Ukraine 3

[Maj. Bill Martin]

'Putin's chef' Wagner chief accuses Russian defence minister of TREASON and depriving his forces of ammunition in a bid to destroy his mercenary company

By HARVEY LINDSAY
21 February 2023

A onetime catering entrepreneur who once shunned the public spotlight, Prigozhin has called out Sergei Shoigu for causing the arms shortages after assuming a more public role since the start of the war in Ukraine a year ago.

Prigozhin's Wagner Group spearheaded Russia's months-long battle for the town of Bakhmut in Ukraine's Donetsk region.

'There is simply direct opposition going on, 'Prigozhin said in a voice message posted on his Telegram channel. 'This can be equated to high treason'.

It is the second such message published by Prigozhin in two days. On Monday, he complained that unnamed officials were denying Wagner supplies out of personal animosity to him.

*  *  *

Source:  https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11775647/Wagner-chief-accuses-Russian-defence-minister-TREASON-depriving-forces-ammunition.html

Seems that ammo shortages are plaguing both sides.

[Kamaji]

Putin's lies laid bare: Russian troops slaughter civilians waiting at a bus stop as Kremlin leader makes absurd claim that the West was to blame for the war in Ukraine

By CHRIS JEWERS FOR MAILONLINE
21 February 2023
Russian troops were accused of slaughtering Ukrainian civilians waiting at a bus stop today during a major speech by Vladimir Putin to Moscow's elite, in which he claimed the West was to blame for his on-going invasion.

Ukraine's president Volodymyr Zelensky said several missiles fired by Russia's military struck civilian targets in attacks on the southern city of Kherson.

He accused the Russia of 'mercilessly killing the civilian population' of Ukraine as his Russian counterpart delivered his annual state-of-the-nation address to  lawmakers in a rambling two-hour long speech.

Among his claims, Putin said: 'The responsibility for fuelling the Ukrainian conflict, for its escalation, for the number of victims... lies completely with Western elites.' The US called the speech 'absurd' while Kyiv said Putin was in a 'different reality'.

Zelensky issued his own rebuttal in a post on Instagram, posting pictures of the aftermath of Russia's strikes in Kherson. 'The world cannot forget for a moment that Russian cruelty and aggression have no limits,' he wrote. 'The terrorist state will be responsible for all its inhumane crimes against our people and Ukraine.'

*  *  *

Source:  https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11776039/Ukraine-Russian-troops-slaughter-civilians-waiting-bus-stop-Putin-blames-West-war.html

[Timber Rattler]

A year in the trenches has hardened Ukraine’s president

https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2023/02/22/volodymyr-zelensky-president-war-ukraine/

Not long after Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine, a year ago this week, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky found himself in a safe room beneath Kyiv’s government complex with the voice of the Belarusian president booming over the phone.

Alexander Lukashenko, one of the Kremlin’s key allies, was inviting a delegation of officials to Minsk to negotiate an end to the war that Russia had launched just three days earlier, according to Andriy Sybiha, the deputy head of Ukraine’s presidential office, who was in the room for the call.

Zelensky was incensed at the invitation to another negotiation — recalling talks over the conflict in Ukraine’s east, known as “Minsk 1” and “Minsk 2,” that took place in the Belarusian capital in 2014 and 2015 — in which Kyiv was forced to make concessions to the Kremlin under the threat of battlefield losses.

“There will be no Minsk,” Zelensky said, according to Sybiha. “There will be no Minsk 3.”

Zelensky’s refusal to entertain another Minsk negotiation — despite Russian attack helicopters, fighter jets and tanks descending on Kyiv — showed how the Ukrainian leader was hardening in the face of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s threat, a process that began many months before the invasion and accelerated as the war unfolded.

The comedian turned president refused offers to be spirited away to safety and emerged as a far fiercer foe than Moscow has expected, part of a broader transformation that has cemented his global reputation as a hard-bitten wartime leader.

Excerpt.

[Timber Rattler]

Moldova authorities fear Russia plans to seize Chisinau Airport

https://www.aerotime.aero/articles/moldova-authorities-fear-russia-plans-to-seize-chisinau-airport

The recently appointed Moldovan Prime Minister Dorin Recean said Russia is considering taking control of Chisinau Airport to open a new front in Ukraine, confirming a claim by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

On February 20, 2022, Zelenskyy told the German media Die Welt that the Ukrainian special services have intelligence about Moscow’s plans to seize Chisinau Airport (KIV), in Moldova’s capital city, to use as a bridgehead before opening a new front in western Ukraine.

“Ukraine will always be ready to help Moldova,” Zelenskyy said.

Such a plan is reminiscent of Russia’s initial offensive on Ukraine. On February 24, 2022, an air assault was launched by Russian paratroopers (VDV) on Hostomel Airport (GML), located in the vicinity of Ukraine’s capital city Kyiv, to establish a bridgehead for more troops to be flown in. Though the assault eventually failed, the battle for Hostomel control led to the destruction of the An-225 Mriya, the world’s largest aircraft.

Putin's plan, the same one he had for Hostomel Airport outside Kyiv:



The USAF is watching the Moldovan border today:

[Kamaji]

Wagner chief reveals huge pile of his mercenaries killed in one day as he continues to accuse 'treasonous' defence chief of failing to give his men ammo in sign of growing split within Russian forces

By WILL STEWART
22 February 2023

Putin's Wagner chief revealed a huge pile of his mercenaries were killed in just one day as he accuses the defence chief of failing to provide his army with enough weapons - in a sign of a growing split within Russian forces.

The open warfare inside 'very unwell' Putin's armed forces deepened today as Yevgeny Prigozhin, head of Wagner private army, accused defence minister Sergei Shoigu of lying to the Russian people.

He posted a macabre picture showing the bodies of dozens of fighters, believed to be around Bakhmut and killed in the past 24 hours, claiming the losses are five times greater due to the incompetence of top Russian commanders.

A statement from the defence ministry on the supply of weapons and ammunition to pro-Putin fights amounted to spitting in their faces, he said.

He has already accused commanders of 'treason' for failing to provide Wagner with the munitions they need to storm Bakhmut.

*  *  *

Source:  https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11780457/Russias-Wagner-chief-reveals-huge-pile-mercenaries-killed-one-day.html

[DB]

Wagner chief reveals huge pile of his mercenaries killed in one day as he continues to accuse 'treasonous' defence chief of failing to give his men ammo in sign of growing split within Russian forces

By WILL STEWART
22 February 2023

Putin's Wagner chief revealed a huge pile of his mercenaries were killed in just one day as he accuses the defence chief of failing to provide his army with enough weapons - in a sign of a growing split within Russian forces.

The open warfare inside 'very unwell' Putin's armed forces deepened today as Yevgeny Prigozhin, head of Wagner private army, accused defence minister Sergei Shoigu of lying to the Russian people.

He posted a macabre picture showing the bodies of dozens of fighters, believed to be around Bakhmut and killed in the past 24 hours, claiming the losses are five times greater due to the incompetence of top Russian commanders.

A statement from the defence ministry on the supply of weapons and ammunition to pro-Putin fights amounted to spitting in their faces, he said.

He has already accused commanders of 'treason' for failing to provide Wagner with the munitions they need to storm Bakhmut.

*  *  *

Source:  https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11780457/Russias-Wagner-chief-reveals-huge-pile-mercenaries-killed-one-day.html

Hopefully an "accident" is rapidly approaching this guy.

[Smokin Joe]

Hopefully an "accident" is rapidly approaching this guy.

Yeah, he actually sounds competent. It's be a shot to the Russian metacarpals if they get rid of him for his blatant insubordination.

[Hoodat]

Wagner chief . . . continues to accuse 'treasonous' defence chief of failing to give his men ammo in sign of growing split within Russian forces

Gee, who saw that coming?

[Kamaji]

How deluded Putin gobbled up false intelligence from his own spies: Despot believed he would seize Kyiv in just three days with thousands of Ukrainians rising up to back his invading army, leaked FSB documents reveal

By CHRIS JEWERS FOR MAILONLINE

PUBLISHED: 11:11 EST, 23 February 2023

Vladimir Putin thought he could defeat Ukraine and overthrow its government in just three days, according to leaked FSB intelligence.

The Russian despot launched his invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022 - almost one year to the day - leading to tens of thousands of casualties on both sides.

The leak appears to confirm what has long been reported: Putin's spies told him his armed forces would quickly depose Volodymyr Zelensky and his administration, and that the people of Ukraine to welcome Russian soldiers with open arms.

In reality, Ukraine has since put up a fierce defence of its country. It's forces drove Russia's armies back from the capital in the first month, and have since pushed on in the north and south with lighting counteroffensives.

And one year on, Zelensky remains in power while Russian gains have been modest over the winter, which has seen a stalemate take hold in the east of Ukraine.

*  *  *

Source:  https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11785261/Ukraine-Leak-reveals-deluded-Putin-gobbled-false-intelligence-spies.html

[Timber Rattler]

Moldova dismisses Russia report of Ukraine plot over Transdniestria, Moscow vows response

https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/moldova-dismisses-russian-report-ukraine-plot-over-transdniestria-2023-02-23/

CHISINAU, Feb 23 (Reuters) - Moldova dismissed an accusation by Russia's defence ministry on Thursday that Ukraine planned to invade the breakaway Moldovan region of Transdniestria after staging a false flag operation, and called for calm.

The defence ministry said the purported plan by Ukraine - which borders Moldova - posed "a direct threat" to Russian troops in the Russian-speaking region.

"The armed forces of the Russian Federation will adequately respond to the impending provocation of the Ukrainian side," it said in a statement. It added that Ukraine planned to stage an attack by purported Russian forces from Transdniestria as a pretext for the invasion.

Separately, Tass news agency quoted Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Galuzin as saying the West had instructed Moldova's government in Chisinau to stop all interaction with Transdniestria's Moscow-backed authorities.

The Moldovan government issued a statement on the Telegram messaging app saying state authorities "do not confirm" the Russian defence ministry's allegations.

"We call for calm and for information to be received (by the public) from official and credible sources of the Republic of Moldova," it said. "Our institutions cooperate with foreign partners and in the case of threats to the country, the public will be promptly informed."

Excerpt.

Putin trying to establish a BS pretext for invading Moldova.

[Hoodat]

Moldova dismisses Russia report of Ukraine plot over Transdniestria, Moscow vows response

https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/moldova-dismisses-russian-report-ukraine-plot-over-transdniestria-2023-02-23/

Excerpt.

Putin trying to establish a BS pretext for invading Moldova.

I bet Ukraine would love to get their hands on that invasion plan.  Either by air or by sea, an invasion force would be vulnerable to interception by Ukraine.

[Hoodat]

Growing Wagner cemetery.

[Kamaji]

Putin is 'terribly scared' and 'knows he is in trouble' after a year-long conflict with Ukraine left him in 'such a psychological state he is clinging to any chance to win', says former FSB chief

* Retired General Yevgeny Savostyanov gives a withering assessment of Putin

* 'With his own hands, he took and ruined everything,' the ex-FSB chief said

By WILL STEWART and CHRIS JEWERS FOR MAILONLINE
24 February 2023

Vladimir Putin is 'terribly scared' as he marks the first anniversary of his invasion of Ukraine, says an ex-Russian secret services general.

The Russian dictator has badly misread the West's resolve to stand up to him, and did not realise his army's incompetence, according to the former chief of the Moscow division of the FSB.

'Putin perfectly understands the mood of people who have lost everything because of him,' said retired General Yevgeny Savostyanov. 'He understands this anger can find a way out, so he keeps them away.

'Putin is now terribly scared. He understands that he is in trouble,' he said.

Putin's problems were self-inflicted by going to war, he added. 'He lived happily [yet] with his own hands, he took and ruined everything. Amazing story.' Now, he is 'in such a psychological state that he is clinging to any opportunity to win'.

*  *  *

Source:  https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11788309/Putin-knows-trouble-year-long-conflict-Ukraine-says-former-FSB-chief.html

[mountaineer]

Ukraine's Zelenskyy to Meet China's Xi
Friday, 24 February 2023 01:25 PM EST

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Friday he plans to meet Chinese President Xi Jinping but did not say when such a meeting might take place.

"I plan to meet Xi Jinping and believe this will be beneficial for our countries and for security in the world," he told a news conference in Kyiv on the first anniversary of Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

Zelenskyy had earlier reiterated that he would not hold talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin.  ...

[mountaineer]

US Commits $2 Billion in Drones, Ammunition, Aid to Ukraine
Friday, 24 February 2023 07:20 AM EST


The Pentagon announced a new package of long-term security assistance for Ukraine on Friday, marking the first anniversary of Russia's invasion with a $2 billion commitment to send more rounds of ammunition and a variety of small, high-tech drones into the fight.

The announcement comes just days after President Joe Biden made an unannounced visit to Kyiv and pledged America's continuing commitment to Ukraine. Biden told President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and his people that "Americans stand with you, and the world stands with you.”

In a statement Friday, the Pentagon said the aid includes weapons to counter Russia's unmanned systems and several types of drones, including the upgraded Switchblade 600 Kamikaze drone, as well as electronic warfare detection equipment. ...

[Hoodat]

[Timber Rattler]

More stuff going on with Moldova, Belarus, and China:

Russia warns West over threatening its troops in breakaway Moldovan region

https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/russia-warns-west-over-threatening-its-troops-moldovan-region-2023-02-24/

Belarusian President Lukashenko To Visit China In Coming Days: Govt

https://www.barrons.com/news/belarusian-president-lukashenko-to-visit-china-in-coming-days-govt-72d60dcf?refsec=topics_afp-news

Belarus Readying Missiles for Combat as Ukraine Enters Second Year of War

https://www.newsweek.com/belarus-readying-missiles-combat-ukraine-enters-second-year-war-1783760

[Timber Rattler]

‘Something Was Badly Wrong’: When Washington Realized Russia Was Actually Invading Ukraine

https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2023/02/24/russia-ukraine-war-oral-history-00083757

This oral history was compiled and woven together by writer and historian GARRETT M. GRAFF, based on dozens of hours of interviews by POLITICO national security reporters ERIN BANCO, LARA SELIGMAN, NAHAL TOOSI and ALEXANDER WARD with more than 30 key figures of the U.S. government and Western allied response. (Additional interviews were contributed by Jack Blanchard, Graff and Maggie Miller.)

The Russian invasion of Ukraine exactly a year ago was as shocking as it was clearly foreseen. The merciless bombardment of Ukrainian cities, the hundreds of thousands of troops and scores of tanks that rumbled across the border on Feb. 24, 2022, followed months of rising tension and concern, and provided perhaps the biggest foreign policy test yet for the Biden administration.

For nearly a year prior, U.S. and Western officials had signs of what was coming: a suspicious buildup of Russian troops, intelligence about the Kremlin’s plans, statements from President Vladimir Putin himself. Those officials raised increasingly specific public alarms, some of which were based on a novel new strategy of rapidly declassifying and publicizing intelligence in near real-time, and made desperate attempts to avert a war, even as it became more and more clear that Putin was determined to invade.

The events in eastern Europe in 2021 and 2022, coming just as the world emerged from the Covid-19 pandemic, also unfolded against a fraught geopolitical backdrop: In 2014, Russia had already seized Crimea from Ukraine, and fighting by Russia’s irregular, unmarked troops, known as “little green men,” had destabilized eastern Ukraine and led to a long-running, low-level war that had continued ever since. Meanwhile, during the summer of 2021, the United States faced its own challenge: a chaotic and controversial end to its nearly 20-year war in Afghanistan.

This is the story of the Biden administration’s strategy and reaction to that looming Russian invasion — the battle to persuade skeptics and rally foreign allies to confront an almost-unthinkable threat, one that continues to shake the world today. All titles and military ranks are presented based on roles the speakers held in February 2022, and interviews have been condensed and edited for clarity.

Excerpted...very long article but worth reading.

[catfish1957]

‘Something Was Badly Wrong’: When Washington Realized Russia Was Actually Invading Ukraine

https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2023/02/24/russia-ukraine-war-oral-history-00083757

Excerpted...very long article but worth reading.

I have long said that even in the randomness of flipping coins you should be 25-75% right over say 20 flips.

Pedo Joe has flipped the coin 20+ times, and has gotten it wrong 20+ times.   Or...  The ineptness is intentional, and I think its becoming pretty much widely accepted that  it's the latter.

[sneakypete]

Putin is 'terribly scared' and 'knows he is in trouble' after a year-long conflict with Ukraine left him in 'such a psychological state he is clinging to any chance to win', says former FSB chief

* Retired General Yevgeny Savostyanov gives a withering assessment of Putin

* 'With his own hands, he took and ruined everything,' the ex-FSB chief said

By WILL STEWART and CHRIS JEWERS FOR MAILONLINE
24 February 2023

Vladimir Putin is 'terribly scared' as he marks the first anniversary of his invasion of Ukraine, says an ex-Russian secret services general.

The Russian dictator has badly misread the West's resolve to stand up to him, and did not realise his army's incompetence, according to the former chief of the Moscow division of the FSB.

'Putin perfectly understands the mood of people who have lost everything because of him,' said retired General Yevgeny Savostyanov. 'He understands this anger can find a way out, so he keeps them away.

'Putin is now terribly scared. He understands that he is in trouble,' he said.

Putin's problems were self-inflicted by going to war, he added. 'He lived happily [yet] with his own hands, he took and ruined everything. Amazing story.' Now, he is 'in such a psychological state that he is clinging to any opportunity to win'.

*  *  *

Source:  https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11788309/Putin-knows-trouble-year-long-conflict-Ukraine-says-former-FSB-chief.html

@Kamaji

Why would anyone be surprised by this? Putin was never an actual soldier. He was an intelligence officer who wore the uniform of a soldier.

He knows NOTHING about actual warfare,only about poisoning your foes,locking your oppenents up in labor camps,etc,etc,etc. Probably  never been in an actual fist-fight in his life,never mind gun fight.

AND,he is now the CMMFIC of a nation with  a huge army  and NOBODY  in a position to tell him to shut up and sit down.

The truth is he has NO freaking idea at all what he might be getting himself into because there is no one on his staff with the stones to tell him.

Do you surrender monkey's REALLY want to live under someone like that and the governments they control?

[sneakypete]

Nothing...NOTHING RuZZia touches is the better for it.  RuZZia is one of the most destructive forces of evil this world has ever seen.

@ScottinVA

Yes,but China is standing in the wings,and ready to give them some serious competition in the "dictator field".

Right now they are being quiet because they are stockpiling all the America money that is being sent their way by western corporations looking to benefit by reaping HUGE profits from the Chinese slave labor,but eventually  they ARE going  to come out of their holes.

[sneakypete]

While Biden continues to decimates your retirement savings, he's covering Ukrainian pensions:

Biden announces that US tax dollars will go towards supporting Ukrainian social services, including paying for government pensions.

https://twitter.com/stillgray/status/1626736360743931909

@mountaineer

You can bet "the big guy" is getting his cut in kickbacks to off-shore accounts,or the money would never be sent.

[sneakypete]

Putin's lies laid bare: Russian troops slaughter civilians waiting at a bus stop as Kremlin leader makes absurd claim that the West was to blame for the war in Ukraine

By CHRIS JEWERS FOR MAILONLINE
21 February 2023
Russian troops were accused of slaughtering Ukrainian civilians waiting at a bus stop today during a major speech by Vladimir Putin to Moscow's elite, in which he claimed the West was to blame for his on-going invasion.

Ukraine's president Volodymyr Zelensky said several missiles fired by Russia's military struck civilian targets in attacks on the southern city of Kherson.

He accused the Russia of 'mercilessly killing the civilian population' of Ukraine as his Russian counterpart delivered his annual state-of-the-nation address to  lawmakers in a rambling two-hour long speech.

Among his claims, Putin said: 'The responsibility for fuelling the Ukrainian conflict, for its escalation, for the number of victims... lies completely with Western elites.' The US called the speech 'absurd' while Kyiv said Putin was in a 'different reality'.

Zelensky issued his own rebuttal in a post on Instagram, posting pictures of the aftermath of Russia's strikes in Kherson. 'The world cannot forget for a moment that Russian cruelty and aggression have no limits,' he wrote. 'The terrorist state will be responsible for all its inhumane crimes against our people and Ukraine.'

*  *  *

Source:  https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11776039/Ukraine-Russian-troops-slaughter-civilians-waiting-bus-stop-Putin-blames-West-war.html

@Kamaji

When you are an absolute dictator in a police state,EVERYTHING is whatever you claim it to be.

[Hoodat]

Putin's lies laid bare: Russian troops slaughter civilians waiting at a bus stop as Kremlin leader makes absurd claim that the West was to blame for the war in Ukraine

That same absurd claim continues to be made by one of our members.

[Smokin Joe]

@ScottinVA

Yes,but China is standing in the wings,and ready to give them some serious competition in the "dictator field".

Right now they are being quiet because they are stockpiling all the America money that is being sent their way by western corporations looking to benefit by reaping HUGE profits from the Chinese slave labor,but eventually  they ARE going  to come out of their holes.

Yeah, there's a 'Hold my Tsing Tao' moment coming up...