movements of the 31st Guards Air Assault Brigade over the past several months in a report released as the Russia-Ukraine War hit 100 days Friday. The unit was among those sent to help gain control of the Ukrainian town of Hostomel, a suburb of Kyiv, in early March, according to an assessment from the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) cited by the Times. In the resulting conflict that saw Ukraine fighting to hold off Russia's advancement, "Russia's elite forces were absolutely annihilated," said Nick Reynolds, a military analyst at the British think tank Royal United Services Institute.

The 100-day mark of the war is notable because when Russia initially invaded Ukraine on February 24 with its focus on the capital of Kyiv and surrounding areas, U.S. officials predicted a swift Russian victory. But Ukraine launched a passionate counteroffensive, eventually spurring Russia to switch its focus to the eastern Donbas region, home to the self-proclaimed People's Republics of Donetsk and Luhansk, which Russia has recognized as independent. The reported heavy losses in the elite Russian airborne regiment reflect a larger deterioration of the country's image as a superior military power throughout these months of war.

Before the unit's purported advance on Hostomel in early March, the 31st Guards Air Assault Brigade was "likely" at the Hostomel military airport fighting against Ukrainian forces, according to the February 24 ISW assessment. Ukraine was ultimately successful in preventing Russia from seizing full control of the airfield.  .  .  .

https://www.newsweek.com/russian-military-losses-31st-guards-air-assault-brigade-ukraine-1712686


The 36th Guards Brigade was indeed the lead assault unit assigned to capture Hostomel airport at the start of the invasion.  An account can be found here:  https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2022/06/03/are-there-even-any-left-100-days-of-war-in-ukraine-for-an-elite-russian-unit-a77877

On a remote plain on the Belarusian-Ukrainian border the morning of Feb. 24, hundreds of paratroopers from Russia’s 31st Guards Air Assault Brigade boarded helicopters they thought were bound for a training ground in western Belarus.

But once the units were airborne, senior officers turned to the men to tell them that they were actually at war with Ukraine.

Instead of Grodno, they entered Ukrainian airspace on their way to Hostomel airport near the capital city of Kyiv.

“The troops were f*****g shocked, people turned gray, especially considering we took fire in the air,” said Nikita Ponomarev, a paratrooper later captured by the Ukrainians.  .  .

[Hoodat]

More sabotage inside Russia:

Fire engulfs factory in Russia with ties to Russian military: Report

Victor I. Nava  |  June 09, 2022 05:47 AM

A large fire reportedly broke out at a factory with ties to the Russian military on Wednesday, adding to a spate of mysterious blazes in Russia since Moscow's decision to invade Ukraine.

Images on social media purported to show a raging fire at the Zagorsk Optical-Mechanical Plant in Sergiev Posad, Russia, about 47 miles north of the Kremlin. The facility produces "optical and optoelectronic devices for law enforcement agencies, industry and healthcare," according to its website. The company is a known maker of precision optical equipment, such as night vision binoculars, used by the Russian military and is listed as an exhibitor at a military equipment expo organized by the Russian Defense Ministry.

https://twitter.com/TpyxaNews/status/1534803306748461056

https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/fire-engulfs-factory-in-russia-with-ties-to-russian-military-report

[Kamaji]

Putin undermined his own rationale for invading Ukraine, admitting that the war is to expand Russian territory

Bill Bostock
Fri, June 10, 2022

* Putin said on Thursday that the Ukraine invasion is about expanding Russian territory.

* Until now Putin had insisted that Russia was freeing Ukraine from so-called Nazis and preventing genocide.

* Putin said it was his destiny to "return and reinforce" Russia as the 17th-century ruler Peter the Great did.

Russian President Vladimir Putin said publicly for the first time Thursday that his invasion of Ukraine is about expanding Russian territory, as Western leaders have long maintained.

To date, Putin has justified the invasion by saying, baselessly, that he is preventing Ukraine and what he described as a neo-Nazi government from committing genocide against ethnic Russians. He has also said that NATO's eastward expansion threatens Russia's national security.

Speaking to students Thursday after visiting an exhibition about Peter the Great, Russia's first emperor credited with making the country a major power in the early 18th century, Putin compared himself to the ruler and said they were both destined to expand Russia.

*  *  *

Source:  https://news.yahoo.com/putin-undermined-own-rationale-invading-093128419.html

[Kamaji]

Putin undermined his own rationale for invading Ukraine, admitting that the war is to expand Russian territory

Bill Bostock
Fri, June 10, 2022

* Putin said on Thursday that the Ukraine invasion is about expanding Russian territory.

* Until now Putin had insisted that Russia was freeing Ukraine from so-called Nazis and preventing genocide.

* Putin said it was his destiny to "return and reinforce" Russia as the 17th-century ruler Peter the Great did.

Russian President Vladimir Putin said publicly for the first time Thursday that his invasion of Ukraine is about expanding Russian territory, as Western leaders have long maintained.

To date, Putin has justified the invasion by saying, baselessly, that he is preventing Ukraine and what he described as a neo-Nazi government from committing genocide against ethnic Russians. He has also said that NATO's eastward expansion threatens Russia's national security.

Speaking to students Thursday after visiting an exhibition about Peter the Great, Russia's first emperor credited with making the country a major power in the early 18th century, Putin compared himself to the ruler and said they were both destined to expand Russia.

*  *  *

Source:  https://news.yahoo.com/putin-undermined-own-rationale-invading-093128419.html

In other words, it's nothing more than a sordid war of aggression to acquire Lebensraum.  Putin is no more and no less than just another Nazi, bent on territorial aggression for nationalistic aggrandizement; just like Hitler.

[txradioguy]

In other words, it's nothing more than a sordid war of aggression to acquire Lebensraum.  Putin is no more and no less than just another Nazi, bent on territorial aggression for nationalistic aggrandizement; just like Hitler.

He's no different from any of the despots that have run Russia since the 1917 Revolution.

[Hoodat]

In other words, it's nothing more than a sordid war of aggression to acquire Lebensraum.  Putin is no more and no less than just another Nazi, bent on territorial aggression for nationalistic aggrandizement; just like Hitler.

Correctamundo.

[sneakypete]

In other words, it's nothing more than a sordid war of aggression to acquire Lebensraum.  Putin is no more and no less than just another Nazi, bent on territorial aggression for nationalistic aggrandizement; just like Hitler.

@Kamaji

Nazis and Communists have ALWAYS been the same critter. Even they knew this,which is why they were allies at the beginning of WW-2.

Same critter,different uniforms.

[Kamaji]

@Kamaji

Nazis and Communists have ALWAYS been the same critter. Even they knew this,which is why they were allies at the beginning of WW-2.

Same critter,different uniforms.

Yup.  The basic difference comes down to fashion sense - the Nazis typically had a better fashion sense (albeit somewhat over the top) than the communists ever did.

[Kamaji]

'Hundreds' of Wagner mercenaries are killed in Ukrainian attack on ammo dump leaving 'only one survivor' - as 'at least 3,000 graves' are discovered near Russian-occupied Mariupol

By CHRIS PLEASANCE FOR MAILONLINE
10 June 2022

Hundreds of Russian Wager mercenaries are thought to have been killed after Ukrainian artillery blew up an ammo dump in the Donbas, leaving just one survivor.

Serhiy Haidai, governor of Luhansk province, said today that Ukrainian forces had destroyed the base - located in a sports stadium in the town of Kadiivka - in a strike that took place Thursday.

Unconfirmed reports suggested up to 300 mercenaries had been based in the complex - which was also described as a ammo dump - with Haidai adding that: 'According to our data, only one survived.'

If confirmed, it would mark one of the single-largest losses of military life since the Moskva was sunk - though comes against the backdrop of up to 200 Ukrainian soldiers dying per day in Donbas, according to President Zelensky's adviser.

Meanwhile, a French TV crew that got access to the Russian-occupied city of Mariupol visited one of the cemeteries where civilians are being buried and claimed to have discovered more than 3,000 freshly-dug graves there.

*  *  *

Source:  https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-10904191/Hundreds-Wagner-mercenaries-killed-Ukrainian-artillery-attack.html

[Kamaji]

Battle for the Donbas: Russia beats back Ukrainian counter-attacks in Severodonetsk with heavy artillery - as Ukraine armed forces chief admits they are facing 'catastrophic' lack of munitions

By DAVID AVERRE FOR MAILONLINE
10 June 2022

Momentum in the battle for the Donbas swung back in favour of Russia last night after Putin's forces managed to retake most of Severodonetsk in the Luhansk region.

Ukrainian forces are still managing to hold their positions on the outskirts of the city, officials said, but are subject to almost round-the-clock bombardments as Russian troops employ a WWI-style approach of seizing ground metre-by-metre behind heavy artillery strikes.

The industrial hub, along with its smaller twin Lysychansk on the opposite bank of the Siversky Donets river, represents the last Ukrainian-controlled part of Luhansk province, which Russia is determined to seize as one of its principal war objectives.

*  *  *

Source:  https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-10903293/Russia-beats-Ukrainian-counter-attacks-Severodonetsk-heavy-artillery.html

[Ghost Bear]

In other words, it's nothing more than a sordid war of aggression to acquire Lebensraum.  Putin is no more and no less than just another Nazi, bent on territorial aggression for nationalistic aggrandizement; just like Hitler.

Just as some of us here have known from the start of this war.

[Elderberry]

Ukraine pleads for more weapons, cholera spreads in Mariupol

https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/intense-fighting-ukraines-bombed-out-sievierodonetsk-2022-06-10/

Summary

•   Ukraine wants more artillery for battle in the east

•   Mariupol mayor fears thousands may die from cholera there

•   Food shortages caused by war could lead to hunger globally -U.N.

KYIV, June 10 (Reuters) - Ukraine sought more help from the West on Friday, pleading for faster deliveries of weapons to hold off better-armed Russian forces and for humanitarian support to combat deadly diseases.

In Sievierodonetsk, the small city that has become the focus of Russia's advance in eastern Ukraine and one of the bloodiest flashpoints in a war well into its fourth month, further heavy fighting was reported.

To the south, the mayor of Mariupol - reduced to ruins by a Russian siege – said sanitation systems were broken and corpses were rotting in the streets.

"There is an outbreak of dysentery and cholera ... The war which took over 20,000 residents ... unfortunately, with these infection outbreaks, will claim thousands more Mariupolites," he told national television.

He called on the United Nations and the International Committee of the Red Cross to work on establishing a humanitarian corridor to allow remaining residents to leave the city, which is now under Russian control.

More at link.

[Ghost Bear]

Putin given 'urgent medical help' after falling ill while talking to military chiefs, Kremlin insider claims, with doctors advising him 'not to make any lengthy public appearances'

Vladimir Putin has been advised by doctors not to make any 'lengthy' public appearances after he fell ill amid discussions with his military chiefs, a Kremlin insider has claimed.

The Russian President felt 'a sharp sickness, weakness and dizziness', while getting up from his desk following a recent video conference with advisers and military leaders, Telegram channel General SVR reported yesterday.

'The President needed urgent medical assistance,' claimed the channel which purports to have sources in the Kremlin and has made repeated claims over Putin's alleged medical problems, including cancer and Parkinson's disease.

Excerpted, more at link: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-10903627/Putin-given-urgent-medical-help-falling-ill-talking-military-chiefs.html

[libertybele]

Putin given 'urgent medical help' after falling ill while talking to military chiefs, Kremlin insider claims, with doctors advising him 'not to make any lengthy public appearances'

Vladimir Putin has been advised by doctors not to make any 'lengthy' public appearances after he fell ill amid discussions with his military chiefs, a Kremlin insider has claimed.

The Russian President felt 'a sharp sickness, weakness and dizziness', while getting up from his desk following a recent video conference with advisers and military leaders, Telegram channel General SVR reported yesterday.

'The President needed urgent medical assistance,' claimed the channel which purports to have sources in the Kremlin and has made repeated claims over Putin's alleged medical problems, including cancer and Parkinson's disease.

Excerpted, more at link: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-10903627/Putin-given-urgent-medical-help-falling-ill-talking-military-chiefs.html

Well, perhaps Divine intervention is occurring??

[DB]

Well, perhaps Divine intervention is occurring??

Or just the traditional way Russia changes its leadership.

[Kamaji]

Vladimir Putin's bodyguards 'collect his excrement on foreign trips and take it back with them to Moscow in dedicated briefcase to stop Western spies collecting intelligence about his health'

By Lizzie May For Mailonline
11 June 2022

Russian president Vladimir Putin has his bodyguards collect his excrement while on foreign trips in a bid to stop people gathering information about his health.

A report has revealed that Putin's Federal Protection Service members are 'responsible for collecting his bodily waste' in special packets which are kept inside a dedicated briefcase until they return to Russia.

Putin's health has been the centre of much speculation especially in recent months with the catastrophic Russian invasion of Ukraine, as instructed by the leader, including suggestions that he is suffering with cancer, dementia and even Parkinson's disease.

*  *  *

Source:  https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-10906867/Russian-leaders-bodyguards-collect-excrement-foreign-trips-Moscow.html

[Kamaji]

More than 10,000 Ukrainian fighters have been killed since Russian President Vladimir Putin launched his invasion, Kyiv officials have said

By Michael Powell for The Mail on Sunday
11 June 2022

More than 10,000 Ukrainian fighters have been killed since Russia launched its invasion, the country’s government said yesterday.

The grim milestone was announced by presidential adviser Oleksiy Arestovych, who said daily losses since February had averaged 100 soldiers.

Kyiv claims Russia has lost three times as many troops since Vladimir Putin launched his offensive on February 24, although British intelligence puts the figure at 15,000 – the same number killed during the Soviet Union’s decade of war in Afghanistan.

The Kremlin has provided no casualty figures since March.

*  *  *

Source:  https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-10907761/More-10-000-Ukrainian-fighters-killed-Russian-invasion-Kyiv-officials-said.html

[Kamaji]

Fierce fight for the last Ukrainian city in Donbas region grinds on

By Mary Kay Linge
June 11, 2022

Russian forces now control two-thirds of the key Ukrainian city of Severodonetsk, a local official confirmed Saturday, as fighting still raged in its eastern industrial zone.

“The situation remains difficult,” said Serhiy Haidai, the governor of the Luhansk region. “Fighting continues, but unfortunately, most of the city is under Russian control. Some positional battles are taking place in the streets.”

The takeover of Luhansk, which makes up the Donbas along with the neighboring Donetsk region, has become Russia’s primary objective since its forces were repulsed from the capital of Kyiv.

The ongoing battle for Severodonetsk, the last unoccupied city in Luhansk, has become increasingly bloody in recent days.

*  *  *

Source:  https://nypost.com/2022/06/11/fierce-fight-for-the-last-ukrainian-city-in-donbas-grinds-on/