-
Ukraine 2 which is locked
https://www.gopbriefingroom.com/index.php/topic,468874.0.html
-
:bkmk:
-
Fire at munitions depo forces 2 Russian villages to evacuate in another destructive incident behind enemy lines
By Associated Press
August 19, 2022
KYIV, Ukraine— A fire at a munitions depot near the Russian village of Timonovo has led to the evacuation of two villages in Russia’s Belgorod region on Ukraine’s northeastern border, an official said Friday. The blaze was the latest in a series of destructive incidents on Russian-occupied territory in Ukraine or inside Russia itself.
Roughly 1,100 people reside in the villages of Timonovo and Soloti, around 15 miles from the Ukrainian border. There were no casualties in the blaze late Thursday, Belgorod regional governor Vyacheslav Gladkov said.
The fire came days after another ammunition depot exploded on the Crimean Peninsula, a Russian-occupied territory on the Black Sea that was annexed by Moscow in 2014.
Last week, nine Russian warplanes were reported destroyed at an airbase on Crimea, demonstrating both the Russians’ vulnerability and the Ukrainians’ capacity to strike deep behind enemy lines. Ukrainian authorities have stopped short of publicly claiming responsibility.
* * *
Source: https://nypost.com/2022/08/19/two-russian-villages-evacuated-after-fire-at-munitions-depo/
-
How much grain is being shipped from Ukraine?
Over half a million tonnes of wheat and other types of food have been shipped from Ukraine's ports in the past month, says the United Nations.
On 22 July, Russia lifted its blockade of the ports, allowing ships to use a safe corridor through the Black Sea.
However, Ukraine is only exporting grain at half the rate that it was before the war.
How much grain has been stuck in Ukraine?
About 20 million tonnes of grain meant for export has been trapped in Ukraine since February, along with other foodstuffs such as maize and sunflower oil.
This has caused an undersupply of food and soaring prices in many countries around the world.
Graph showing top Ukrainian wheat importers, by country:
(https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/976/cpsprodpb/111E9/production/_126012107_wheatchart2.png.webp)
.....................
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-61759692
-
Zelenskiy warns of 'ugly' Russian attack before Independence Day
President Volodymyr Zelenskiy on Saturday warned Ukrainians to be vigilant in the coming week as they prepare to celebrate their Independence Day, as fresh blasts hit Crimea and a missile wounded 12 civilians near a nuclear power plant.
In his nightly video address, Zelenskiy said Ukrainians must not allow Moscow to "spread despondency and fear" among them as they mark the 31st anniversary of independence from Soviet rule.
"We must all be aware that this week Russia could try to do something particularly ugly, something particularly vicious," Zelenskiy said ahead of the anniversary on Aug. 24, which also marks six months since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine began.
The curfew in Ukraine's second largest city, Kharkiv, would be extended for the entire day on Aug. 24, regional governor Oleh Synehub said. The northeastern city is regularly hit by Russian shelling and normally has a curfew from 10 pm to 6 am.
"Remain at home and take heed of warnings!" Synehub wrote in a message to residents on Telegram.
Also on Saturday, a Russian missile hit a residential area of a southern Ukrainian town not far from a nuclear power station, wounding 12 civilians, Russian and Ukrainian officials said.
That strike at the Pivdennoukrainsk (South Ukraine) nuclear station and fresh shelling near the Zaporizhzhia station, Europe's largest such facility, prompted new fears of a nuclear accident during the war, Ukrainian officials said.
Zelenskiy in his address also referred obliquely to a series of explosions in recent days in Crimea, the Ukrainian territory seized and annexed by Russia during a 2014 incursion.
Ukraine has not claimed responsibility for the attacks, but analysts have said at least some have been made possible by new equipment used by Ukrainian forces.
"You can literally feel Crimea in the air this year, that the occupation there is only temporary and that Ukraine is coming back," Zelenskiy said....................
https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/russian-missile-wounds-nine-ukrainian-town-not-far-nuclear-plant-2022-08-20/
-
Putin's new false flag operation? Russian propaganda channel claims troops have been poisoned in Ukraine amid fears the Kremlin is planning to use fake news as an excuse to use chemical weapons
By ADAM SOLOMONS and STEWART CARR and CHRIS PLEASANCE FOR MAILONLINE
20 August 2022
The Kremlin's propaganda arm has claimed Russian troops were 'poisoned in a chemical attack in Ukraine', prompting fears Moscow will seek to justify the use of chemical weapons in the country.
Putin mouthpiece Russia Today reported traces of Botulinum toxin Type B, which is an 'organic poison of artificial origin,' were found in samples taken from soldiers, according to a statement from Russia's defence ministry.
But Kyiv hit back, suggesting the soldiers simply could have eaten contaminated meat.
Kyiv was accused of 'domestic terrorism' and Russian troops were 'hospitalised with signs of severe poisoning' after being stationed near the village of Vasilyevka in the Zaporozhzhia region on July 31.
The statement added: 'The Zelensky regime has authorized terrorist attacks with the use of toxic substances against Russian personnel and civilians.'
But in response, an adviser to Ukraine's interior ministry said that the alleged poisoning could have been caused by Russian forces eating expired canned meat.
The Russian Ministry's report did not say how many servicemen had suffered or what their condition was now. It did not say what the 'supporting evidence' was.
* * *
Source: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11129979/Russian-propaganda-channel-claims-troops-poisoned-Ukraine.html
-
Kyiv's latest tourist attraction! Ukrainian capital's downtown area is turned into massive open-air museum of burned-out and captured Russian tanks as Putin's invasion continues to splutter
By ADAM SOLOMONS and TOM PYMAN FOR MAILONLINE
20 August 2022
Downtown Kyiv has been turned into a massive open-air museum of burned-out and captured Russian tanks as Putin's invasion of Ukraine continues to sputter.
Locals took to city centre thoroughfare Khreshchatyk Street today, stopping to take a look at dozens of military vehicles in the middle of the road.
The powerful image of the rusty weapons is the latest damning indictment of Russia's failure to capture Kyiv.
* * *
Source: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11129537/Burned-Russian-tanks-display-Kyiv-streets-Putins-invasion-continues-splutter.html
-
Russia proudly shows off an Australian Bushmaster as it adds the destroyed icon to a war trophy museum amid its bloody war with Ukraine
By DAVID SOUTHWELL FOR DAILY MAIL AUSTRALIA
20 August 2022
Russia has displayed a destroyed Australian-made Bushmaster as part of a war trophy exhibition of military vehicles captured from Ukrainian forces.
The gutted and blast-damaged Bushmaster was shown with a placard and sign displaying Australian flag in Patriot Park, which is located just outside Moscow.
It was reported in May that one of the 20 Australian Bushmasters vehicles sent as military aid to Ukrainian forces was destroyed between Donetsk and Luhansk in eastern Ukraine.
Footage emerged of a burnt-out wreckage of a Bushmaster sitting in an empty field but a Ukrainian commander told an Australian reporter all those in the vehicle survived.
* * *
Source: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11130687/Russia-displays-destroyed-Australian-Bushmaster-war-Ukraine.html
-
Russia proudly shows off an Australian Bushmaster as it adds the destroyed icon to a war trophy museum amid its bloody war with Ukraine
By DAVID SOUTHWELL FOR DAILY MAIL AUSTRALIA
20 August 2022
Russia has displayed a destroyed Australian-made Bushmaster as part of a war trophy exhibition of military vehicles captured from Ukrainian forces.
The gutted and blast-damaged Bushmaster was shown with a placard and sign displaying Australian flag in Patriot Park, which is located just outside Moscow.
It was reported in May that one of the 20 Australian Bushmasters vehicles sent as military aid to Ukrainian forces was destroyed between Donetsk and Luhansk in eastern Ukraine.
Footage emerged of a burnt-out wreckage of a Bushmaster sitting in an empty field but a Ukrainian commander told an Australian reporter all those in the vehicle survived.
* * *
Source: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11130687/Russia-displays-destroyed-Australian-Bushmaster-war-Ukraine.html
Pretty thin gruel there. The bragging simply demonstrates the Orcs' weakness.
-
Pretty thin gruel there. The bragging simply demonstrates the Orcs' weakness.
I agree, but looking at the map the 20% of Ukraine the Orcs took early on in the invasion hasn't changed all that much. Ukraine is going to have to start retaking territory soon, while Russia's resources and manpower is depleted. If not the Russians may solidify their gains. What's worse is the 20% they've taken includes what used to be big manufacturing areas as well as having large deposits of natural gas and oil.
-
Is Kremlin inner circle turning on Vladimir? Fears grow in Moscow that daughter of 'Putin's Rasputin' was killed by RUSSIAN car bomb as even president's former commander says Ukraine have made him look like a 'clown'
By RACHAEL BUNYAN FOR MAILONLINE
22 August 2022
Rogue security agents from Russia's feared FSB spy agency are feared to be behind the car bombing attack which killed the daughter of Vladimir Putin's Rasputin-esque 'guru' advisor, amid mounting suspicions the Russian president's inner circle is turning on him.
There are growing fears in Moscow that the attack on Putin loyalist Alexander Dugin's daughter, Darya Dugina, on Saturday night was conducted by Putin's own loyal agents amid rumours they want to oust the Russian leader from power.
Frustration and anger is mounting over Russia's war in Ukraine, with one of Putin's former commanders even branding the president a 'clown' who has been outplayed by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
* * *
Source: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11133533/Fears-grow-Moscow-daughter-Putins-Rasputin-killed-RUSSIAN-car-bomb.html
-
'Putin's Rasputin' had criticised Vladimir shortly before his daughter was blown up - but Russia denies 'false flag' attack and names female Ukrainian spy they claim detonated car bomb
By WILL STEWART and RACHEL BUNYAN and TOM BROWN FOR MAILONLINE
22 August 2022
Alexander Dugin, known as ‘Putin’s Rasputin’, had strongly attacked the Kremlin leader shortly before his daughter Darya was blown up in a car bomb.
There had been an online campaign to disparage Dugin in the days leading up to the fatal blast it appears was intended for him instead of his daughter.
The revelations add to the theory that TV personality and ultranationalist pundit Darya Dugina, 29, was killed by Russian special services or other forces loyal to Putin.
Ukraine has strongly denied any role in the killing in Moscow, accusing the Kremlin of a 'false flag' operation to blame Kyiv.
Today the Russian FSB claimed that the SBU - Kyiv’s special services - were behind the murder and said a woman named Natalia Vovk, born in 1979, carrying out the hit.
* * *
Source: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11134305/Putins-Rasputin-criticised-Vladimir-shortly-daughter-blown-up.html
-
'Putin's Rasputin' demands 'more than just revenge' for the death of his daughter as it emerges he recently criticised Vladimir... and Russia accuses Ukrainian female spy of planting car bomb
By RACHAEL BUNYAN and WILL STEWART and TOM BROWN FOR MAILONLINE
22 August 2022
Vladimir Putin's Rasputin-esque 'guru' advisor today demanded 'more than just revenge or retribution' for his daughter's death after she was killed in a car bombing.
Putin loyalist Alexander Dugin, 60, accused Ukraine of carrying out the attack on his daughter, Darya Dugina, 29, on Saturday night in a bombing believed to be intended for him.
Dugin said in revenge for the attack, Putin's men must secure a victory against Ukraine in the war.
* * *
Source: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11134305/Putins-Rasputin-criticised-Vladimir-shortly-daughter-blown-up.html
-
:bkmk:
-
Russian paratrooper’s bombshell diary exposes chaos in Ukraine
By Snejana Farberov
August 22, 2022
A Russian paratrooper has revealed gut-wrenching details in a new memoir about the war in Ukraine, describing friendly-fire incidents, hordes of starving, marauding troops, and panicked commanders unable to stop general chaos.
Pavel Filatyev, 34, had spent more than a month fighting in Kherson and Mykolaiv in southern Ukraine while serving with the Russian military’s 56th Airborne Regiment.
After being discharged due to a severe eye infection, the paratrooper released a brutally candid, 141-page account of his wartime experiences on the Russian social media site VKontake at a considerable personal risk.
“I’m aware of the consequences for disseminating information about my military service, but to conceal it for me means contributing to more losses,” Filatyev wrote in his journal, which was verified by The Post.
Filatyev opened his diary — written in plain prose sprinkled with eye-watering Russian profanities and military jargon — by sarcastically remarking that it was a shame that journalists were not allowed to visit soldiers on the front lines.
* * *
Source: https://nypost.com/2022/08/22/russian-paratroopers-bombshell-diary-exposes-chaos-in-ukraine/
-
In rare tally of dead, Ukraine marks 9K killed in action in 6 months of war
By Evan Simko-Bednarski
August 22, 2022
Kyiv reported some 9,000 troops killed in action since February, a grim milestone as the Russian invasion reaches its six-month anniversary.
Kyiv’s military chief, Gen. Valerii Zaluzhnyi, referenced the figure at a veterans event on Monday, saying Ukraine’s children must be cared for because “their father went to the front line and, perhaps, is one of those almost 9,000 heroes who died.”
The statement — the first official death toll from Kyiv since the fighting began — is a rare look into the cost of a war that has been hard to quantify. The United Nations has routinely reported civilian casualty figures, most recently reporting 5,587 non-combatants killed.
* * *
Source: https://nypost.com/2022/08/22/ukraine-marks-9000-dead-soldiers-in-six-months-of-war/
-
Logan Ratick
@Logan_Ratick
7m
.@Greta: "Do we have any information that (the war in Ukraine) is getting close to the end?"
John Kirby: "Sadly, no. In fact, just in the last day or so, we've heard from the Kremlin that they have no intention of seeking a diplomatic end to this war."
-
Never ending.
Disclose.tv
@disclosetv
JUST IN - U.S. to announce a $3 billion arms package for Ukraine tomorrow, the single largest yet.
12:53 PM · Aug 23, 2022·
-
August 23, 2022 1:58pm EDT
Biden admin to announce $3 billion in further aid, training for Ukrainian military: report
The Biden administration aid package will signal long-term American support for Ukraine's fight against Russia
By Anders Hagstrom | Fox News
President Joe Biden's administration will announce an additional $3 billion in aid to Ukraine on Wednesday alongside a shift toward supporting the nation's war against Russia long-term, the Associated Press reported Tuesday.
Russia's invasion of Ukraine will have lasted six months on Wednesday, the same day that Ukraine celebrates its Independence Day. The Wednesday announcement is expected to focus on equipping the Ukrainian military to fend off Russian aggression well into the future.
Past U.S. security donations for Ukraine have included weapons, equipment and medical supplies — things that meet the immediate need of combat against Russian forces. Wednesday's package will reportedly focus on bolstering the country's security infrastructure.
The announcement comes weeks after the Pentagon sent what was its largest-yet package to Ukraine, a $1 billion injection of High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS) and tens of thousands of rounds of ammunition, among other things.
more
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/biden-admin-announce-three-billion-further-aid-training-ukrainian-military-report
-
Ex-Russian mayor and Putin critic arrested for slamming Ukraine war
By Snejana Farberov
August 24, 2022
The former mayor of Russia’s fourth-largest city — and a vocal critic of President Vladimir Putin — was arrested on Wednesday for speaking out against the war in Ukraine.
Yevgeny Roizman, 59 who served as the mayor of Yekaterinburg in 2013-2018, was taken into custody by police following raids on his apartment and office — as part of the Kremlin’s nationwide crackdown against dissidents.
Roizman told reporters he was charged with discrediting Russia’s military, which is illegal under a law that was adopted after the invasion of Ukraine in February. He faces up to five years in prison, if convicted.
* * *
Source: https://nypost.com/2022/08/24/ex-russian-mayor-and-putin-critic-arrested-for-blasting-ukraine-war/
-
Biden admin to announce $3 billion in further aid, training for Ukrainian military: report
The Biden administration aid package will signal long-term American support for Ukraine's fight against Russia
And that right there illustrates the flaw with Biden's policy with Ukraine. He wants to draw this war out for the next 20 years (causing untold misery for the Ukrainian people) instead of defeating Russia over the next six months.
-
Logan Ratick
@Logan_Ratick
7m
.@Greta: "Do we have any information that (the war in Ukraine) is getting close to the end?"
John Kirby: "Sadly, no. In fact, just in the last day or so, we've heard from the Kremlin that they have no intention of seeking a diplomatic end to this war."
The Russian response is not surprising with people like John Kirby representing the US position.
-
Disclaimer:
In order to avoid the same type of conflict that shut down the previous thread, I wish to clarify my position on this war.
1. My overwhelming desire is for the removal of all Russian forces from Ukraine.
2. I wholeheartedly oppose Russia's war on Ukrainian civilians.
3. I vehemently oppose the WEF
4. I am indifferent towards the EU except where their positions conflict with those above.
I request that other posters refrain from falsely attributing positions to me that I do not hold. If unsure, please refer to the points listed above. A respectful thanks to all.
-
'One of the great humiliations for the Russian military' - Professor Michael Clarke looks back on six months of war
3h ago | 09:25
After months of denials made by President Vladimir Putin that there would not be an invasion of Ukraine, the Kremlin regime attacked the country.
Here, Professor Michael Clarke, the former director-general of the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI), provides an analysis of the last six months of the war in Ukraine.
The defence analyst said Russian forces, who invaded Ukraine on 24 February from several places at once, had planned to complete their invasion in three days but this did not happen.
On 28 February, the world saw a big convoy developing out of Belarus down towards Kyiv and it was assumed this would be the encirclement of the capital
Clarke said: "It didn't work. The convoy just ran out of momentum and the Ukrainians attacked the logistics. It was one of the great humiliations for the Russian military, that they couldn't run a big convoy to do anything."
In April, war crimes in Bucha and Chernihiv began to emerge as Russian forces withdrew from Kyiv and Ukrainians troops moved into the suburbs.
"Those war crimes shocked the world and all the leaders who have been to Ukraine commented on what they saw in Bucha," Clarke said.
By June, Russian forces were able to capture the cities of Severodonetsk and Lysychansk as part of their eastern offensive which was "the best thing they did military", Clarke added.
Have a watch of Clarke's full reflection on the last six months here...
https://news.sky.com/story/ukraine-news-live-war-russia-nuclear-putin-latest-crimea-updates-12541713?postid=4345220#liveblog-body
-
Disclaimer:
In order to avoid the same type of conflict that shut down the previous thread, I wish to clarify my position on this war.
1. My overwhelming desire is for the removal of all Russian forces from Ukraine.
2. I wholeheartedly oppose Russia's war on Ukrainian civilians.
3. I vehemently oppose the WEF
4. I am indifferent towards the EU except where their positions conflict with those above.
I request that other posters refrain from falsely attributing positions to me that I do not hold. If unsure, please refer to the points listed above. A respectful thanks to all.
Ahem! The previous two threads.
-
Russia fired missiles at the Chaplyne railway station in the Dnipropetrovsk region — 15 people were killed
Anna Kholodnova | 20:51, 24 august 2022
The Russian occupiers launched a missile attack on the railway junction at the Chaplyne station in the Dnipropetrovsk region. 15 people died, approximately 50 were injured.
This was said by President Volodymyr Zelensky, speaking via video link before the UN Security Council.
According to the president, before the speech, he received information that the Russians launched missiles at the railway station in the Dnipropetrovsk region.
"Four passenger cars are now on fire... At least 15 people have been killed and about 50 people have been injured. Rescuers are working. But unfortunately, the number of dead may still increase. This is how we live every day. This is how Russia prepared for this meeting of the UN Security Council," said Zelensky. . . .
https://babel.ua/en/news/83410-russia-fired-missiles-at-the-chaplyne-railway-station-in-the-dnipropetrovsk-region-15-people-were-killed
-
Where is the Ukrainian counteroffensive?
Anders Puck Nielsen
Has the Ukrainian counteroffensive started yet, or are we still waiting for it? And how do the explosions in Crimea fit in? In this video I try to sort out these questions.
0:00 Intro
0:58 A counteroffensive or a trap?
2:50 Two goals with Kherson
3:17 Accelerated attritional warfare
4:22 What the counteroffensive looks like
5:05 The three phases of the war
8:05 Attacks in Crimea
9:05 A bigger plan
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_a291BJXTRo&t=1s (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_a291BJXTRo&t=1s)
-
Where is the Ukrainian counteroffensive?
Anders Puck Nielsen
Very interesting. Thanks for posting.
-
Nuclear disaster fears as Russia plans to disconnect Zaporizhzhia plant from Ukraine's power grid - risking catastrophic cooling system failure... as staff say they are being TORTURED
By RACHAEL BUNYAN FOR MAILONLINE
25 August 2022
Russia is planning on disconnecting Europe's largest nuclear power plant from Ukraine's power grid in a move that would risk a catastrophic cooling system failure, the head of Kyiv's atomic energy company has warned.
Petro Kotin, the head of Ukraine's state nuclear power company Energoatom, said he has seen Russian engineers' detailed plans to cut off the Zaporizhzhia power plant from Ukraine's power grid and instead connect it to the Russian network in the event that fighting severs the remaining power lines.
Kotin fears that Vladimir Putin's men are now targeting the plant's power lines connecting it to Ukraine's grid to make that scenario a reality, reports the Guardian.
* * *
Source: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11144589/Nuclear-disaster-fears-Russia-plans-disconnect-Zaporizhzhia-plant-Ukraines-power-grid.html
Orcs will be orcs.
-
Ukraine Nuclear Plant Escapes Meltdown, Zelenskiy Says; Moscow, Kyiv Trade Blame
US News By Tom Balmforth and Natalia Zinets 8/25/2022
https://www.usnews.com/news/world/articles/2022-08-25/ukraine-nuclear-plant-escapes-meltdown-zelenskiy-says-moscow-kyiv-trade-blame (https://www.usnews.com/news/world/articles/2022-08-25/ukraine-nuclear-plant-escapes-meltdown-zelenskiy-says-moscow-kyiv-trade-blame)
KYIV (Reuters) - President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said the world narrowly avoided a radiation disaster as the last regular line supplying electricity to Ukraine's Russian-held Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant was restored hours after being cut.
Zelenskiy blamed shelling on Thursday by Russia's military for fires in the ash pits of a nearby coal power station that disconnected the reactor complex, Europe's largest such facility, from the power grid. He said back-up diesel generators ensured power supply and keep the plant safe.
"If our station staff had not reacted after the blackout, then we would have already been forced to overcome the consequences of a radiation accident," he said in an evening address. "Russia has put Ukraine and all Europeans in a situation one step away from a radiation disaster."
-
With Russia’s Depleted Forces Stalled, Putin Expands Army
https://www.nytimes.com/live/2022/08/25/world/ukraine-russia-war-news (https://www.nytimes.com/live/2022/08/25/world/ukraine-russia-war-news)
Here’s what we know:
• The Russian president signed a decree to add 137,000 service members to the military starting next year.
• Ukraine is hitting Russian forces behind the front lines, but has a long way to go, a top official cautions.
• The U.S. State Department and Yale identify 21 detention sites in Russian-controlled territory.
• The Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant was briefly cut off from Ukraine’s grid, leading to outages, officials say.
• Cluster munitions have killed nearly 700 in Ukraine, a study reports.
• Biden and Zelensky reaffirm their alliance as the war enters its seventh month.
• Russia’s plans for ‘sham’ referendums in occupied territories brings back bad memories in Ukraine.
The Russian president signed a decree to add 137,000 service members to the military starting next year.
President Vladimir V. Putin on Thursday ordered a sharp increase in the size of his armed forces, a reversal of years of efforts by the Kremlin to slim down a bloated military and the latest sign that the Russian president, despite heavy battlefield losses, is bracing for a long war in Ukraine.
The decree, released by Mr. Putin’s office and posted on the Kremlin website, raised the target number of active-duty service members by about 137,000, to 1.15 million, as of January of next year, and ordered the government to set aside money to pay for the increase. Military analysts puzzled over how such a sharp increase could be managed.
It was the first time in five years that Mr. Putin had issued an order changing the overall head count of the Russian armed forces. Officials offered no explanation for the move, and there was little mention of it on state television. U.S. military officials estimate that Russia has suffered up to 80,000 casualties — including both deaths and injuries — during Mr. Putin’s invasion of Ukraine.
-
Russia isn't gaining a lot of territory and is losing economically. They are now cannibalizing commercial aircraft for parts to maintain commercial airlines. Boeing and Airbus are no longer providing support so they will be unable to update aircraft. European nations are setting up LNG contracts and transferring stations. The USA is now shipping more LNG to the EU than Russia. In time the EU will have enough oil and gas that they will be able to reverse the flow in the pipelines from west to east. If the EU can overcome their self induced energy crisis then secondar sanctions can be imposed on countries doing business with Russia.
Putin is gambling that the west won't continue their support for Ukraine over the long haul. I think they will because even though the leadership is terribly inept they know if they don't stick it out the alternative is a Russia that grows more aggressive and the fight will be at the door.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FkKDbxSNavE
-
With Russia’s Depleted Forces Stalled, Putin Expands Army
https://www.nytimes.com/live/2022/08/25/world/ukraine-russia-war-news (https://www.nytimes.com/live/2022/08/25/world/ukraine-russia-war-news)
Here’s what we know:
• The Russian president signed a decree to add 137,000 service members to the military starting next year.
• Ukraine is hitting Russian forces behind the front lines, but has a long way to go, a top official cautions.
• The U.S. State Department and Yale identify 21 detention sites in Russian-controlled territory.
• The Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant was briefly cut off from Ukraine’s grid, leading to outages, officials say.
• Cluster munitions have killed nearly 700 in Ukraine, a study reports.
• Biden and Zelensky reaffirm their alliance as the war enters its seventh month.
• Russia’s plans for ‘sham’ referendums in occupied territories brings back bad memories in Ukraine.
The Russian president signed a decree to add 137,000 service members to the military starting next year.
President Vladimir V. Putin on Thursday ordered a sharp increase in the size of his armed forces, a reversal of years of efforts by the Kremlin to slim down a bloated military and the latest sign that the Russian president, despite heavy battlefield losses, is bracing for a long war in Ukraine.
The decree, released by Mr. Putin’s office and posted on the Kremlin website, raised the target number of active-duty service members by about 137,000, to 1.15 million, as of January of next year, and ordered the government to set aside money to pay for the increase. Military analysts puzzled over how such a sharp increase could be managed.
It was the first time in five years that Mr. Putin had issued an order changing the overall head count of the Russian armed forces. Officials offered no explanation for the move, and there was little mention of it on state television. U.S. military officials estimate that Russia has suffered up to 80,000 casualties — including both deaths and injuries — during Mr. Putin’s invasion of Ukraine.
Because raw draftees have always made such a cutting-edge fighting force.
-
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FbEziN9XEAANDQ7?format=jpg&name=small)
-
Day 183 - the Russian invasion in pictures
(https://liveblog.digitalimages.sky/lc-images-sky/lcimg-be2ccedc-ac3a-44ff-84b7-92d1cca146b6.jpeg)
Mykhailo Riabko, 64, walks past a damaged technical school building after a Russian attack in Slovyansk
(https://liveblog.digitalimages.sky/lc-images-sky/lcimg-689c0ba8-5407-4ecb-907f-fc5948627162.jpeg)
Debris covers a classroom after a Russian attack
https://news.sky.com/story/ukraine-news-live-war-russia-nuclear-putin-latest-crimea-updates-12541713
-
Iran and Russia Are Cementing an Alliance With Grain, Drones and Satellites
Russian President Vladimir Putin visited Iran in July after the two countries pledged more economic and military cooperation.Photo: Mikhail Tereshchenko/TASS/Zuma Press
TEHRAN—Iran and Russia are forging tighter ties than ever, as their international isolation drives the two staunch American foes toward more trade and military cooperation, alarming Washington.
In July, Iran became the world’s largest buyer of Russian wheat. This month, Russia launched an Iranian satellite into space in a rare success for Tehran’s space program. And last week, Iran’s military hosted joint drone exercises with Russian forces, as the U.S. warns Moscow is preparing to receive Iranian drones for use in the war in Ukraine.
https://www.wsj.com/articles/iran-and-russia-are-cementing-an-alliance-with-grain-drones-and-satellites-11661605200
-
Iran and Russia Are Cementing an Alliance With Grain, Drones and Satellites
https://www.wsj.com/articles/iran-and-russia-are-cementing-an-alliance-with-grain-drones-and-satellites-11661605200
Article has a paywall. :(
-
Let's not forget how Iran acquired their drone technology.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iran%E2%80%93U.S._RQ-170_incident
US acknowledgement
On 5 December 2011, U.S. military sources confirmed that the remains of an RQ-170 had been captured by Iranian forces. Media reports indicated that various U.S. officials declined to confirm whether or not the drone in the video released by Iranian state television was authentic.[18] On 8 December 2011, a senior U.S. official, speaking on condition of anonymity, told the Washington Post that the U.S. cannot be certain the drone shown was real because the U.S. does not have access to it, but also stated that "We have no indication that it was brought down by hostile fire." A second senior U.S. military official said that a major question is how the drone could have remained "virtually intact," given the high altitude from which it is said to have crashed. U.S. Navy Captain John Kirby, a Pentagon spokesman, told a news conference on 8 December 2011 that Pentagon analysts were examining the video. Both Kirby and fellow spokesman George Little would not comment further on whether the U.S. military believed the drone was the one missing, both did say that the missing drone had not been recovered. Later that day, CBS reported that the US officials had confirmed in private the authenticity of the drone shown by the Iranians
Yet another 'screw America' from the Obama years. And the incompetency of John Kirby continues to plague us.
-
Ukrainian 'traitor' official who switched sides to the Russians in puppet people's republic is assassinated by resistance fighters in shocking car bomb attack caught on video
By ADAM SOLOMONS FOR MAILONLINE
27 August 2022
Striking surveillance footage shows the dramatic moment a Russian puppet official who switched sides in Ukraine is assassinated by resistance forces.
Askyar Laishev worked for Ukraine's internal security service (SBU) before joining the Moscow-backed Luhansk People's Republic as head of intelligence in 2014.
But members of Ukraine's National Resistance in the war-torn Donbas, eastern Ukraine got revenge by bombing his car as he drove through the city on August 11.
* * *
Source: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11151793/Ukrainian-traitor-official-switched-sides-Russians-puppet-republic-assassinated.html
-
Ukraine using US resistance warfare methods to fight back against Russia – CNN
https://english.nv.ua/nation/ukraine-using-us-resistance-warfare-methods-to-fight-back-against-russia-50266168.html (https://english.nv.ua/nation/ukraine-using-us-resistance-warfare-methods-to-fight-back-against-russia-50266168.html)
Ukraine is successfully using a method of resistance warfare developed by U.S. special operations forces to fight back against Russia and bog down its vastly superior military, CNN reported on Aug. 27.
The method – the Resistance Operating Concept (ROC) – was developed in 2013 following Russia’s war with Georgia a few years earlier, but its value was only realized after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine’s Crimean peninsula in 2014.
The doctrine is not intended to create or support an insurgency; its goal is to establish a government-sanctioned force that will carry out activities against a foreign occupier with the goal of restoring sovereignty.
CNN said that the ROC provides an innovative and unconventional approach to warfare and total defense that has guided not just Ukraine’s military, but also involved the country’s civilian population as part of a concerted resistance against Russia’s army.
Early in the conflict, the Ukrainian government created a website that explains different ways to resist. The site describes ways of using of nonviolent actions, including boycotting public events, labor strikes, and even how to use humor and satire. The goal is to disrupt the ability of pro-Russian authorities to govern while reminding the population of Ukraine’s rightful sovereignty.
The resistance doctrine suggests violent actions as well, including using Molotov cocktails, deliberately starting fires and putting chemicals in gas tanks to sabotage enemy vehicles. The doctrine also calls for a broad messaging campaign to control the narrative of the conflict, prevent an occupier’s message from taking hold, and keeping the population united.
More at link.
-
Ukrainian 'traitor' official who switched sides to the Russians in puppet people's republic is assassinated by resistance fighters in shocking car bomb attack caught on video
By ADAM SOLOMONS FOR MAILONLINE
27 August 2022
Striking surveillance footage shows the dramatic moment a Russian puppet official who switched sides in Ukraine is assassinated by resistance forces.
Askyar Laishev worked for Ukraine's internal security service (SBU) before joining the Moscow-backed Luhansk People's Republic as head of intelligence in 2014.
But members of Ukraine's National Resistance in the war-torn Donbas, eastern Ukraine got revenge by bombing his car as he drove through the city on August 11.
* * *
Source: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11151793/Ukrainian-traitor-official-switched-sides-Russians-puppet-republic-assassinated.html
Good
-
It would be very cost effective for the US to support these partisan actions. The tools of this warfare are far less expensive than MLRS systems or APCs. But to date, the Biden Administration has provided exactly $0 of support for these efforts.
-
Russian Force Won't Return From Mission Fearing Ukraine Deployment: Report
Newsweek By Xander Landen On 8/27/22
https://www.newsweek.com/russian-force-wont-return-mission-fearing-ukraine-deployment-report-1737586 (https://www.newsweek.com/russian-force-wont-return-mission-fearing-ukraine-deployment-report-1737586)
Russian troops in Kazakhstan are refusing to return to Russia because they do not want to be deployed to the war in Ukraine, Ukrainian intelligence officials said Saturday.
There are roughly 1,000 Russian troops in Kazakhstan according to Ukraine's Main Directorate of Intelligence of Ukraine's Ministry of Defense. The directorate says that the the military contingent stationed in the country "does not want to replenish the composition of the occupation contingent" in Ukraine, according to a translation of a post on Telegram.
However, it also said that the "formal reason for the refusal is the lack of special air transport, which is fully engaged in the war with Ukraine."
Ukrainska Pravda first reported on the claims from the intelligence officials on Saturday.
More at link.
-
German state leader 'not wanted' in Ukraine after war remarks
https://www.dw.com/en/german-state-leader-not-wanted-in-ukraine-after-war-remarks/a-62953505 (https://www.dw.com/en/german-state-leader-not-wanted-in-ukraine-after-war-remarks/a-62953505)
The state premier of Saxony, Michael Kretschmer, drew the ire of Ukraine's ambassador in Germany over a suggestion that the Russian war be "frozen" to give diplomacy a chance.
Kyiv's ambassador in Berlin, Andriy Melnyk, rescinded an invitation to the Premier of Germany's Saxony state, Michael Kretschmer to visit Ukraine.
"I invited you to Ukraine. This invitation has been canceled. You are not wanted. Period," the diplomat wrote on Twitter on Sunday.
He was upset over Kretschmer's suggestion that the war in Ukraine be "frozen" to give diplomacy a chance.
The German Christian Democrat politician made the remark during an appearance on the "Markus Lanz" television chat show.
"With your absurd rheoric about the freezing of the Russian war you are playing into Putin's hands and fueling Russian aggression," Melnyk said.
What exactly Kretschmer said
During the TV show Kretschmer argued that the debate on the war in Ukraine had become too one-dimensional and that more European and global efforts should be made to set up peace talks, even if Russia currently claims not to be interested.
"I think a big problem in the current debate is that we have a narrowing of opinion to one point of view, with one line of argumentation, and I think we need much more of a broad debate, a mix of arguments, for and against. Particularly with such vast questions of war and peace, it's extremely important."
He said he considered negotiations the only way to end the war.
More at link.
-
Ukraine Situation Report: Kyiv Claims Russia Is Running Low On Missiles
https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/ukraine-situation-report-russia-running-low-on-missiles-six-months-in (https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/ukraine-situation-report-russia-running-low-on-missiles-six-months-in)
Kyiv estimates Russia has just 20 percent of its Iskander ballistic missiles left as other stocks have dwindled from constant strikes.
More confirmation that Russia is running low on missiles after six months of strikes has emerged, with two of its preferred weapons systems said to be facing major shortages.
Ukrainian intelligence reports Russia has at most 45% of its missiles remaining. Vadym Skibitskyi with the Ukrainian Defense Ministry’s Intelligence Directory claimed Russia faces a “difficult situation” with its 3M14 Kalibr land-attack cruise missiles (LACM), and at most 20% of its 9K720 Iskander-M short-range ballistic missiles (SRBM) remain.
Russia has made the Kalibr a fixture of its war against Ukraine, with its range allowing strikes deep in Ukrainian-controlled territory. Some of the war’s first images were Kalibrs skimming over the Ukrainian countryside before slamming into targets as the sun rose on February 24. Similarly, nighttime Iskander-M launches targeting Kharkiv from Belgorod became equally notorious.
The shortage may be growing dire, if the latest news from Syria is any indication. Russia withdrew the battery of S-300 surface-to-air missiles (SAM) that it famously 'gifted' to Syria (although Russia has maintained control over it), with observers tracking their eventual delivery to Novorossiysk in the Black Sea. You can read more about the transfer and its implications in both regions in our story about it here.
More at link.
-
German state leader 'not wanted' in Ukraine after war remarks
https://www.dw.com/en/german-state-leader-not-wanted-in-ukraine-after-war-remarks/a-62953505 (https://www.dw.com/en/german-state-leader-not-wanted-in-ukraine-after-war-remarks/a-62953505)
The state premier of Saxony, Michael Kretschmer, drew the ire of Ukraine's ambassador in Germany over a suggestion that the Russian war be "frozen" to give diplomacy a chance.
Kyiv's ambassador in Berlin, Andriy Melnyk, rescinded an invitation to the Premier of Germany's Saxony state, Michael Kretschmer to visit Ukraine.
"I invited you to Ukraine. This invitation has been canceled. You are not wanted. Period," the diplomat wrote on Twitter on Sunday.
He was upset over Kretschmer's suggestion that the war in Ukraine be "frozen" to give diplomacy a chance.
The German Christian Democrat politician made the remark during an appearance on the "Markus Lanz" television chat show.
"With your absurd rheoric about the freezing of the Russian war you are playing into Putin's hands and fueling Russian aggression," Melnyk said.
What exactly Kretschmer said
During the TV show Kretschmer argued that the debate on the war in Ukraine had become too one-dimensional and that more European and global efforts should be made to set up peace talks, even if Russia currently claims not to be interested.
"I think a big problem in the current debate is that we have a narrowing of opinion to one point of view, with one line of argumentation, and I think we need much more of a broad debate, a mix of arguments, for and against. Particularly with such vast questions of war and peace, it's extremely important."
He said he considered negotiations the only way to end the war.
More at link.
Considering that Russia has now said it will not consider diplomacy, that was a rather stupid statement by the German.
-
Considering that Russia has now said it will not consider diplomacy, that was a rather stupid statement by the German.
You got that right. Ukraine has insisted that Russia withdraw from Ukraine. And that is something that Russia has zero willingness to do.
-
It would be very cost effective for the US to support these partisan actions. The tools of this warfare are far less expensive than MLRS systems or APCs. But to date, the Biden Administration has provided exactly $0 of support for these efforts.
We agree.
Biden only does what he's told and no one has told him to give Ukraine the tools to WIN this war and expel the invaders. It's clear that the Ukrainian strategy is to force the Russians to withdraw because they can't supply their forces. The Ukrainians are not going to attack fixed positions where they will suffer loses far and above the invaders, especially since they can't control the skies. Partisan attacks on any Russians and traitors adds a lot of pressure on the invaders to pull back.
-
Russian Force Won't Return From Mission Fearing Ukraine Deployment: Report
Newsweek By Xander Landen On 8/27/22
https://www.newsweek.com/russian-force-wont-return-mission-fearing-ukraine-deployment-report-1737586 (https://www.newsweek.com/russian-force-wont-return-mission-fearing-ukraine-deployment-report-1737586)
Russian troops in Kazakhstan are refusing to return to Russia because they do not want to be deployed to the war in Ukraine, Ukrainian intelligence officials said Saturday.
There are roughly 1,000 Russian troops in Kazakhstan according to Ukraine's Main Directorate of Intelligence of Ukraine's Ministry of Defense. The directorate says that the the military contingent stationed in the country "does not want to replenish the composition of the occupation contingent" in Ukraine, according to a translation of a post on Telegram.
However, it also said that the "formal reason for the refusal is the lack of special air transport, which is fully engaged in the war with Ukraine."
Ukrainska Pravda first reported on the claims from the intelligence officials on Saturday.
More at link.
It always surprises me when I read about Russian troops (orcs) refusing to go to Ukraine. I've always thought that soldiers don't have any say in where they are sent.
-
Considering that Russia has now said it will not consider diplomacy, that was a rather stupid statement by the German.
He represents the soft underbelly of the EU. They have not had to make any real sacrifices for a generation and have become so accustomed to others paying for what they want they don't know how to stand up to tyrants. They think if you sit at a table and work out a deal with a tyrant that he will honor it. Thankfully, the Eastern European countries are a lot tougher having lived under the boot of the USSR.
-
Ukraine goes on the attack: Long-awaited counter-offensive begins in the country's south as Zelensky looks to capitalise on Russia's stalled invasion
By JACK NEWMAN FOR MAILONLINE
29 August 2022
Ukraine has gone on the attack and launched a counter-offensive to strike back at Russian forces in the south.
The southern military command announced today they had carried out the long-awaited manoeuvre, reflecting Kyiv's growing confidence as Western military aid flows in.
Ukrainian public broadcaster Suspilne cited southern command spokesperson Natalia Humeniuk as saying: 'Today we started offensive actions in various directions, including in the Kherson region.'
She confirmed the news minutes later at a briefing.
Ukraine has been talking up a planned counter-offensive in its Russian-occupied southern regions for two months.
* * *
Source: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11156895/Ukraine-goes-attack-begins-long-awaited-counter-offensive-countrys-south.html
-
Ukraine goes on the attack: Long-awaited counter-offensive begins in the country's south as Zelensky looks to capitalise on Russia's stalled invasion
By JACK NEWMAN FOR MAILONLINE
29 August 2022
Ukraine has gone on the attack and launched a counter-offensive to strike back at Russian forces in the south.
The southern military command announced today they had carried out the long-awaited manoeuvre, reflecting Kyiv's growing confidence as Western military aid flows in.
Ukrainian public broadcaster Suspilne cited southern command spokesperson Natalia Humeniuk as saying: 'Today we started offensive actions in various directions, including in the Kherson region.'
She confirmed the news minutes later at a briefing.
Ukraine has been talking up a planned counter-offensive in its Russian-occupied southern regions for two months.
* * *
Source: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11156895/Ukraine-goes-attack-begins-long-awaited-counter-offensive-countrys-south.html
I still don't believe this will be the BIG push we thought it would be 3 months ago. I believe their overall strategy is to cut off the Russians and make them so miserable they pull out not to take them on head on.
-
Putin's favourite army general, 68, took lavish private jet trip to the Seychelles with glamorous women including British-educated 'emotional intelligence coach', 36
By WILL STEWART FOR MAILONLINE
27 August 2022
A Russian army chief who served as Putin's bodyguard took luxury trips to Africa with young models and an anti-war life coach half his age, a new probe has revealed.
Five-star hotel general Viktor Zolotov, 68, partied with 'emotional intelligence expert' and influencer Evelina Levi, then 36, at the Four Seasons Resort on the picturesque Indian Ocean islands after taking a private jet.
Zolotov is commander in chief of the Russian National Guard, which has lost tens of thousands of men in Ukraine since the beginning of Russia's invasion on February 24.
The news first published by anti-Putin unit the Dossier Centre comes after the Kremlin slammed Russians enjoying western luxuries.
Among others on the trip was Russian oligarch Boris Vaninsky, brought to Moscow by Putin soon after he won the presidency, whose food business has exclusive ties with the national guard.
* * *
Source: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11151701/Putins-favourite-general-68-took-jet-Africa-UK-taught-emotional-intelligence-coach-36.html
-
"emotional intelligence coach"...lol
I am sure she "lifted" his spirits.
-
Ukraine 'breaks through Russian lines and forces separatists to retreat from one region' as Kyiv's forces begin counter-offensive in Kherson
By JACK NEWMAN FOR MAILONLINE
29 August 2022
Ukraine claims it has broken through Russian lines in a major new counter-offensive in the south as Kyiv forces go on the attack against the invading troops.
The 'Kakhova' Ukrainian military group said it had seen 'the retreat' of pro-Russian separatist fighters from their positions in Kherson.
Russian forces seized Kherson on March 3, the first major city to fall following Putin's barbaric invasion.
The southern military command announced today they had carried out the long-awaited manoeuvre, reflecting Kyiv's growing confidence as Western military aid flows in.
'Today there was a powerful artillery attack on enemy positions in ... the entire territory of the occupied Kherson region,' Sergey Khlan, a local deputy and adviser to the regional governor told Ukraine's Pryamyi TV channel.
'This is the announcement of what we have been waiting for since the spring - it is the beginning of the de-occupation of Kherson region.'
* * *
Source: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11156895/Ukraine-goes-attack-begins-long-awaited-counter-offensive-countrys-south.html
-
Ukraine building decoy HIMARS rocket system to draw Russian fire: report
By Evan Simko-Bednarski
August 30, 2022
The Russians haven’t missed — they’ve just been aiming at the wrong targets.
The Ukrainian military has been building wooden decoys of the advanced, “game-changing” HIMARS rocket system to trick Russians into firing back, according to the Washington Post.
“[The Russians] claimed to have hit more HIMARS than we have even sent,” one US diplomat told the paper.
Russian media has claimed multiple successful strikes on the US-made artillery systems since they began to show up on the battlefield in June.
In reality, however, it seems the Kremlin has been wasting precious precision ammunition on plywood.
* * *
Source: https://nypost.com/2022/08/30/ukraine-building-decoy-himars-rockets-to-draw-russian-fire/
-
Ukraine building decoy HIMARS rocket system to draw Russian fire: report
By Evan Simko-Bednarski
August 30, 2022
The Russians haven’t missed — they’ve just been aiming at the wrong targets.
The Ukrainian military has been building wooden decoys of the advanced, “game-changing” HIMARS rocket system to trick Russians into firing back, according to the Washington Post.
“[The Russians] claimed to have hit more HIMARS than we have even sent,” one US diplomat told the paper.
Russian media has claimed multiple successful strikes on the US-made artillery systems since they began to show up on the battlefield in June.
In reality, however, it seems the Kremlin has been wasting precious precision ammunition on plywood.
* * *
Source: https://nypost.com/2022/08/30/ukraine-building-decoy-himars-rockets-to-draw-russian-fire/
This is pretty darn clever.
One of the things we've seen come out of this war is how the weaker army (Ukraine) has been able to push back or stop the stronger army (Russia) with innovation and the will to win.
I haven't seen a lot of news on the new offensive in Kherson, but I'm hoping it goes well for Ukraine.
-
Kherson Counteroffensive: Day Two
https://www.battleswarmblog.com/?p=52421 (https://www.battleswarmblog.com/?p=52421)
Ukraine’s Kherson counteroffensive appears to be making significant headway. The Institute for the Study of War has some summary goodness (https://www.understandingwar.org/backgrounder/russian-offensive-campaign-assessment-august-29).
Ukrainian military officials announced the start of the Ukrainian counteroffensive in Kherson Oblast on August 29. Ukrainian officials reported that Ukrainian forces have broken through the first line of defenses in unspecified areas of Kherson Oblast and are seeking to take advantage of the disruption of Russian ground lines of communication caused by Ukrainian HIMARS strikes over many weeks. Ukrainian officials did not confirm liberating any settlements, but some Russian milbloggers and unnamed sources speaking with Western outlets stated that Ukrainian forces liberated several settlements west and northwest of Kherson City, near the Ukrainian bridgehead over the Inhulets River, and south of the Kherson-Dnipropetrovsk Oblast border. The Russian Defense Ministry (MoD), Russian proxies, and some Russian milbloggers denounced the Ukrainian announcement of the counteroffensive as “propaganda.”
Many Russian milbloggers nevertheless reported a wide variety of Ukrainian attacks along the entire line of contact, and the information space will likely become confused for a time due to panic among Russian sources. Russian outlets have also vaguely mentioned evacuations of civilians from Kherson Oblast, but then noted that occupation authorities in Kherson Oblast are calling on residents to seek shelter rather than flee. ISW will report on the Ukrainian counteroffensive in a new section below.
Let’s snip to that.
Ukrainian military officials announced that Ukrainian forces began a counteroffensive operation in Kherson Oblast on August 29 after severely disrupting Russian ground lines of communication (GLOCs) for weeks. Southern Operational Command Spokesperson Nataliya Gumenyuk stated that Ukrainian forces “began counteroffensive actions in many directions” and have broken through the first line of defense in an unspecified area. The Ukrainian operational group “Kakhovka” stated that Ukrainian forces have cut Russian GLOCs across the Dnipro River in Kherson Oblast and called the situation a “brilliant chance to return [Ukrainian] territories.” The “Kakhovka” group also reported that the Donetsk People’s Republic (DNR) 109th Regiment and Russian airborne troops have left their positions in an unspecified area of Kherson Oblast, and Ukrainian wires claimed that these elements withdrew from their positions around Kherson City. The DNR 109th Regiment had previously published an appeal to Russian President Vladimir Putin in late June identifying itself as a forcibly mobilized unit, complaining that it had not been rotated away from the front line for rest, and decrying poor conditions on the frontlines. Ukrainian military officials also released a DNR document dated July 24 that ordered the redeployment of the 109th, 113th, and 125th DNR regiments to Arkhanhelske, Vysokopillya, Zolota Balka, and Davydiv Brid in northwestern Kherson Oblast. “Kakhovka” also shared footage reportedly of a Russian serviceman seeking shelter on the ground amidst heavy artillery shelling while saying that Ukrainian forces have broken the first line of defense on August 29. Ukrainian officials did not discuss the directionality of Ukrainian counteroffensives.
More at link.
-
The DNR 109th Regiment had previously published an appeal to Russian President Vladimir Putin in late June identifying itself as a forcibly mobilized unit, complaining that it had not been rotated away from the front line for rest, and decrying poor conditions on the frontlines.
This regiment also question why they are in Kherson Oblast to begin with since their only reason for fighting is to seize control of Donetsk.
-
Ben Hedges, former commander of U.S. forces in Europe, thinks Ukraine has done a good job of shaping the battlespace and building up forces for the counteroffensive.
“The Russians have not yet fixed the many problems [that] were on display back in February and March. Especially their command and control framework …It’s still a mess.”
“The logistical system is fragile, it’s exhausted, it’s gotten weaker by the week.”
On Putin announcing a 10% increase in troop levels: “I’d bet a large sum of money that there’s not 137,000 Russians willing to step up and join the military.”
“There’s a history in Russia of serious inflation in numbers. They’ve never had what they said they had. This is a classic means of corruption, to claim a certain number to draw salaries, when in fact you’re only paying half to three-quarters of that.”
“It’s an unhealthy population decreasing in size.”
@Elderberry
Also, from the link you provided.
I thought the General's last comment was particularly interesting on a long term basis. Russia will be a shell of itself after it loses this war, which will be a great benefit for the USA. If Russia is no longer a threat then there really isn't a great reason for the USA to have troops there or be in NATO.
-
Russia trying to disrupt IAEA mission's visit to Zaporizhzhia NPP – President's Office
https://www.ukrinform.net/rubric-ato/3561122-russia-trying-to-disrupt-iaea-missions-visit-to-zaporizhzhia-npp-presidents-office.html (https://www.ukrinform.net/rubric-ato/3561122-russia-trying-to-disrupt-iaea-missions-visit-to-zaporizhzhia-npp-presidents-office.html)
Russia simulates fighting in Enerhodar by shelling the area near the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant in order to disrupt a visit by an IAEA team.
Andriy Yermak, the head of the Ukrainian President's Office, said this in a Telegram post, Ukrinform reports.
"Russia is trying to disrupt the visit of the IAEA mission to the nuclear power plant by simulating combat operations in Enerhodar and shelling the area near the nuclear power plant. These are exactly Russian provocations. Now it is important not to give the Russians the opportunity to get what they want with lies and blackmail. They must get away from Ukrainian land," Yermak said.
More at link.
-
Russian paratrooper flees to France and seeks political asylum after his online account of Putin's shambolic Ukraine invasion makes him a target for Kremlin reprisals
By AFP and CHRIS JEWERS FOR MAILONLINE
30 August 2022
A Russian paratrooper has fled to France and is now seeking political asylum after his online account of Vladimir Putin's shambolic invasion of Ukraine painted a target on his back for Kremlin reprisals.
Pavel Filatyev was a member of a supposed 'elite' parachute regiment that stormed the southern port city of Kherson in February when the first Russian troops entered Ukraine on the Russian president's orders.
But their mission, launched from Russian-occupied Crimea, was plagued with issues before it even began, with Filatyev writing in his account how his unit was ravaged by hunger, had little tactical training, and no knowledge of the war's progress.
* * *
Source: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11160865/Russian-paratrooper-flees-France-seeks-political-asylum.html
-
Russian paratrooper flees to France and seeks political asylum after his online account of Putin's shambolic Ukraine invasion makes him a target for Kremlin reprisals
Life expectancy of defecting Russian Paratroopers is up there with dare devil motorcycle stunt riders.
Especially with the hotbed base of communist in france.
-
Peter Zeihan on The Kherson Counteroffensive
https://www.battleswarmblog.com/?p=52450 (https://www.battleswarmblog.com/?p=52450)
For those who think I rely too much on Ukraine updates and Peter Zeihan videos, enjoy this Peter Zeihan video update on Ukraine!
Takeaways:
• “Everything that the Russians were bad at before (propaganda, logistics, precision, training, maintenance, equipment), everything they were bad at before, they’re worse at now.”
• Ukraine has moved from trying to stop the Russian advance with shoulder-mounted weaponry to longer-range heavy artillery, allowing them to hit ammo dumps, logistical hubs and high-value officers.
• “The degree to which the Ukrainians are able to put targeting information, either from their own human network or signal intelligence that is provided by the Americans, and put it to use has been very impressive, and it has snarled the entirety of the Russian advance in both the east and the south.”
• “Russia may be running out of ammunition.”
• Russian doctrine calls for slow advances prepared by massive artillery barrages.
More at link.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sOqUtsWLh2w (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sOqUtsWLh2w)
-
Vostok exercise not to improve Russia’s combat capability - British intelligence
https://www.ukrinform.net/rubric-ato/3563001-vostok-exercise-not-to-improve-russias-combat-capability-british-intelligence.html (https://www.ukrinform.net/rubric-ato/3563001-vostok-exercise-not-to-improve-russias-combat-capability-british-intelligence.html)
Instead of the claimed 50,000-strong force, this year’s Vostok 2022 joint military exercise with China, India, and a number of other countries, will involve no more than 15,000 Russian forces.
That’s according to the British Ministry of Defense, referring to their defense intelligence, Ukrinform reports.
“Russia publicly claimed that 450,000 troops will take part, however, it’s unlikely that more than 15,000 personnel will be actively involved this year. This is around 20% of the forces which participated in the last Vostok exercise in 2018,” reads the report.
As Ukrinform reported earlier, British intelligence said that Vladimir Putin’s decree on increasing the number of troops would unlikely help Russia in the war it is waging against Ukraine.
More at link.
-
Peter Zeihan on The Kherson Counteroffensive
https://www.battleswarmblog.com/?p=52450 (https://www.battleswarmblog.com/?p=52450)
For those who think I rely too much on Ukraine updates and Peter Zeihan videos, enjoy this Peter Zeihan video update on Ukraine!
Takeaways:
• “Everything that the Russians were bad at before (propaganda, logistics, precision, training, maintenance, equipment), everything they were bad at before, they’re worse at now.”
• Ukraine has moved from trying to stop the Russian advance with shoulder-mounted weaponry to longer-range heavy artillery, allowing them to hit ammo dumps, logistical hubs and high-value officers.
• “The degree to which the Ukrainians are able to put targeting information, either from their own human network or signal intelligence that is provided by the Americans, and put it to use has been very impressive, and it has snarled the entirety of the Russian advance in both the east and the south.”
• “Russia may be running out of ammunition.”
• Russian doctrine calls for slow advances prepared by massive artillery barrages.
More at link.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sOqUtsWLh2w (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sOqUtsWLh2w)
Hey, I follow him as well! He may be a bit of a globalist, but the data he puts together is spot on and he openly admits that globalization is ending. If some of the Pro-Russia posters watched some of his videos they might not be so quick to support Russia.
-
Key nuclear plant loses power line as Moscow, West energy row escalates
A critical nuclear power plant in Ukraine again lost external power, international energy officials said on Saturday, heightening concern over its operations as the energy battle between Moscow and the West ramped up in recent days amid the ongoing war.
Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia plant -- the largest in Europe -- saw its last remaining main external power line cut off even as a reserve line was able to continue supplying electricity to the grid, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said.
Only one of the six reactors remained in operation at the station, the agency said in a statement posted on its website.
The plant, controlled by Moscow since Russian troops invaded Ukraine in late February, has become a focal point of the conflict, with each side blaming the other for nearby shelling.
Meanwhile, the standoff over Russian gas and oil exports continued this week as Moscow vowed to keep its main gas pipeline to Germany shuttered and G7 countries announced a planned price cap on Russian oil exports.
The energy fight is a fallout from President Vladimir Putin's six-month invasion of Ukraine, underscoring the deep rift it has caused between Moscow and Western nations and comes as the region prepares for the cold months ahead.
"Russia (is) preparing a decisive energy blow on all Europeans for this winter," Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said in his nightly address on Saturday, citing the Nord Stream 1 pipeline's continued closure.
Zelenskiy earlier blamed Russian shelling for the nuclear plant's previous cutoff and had said a radiation leak was narrowly avoided.
Moscow has pointed to Western sanctions and technical issues for energy disruptions, while European nations have accused Russia of weaponizing supplies as part of its military invasion................
https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/russia-west-step-up-energy-war-risk-nuclear-disaster-haunts-ukraine-2022-09-03/
-
Russia Lost 900 ‘Elite’ Soldiers in Ukraine Fighting — Report
https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2022/09/01/russia-lost-900-elite-soldiers-in-ukraine-fighting-report-a78697 (https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2022/09/01/russia-lost-900-elite-soldiers-in-ukraine-fighting-report-a78697)
Russia has lost more than 900 special forces soldiers, paratroopers, marines and pilots in over six months of war in Ukraine, the BBC’s Russian service reported Thursday citing publicly available data.
The deaths of such soldiers are particularly problematic for the Russian Armed Forces because they are very costly to replace.
At least 337 marines have been killed since the start of the invasion on Feb. 24, while the National Guard’s special forces and riot police lost 245 troops, Russia’s military intelligence lost 151 soldiers, elite paratrooper units saw 144 members killed and the Federal Security Service (FSB) and Federal Guards Service (FSO) together suffered 20 deaths, according to the BBC. Many of the dead were officers.
More at link.
-
Key nuclear plant loses power line as Moscow, West energy row escalates
A critical nuclear power plant in Ukraine again lost external power, international energy officials said on Saturday, heightening concern over its operations as the energy battle between Moscow and the West ramped up in recent days amid the ongoing war.
Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia plant -- the largest in Europe -- saw its last remaining main external power line cut off even as a reserve line was able to continue supplying electricity to the grid, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said.
Only one of the six reactors remained in operation at the station, the agency said in a statement posted on its website.
The plant, controlled by Moscow since Russian troops invaded Ukraine in late February, has become a focal point of the conflict, with each side blaming the other for nearby shelling.
Meanwhile, the standoff over Russian gas and oil exports continued this week as Moscow vowed to keep its main gas pipeline to Germany shuttered and G7 countries announced a planned price cap on Russian oil exports.
The energy fight is a fallout from President Vladimir Putin's six-month invasion of Ukraine, underscoring the deep rift it has caused between Moscow and Western nations and comes as the region prepares for the cold months ahead.
"Russia (is) preparing a decisive energy blow on all Europeans for this winter," Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said in his nightly address on Saturday, citing the Nord Stream 1 pipeline's continued closure.
Zelenskiy earlier blamed Russian shelling for the nuclear plant's previous cutoff and had said a radiation leak was narrowly avoided.
Moscow has pointed to Western sanctions and technical issues for energy disruptions, while European nations have accused Russia of weaponizing supplies as part of its military invasion................
https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/russia-west-step-up-energy-war-risk-nuclear-disaster-haunts-ukraine-2022-09-03/
The Orcs want another Chernobyl in Ukraine.
-
Americans Are Paying The Bill For Our Government’s ‘Unwavering Support’ Of Ukraine
Is there an amount of military aid for Ukraine the U.S. won’t approve? Within the past two weeks alone, the Biden administration has committed nearly $4 billion in security assistance by allocating $3 billion and $775 million in separate packages. The grand total of military aid delivered to Ukraine since President Biden took office in January 2021 is a whopping $13.5 billion, and that number is only set to increase.
What is particularly pernicious about the weapons gravy train is the lack of a clear endgame in the conflict itself, an ugly feature of U.S. engagement in proxy wars. When asked how long the war in Ukraine and, by extension, military aid will last, variations of “indefinitely” seem to be the going answers from U.S. leaders.
Such a position is amorphous and unrestrained, plunging the United States into deeper subsidization of European security and repeating the same mistakes made in arming proxies.
The latest round of military aid announcements underscores the absence of restraint on the part of U.S. leaders. In the aid announcement on Ukrainian Independence Day, the Department of Defense said the weapons package demonstrates “U.S. commitment to supporting Ukraine over the long term — representing a multi-year investment to build the enduring strength of Ukraine’s Armed Forces.”
Further, $3.5 billion in weapons from the nearly $4 billion pot will be made by the U.S. defense industry rather than come from existing U.S. stockpiles — a nice payday and additional job security for the military-industrial complex.
In the fast and furious arming of Ukraine, it seems both Congress and the White House forgot to ensure billions of dollars worth of weapons actually reach Ukrainian forces and don’t fall into the black market.
At a July press briefing, a senior DOD official was quoted saying, “We are not tracking weapons … And quite honestly, I mean, we feel pretty good that the Ukrainians are using the weapons that we’ve provided to them and have not seen any indications that those weapons have gone anywhere else other than to fight against the Russians.” This is quite the assertion to make if weapons aren’t being tracked.
The rapid delivery of weapons, entrenching the U.S. in years of new weapons contracts, and the complete lack of oversight in arms delivery is setting up U.S. involvement in Ukraine to become the latest in a string of U.S. proxy war failures that produce no tangible gains for U.S. security interests.
What is an acceptable end to the conflict that would bring U.S. support to a close? The large-scale arming of Ukraine is taking place with no clear mission or operational objectives. Buzzwords like “long-term gains,” “enduring strength,” and “defending democracy” communicate nothing practical. .............
https://www.conservativereview.com/americans-are-paying-the-bill-for-our-governments-unwavering-support-of-ukraine-2658112104.html
-
Americans Are Paying The Bill For Our Government’s ‘Unwavering Support’ Of Ukraine
Is there an amount of military aid for Ukraine the U.S. won’t approve? Within the past two weeks alone, the Biden administration has committed nearly $4 billion in security assistance by allocating $3 billion and $775 million in separate packages. The grand total of military aid delivered to Ukraine since President Biden took office in January 2021 is a whopping $13.5 billion, and that number is only set to increase.
What is particularly pernicious about the weapons gravy train is the lack of a clear endgame in the conflict itself, an ugly feature of U.S. engagement in proxy wars. When asked how long the war in Ukraine and, by extension, military aid will last, variations of “indefinitely” seem to be the going answers from U.S. leaders.
Such a position is amorphous and unrestrained, plunging the United States into deeper subsidization of European security and repeating the same mistakes made in arming proxies.
The latest round of military aid announcements underscores the absence of restraint on the part of U.S. leaders. In the aid announcement on Ukrainian Independence Day, the Department of Defense said the weapons package demonstrates “U.S. commitment to supporting Ukraine over the long term — representing a multi-year investment to build the enduring strength of Ukraine’s Armed Forces.”
Further, $3.5 billion in weapons from the nearly $4 billion pot will be made by the U.S. defense industry rather than come from existing U.S. stockpiles — a nice payday and additional job security for the military-industrial complex.
In the fast and furious arming of Ukraine, it seems both Congress and the White House forgot to ensure billions of dollars worth of weapons actually reach Ukrainian forces and don’t fall into the black market.
At a July press briefing, a senior DOD official was quoted saying, “We are not tracking weapons … And quite honestly, I mean, we feel pretty good that the Ukrainians are using the weapons that we’ve provided to them and have not seen any indications that those weapons have gone anywhere else other than to fight against the Russians.” This is quite the assertion to make if weapons aren’t being tracked.
The rapid delivery of weapons, entrenching the U.S. in years of new weapons contracts, and the complete lack of oversight in arms delivery is setting up U.S. involvement in Ukraine to become the latest in a string of U.S. proxy war failures that produce no tangible gains for U.S. security interests.
What is an acceptable end to the conflict that would bring U.S. support to a close? The large-scale arming of Ukraine is taking place with no clear mission or operational objectives. Buzzwords like “long-term gains,” “enduring strength,” and “defending democracy” communicate nothing practical. .............
https://www.conservativereview.com/americans-are-paying-the-bill-for-our-governments-unwavering-support-of-ukraine-2658112104.html
Very simple really: once the Orcs are out of Ukraine, that is the natural ending.
-
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FbzAAsvWQAIcsaF?format=jpg&name=900x900)
-
Ukraine forces cross Siverskyi Donets river and liberate Ozerny.
link (https://en.defence-ua.com/news/vysokopillia_in_the_south_and_ozerne_in_the_east_liberated_ukraines_military_reported_successful_counterattacks-4110.html)
-
Russian losses are on the increase. Nineteen tanks, 29 APVs, and 10 artillery systems in last 24 hrs.
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Fb4PZUEXwAAzPj2?format=jpg&name=small)
-
Russian forces will 'shoot to kill' anyone fleeing [Kherson], Ukraine's military says
Deborah Haynes and Andrii Pogorilyi | 16h ago | 05:56
Ukraine's military says Russian forces have banned civilians from fleeing a key Russia-controlled city in the south, saying they will "shoot to kill" anyone who violates the ban.
Volunteers told Sky News there has been a rise in residents wanting to escape Kherson after Ukrainian troops launched an offensive to retake the port city a week ago.
(https://liveblog.digitalimages.sky/lc-images-sky/lcimg-5a387d98-3ff9-4760-8482-cdcd67c162a6.jpeg)
https://news.sky.com/story/ukraine-war-latest-updates-putin-ally-says-west-is-playing-chess-game-with-death-as-eu-says-gas-deliveries-used-as-a-weapon-12541713?postid=4409557#liveblog-body
-
Russian forces under orders to complete Donbas mission next week, MoD says
20h ago | 01:36
In the last few moments, the UK's Ministry of Defence (MoD) has released its latest intelligence report on the crisis in Ukraine.
The ministry says that Russia's main effort is "almost certainly" its eastern Donbas offensive operation.
While they have had the most success in this region, the Kremlin's forces have still only been advancing around 1km per week towards Bakhmut and have "highly likely" repeatedly missed deadlines to achieve their "liberation" of the Donbas.
The Ukrainian authorities have now claimed that Russian forces are under orders to complete this mission by 15 September, the report goes on to say.
However, the ministry says Russian forces are "highly unlikely to achieve this" and this will "further complicate Russia's plans to run referendums on the occupied areas joining the Russian Federation".
https://news.sky.com/story/ukraine-war-latest-updates-putin-ally-says-west-is-playing-chess-game-with-death-as-eu-says-gas-deliveries-used-as-a-weapon-12541713?postid=4408500#liveblog-body
-
Damaged from Shelling, Ukraine Nuclear Plant's Last Working Reactor Disconnected
https://www.news18.com/news/world/damaged-from-shelling-ukraine-nuclear-plants-last-working-reactor-disconnected-5896609.html (https://www.news18.com/news/world/damaged-from-shelling-ukraine-nuclear-plants-last-working-reactor-disconnected-5896609.html)
Ukraine’s embattled Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant’s last working reactor has been switched off from the grid, the Ukrainian power plants operator said on Monday.
The Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant (ZNPP) — Europe’s largest atomic facility — has been shelled in recent weeks, with Kyiv and Moscow blaming each other for the attacks, raising concerns of a possible incident.
“Power unit (reactor) No. 6 was unloaded and disconnected from the grid" because of a fire that was “triggered because of shelling", state-run company Energoatom said in a statement on Monday.
“The world is once again on the brink of a nuclear disaster. The de-occupation of the ZNPP and the creation of a demilitarised zone around it is the only way to ensure nuclear safety," Ukraine’s Energy Minister German Galushchenko said following the news on Monday.
This was the last working reactor out of six, after shelling disconnected reactor number 5 on Saturday, according to a statement from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).
“After the ZNPP connection to its last remaining operational 750 kilovolt (kV) line was lost late on Friday, the 330 kV reserve line had been used to deliver electricity from the ZNPP to the grid," the UN nuclear agency said on Monday.
“Ukraine informed IAEA that this back-up line will be re-connected once the fire has been extinguished.
“A secure off-site power supply from the grid and back-up power supply systems are essential for ensuring nuclear safety," it added.
More at link.
-
Chechen leader stepping down
https://twitter.com/maxseddon/status/1566055547597643781
-
Ukraine liberates Vysokopillya
https://twitter.com/Osinttechnical/status/1566385652920360960
-
Putin Underestimated Collective Memory in Ukraine
https://intpolicydigest.org/putin-underestimated-collective-memory-in-ukraine/ (https://intpolicydigest.org/putin-underestimated-collective-memory-in-ukraine/)
Leaders commonly exploit narratives drawn from history to further an agenda. Memories are malleable, and it is fascinating to see which memories are forgotten and which become ingrained in cultural identities and shape both the present and the future of a particular society. To varying degrees, every society faces this reality as leaders actively emphasize specific stories to shape the collective. The war in Ukraine has laid bare the limits of collective memory as a political tool. Russia’s self-serving manipulation of collective memory failed in Ukraine because of the strength of Ukraine’s national identity.
Collective memory binds groups together because it helps make sense of the world in a more palatable way to the members of the group. Leaders can use collective memory narratives as “formidable instruments of politics,” but they are constrained by what the public will accept. Leaders and institutions working to change the established narratives devolve into a different debate about memory politics. Russian President Vladimir Putin’s 5,000-word essay titled “On the Historical Unity of Russians and Ukrainians” exemplifies this idea, creating a false narrative of victimization and injustice as a pretext for war.
In his piece, Putin presents a shared historical identity that he believes connects Russians, Ukrainians, and Belarusians over 1,000 years ago through Kievan Rus. By Putin’s logic, this shared origin buoys an argument against the legitimacy and sovereignty of modern Ukraine. Tensions between Ukraine and Russia devolved in 2014 with the Russian annexation of Crimea and have remained tenuous over the past eight years. Putin’s essay used a cynical and inaccurate portrayal of history to influence the popular Russian narrative against Ukraine’s right to statehood.
More at link.
-
In his piece, Putin presents a shared historical identity that he believes connects Russians, Ukrainians, and Belarusians over 1,000 years ago through Kievan Rus.
If Putin really believed that, he wouldn't be committing war crimes against his Ukrainian brothers and sisters.
-
Putin unveils new 'Russian World' foreign policy - a notion used to justify foreign intervention such as Ukraine invasion to 'support Russian-speakers'
By RACHAEL BUNYAN FOR MAILONLINE and REUTERS
6 September 2022
President Vladimir Putin has approved a new foreign policy doctrine based around the concept of a 'Russian World', a notion that conservative ideologues have used to justify intervention abroad in support of Russian-speakers.
The 31-page 'humanitarian policy', published more than six months into the war in Ukraine, says Russia should 'protect, safeguard and advance the traditions and ideals of the Russian World'.
While presented as a kind of soft power strategy, it enshrines in official policy ideas around Russian politics and religion that some hardliners have used to justify foreign intervention - such as Moscow's invasion of Ukraine.
* * *
Source: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11184287/Putin-unveils-new-Russian-World-foreign-policy-notion-used-justify-foreign-intervention.html
-
Putin unveils new 'Russian World' foreign policy - a notion used to justify foreign intervention such as Ukraine invasion to 'support Russian-speakers'
By RACHAEL BUNYAN FOR MAILONLINE and REUTERS
6 September 2022
President Vladimir Putin has approved a new foreign policy doctrine based around the concept of a 'Russian World', a notion that conservative ideologues have used to justify intervention abroad in support of Russian-speakers.
The 31-page 'humanitarian policy', published more than six months into the war in Ukraine, says Russia should 'protect, safeguard and advance the traditions and ideals of the Russian World'.
While presented as a kind of soft power strategy, it enshrines in official policy ideas around Russian politics and religion that some hardliners have used to justify foreign intervention - such as Moscow's invasion of Ukraine.
* * *
Source: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11184287/Putin-unveils-new-Russian-World-foreign-policy-notion-used-justify-foreign-intervention.html
How does one say "lebensraum" in Orcish?
-
How does one say "lebensraum" in Orcish?
Жилая площадь
This is exactly what Putin is doing. Removing all undesirables from captured Ukraine territory, and subjugating all that remain.
One bit of good news - the referendum scheduled for Kherson has been postponed due to Ukrainian advances. Putin planned to have another sham election similar to the one in Crimea in 2014 and the subsequent ones in occupied Luhansk and Donetsk. Elections where Russians living in Russia were allowed to participate online. Elections where there was only one option offered - Russian rule.
-
Ukraine war: North Korea supplying Russia with weapons, say US reports
Russia has been forced to buy military hardware from North Korea as sanctions squeeze Moscow's ability to supply its military, US media have reported.
According to declassified intelligence obtained by the New York Times, Russia has bought millions of artillery shells and rockets from Pyongyang.
A US official said Russia would be forced to buy additional North Korean weaponry as the war dragged on.
Last week, Moscow reportedly received its first order of new Iranian drones.
Iran and North Korea, both the targets of significant Western sanctions, have sought to deepen ties with Russia since President Vladimir Putin launched his invasion of Ukraine in February.
Kim Jong-un's regime has blamed the US for the conflict and accused the West of pursuing a "hegemonic policy" that justified Russia's use of force.
Last month, North Korea recognised the independence of Russia's two proxy statelets in eastern Ukraine - the Donetsk and Luhansk People's Republics - and vowed to deepen its "comradely friendship" with Moscow. Russia's Vladimir Putin said the two countries would expand their "comprehensive and constructive bilateral relations", according to Pyongyang state media.
The exact size and scale of the new weapons deliveries revealed by the report remain unclear.
But a US official told the Associated Press that turning to North Korea for support demonstrated that "the Russian military continues to suffer from severe supply shortages in Ukraine, due in part to export controls and sanctions".
Broad economic sanctions have done little to damage Russia's income from energy exports, according to Finnish think tank the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air. It estimates Russia has made €158bn (£136bn) from surging fossil fuel prices during the six-month invasion, with EU imports accounting for more than half of that.
However, the US and EU believe that Moscow's ability to resupply its military has been impaired. ..........
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-62804825
-
Ukraine war: North Korea supplying Russia with weapons, say US reports
Russia has been experiencing ordinance failures, some of which have caused explosions in depots. They have been using artillery shells that predate the fall of the Soviet Union. I'm thinking that the shells North Korea passes off to Russia will be just as old. Artillery shells do not have a 30-year shelf life.
-
Ukraine war: North Korea supplying Russia with weapons, say US reports
Russia has been forced to buy military hardware from North Korea as sanctions squeeze Moscow's ability to supply its military, US media have reported.
According to declassified intelligence obtained by the New York Times, Russia has bought millions of artillery shells and rockets from Pyongyang.
A US official said Russia would be forced to buy additional North Korean weaponry as the war dragged on.
Last week, Moscow reportedly received its first order of new Iranian drones.
Iran and North Korea, both the targets of significant Western sanctions, have sought to deepen ties with Russia since President Vladimir Putin launched his invasion of Ukraine in February.
Kim Jong-un's regime has blamed the US for the conflict and accused the West of pursuing a "hegemonic policy" that justified Russia's use of force.
Last month, North Korea recognised the independence of Russia's two proxy statelets in eastern Ukraine - the Donetsk and Luhansk People's Republics - and vowed to deepen its "comradely friendship" with Moscow. Russia's Vladimir Putin said the two countries would expand their "comprehensive and constructive bilateral relations", according to Pyongyang state media.
The exact size and scale of the new weapons deliveries revealed by the report remain unclear.
But a US official told the Associated Press that turning to North Korea for support demonstrated that "the Russian military continues to suffer from severe supply shortages in Ukraine, due in part to export controls and sanctions".
Broad economic sanctions have done little to damage Russia's income from energy exports, according to Finnish think tank the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air. It estimates Russia has made €158bn (£136bn) from surging fossil fuel prices during the six-month invasion, with EU imports accounting for more than half of that.
However, the US and EU believe that Moscow's ability to resupply its military has been impaired. ..........
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-62804825
If this drags on long enough, then perhaps NK will be out of supplies, too, and the South Koreans might want to consider some moves.
-
These look like Ukrainian Su-25s.
(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tZhZil4lCOU)
-
Russian commanders in Kherson face mutiny as entire regiment refuses to fight due to lack of supplies and no pay while Ukraine continues a series of counterattacks
By DAVID AVERRE FOR MAILONLINE
6 September 2022
Russian commanders in occupied southern Ukraine are facing mass mutinies as regiments refuse to fight due to a lack of basic supplies and no pay, it has been claimed.
The Russian 127th regiment of the 1st army corps reportedly ignored orders to join a battle near the southern city of Kherson, according to intelligence cited by Ukraine's southern operational command.
Soldiers who led the mutiny told superiors they could not fight because they had endured weeks of water shortages and scarce rations, all while not receiving their paychecks.
Russia's GRU and FSB intelligence agencies 'investigated' the individuals responsible for leading the revolt and 'removed' them from their positions, according to Ukraine's military.
The mutineers are likely to face a harrowing fate - many so-called 'refuseniks' are shipped off to detention centres in Russian-occupied territory where they are bullied into returning to the front lines or held in awful conditions and tortured.
It comes as Kremlin-installed local government officials in Kherson said they were forced to suspend a 'referendum' on whether the city should join the Russian Federation due to safety concerns amid Ukrainian counter-offensives in the region.
* * *
Source: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11187351/Russian-commanders-Kherson-face-mutiny-entire-regiment-refuses-fight.html
-
Zaporizhzhia: Ukraine suggests UN peacekeepers for nuclear plant
Ukraine's nuclear chief has suggested that United Nations peacekeepers could secure the Zaporizhzhia power station.
The plant has been occupied by Russia since the early days of the war and come under repeated attack, with both sides blaming each other.
UN inspectors observed damage at the power station during a visit last week.
The inspectors recommended that a security zone be set up immediately to shield the facility, which is Europe's largest, from the fighting.
Vladimir Putin has said he trusted the report from the UN's nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), but criticised the agency for not saying Ukraine was to blame for shelling the area.
The Russian leader described the IAEA as "a very responsible international organisation" which was under pressure. "Our servicemen are there - are we shooting at our own?" he asked, in response to claims that Russia could be responsible for shelling at the plant.
Shelling continued while the 14-strong IAEA team visited the site and its head, Rafael Grossi, warned of a very real risk of nuclear disaster. Although most of the team left the plant after two days, it said two of its officials would remain there on a permanent basis.
In an emergency session of the Security Council, the UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres set out steps for the creation of a demilitarised zone around the plant.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky welcomed calls by the IAEA for a safety protection zone at Zaporizhzhia.
On Wednesday Petro Kotyn, who runs Ukraine's nuclear agency Energoatom, suggested a UN peacekeeping contingent could set up a security zone at Zaporizhzhia and Russian troops withdraw.........
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-62820287
-
Ukrainian troops shoot Su-25 fighter jet out of the sky, capture a top Russian officer and pound enemy positions with helicopters as Kyiv's counter attacks gather pace
By CHRIS JEWERS and WILL STEWART FOR MAILONLINE
7 September 2022
Video has shown Ukrainian troops shooting down a Russian fighter jet out of the sky, capturing a top army officer and pounding enemy positions with helicopters, in further blows to Vladimir Putin's on-going invasion.
The developments were reported by several sources, including a pro-Russian telegram channel, which also lamented the success of Kyiv's counter attacks that have begun to gather pace in recent days.
Britain's defence ministry said there has been heavy fighting on three fronts: in the north, near Kharkiv; in the east in the Donbas; and in the south in Kherson Oblast - where Ukraine has mounted a counteroffensive to try to retake occupied territory.
Footage emerged on Wednesday that appeared to show the moment the Russian warplane was shot down over a field in Ukraine.
The Su-25 ground attack aircraft was hit while flying low past a man-portable air defence missile (MANPAD), according to Kyiv's south operational command.
Another video showed Ukrainian helicopters soaring over a road running between parched fields, and launching rocket strikes on enemy positions in a tree line.
* * *
Source: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11189367/Ukrainian-troops-shoot-Su-25-fighter-jet-sky-Kyivs-counter-attacks-gather-pace.html
-
Ukrainian Counteroffensive In Kharkiv?
Lawrence Person's BattleSwarm Blog 9/7/2022
There are indications that Ukraine, in addition to the Kherson counteroffensive, is conducting a counteroffensive in Kharkiv Oblast, and has apparently captured Volokhiv Yar, Balakliya and Yakovenkove, towns between Kharkiv and Russian-occupied Izyum.
It’s unclear whether this is a feint, a spoiling attack or a full-blown counteroffensive, but the scale of the initial success suggests it’s too large to be a mere probing attack.
Says ISW (https://www.understandingwar.org/backgrounder/russian-offensive-campaign-assessment-september-6):
Ukrainian forces conducted a counterattack in Kharkiv Oblast near Balakliya that likely drove Russian forces back to the left bank (north side) of the Severskyi Donets and Serednya Balakliika rivers on September 6. Ukrainian forces likely captured Verbivka (less than 3 km northwest of Balakliya) on September 6. Geolocated footage posted on September 6 shows Ukrainian infantry in eastern Verbivka (less than 3 km from Balakliya). Multiple Russian sources acknowledged Ukrainian gains in Verbivka and reported that Russian forces demolished unspecified bridges in Balakliya‘s eastern environs to prevent further Ukrainian advances. Images posted on September 6 also show a destroyed Russian bridge over the Serednya Balakliika River—a geographic feature behind which the Russian front line in this sector likely lies. Social media users reported that Russian forces withdrew from checkpoints six kilometers west of Balaklia on September 6.
Russian forces likely no longer maintain their previous positions in Bairak and Nova Husarivka (just south of Balakliya on the right bank of the Seversky Donets River). Russian forces likely abandoned Bayrak and Nova Husarivka in late August. Images posted on August 30 show that Russian forces blew the bridge over the Seversky Donetsk River near Bayrak on an unspecified date. Bridge demolition activity indicates a planned Russian withdrawal. Ukraine’s General Staff reported on September 6 that Russian forces conducted air strikes against Bayrak, indicating that Ukrainian forces may have advanced in the area.
More: https://www.battleswarmblog.com/?p=52527 (https://www.battleswarmblog.com/?p=52527)
-
Driving the orcs back.
-
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FcCdiN_XoAAYX2u?format=jpg&name=900x900)
-
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FcCdiN_XoAAYX2u?format=jpg&name=900x900)
If the numbers are only 2/3rds those posted by Ukraine the losses Russia is suffering are catastrophic. Add in the effect of the sanctions and reduced oil/gas output and Russia is facing a humanitarian and economic collapse. They won't win this war. They may gain territory if Ukraine's allies force a negotiated settlement because of their stupid "green" energy policies. However, even in this case Russia faces collapse. Western business will not return and Russia's demographic problem will only accelerate.
We should really be planning on what to do about a post Russian Federation world.
-
If the numbers are only 2/3rds those posted by Ukraine the losses Russia is suffering are catastrophic. Add in the effect of the sanctions and reduced oil/gas output and Russia is facing a humanitarian and economic collapse. They won't win this war. They may gain territory if Ukraine's allies force a negotiated settlement because of their stupid "green" energy policies. Even in this case Russia faces collapse. Western business will not return and Russia's demographic problem will only accelerate.
We should really be planning on what to do about a post Russian Federation world.
:thumbsup:
-
Ukraine Is Waging a New Kind of War
The fight to retake the city of Kherson plays to the Ukrainians’ strengths, not the Russians’.
The Atlantic By Phillips Payson O’Brien 9/8/2022
https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2022/09/ukraine-counteroffensive-battle-of-kherson/671364/ (https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2022/09/ukraine-counteroffensive-battle-of-kherson/671364/)
Ukrainian officials, defending their country against Russian aggressors, began doing something in July that seemed odd, even counterintuitive: They started speaking loudly and regularly about their plans to liberate Kherson—a key southern city that Russia seized only a week after invading Ukraine on February 24. Indeed, the Ukrainians telegraphed their intentions in a way that the Russians could not mistake. This was like waving a red cape at an angry, incompetent bull. Almost immediately, rumors proliferated that the Russians were racing reinforcements to Kherson to prepare for the Ukrainian attack.
Goading the Russians into doing so seems to have been the Ukrainians’ exact goal. Fighting in Kherson plays to Ukrainian strength far more than to the Russians’. Russian occupiers in eastern Ukraine’s Donbas, where the war had been concentrated from April until July, can operate very close to the Russian border, seem to have solidly functional rail lines, and are currently trying to pressure the Ukrainians from two sides at the tip of the fighting around the town of Siversk. Fighting in Kherson, by contrast, nullifies almost all of Russia’s advantages in the Donbas. The Russians are at the edge of their supply lines, while the Ukrainians can maneuver around them. Kherson is deeper into Ukraine than the Donbas, so Russian aircraft have farther to travel to reach the front lines, and that clearly makes them nervous; they prefer to fly mostly over Russia itself or its ally Belarus. Finally, the entire Russian fighting force in Kherson depends for its supplies on just a small number of bridges that span the wide Dnipro River. In recent weeks, the Ukrainians have attacked those crossings almost nightly, severely hindering Russia from moving supplies to their hard-pressed troops in Kherson. The longer the Russians have to fight with limited supplies, the more the battle will turn in Ukraine’s favor.
Though Vladimir Putin had the reputation of a strategic genius when he started this war six months ago, the Ukrainians have exposed him as a plodding and unimaginative thinker who miscalculated enormously. Since then he has resorted to ponderous, unthinking offensives that have secured minimal gains at a very high cost. The Russian army, wildly overrated before the war by military analysts who hailed it as one of the most fast-moving, technologically sophisticated, and powerful in the world, turns out to be profoundly flawed. With ever-changing carousels of generals in charge, it has shown itself to be inflexible, uncreative, and unable to learn.
More at link.
-
Ukraine blows up Russian missile site in huge explosion that’s spread across the world
https://americanmilitarynews.com/2022/09/video-ukraine-blows-up-russian-missile-site-in-huge-explosion-thats-spread-across-the-world/ (https://americanmilitarynews.com/2022/09/video-ukraine-blows-up-russian-missile-site-in-huge-explosion-thats-spread-across-the-world/)
In a prelude to their counter-offensive against Russian-held Kharkiv, Ukrainian forces destroyed a Russian surface-to-air (SAM) missile site in a huge explosion this week. Footage of the strike has gone viral, with it being viewed hundreds of thousands of times around the world.
On Wednesday, the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense tweeted a video of the strike, saying, “russian S-300s are blowing up near Balaklia, Kharkiv region. But there is no need to panic… as they say.”
Defense of Ukraine
@DefenceU
Ukraine government organization
russian S-300s are blowing up near Balaklia, Kharkiv region. But there is no need to panic… as they say.
https://twitter.com/i/status/1567617246029021184 (https://twitter.com/i/status/1567617246029021184)
The video footage is an aerial camera view — likely from a surveillance drone — looking down on a forested area where the purported Russian missiles were stored.
It’s not clear exactly how many Russian S-300 SAM missiles were destroyed, but the video showed an initial small explosion, followed by a much larger secondary explosion that sent a shockwave through the surrounding forest.
Ukraine Weapons Tracker, a Twitter account that has documented the weapons used throughout the fighting between Russia and Ukraine tweeted the same video, saying, “During the preparation for the offensive towards Balakliya, #Kharkiv Oblast, the AFU claimed to have found the semi-concealed storage site for 20+ missiles for the S-300 SAM system (Likely 5V55 series), which was then struck with artillery.”
More at link.
-
Ukraine blows up Russian missile site in huge explosion that’s spread across the world
https://americanmilitarynews.com/2022/09/video-ukraine-blows-up-russian-missile-site-in-huge-explosion-thats-spread-across-the-world/ (https://americanmilitarynews.com/2022/09/video-ukraine-blows-up-russian-missile-site-in-huge-explosion-thats-spread-across-the-world/)
In a prelude to their counter-offensive against Russian-held Kharkiv, Ukrainian forces destroyed a Russian surface-to-air (SAM) missile site in a huge explosion this week. Footage of the strike has gone viral, with it being viewed hundreds of thousands of times around the world.
On Wednesday, the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense tweeted a video of the strike, saying, “russian S-300s are blowing up near Balaklia, Kharkiv region. But there is no need to panic… as they say.”
Defense of Ukraine
@DefenceU
Ukraine government organization
russian S-300s are blowing up near Balaklia, Kharkiv region. But there is no need to panic… as they say.
https://twitter.com/i/status/1567617246029021184 (https://twitter.com/i/status/1567617246029021184)
The video footage is an aerial camera view — likely from a surveillance drone — looking down on a forested area where the purported Russian missiles were stored.
It’s not clear exactly how many Russian S-300 SAM missiles were destroyed, but the video showed an initial small explosion, followed by a much larger secondary explosion that sent a shockwave through the surrounding forest.
Ukraine Weapons Tracker, a Twitter account that has documented the weapons used throughout the fighting between Russia and Ukraine tweeted the same video, saying, “During the preparation for the offensive towards Balakliya, #Kharkiv Oblast, the AFU claimed to have found the semi-concealed storage site for 20+ missiles for the S-300 SAM system (Likely 5V55 series), which was then struck with artillery.”
More at link.
That will hurt the orcs.
-
Ukrainian counteroffensive moves east as hit squads target Russian collaborators for assassination
https://hotair.com/john-s-2/2022/09/08/ukrainian-counteroffensive-moves-east-and-hit-squads-target-russian-collaborators-for-assassination-n495201
Since Russian forces invaded in late February and began seizing Ukrainian cities and towns, close to 20 Kremlin-backed officials or their local Ukrainian collaborators have been killed or injured in a wave of assassinations and attempted killings.
They have been gunned down, blown up, hanged and poisoned — an array of methods that reflects the determination of the Ukrainian hit squads and saboteurs often operating deep inside enemy-controlled territory. The unpredictability of the attacks is meant to terrify anyone who might agree to serve in the puppet governments Russia has been creating with an eye toward staging sham referendums and ultimately annexing the occupied lands.
On Tuesday, the bloody roll continued.
Artem Bardin, the military commandant in Berdyansk, a port city on the Sea of Azov that Russia seized early in the war, was critically injured when a car exploded near the city administration building, according to Russia’s Tass news agency, which described the incident as a “terrorist act.”
Bardin’s legs were blown off and he suffered extensive blood loss…
I know some posters will get upset by this, but I completely understand the Ukrainians in this because of the atrocities committed by the Russians.
-
On the road to victory? How clever Ukrainian counter-attacks have pinned down Russia's troops in the south and punched through their frontline in the north - leaving Putin's invasion at risk of collapse
By CHRIS PLEASANCE FOR MAILONLINE
8 September 2022
It is an outcome that few dared to hope for. But 10 days after Ukraine's generals announced the start of their first major counter-attack against Russian troops, the road to victory is starting to become clearer.
Clever tactics saw Ukraine's commanders draw Russian troops into the south of the country before pinning them down with a counter-attack around the city of Kherson.
Some of Putin's best men are now all-but trapped in the city, bullied by Ukrainian artillery and with no easy way to retreat back across the Dnipro River after HIMARS strikes destroyed the main bridges.
That gave Ukraine the chance to spring a second - surprise - counter-attack to the east of the city of Kharkiv, with a 'fist' of tanks and infantry punching through thinned-out defences there yesterday.
Those troops are now rapidly advancing, threatening key supply lines into Donbas. As Dr Mike Martin, an ex-British army officer now at King's College, put it on Twitter yesterday: 'If [Ukraine] pulls that off, it's serious rout time.'
Putin is once again staring an embarrassing defeat in the face. If his troops are forced to pull back from Kherson and abandon their assault in Donbas, it will be hard even for him to play off the invasion as a success.
Meanwhile Ukraine is hailing its successes. According to one commander who spoke out today, troops have now recaptured a total of 270 square miles of territory across both fronts - a long way from victory, but no small feat.
Here, MailOnline examines how Ukraine brought the war to this pivotal point...
* * *
Source: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11193273/How-Ukrainian-counter-attacks-left-Russian-forces-risk-collapse.html
-
Sláva Ukrayíni!
-
U.S., UN Demand Access To Russian 'Filtration' Sites In Ukraine Amid War-Crimes Fears
https://www.rferl.org/a/us-un-demand-access-russian-filtration-camps-ukraine-/32023811.html (https://www.rferl.org/a/us-un-demand-access-russian-filtration-camps-ukraine-/32023811.html)
The United States has accused Russia of war crimes through the forcible transfer up to 1.6 million Ukrainians to Russian-controlled territory in the current conflict, prompting senior UN officials to demand international access to the so-called filtration camps.
Moscow denied the charge and said millions of Ukrainians had chosen to go to Russia or Russia-controlled areas and were "living freely and voluntarily" there.
The U.S. ambassador to the UN, Linda Thomas-Greenfield, told a UN Security Council meeting late on September 7 that Russia and its proxies were inflicting "a series of horrors" in a process overseen by officials from President Vladimir Putin's office.
"The forcible transfer or deportation of protected persons from occupied territory to the territory of the occupier...constitutes a war crime," Thomas-Greenfield said.
The U.S. envoy said official Russian sources suggest that its authorities or allied Ukrainian separatists have "interrogated, detained, and forcibly deported" between 900,000 and 1.6 million Ukrainians to Russia since the Russian invasion in late February.
She said more than 1,800 children had been transferred from Ukrainian territory to Russia in July alone.
More at link.
-
It looks like the Ukrainians have put the Russians on their heels. I hope and pray that the battles continue to go well for them.
I think the Ukrainians should hold hostage all the soldiers and collaborators that they take alive, until they are satisfied that all Ukrainians in Russia that want to return to Ukraine have done so.
-
Ukraine advances 50km near Kharkiv, liberates more than 20 villages
15h ago | 08:28
Ukraine has advanced 50km into Russian-held territory near Kharkiv and liberated more than 20 villages, one of its generals has said.
With much of the attention on Ukraine's much-vaunted counteroffensive in the south towards Kherson, it may have surprised some to awake today to reports that defence forces had gained ground in the east.
Ukrainian troops in the northeastern region of Kharkiv have retaken portions of Russian-held territory after "likely exploiting Russian force reallocation", the Institute for the Study of War, a Washington-based think tank, said.
Their military used the situation "to conduct an opportunistic yet highly effective counteroffensive" in the province, the think tank added.
A Ukrainian general also said Ukraine had recaptured more than 700 square kilometres of its territory in the Kharkiv region and in the south.
They said the country's military had advanced 50km into Russian lines in the region and recaptured more than 20 villages.
https://news.sky.com/story/ukraine-war-latest-updates-putin-threatens-to-cut-gas-supply-to-europe-for-good-12541713?postid=4427639#liveblog-body
-
Russian city 'left without electricity' after apparent Ukrainian attack
20h ago | 03:31
Footage has emerged this morning that purports to show the Russian city of Belgorod without electricity after what is reported to be a Ukrainian attack.
The city is just over the border from Ukraine and has been the target of a series of previous attacks since the invasion.
It comes amid reports of Ukrainian advances in the east and significant Russian losses after a counteroffensive launched by Kyiv.
https://news.sky.com/story/ukraine-war-latest-updates-putin-threatens-to-cut-gas-supply-to-europe-for-good-12541713?postid=4426115#liveblog-body
-
Ukrainian Flag Raised Over Recaptured City of Balaklia
Thu, September 8, 2022 at 4:43 PM
Ukraine’s armed forces regained control of Balaklia, a city in Ukraine’s Kharkiv Oblast, on Thursday, September 8, according to the Balaklia City Council, after a counteroffensive was launched against Russian forces in the region.
Footage released on Thursday by the city council shows Ukrainian soldiers on top of the District Administration Building in the center of Balaklia with a Ukrainian flag raised behind them and a Russian flag under their feet. . .
(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NPIPLzGUkyM)
https://news.yahoo.com/ukrainian-flag-raised-over-recaptured-214302081.html?fr=sychp_catchall
-
Gleeful Ukrainians run into the arms of troops who stand on Russian flags in city reclaimed from invaders as Kyiv takes back dozens of settlements and videos show burnt out enemy tanks
By CHRIS JEWERS and WILL STEWART and CHRIS PLEASANCE FOR MAILONLINE
9 September 2022
Ukrainian soldiers are being welcomed as heroes by gleeful residents who have lived under Russian occupation for months, as Kyiv continues to retake dozens of settlements from the clutches of Vladimir Putin's forces.
Videos and pictures have emerged showing troops standing victoriously on top of Russian flags in the liberated city Balakliia, while others have been shown in footage discovering the burnt out wreckages of enemy tanks.
The images come as swiftly advancing Ukrainian troops were bearing down on the main railway supplying Moscow's forces in the east on Friday, after the sudden collapse of a section of the Russian front-line - caused the most dramatic shift in the war's momentum since its early weeks.
In a video address, President Volodymyr Zelensky said Ukrainian troops had 'liberated dozens of settlements' and reclaimed more than 385 square miles of territory in the east and south in the past week alone.
Zelensky posted a video in which Ukrainian soldiers said they had captured the eastern town of Balakliia, which lies along a stretch of front stretching south of Kharkiv, Ukraine's second largest city.
In one clip from the city, a Ukrainian flag can be seen flying on a roof. At the foot of the flag pole, three Ukrainian soldiers - reportedly from the Kraken Special Branch - pose with their weapons, standing or crouching on top of a Russian flag that has been pulled down.
* * *
Source: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11196635/temp.html
-
Politicians who dared call for Putin to face treason charges are summoned for police interrogation
By WILL STEWART and CHRIS JEWERS FOR MAILONLINE
9 September 2022
Local politicians in Russia who dared call for Vladimir Putin to be charged with treason and forced out of office were today summoned for police interrogations.
The councillors in Smolninskoye, a district of St Petersburg, could face fines or even jail under draconian laws which punish criticism of the armed forces and the Russian authorities.
They had complained that Putin's war with Ukraine was leading to young soldiers dying or being maimed, and causing huge economic and political damage to Russia.
The politicians say they petitioned the Russia parliament to find Putin guilty of 'high treason' and to oust him.
* * *
Source: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11196927/Politicians-dared-call-Putin-face-treason-charges-summoned-police-interrogation.html
-
Must mean something if not even the orcs can keep it suppressed in orc-land.
Russian TV acknowledges ‘substantial victory’ for Kyiv after Ukrainian breakthrough
By Reuters
September 9, 2022
KYIV, Ukraine — Russian state television broadcast an interview Friday acknowledging that Kyiv had achieved a “substantial victory” after Ukrainian forces burst through the front line in a lightning advance.
The Ukrainian breakthrough near Kharkiv was the fastest advance reported by either side for months, and one of the biggest shifts in the war’s momentum since Russian forces abandoned a disastrous assault on Kyiv, the capital, in March.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said troops had “liberated dozens of settlements” and reclaimed more than 1,000 square km (385 square miles) of territory in the Kharkiv region in the east as well as Kherson in the south in the past week.
Western military analysts say the advance puts the Ukrainians within striking distance of the main railway Moscow has relied on to sustain its forces in eastern Ukraine and could leave thousands of Russian troops at risk of being cut off.
After a day of providing little or no response, Russia’s defense ministry released a video of its troops being rushed to reinforce the area.
* * *
Source: https://nypost.com/2022/09/09/russian-tv-acknowledges-substantial-victory-for-kyiv/
-
Nearly $3 Billion in U.S. Humanitarian Aid to Ukraine Remains Unspent
The Biden administration has yet to deliver more than $2.8 billion in humanitarian aid to Ukraine, fueling concerns in Congress that the administration is undermining its own relief efforts as Russia pummels the country.
Congress fast-tracked some $7 billion dollars in recent months to help the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) spearhead humanitarian projects in Ukraine. But as of this month, nearly $3 billion of that money remains unspent. A group of Republican senators are demanding an explanation from USAID as to why a substantial portion of the money they appropriated is sitting in limbo, according to a letter sent to the agency on Friday and obtained by the Washington Free Beacon.
The seven Republican lawmakers, led by Sen. Joni Ernst (R., Iowa), say they are worried "the American people’s generosity is not being properly and swiftly used to help Ukraine," according to the letter. "These extraordinary congressional appropriations must be quickly and effectively mobilized to address the unfolding crisis."
The administration’s "over reliance" on United Nations agencies involved in humanitarian relief efforts has "been compounded by the fact that USAID only has the equivalent of four and a half full-time contracting officers overseeing billions of taxpayer dollars through the Bureau of Humanitarian Assistance." This has led to bureaucratic delays and prevented the full tranche of aid dollars from reaching Ukraine.
The senators are demanding USAID and the State Department, both of which oversee aid projects, provide them with a "detailed strategy" to quickly offload the remaining aid dollars to those Ukrainians who need it. They also want USAID’s Humanitarian Assistance Bureau to explain why so few workers are tasked with handling these time-sensitive matters.
Congress, at the administration's request, suspended normal procedures to allocate the $7 billion in humanitarian aid via two separate packages. Information obtained by the lawmakers shows that USAID has only obligated 73.78 percent of the funds made available in the first package, and just 50.03 percent of the funds made available in the second. This accounts for the $2.8 billion that remains unspent.
"While USAID has made positive progress in recent months on the speed of committing and obligating these aid dollars, more needs to be done," Ernst and her colleagues write.
Both USAID and the State Department have ignored congressional calls for the aid money to be more quickly distributed.
"Repeated, bipartisan calls for the Department of State and USAID to onboard new nongovernmental organization partners, fast-track the delivery of food aid, and augment [USAID’s] contracting capacity have remained unanswered," the lawmakers say.
While Congress has done its part by giving the Biden administration all of the money it requested, the delay in offloading these funds threatens to interrupt on-the-ground humanitarian efforts..............
https://www.conservativereview.com/nearly-3-billion-in-u-s-humanitarian-aid-to-ukraine-remains-unspent-2658172659.html
-
Ukraine troops reach railway hub as breakthrough threatens to turn into rout
Max Hunder and Vitalii Hnidyi | September 10, 2022 | 7:41 AM EDT
KYIV/HRAKOVE, Ukraine, Sept 10 (Reuters) - Ukrainian officials shared photos on Saturday showing troops raising the nation's flag over the main railway city that has supplied Russian forces in northeastern Ukraine, as a collapse in Russia's frontline threatened to turn into a rout.
A Reuters journalist inside a vast area recaptured in recent days by the advancing Ukrainian forces saw Ukrainian police patrolling towns and boxes of ammunition lying in heaps at positions abandoned by fleeing Russian soldiers.
With Ukrainians now having reached the city of Kupiansk, where rail lines linking Russia to eastern Ukraine converge, the advance had penetrated all the way to Moscow's main logistics route, potentially trapping thousands of Russian troops. . . .
. . . The capture of at least part of Kupiansk, if confirmed, potentially leaves thousands of Russian soldiers trapped at the frontline and cut off from supplies, including in Izium, Russia's main stronghold and logistics hub in the northeast. . . .
https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/ukraine-troops-raise-flag-over-railway-hub-advance-threatens-turn-into-rout-2022-09-10/
-
Nearly $3 Billion in U.S. Humanitarian Aid to Ukraine Remains Unspent
https://www.conservativereview.com/nearly-3-billion-in-u-s-humanitarian-aid-to-ukraine-remains-unspent-2658172659.html
Where's all the money going? How much is going into Joe & Company's pockets??
-
Kharkiv offensive: Russian forces retreat as Ukraine takes key towns
Russian forces have withdrawn from key eastern towns, as a rapid Ukrainian counter-attack makes further gains.
Ukrainian officials said troops entered Kupiansk, a vital eastern supply hub for Russian forces, on Saturday.
Russia's defence ministry then said its troops have retreated from nearby Izyum to allow them "to regroup".
The ministry also confirmed the withdrawal of troops from a third key town, Balaklyia, in order to "bolster efforts" on the Donetsk front.
The Ukrainian advances - if held - would be the most significant since Russia withdrew from areas around Kyiv in April.
Izyum was a major military hub for the Russians, and was subject to intense fighting in the early stages of the invasion.
"A three-day operation was carried out on the drawdown and organised transfer of the Izyum-Balakliya group of troops to the territory of the Donetsk People's Republic," the Russian statement said.
"In order to prevent damage to the Russian troops, a powerful fire defeat was inflicted on the enemy."
Shortly afterwards, the chief administrator of Russian-controlled parts of the Kharkiv region recommended that its residents evacuate to Russia "to save lives", according to the Russian state-run TASS news agency.
And the governor of the neighbouring Belgorod region, in Russia, said mobile catering, heating, and medical assistance would be available to people queuing to cross the border.
The advances will be used as a sign that Ukraine's army can take back Russian-occupied territory, while the country continues to ask for military support from the West.
For Russia, the Ukrainian gains - if secured - would mark a humiliating setback, as its forces invaded captured the area in the first week of the war. ................
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-62860774
-
Russia announces troop pullback from Ukraine’s Kharkiv area
https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-kyiv-world-news-kharkiv-e06b2aa723e826ed4105b5f32827f577 (https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-kyiv-world-news-kharkiv-e06b2aa723e826ed4105b5f32827f577)
Russia’s Defense Ministry announced Saturday that it was pulling back troops from two areas in Ukraine’s eastern Kharkiv region where a Ukrainian counteroffensive has made significant advances in the past week.
The news came after days of apparent advances by Ukraine south of Kharkiv, the country’s second-largest city, in what could become the biggest battlefield success for Ukrainian forces since they thwarted a Russian attempt to seize the capital, Kyiv, at the start of the nearly seven-month war.
“The Russian army in these days is demonstrating the best that it can do — showing its back,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in a video released by his office Saturday night. “And, of course, it’s a good decision for them to run.”
More at link.
-
Where's all the money going? How much is going into Joe & Company's pockets??
Probably all of it. Joe Biden isn't interested in helping Ukraine drive the Russian army out of Ukraine. The longer this war continues, the more graft Biden gets to pocket.
-
Russia's defence ministry then said its troops have retreated from nearby Izyum to allow them "to regroup".
Retaking Izyum will be huge for Ukraine. I can't imagine the Russians giving it up without a fight.
-
Ukrainian forces enter key city of Izium in a sign Kyiv's new offensive is working
Ivana Kottasová, Tim Lister, Yulia Kesaieva, Denis Lapin, Josh Pennington and Victoria Butenko, CNN | 8:03 PM ET, Sat September 10, 2022
When Ukrainian forces entered the city of Izium Saturday, it was more than a major military victory. It was a sign the war in Ukraine might be entering a new phase, one in which Russian troops are scrambling to hold onto the territory they captured over the past six months.
Russian forces were forced to flee the strategic eastern city just five days after Ukrainian forces began a new offensive eastward through the Kharkiv region.
"Russians escaped and left weapons and ammo behind. City center is free," a spokesperson for the Bohun Brigade of the Land Forces of Ukraine said in a statement Saturday afternoon.
The last five days have seen the most ambitious ground assaults by the Ukrainians since Russia launched its full-scale invasion in late February. Video and satellite images geolocated by CNN show the advances have involved sustained attacks on command posts, ammunition stores, and fuel reserves far behind the front lines. . .
https://www.cnn.com/2022/09/10/europe/ukraine-kharkiv-advances-intl-hnk/index.html
-
https://twitter.com/visegrad24/status/1568654019865755654
Vovchansk is 25 miles from Belgorod.
-
Here is Russia's response to the Ukrainian counter-attacks: Kill more civilians in Donbas
Eastern Ukraine towns hit in overnight strikes
ELENA BECATOROS | 2 hours ago
(https://storage.googleapis.com/afs-prod/media/7dd0444dc0f94af98bb37a0d3ed61914/1000.jpeg)
POKROVSK, Ukraine (AP) — Through the debris-strewn rooms of the bomb-blasted house, the incessant ringing of a phone punctuates the crunch of broken glass splintering underfoot as police lay out a body bag.
But the call will never be answered. The phone’s owner crouches lifeless on the floor of his home, in a front room where the explosion from a missile — one of several to hit this eastern Ukrainian town — found him.
The missiles that rained down on Pokrovsk Saturday night and into the early hours of Sunday were part of a barrage of attacks on towns in eastern Ukraine’s Donetsk region that left at least 10 people dead Saturday, according to Donetsk governor Pavlo Kyrylenko. They came as Ukraine pressed forward with a counteroffensive just to the north in the Kharkiv region, pushing Russian forces into a retreat from key areas.
Six of the dead were in Pokrovsk, mayor Ruslan Trebushkin said in a message posted on Telegram. The industrial town about 40 kilometers (25 miles) from the front line had been hit twice before by missiles, in May and July, but never before by so many in one night. A flash illuminated the night sky as a detonation sounded out across the town in the second of six explosions. An ambulance raced through the darkened streets, and flames rose from a fire triggered by the missile strikes. . . .
https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-donetsk-government-and-politics-b2db1d3c3932e5bb3977a43c476d7c6d
-
Here is Russia's response to the Ukrainian counter-attacks: Kill more civilians in Donbas
@Hoodat
Is it any surprise? Everywhere they've gone atrocities have followed. What surprises me is the restraint of the Ukrainians so far. It may be we just aren't getting reports, but we aren't seeing civilian Russian sympathizers indiscriminately being shot in the back of their head, or pulled from their homes and shot in the street by the Ukrainians. The only reports I've seen are of known collaborators being assassinated.
-
Here is Russia's response to the Ukrainian counter-attacks: Kill more civilians in Donbas
@Hoodat
Is it any surprise? Everywhere they've gone atrocities have followed. What surprises me is the restraint of the Ukrainians so far. It may be we just aren't getting reports, but we aren't seeing civilian Russian sympathizers indiscriminately being shot in the back of their head, or pulled from their homes and shot in the street by the Ukrainians. The only reports I've seen are of known collaborators being assassinated.
I haven't seen much pro-Russian press recently. Has a towel been thrown in recently?
-
I haven't seen much pro-Russian press recently. Has a towel been thrown in recently?
I think when things started to turn in Ukraine's favor they lost interest.
-
Russian nationalists rage after stunning setback in Ukraine
https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/russian-nationalists-rage-after-stunning-setback-ukraine-2022-09-11/ (https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/russian-nationalists-rage-after-stunning-setback-ukraine-2022-09-11/)
LONDON, Sept 11 (Reuters) - Russian nationalists called angrily on Sunday for President Vladimir Putin to make immediate changes to ensure ultimate victory in the Ukraine war, a day after Moscow was forced to abandon its main bastion in northeastern Ukraine.
The swift fall of Izium in Kharkiv province was Russia's worst military defeat since its troops were forced back from the Ukrainian capital Kyiv in March.
As Russian forces abandoned town after town on Saturday, Putin was opening Europe's largest ferris wheel in a Moscow park, while fireworks lit up the sky over Red Square to celebrate the city's founding in 1147.
In an 11-minute-long voice message posted to the Telegram messaging app, Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov, a Putin ally whose troops have been at the forefront of the campaign in Ukraine, dismissed the loss of Izium, a critical supply hub.
But he conceded the campaign was not going to plan.
"If today or tomorrow changes are not made in the conduct of the special military operation, I will be forced to go to the country's leadership to explain to them the situation on the ground," said Kadyrov.
Moscow's almost total silence on the defeat - or any explanation for what had taken place in northeastern Ukraine - provoked significant anger among some pro-war commentators and Russian nationalists on social media.
More at link.
-
https://twitter.com/Gerashchenko_en/status/1568863858260836353
-
Russian troops are pushed back to the BORDER in some regions with Putin's men 'fleeing like Olympic sprinters' - as furious Vlad strikes power grid with missiles as revenge
By CHRIS PLEASANCE and WILL STEWART FOR MAILONLINE
12 September 2022
Ukraine has chased Russian troops back across the border after recapturing dozens of towns and key cities in a stunning counter-attack that has dealt yet another humiliating defeat to Putin's military.
Videos that emerged Sunday afternoon and Monday morning appeared to show Kyiv's men at a border crossing with Russia in Strilecha - north of Kharkiv - ripping down Russia's flag and replacing it with their own.
It comes after similar scenes played out across the entire Kharkiv region at the weekend, as Ukraine's troops stormed east out of the city - smashing through Russian lines and liberating a swathe of territory twice the size of Greater London, including several key transport and logistics hubs supporting Putin's men in the Donbas.
Petro Kuzyk, a commander whose troops participated in the offensive, told the Financial Times that the Russians fled so fast that meals were still laid out on tables when his men arrived.
'We hoped for success but didn't expect such cowardly behaviour,' he said. 'They abandoned their tanks and equipment . . . even grabbed bicycles to escape.
* * *
Source: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11203063/Russia-bombs-Ukrainian-power-plants-revenge-Kharkiv-rout.html
-
Ukraine's Offensive Continues, Russia Shows No Sign of Being Able to Stop It, Intriguing Rumors Abound
By streiff
Sep 11, 2022
Saturday, I posted on the new Ukrainian offensive in Kharkiv Oblast that has liberated several hundred square miles of territory and threatens to unravel the entire Russian invasion; see Russia’s Disaster in Kharkiv Turns Into an Avalanche of Failure as Ukraine’s Army Advances Without Opposition.
The main effort in yesterday’s report was Kupiansk, a critical rail and highway node on the Oskil river. That city is firmly in Ukrainian hands. As I noted yesterday, this places the main railroad line from Russian forces in Ukraine to Russia within range of Ukrainian tube artillery.
The Ukrainian offensive in Kharkiv Oblast shows some signs of slowing down, unlike the Russian withdrawal.
* * *
But progress continues. I’d thought the Oskil River/reservoir running south from Kupiansk might mark a line of advance for this phase of the operation. New reports indicate the Ukrainians have vaulted the Oskil River and are in hot pursuit of the fleeing Russians with the possibility of re-conquering the fake Luhansk People’s Republic created by the Russians in 2014.
* * *
Source: https://redstate.com/streiff/2022/09/11/ukraines-offensive-continues-russia-shows-no-sign-of-being-able-to-stop-it-intriguing-rumors-abound-n625911
-
New reports indicate the Ukrainians have vaulted the Oskil River and are in hot pursuit of the fleeing Russians with the possibility of re-conquering the fake Luhansk People’s Republic created by the Russians in 2014.
Nice.
-
Kupyansk liberated from Russian invaders.
(https://gdb.rferl.org/009d0000-0aff-0242-945b-08da93b7d061_cx4_cy15_cw91_w1023_r1_s.jpg)
-
Third group of Russian politicians calls for Putin to resign for 'harming citizens' future' with his invasion of Ukraine
By WALTER FINCH FOR MAILONLINE
12 September 2022
Vladimir Putin's problems are mounting as a group of Russian politicians have risked their livelihoods to demand his resignation in the wake of his collapsing invasion of Ukraine.
Municipal deputies from 18 districts of Moscow, St. Petersburg and Kolpino made the statement on Twitter, the third such group to do so in a week after similar calls last Wednesday and Thursday.
'We believe that the actions of President Vladimir Putin inflict harm on the future of Russia and its citizens,' they published on the Twitter of Xenia Torstrem, a municipal deputy of St Petersburg.
'We demand the resignation of Vladimir Putin from the office of President of the Russian Federation.'
The demand is followed by the signatures of 18 local councillors from districts within the three cities.
'The text of the petition is concise and does not 'discredit' anyone. If you are a municipal deputy and want to join, you are welcome,' Torstrem added.
* * *
Source: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11204175/Russian-politicians-call-Putin-resign-harming-citizens-future-Ukraine-invasion.html
-
Third group of Russian politicians calls for Putin to resign for 'harming citizens' future' with his invasion of Ukraine
By WALTER FINCH FOR MAILONLINE
12 September 2022
Vladimir Putin's problems are mounting as a group of Russian politicians have risked their livelihoods to demand his resignation in the wake of his collapsing invasion of Ukraine.
Municipal deputies from 18 districts of Moscow, St. Petersburg and Kolpino made the statement on Twitter, the third such group to do so in a week after similar calls last Wednesday and Thursday.
'We believe that the actions of President Vladimir Putin inflict harm on the future of Russia and its citizens,' they published on the Twitter of Xenia Torstrem, a municipal deputy of St Petersburg.
'We demand the resignation of Vladimir Putin from the office of President of the Russian Federation.'
The demand is followed by the signatures of 18 local councillors from districts within the three cities.
'The text of the petition is concise and does not 'discredit' anyone. If you are a municipal deputy and want to join, you are welcome,' Torstrem added.
The news from the past week have to be a national embarssment.. Got to wonder how much of new from the war front are reaching the Russian people. I got to speculate much of web browing is being squelched and controlled. I do know in my online free poker site, there used to be dozens of Russian players. Since the invasion, there have been zero.
-
The news from the past week have to be a national embarssment.. Got to wonder how much of new from the war front are reaching the Russian people. I got to speculate much of web browing is being squelched and controlled. I do know in my online free poker site, there used to be dozens of Russian players. Since the invasion, there have been zero.
If I recall correctly, Russia cut off the ability to easily surf to non-Russian sites by setting up a Russian captive version of the DNS system; however, I would think that with things like private VPNs and the tor network that Russians who are willing to do some digging are able to get outside of the new cyberiron wall.
-
Russia's response - attack civilians
Firefighters Battle Flames At Kharkiv Power Station After Russian Attack
"I will not hide the fact that the consequences of missile strikes are severe," city mayor Ihor Terekhov wrote on his Telegram channel.
Associated Press Television News | 12th September, 2022 03:50 IST
Flames lit up the night sky at a power station on the western outskirts of Kharkiv on Sunday after it was hit in a strike. Thick smoke billowed into the air, illuminated by the orange glow of the fire. Ukrainian officials said Kharkiv TEC-5, the country’s second-biggest heat and power plant, had been hit in a Russian attack.
At least one person was killed at the plant, according to the head of the Kharkiv regional administration. Russia struck at Ukraine's infrastructure Sunday night, causing widespread blackouts, with the Kharkiv and Donetsk regions among those without power, officials said. Authorities were working to restore the supply of electricity and water to Kharkiv residents.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy denounced the “deliberate and cynical missile strikes” against civilian targets as acts of terrorism. Ukraine’s second-largest city of Kharkiv appeared to be without power Sunday night. Cars drove through darkened streets, and the few pedestrians used flashlights or mobile phones to light their way. Separately, the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant in the Russia-occupied south completely shut down in a bid to prevent a radiation disaster as fighting raged nearby. . .
https://www.republicworld.com/world-news/russia-ukraine-crisis/firefighters-battle-flames-at-kharkiv-power-station-after-russian-attack-articleshow.html
The plant was hit by one of twelve Iskander missiles fired from Belgorod. Nine were intercepted. The irony is that the Kharkiv grid is tied to the Belgorod grid. So the missile strike cause a power outage in Belgorod.
-
Russia's response - attack civilians
Firefighters Battle Flames At Kharkiv Power Station After Russian Attack
Which is apparently the way the Russians have been fighting the whole war.
If these stories about a Ukrainian rout of the Russians are true, then Putin is going to get kicked out for losing Crimea.
-
Ukraine retakes town in eastern Donetsk region after forces cross Siverskiy Donets river
From CNN's Tim Lister and Denis Lapin
12 September 2022
In a further sign of the ongoing Ukrainian counteroffensive in the east, geolocated images and video show that Ukrainian units have crossed the Siverskiy Donets river to take control of the town of Svyatohirsk in Donetsk region.
One geolocated image shows the damaged administrative building in the town with the Ukrainian flag hung above the entrance. Other images show Ukrainian soldiers on the streets of the town. The Ukrainians had held on to the south bank of the river in this area during the Russian offensive.
Why this matters: The capture of Svyatohirsk will further complicate any attempt by the remaining Russian-backed forces in the area to withdraw.
Some militia units of the self-declared Donetsk People's Republic continue to hold out in the town of Lyman, but any retreat to the east would be difficult if Ukrainian advances continue.
* * *
Source: https://www.cnn.com/europe/live-news/russia-ukraine-war-news-09-12-22/index.html
-
Ukraine retakes town in eastern Donetsk region after forces cross Siverskiy Donets river
From CNN's Tim Lister and Denis Lapin
12 September 2022
A week ago, there were reports that Ozerny had been liberated. Clearly, the Ukrainians can cross that river at will now.
link (https://en.defence-ua.com/news/vysokopillia_in_the_south_and_ozerne_in_the_east_liberated_ukraines_military_reported_successful_counterattacks-4110.html)
-
Valuable Trophy for Ukrainian Military: russian 'Orlan' Complex With Documentation
Defense Express
September 12, 2022
The capture of the unmanned aerial recon system will significantly help Ukrainian troops to track and counter these drones in the future
Warriors of the 8th Regiment of the Special Operations Forces together with the "Desna" special sniper group have seized a unique and valuable trophy – the entire "Orlan-10" reconnaissance complex, which includes not only the Orlan drones but also ground stations, antennas and technical documentation.
The news comes from Pavlo Kashchuk, OSINT-community InformNapalm reports. The equipment was seized from the 15th Army Aviation Brigade of the russian army.
"That means, very soon, the 'second' army of the world will in fact lose its most widely used UAVs. They will become even easier prey for our EW and SIGINT, as well as their crews on the ground for our HIMARS! It seems like the precise coordinates of the stations can be tracked by the signal," the Ukrainian serviceman wrote on his Facebook.
* * *
Source: https://en.defence-ua.com/news/valuable_trophy_for_ukrainian_military_russian_orlan_complex_with_documentation-4200.html
-
So... at this point what is the percent chance of the Uke's reclaiming Crimea?
You'd think that would be the last straw for putin.
-
So... at this point what is the percent chance of the Uke's reclaiming Crimea?
You'd think that would be the last straw for putin.
I don't know about this point in time, but that percent chance has to be increasing, on both counts. If Putin loses Crimea, he's outta there. Putsch time.
-
So... at this point what is the percent chance of the Uke's reclaiming Crimea?
You'd think that would be the last straw for putin.
At some point, Ukraine will find a way to destroy the Kerch Strait Bridge. Once that happens, Russia's hold on Crimea will be severely jeopardized. Their Black Sea fleet is in shambles (other than submarines). And if they lose Sevastopol, their next closest port is over 200 miles away.
-
(https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/976/cpsprodpb/11E0C/production/_126682237_kharkiv_counter_offensive_side_by_side_11_09_x2640-nc.png)
-
Valuable Trophy for Ukrainian Military: russian 'Orlan' Complex With Documentation
Defense Express
September 12, 2022
The capture of the unmanned aerial recon system will significantly help Ukrainian troops to track and counter these drones in the future
Warriors of the 8th Regiment of the Special Operations Forces together with the "Desna" special sniper group have seized a unique and valuable trophy – the entire "Orlan-10" reconnaissance complex, which includes not only the Orlan drones but also ground stations, antennas and technical documentation.
The news comes from Pavlo Kashchuk, OSINT-community InformNapalm reports. The equipment was seized from the 15th Army Aviation Brigade of the russian army.
"That means, very soon, the 'second' army of the world will in fact lose its most widely used UAVs. They will become even easier prey for our EW and SIGINT, as well as their crews on the ground for our HIMARS! It seems like the precise coordinates of the stations can be tracked by the signal," the Ukrainian serviceman wrote on his Facebook.
* * *
Source: https://en.defence-ua.com/news/valuable_trophy_for_ukrainian_military_russian_orlan_complex_with_documentation-4200.html
Sometimes enthusiasm is not a good thing. If the Russians didn't know about their vulnerability before they do now.
Overall, the Ukrainians sure have been very sharp in how they've adapted to modern technology. I sure hope they get their entire country back and are able to punish all the collaborators, especially those that killed, or were complicit in the killing of Ukrainian civilians trapped in Russian controlled areas.
-
So... at this point what is the percent chance of the Uke's reclaiming Crimea?
You'd think that would be the last straw for putin.
30%
It's a tough nut to crack. Russia can resupply Crimea from the bridge they built and their airplanes can cover that territory pretty quickly from their Russian bases.
-
https://twitter.com/KyivIndependent/status/1569594934356856832
-
Ukraine's soldiers inch toward Sievierodonetsk in major counteroffensive
Cities in Ukraine that have been occupied since April once again raise the Ukrainian flag
Caitlin McFall | September 13, 2022 | 9:20am EDT
Russian forces are withdrawing from areas in the Luhansk region, local officials said Tuesday, marking the latest development in Ukraine’s counteroffensive as its soldiers push eastward.
Governor of Luhansk, Serhiy Haidai, took to Telegram to say the city of Kreminna, first occupied by Russian forces in April, had once again raised the Ukrainian flag over its buildings.
(https://a57.foxnews.com/static.foxnews.com/foxnews.com/content/uploads/2022/09/720/405/GettyImages-1243135130-e1663070468707.jpg)
Ukrainian flag waves after Ukrainian army liberated the town of Balakliya in the southeastern Kharkiv oblast on Sept. 11, 2022. (Metin Aktas/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
It remains unclear why Russian forces have apparently withdrawn from the area just 15 miles north of the strategically important city of Sievierodonetsk and Fox News could not confirm if Ukrainian soldiers had yet advanced on Kreminna . . .
https://www.foxnews.com/world/ukraines-soldiers-inch-toward-sievierodonetsk-major-counteroffensive
This tells me that there is zero leadership on the ground with Russian forces. There is no command structure in place for regrouping and counter-attack. There could be a bigger mutiny going on here among mid-level commanders.
-
80% of Izium infrastructure is destroyed and heating systems are damaged, Ukrainian officials say
Tim Lister and Julia Kesaieva | 10:10 a.m. ET, September 12, 2022
(https://dynaimage.cdn.cnn.com/cnn/digital-images/org/b77aa108-6635-40e8-85e1-0c2c83fe7661.jpg)
People carrying their belongings walk in front of a destroyed building in Izyum, Kharkiv Region, on September 11. (Juan Barreto/AFP/Getty Images)
Ukrainian officials have begun addressing the daunting demands of reconstruction in recently liberated areas, with winter just a couple of months away.
After recapturing the city of Izium over the weekend, Ukrainian forces are taking steps to stabilize the situation there, according to Maksym Strelnikov, a member of the city council.
Residents who fled want to return home, Strelnikov said at a a briefing Monday, but added that "more than 80% of the city infrastructure is destroyed, including multi-storey buildings and private houses, enterprises, government institutions and educational institutions, as well as [industrial] plants."
"The central heating system, which was used by majority of residents in winter, is damaged. So these would be the challenges to overcome for the local authorities," Strelnikov said.
He also talked about the privations suffered by civilians during the occupation.
"As of now, we know at least 1,000 civilians [in Izium] have died due to hostilities. But we think even more people were affected due to lack of medical care, as the Russian occupiers have destroyed all the health care institutions in March. The occupiers have looted all the pharmacies, so there was no access to medication. This is the most urgent issue for now, along with hospitalization of Izium residents, who require urgent medical care," he added. . .
https://edition.cnn.com/europe/live-news/russia-ukraine-war-news-09-12-22/h_280c69104479678d4adeb8a2a1e12d6e
-
Putin removes frontline commander after only 16 days in charge of operations
Chris King • 12 September 2022 • 21:29
As reported by Ukrainian Defence Force on Sunday, September 11, Vladimir Putin removed the officer in command of the Western Group of the Soviet Union from duty after only three weeks in the role.
Lieutenant General Roman Berdnikov was only appointed as commander of the forces on August 26, when he replaced Lieutenant General Sychevy. The apparent reason behind his rapid removal is the massive amount of devastating defeats received by the Russian forces as a result of the offensive of the Ukrainian military.
https://twitter.com/DI_Ukraine/status/1569019756942065666
Berdikov will reportedly be replaced by Lieutenant General Oleksandr Lapin, the officer previously in command of the Centre Group. He will reportedly be tasked with the objective of his restoring the group’s ‘management stability’.
It is believed that all of Lapin’s staff have relocated from the Luhansk region to the command post of the Western Group. . .
https://euroweeklynews.com/2022/09/12/putin-removes-frontline-commander-after-only-16-days-in-charge-of-operations/
-
Accounts of Russian torture emerge in liberated areas
Orla Guerin, BBC | 1 hour ago
In north-eastern Ukraine, a counter-offensive has seen the nation's forces recapture swathes of territory, and drive out Russian troops.
But in the newly-liberated areas, relief and sorrow are intertwined - as accounts emerge of torture and killings during the long months of Russian occupation.
Artem, who lives in the city of Balakliya in the Kharkiv region told the BBC he was held by Russians for more than 40 days, and was tortured with electrocution.
Balakliya was liberated on 8 September after being occupied for more than six months. The epicentre of the brutality was the city's police station, which Russian forces used as their headquarters.
Artem said he could hear screams of pain and terror coming from other cells.
The occupiers made sure the cries could be heard, he said, by turning off the building's noisy ventilation system.
"They turned it off so everyone could hear how people scream when they are shocked with electricity," he told us. "They did this to some of the prisoners every other day... They even did this to the women".
And they did it to Artem, though in his case only once.
"They made me hold two wires," he said.
"There was an electric generator. The faster it went, the higher the voltage. They said, 'if you let it go, you are finished'. Then they started asking questions. They said I was lying, and they started spinning it even more and the voltage increased."
Artem told us he was detained because the Russians found a picture of his brother, a soldier, in uniform. . . .
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-62888388
-
"They made me hold two wires," he said.
"There was an electric generator. The faster it went, the higher the voltage. They said, 'if you let it go, you are finished'. Then they started asking questions. They said I was lying, and they started spinning it even more and the voltage increased."
Artem told us he was detained because the Russians found a picture of his brother, a soldier, in uniform. . . .
Not a great way to win the hearts and minds of your traditional "Russians".
Russia has been the evil aggressor from the beginning. The good news is they have destroyed themselves in the process. Europe has been forced to stop buying oil & gas from Russia and in the process they will have more dependable sources that won't hold them hostage. The multinational businesses that pulled out of Russia will not risk the capital to go back. The population of Russia is aging and the younger generation is not at a replacement rate and this trend is accelerating. All in all I have to say it couldn't happen to a better bunch.
Ukraine posed no threat to Russia when Russia promoted a separatist movement and also took Crimea. When Russia invaded this year Ukraine still posed no threat to Russia, but the difference this time was instead of crumbling under the "great Russian might" they fought.
I would love to see Ukraine finish the job and push Russia out of all of Ukraine, then I would love to see Putin thrown out of office, and finally with a neutered Russia I would like to see the USA pull out of NATO.
-
Ukraine has pulled off 'one of the greatest counter attacks in modern history': Military expert JUSTIN BRONK says Vladimir Putin has NO good options and Russia's entire invasion force could COLLAPSE in worst defeat since WW2
By JUSTIN BRONK FOR MAILONLINE
14 September 2022
The long awaited Ukrainian counter-offensive to retake the southern city of Kherson finally began late last month.
However, many were dismayed by the relatively cautious pace at which Ukrainian forces were advancing, and pointed out that by making it so obvious that a counter-offensive was being prepared in Kherson, Kyiv had given the Russian Army more than a month to move some of its most elite remaining units and large numbers of supporting reserve units to block it.
The brilliance of this strategy his been revealed as of Wednesday last week, as a second Ukrainian force launched a smaller scale but much more mobile counter-offensive in the Kharkiv region to the north.
After initially breaking through the Russian frontlines at the town of Balakliya, Ukrainian armoured and mechanised brigades did not stop to consolidate their gains, but instead drove rapidly throughout the next two days and nights, deep into Russian-occupied territory.
As the Ukrainian commanders urgently rushed reinforcements in to consolidate and widen the narrow corridor of liberated towns, the spearhead units isolated and then bypassed the limited Russian reserve forces that tried to halt them at the small village of Sevchenkove and reached the southern edge of the crucial junction city of Kup'yansk on Friday morning.
* * *
Source: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/debate/article-11206285/Vladimir-Putin-no-good-options-react-Ukraine-says-military-expert-JUSTIN-BRONK.html
-
The moment Russian TV accidentally revealed catastrophic losses: State media war correspondent slips, saying: 'we're losing a huge number of people...er...we're having great successes!'
By JACK NEWMAN FOR MAILONLINE
13 September 2022
Russia's state media war correspondent has accidentally revealed the scale of their losses in Ukraine, admitting a 'huge number of people' have died.
Alexander Sladkov was speaking to the Kremlin-run Rossiya 1 news channel from the Donbas where he let slip how effective Ukraine's counter-offensive has been, despite Putin claiming it is part of a tactical reorganisation by his army.
The reporter then quickly corrected himself after appearing to remember who he was speaking to, and told the propaganda channel that Russia is having 'great successes', without being able to name them.
Sladkov said, using a boxing analogy: 'People here [in the Donbas] are waiting for us to get started.
'For us to hit them so hard that they end up on their backsides. That's to say, a knockout! It's very difficult to win on points.
'We're losing a huge number of people, we have wounded... we're having... great successes!
* * *
Source: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11206191/Russian-war-correspondent-accidentally-reveals-catastrophic-losses-Ukraine-state-TV.html
-
After initially breaking through the Russian frontlines at the town of Balakliya, Ukrainian armoured and mechanised brigades did not stop to consolidate their gains, but instead drove rapidly throughout the next two days and nights, deep into Russian-occupied territory.
This is how it's done, people. This type of initiative is not found in a Soviet system where the only role of mid and low level officers is to wait for orders from division and army level commanders.
-
Zelensky visits latest liberated city as hope of victory spreads across Ukraine... while dismayed Russia propagandists call on Putin to admit 'serious defeat'
By CHRIS PLEASANCE FOR MAILONLINE
14 September 2022
Volodymyr Zelensky has helped raised the Ukrainian flag over the newly-recaptured Russian stronghold of Izyum as he celebrates a stunning counter-attack that routed Putin's forces in the north of the country.
The Ukrainian president took part in a minute of silence for fallen soldiers before congratulating those still fighting on their victory. He then raising the flag in triumph over the city - which previously served as the launchpad for the Putin's mission to seize the entire Donbas region.
'Ukraine is taking back its own,' a military spokesman said, as a growing hope of overall victory against Putin's forces begins to spread across the country in the wake of Russia's most-recent battlefield humiliation.
The scale of the unfolding military disaster is so great that not even the Kremlin's sock-puppet propagandists are trying to disguise it, instead telling viewers on Monday night of a 'serious defeat' while considering - for the first time - the prospect of total defeat in Ukraine.
Karen Shakhnazarov, a film-maker and Kremlin loyalist, told viewers of Vladimir Solovyov's nightly show that Russia is now in a 'very difficult situation' against a 'strong adversary' - adding that Moscow's armed forces 'were not ready' for what he finally admitted is a 'war' and not a 'special military operation'.
'This war can only end with the defeat of one of the sides,' he said. 'For us, this defeat may prove fatal... it may lead to the disintegration of the country.'
* * *
Source: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11210639/Ukraine-war-Zelensky-speaks-victory-Russian-propagandists-admit-defeat.html
-
The moment Russian TV accidentally revealed catastrophic losses: State media war correspondent slips, saying: 'we're losing a huge number of people...er...we're having great successes!'
I saw a Russian media clip a couple of days ago where one commentator accidentally let it slip, calling this conflict a "war". Not sure if that commentator has been arrested yet.
-
Karen Shakhnazarov, a film-maker and Kremlin loyalist, told viewers of Vladimir Solovyov's nightly show that Russia is now in a 'very difficult situation' against a 'strong adversary' - adding that Moscow's armed forces 'were not ready' for what he finally admitted is a 'war' and not a 'special military operation'.
'This war can only end with the defeat of one of the sides,' he said. 'For us, this defeat may prove fatal... it may lead to the disintegration of the country.'
That might be the clip I saw.
-
Russian troops 'leaving southern city of Melitopol'
4h ago | 04:25
Russian troops have been pulling out from Melitopol, the second largest city in Ukraine's southern Zaporizhzhia region, the city's pre-occupation mayor has said.
Melitopol Mayor Ivan Fedorov wrote on Telegram that the Russian troops were heading toward Moscow-annexed Crimea.
He said columns of military vehicles were seen at a checkpoint in Chonhar, a village on the boundary between the Crimean peninsula and the Ukrainian mainland.
Mr Fedorov's claim could not immediately be verified. Melitopol has been occupied by Russian forces since early March, and is some distance from the main Ukrainian advance in the Kharkiv region.
https://news.sky.com/story/ukraine-war-latest-updates-putin-rejected-deal-that-met-his-demands-on-ukraine-before-war-12541713?postid=4463109#liveblog-body
-
Kremlin TV Airs Call for Russia to Admit ‘Serious Defeat’
https://news.yahoo.com/kremlin-tv-airs-call-russia-164208089.html (https://news.yahoo.com/kremlin-tv-airs-call-russia-164208089.html)
Brutal realizations have been raining upon the Kremlin’s top propagandists—and when it rains, it pours. The same pundits who used to threaten NATO countries with nuclear strikes are begrudgingly acknowledging that Russia’s Armed Forces have suffered a series of humiliating setbacks in Ukraine.
Appearing on Russia’s NTV show The Meeting Place on Monday, policy analyst Viktor Olevich surmised: “Unfortunately, the situation is difficult. Can we say that the Russian forces moved closer to meeting the goals and carrying out the tasks set by the president at the beginning of the special operation—or did they get further away? Obviously, we’re now further away.”
Bogdan Bezpalko, member of the Council for Interethnic Relations under the President of the Russian Federation, was even more outspoken. “For two months, Ukrainian Armed Forces and military equipment have been massing in that area, all Telegram channels have been writing about it. Where was our damn reconnaissance? All of their heads should be laying on Putin’s desk, hacked off at the base... Of course, this is a tactical defeat. I hope it will be very sobering.”
On Monday’s broadcast of The Evening With Vladimir Solovyov, filmmaker Karen Shakhnazarov likewise dispensed a large dose of brutal honesty. “I urge everyone not to panic in the face of a defeat we’ve suffered in the Kharkiv region, and we have to acknowledge it,” he said. “A defeat has some meaning when you acknowledge it and draw new conclusions. And if you don’t acknowledge it, all you get is another defeat, perhaps even more devastating. This is a very difficult situation and we have to recognize that we’re battling a very powerful adversary.”
More at link.
-
This is how it's done, people. This type of initiative is not found in a Soviet system where the only role of mid and low level officers is to wait for orders from division and army level commanders.
Basically, it is a blitzkrieg.
-
Putin's limousine is 'hit by loud bang' in possible 'attack' – but Russian leader is left unharmed – according to anti-Kremlin sources who revealed health scares… and also claim 'he has ordered gymnast lover to have an abortion'
By WILL STEWART FOR MAILONLINE
14 September 2022
Vladimir Putin's car was 'attacked' in what may have been an assassination attempt amid the Ukraine war, according to an unconfirmed claim.
His limousine was hit by a 'loud bang' on its 'left front wheel followed by heavy smoke', it is alleged.
The car drove to safety with Putin unharmed but there have been multiple arrests from his security service - while other bodyguards have vanished - amid claims that secret information about the 69-year-old ruler's movements was compromised, says General SVR Telegram channel.
General SVR is a Russian Telegram channel which regularly posts alleged insider information about Putin and the Kremlin.
While some are sceptical of General SVR, others say it is one of the few prominent anti-Putin channels in Russia that provides an insight into the true goings-on at the Kremlin.
* * *
Source: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11212515/Putins-limousine-hit-loud-bang-possible-attack.html
-
Putin rejected Ukraine peace deal struck by aide as war began: report
By Snejana Farberov
September 14, 2022
Russian President Vladimir Putin scrapped a peace deal with Ukraine that had been negotiated by his top envoy at the start of the war, and instead forged ahead with the bloody invasion to conquer more of the neighboring country’s territory, a new report claims.
The Ukrainian-born envoy, Dmitry Kozak, told the Russian president at the early stages of the conflict that he believed the provisional agreement he had hammered out with Kyiv would prevent Ukraine from joining NATO — and remove the need for Moscow to pursue a large-scale occupation of Ukraine, according to three people close to the Kremlin speaking exclusively to Reuters.
Putin, 69, had repeatedly claimed before the war that NATO was creeping closer to Russia’s borders by accepting new members from Eastern Europe, and that the alliance was preparing to bring Ukraine into the fold as well. Putin publicly said the prospect of Ukraine’s membership in NATO represented an existential threat to Russia, forcing him to react.
But, despite earlier backing the peace talks, Putin made it clear when presented with Kozak’s deal that the concessions negotiated by his trusted deputy chief of staff did not go far enough, the sources said. He expanded his objectives to include annexing portions of Ukrainian territory.
* * *
Source: https://nypost.com/2022/09/14/putin-rejected-ukraine-peace-deal-struck-by-aide-as-war-began/
-
The Ukrainian-born envoy, Dmitry Kozak, told the Russian president at the early stages of the conflict that he believed the provisional agreement he had hammered out with Kyiv would prevent Ukraine from joining NATO — and remove the need for Moscow to pursue a large-scale occupation of Ukraine, according to three people close to the Kremlin speaking exclusively to Reuters.
Talk about ironic!
If Ukraine continues to do well in this war Russia will have destroyed it's ability to be a threat to Europe. If Russia is no longer a threat then why have NATO.
-
Putin's limousine is 'hit by loud bang' in possible 'attack' – but Russian leader is left unharmed – according to anti-Kremlin sources who revealed health scares… and also claim 'he has ordered gymnast lover to have an abortion'
Not so sure of this. Seems an assassination attempt of the Russian leader would be garnishing more media coverage, no matter how extensive the news black out there.
-
Not so sure of this. Seems an assassination attempt of the Russian leader would be garnishing more media coverage, no matter how extensive the news black out there.
I agree. It could have been nothing more than a flat tire for all we know. I posted it mainly because it was sourced from a Russian account, albeit a supposedly anti-Putin Russian account, and more for what it may indicate about the mood of Russia and Russians generally, rather than a precisely factually accurate account.
-
I agree. It could have been nothing more than a flat tire for all we know. I posted it mainly because it was sourced from a Russian account, albeit a supposedly anti-Putin Russian account, and more for what it may indicate about the mood of Russia and Russians generally, rather than a precisely factually accurate account.
Sure seems anti-Putin sentiment is building there. Considering the fall of Communism was only about 30 years ago, I am sure the Russians aren't really ready for another massive interntional geopolitical embarssment.
-
Ukraine Update for September 14, 2022
https://www.battleswarmblog.com/?p=52626 (https://www.battleswarmblog.com/?p=52626)
Russia acknowledges defeat in Kharkiv, ultranationalists start to turn on Putin, Lyman is the new battleground, and unconfirmed reports of Russian troops abandoning Melitopol.
Let’s dig in.
ISW’s takeaways for September 13 (https://www.understandingwar.org/backgrounder/russian-offensive-campaign-assessment-september-13):
The Kremlin has recognized its defeat in Kharkiv Oblast, the first defeat Russia has acknowledged in this war. The Kremlin is deflecting blame from Russian President Vladimir Putin and attributing it instead to his military advisors.
The Kremlin is likely seeking to use the defeat in Kharkiv to facilitate crypto mobilization efforts by intensifying patriotic rhetoric and discussions about fuller mobilization while revisiting a Russian State Duma bill allowing the military to send call-ups for the regular semiannual conscription by mail. Nothing in the Duma bill suggests that Putin is preparing to order general mobilization, and it is far from clear that he could do so quickly in any case.
The successful Ukrainian counter-offensive around Kharkiv Oblast is prompting Russian servicemen, occupation authorities, and milbloggers to panic.
Russia’s military failures in Ukraine are likely continuing to weaken Russia’s leverage in the former Soviet Union as Russia appears unwilling to enforce a violated ceasefire it brokered between Armenia and Azerbaijan or to allow Armenia to invoke provisions of the Russia-dominated Collective Security Treaty Organization in its defense.
More at link.
-
(https://img-9gag-fun.9cache.com/photo/aME212W_460s.jpg)
-
(https://img-9gag-fun.9cache.com/photo/aME212W_460s.jpg)
lol
-
Ukrainian Armed Forces liberate Kyselivka, only Chornobaivka separates them from Kherson – Kherson Oblast Council
IRYNA BALACHUK | WEDNESDAY, 14 SEPTEMBER 2022, 22:00
Oleksandr Samoilenko, Head of the Kherson Oblast Military Administration, said that the Armed Forces of Ukraine liberated the village of Kyselivka in Kherson Oblast on 13 September. Now only the village of Chornobaivka stands between the Ukrainian forces and the city of Kherson.
Source: Samoilenko on the 24/7 national newscast
Quote: "The village of Kyselivka was liberated yesterday [13 September], which is situated in the immediate vicinity of the [city of Kherson]. The only village that, as of today, stands between the Ukrainian army and the city of Kherson is the infamous Chornobaivka. But everyone in Ukraine knows that Chornobaivka is where the occupiers meet their death."
Details: Samoilenko also said that the explosions that could be heard on the Karantinnyi Island in Kherson accompanied the "precise strike" of the Ukrainian Armed Forces on the area where Russian occupying forces were stationed and concentrated.
https://www.pravda.com.ua/eng/news/2022/09/14/7367490/
-
Putin attempts to FLOOD Zelensky's home city with missile strike on reservoir dam, forcing residents to flee their homes, as Russia takes revenge for battlefield defeats
By CHRIS PLEASANCE and TOM BROWN FOR MAILONLINE
15 September 2022
Evacuations are underway in a major Ukrainian city after Russia hit a dam with eight cruise missiles in its latest 'revenge' attack on civilians as its invasion fails.
Kryvyi Rih, President Zelensky's home city, was inundated with water on Wednesday afternoon and overnight after an attack on the Karachun Dam.
The strikes badly damaged the dam and a nearby pumping station, releasing huge amounts of water into the Inhulets River and causing it to swell.
* * *
Source: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11214435/Russia-strikes-Ukrainian-dam-city-Kryvyi-Rih-latest-revenge-attack.html
-
Calls for Putin's resignation grow in Russia as more politicians and prominent lawyer risk their freedom with public demands for Vladimir to go and war in Ukraine to end
By WILL STEWART FOR MAILONLINE
15 September 2022
A prominent human rights lawyer and local politicians have joined a growing chorus of dissenters calling for Vladimir Putin to resign over the war in Ukraine.
Daniil Berman, who defended the Russian news anchor who held up a protest sign on live TV, has spoken out to say the 'special military operation' in Ukraine 'is [actually] a hot war with a sovereign state that must be stopped'.
He was joined by dozens more politicians from across Russia who have added their names to a petition calling for Putin to go, bringing the total to 67.
* * *
Source: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11214977/Calls-Putins-resignation-grow-Russia-Ukraine-war-failings.html
-
For Ukrainians rooting out Russians in south, patience pays
By Scott Peterson and Oleksandr Naselenko | September 13, 2022
The Ukrainian sociologist-turned-guerrilla fighter believes that the liberation of his southern city of Kherson is only a matter of time.
The first city to fall to Russian troops after their February invasion, Kherson has in recent weeks heard the explosive rumble of the Ukrainian military as it slowly advances to end six months of Russian occupation.
Days of street protests that first greeted the Russian presence – and were suppressed with violence – gave way, he says, to carefully calibrated resistance action that has sabotaged Russian military capacity and claimed the lives of some 20 pro-Russian officials, in Kherson and other occupied towns.
“They feel that the walls are watching them,” says the resistance fighter, who asked not to be further identified, for his safety. He says he is on a Russian wanted list, is trained in laying mines and setting explosives, and has moved 25 times since the occupation began.
“From what we hear in the [Russian] intercepts, they are so eager to escape from here,” says the sociologist/fighter.
That is the result of methodical, patient perseverance on the part of the Kherson resistance to undermine the Russian occupation. A key was striking a balance between doing harm to Russian invaders – by creating conditions that will weaken any Russian pushback to the Ukrainian assault – and not inviting severe retaliation.
“For several months we had an order not to touch [Russian troops] at all, to not provoke sanctions against the civilian population,” says the guerrilla.
Those days are over. . .
https://www.csmonitor.com/World/Europe/2022/0913/For-Ukrainians-rooting-out-Russians-in-south-patience-pays
-
Murderers and sex offenders are told they can become war heroes - or be executed for desertion - in footage showing Putin's 'chef' recruiting prisoners to join Wagner mercenaries in Ukraine
By WILL STEWART and TOM BROWN FOR MAILONLINE
15 September 2022
Putin's 'chef' has been filmed offering a pardon to violent criminals and sex offenders locked up in a Russian prison - if they survive fighting in Ukraine for six months.
Wagner boss Yevgeny Prigozhin, 61, told prisoners they should take their own lives instead of being captured in Ukraine, holding one grenade for the enemy and one for themselves.
Video shows Prigozhin telling the criminals they can become war heroes or be shot as deserters, as the Kremlin steps up recruitment of inmates after suffering a humiliating defeat against Ukraine's army in the east.
* * *
Source: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11214765/Putins-chef-recruiting-prisoners-join-Wagner-mercenaries-Ukraine.html
-
As it has in other parts of Ukraine it has occupied, Russia has tried to introduce the Russian ruble as currency in Kherson and impose the Russian language and school curriculum in advance of any attempted referendum.
“Resistance in Kherson is to pay in [Ukrainian] hryvnia, it is to speak Ukrainian, and it is to continue to educate your children online in a Ukrainian school and not send them to a Russian school,” says a journalist with Vgoru called Liza, who asked that only her first name be used.
Constant shelling has made some residents blasé about their own safety, including, Liza says, her grandmother, who lives close to a Russian military base and often hears Ukrainian rockets flying past on the way to their Russian target. She tells her granddaughter she won’t move, “because these sounds make me happy.”
“The liberation of Kherson will be a great victory,” says Liza. “But it will also be a very bitter victory, because the full scale of the crimes committed by the Russians will be revealed to us. People are tortured, people are kidnapped, and most don’t talk about it because people are afraid.”
https://www.csmonitor.com/World/Europe/2022/0913/For-Ukrainians-rooting-out-Russians-in-south-patience-pays
-
in footage showing Putin's 'chef' recruiting prisoners to join Wagner mercenaries in Ukraine
Nazi recruiters.
-
Russia continues its war against Ukrainian civilians:
Houses flooded after missiles hit major dam
11 hours ago
(https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/976/cpsprodpb/13B1F/production/_126717608_78c548d2-ec66-481b-b173-3aa2003f37c7.jpg.webp)
Ukrainian officials say as many as eight Russian missiles hit the dam on Wednesday
Russian missiles have hit a reservoir dam near the southern Ukrainian city of Kryvyi Rih, officials say.
Residents in some areas were told to evacuate, city head Oleksandr Vilkul said, but he added the situation was under control.
Ukraine said the strike was revenge by Russia for its recent counter-attack.
President Volodymyr Zelensky - who was born in the city - described Russia as a "terrorist state" after the attack on the Karachunivske reservoir.
"You are weaklings who fight civilians," Mr Zelensky said in his late night address on Wednesday. "Scoundrels who, having escaped from the battlefield, are trying to do harm from somewhere far away." . . .
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-62910245
-
Russia continues its war against Ukrainian civilians:
Houses flooded after missiles hit major dam
11 hours ago
(https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/976/cpsprodpb/13B1F/production/_126717608_78c548d2-ec66-481b-b173-3aa2003f37c7.jpg.webp)
Ukrainian officials say as many as eight Russian missiles hit the dam on Wednesday
Russian missiles have hit a reservoir dam near the southern Ukrainian city of Kryvyi Rih, officials say.
Residents in some areas were told to evacuate, city head Oleksandr Vilkul said, but he added the situation was under control.
Ukraine said the strike was revenge by Russia for its recent counter-attack.
President Volodymyr Zelensky - who was born in the city - described Russia as a "terrorist state" after the attack on the Karachunivske reservoir.
"You are weaklings who fight civilians," Mr Zelensky said in his late night address on Wednesday. "Scoundrels who, having escaped from the battlefield, are trying to do harm from somewhere far away." . . .
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-62910245
Orcs will be orcs.
-
Ukrainian drone drops bomb into open Russian tank hatch with precision
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZYEoiuDNY3U (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZYEoiuDNY3U)
-
'Mass burial site containing 440 graves' found in Izyum after city liberated by Ukrainian forces
The key city had been under Russian occupation for months but was recaptured amid the surging Ukrainian offensive.
Deborah Haynes | Friday 16 September 2022 01:19, UK
A mass burial site containing around 440 graves has been found in the Ukrainian city of Izyum after it was liberated from Russian control, a top police officer has told Sky News.
Ukraine's president confirmed that a "mass burial site" has been found but he said "clear, verified information" would be released on Friday.
"We want the world to know what is really happening and what the Russian occupation has led to," Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in a nightly video address to the nation. . .
https://news.sky.com/story/mass-burial-site-containing-440-graves-found-in-izyum-after-city-liberated-by-ukrainian-forces-12698332
More Russian war crimes.
-
Ten torture chambers are discovered in recaptured Ukrainian region where 'Russia has left death everywhere' – as images of mass burial site with hundreds of graves are revealed
By CHRIS PLEASANCE and RACHAEL BUNYAN FOR MAILONLINE
16 September 2022
At least ten torture chambers have been discovered in the same Ukrainian region where a fresh mass grave site containing at least 450 bodies was found after Russian forces retreated from the area.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Russia has 'left death everywhere' as he vowed to hold Moscow 'accountable' following the grim discoveries.
Ukrainian authorities discovered the torture chambers one after the other in the Kharkiv region, where Ukrainian civilians and foreigners were detained in 'completely inhuman conditions', officials said.
* * *
Source: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11218677/Mass-graves-Izyum-Zelensky-says-Russia-held-accountable.html
-
Ten torture chambers are discovered in recaptured Ukrainian region where 'Russia has left death everywhere' – as images of mass burial site with hundreds of graves are revealed
But . . . but . . . but someone here told us that Putin was a "liberator and protector".
-
But . . . but . . . but someone here told us that Putin was a "liberator and protector".
Which Briefer was that? I don't remember anyone here saying that.
-
Which Briefer was that? I don't remember anyone here saying that.
I do. Like it was this morning.
-
Woman in charge of bogus 'referendum' on joining Russia in occupied Ukraine is killed alongside her husband in one of two 'double-executions' targeting Putin cronies
By DAVID AVERRE and WILL STEWART FOR MAILONLINE
16 September 2022
The woman in charge of Putin's 'bogus referendum' which would see citizens in occupied Ukraine vote on whether to join the Russian Federation was killed today in an evident sabotage attack.
Lyudmila Boyko headed the election commission in Berdyansk in the southern Zaporizhzhia region, and had been preparing to implement the Kremlin's plans for a poll.
But she was slain alongside her husband Oleg Boyko, himself a senior local official official in the Russian-installed local government, in an explosion close to their home.
It came as the Prosecutor General of the so-called Luhansk People's Republic Sergey Gorenko was killed in another blast which destroyed his office and also killed his deputy, Yekaterina Steglenko.
All four victims of the deadly attacks were in their 40s.
Russia blames both explosions on operations authored by Ukrainian saboteurs.
* * *
Source: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11219585/Election-chief-charge-Putins-referendum-joining-Russia-occupied-Ukraine-killed.html
-
It came as the Prosecutor General of the so-called Luhansk People's Republic Sergey Gorenko was killed in another blast which destroyed his office and also killed his deputy, Yekaterina Steglenko.
Gee, I hate it when that happens. Looks like Ukraine has quite the partisan army.
-
Gee, I hate it when that happens. Looks like Ukraine has quite the partisan army.
:thumbsup:
-
:thumbsup:
There is enough Soviet blood and culture left in the Russians that tells me, that Vlad's days are numbered. How he leaves may or may not be up to him.
-
There is enough Soviet blood and culture left in the Russians that tells me, that Vlad's days are numbers. How he leaves may or may not be up to him.
Agreed.
-
There is enough Soviet blood and culture left in the Russians that tells me, that Vlad's days are numbered.
The sooner that happens, the more Ukrainian civilians will be spared.
-
The sooner that happens, the more Ukrainian civilians will be spared.
Agree there. The one point that kind of concerns me is that if Putin, truly is very ill, how is it affecting his mental capacities, and if he feels like he is a cornered animal, will he unleash some nukes in revenge?
Odds of that happenening are also much greater if Ukraine decides to keep going into Russia if the war gets that far.
I hope Zellinski shows some restraint in that regard.
-
Huge Explosion as Pro-Russian Officials Hit By Ukraine HIMARS, Video Shows
Isabel van Brugen | 7h ago
Ukraine struck its occupied Kherson region at least five times on Friday using U.S.-supplied High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS), causing a huge explosion at a building where officials of the Russian-installed administration were holding a meeting, authorities said.
A video published by Russian state-run news agency RIA Novosti shows a huge plume of smoke rising from the building of the Kherson regional administration. Another video shows extensive damage to Kherson's district court building.
Kherson has been under Russian control since the beginning of March. However, Ukraine is waging a counteroffensive in the region, and has had success in another counterattack in the Kharkiv area in the northeast of the country.
Ekaterina Gubareva, the deputy head of the Russian-installed administration in Kherson, said that at the time of the strike a meeting was underway between the heads of the city and municipal districts.
She called the attack "a vile act of terrorism" and said the head of the labor department was injured, and her driver died.
Another official in the Russian-installed administration was wounded, according to Tass. . . .
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/huge-explosion-as-pro-russian-officials-hit-by-ukraine-himars-video-shows/ar-AA11UjVI
I suspect Ekaterina Gubareva will be relocating to Russia in the coming weeks to spend the remainder of her short life. She's a dead woman walking in Kherson right now.
-
Germany promised Ukraine weapons but hasn’t delivered. Now, anger toward Berlin is rising
Holly Ellyatt | FRI, SEP 16 2022 | 1:13 AM EDT
Ukraine’s relations with Germany have soured this week, with Kyiv asking why Berlin reneged on its promise to provide heavy weaponry.
Tensions over Germany’s provision of Leopard tanks and infantry fighting vehicles to Ukraine — or lack thereof — came to a head this week when Ukraine’s foreign minister, Dmytro Kuleba, publicly asked why Berlin was backtracking on a pledge made to send these weapons to Ukraine.
“Disappointing signals from Germany while Ukraine needs Leopards and Marders now — to liberate people and save them from genocide,” Kuleba said on Twitter, adding that there was “not a single rational argument on why these weapons can not be supplied, only abstract fears and excuses.”
“What is Berlin afraid of that Kyiv is not?” he added.
The Marder is a German infantry fighting vehicle designed to be used alongside Leopard battle tanks in combat.
Kuleba’s comments came as Ukraine launches counterattacks against Russian forces in both the south and northeast of the country. Ukraine’s counterattack in the northeast Kharkiv region was hailed as a particular success, with Russian forces withdrawing from towns and villages across the region, almost completely deoccupying it. . .
https://www.cnbc.com/2022/09/16/ukraine-slams-germany-for-failing-to-send-it-weapons.html
Those Leopards would come in handy right now. I'm sure Ukraine will remember this after they kick the Russians out of East Ukraine and ramp up production in their oil and gas fields.
-
Peter Zeihan on the Ramifications of Russian Imperial Decline
https://www.battleswarmblog.com/?p=52632 (https://www.battleswarmblog.com/?p=52632)
Peter Zeihan says the abysmal performance of the Russian Army is going to have a whole lot of ramifications around the world, many in Russia’s own near abroad. “It means that the image of the Russians as a regional power, much less a global one, is gone, and it’s not coming back.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cs6pIpCE00Y&t=1s (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cs6pIpCE00Y&t=1s)
Some takeaways:
• “The countries that had signed on to kind of a Russian Alliance, if you will, [they’re] on their own completely, and that provides opportunities for their rivals to take matters into their own hands.”
• He covers the Armenia-Azerbaijan flare-up.
• Belarus: “Here’s a country of 10 million people that has basically hitched itself to Putin’s star. And the Poles, the Latvians, the Lithuanians, the Estonians, the Finns, and the Swedes they have been chomping at the bit for years to try to take Alexander Lukashenko of Belarus down to size and basically peel Belarus out of the Russian orbit. They will now have the opportunity, and it’s unlikely that anyone in Europe or the United States is going to try to stand in the way.”
• “Unless Lukashenko sues for peace with the Balts and the Nordics, very quickly we should count on seeing him being brought up on war crimes before very long. Because after all he did provide the access that was necessary for the assault on Kiev early in the war.”
More at link.
-
'Torture chambers' found in liberated towns and villages - report
2h ago | 15:28
When Russian forces failed to capture Kyiv in the early days of the war and withdrew, evidence of atrocities was found in their wake.
In the Kharkiv region similar horrors are being discovered, including a mass burial site.
What is more, Ukraine’s national police chief Ihor Klymenko said “torture chambers” have been found in the region's recaptured towns and villages.
These locations number at least ten, the Kyiv Independent has reported.
Sky News has not been able to the reports.
https://news.sky.com/story/ukraine-war-latest-updates-putin-rejected-deal-that-met-his-demands-on-ukraine-before-war-12541713?postid=4479216#liveblog-body
-
First body recovered from mass burial site showed signs of suffering 'violent death'
Deborah Haynes | 6h ago | 12:02
A top prosecutor claimed that the first body to be recovered from a mass burial site in the newly-liberated city of Izyum had a rope around his neck and showed signs of having suffered a "violent death".
Oleksandr Filchakov, the chief prosecutor for Kharkiv region, was speaking as police investigators and forensic experts worked to retrieve hundreds bodies of civilians from shallow graves.
Separately, the top police investigator for the region said the total number of civilians buried at the site was believed to be 445.
On Thursday he had put the number at around 440. . .
https://news.sky.com/story/ukraine-war-latest-updates-putin-rejected-deal-that-met-his-demands-on-ukraine-before-war-12541713?postid=4476825#liveblog-body
-
Inside the recaptured city of Izyum
Orla Guerin, BBC - Izyum, Ukraine | 1 day ago
(https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/976/cpsprodpb/C6C2/production/_126728805_mediaitem126728804.jpg.webp)
Ukrainian soldiers planted a Ukrainian flag on a captured Russian tank
On Monday, President Zelensky raised the Ukrainian flag in the recently-liberated city of Izyum. The BBC visited soon afterwards to find a city cut off from power and water, but relieved at the arrival of Ukrainian troops.
The closer you get to Izyum, the more evidence there is of Russia's rapid retreat.
Ukrainian soldiers are grouped by the roadside near the city, inspecting the spoils of war with broad smiles.
There are two abandoned Russian tanks - the Ukrainian flag already planted on one of them. Troops hug in celebration as they try to use one tank to tow the other out of a ditch.
Just inside the city another abandoned tank sits in the middle of the road - like a monument to Russia's defeat. A local man poses in front of it for a selfie, giving the tank a thumbs down.
Two women emerge from a minivan with a handful of small bags, including some groceries. Larissa, 61, and her friend Victoria, are returning to the city for the first time.
(https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/976/cpsprodpb/260F/production/_126734790_mediaitem126728806.jpg.webp)
People had been huddled in the centre of the building to keep warm when an airstrike hit
. . . Tatiana, 69, who lived in the building for 22 years, points out her singed balcony on the second floor.
She says the attack happened in the morning. She wasn't there because she had gone to the shelter.
Neighbours who had taken shelter in the apartment block grouped together in the centre of the building for warmth, she says. The airstrike hit the centre of the building.
Outside a city administration building - which was used by the Russians as their command centre - a Russian sign still hangs over the door, but a charred Russian flag has been thrown in the bin.
Inside boxes of files are scattered around in offices. At a nearby police station - where the Russians detained people in the cells - we find piles of Ukrainian passports. Local police say they were confiscated by the Russians during the months of occupation.
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-62917437
-
'Torture chambers' found in liberated towns and villages - report
2h ago | 15:28
When Russian forces failed to capture Kyiv in the early days of the war and withdrew, evidence of atrocities was found in their wake.
In the Kharkiv region similar horrors are being discovered, including a mass burial site.
What is more, Ukraine’s national police chief Ihor Klymenko said “torture chambers” have been found in the region's recaptured towns and villages.
These locations number at least ten, the Kyiv Independent has reported.
Sky News has not been able to the reports.
https://news.sky.com/story/ukraine-war-latest-updates-putin-rejected-deal-that-met-his-demands-on-ukraine-before-war-12541713?postid=4479216#liveblog-body
When this war is over I hope the Ukrainians hunt down every last one of these animals that tortured and killed people and give them the justice they deserve.
These reports are just one more confirmation that we are right to try and help Ukraine fight off the evil invader of their sovereign nation.
-
Russian retreat exposes military weaknesses
Olga Ivshina, BBC | 1 day ago
Russia's retreat from Kharkiv, north-eastern Ukraine, has exposed key weaknesses in the supplies and staffing of the nation's armed forces, Russian veterans and military bloggers say.
"You have no idea how tired I am to say hello to someone in the morning and then have to identify his remains later the same day," one Russian officer serving as a marine in Ukraine reportedly confided over the phone to a former colleague back home, who published it on his Telegram channel.
"Just yesterday two of my sniper groups were destroyed by a tank. Three men died instantly, the fourth one fought for his life for an hour and a half, another one in critical condition was taken to hospital. We have hardly any men left and we are holding a front line dozens of kilometres long."
While Russian officials and state media are trying to play down the Russian forces' retreat from Kharkiv, individual war reporters, veterans and influential military bloggers are acknowledging numerous challenges within closed messaging channels.
Blogs and Telegram channels are littered with stories of inadequate equipment and personnel, compounded by a rigid operational hierarchy.
One Telegram channel, sharing experiences of soldiers in the field in Ukraine shortly after the latest retreat, describes how even deploying a small surveillance drone needs to be approved by a senior officer or a general, considerably slowing down understanding of enemy positions.
Another channel on Telegram, reportedly run by a Russian special forces veteran, has posted a photo of a Russian soldier sporting an arm patch embroidered with the words: "There is no opponent worse than your own commander who is a…
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-62914958
This is a severe handicap on the battle field. The Russian Army stifles combat initiative. All mid-level officers do nothing unless given orders.
-
Possibly to make the proposition of serving more attractive, the minimum contract length has been slashed from three years to three months, and the upper age limit for a first contract raised from 40 to 60 years old.
Advertised monthly salaries range from 100,000-450,000 roubles (£1,000-£4,500, $1,139-$5,125) - a tempting proposition, despite the dangers of deployment, for those with poor job prospects in economically deprived areas of the country.
Russia is believed to be sending several of these scratch units to Ukraine every 10 days, following training of just a week or less.
-
Russia shortening military training courses for cadets say UK's MoD
16 Sept | 03:24
Russian military academies are shortening training courses and bringing cadets' graduation dates forwards so they can be deployed to Ukraine, the UK's Ministry of Defence has said.
The latest intelligence update says: "The acceleration of officer cadets' training and Wagner’s demand for assault troops suggests that two of the most critical shortages within the military manning crisis are probably combat infantry and junior commanders."
https://news.sky.com/story/ukraine-war-latest-updates-putin-rejected-deal-that-met-his-demands-on-ukraine-before-war-12541713?postid=4474527#liveblog-body
-
That is not going to work out well.
-
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Fc7NU4EWAAASzl9?format=jpg&name=900x900)
-
Russia makes new stand after being thrown back by rapid Ukrainian offensive in Kharkiv
The Russians are making a stand at Svatove, as well as trying to regain their positions at Kremenna, because if they cannot, then Lysychansk and Severodonetsk could be surrounded from the north.
Michael Clarke | 18 September 2022 | 04:08, UK
Thrown back by the rapid Ukrainian offensive in the Kharkiv region east of Ukraine, the Russians were going to have to dig in somewhere.
And now we can begin to see where.
(https://e3.365dm.com/22/09/2048x1152/2372209170729171007_5902308.jpg?20220917153536)
They are certainly making a stand at Svatove, east of the Oskil River.
This is really important to them because Svatove controls the last good supply route from Belgorod in Russia to their forces further south.
But the Ukrainians are now in a position to attack the P66 highway that runs south from Svatove towards Kremenna, on the northern doorstep of the Donbas. . .
https://news.sky.com/story/russia-makes-new-stand-after-being-thrown-back-by-rapid-ukrainian-offensive-in-kharkiv-12699771
-
Here’s what we know about the state of Russia’s military
https://www.vox.com/2022/9/18/23359326/russia-military-failures-ukraine (https://www.vox.com/2022/9/18/23359326/russia-military-failures-ukraine)
Ukraine’s recent victories expose even more systemic failures.
Ukraine’s continuing rout of Russian forces in the east has exposed fundamental problems within the Russian military, including deficiencies and power struggles in its command structure and gaps in intelligence gathering and processing. Though Russia’s early failures and difficulty recruiting enough soldiers for the frontline have been clear for months, the latest operation shows the depth of the disarray and stasis in Russia’s armed forces.
Ukraine’s lightning strike operation in Kharkiv oblast demonstrated the Ukrainian military’s ability to take advantage of those deficiencies to recapture not just territory, but strategically important transport and resupply hubs for the Russian military’s eastern front. Although the war is far from over, and Russia still controls around 20 percent of Ukraine’s territory, the Kharkiv operation provided a strategic and moral win for Ukraine, and revealed a Russian military seemingly unable — or unwilling — to learn from its previous errors.
Fighting continues in southern Ukraine near Kherson and in the Donbas, where Russia had sent its more experienced soldiers prior to the Kharkiv blitz. While it’s impossible to predict how the fighting will play out there, Ukraine’s ability to take the battlefield initiative and exploit Russian weaknesses — as well as materiel, financial, and intelligence support from Western countries — put Ukraine’s military in a stronger position.
Since the beginning of the war, Russian failures — its inability to achieve its initial goal of a short, surgical operation to remove Ukrainian leadership, its withdrawal from Kyiv and reorientation toward the south in the spring, and numerous tactical blunders — have been surprising. Earlier, devastating campaigns in Syria and Chechnya, as well as sophisticated military doctrine and strategic shows of force, successfully burnished the Russian military’s image, but in a large-scale ground war against a well-equipped and organized adversary, that same organization is buckling under serious miscalculations and a chaotic military structure.
Strikingly, the Ukrainian military’s recent victories have even forced the Russian media to acknowledge that “there are setbacks,” Rita Konaev, deputy director of analysis at Georgetown University’s Center for Security and Emerging Technology (CSET), told Vox.
“Of course, there’s still a message of, ‘We will stay in it until we reach our goals,’ although the goals continue to evolve and shift and [Russian President Vladimir] Putin has demonstrated that he is able to re-articulate the goals to fit the changing reality on the ground without suffering much,” she said. “He doesn’t have to comply with reality” when it comes to his messaging on Ukraine, she continued.
The Russian military’s command structure is a mess
While neither Russia nor Ukraine disclose official military death tolls, the losses on each side are likely in the tens of thousands. An August estimate from the US Department of Defense put Russian battlefield injuries and deaths at “70 or 80,000 casualties in less than six months,” undersecretary of defense for policy Colin Kahl said. The death toll specifically was estimated to be around 20,000 — 15,000 of which were regular troops and about 5,000 private mercenaries like those from the Wagner Group, the New York Times’ Helene Cooper reported at the time.
More at link.
-
Russia Has No Reserves Left As Ukrainian Troops Surround A Key Eastern Town
David Axe | Sep 18, 2022 | 05:11pm EDT
May 27 was a dark day for Ukraine. That was the day Lyman, the last free town north of the Donets River in eastern Ukraine’s Donbas region, finally fell to Russian forces. Capturing Lyman helped the Russian army to consolidate its position in Donbas and secure supply lines across the region.
Lyman was a domino. As it fell, it knocked down Severodonetsk, the last free city east of the Donets. And as Severodonetsk fell, it toppled Lysychansk, its twin city on the opposite side of the river.
Nearly four months later, the dominos are falling in the opposite direction. A Ukrainian counteroffensive that kicked off east of Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second city 100 miles northwest of Lyman, in a heady two weeks has liberated a thousand square miles of northeast Ukraine.
Fleeing a dozen eager Ukrainian brigades, Russian forces in Kharkiv Oblast —including the once-elite 1st Guard Tanks Army—have fled east across the Oskil River, leaving behind hundreds of vehicles and potentially thousands of casualties.
The Ukrainians’ momentum, weighted by aggressive air and artillery support, has carried them a short distance across the Oskil and south toward Lyman. Now several of Kyiv’s brigades—a mix of paratroopers and territorials—also are closing on Lyman ... from the opposite direction.
It’s a proverbial noose for the Russians in the town.
The Institute for the Study of War in Washington, D.C., explained what’s at stake. “Further Ukrainian advances east along the north bank of the Siverskyi Donets River could make Russian positions around Lyman untenable and open the approaches to Lysychansk and ultimately Severodonetsk.” . . .
https://www.forbes.com/sites/davidaxe/2022/09/18/russia-has-no-reserves-left-as-ukrainian-troops-surround-a-key-eastern-town/
-
Head of the Armed Forces in UK says Vladimir Putin is 'failing on all of his military strategic objectives' and his plot to seize control of Ukraine 'is not going to happen'
By DAVID AVERRE FOR MAILONLINE
18 September 2022
Putin's war in Ukraine has thus far proven to be a total failure, according to the head of Britain's armed forces, after thousands of Russian troops were driven out of Kharkiv last week.
Speaking to the BBC's Laura Kuenssberg this morning, Admiral Sir Tony Radakin painted a bleak picture of Russian prospects in Ukraine and what this means for the Kremlin chief.
'Putin is failing on all of his military strategic objectives. He wanted to subjugate Ukraine - that's not going to happen,' Radakin said.
'He's under pressure, his problems are mounting, his forces are thin on the ground... at a strategic level, this is a failure for Putin and Ukraine is fighting to maintain their integrity and to gain more of their country back,' he added.
The British admiral's comments come as the EU presidency called for an international tribunal for Russian war crimes to be established after new mass graves were found in Ukraine earlier this week.
* * *
Source: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11224669/Head-UK-Armed-Forces-says-Vladimir-Putin-failing-military-strategic-objectives.html
-
(https://img-9gag-fun.9cache.com/photo/aVbzLM8_460s.jpg)
-
Russia announces immediate ‘partial mobilization’ of citizens for its offensive in Ukraine
Russian President Vladimir Putin has announced the immediate “partial mobilization” of Russian citizens in an escalation of Moscow’s offensive in Ukraine more than six months after its invasion began.
“In order to protect our homeland, its sovereignty and territorial integrity, to ensure the security of our people and people in the liberated territories, I consider it necessary to support the proposal of the Ministry of Defense and the General Staff to conduct partial mobilization in the Russian Federation,” Putin said in a highly anticipated speech to the nation Wednesday.
Efforts to begin partial mobilization will begin on Wednesday and the decree has already been signed, Putin said.
The mobilization would mean citizens who are in the reserve and those with military experience would be subject to conscription, he added.
https://www.cnn.com/2022/09/21/europe/ukraine-russian-referendums-intl-hnk/index.html
-
Russia announces immediate ‘partial mobilization’ of citizens for its offensive in Ukraine
https://www.cnn.com/2022/09/21/europe/ukraine-russian-referendums-intl-hnk/index.html
Putin is addressing his country right now live.
-
Bringing back Soviet Directive 227.
-
(https://img-9gag-fun.9cache.com/photo/ajVYOb0_460s.jpg)
-
(https://img-9gag-fun.9cache.com/photo/aA0REP2_460s.jpg)
-
Russia announces immediate ‘partial mobilization’ of citizens for its offensive in Ukraine
https://www.cnn.com/2022/09/21/europe/ukraine-russian-referendums-intl-hnk/index.html
I'm hoping this is just an escalation before a negotiated de-escalation. Though, Putin may be stupid enough to throw waves of poorly trained, ill equipped, conscripts against a modern army that has better training and is fighting for their own country.
At this point I can't imagine what Ukraine would be willing to negotiate other than not joining NATO and Russia withdrawing from all of Ukraine.
-
Terrified Russians race to flee the country in bid to dodge Putin's army call-up, with one-way flights selling out and Google searches for 'how to leave' surging
By MailOnline Reporter
21 September 2022
Desperate Russians are frantically trying to flee the country after Vladimir Putin announced a dramatic mobilization. In the biggest escalation of the Russia-Ukraine War since the invasion, Putin explicitly raised the specter of a nuclear conflict and called up 300,000 reservists in the country's first mobilization since World War II. One-way flights out of Russia have skyrocketed and others have sold out as civilians scramble for a ticket to safety. In a photo taken on September 20, 2022, a billboard is seen promoting contract army service with an image of a serviceman and the slogan reading: 'Serving Russia is a real job' sits in Saint Petersburg.
According to Russian investigative news outlet RBK, all plane tickets to visa-free countries have now sold out. Google data showed earlier that a family of three would have to fork out £44,000 ($49,000) to get to Johannesburg on Wednesday in a 45-hour trip with three layovers. Direct flights from Moscow to Istanbul in Turkey and Yerevan in Armenia, both destinations that allow Russians to enter without a visa, were sold out as of Wednesday, according to Aviasales data, Russia's most popular flight purchasing website. Some routes with stopovers, including those from Moscow to Tbilisi, were also unavailable, while the cheapest flights from the capital to Dubai were costing more than 300,000 roubles ($5,000) - about five times the average monthly wage. By noon, flights to Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan stopped appearing online amid the scramble.
Russian Railways and Aeroflot, the country's flagship airline, said they hadn't 'yet' been ordered to ban men aged 18 to 65 from boarding. Searches for 'How to leave Russia' also topped Google traffic at the time Putin's speech was originally scheduled, data shows, as terrified civilians sought to avoid the prospect of conflict. The tyrant's announcement, made in an early-morning television address, raised fears that some men of fighting age would not be allowed to leave Russia.
* * *
Source: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/galleries/article-11235785/Panicked-Russians-attempt-flee-country-amid-Putins-army-call-up.html
-
Pope Francis says Ukraine is being 'martyred' as he condemns 'savageness, monstrosities and torture' - and reveals his charity chief was SHOT AT while delivering aid
By Jack Newman For Mailonline
21 September 2022
Pope Francis has said Ukraine is being 'martyred' as he slammed Russia's 'monstrosity' in Putin's barbaric war.
Speaking at the end of his general audience in St. Peter's Square, Francis revealed his charity chief who is delivering aid in Ukraine had to run and take cover after coming under gunfire last week.
Cardinal Konrad Krajewski, who is Polish, was forced to dodge bullets while on his fourth humanitarian and pastoral mission to Ukraine, sending supplies with a Catholic bishop, a Protestant bishop, and a Ukrainian soldier.
* * *
Source: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11234615/Pope-Francis-says-Ukraine-martyred-condemns-savageness-monstrosities-torture.html
-
(https://img-9gag-fun.9cache.com/photo/aOxKxvM_460s.jpg)
Putin was sitting pretty. Putin was virtually the King of the EU.
Then for some unknown reason (greed I guess), he blew it all up with a three day war.
Putin has blasted all the foundational pillars which made Russia, Russia.
Russia has an abysmal repopulation rate. No one is having children.
The very last thing he needed was a war. Especially a war with no imperative need or cause.
Now, the country is spiraling quickly toward third world nation status with no gain at all.
Soon, Russia will become another of China's dependent nations.
-
(https://img-9gag-fun.9cache.com/photo/aXn0oeD_460s.jpg)
I think China looks at Russia as a potential vulnerable target. Even over Taiwan.
-
(https://img-9gag-fun.9cache.com/photo/aOxK3Vr_460s.jpg)
-
Putin Chooses Mobilization, Sham Referendum, Continuing Humiliation
https://www.battleswarmblog.com/?p=52709 (https://www.battleswarmblog.com/?p=52709)
Faced with the continued erosion of Russia’s military position in Ukraine, Vladimir Putin has chosen to double-down on failure.
Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday announced the partial mobilization of military reservists, a significant escalation of his war in Ukraine after battlefield setbacks have the Kremlin facing growing pressure to act.
In a rare national address, he also backed plans for Russia to annex occupied areas of southern and eastern Ukraine, and appeared to threaten nuclear retaliation if Kyiv continues its efforts to reclaim that land.
It came just a day after four Russian-controlled areas announced they would stage votes this week on breaking away from Ukraine and joining Russia, in a plan Kyiv and its Western allies dismissed as a desperate “sham” aimed at deterring a successful counteroffensive by Ukrainian troops.
Before this announcement it was apparent that Russia basically had no reserves, so a mobilization isn’t a surprise. Why admit failure when you can simply get more of your countrymen slaughtered for doubling-down on your own mistake?
Stephen Green notes that there’s less to this announcement than meets the eye.
It won’t be easy or fast to call up that many reservists, according to military experts, because Russia basically doesn’t have a reserve.
A 2019 RAND study noted that “Russia has paid little attention to developing an effective and sizable active reserve system that might be immediately required in the event of a major war.” RAND estimates that Russia has an effective reserve of only 4,000-5,000 men.
The country’s former army reserve units had been disbanded from 2008-2010 as part of the military’s modernization program, with their equipment — all of it older — going into storage or scrapped.
That doesn’t mean that Russia can’t conscript, train, organize, and arm 300,000 new soldiers, but it won’t be quick or easy.
-----
He also notes the problem of obtaining new equipment. Even the first wave of Russian invasion included troops who were armed with ancient rifles. With the sanctions in place, none of that is going to get any better. Plus the fact that Russia essentially used up all their smart ordinance during the first stage of the war and that sanctions ensure they can’t easily make more.
Is there a Peter Zeihan video on the topic? Of course there is.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pt6sfPf1Z_Q&t=1s (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pt6sfPf1Z_Q&t=1s)
Some takeaways:
• Reiterates why everything in the Russia army travels by rail. “The Ukrainians were able to take a couple of re-up depots in eastern Ukraine and Kharkiv a couple weeks ago and the front just collapsed.”
• “We might be seeing a repeat of that in the Donbas.”
• “The Russians are now discovering that they’re actually outnumbered locally, and that with all the captured equipment, the Ukrainians actually now have more artillery and more ammo.”
• “This is the sort of war the the Russians know how to fight: Just throw bodies after it.”
-----
Nor are the sham referendums likely to make any difference either.
Russian-appointed occupation officials in Luhansk, Donetsk, Kherson, and Zaporizhia oblasts announced on September 20 that they will hold a “referendum” on acceding to Russia, with a vote taking place from September 23-27. The Kremlin will use the falsified results of these sham referenda to illegally annex all Russian-occupied parts of Ukraine and is likely to declare unoccupied parts of Donetsk, Kherson, and Zaporizhia oblasts to be part of Russia as well.
The Kremlin’s annexation plans are primarily targeting a domestic audience; Putin likely hopes to improve Russian force generation capabilities by calling on the Russian people to volunteer for a war to “defend” newly claimed Russian territory. Putin and his advisors have apparently realized that current Russian forces are insufficient to conquer Ukraine and that efforts to build large forces quickly through voluntary mobilization are culminating short of the Russian military’s force requirements. Putin is therefore likely setting legal and informational conditions to improve Russian force generation without resorting to expanded conscription by changing the balance of carrots and sticks the Kremlin has been using to spur voluntary recruitment.
-----
Part of the mobilization effort seems to be banning airline ticket sales for males between the ages of 18 and 65.
That decree is every bit as popular as you would expect.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IWk831QzaOs&t=1s (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IWk831QzaOs&t=1s)
More at link.
-
Russians in revolt: More than 1,000 arrests are made while anti-war protestors are dragged away by officers in black-tinted helmets after taking to the streets in 37 cities following Putin's decision to mobilise the country due to heavy losses in Ukraine
By MATTHEW LODGE and CHRIS PLEASANCE and JACK NEWMAN and WILL STEWART FOR MAILONLINE
21 September 2022
Police wearing blacked-out helmets are dragging anti-mobilisation protestors off the streets of Russia tonight, as thousands come out to demonstrate against being sent to the front lines in Ukraine.
More than 1,000 people have been arrested tonight in 37 cities across Russia, including Moscow and St Petersburg, as they voiced their anger at President Vladimir Putin's order to mobilise 300,000 reservists.
There have been angry clashes between activists and security forces, with protestors being forcefully taken to the ground and removed from the streets as the government cracks down on vocal dissent.
Demonstrators tonight chanted anti-war slogans, with some calling for Putin himself to go to the trenches in Ukraine, while other's have angrily proclaimed they're not willing to die for him.
It is reported a total of 828 arrests have been made so far, with this number likely to rise throughout the night as the government cracks down on vocal dissent.
In the capital Moscow 303 people have been arrested, while the former imperial capital of St Petersburg saw 279 taken into custody, and 40 more have been arrested in Yekaterinburg, a city east of the Ural Mountains.
As protests spread, many men of fighting age opted to try and leave the country, driven by fears the border might soon be closed, with tickets for one-way flights out of Moscow being snapped up by worried Russians.
* * *
Source: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11236507/Russian-anti-war-protestors-dragged-away-officers-blacked-helmets-taking-streets.html
-
Putin's exiled former Prime Minister claims Russian despot's nuclear bomb threat is a 'BLUFF' and his regime 'will collapse within two years'
By RACHAEL BUNYAN FOR MAILONLINE
22 September 2022
Former Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Kasyanov has claimed Vladimir Putin's threat to use nuclear weapons in Ukraine is a 'bluff' and predicted the collapse of his regime within two years.
Kasyanov, who served as Prime Minister under President Putin between 2000 and 2004 before being sacked and exiled, said he 'very much doubts' the Russian leader will use nuclear weapons.
It comes after Putin threatened Kyiv and the West that he won't hesitate to use nuclear weapons to protect Russian territory, as Moscow prepares to annex Ukrainian territory via sham referendums.
Kasyanov, an ardent critic of Putin who this year fled Russia to an unknown location, also claimed that the war in Ukraine, which has seen an estimated 55,000 Russian soldiers killed and thousands of tanks destroyed over the past seven months, could lead to the collapse of Putin's regime.
Anger is mounting in Moscow after Putin ordered the mobilisation of 300,000 reservists to fight in Ukraine, prompting thousands of Russians to bravely protest against being sent to the front lines in 38 cities across Russia.
Kasyanov told Channel 4 News: 'In terms of mobilisation, it's not a bluff. In terms of potential use of nuclear weapons, I think it's a bluff.'
* * *
Source: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11238247/Putins-exiled-former-Prime-Minister-claims-Russian-despots-nuclear-bomb-threat-BLUFF.html
-
Russia's military divided as Putin struggles to deal with Ukraine's counteroffensive, US sources say
By Katie Bo Lillis, CNN
September 22, 2022
Washington (CNN) Russia's military is divided over how best to counter Ukraine's unexpected battlefield advances this month, according to multiple sources familiar with US intelligence, as Moscow has found itself on the defensive in both the east and the south.
Russian President Vladimir Putin is himself giving directions directly to generals in the field, two sources familiar with US and western intelligence said-- a highly unusual management tactic in a modern military that these sources said hints at the dysfunctional command structure that has plagued Russia's war from the beginning.
Intelligence intercepts have captured Russian officers arguing among themselves and complaining to friends and relatives back home about decision-making from Moscow, one of these sources told CNN.
And there are significant disagreements on strategy with military leaders struggling to agree on where to focus their efforts to shore up defensive lines, multiple sources familiar with US intelligence said.
* * *
Source: https://www.cnn.com/2022/09/22/politics/russia-military-divided-ukraine-putin/index.html
-
Putin can call up all the troops he wants, but Russia can't train or support them
Analysis by Brad Lendon, CNN
September 22, 2022
Vladimir Putin can call up all the troops he wants, but Russia has no way of getting those new troops the training and weapons they need to fight in Ukraine any time soon.
With his invasion of Ukraine faltering badly, the Russian President on Wednesday announced the immediate "partial mobilization" of Russian citizens. Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said on Russian television that the country will call up 300,000 reservists.
If they end up facing Ukrainian guns on the front lines, they are likely to become the newest casualties in the invasion Putin started more than seven months ago and that has seen the Russian military fail at almost every aspect of modern war.
"The Russian military is not currently equipped to rapidly and effectively deploy 300,000 reservists," said Alex Lord, Europe and Eurasia specialist at the Sibylline strategic analysis firm in London.
"Russia is already struggling to effectively equip its professional forces in Ukraine, following significant equipment losses during the war," Lord said.
* * *
Source: https://www.cnn.com/2022/09/22/europe/russia-mobilization-logistics-analysis-intl-hnk-ml/index.html
-
There are roughly 100K+ Russian troops in Ukraine now. They have no supplies and are starving.
How the hell is Russia going to support 300K more troops, when they cannot feed what they have now?
-
There are roughly 100K+ Russian troops in Ukraine now. They have no supplies and are starving.
How the hell is Russia going to support 300K more troops, when they cannot feed what they have now?
While heading into winter. Putin was head of KGB, and obviously a military historian. Just more proof, of how he has gone insane.
-
There are roughly 100K+ Russian troops in Ukraine now. They have no supplies and are starving.
How the hell is Russia going to support 300K more troops, when they cannot feed what they have now?
The problem for Putin is the Ukrainians won't fight the type of war he wants them to. The Ukrainians are fighting a western type of war based on maneuver. The Russians want to fight a war based on attrition. Now Russia is stuck. Even if the Russians can do more than just replaced the exhausted troops in Ukraine with the 300,000 conscripts and if they can supply them as they attack the Ukrainians all the Ukrainians are going to do is slowly withdraw while inflicting the most damage on the invading Russians. On top of this problem for Russia is their dependence of railways which can easily be incapacitated with Himars.
The only hope for Russia is to declare victory and get out of Ukraine.
-
The problem for Putin is the Ukrainians won't fight the type of war he wants them to. The Ukrainians are fighting a western type of war based on maneuver. The Russians want to fight a war based on attrition. Now Russia is stuck. Even if the Russians can do more than just replaced the exhausted troops in Ukraine with the 300,000 conscripts and if they can supply them as they attack the Ukrainians all the Ukrainians are going to do is slowly withdraw while inflicting the most damage on the invading Russians. On top of this problem for Russia is their dependence of railways which can easily be incapacitated with Himars.
The only hope for Russia is to declare victory and get out of Ukraine.
Need to use up to 300K to rescue the soldiers that are there.
-
Need to use up to 300K to rescue the soldiers that are there.
Good point.
Of course he could just withdraw. The Ukrainians will gladly let them leave.
-
Need to use up to 300K to rescue the soldiers that are there.
Conscripts are poorly trained and have no zeal (morale) to fight. With Ukraine dropping leaflets telling them that if they surrender, they will be safe, fed, and possibly paid, there is no reason for them to die in the mud for Putin. Russia is not at risk. They are not defending anything as the Ukrainians are. The idea that these conscripts are going to run into the grinder and die for Putin's fantasy is not likely. The first chance they get to bolt, they will be gone.
There have already been reported cases of Russian soldiers killing their overseers and fleeing or surrendering. With these new 300 thousand newly armed conscripts (read civilians), these cases will increase exponentially. I foresee as much killing behind the lines as on the front lines.
-
There are roughly 100K+ Russian troops in Ukraine now. They have no supplies and are starving.
How the hell is Russia going to support 300K more troops, when they cannot feed what they have now?
Winter is coming...
-
Winter is coming...
The last time Nazis were in Ukraine, they suffered from the onset of winter too, if I recall.
-
The last time Nazis were in Ukraine, they suffered from the onset of winter too, if I recall.
Maybe they can burn the buildings they shelled to keep warm, but winter is extra hard when you can't get resupply. The trick will be for the Ukrainians to keep the rivers from freezing up well enough for the Russians to move equipment and supplies...
-
Thus far. the vast majority of Russian casualties have been from Siberia. Western Russia has been insulated from the wholesale catastrophe of this was. That is about to change. When the people of Moskow, St. Petersburg, Volgograd, and Smolensk begin losing their sons, there will be political upheaval.
-
Ukraine war: 'What's happening in Russia now is total fear'
In the centre of the Lithuanian capital Vilnius, a large banner is taped to a tall building, above a Ukrainian flag, that reads: "Putin, the Hague is waiting for you."
On city buses, electronic displays flick between announcing their destination and declaring "love" for Ukraine with little hearts.
This week Lithuania - together with Latvia, Estonia and Poland - banned all Russian tourists, arguing they should not be enjoying democracy and freedom in Europe while their government attacks those very values in Ukraine.
The move has raised concerns among Russian opposition activists already abroad.
"It's strange to ban people for being Russian, whether or not they support Putin's regime," argues Anastasia Shevchenko, an activist who spent two years under house arrest for protesting against the Russian president.
When Russia invaded its neighbour, she was serving a suspended sentence and one wrong move, even an anti-war comment, could have put her behind bars.
But Anastasia could not bear to be silenced, so she squeezed her family's life into a couple of cases and they fled in the middle of the night for Lithuania.
"What is going on in Russia now is like total fear," Anastasia tells me, in Vilnius. "So many people are frightened because we know they can do anything. It's not only prison, or fines: you can be killed or poisoned. It's like a huge prison. All the country."
Since we spoke, Vladimir Putin has declared a partial mobilisation of Russian reservists - the first real test of support for his invasion. The early signs do not look good.
Protesters came out in several cities shouting "no to war!" and even "Putin to the trenches!". More than a thousand people were detained and some were then served with call-up papers at the police station.
But even more Russians are heading for the border by any route left to them.
While queues to enter Finland are growing, Latvia and Estonia both say escaping enlistment is not grounds for asylum. Lithuania will consider cases individually, but the prime minister clarified that it was "not the duty of other countries to save Russians fleeing mobilisation". .................
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-63000034
-
Russians flee to border after military call-up
David Molloy & Phelan Chatterjee, BBC | 4 hours ago
Queues have sprung up along Russia's border as men attempt to leave the country to avoid a military call-up for the war in Ukraine.
President Vladimir Putin announced a partial military mobilisation on Wednesday, which could see 300,000 people summoned to serve in the war.
The Kremlin says reports of fighting-age men fleeing are exaggerated.
But on the border with Georgia, miles-long queues of vehicles have formed including men trying to escape the war.
One man, who did not want to be named, told the BBC's Rayhan Demytrie he had grabbed his passport and headed to the border, without packing anything else, immediately after President' Putin's announcement - because he fell into the group that could potentially be sent to the war.
Some witnesses estimated the queue of cars at the Upper Lars checkpoint to be some 5km (3 miles) long, while another group said it had taken seven hours to get across the border. Video from the scene showed some drivers leaving their cars or trucks temporarily in standstill traffic.
Georgia is one of the few neighbouring countries that Russians can enter without needing to apply for a visa . . .
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-62996212
-
Putin’s sham referendums begin: 'Voters' queue at polling stations and police go door-to-door with ballots in occupied Ukraine - raising fears despot will escalate the war by declaring Russia itself is under attack
By CHRIS PLEASANCE FOR MAILONLINE
23 September 2022
Russia has begun staging sham referendums in occupied regions of Ukraine that are almost certain to end with Moscow declaring them to be part of the mainland.
'Voting' will last for five days, but for the first four of those residents will be unable to attend regular polling stations - instead, police and Russia officials will take papers door to door and will invite people to makeshift voting boots in residential areas.
Moscow claims this is for safety reasons to stop the voting stations being attacked, but in reality will provide ample opportunity for intimidation. Polls will also be opened within Russia itself, giving further opportunities for vote-rigging.
Tuesday next week will be the only opportunity for people in the occupied areas to attend regular polling stations, with preliminary results to be released Wednesday.
It is expected that all occupied areas will 'vote' to join Russia, almost certainly with 80 or 90 per cent of people 'voting' yes - as happened when the Kremlin staged a similar stunt in occupied Crimea in 2014.
Western leaders have declared the ballot to be a sham, saying they have no legitimacy and urging other governments not to recognise the results.
* * *
Source: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11242133/Russia-begins-sham-referendums-occupied-Ukraine.html
-
Details On Russia’s Mobilization
https://www.battleswarmblog.com/?p=52718 (https://www.battleswarmblog.com/?p=52718)
At lot of details of how Russia will carry out its projected 300,000 man mobilization discussed yesterday are unclear. Binkov’s Battlegrounds, which covers a lot of different military topics, discusses some of the details about how it would (theoretically) be carried out.
Takeaways:
• “Officially, Putin said mobilization will draw on reservists: only those who served in the armed forces with a certain experience. He further stated those called upon will undergo additional military training.”
• “He also said no students will get mobilized.”
• “By law some two million Russians are kept listed as being qualified to serve as reservists. Those are people who had served in the military in the previously; several years, most of them, excluding officers and specialists, between six to eight years ago in theory.”
• “Even 300 000 might be quite hard for Russia to pull off quickly.”
• No refresher training for the vast majority.
• “The social and political climate in Russia is such that many reservists will likely try to dodge service. Russian law was amended alongside the mobilization calling for greater prison sentences for such and similar transgressions. The fact the new law included the provision for prison sentences for voluntary surrenders may already mean even the Russian government expects some people will try to surrender outright to the enemy.” Hard to see how expecting reservists to fight to the death for Vlad’s Big Adventure will increase morale.
More at link.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CJTFO4tHv1s&t=1s (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CJTFO4tHv1s&t=1s)
-
The Russian people need to realize that this is how Putin and his cronies view them:
(https://media.gab.com/cdn-cgi/image/width=763.6363636363636,quality=100,fit=scale-down/system/media_attachments/files/116/422/677/original/d3a7408e80c8af36.jpeg)
-
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FdTHksxWAAAbpeT?format=jpg&name=4096x4096)
-
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FdVE9aKWAAAYJk8?format=jpg&name=small)
-
Exhumation in forest near Izium completed. 447 bodies found
https://www.ukrinform.net/rubric-ato/3578444-exhumation-in-forest-near-izium-completed-447-bodies-found.html (https://www.ukrinform.net/rubric-ato/3578444-exhumation-in-forest-near-izium-completed-447-bodies-found.html)
The exhumation of those killed by Russian invaders and buried in mass graves in Izium, Kharkiv region, has been completed. A total of 447 bodies have been found.
"The works continued for a week without interruption. 447 bodies were removed from graves. Of them, 215 are women, 194 are men, 5 are children, and 22 are service members. In addition, the remains of 11 people were found, whose gender cannot be determined at the moment," Chief of the National Police of Ukraine Ihor Klymenko posted on Facebook.
As noted, "there are many bodies with traces of torture. Police forensic experts face a difficult task: to identify the body of each killed person. Relatives should bury them in a human way."
He noted that "investigators carefully document every war crime committed by Russian servicemen. Not a single detail will be missed because criminals must be punished."
More at link.
-
UN rights experts present evidence of war crimes in Ukraine
https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-united-nations-war-crimes-48dc36f41bdcfac4720d0b2a0c359073 (https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-united-nations-war-crimes-48dc36f41bdcfac4720d0b2a0c359073)
GENEVA (AP) — A team of experts commissioned by the U.N.’s top human rights body to look into rights violations in Ukraine said Friday its initial investigation turned up evidence of war crimes in the country following Russia’s invasion nearly seven months ago.
The experts from the Commission of Inquiry on Ukraine, mandated by Human Rights Council earlier this year, have so far focused on four regions – Kyiv, Chernihiv, Kharkiv and Sumy.
Presenting their most extensive findings so far, they cited testimonies by former detainees of beatings, electric shocks and forced nudity in Russian detention facilities, and expressed grave concerns about executions the team was working to document in the four regions.
“Based on the evidence gathered by the commission, it has concluded that war crimes have been committed in Ukraine,” Erik Mose, the commission’s chairman, told the Human Rights Council.
Commission investigators visited 27 towns and settlements, as well as graves and detention and torture centers; interviewed more than 150 victims and witnesses; and met with advocacy groups and government officials, Mose said.
He said an unspecified number of Russian soldiers were found to have committed crimes of sexual or gender-based violence – with victims ranging in age from 4 to 82 years old.
The commission plans to gradually expand its investigation, with areas of interest including allegations of filtration camps for people being detained or deported, the forced transfer of people, and allegations of expedited adoption of children.
“The evidence of Russia’s atrocities becomes more horrifying by the day, most recently with the uncovering of mass graves in Izium, where the bodies show signs of torture,” Michele Taylor, the U.S. ambassador to the rights council, said, referring to a Kharkiv regional city that Ukrainian forces recaptured in recent weeks.
More at link.
-
Putin’s sham referendums begin: 'Voters' queue at polling stations and police go door-to-door with ballots in occupied Ukraine - raising fears despot will escalate the war by declaring Russia itself is under attack
By CHRIS PLEASANCE FOR MAILONLINE
23 September 2022
Russia has begun staging sham referendums in occupied regions of Ukraine that are almost certain to end with Moscow declaring them to be part of the mainland.
'Voting' will last for five days, but for the first four of those residents will be unable to attend regular polling stations - instead, police and Russia officials will take papers door to door and will invite people to makeshift voting boots in residential areas.
Moscow claims this is for safety reasons to stop the voting stations being attacked, but in reality will provide ample opportunity for intimidation. Polls will also be opened within Russia itself, giving further opportunities for vote-rigging.
Tuesday next week will be the only opportunity for people in the occupied areas to attend regular polling stations, with preliminary results to be released Wednesday.
It is expected that all occupied areas will 'vote' to join Russia, almost certainly with 80 or 90 per cent of people 'voting' yes - as happened when the Kremlin staged a similar stunt in occupied Crimea in 2014.
Western leaders have declared the ballot to be a sham, saying they have no legitimacy and urging other governments not to recognise the results.
* * *
Source: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11242133/Russia-begins-sham-referendums-occupied-Ukraine.html
Considering dissidents have likely been shipped off to a gulag somewhere, what voters are left aren't likely to make waves.
-
Russian state TV tells viewers nuclear war is likely - 'Everyone dies'
Russian state media are saying nuclear war appears to be “a given” and “everyone will be destroyed” if the West “pushes us into a corner”.
One propagandist even suggested Western countries are the nuclear aggressors, when in reality it has only been Vladimir Putin ramping up nuclear rhetoric since the onset of the Ukraine war.
Another warned “taboos” associated with nuclear attacks “could be lifted in certain circumstances” by Russia.
The exchanges among commentators on Russian state TV were captured and translated by Julia Davis, a Russian media analyst.
https://news.yahoo.com/russian-state-tv-nuclear-war-125715105.html
-
UN rights experts present evidence of war crimes in Ukraine
https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-united-nations-war-crimes-48dc36f41bdcfac4720d0b2a0c359073 (https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-united-nations-war-crimes-48dc36f41bdcfac4720d0b2a0c359073)
GENEVA (AP) — A team of experts commissioned by the U.N.’s top human rights body to look into rights violations in Ukraine said Friday its initial investigation turned up evidence of war crimes in the country following Russia’s invasion nearly seven months ago.
The experts from the Commission of Inquiry on Ukraine, mandated by Human Rights Council earlier this year, have so far focused on four regions – Kyiv, Chernihiv, Kharkiv and Sumy.
Presenting their most extensive findings so far, they cited testimonies by former detainees of beatings, electric shocks and forced nudity in Russian detention facilities, and expressed grave concerns about executions the team was working to document in the four regions.
“Based on the evidence gathered by the commission, it has concluded that war crimes have been committed in Ukraine,” Erik Mose, the commission’s chairman, told the Human Rights Council.
Commission investigators visited 27 towns and settlements, as well as graves and detention and torture centers; interviewed more than 150 victims and witnesses; and met with advocacy groups and government officials, Mose said.
He said an unspecified number of Russian soldiers were found to have committed crimes of sexual or gender-based violence – with victims ranging in age from 4 to 82 years old.
The commission plans to gradually expand its investigation, with areas of interest including allegations of filtration camps for people being detained or deported, the forced transfer of people, and allegations of expedited adoption of children.
“The evidence of Russia’s atrocities becomes more horrifying by the day, most recently with the uncovering of mass graves in Izium, where the bodies show signs of torture,” Michele Taylor, the U.S. ambassador to the rights council, said, referring to a Kharkiv regional city that Ukrainian forces recaptured in recent weeks.
More at link.
Orcs really is the proper description of the Russian invaders.
-
(https://img-9gag-fun.9cache.com/photo/a8qL4M1_460s.jpg)
-
(https://img-9gag-fun.9cache.com/photo/ay278xq_460s.jpg)
-
Mikhail Mizintsev appointed deputy defense minister for logistics
Army General Dmitry Bulgakov, who held this position before, has been relieved of it due to his transfer to another job
24 SEP, 06:55
(https://phototass3.cdnvideo.ru/width/1020_b9261fa1/tass/m2/en/uploads/i/20220924/1366153.jpg)
Deputy defense minister for logistics Colonel General Mikhail Mizintsev
© Olga Balashova/Russian Defence Ministry Press Office/TASS
MOSCOW, September 24. /TASS/. Colonel General Mikhail Mizintsev, chief of Russia’s National Defense Management Center, was appointed as deputy defense minister for logistics, the Russian Defense Ministry said on Saturday.
" Colonel General Mikhail Mizintsev was appointed as deputy defense minister for logistics. Colonel General M. Mizintsev previously held the post of chief of Russia’s National Defense Management Center," the ministry said in a statement.
Army General Dmitry Bulgakov, who held this position before, has been relieved of it due to his transfer to another job. . . .
https://tass.com/defense/1512695
Replacing the man at the top won't help when those in the middle have not been taught to solve problems.
-
Putin continues his war against Ukrainian civilians:
Ukrainian cities shelled as Russia pushes forward with Moscow-orchestrated vote
Latest shelling has killed at least 3 people, injured 19 others, presidential office says
Sep 24, 2022 11:52 AM ET | Last Updated: 1 hour ago
(https://i.cbc.ca/1.6594528.1664030044!/fileImage/httpImage/image.jpg_gen/derivatives/16x9_780/people-crossing-a-bridge-over-ukraine-s-oskii-river-in-kupiansk-as-smoke-rises-in-background.jpg)
People cross a bridge over the Oskil River as black smoke rises in the front-line city of Kupiansk, in Ukraine's Kharkiv region, on Saturday. (Yasuyoshi Chiba/AFP/Getty Images)
Russian forces launched new strikes on Ukrainian cities on Saturday as Kremlin-orchestrated votes took place in occupied regions of Ukraine to create a pretext for their annexation by Moscow.
Meanwhile, hundreds of people were arrested in Russia for trying to protest a mobilization order that commits more troops to the fight in Ukraine.
Ukraine's presidential office said the latest Russian shelling killed at least three people and wounded 19.
Oleksandr Starukh, the governor of Zaporizhzhia, one of the regions in Ukraine where Moscow-installed officials organized referendums on joining Russia, said a Russian missile hit an apartment building in the city of Zaporizhzhia, killing one person and injuring seven others.
Ukraine and its Western allies say the referendums underway in Kherson and Zaporizhzhia in the south and the eastern Luhansk and Donetsk regions have no legal force. They allege that the votes are an illegitimate attempt by Moscow to seize Ukrainian territory stretching from the Russian border to the Crimean Peninsula.
(https://i.cbc.ca/1.6594545.1664031392!/fileImage/httpImage/image.JPG_gen/derivatives/original_1180/rescuer-standing-in-front-of-a-residential-building-damaged-by-a-missile-strike-in-zaporizhzhia.JPG)
A rescuer gestures in front of a residential building damaged by a Russian missile strike in Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine, on Saturday. (Reuters)
https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/ukraine-russia-vote-annexation-1.6594518
-
Russian Strengthens Prison Terms for Refusal to Fight, Voluntary Surrender, and Looting, Fires Logistics General
Breitbart London24 Sep 202240
4:51
(AFP) – Russia on Saturday toughened penalties for voluntary surrender and refusal to fight with up to 10 years imprisonment and replaced its top logistics general after a series of setbacks to its seven-month war in Ukraine.
The tough new amendments and personnel change come days after Russia instigated partial mobilisation with Kyiv taking back more and more territory in a counter-offensive.
It also comes as Kremlin-held regions of eastern and southern Ukraine voted for a second day on becoming part of Russia, dramatically raising the stakes.
Integrating the four regions into Russia would mean that Moscow would consider any military move there as an attack on its own territory.
Russia’s invasion, launched on February 24, and Ukraine’s recent gains have laid bare flaws with some analysts seeing logistics as the weak link in Moscow’s army.
“Army General Dmitry Bulgakov has been relieved of the post of deputy minister of defence” and will be replaced by Colonel General Mikhail Mizintsev, aged 60, the defence ministry said.
Russia’s partial mobilisation announced on Wednesday will likely be one of his first big logistical challenges with the hundreds of thousands of reservists being called up needing to be equipped and trained before deployment.
Military-age men have sought to leave, with flights full and neighbouring countries receiving an influx of Russians, including Georgia where 2,300 private vehicles were waiting to enter at one crossing, regional Russian authorities said.
Now that President Vladimir Putin has signed the legislation, servicemen who desert, surrender “without authorisation”, refuse to fight or disobey orders can face up to 10 years imprisonment.
Looting will be punishable by 15 years imprisonment.
A separate law, also signed on Saturday, facilitates Russian citizenship for foreigners who enlist in the Russian army as the Kremlin seeks to bolster the ranks.
more
https://www.breitbart.com/europe/2022/09/24/russian-strengthens-prison-terms-for-refusal-to-fight-voluntary-surrender-and-looting-fires-logistics-general/
-
Russia Loses More Ground in Donetsk After Missing Putin's Hard Deadline
ZOE STROZEWSKI ON 9/23/22 AT 12:16 PM EDT
Ukrainian troops have retaken control of a settlement in the eastern Donetsk region, chipping away further at Russian-held territory after President Vladimir Putin's army failed to meet his deadline to take more ground in the region, Ukraine said Friday.
Oleksiy Gromov, deputy chief of the Main Operational Department of the General Staff of the Ukraine Armed Forces, said at a briefing that Ukrainian troops had recaptured the settlement of Yatskivka east of the Oskil River, according to the Ukrainian online newspaper Ukrainska Pravda.
"Our forces are improving their tactical position(s)," Ukrainska Pravda quoted him as saying. "Thanks to timely regrouping of the units of one of the mechanized brigades and high level of combat organization, we managed to retake the lost position and take the positions to the south of Bakhmut under our control."
The city of Bakhmut is the administrative center of the Bakhmut district within the Donetsk region. In the briefing, Hromov said that the situation on the Bakhmut front was complicated but controlled, despite continued attacks from Russian forces, Ukrainska Pravda reported. . .
https://www.newsweek.com/russia-loses-more-ground-donetsk-after-missing-putins-hard-deadline-1745864
-
I miss the occasional posts with Russian information. I feel like I have one ear stopped up.
-
All potential new Russian territories will be under state’s protection — Lavrov
https://tass.com/politics/1512901 (https://tass.com/politics/1512901)
Possibility of Russia’s use of nuclear weapons outlined in military doctrine, Foreign Minister highlights
UNITED NATIONS, September 24. /TASS/. Entire Russian territory that can be confirmed in the country’s Constitution in addition, is under Moscow’s full protection, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said at a press conference on Saturday after taking part in the 77th session of the UN General Assembly.
"The entire territory of the Russian Federation, which is confirmed and can be further confirmed in the Russian Constitution, is certainly under the state’s full protection," Lavrov said.
Russia will unequivocally respect the results of the referendums that are being held in the Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics (DPR and LPR) as well as in the liberated areas of the Kherson and Zaporozhye Regions, Russian Foreign Minister. "As [Russian] President [Vladimir] Putin said, we will certainly respect the results of these democratic processes," the Russian minister said.
"All laws, doctrines, concepts, strategies of the Russian Federation apply to its entire territory," he stressed.
More at link.
-
I miss the occasional posts with Russian information. I feel like I have one ear stopped up.
Hey, I gave you this from TASS: https://www.gopbriefingroom.com/index.php/topic,478214.msg2714604.html#msg2714604
Or are you referring to pro-Russian disinformation?
-
https://twitter.com/KyivIndependent/status/1573368671556476928
-
Russia, under Putin, is marching into its' own destruction. Everybody in the world see this. Three hundred thousand 'conscripts' cannot be fed and kept warm. Never attack Russia in winter? ... has become ... Never attack Ukraine in winter. Those guys are going to surrender or die. There is a zero chance that Putin will conquer all of Ukraine. The more Russian bodies he throws into the cauldron of defeat, the more he loses.
This is a failed (three day war) effort by Putin. He will never admit that up until he dies. Which is not far off.
-
(https://img-9gag-fun.9cache.com/photo/az2bGmj_460s.jpg)
He went on to say that any Russian who dies in Ukraine will get 72 virgins to bleep in the afterlife.
-
(https://img-9gag-fun.9cache.com/photo/az2bGmj_460s.jpg)
He went on to say that any Russian who dies in Ukraine will get 72 virgins to bleep in the afterlife.
He's in for a shock when Jesus says, "I never knew you."
-
Inside Bakhmut, the battered Donbas city holding off Putin's troops
Orla Guerin - BBC, Bakhmut | 5 hours ago
(https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/976/cpsprodpb/2AC1/production/_126854901_aftermathofrussianairstrikes.jpg.webp)
His body lay where he fell - alone, flat on his back, under a weak September sun.
He was killed around noon on 24 September during hours of intense shelling in the city of Bakhmut in Ukraine's eastern Donbas region. We came across him by chance, and learned later than his name was Andriy Yablonsky, and he was 52.
A woman in a red coat screamed in anguish nearby, as she sheltered in a doorway. This was Andriy's sister. "What should I do for my brother?" she wailed. For more than an hour he couldn't be moved because there was no let-up in the barrage.
Andriy's life was spent saving others. He worked as an ambulance driver and was killed not far from his depot - his body punctured by shrapnel.
His name has now been added to the list of Russia's victims in Bakhmut. More than 70 civilians have been killed by enemy shelling in recent months, according to the local governor Pavlo Kyrylenko.
We probably heard the shell that killed Andriy.
For hours that morning the city centre echoed to the whistle and deafening shriek of incoming shells from Russian forces, and the thud of outgoing rounds from the Ukrainians. An artillery duel was playing out around us - the retorts so fast it was hard to keep track. "It's like badminton," a Ukrainian colleague said.
A dozen civilians huddled by a wall, ducking and flinching, as one explosion followed another. Their prize possessions were stuffed into travel bags at their feet. They were waiting for a one-man evacuation team to get them out of the city. . .
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-63035423
-
Bakhmut - a city under relentless Russian attack
(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k5apVNdDB6w)
-
Russian losses in last three days:
6 fixed wing aircraft
5 helicopters
20 drones
36 tanks
61 APVs
14 artillery guns
-
In Dagestan, police use machine guns to disperse mobilization protesters.
(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=37JIGsoSwy0)
-
Shooting at conscription office and another centre attacked with Molotov cocktails after Putin's mobilisation order
It comes after Russian President Vladimir Putin - faced with a series of defeats in Ukraine - announced a partial mobilisation last week that could see 300,000 reserves called up to fight. The move has sparked protests across the country, and military-aged men have been fleeing in droves.
Sunita Patel-Carstairs | 26 September 2022 | 15:01, UK
A man has opened fire on an enlistment centre and another recruitment office has been attacked with Molotov cocktails – after Vladimir Putin ordered the conscription of at least 300,000 men in Russia.
The violence comes as the first tranche of people ordered to report for duty arrive at military bases, and it follows a weekend of protests, violence and arrests as Russians voice their anger and demonstrate over the president's mobilisation plan.
The gunman opened fire at a conscription office in the town of Ust-Ilimsk, Irkutsk - critically wounding a military recruitment officer.
Sky News has verified a video of the shooting - reportedly by a would-be conscript.
It shows the gunman shooting the recruiter at point blank range, who falls to the ground as others at the draft office start running out of the room to the sounds of a woman screaming.
He was detained by police and identified himself as 25-year-old Ruslan Zinin in a separate video posted on social media.
https://news.sky.com/story/ukraine-war-conscripted-russians-start-arriving-at-military-bases-says-uk-ministry-of-defence-12705565
-
Gee, who saw this coming?
Over 96% said to favour joining Russia in first vote results from occupied Ukraine regions
Mark Trevelyan | September 27, 2022 | 10:33 AM EDT
LONDON, Sept 27 (Reuters) - First partial voting results from four Russian-occupied regions of Ukraine showed overwhelming majorities in favour of becoming part of Russia, Russian state news agency RIA said on Tuesday, after so-called referendums that Kyiv and the West have denounced as a sham.
Hastily arranged votes had taken place over five days in the four areas - Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson - that make up about 15% of Ukrainian territory.
Russian-installed officials took ballot boxes from house to house in what Ukraine and the West said was an illegitimate, coercive exercise to create a legal pretext for Russia to annex the four regions. . . .
https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/first-partial-results-show-over-96-occupied-ukraine-regions-favour-joining-2022-09-27/
Wondering if this includes the online votes coming from inside Russia.
-
261,000 Russian men have fled Russia in just 4 days since Putin's announcement of mobilization according to information supplied by the FSB to the Presidential Administration.
Same thing in America. Nobody in Russia wants to die for Putin's fantasies. -&- Nobody in America wants to die for the Big Guy to make an extra $10million.
-
Russian conscripts receive NO training at all before reporting to the front lines in Kherson.
They are crying while being transported to their very likely death.
-
The Russian Air Force Loses Up To Four Planes In One Day As Ukrainian Air-Defenses Advance
David Axe | Sep 24, 2022 | 06:50pm EDT
The Russian air force reportedly has had a very bad day. The Ukrainian defense ministry on Saturday claimed its forces shot down four Russian warplanes in 24 hours: an Su-34, two Su-30s and an Su-25.
Videos circulating online seem to confirm at least two of the shoot-downs. “Today is a good day,” the Ukrainian defense ministry tweeted.
The aerial losses come nearly a month after the Ukrainian army launched twin counteroffensives in the south and east. The eastern counteroffensive broke through Russian lines outside Kharkiv and triggered a rapid collapse in the Russian army in the area.
The southern counteroffensive apparently has been slower, but still successful.
The Russian air force was nowhere to be found in the first week of the counteroffensives. Ukrainian units had close air support. Russian units ... didn’t.
Analysts chalked up the Russian air force’s absence to the enduring strength of Ukrainian air-defenses, as well as to Russian air-warfare doctrine that assigns warplanes to bomb preplanned targets. The Russian air force doesn’t train its pilots to think and act independently—prerequisites for tracking down moving targets. . .
https://www.forbes.com/sites/davidaxe/2022/09/24/the-russian-air-force-lost-up-to-four-planes-in-one-day-as-ukrainian-air-defenses-advance
-
Russian Offensive Campaign Assessment, September 26
Kateryna Stepanenko, Katherine Lawlor, George Barros, Riley Bailey and Frederick W. Kagan | September 26, 11:25 pm ET
The Kremlin is attempting to message its way out of the reality of major problems in the execution of its “partial mobilization,” but its narratives are unlikely to placate Russians who can perceive the real mistakes all around them. The Kremlin is deflecting blame for the Russian government’s failure to abide by its own stated criteria for mobilization and exemptions onto the failing bureaucratic institutions responsible for the mobilization. The Kremlin is downplaying the widespread violations of the mobilization law as individual errors of local authorities, claiming to correct these errors as citizens call attention to them. The violations are clearly too common to be merely the result of individual errors, however, and Russian citizens can see them all too clearly. Unlike Russian failures in Ukraine, which the Kremlin has been able to minimize or deflect because its citizens cannot see them directly, violations of the mobilization decree are evident to many Russians. Word of these violations does not even require access to media or social media, because they are occurring in so many locations and victims’ families can spread their anguish by word of mouth.
Russian state media has begun acknowledging social media complaints of persistent problems with the mobilization process, largely pinning the blame on the supposedly unmotivated and careless employees of the military recruitment centers.[1] Russian propagandists and heads of federal subjects are actively discussing instances of wrongful mobilization of men older than the maximum mobilizable age, those who had never served, and those who have medical conditions, as well as poor treatment of mobilized individuals. Omsk Oblast Governor Alexander Burkov declaimed that the bureaucracy is the “enemy of patriotism” and blamed bureaucrats for focusing on meeting unstated quotas rather than correctly fulfilling Russian President Vladimir Putin’s partial mobilization order.[2] One state television host threatened to punish workers of military recruitment centers if they fail to abide by the limited reservist mobilization order.[3] The Kremlin’s media outlets and voices are increasingly sharing individual stories in which military recruitment centers released some men who were unfit for service following the involvement of local officials or with the help of Kremlin state media to suggest that errors are being corrected when called to the Kremlin’s attention.[4]
(https://www.criticalthreats.org/wp-content/uploads/Russian-Protests-Against-Mobilization-September-21-26-2022.png)
https://www.criticalthreats.org/analysis/russian-offensive-campaign-assessment-september-26
-
(https://www.criticalthreats.org/wp-content/uploads/Kharkiv-Battle-Map-Draft-September-262022.png)
-
https://twitter.com/ArmchairCopelrd/status/1574164902217977856
-
https://twitter.com/ArmchairCopelrd/status/1574167005522845696
-
https://twitter.com/CalibreObscura/status/1573605148353597442
-
https://twitter.com/sumlenny/status/1573290703127547905
-
https://twitter.com/TpyxaNews/status/1574841505998671874
-
So is Russia going to try to flood Ukraine with prisoners of war overwhelming Ukraine's ability to care for them?
-
Russians are calling up the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense asking how to surrender, Ukraine says
Mia Jankowicz | Sep 27, 2022, 9:24 AM
Russian men drafted to war by President Vladimir Putin's recent mobilization announcement are using a Ukrainian hotline to ask how they can give themselves up, according to Ukraine's Ministry of Defense.
Andrii Yusov, a spokesperson for the department, said during a televised briefing on Monday that there had been a strong response to the "I Want to Live" hotline, according to the Ukrainian newspaper Ukrainska Pravda.
The hotline was announced by Ukraine's Ministry of Defense on September 19, two days before Russian President Vladimir Putin announced the mobilization of reservists to the battlefield.
Yusov said the hotline has received "a lot of calls" from recently drafted Russians, and even some who haven't yet been mobilized, per the newspaper.
Yusov added, per the paper: "They're calling and asking 'What should I do if I get called up? What do I have to do, what's the right way to surrender?'"
Yusov's comments have not been independently verified.
But Putin's announcement sparked protests nationwide and has prompted some Russians to take desperate measures to be called up.
Putin had earlier promised that he would not take this step, which brings the reality of the war to Russians accustomed to civilian life. . .
https://www.businessinsider.com/russians-calling-ukraine-hotline-ask-how-surrender-ukraine-mod-says-2022-9
-
Russian women in Moscow ordered to mobilize
(https://img-9gag-fun.9cache.com/photo/ay25v7q_460s.jpg)
-
Ukraine has captured Zelena Dolyna and Kolodyazi north of Lyman. Russian forces in Lyman are about to be encircled.
-
Russian forces on brink of encirclement in Donetsk town
The fall of Lyman would be another major military setback for the Kremlin
Roland Oliphant • 28 September 2022 • 6:51pm
Russian forces in the Donetsk region town of Lyman are on the brink of encirclement following Ukrainian gains to their north and east, pro-Russian military bloggers have said.
The claims could not be immediately verified, but the reported Ukrainian gains appeared to match images and videos released on social media by Ukrainian soldiers.
The fall of the town would be another military set-back for Russia and position the Ukrainians to push into Luhansk region, reversing the hard-won gains of Russia's summer offensive in Donbas.
It could be even more damaging politically, demonstrating that Russia has failed to stabilise its defensive line following the loss of Izyum and Kupyansk earlier this month.
'The city is in an extremely vulnerable situation'
"Ukrainian soldiers are releasing images of them raising a flag over the village council building in Novosyolovka. Thus from the north between Lyman and enemy forward elements of the remains only one settlement, Drobyshevo, and in all just a few kilometers of land.. . .
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2022/09/28/russian-forces-brink-encirclement-donetsk-town/
-
Newly mobilised Russian troops and officers
(https://preview.redd.it/z69iezfackq91.jpg?width=1080&crop=smart&auto=webp&s=2c9b6ccddf1456fe5205c01832ecb92b8a6eafe7)
(https://preview.redd.it/4r4xpxfackq91.jpg?width=1080&crop=smart&auto=webp&s=8302a649e50d11dcc864cf54d820d6297597bddc)
(https://preview.redd.it/vngzqyfackq91.jpg?width=1080&crop=smart&auto=webp&s=3d0c9aa4d56fff774a6e71a49a04d4bd48c2fcbc)
This is reminiscent of Germany, 1945, sending old men to the front.
-
Newly mobilised Russian troops and officers
(https://preview.redd.it/z69iezfackq91.jpg?width=1080&crop=smart&auto=webp&s=2c9b6ccddf1456fe5205c01832ecb92b8a6eafe7)
(https://preview.redd.it/4r4xpxfackq91.jpg?width=1080&crop=smart&auto=webp&s=8302a649e50d11dcc864cf54d820d6297597bddc)
(https://preview.redd.it/vngzqyfackq91.jpg?width=1080&crop=smart&auto=webp&s=3d0c9aa4d56fff774a6e71a49a04d4bd48c2fcbc)
This is reminiscent of Germany, 1945, sending old men to the front.
I read that Russia has waived any age restrictions, both young and old.
They are sending grandfathers and their grandchildren both to the frontlines.
BTW, these older guys and volunteer patriots are much more likely to be Putin supporters.
Putin is killing off his own base of support.
-
(https://img-9gag-fun.9cache.com/photo/a4o40Zw_460s.jpg)
-
US embassy in Moscow urges its citizens to leave Russia immediately.
Earlier, Bulgaria, Poland and Estonia asked their citizens to leave Russia.
-
If Putin annexes Eastern Ukraine, then Ukrainian Armed Forces will theoretically be instantly attacking the Russian nation.
All the current State and Global concerns about Ukraine attacking Russia will necessarily have to be lifted.
If Ukraine is attacking 'Russia' in the East, there is nothing to stop them from going North as well.
This could possibly lead to HIMARS hitting Minsk, and even Moscow. And it will be Russia who lit the greenlight for the attack.
-
Putin plans to formally annex 4 regions from Ukraine Friday
MOSCOW — The Kremlin says Russian President Vladimir Putin intends to formally annex four territories from Ukraine on Friday — capping a week in which Moscow-backed proxies claimed victory in staged referendum votes condemned by Ukraine and the West.
Speaking to reporters Thursday, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Putin has summoned Russian lawmakers to the Kremlin's ornate St. George's Hall for a signing ceremony to incorporate the Ukrainian lands Friday 3 p.m. local time.
The Russian leader will also make a lengthy speech, Peskov said.
In a related move, Moscow authorities announced they would limit traffic in the city center on Friday ahead of a mass rally in support of annexation.
https://www.npr.org/2022/09/29/1125873787/russia-putin-plans-annex-ukraine-territories-friday
-
MOSCOW — The Kremlin says Russian President Vladimir Putin intends to formally annex four territories from Ukraine on Friday
Just want to put to rest the lies that were told earlier on these threads of how the Russians are protectors and liberators, and how Putin supported an independent Luhansk and Donetsk.
btw, over 3.000 sq. km of that territory has been recaptured by Ukrainian forces since the end of this phony referendum. Does that mean that Russia is going to declare war on Ukraine?
-
(https://img-9gag-fun.9cache.com/photo/aQEqbNK_460s.jpg)
-
(https://img-9gag-fun.9cache.com/photo/aA0YjDg_460s.jpg)
-
RUSSIAN OFFENSIVE CAMPAIGN ASSESSMENT, SEPTEMBER 28
Karolina Hird, Katherine Lawlor, Grace Mappes, Riley Bailey, and Frederick W. Kagan | Sep 28, 2022
Key Takeaways
- Russian military leadership has likely failed to set information conditions for the potential defeat of the Russian grouping in Lyman, despite increasingly concerned discourse among Russian milbloggers regarding the potential for a Ukrainian envelopment of Lyman.
- The Kremlin could temporarily postpone announcing the annexation of Russian-occupied Ukrainian territory to better prepare the Russian information space and administrative organization, although September 30 remains the most likely date for some kind of annexation announcement.
- Russian authorities continue to send newly-mobilized and undertrained recruits to directly reinforce severely degraded remnants of various units, including units that were previously considered to be Russia’s premier conventional fighting forces.
- Ukrainian forces likely continued to make significant gains around Lyman on September 28, advancing from the north along the Zelena Dolyna-Kolodiazi arc and from the southeast around Yampil.
- Ukrainian military officials largely maintained operational silence regarding specific Ukrainian actions in Kherson Oblast on September 28 but stated that Ukrainian troops are continuing positional battles in unspecified locations to consolidate and improve their positions along the Southern Axis.
- Russian forces continued unsuccessful ground attacks in Donetsk Oblast.
- Russian military recruitment officials are openly contradicting the Kremlin’s publicly-stated guidelines for mobilization to meet quota requirements even as Kremlin propaganda is attempting to change the public perception of partial mobilization.
- Russian authorities are beginning to restrict movement of Russian citizens into Russian border regions to cope with hundreds of thousands of Russian men attempting to flee the country.
https://www.understandingwar.org/backgrounder/russian-offensive-campaign-assessment-september-28
With the recent shakeups in the Russian command structure, there is literally no one in position who is willing to order the retreat of Russian forces in Lyman. They will sit there and be captured (along with their equipment) in the next few days.
-
A supermarket in Ukraine denying entry to a group of Jews near the border with Poland today. Hundreds of Jews are stuck for many hours near the Polish border, they fear that they will be stuck there for Shabbos.
https://twitter.com/TheBelaaz/status/1575458827104927745
-
(https://img-9gag-fun.9cache.com/photo/aEqwLVM_460s.jpg)
-
Newly mobilised Russian troops and officers
This is reminiscent of Germany, 1945, sending old men to the front.
Exactly my thought. Wow. I hope this (also) signifies the beginning of the end of the war.
-
A supermarket in Ukraine denying entry to a group of Jews near the border with Poland today. Hundreds of Jews are stuck for many hours near the Polish border, they fear that they will be stuck there for Shabbos.
@mountaineer , do you have any info on the context behind this? Each year, a large number of Jews (mainly Hassid) make a pilgrimage to Uman around the time of Rosh Hashana. Apparently, this pilgrimage is not being welcomed because of the influx of such a large group, and because of local religious opposition.
This is not to be excused. Just wanted more details. It could be an issue of having enough supplies during wartime.
-
Ukraine advance on Russian outpost challenges Putin’s grip on Donbas
Tom Balmforth and Jonathan Landay | September 29, 2022 | 11:55 AM EDT
KYIV, Sept 28 (Reuters) - Ukrainian troops are moving to capture the Russian-held eastern town of Lyman, threatening a new setback for Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin's campaign in the Donbas as he prepares to declare the region part of Russia.
The capture of the town in the north of Donetsk region could pave the way for Ukraine to make inroads into the adjacent Luhansk province, foiling Putin's goal of seizing all of the industrial Donbas region declared after his forces failed to subdue the entire country in February, military analysts said. . .
. . . Lyman has served for months as a logistics and transport hub anchoring Russian operations in Donetsk region's north and its capture would be Kyiv's biggest gain since a lightning counter-offensive retook swathes of Kharkiv region this month.
The window is narrowing for Ukraine to make major advances before winter sets in, slowing down operations and giving Russia, which has declared a partial mobilisation, more time to fortify its lines.
https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/ukraine-advance-russian-outpost-challenges-putins-grip-donbas-2022-09-29/
-
(https://resources.arcamax.com/newspics/235/23514/2351479.gif)
-
RUN ORCS RUN
Video showing a platoon-sized group of Russians retreating in complete panic on foot in #Lyman, running from an area of cover into a kill zone. It has begun.
looks like ww2 movies from 1950s in color.
Only diffrence, in Movies there where attacking, not retreating.
https://www.reddit.com/r/UkrainianConflict/comments/xrx202/video_showing_a_platoonsized_group_of_russians/
(THIS MAY BE DELETED BY THE GLOBAL POWERS WHICH CONTROL CONTENT ON THE INTERNET)
-
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Fd6eRhyX0AAcfn0?format=jpg&name=small)
Pentagon working to form new command to coordinate arming and training Ukraine
By Oren Liebermann and Barbara Starr, CNN
Updated 8:17 PM EDT, Thu September 29, 2022
The Pentagon is working to form a new command to coordinate arming and training Ukraine, according to two US officials, in an effort to streamline what was a largely ad hoc process rapidly created in the wake of Russia’s invasion.
The new command, which would be based at Wiesbaden in Germany, would fall under Gen. Christopher Cavoli, the commander of US European Command, which has led the multinational effort to train Ukrainian military forces on advanced Western weapons and deliver those weapons to the border with Ukraine, one official said. It is expected to be led by a 3-star general.
But the US has been careful in how it discusses the plans, which the officials emphasized is not a major change to the current system of organizing and administering shipments. Officials are careful not to give Russian President Vladimir Putin a reason to claim the US is party to the conflict, especially given the elevated rhetoric coming from the Kremlin about the threat of nuclear weapons usage. ...
Rest of story (https://www.cnn.com/2022/09/29/politics/pentagon-new-command-arming-training-ukraine/index.html)
-
Anna Ahronheim
@AAhronheim
Israeli intelligence firm @ImageSatIntl has detected an “irregular presence” of Russian TU-160 & TU-95 strategic bombers deployed to Olenya Airbase. The base, on the Kola Peninsula, houses a significant number of military hardware, including tactical & strategic nuclear weapons
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Fd6vzAuXEAAh4JG?format=jpg&name=small)
Thread: https://twitter.com/AAhronheim/status/1575893236383506432
-
Give Ukraine the tools to shoot them down, if they don't already have those tools.
-
Anna Ahronheim
@AAhronheim
Israeli intelligence firm @ImageSatIntl has detected an “irregular presence” of Russian TU-160 & TU-95 strategic bombers deployed to Olenya Airbase. The base, on the Kola Peninsula, houses a significant number of military hardware, including tactical & strategic nuclear weapons
This threat is directed at the United States, not Ukraine. This airbase is only 4,000 miles from New York City.
Tu-160 has a range of 7,600 miles. The Tu-95 has a range of 9,300 miles.
-
Survivors speak of horror as Zaporizhzhia convoy hit
James Waterhouse - BBC, Zaporizhzhia and Yaroslav Lukov - BBC, London | 19 hours ago
(https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/976/cpsprodpb/13AC4/production/_126908508_smaller.jpg.webp)
The convoy had planned to go to the Russian-occupied part of the Zaporizhzhia region
At least 30 people have been killed and dozens more injured in a Russian rocket strike on a civilian convoy in south Ukraine, local officials say.
A huge crater next to a row of vehicles in the city of Zaporizhzhia testifies to the violence of the attack. Windows and windscreens were smashed in.
The BBC saw half a dozen bodies lying at the scene, apparently civilians. Baggage and coats strewed the tarmac.
One survivor told the BBC her boss had been killed in the attack.
"She had two kids. I left the cafe to use the restroom when it happened. I ran back and tried to find her. The cafe was demolished, there were many bodies around. It was all so very horrifying," Viktoriia Yosypenko said. . .
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-63086697
-
(https://img-9gag-fun.9cache.com/photo/aVbQj7O_460s.jpg)
-
Russian Defense Minister is saying that they have successfully evacuated all their troops (2 brigades) from Lyman.
-
Russian Defense Minister is saying that they have successfully evacuated all their troops (2 brigades) from Lyman.
You can always count on the Russian Defense Minister to tell the truth.
(https://external-content.duckduckgo.com/iu/?u=http%3A%2F%2Flittlegreenfootballs.com%2Fweblog%2Fimg%2Ftalon_262%2F2017%2F02%2F06%2FBaghdadBob.jpg&f=1&nofb=1&ipt=be4bdb9071f4e074d2edefa0458f2bb3ed6efa15a823a691e3c5a79f34f75140&ipo=images)
Even if they had a path to evacuate, I think most Russian soldiers would rather surrender than to go back in the grinder in another place. Winter is coming and the soldiers know it. No food. No supplies. No medicine. There comes a time when you have to face reality.
-
Russia, under Putin, is marching into its' own destruction. Everybody in the world see this. Three hundred thousand 'conscripts' cannot be fed and kept warm. Never attack Russia in winter? ... has become ... Never attack Ukraine in winter. Those guys are going to surrender or die. There is a zero chance that Putin will conquer all of Ukraine. The more Russian bodies he throws into the cauldron of defeat, the more he loses.
@240
And the more likely we will see "The Russian Revolution,Part 2".
The typical Russian citizen of today is not as ignorant of foreign affairs as his or her grandfather was,and there IS a limit to how much the typical Russian citizen is going to put up with before they take to the streets in huge numbers.
I would not be even a tiny bit surprised to see this start to happen within the next 30 days.
Russians may have been willing to see their young men and women die defending "Holy Mother Russia" during WW-2 because they were mostly ignorant as to the true facts that led up to it,AND the fact that the Nazi's DID INVADE Russia,giving them no choice but to fight.
NONE of those conditions exist today,and nobody is even pretending they exist.
Pooty Poot is in BIG trouble!
-
(https://img-9gag-fun.9cache.com/photo/az2bGmj_460s.jpg)
He went on to say that any Russian who dies in Ukraine will get 72 virgins to bleep in the afterlife.
@240B
"Gimmie dat old-time Religion........"
-
So which Russian general gave the order to withdraw?
Ukrainian Troops Fight to Take Full Control of Lyman, as Russians Attempt to Withdraw
Yaroslav Trofimov and Ian Lovett | Oct. 1, 2022 | 6:00 pm ET
KOLODYAZI, Ukraine—Fighting continued around the eastern Ukrainian town of Lyman Saturday night, despite Russian claims to have withdrawn from the city.
Artillery and multiple-launch rocket systems thundered into the night, and two pairs of fighter jets could be seen launching flares as they provided close air support.
Russia had kept several thousand troops in the city, and the continuing violence suggested that some—if not most—of these soldiers may have remained trapped. Roads to Lyman are lined with burned-out hulks of Russian tanks and armored vehicles, with bodies of Russian soldiers lying on the sides. . .
https://www.wsj.com/articles/ukraine-says-russia-kidnapped-head-of-nuclear-plant-11664632063
-
Furious conscripts turn on their commander: Top officer 'is beaten after telling reservists ''you are all cannon fodder, you are facing slaughter'' as video shows punch-up in make-shift barracks
WILL STEWART and WALTER FINCH | PUBLISHED: 05:01 EDT, 30 September 2022
A top Russian officer reportedly had his face 'smashed' during a brawl with furious conscripts after telling them their lives were going to be thrown away on the front lines in Ukraine.
The mobilised recruits turned on the Russian lieutenant-colonel after he bluntly said: 'You are all cannon fodder, you are facing slaughter.'
The high-ranking officer had bones in his face broken in a brawl in which 'every single one of them was drunk', say reports.
Many of the reservists - among hundreds of thousands thrown into the war under a Vladimir Putin decree - were left distraught after being told they will die at the front.
However, the commander was likely being accurate in saying the Putin call-up will lead to mass deaths of untrained reservists sent to the front.
It is just the latest tale of chaos, fighting and drunkenness among newly mobilised Russian conscripts, with reports of many being sent to front lines with little or zero training while being told to buy their own supplies and equipment.
Russian officers - often themselves conscripted - have been advising new recruits to bring their own sleeping bags, tourniquets, medicines and roll mats. . .
. . . Meanwhile, another piece of footage showed what appeared to be a female quartermaster talking to new recruits and advising them to bring tampons.
The sanitary products can be used to plug bullet wounds and stop bleeding in the absence of medical kit, the woman tells the new recruits.
'They won't give it to us?' one of the new recruits asks.
'It's all our own, boys,' the woman shouts back. 'You will be given a uniform and armour, nothing else.'
Yet further videos have emerged showing a newly-recruited tank commander who has been told he will deploy to the Kherson frontline in just two days without so much as firing a shot on a training range.
More footage captures two troops sitting in a field in Ukraine and complaining that they have been abandoned by their commanders without food or water, and that they would be better off fighting for the other side.
These are just the latest examples of poor morale and preparation within the Russian ranks after Putin's army exhausted itself in seven months of war in Ukraine. . .
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11265915/Furious-conscripts-turn-commander-officer-beaten-saying-cannon-fodder.html
Videos at link.
-
"The high-ranking officer had bones in his face broken in a brawl in which 'every single one of them was drunk', say reports."
This corresponds with other reports. The conscripts are being given vodka to keep them happy and calm before deployment to the front. In fact, some of them were so drunk when they reported, they needed help to get on the bus taking them to fight. If the officer was as drunk as the conscripts (likely) and started drunk talking about how they were all going to die, then he deserved to get his ass kicked. And he did.
Instead of giving them warm weather gear and critical medical supplies, Russia is giving them vodka and hoping they will be too drunk to worry about it. It makes no sense to me to send untrained unequipped civilians to the front lines to be killed. But for whatever reason no one understands why, that is what Russia has decided to do.
-
"The high-ranking officer had bones in his face broken in a brawl in which 'every single one of them was drunk', say reports."
This corresponds with other reports. The conscripts are being given vodka to keep them happy and calm before deployment to the front. In fact, some of them were so drunk when they reported, they needed help to get on the bus taking them to fight. If the officer was as drunk as the conscripts (likely) and started drunk talking about how they were all going to die, then he deserved to get his ass kicked. And he did.
Instead of giving them warm weather gear and critical medical supplies, Russia is giving them vodka and hoping they will be too drunk to worry about it. It makes no sense to me to send untrained unequipped civilians to the front lines to be killed. But for whatever reason no one understands why, that is what Russia has decided to do.
@240B
This is what the Soviets have always done. In WW-2 they had what they called "blocking squads" following the attacking Soviet troops,and their job was to shoot anyone who tried to retreat.
They also would send the second wave in unarmed right behind the first wave. Their job was to pick up the weapons the first wave dropped after being killed,and use them to continue the attack.
-
@240B
This is what the Soviets have always done. In WW-2 they had what they called "blocking squads" following the attacking Soviet troops,and their job was to shoot anyone who tried to retreat.
They also would send the second wave in unarmed right behind the first wave. Their job was to pick up the weapons the first wave dropped after being killed,and use them to continue the attack.
Not going to work in modern warfare. It sucks to be the fodder.
-
(https://img-9gag-fun.9cache.com/photo/aqeZnAZ_460s.jpg)
-
(https://img-9gag-fun.9cache.com/photo/ajV6mnx_460s.jpg)
After the fall of Lyman, Zarichne and Torske, Ukraine is already attacking the Russians in Kreminna. The new offensive is moving fast.
-
Ukraine's slow encirclement of Lyman allowed Russian forces only one escape route. Here is a video showing that escape route. Better to meet your opponent moving on an open road than to attack defended city positions.
Russian convoy fleeing Ukraine:
(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VNVRsQaM4uA)
-
Ukrainian Forces Are Advancing In Southern Ukraine
David Axe | Oct 2, 2022 | 05:02pm EDT
Just a day after liberating Lyman, a key supply hub for Russian forces in eastern Ukraine, Ukrainian forces are on the move in the south, too. As in Lyman, Russian troops increasingly are cut off from resupply—and in acute danger of encirclement.
With each successive phase of their twin counteroffensives that kicked off in the south and east a month ago, the Ukrainians are refining a strategy for defeating a Russian army that, on paper, is bigger along many sectors of the front.
That strategy requires patience, discipline and precision, three qualities that have come to define Ukrainian operations as Russia’s wider war on Ukraine grinds into its eighth month.
The Ukrainians first use long-range rockets to sever Russian supply lines and disrupt command, then probe Russian defenses for weak spots before exploiting these weaknesses and penetrating into the Russians’ rear areas, triggering a rout that ends with the Russians retreating from huge swathes of territory and abandoning enormous quantities of usable equipment.
Ukraine’s Operational Command South began its counterlogistics campaign back in May, shortly after receiving new American-made howitzers and wheeled High-Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems. For more than three months, the Ukrainians targeted bridges, railways, supply dumps and command centers in and around Kherson. . .
. . . The drumbeat of Ukrainian losses in the south—scores of trucks, fighting vehicles and tanks and even a priceless Su-24 bomber—underscored the intensity of the fighting.
But the Russians appeared to be losing more people and equipment than the Ukrainians were losing. And, perhaps more importantly, Ukrainian supply lines in the south were intact while Russian supply lines were fraying under relentless attacks by Ukrainian rocketeers and gunners.
It took longer for Ukrainian forces to break through Russian lines in the south than in the east. That breakthrough reportedly occurred on Sunday. Videos from the front confirm Ukrainian troops rolling into Zolota Balka and Khreshchenivka, along the right bank of the three-mile-wide Dnipro River. There were reports the Ukrainians had reached as far as Dudchany and were driving Russian troops to Beryslav.
If confirmed, that means the Ukrainians have penetrated as deep as 15 miles into territory the Russians still held as recently as last week. Worse for the Russians, the Ukrainians are in a position to surround Russian units on the western side of the Dnipro, eventually trapping them between Ukrainian positions and the wide river. “Not a good place for the [Russians] to be,” mused Mark Hertling, a retired U.S. Army general. . .
https://www.forbes.com/sites/davidaxe/2022/10/02/ukrainian-forces-are-advancing-in-southern-ukraine/
-
From Dudchany, Ukrainian forces will be able to attack the rear of the Russian forces that threaten Bakhmut.
-
Ukraine's slow encirclement of Lyman allowed Russian forces only one escape route. Here is a video showing that escape route. Better to meet your opponent moving on an open road than to attack defended city positions.
Russian convoy fleeing Ukraine:
(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VNVRsQaM4uA)
Classic anti-convoy/column tactic. Take out the front and rear vehicles, trap the rest in the middle. Choke points an places where off road is impassable are best. Perfect tactics.
-
Ukraine's slow encirclement of Lyman allowed Russian forces only one escape route. Here is a video showing that escape route. Better to meet your opponent moving on an open road than to attack defended city positions.
Russian convoy fleeing Ukraine:
(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VNVRsQaM4uA)
Now it makes a lot of sense why the Ukrainians didn't rush to surround Lyman.
I know I should feel pity for the Orcs, but I don't after seeing all the atrocities they've committed.
It now sounds like the same strategy is working in the south.
-
Now it makes a lot of sense why the Ukrainians didn't rush to surround Lyman.
I know I should feel pity for the Orcs, but I don't after seeing all the atrocities they've committed.
It now sounds like the same strategy is working in the south.
I once wondered why Patton wasn't allowed to cut off the 'bulge' and surround the German Army.
What made sense is that until that army was completely and utterly defeated, it would be back as a problem. If that meant killing more pushing them back than were allowed to surrender in an enveloped pocket, so be it.
-
Ukrainian troops 'break through Russian lines' near Kherson and continue advancing in the east - as Putin loses ground in three out of four regions he annexed last week
By CHRIS PLEASANCE FOR MAILONLINE
3 October 2022
Ukrainian forces are advancing in the south and may have scored a major breakthrough of Russian lines as they also take more territory in the east.
Kyiv's troops are attacking down the west bank of the Dnipro River and have taken the town of Zolota Balka, it was reported Monday, amid claims from pro-Kremlin sources that troops had retreated as far as Dudchany, around 15 miles further south.
It comes after the key city of Lyman, in Donetsk, was captured by Ukrainian forces at the weekend, with Kyiv's commanders saying troops are now attacking the town of Kreminna, in neighbouring Luhansk.
It means that Putin's troops are now losing ground in three out of the four Ukrainian regions he annexed last week - declaring that any attack on them would be considered an attack on Russia and may trigger a nuclear response.
* * *
Source: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11274353/Ukrainian-troops-break-Russian-lines-near-Kherson.html
-
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JGNYCCdatL0
-
DOMINIC LAWSON: Russia's forces are approaching mutiny - and when that happens, Vladimir Putin goes the way of the Tsars
By DOMINIC LAWSON FOR THE DAILY MAIL
2 October 2022
Few nations have as deep a sense of their own history as the Russians. Indeed, it was on the basis of a tendentious tract about the historic 'unity' of Russians and Ukrainians that President Putin justified his invasion of an independent neighbouring state.
But another word, also with great resonance in Russian history, now hangs over the Kremlin's flailing military campaign. And that word is: Mutiny.
Remarkably, it was raised on Moscow's main TV channel last week by the woman described as Putin's propagandist-in-chief, Margarita Simonyan, during the nightly discussion programme on the state of the 'special military operation'.
The striking-looking Simonyan is the head of RT, the Kremlin's English-language broadcasting network (now banned in the UK); but here she was speaking to a Russian audience.
She was raging about the incompetence with which Putin's 'partial mobilisation', announced on September 21, was being carried out, and the gross inadequacy of the provisions being supplied to the hundreds of thousands being called up to fight: 'Students, people with serious illnesses, single mothers, people as old as 62 . . . and being handed rotten things, no helmets or body armour.'
Criticism
She warned the heads of the armed forces: 'Comrade Commanders: don't anger the people!'
And now came the reference to historic precedent. Simonyan told the 'commanders' to remember the mutiny on the Battleship Potemkin during the Russo-Japanese war of 1905, which was provoked by the fact that all the meat available to the crew had been maggot-infested.
'Let me remind you that in 1905, small things like that led to the first mutiny of an entire military unit in the history of our country. Is that what you want?'
* * *
Source: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/debate/article-11273587/DOMINIC-LAWSON-Russias-forces-approaching-mutiny.html
-
Just heard an unconfirmed report that Putin has redrawn the lines of his annexation to exclude the city of Lyman.
Now that Ukraine controls Lyman, Putin does not want to admit to part of Russian territory was conquered from him.
-
I once wondered why Patton wasn't allowed to cut off the 'bulge' and surround the German Army.
What made sense is that until that army was completely and utterly defeated, it would be back as a problem. If that meant killing more pushing them back than were allowed to surrender in an enveloped pocket, so be it.
@Smokin Joe
I have always figured that Truman was of the opinion that the Nazi's were already beaten anyhow,so why risk getting more American soldiers killed when the Russians would be happy to do all the killing and dying?
Communists have NEVER given a damn about their own casualities as long as no one in the leadership was ever put at risk.
NEVER.
The NKVD "Blocking Squads" were all the proof of this that anyone needed.
-
I once wondered why Patton wasn't allowed to cut off the 'bulge' and surround the German Army.
What made sense is that until that army was completely and utterly defeated, it would be back as a problem. If that meant killing more pushing them back than were allowed to surrender in an enveloped pocket, so be it.
Great points!
I'm really hoping that at the end of this war Russia will not only not have the capacity to threaten their neighbors and the world, but also will no longer have the desire to wage war. The last I heard apprx. 300,000 men in their 20's have fled Russia. If true it's devastating. They are not only getting pounded by a smarter and more nimble Ukrainian army, but these men are in the age group that produce children and they already have a declining population.
-
"We are closer than you think."
(https://preview.redd.it/s3lke7z4veq91.jpg?width=640&crop=smart&auto=webp&s=fa15ce101a4e95b21ec1e742d10f0f66bcc70347)
-
(https://img-9gag-fun.9cache.com/photo/abvqeG8_460s.jpg)
In 1996 Ukraine handed over nuclear weapons to Russia "in exchange for a guarantee never to be threatened or invaded".
ויקם מלך חדש על מצרים אשר לא ידע את יוסף -Exodus 1:8
And there arose a 'new king' over Egypt, who did not know Joseph.
-
Russian anti-war journalist who was placed under house arrest and faced ten years in jail for TV protest escapes and goes on the run with her 11-year-old daughter
By MAILONLINE REPORTER
3 October 2022
Russian TV journalist Marina Ovsyannikova, who became famous for staging an on-air protest against Russia's war in Ukraine, has been put on Moscow's wanted list after escaping from pre-trial house arrest. Ovsyannikova, 44, was put under house arrest in August and faces up to 10 years in prison if found guilty of spreading fake news about Russia's armed forces under a law introduced earlier this year.
The case relates to a protest in July when she stood on a river embankment opposite the Kremlin and held up a poster calling President Vladimir Putin a murderer and his soldiers fascists. But state-run news outlet RT reported this weekend that she had somehow fled her accommodation with her young daughter in tow, and their current whereabouts are unknown. Pictured: Ovsyannikova is escorted to attend a hearing at the Basmanny district court in Moscow, Russia, 11 August 2022.
'Last night, my ex-wife left the place that the court assigned her for house arrest and, together with my 11-year-old daughter, fled in an unknown direction,' her ex-husband was quoted as saying by RT - a Russian media company for whom he is a prominent producer. Ovsyannikova, who was born in Ukraine, came to international prominence in March by walking out in front of studio cameras during an evening news broadcast on the flagship Channel One with a placard that read: 'NO WAR. STOP THE WAR. DO NOT BELIEVE THE PROPAGANDA. THEY'RE LYING TO YOU HERE. RUSSIANS AGAINST WAR.' (pictured).
* * *
Source: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/galleries/article-11275853/Russian-anti-war-journalist-facing-jail-TV-protest-escapes.html
-
Russia removes Western Military District commander following losses in Ukraine's Kharkiv region, records show
Uliana Pavlova | 1 hr 45 min ago
Russian authorities removed the commander of the country's Western Military District (WMD), according records from the country’s Unified State Registry published Monday.
The Unified State Registry, which functions as a state government registry of all registered legal entitles, has listed Col. Gen. Roman Berdnikov as the new commander of Russia’s Western Military District. The announcement comes as Russian forces have pulled out from many parts of eastern Ukraine.
The WMD, based in the western part of Russia, is one of five military districts in the country's military. It played a significant role in Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Berdnikov replaces Col. Gen. Alexander Zhuravlyov, who has also been a commander in Ukraine’s Kharkiv region where Russian forces suffered heavy losses in past weeks. Bednikov’s appointment comes on the heels of the Russian forces retreat from the strategic eastern city of Lyman, in the eastern Donetsk region.
More on the former commander: Zhuravlyov, who is known for overseeing one of the most brutal chapters of Syria’s war, also oversaw a rocket artillery brigade, whom CNN identified as the brigade that launched cluster munitions attack in residential districts of Kharkiv in late February, during the early days of the war. . .
https://www.cnn.com/europe/live-news/russia-ukraine-war-news-10-03-22
-
(https://img-9gag-fun.9cache.com/photo/abvqeG8_460s.jpg)
In 1996 Ukraine handed over nuclear weapons to Russia "in exchange for a guarantee never to be threatened or invaded".
ויקם מלך חדש על מצרים אשר לא ידע את יוסף -Exodus 1:8
And there arose a 'new king' over Egypt, who did not know Joseph.
@240B
Well,if you can't trust a Communist to be fair and honest.........
HEY! WAIT ONE FREAKING MINUTE,HERE!
-
@240B
Well,if you can't trust a Communist to be fair and honest.........
HEY! WAIT ONE FREAKING MINUTE,HERE!
LOL!
Your point leads right back to Reagan and why so many of us LOVED him. He said, "trust, but verify". You don't need to verify honorable men you can trust them. IOW, he never really trusted them.
-
'This idiot Putin has gotten himself into a war we cannot win': Russia's military veterans condemn Ukraine invasion... and say Vladimir has doomed his army to defeat
By JACK NEWMAN FOR MAILONLINE
3 October 2022
Russia's military veterans have lined up to slam Vladimir Putin and his faltering war in Ukraine, branding the tyrant an 'idiot'.
After the despot ordered his partial mobilisation last month in a dramatic escalation of the botched invasion, anti-Kremlin opposition has only grown with thousands fleeing the country or arrested for anti-war protests.
Vitaly Votanovsky, who rose to the rank of lieutenant-colonel in the Russian Air Force, is now a vociferous political activist who has been detained multiple times for photographing the graves of dead Russian soldiers.
He told the Moscow Times: 'Putin destroyed the country's military mobilisation resources with his own hands and now this idiot has gotten himself into the war with the entire world.
'He created circumstances in which we cannot win.'
* * *
Source: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11275487/Russias-military-veterans-condemn-Ukraine-war-say-Vladimir-doomed-army-defeat.html
-
Putin sends bombers to key nuke base, satellite images show
https://americanmilitarynews.com/2022/10/putin-sends-bombers-to-key-nuke-base-satellite-images-show/ (https://americanmilitarynews.com/2022/10/putin-sends-bombers-to-key-nuke-base-satellite-images-show/)
Russian President Vladimir Putin recently sent nuclear-capable bombers to a critical Russian military installation where the country keeps part of its nuclear arsenal. The move is the latest sign that Putin may deploy nuclear weapons.
The Israeli satellite intelligence firm ImageSat International was the first to detect an “irregular presence” of Russian Tu-160 and Tu-95 strategic bombers at Russia’s Olenya Air Base, the Jerusalem Post reported. The base is located in the northwest of Russia, near its border with Finland, and hosts a number of Russian nuclear weapons.
Journalist Donald Standeford shared ImageSat’s photos showing the Russian bombers parked on a runway at the Olenya Air Base.
Satellite photos captured by ImageSat showed four Tu-160s at the Russian nuclear weapons base on Aug. 21st. The firm spotted three additional Tu-95 bombers at the base last week, on Sept. 25.
“Through ongoing Patterns-of-Life, the system indicates that Engels air base is the possible departure point of the strategic bombers detected in Olenya airbase,” the satellite intelligence firm reported.
More at link.
-
Putin sends bombers to key nuke base, satellite images show
https://americanmilitarynews.com/2022/10/putin-sends-bombers-to-key-nuke-base-satellite-images-show/ (https://americanmilitarynews.com/2022/10/putin-sends-bombers-to-key-nuke-base-satellite-images-show/)
Analysts say these bombers are not intended for Ukraine, not necessary to use heavy bombers for only a few kilometers next door. These bombers are intended for long range missions. Such as America or elsewhere.
-
Putin sends bombers to key nuke base, satellite images show
https://americanmilitarynews.com/2022/10/putin-sends-bombers-to-key-nuke-base-satellite-images-show/ (https://americanmilitarynews.com/2022/10/putin-sends-bombers-to-key-nuke-base-satellite-images-show/)
Russian President Vladimir Putin recently sent nuclear-capable bombers to a critical Russian military installation where the country keeps part of its nuclear arsenal. The move is the latest sign that Putin may deploy nuclear weapons.
The Israeli satellite intelligence firm ImageSat International was the first to detect an “irregular presence” of Russian Tu-160 and Tu-95 strategic bombers at Russia’s Olenya Air Base, the Jerusalem Post reported. The base is located in the northwest of Russia, near its border with Finland, and hosts a number of Russian nuclear weapons.
Journalist Donald Standeford shared ImageSat’s photos showing the Russian bombers parked on a runway at the Olenya Air Base.
Satellite photos captured by ImageSat showed four Tu-160s at the Russian nuclear weapons base on Aug. 21st. The firm spotted three additional Tu-95 bombers at the base last week, on Sept. 25.
“Through ongoing Patterns-of-Life, the system indicates that Engels air base is the possible departure point of the strategic bombers detected in Olenya airbase,” the satellite intelligence firm reported.
More at link.
@Elderberry
If that idiot nukes Ukraine,Russia will end up glowing in the dark for generations,and will remain uninhabitable for decades.
It boggles my imagination that the other pampered princes in the Politburo hasn't already removed him from power,or just had him shot.
His massive ego and his insanity (same thing) may well end up costing Russia everything.
BTW,is there any indication that Hunter Biden has been to Russia in the last 6 months or so to broker a bribe and collect it by promising the Russians that the US will not take part in ANY action against Russia,,either military or economic?
That could be a VERY big payday for "the big guy".
-
@Elderberry
If that idiot nukes Ukraine,Russia will end up glowing in the dark for generations,and will remain uninhabitable for decades.
It boggles my imagination that the other pampered princes in the Politburo hasn't already removed him from power,or just had him shot.
His massive ego and his insanity (same thing) may well end up costing Russia everything.
BTW,is there any indication that Hunter Biden has been to Russia in the last 6 months or so to broker a bribe and collect it by promising the Russians that the US will not take part in ANY action against Russia,,either military or economic?
That could be a VERY big payday for "the big guy".
:thumbsup:
-
Analysts say these bombers are not intended for Ukraine, not necessary to use heavy bombers for only a few kilometers next door. These bombers are intended for long range missions. Such as America or elsewhere.
This base is approx. 4,000 miles from NYC. The Tu-95 Bear can cover that distance and back without refueling.
-
This base is approx. 4,000 miles from NYC. The Tu-95 Bear can cover that distance and back without refueling.
@Hoodat
Providing,of course,that they can make it here without being shot down first.
-
BTW,is there any indication that Hunter Biden has been to Russia in the last 6 months or so to broker a bribe and collect it by promising the Russians that the US will not take part in ANY action against Russia,,either military or economic?
You just described Gen. Milley dealing with China through his/her self described "backchannels". That is EXACTLY what Milley did, word for word verbatim, only with China not Russia.
-
@Hoodat
Providing,of course,that they can make it here without being shot down first.
Providing, of course, that the person below is both capable and willing to give that order.
(https://imgs.search.brave.com/4yxenrGJfVKisYpJE4FiwLvJU7twOw4VJCtRTGNZuqk/rs:fit:620:340:1/g:ce/aHR0cHM6Ly9uZW9u/bmV0dGxlLmNvbS9u/ZXdzL2ltYWdlcy9C/aWRlbi1CbGFzdGVk/LWZvci1DaGVja2lu/Zy1IaXMtV2F0Y2gt/ZHVyaW5nLVJldHVy/bi1vZi0xMy1Ucm9v/cHMtS2lsbGVkLWlu/LUFmZ2hhbmlzdGFu/LmpwZw)
-
Providing, of course, that the person below is both capable and willing to give that order.
(https://imgs.search.brave.com/4yxenrGJfVKisYpJE4FiwLvJU7twOw4VJCtRTGNZuqk/rs:fit:620:340:1/g:ce/aHR0cHM6Ly9uZW9u/bmV0dGxlLmNvbS9u/ZXdzL2ltYWdlcy9C/aWRlbi1CbGFzdGVk/LWZvci1DaGVja2lu/Zy1IaXMtV2F0Y2gt/ZHVyaW5nLVJldHVy/bi1vZi0xMy1Ucm9v/cHMtS2lsbGVkLWlu/LUFmZ2hhbmlzdGFu/LmpwZw)
We all know he's not, especially if he is in a bunker that will survive a nuclear blast.
I think the nuclear saber rattling is overblown. If Russia uses a nuke in Ukraine they will have fallout problems coming back on their own people and they will have to try an occupy territory that irradiated.
-
This base is approx. 4,000 miles from NYC. The Tu-95 Bear can cover that distance and back without refueling.
I have seen these guys in formation flight in the pacific. They were buzzing our squadron off the coast of Russia in the Bering Sea. You cannot appreciate how big those monsters are until you see them flying over you armed and ready. 46.2 meters long (50.5 yards) - wingspan 50.1 meters (55 yards across). It's like watching a flying city.
(https://render.fineartamerica.com/images/rendered/product-visible/default/images/artworkimages/medium/2/4-tupolev-tu-95-airplane-blueprint-drawing-plans-for-tupolev-tu-95-bear-soviet-or-russian-bomber-jose-elias-sofia-pereira.jpg?&targetx=-131&targety=0&imagewidth=1050&imageheight=788&modelwidth=788&modelheight=788&backgroundcolor=B2B2B2&orientation=0&producttype=beachtowelround)
-
I have seen these guys in formation flight in the pacific. They were buzzing our squadron off the coast of Russia in the Bering Sea. You cannot appreciate how big those monsters are until you see them flying over you armed and ready. 46.2 meters long (50.5 yards) - wingspan 50.1 meters (55 yards across). It's like watching a flying city.
(https://render.fineartamerica.com/images/rendered/product-visible/default/images/artworkimages/medium/2/4-tupolev-tu-95-airplane-blueprint-drawing-plans-for-tupolev-tu-95-bear-soviet-or-russian-bomber-jose-elias-sofia-pereira.jpg?&targetx=-131&targety=0&imagewidth=1050&imageheight=788&modelwidth=788&modelheight=788&backgroundcolor=B2B2B2&orientation=0&producttype=beachtowelround)
It appears to be comparable to the B-52, spec-wise.
-
I think the nuclear saber rattling is overblown. If Russia uses a nuke in Ukraine they will have fallout problems coming back on their own people and they will have to try an occupy territory that irradiated.
Much of that depends up on the wind patterns at the time. An easterly breeze may disperse the fallout over the Ukraine. Air blast would be preferable, as radiation would fade to safe levels within a week or so.
-
Much of that depends up on the wind patterns at the time. An easterly breeze may disperse the fallout over the Ukraine. Air blast would be preferable, as radiation would fade to safe levels within a week or so.
That may possibly be true with a Western sophisticated tac-nuc. However this is Russia we are talking about. They are not known for delicacy. All of their nuclear bombs are what we would call 'dirty bombs'. Not intentionally, that's just all they know.
-
A different approach might be to contaminate the water and land with radioactivity so it isn't useable. Much like the Romans sowed Carthaginian farmland with salt so Carthage could not rise again as a threat to Rome.
-
It appears to be comparable to the B-52, spec-wise.
Yep. The BUFFs are 48.5 meters long and have a wingspan of 56.4 meters, by comparison. (Yes, they are huge, roughly 4 stories tall.) It has an unrefueled combat range of 8800 miles.
-
Resembles a B-36 Bomber more than B-52.
(http://www.zianet.com/tmorris/6BWB-36formationbig.jpg)
-
Resembles a B-36 Bomber more than B-52.
(http://www.zianet.com/tmorris/6BWB-36formationbig.jpg)
It does, but the roles are similar for all three so the morphology follows function. The B-36 was bigger, actually, but required three times the crew, and was 157 MPH slower.
-
Russia's frontline in Ukraine 'collapses' as Kyiv hammers Putin's forces into humiliating retreat: Zelensky's troops sweep '10 miles in four hours' and liberate dozens of occupied towns - as NATO 'warns Kremlin will test NUKES on the border to save face'
By CHRIS PLEASANCE and NATASHA ANDERSON FOR MAILONLINE
4 October 2022
Russia's frontline has collapsed in the south of Ukraine with dozens of towns liberated in a matter of hours, according to sources on both sides of the conflict.
Kyiv said its troops are 'confidently advancing to the sea' as videos showed the city of Davydiv Brid under their control along with a clutch of smaller settlements in the surrounding countryside.
Meanwhile pro-Russian military bloggers said their forces had retreated around 10 miles down the Dnipro River as the entire northern end of their territory west of the river fell into Ukrainian hands.
It comes just days after President Vladimir Putin declared the Kherson region - along with three others - to be part of Russia, vowing they would belong to Moscow 'forever'.
Meantime, NATO has warned it is anticipating Russia may detonate a nuke on Ukraine's borders in a demonstration of Putin's resolve.
* * *
Source: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11279355/Russian-frontline-collapses-near-Kherson.html
-
Kyiv gives out potassium iodine pills to evacuation centres in preparation for nuclear attack on Ukraine's capital
By CHRIS JEWERS FOR MAILONLINE
4 October 2022
The city of Kyiv has said it is handing out potassium iodine pills to evacuation centres in preparation for a possible Russian nuclear strike on Ukraine's capital.
Potassium iodine pills can help block the absorption of harmful radiation by the thyroid gland if taken just before or immediately after exposure to nuclear radiation.
The pills will be distributed to residents in areas contaminated by nuclear radiation if there is a need to evacuate, the city council said in a statement - amid Russian President Vladimir Putin's disastrous on-going invasion of Ukraine.
* * *
Source: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11279761/Kyiv-gives-potassium-iodine-pills-preparation-nuclear-attack-Ukraines-capital.html
-
Russia’s forces are drunk, armed with ‘obsolete’ weapons: Ukraine
By Snejana Farberov
October 4, 2022
Soldiers in Russia’s newly formed 3rd Army Corps fighting in Ukraine are often drunk, plagued by low morale and forced to use obsolete weapons on the battlefield, according to the Ukrainian military.
The Kremlin cobbled together the formation in June to replace the tens of thousands of troops killed or injured since the start of the invasion in February. It is composed of several brigades totaling some 15,000 mostly volunteer soldiers equipped with hundreds of tanks, Newsweek reported.
But according to an update from the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine on Monday, Russia’s five-month-old unit is facing some major hurdles.
Citing unspecified “available information,” Ukraine’s military claimed that the 3rd Army Corps is unable to effectively perform its tasks due, in part, to “obsolete and unusable weapons and military equipment” that troops are being forced to use.
According to the General Staff’s update, servicemen in the unit have been known to arbitrarily abandon positions and refuse orders.
* * *
Source: https://nypost.com/2022/10/04/russias-new-3rd-army-drunk-armed-with-obsolete-weapons/
-
In Lyman, retreating Russians leave their comrades’ bodies behind
WA Today by Adam Schreck and Vasilisa Stepanenko 10/5/2022
Lyman: Russian troops abandoned a key Ukrainian city so rapidly that they left the bodies of their comrades in the streets, offering more evidence on Tuesday of Moscow’s latest military defeat as it struggles to hang on to four regions of Ukraine that it illegally annexed last week.
Meanwhile, Russia’s upper house of parliament rubber-stamped the annexations following “referendums” that Ukraine and its Western allies dismissed as fraudulent.
Responding to the move, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky formally ruled out talks with Russia, declaring that negotiations with Russian President Vladimir Putin are impossible after his decision to take over the regions.
The Kremlin replied by saying that it will wait for Ukraine to agree to sit down for talks, noting that it may not happen until a new Ukrainian president takes office.
“We will wait for the incumbent president to change his position or wait for a future Ukrainian president who would revise his stand in the interests of the Ukrainian people,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.
Despite the Kremlin’s apparent political bravado, the picture on the ground underscored the disarray Putin faces in his response to Ukrainian advances and attempts to establish new Russian borders.
More: https://www.watoday.com.au/world/europe/in-lyman-retreating-russians-leave-their-comrades-bodies-behind-20221005-p5bn86.html (https://www.watoday.com.au/world/europe/in-lyman-retreating-russians-leave-their-comrades-bodies-behind-20221005-p5bn86.html)
-
Russia’s forces are drunk, armed with ‘obsolete’ weapons: Ukraine
By Snejana Farberov
October 4, 2022
Soldiers in Russia’s newly formed 3rd Army Corps fighting in Ukraine are often drunk, plagued by low morale and forced to use obsolete weapons on the battlefield, according to the Ukrainian military.
The Kremlin cobbled together the formation in June to replace the tens of thousands of troops killed or injured since the start of the invasion in February. It is composed of several brigades totaling some 15,000 mostly volunteer soldiers equipped with hundreds of tanks, Newsweek reported.
But according to an update from the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine on Monday, Russia’s five-month-old unit is facing some major hurdles.
Citing unspecified “available information,” Ukraine’s military claimed that the 3rd Army Corps is unable to effectively perform its tasks due, in part, to “obsolete and unusable weapons and military equipment” that troops are being forced to use.
According to the General Staff’s update, servicemen in the unit have been known to arbitrarily abandon positions and refuse orders.
* * *
Source: https://nypost.com/2022/10/04/russias-new-3rd-army-drunk-armed-with-obsolete-weapons/
The Ukrainians are fighting for their homeland. I really at this point don't care what Zelensky's politics are. The citizens of Ukraine can settle that.
The Russians, conversely, have been largely conscripted. They seem to be fighting out of fear of their own government. Not a real good situation. If I were in that situation...you would have to get me drunk as well.
-
Russia should be told in no uncertain terms that any use of nuclear weapons will result in the end of Russia. Then let the people of Russia deal with Putin.
-
What if Putin detonates nukes in Kaliningrad? That would be in the middle of NATO's northeast quadrant.
Putin could also deploy nukes forward to occupied Ukrainian territory to use the threat of potential radiation release to deter further Ukrainian offensives.
Russia Upgrades Nuclear Weapons Storage Site In Kaliningrad
https://fas.org/blogs/security/2018/06/kaliningrad/ (https://fas.org/blogs/security/2018/06/kaliningrad/)
Lithuanian officials puzzled by Russia’s threat to deploy nuclear weapons in Kaliningrad
https://www.lrt.lt/en/news-in-english/19/1673659/lithuanian-officials-puzzled-by-russia-s-threat-to-deploy-nuclear-weapons-in-kaliningrad (https://www.lrt.lt/en/news-in-english/19/1673659/lithuanian-officials-puzzled-by-russia-s-threat-to-deploy-nuclear-weapons-in-kaliningrad)
Kaliningrad Revisited: Where Putin's Nuclear Threat Is Most Chilling
https://worldcrunch.com/world-affairs/russia-nuclear-weapons (https://worldcrunch.com/world-affairs/russia-nuclear-weapons)
U.S. steps up intel, surveillance after Putin’s nuke threats
https://www.politico.com/news/2022/09/27/putin-nuke-russia-ukraine-intel-surveillance-00059020 (https://www.politico.com/news/2022/09/27/putin-nuke-russia-ukraine-intel-surveillance-00059020)
Russia Simulates Nuclear Strikes Near EU
https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2022/05/05/russia-simulates-nuclear-capable-strikes-near-eu-a77586 (https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2022/05/05/russia-simulates-nuclear-capable-strikes-near-eu-a77586)
-
Russia's nuclear arsenal suffers from the same lack of maintenance issues as the conventional military. They haven't conducted a nuclear test in over 30 years. And almost all previous tests occurred in Soviet republics other than Russia. I don't see Russia setting off any nukes anywhere near Europe.
-
Maps posted four hours apart show scale and speed of Russian land losses
5h ago | 11:29
Rybar, one of the relatively few Russian sources of military information, has posted maps which show in stark detail the scale of Russian difficulties in the southern Kherson region.
We have seen images of Ukrainian troops planting yellow and blue flags in various villages as they push through the Russian defences - or in lots of cases, occupy areas after Vladimir Putin's troops have withdrawn.
This map was posted by Rybar at 11am this morning.
The key is in Russian, so for the avoidance of doubt, the blue area is controlled by Ukraine, while the reddish-brown area is held by Russia and its proxies in Donetsk and Luhansk.
The striped area is the current warzone.
(https://liveblog.digitalimages.sky/lc-images-sky/lcimg-250e2778-4771-4219-8047-974d029f4718.jpeg)
You get an idea of how quickly the Ukrainians are regaining territory (and remember, this is land "annexed" by Russia last week) in the same, updated map posted just four hours later, with the striped warzone having expanded towards a clutch of settlements.
(https://liveblog.digitalimages.sky/lc-images-sky/lcimg-687af5a4-f2e9-47d8-bfbb-b6831946fb3a.jpeg)
Rybar's post, according to a translation, makes bleak reading for Russia: "In the northeast of the Kherson region, the RF Armed Forces regrouped... a decision was made to withdraw the contingent of the RF Armed Forces to a new line of defence.
"However, the absence of any retaliatory actions and counteroffensives in the near future will create a threat of a further offensive of the Armed Forces of Ukraine on Berislav and Novaya Kakhovka, as well as Kherson from the Posad-Pokrovsky and Snigirevsky sectors. In addition, the control of the Armed Forces of Ukraine over the coast of the Dnieper River is an immediate danger to the Russian contingent on the left bank of the Dnieper. . .
https://news.sky.com/story/ukraine-latest-news-zelenskyy-hits-back-at-musk-over-tycoons-peace-plan-ukraine-on-track-to-achieve-three-key-battlefield-objectives-12541713?postid=4584807#liveblog-body
-
What about placing nukes near the front to use the threat of radiation release to slow the Ukrainian advances?
More than anything, Putin needs more time. He hopes a Cold Winter in Europe will work to his advantage to weaken the resolve of NATO nations.
-
Russia's nuclear arsenal suffers from the same lack of maintenance issues as the conventional military. They haven't conducted a nuclear test in over 30 years. And almost all previous tests occurred in Soviet republics other than Russia. I don't see Russia setting off any nukes anywhere near Europe.
If Russia attempted a 'nuclear strike' (which is doubted) they would more likely nuke themselves than anyone else. They will discover that many of the parts, fuels, and metals are missing and have been sold on the global market by corrupt Generals over many decades.
-
@MightyOaksFDN founder @ChadRobo has been on the ground helping Ukraine, but he tells me he saw NO evidence of the billions of dollars in aide the US sent over: "There is no congressional oversight ... This money is going into a black hole."
https://twitter.com/glennbeck/status/1577407366655488001
-
Russian 'mobilization' 1914
(https://img-9gag-fun.9cache.com/photo/aZDWzKp_460s.jpg)
-
@MightyOaksFDN founder @ChadRobo has been on the ground helping Ukraine, but he tells me he saw NO evidence of the billions of dollars in aide the US sent over: "There is no congressional oversight ... This money is going into a black hole."
That's because the money isn't going to Ukraine. Duh. But the State Department seems to be drowning in cash right now.
-
@MightyOaksFDN founder @ChadRobo has been on the ground helping Ukraine, but he tells me he saw NO evidence of the billions of dollars in aide the US sent over: "There is no congressional oversight ... This money is going into a black hole."
Congress (both) voted against any oversight or tracking of this money at all. To a dictatorial nation which is renown to be the most corrupt money-laundering Capitol of the world.
-
@MightyOaksFDN founder @ChadRobo has been on the ground helping Ukraine, but he tells me he saw NO evidence of the billions of dollars in aide the US sent over: "There is no congressional oversight ... This money is going into a black hole."
https://twitter.com/glennbeck/status/1577407366655488001
@mountaineer
If that is the case,HOW does he even know the money was ever sent there,and not to various Dim offshore bank accounts?
-
Just one question, please?
WTF has happened to Russia's airpower?
...okay, 2 questions...
Is global media keeping Putin's planes on the ground?
-
That's because the money isn't going to Ukraine. Duh. But the State Department seems to be drowning in cash right now.
I wonder why Zelensky hasn't publicly complained, "Hey, where's all the money you've supposedly sent us?" if it's still sitting at the State Dept.
-
Just one question, please?
WTF has happened to Russia's airpower?
...okay, 2 questions...
Is global media keeping Putin's planes on the ground?
They don't want them getting shot down. They've already lost quite a few aircraft.
-
I wonder why Zelensky hasn't publicly complained, "Hey, where's all the money you've supposedly sent us?" if it's still sitting at the State Dept.
He's complained quite consistently about not getting the weapons he's been promised.
-
Thousands of Russian soldiers 'have already called Ukrainian hotline set up to let them surrender'
By CHRIS PLEASANCE FOR MAILONLINE
5 October 2022
Thousands of Russian soldiers have already called a Ukrainian hotline set to surrender in a fresh humiliation for Putin's bedraggled army, officials have said.
Andriy Yusov, a spokesman for Ukraine's military intelligence, said that in just a few weeks some 2,000 people have called the 'I Want To Live' hotline in order to give themselves up.
Calls have come from soldiers in Ukraine, those still in Russia who have been conscripted, and some who have not even received draft orders yet who wanted to check the procedure, Yusov claimed.
* * *
Source: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11282447/Thousands-Russian-soldiers-called-Ukrainian-hotline-surrender.html
-
How Ukraine could achieve victory against Russia: As Kyiv's forces advance in the south and east, expert lays out the path to victory - with all roads leading to Crimea
By CHRIS PLEASANCE FOR MAILONLINE
5 October 2022
'This war began with Crimea and must end with Crimea - with its liberation,' President Volodymyr Zelesnky declared back in August. And, according to military experts, that is exactly what his generals are aiming to do.
Ben Hodges, former commander of American forces in Europe, has outlined what he believes to be the Ukrainian route to victory - going via the cities of Kherson and Mariupol and ending 'when the last Russian soldier crosses the [Kerch] bridge out of Crimea.'
General Hodges, now at the Center for European Policy Analysis, believes Ukraine's main effort will remain capturing Kherson in the south - where a major assault has been underway since early August - with a secondary attack hooking down through the Donbas and towards the city of Mariupol.
When Mariupol falls, he told a CEPA conference last week, those troops would also converge on Crimea - hammering the peninsula with HIMARS rockets and forcing the Russians back beyond the border.
Dr Mike Martin, a visiting fellow of war studies at King's College, also raised the prospect of a third assault with Ukraine using its reserves to split the Russian frontline in two and making it difficult for Putin to move reinforcements around as he gave his own thoughts on Twitter.
Nothing is guaranteed in war, and Putin will certainly do everything in his power to stop Kyiv - from piling conscripts on to the frontlines to possibly using a nuclear weapon.
But, as Ukraine's path to victory becomes clearer, MailOnline examines how it could play out...
* * *
Source: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11278851/How-Ukraine-achieve-victory-against-Russia-according-experts.html
-
Just one question, please?
WTF has happened to Russia's airpower?
...okay, 2 questions...
Is global media keeping Putin's planes on the ground?
Technology. Antiaircraft weapons are very affective these days. Russia's air force would be gone in short order if they used it.
-
I wonder why Zelensky hasn't publicly complained, "Hey, where's all the money you've supposedly sent us?" if it's still sitting at the State Dept.
He has complained. But not about money he never asked for. He has complained repeatedly about weapons promised that have not been delivered.
-
He has complained. But not about money he never asked for. He has complained repeatedly about weapons promised that have not been delivered.
:thumbsup:
-
What about placing nukes near the front to use the threat of radiation release to slow the Ukrainian advances?
More than anything, Putin needs more time. He hopes a Cold Winter in Europe will work to his advantage to weaken the resolve of NATO nations.
I think you're on to his strategy. If Putin places nukes in supply depots the Ukrainians will not be able to destroy the depots and Putin can resupply the Orcs.
-
Just one question, please?
WTF has happened to Russia's airpower?
...okay, 2 questions...
Is global media keeping Putin's planes on the ground?
HARM missiles
-
I think you're on to his strategy. If Putin places nukes in supply depots the Ukrainians will not be able to destroy the depots and Putin can resupply the Orcs.
Unless the Russians detonate the nukes, that is unlikely to be an effective strategy. If a nuclear warhead were placed in a supply depot, shelling would probably damage the outside casing, but is unlikely to actually result in the release of a significant quantity of radioactive material; such is the design of most nuclear weapons (e.g., they're designed to survive being accidentally dropped out of an airplane flying at its service ceiling).
-
Putin promotes loyal crony Ramzan Kadyrov to Colonel-General amid fears brutal Chechen leader is poised for new role as Ukraine war commander
By WILL STEWART FOR MAILONLINE
5 October 2022
Vladimir Putin has promoted his feared crony Ramzan Kadyrov to Colonel-General amid rumours of a senior new war role for the brutal Chechen leader.
The Kremlin loyalist boasted in video that he had been 'personally congratulated' by the Russian despot, amid fears the warlord could be poised for even greater responsibility in Ukraine.
Kadyrov, who has been one of the biggest cheerleaders of Putin's invasion, has claimed he is the West's top bogeyman, with more sanctions than even North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.
* * *
Source: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11283767/Putin-promotes-Ramzan-Kadyrov-Colonel-General-amid-fears-Chechen-leader-poised-new-role.html
-
I think you're on to his strategy. If Putin places nukes in supply depots the Ukrainians will not be able to destroy the depots and Putin can resupply the Orcs.
You cannot detonate a nuclear device simply by shooting it, or blowing it up. A nuclear explosion is a controlled sequence. It's not like fireworks.
-
Putin promotes loyal crony Ramzan Kadyrov to Colonel-General amid fears brutal Chechen leader is poised for new role as Ukraine war commander
Excellent. The last guy to lose to the Russians is now in charge of Russian troops. What could go wrong?
-
You cannot detonate a nuclear device simply by shooting it, or blowing it up. A nuclear explosion is a controlled sequence. It's not like fireworks.
True, but what if the plan is to irradiate an area of land, like Chernobyl? One does not need to initiate fission to do that.
-
True, but what if the plan is to irradiate an area of land, like Chernobyl? One does not need to initiate fission to do that.
True enough, but one does need to spread radioactive material in some fashion, and the core of most nukes won't be really effective for that.
-
True enough, but one does need to spread radioactive material in some fashion, and the core of most nukes won't be really effective for that.
I see your point. I wonder exactly what the bombs being shipped are...and how much material would be necessary to convert these munitions into simple dirty bombs? I seem to recall a time when we were freaking out about a guy who bought too many smoke detectors.
-
True enough, but one does need to spread radioactive material in some fashion, and the core of most nukes won't be really effective for that.
You need radioactive gas or liquid to contaminate a large area. Again, Uranium/Plutonium is not flammable and it does not 'explode' like common munitions. But yes, if you hit a nuclear warhead with a mortar, for example, or some other HE round, you could possibly contaminate the immediate area with radioactivity, say something like a 30ft radius.
-
You need radioactive gas or liquid to contaminate a large area. Again, Uranium/Plutonium is not flammable and it does not 'explode' like common munitions. But yes, if you hit a nuclear warhead with a mortar, for example, or some other HE round, you could possibly contaminate the immediate area with radioactivity, say something like a 30ft radius.
30 feet or so is probably a reasonable estimate. To create a real problem, the fissile material in the warhead - in most cases, plutonium - would essentially have to be aerosolized and then dispersed widely. Even a direct hit from most artillery shells would more likely than not be insufficient to aerosolize a warhead, or to widely disperse the resulting materials.
-
Unless the Russians detonate the nukes, that is unlikely to be an effective strategy. If a nuclear warhead were placed in a supply depot, shelling would probably damage the outside casing, but is unlikely to actually result in the release of a significant quantity of radioactive material; such is the design of most nuclear weapons (e.g., they're designed to survive being accidentally dropped out of an airplane flying at its service ceiling).
The public outcry about not doing anything to risk an explosion would be so great the Ukrainians would probably not want to take the chance of losing support from the countries that are supplying them.
-
Poland In Talks With US About Hosting Nuclear Weapons
https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/poland-talks-us-about-hosting-nuclear-weapons
-
You cannot detonate a nuclear device simply by shooting it, or blowing it up. A nuclear explosion is a controlled sequence. It's not like fireworks.
The climate hysteria crowd, the China Virus hysteria crowd, the vaccine mandate hysteria crowd don't listen to reason. Why would the nukes hysteria crowd listen to reason?
-
Poland In Talks With US About Hosting Nuclear Weapons
https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/poland-talks-us-about-hosting-nuclear-weapons
I think it's pretty obvious that Poland has no intention of ever being under the Russian boot again.
Who knows maybe Putin will realize for every escalation on his part there is going to be an equal response.
-
(https://img-9gag-fun.9cache.com/photo/avQZ4En_460s.jpg)
Have seen videos and articles of Ukrainian soldiers complaining they cannot catch the Russians because they are running so fast. We want to engage and shoot them. But they are running so fast we cannot catch them!
200 years ago, and still true now
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VL7XS_8qgXM
-
@MightyOaksFDN founder @ChadRobo has been on the ground helping Ukraine, but he tells me he saw NO evidence of the billions of dollars in aide the US sent over: "There is no congressional oversight ... This money is going into a black hole."
https://twitter.com/glennbeck/status/1577407366655488001
I have serious doubts that much of the money 'set aside', earmarked, or allocated to Ukrainian support has ever made it to Ukraine. Instead, I suspect the rake along the way has greatly diminished that which hasn't been sidelined to this or that NGO for 'humanitarian' or other purposes. Like weapons, money promised and money delivered are two different things.
-
I think it's pretty obvious that Poland has no intention of ever being under the Russian boot again.
Who knows maybe Putin will realize for every escalation on his part there is going to be an equal response.
Neither the Nazis nor the Soviets were kind to Poland or the Polish. They have their freedom, and will keep it.
-
Neither the Nazis nor the Soviets were kind to Poland or the Polish. They have their freedom, and will keep it.
I think when all this is over and Russia has collapsed that the Eastern European and Scandanavian countries will seek to create their own trade and defense bloc. Western Europe has had a free ride at others expense for a long time. It's one of the reasons we should get out of NATO after the war is over, if it is a favorable outcome.
-
Ukraine pushes Russia back by 12 miles as videos reveal blistering attacks in north and south that have left Putin's men fleeing for their lives
By CHRIS PLEASANCE FOR MAILONLINE
6 October 2022
Ukraine has pushed Russia back by 12 miles in the south as dramatic footage reveals the blistering pace of attacks that have sent Putin's men fleeing for their lives.
Videos taken in Kherson in recent days show Ukrainian forces storming Russian defences in American-made Humvees under artillery fire, and soldiers advancing en masse across fields in the face of the retreating enemy.
Ukraine's offensive in Kherson - which has been grinding on for more than two months - entered a 'new phase' on October 2 with Kyiv's men advancing 12 miles down the Inhulets and Dnipro rivers, Britain's MoD said today.
Meanwhile more footage shows Ukrainian soldiers fighting near the city of Lyman, in the north of the country, which fell to Kyiv's men at the weekend - exposing other Russian positions in the Donbas to further attacks.
* * *
Source: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11286525/Videos-reveal-blistering-Ukraine-counter-attack-pushed-Russia-12-miles.html
-
Footage shows Russian conscripts revolt on the border, saying they're 'treated as cattle', given 'zero training' and kept in 'brutal, appalling conditions' as they're sent to Ukraine
By WILL STEWART FOR MAILONLINE
6 October 2022
Russian conscripts are in revolt after being treated like 'cattle' and given 'no training' as they head to the war in Ukraine.
A video shows the men publicly complaining about their treatment in 'brutal, absolutely appalling conditions' after they were mobilised by Vladimir Putin.
The shocking footage is just the latest evidence of the total chaos over the Russian call-up of reservists that has left even Kremlin cheerleaders in despair.
The desperate recruits risk punishment by venting their fury over their plight after arriving by train in Belgorod region which borders Ukraine.
One of the soldiers, acting as a spokesman for the miserable men, says to camera: 'There are about 500 of us, all armed. Yet we are not registered to any military unit.
* * *
Source: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11286327/Russian-conscripts-revolt-border-saying-theyre-treated-cattle-given-zero-training.html
-
Astonishing moment Russian troops flying a white flag from their tank turret surrender to Ukraine
By CHRIS PLEASANCE FOR MAILONLINE
6 October 2022
This is the astonishing moment a squad of Russian soldiers flying a white flag from the turret of their tank surrendered in Ukraine.
Footage filmed in Kherson, in the south of Ukraine, shows a Russian BMP-2 driving out from behind a set of trees and stopping in front of Ukrainian troops before three crew get out with their hands raised.
The Ukrainians then move in, strip the soldiers of their weapons and take them as POWs in what appears to be a pre-arranged operation.
Footage emerged after Ukraine's military intelligence said more than 2,000 Russian soldiers had called a hotline asking how to give themselves up rather than risk being killed on the battlefield.
* * *
Source: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11286219/Russian-troops-filmed-surrendering-Ukraine-Kherson.html
-
Videos taken in Kherson in recent days show Ukrainian forces storming Russian defences in American-made Humvees under artillery fire, and soldiers advancing en masse across fields in the face of the retreating enemy.
I watched one of those Humvee videos. It was bad ass!
-
Footage shows Russian conscripts revolt on the border, saying they're 'treated as cattle', given 'zero training' and kept in 'brutal, appalling conditions' as they're sent to Ukraine
I saw one of these videos where a large group of conscripts had been left in a rail yard. No commanding officer. No supplies. Maybe 15% of them had been issued rifles. And all of them had to find their own food.
-
Footage shows Russian conscripts revolt on the border, saying they're 'treated as cattle', given 'zero training' and kept in 'brutal, appalling conditions' as they're sent to Ukraine
By WILL STEWART FOR MAILONLINE
6 October 2022
Russian conscripts are in revolt after being treated like 'cattle' and given 'no training' as they head to the war in Ukraine.
A video shows the men publicly complaining about their treatment in 'brutal, absolutely appalling conditions' after they were mobilised by Vladimir Putin.
The shocking footage is just the latest evidence of the total chaos over the Russian call-up of reservists that has left even Kremlin cheerleaders in despair.
The desperate recruits risk punishment by venting their fury over their plight after arriving by train in Belgorod region which borders Ukraine.
One of the soldiers, acting as a spokesman for the miserable men, says to camera: 'There are about 500 of us, all armed. Yet we are not registered to any military unit.
* * *
Source: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11286327/Russian-conscripts-revolt-border-saying-theyre-treated-cattle-given-zero-training.html
@Kamaji
Hard to win a war when none of the soldiers want to fight,not even the field grade officers.
All that leaves you for a fighting force are the Geezer Generals who have no interest in anything other than sending privates off to die for the glory of the Generals.
If I were a Russian soldier,I wouldn't be willing to fight,either. NO soldier wants to die to order to provide glory for the lunatic in charge of Russia now.
The only thing that will change this is if the Ukrainian's are insane enough to step foot into "Holy Mother Russia".
Truth to tell,it would not surprise me a bit if the Soviets still in power in the Kremlin created a "false flag invasion of Russia" by "false flag" Ukrainian army units using Spetnaz soldiers in Ukranian uniorms,with Russian news camera crews who just "happened to be there when the invasion started",filming the atrocities.
Putin is ever bit as insane as Hitler was,and like Hitler,there is NOTHING he won't do to win and stay in power.
-
(https://img-comment-fun.9cache.com/media/aRVK1Z2/a0MEMnJ7_700w_0.jpg)
-
Hard to win a war when none of the soldiers want to fight, not even the field grade officers.
The life expectancy of a Russian field officer in the Ukraine is now measured in hours.
-
The life expectancy of a Russian field officer in the Ukraine is now measured in hours.
Russia imploding ...
(https://img-9gag-fun.9cache.com/photo/aVbQ5O8_460s.jpg)
-
Meme attempt. >Russia is a generous God<. One Ukrainian battalion, the Carpathian Sich, seized 10 modern T-80 tanks and five 152mm 2S5 Giatsint self-propelled howitzers after it entered the town of Izyum.
(https://img-9gag-fun.9cache.com/photo/aL1Q5bz_460s.jpg)
Russians are flooding to Ukraine to surrender and defect, not to fight anyone.
Here is a chance to escape from Russia, and they are taking it.
-
(https://img-9gag-fun.9cache.com/photo/aNwo5Br_460s.jpg)
-
At the Russian airfield in the village of Shaikovka, as a result of a drone attack, two tactical bombers TU 22M3 were destroyed, located at a distance of more than 350 km from the borders of Ukraine.
Ukraine hitting deep into Russia. Moscow is not so far away as they think.
-
At the Russian airfield in the village of Shaikovka, as a result of a drone attack, two tactical bombers TU 22M3 were destroyed, located at a distance of more than 350 km from the borders of Ukraine.
Ukraine hitting deep into Russia. Moscow is not so far away as they think.
Looks like Zellinsky is coming through with his escalation threat.
Your tax dollars at work.
-
Looks like Zellinsky is coming through with his escalation threat.
Your tax dollars at work.
Our tax dollars wil not be realized until we see the Kremlin burning. Which is not off too far away.
-
Your tax dollars at work.
100% of my tax dollars go towards a direct cash payment to another individual as part of our government's incessant wealth redistribution scheme. So no, these aren't my tax dollars going to Ukraine. That money came directly from the printing press.
But if Ukraine was able to knock out two Russian bombers on a Russian airbase with some homemade drones, then I say more power to them. Make Russia feel it.
-
The US Government has already spent tax dollars that have yet to be collected from future generations of Americans.
-
b]Ukraine latest news: Three killed in bridge explosion, says Russia as Zelenskyy adviser calls blast 'the beginning
Fire breaks out on a bridge linking mainland Russia with the Crimean peninsula; two mass graves have been discovered in the recently liberated town of Lyman in eastern Ukraine.
https://news.sky.com/story/ukraine-latest-news-large-fire-on-key-bridge-linking-russia-to-crimea-mass-graves-uncovered-in-liberated-town-12541713
-
Crimea Bridge Attack I Blast Hits Putin's Prized Kerch Bridge I Turning Point In Russia Ukraine War?
CRUX 10/8/2022
The Kerch bridge from Russian to Crimea has reportedly been hit by a massive explosion on the span that carries railway traffic. Social media videos show a fiercely burning fire engulfing at least two railway carriages from a train on the bridge. The explosion, which witnesses said could be heard kilometres away, took place around 6 am on October 8. It’s said that a train was crossing the bridge at the time of the incident, as per reports.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SG837gDvFW4 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SG837gDvFW4)
-
https://twitter.com/Lewis_Brackpool/status/1578680352591466496
-
https://twitter.com/Lewis_Brackpool/status/1578680352591466496
Time for Pedo Joe and congress to tell Zelfukinski that this stops NOW, or not another cent.
That asswipe isn't worth blowing the world up.
-
Ukraine is disguising REAL artillery, to mimic decoys. The Russians don't know what the f**k to do?
-
Ukraine is disguising REAL artillery, to mimic decoys. The Russians don't know what the f**k to do?
What this is doing is forcing a despot sick tyrant in a corner with nothing to lose....Like a Badger
Time to put the muzzle on Zellfukski, before he starts World War 3.
-
What this is doing is forcing a despot sick tyrant in a corner with nothing to lose....Like a Badger
Time to put the muzzle on Zellfukski, before he starts World War 3.
So if you are threatened with nukes you fold.
-
So if you are threatened with nukes you fold.
This is not folding. It's common sense military strategy. Beat Putin back to the border and end this thing without filling the sky with mushroom clouds.
Guess you didn't get the memo that the corrupt ukranian leader is getting cocky and wants to take this war back across the border.
That and a nuclear war okay with you?
-
This is not folding. It's common sense military strategy. Beat Putin back to the border and end this thing without filling the sky with mushroom clouds.
Guess you didn't get the memo that the corrupt ukranian leader is getting cocky and wants to take this war back across the border.
That and a nuclear war okay with you?
No its not. Crimea isn't "across the border". Putin can easily pull his troops out of Ukraine and end this. No one threatened Russia.
So what are you going to do when Iran has nukes and starts making demands? Its coming.
-
No its not. Crimea isn't "across the border". Putin can easily pull his troops out of Ukraine and end this. No one threatened Russia.
Didn't you read above? Ukrane is wanting to take the battle into Russia independent of Crimea. I have no problem having the Uke's reclaiming Crimea, but that they have become enbolden and have designs past that.
So what are you going to do when Iran has nukes and starts making demands? Its coming.
Irrevelant comment to this matter What do we do when any new power goes nuclear. We deal with it case by case. And in this case, I highly suspect the Israeli's will take care of Iran long before it is our problem.
-
Time for Pedo Joe and congress to tell Zelfukinski that this stops NOW, or not another cent.
That asswipe isn't worth blowing the world up.
Nonsense. If anyone needs to be told this, it's Vladimir Putin. It is absolutely imperative for the Ukraine military position to have this bridge destroyed. Clearly, Ukraine has figured out a way to do this without long range US weaponry.
-
What this is doing is forcing a despot sick tyrant in a corner with nothing to lose....Like a Badger
With nothing to lose? Your premise here is patently false.
-
Didn't you read above? Ukrane is wanting to take the battle into Russia independent of Crimea. I have no problem having the Uke's reclaiming Crimea, but that they have become enbolden and have designs past that.
Uh, no. Ukraine's only objective has been to get Russia the hell out of their country and end Putin's war against Ukrainian civilians. They have zero designs past that.
Attacking Russian military targets goes towards that goal, regardless of where those targets happen to be located.
-
So if you are threatened with nukes you fold.
Apparently. Funny how those who have promoted Mutual Assured Destruction as the backbone of our nuclear deterrent for over half a century now openly admit that it has been complete bullshit this whole time.
-
With nothing to lose? Your premise here is patently false.
(1) Losing the War?
(2) Unpopularity at home with war and protests?
(3) Already significant meglomaniac tendencies?
(4) Fairly credible evidence of terminal or debilitating illness?
(5) 30+ years of pent up anger and resentment for fall of USSR?
(6) Basically being forced into the corner like an angry badger?
Tell me again how my premise is false? I hope Putin gets tossed out of Ukraine, but based on what I am hearing fron Uke leadership the past few days? Thses turds are sending veiled threats that they want to take their war road show all the way to Moscow.
It's madness that might trigger World War 3. You okay with that?
-
(1) Losing the War?
(2) Unpopularity at home with war and protests?
(3) Already significant meglomaniac tendencies?
(4) Fairly credible evidence of terminal or debilitating illness?
(5) 30+ years of pent up anger and resentment for fall of USSR?
(6) Basically being forced into the corner like an angry badger?
Tell me again how my premise is false? I hope Putin gets tossed out of Ukraine, but based on what I am hearing fron Uke leadership the past few days? Thses turds are sending veiled threats that they want to take their war road show all the way to Moscow.
It's madness that might trigger World War 3. You okay with that?
So, you think Putin should be allowed to win the war so he doesn't face humiliation for actions, is that it? That's what you just wrote.
Putin did this to himself. He should rightfully be blamed for this by his countrymen. He's killed tens of thousands of people, many Russian and many Ukrainian, for his conquest.
There is zero evidence Ukraine wants to take "their war road show" all the way to Moscow. That's just hyperbole.
-
So, you think Putin should be allowed to win the war so he doesn't face humiliation for actions, is that it? That's what you just wrote.
Bullshit. I said nothing remotely to that effect, and you know it He needs to GTFO, and then face consequences without any furhter intervention on ours or the corrupt Uke government.
Putin did this to himself. He should rightfully be blamed for this by his countrymen. He's killed tens of thousands of people, many Russian and many Ukrainian, for his conquest.
I never made any statement contradictory to that. What is your point? Stay focused.
There is zero evidence Ukraine wants to take "their war road show" all the way to Moscow. That's just hyperbole.
Oh????
https://www.gopbriefingroom.com/index.php/topic,481871.0.html (https://www.gopbriefingroom.com/index.php/topic,481871.0.html)
-
Nonsense. If anyone needs to be told this, it's Vladimir Putin. It is absolutely imperative for the Ukraine military position to have this bridge destroyed. Clearly, Ukraine has figured out a way to do this without long range US weaponry.
Pretty darn impressive how the Ukrainians did this!
It had to be some type of special ops, they don't have missiles that can reach the bridge and the Russians are guarding that bridge pretty closely.
FWIW, Russia can end the war right now. All they need to do is pull back to the borders that were agreed to when Ukraine gave them all the nuclear missiles in their territory when the USSR collapsed.
-
(1) Losing the War?
(2) Unpopularity at home with war and protests?
(3) Already significant meglomaniac tendencies?
(4) Fairly credible evidence of terminal or debilitating illness?
(5) 30+ years of pent up anger and resentment for fall of USSR?
(6) Basically being forced into the corner like an angry badger?
Tell me again how my premise is false?
Items 2, 3, 4, and 5 are true no matter what Ukraine does. Placing blame on Ukraine for those is disingenuous.
Item 1 falls on Putin. He has done a miserable job of preparing his nation for war and implementing a viable winning strategy. Again, Russia's incompetence is not Ukraine's fault, nor is it their responsibility to fix it.
Item 6 is flat out false. No one is forcing Putin to continue his war in Ukraine. He can end it today and maintain his position of power within Russia.
It's madness that might trigger World War 3. You okay with that?
The only thing that will trigger WWIII is showing weakness. Handing Russia the Sudetenland over Putin's threats will not avert a larger war.
-
This is not folding. It's common sense military strategy. Beat Putin back to the border and end this thing without filling the sky with mushroom clouds.
Guess you didn't get the memo that the corrupt ukranian leader is getting cocky and wants to take this war back across the border.
That and a nuclear war okay with you?
Sounds great.
All Russia has to do is pull back to the territorial lines that were agreed to when the Ukrainians gave them all the nuclear missiles in their sovereign territory.
-
What this is doing is forcing a despot sick tyrant in a corner with nothing to lose....Like a Badger
Time to put the muzzle on Zellfukski, before he starts World War 3.
@catfish1957
Mo betta to surrender,right?
Better red than dead,huh?
-
@catfish1957
Mo betta to surrender,right?
Better red than dead,huh?
Hey we can all become watermelons, green on the outside and red on the inside!
-
@catfish1957
Mo betta to surrender,right?
Better red than dead,huh?
Bullshit.
Showing your neocon stripes Pete? You got buddies and allies with Turtle and Biden.
-
This is not folding. It's common sense military strategy. Beat Putin back to the border and end this thing without filling the sky with mushroom clouds.
Guess you didn't get the memo that the corrupt ukranian leader is getting cocky and wants to take this war back across the border.
That and a nuclear war okay with you?
@catfish1957
Ever heard of the word "bluff"?
What does the Politburo have to lose if Ukraine pushes the neo-Soviets back across the border,and stop there?
HOW does that inspire the Politburo to remove Putin from power and declare an end to the war?
-
Bullshit.
Showing your neocon stripes Pete? You got buddies and allies with Turtle and Biden.
@catfish1957
ROFLMAO!
Desperation due to fear is never pretty.
-
@catfish1957
Ever heard of the word "bluff"?
Which often can be responded with the words "all in"
There are all kinds of scenarios where I can wholeheartedly support nuclear response.
But Zellinski's bank account is not one of them.
-
@catfish1957
ROFLMAO!
Desperation due to fear is never pretty.
You are a case study and plethora of contradictory ideas and thoughts.
Pete...I like you too much to get any uglier about it.
-
Bullshit.
Showing your neocon stripes Pete? You got buddies and allies with Turtle and Biden.
@sneakypete a neocon?
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA
-
@sneakypete a neocon?
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA
Coming from a teal/yellow icon'ed Zellinski boot licker?
I'll take that zinger for what its worth.
-
Pretty darn impressive how the Ukrainians did this!
It had to be some type of special ops, they don't have missiles that can reach the bridge and the Russians are guarding that bridge pretty closely.
After the airbase attack in Sevastopol several weeks back, I surmised that Ukraine had submarine capabilities where they could initiate an attack undetected from the water. This may be the case here. Or possibly they infiltrated a rail yard in Russia and planted explosives on this train which were detonated by radio signal (or possibly satellite) while crossing the bridge. I've seen no details revealing the origin of this explosion, so I made the assumption that it came from the rail line.
FWIW, Russia can end the war right now. All they need to do is pull back to the borders that were agreed to when Ukraine gave them all the nuclear missiles in their territory when the USSR collapsed.
Yep. Pretty simple. Putin gets to keep his day job. And Ukraine keeps their oil.
-
Coming from a teal/yellow icon'ed Zellinski boot licker?
As witnessed by my posts? Oh wait, you have been asked several times to show any post I have made here that reveals me as a Zelenskiy boot licker. And each and every time, you failed to cite a single one. This is the same experience I get when debating Democrats. Zero regard for truth.
btw, that isn't teal.
-
I fail to see how your link supports your claim. In addition, everyone said no.
-
(1) Losing the War?
(2) Unpopularity at home with war and protests?
(3) Already significant meglomaniac tendencies?
(4) Fairly credible evidence of terminal or debilitating illness?
(5) 30+ years of pent up anger and resentment for fall of USSR?
(6) Basically being forced into the corner like an angry badger?
Tell me again how my premise is false? I hope Putin gets tossed out of Ukraine, but based on what I am hearing fron Uke leadership the past few days? Thses turds are sending veiled threats that they want to take their war road show all the way to Moscow.
It's madness that might trigger World War 3. You okay with that?
While Zelinski and the inside the beltway thieves use the situation to drain the U.S. Treasury dry. Like I've said before, there are no "good guys" in this. Period!
-
Shocking number of Russian corpses a grim illustration of Ukrainian battlefield success
Kyiv's troops are moving so fast and methodically, there's no time to collect the enemy's dead.
Alex Crawford | 8 October 2022 17:15, UK
There are a quite shocking number of Russian corpses left in the wake of the Ukrainian blitz on their eastern front.
Kyiv's troops are moving so fast and methodically, there's no time to collect the enemy's dead.
It's a grim illustration of Ukraine's current battlefield successes.
As we followed their route through the village of Yampil and on to Torske on the edge of the Luhansk border, we saw scores of burnt military vehicles and scorched forest trees, which highlighted the ferocity of the battle.
There are repeated signs the Ukrainians have ambushed their enemy, often it seems, laying in wait for them and attacking them from the front as the Russians try to flee to their defensive positions deeper into the Donbas.
The Ukrainians have the city of Kreminna in their crosshairs now. Seizing it will open the gateway for them into Luhansk and the entire region, and leave them poised to reclaim the twin cities of Lysychansk and Severodonetsk. . .
https://news.sky.com/story/ukraine-war-under-the-threat-of-a-nuclear-strike-and-a-long-looming-winter-indomitable-ukrainian-spirit-holds-12715042
-
After the airbase attack in Sevastopol several weeks back, I surmised that Ukraine had submarine capabilities where they could initiate an attack undetected from the water. This may be the case here. Or possibly they infiltrated a rail yard in Russia and planted explosives on this train which were detonated by radio signal (or possibly satellite) while crossing the bridge. I've seen no details revealing the origin of this explosion, so I made the assumption that it came from the rail line.
Yep. Pretty simple. Putin gets to keep his day job. And Ukraine keeps their oil.
I think the submarine capabilities is probably it. The two explosions being so close together had to be synced together.
However they did it the goal of disrupting resupply was accomplished, at least for a couple weeks. Also, the Russians occupying the seized territory in Crimea have got to be thinking about how they get out of there if the bridge is destroyed. A big boost for the Ukrainians!
-
While Zelinski and the inside the beltway thieves use the situation to drain the U.S. Treasury dry. Like I've said before, there are no "good guys" in this. Period!
You're wrong.
Ukraine did not invade anyone. The Ukrainian people have suffered numerous atrocities at the hands of the invaders. The Ukrainians have not asked for anyone to fight for them. They have asked for the tools/weapons to fight the invaders. The Ukrainians are the good guys!
I hate to see money tossed around like nothing, but I do support money going for weapons and of course weapons being transferred to the Ukrainians. I want to see the good guys push the evil invaders out of their country.
-
You're wrong.
Ukraine did not invade anyone. The Ukrainian people have suffered numerous atrocities at the hands of the invaders. The Ukrainians have not asked for anyone to fight for them. They have asked for the tools/weapons to fight the invaders. The Ukrainians are the good guys!
I hate to see money tossed around like nothing, but I do support money going for weapons and of course weapons being transferred to the Ukrainians. I want to see the good guys push the evil invaders out of their country.
Ditto.
-
You're wrong.
Ukraine did not invade anyone. The Ukrainian people have suffered numerous atrocities at the hands of the invaders. The Ukrainians have not asked for anyone to fight for them. They have asked for the tools/weapons to fight the invaders. The Ukrainians are the good guys!
I hate to see money tossed around like nothing, but I do support money going for weapons and of course weapons being transferred to the Ukrainians. I want to see the good guys push the evil invaders out of their country.
So why isn't the EU providing the funds? They have more at risk security wise.
Why does Uncle Sugar have to underwrite all these proxy wars?
-
Amazing how, apparently, the Russians - based on the fears of certain posters - have apparently removed all of the launch mechanisms on their nukes so that now the only thing between a nuclear launch and Putin is a simple push or a button, with no other persons involved.
Or maybe they haven’t. Maybe the reason why the Mad Orc hasn’t used any nukes yet is because he cannot as the rest of the Russian nuclear process won’t go along with him.
-
Stop the personal attacks!
-
So why isn't the EU providing the funds? They have more at risk security wise.
Why does Uncle Sugar have to underwrite all these proxy wars?
Two more questions having zero relevance to the statement they address. Questions about EU actions or US funding have nothing to do with how Russian troops got on Ukrainian soil and began massacring Ukrainian civilians.
Russia is the bad guy here. And they will remain the bad guy as long as they continue committing atrocities on Ukrainian soil. And any actions by the EU, the Biden regime, or Zelenskiy himself won't change that fact.
-
Two more questions having zero relevance to the statement they address. Questions about EU actions or US funding have nothing to do with how Russian troops got on Ukrainian soil and began massacring Ukrainian civilians.
Russia is the bad guy here. And they will remain the bad guy as long as they continue committing atrocities on Ukrainian soil. And any actions by the EU, the Biden regime, or Zelenskiy himself won't change that fact.
It's irrevelant to you because you are "all in" for Zellinski.
Me, I am incensed my tax dollars are going over there for his graft and benefit. Those funds would be better suited stopping fentanyl from entering the country. Or even better, not spent at all, and slowing the pace of inflation due to governmental runaway spending.
-
It's irrevelant to you because you are "all in" for Zellinski.
Again, show me anything I have posted that indicates I am "all in" for Zelenskiy. I am sick of you repeatedly lying about my position.
-
This is not folding. It's common sense military strategy. Beat Putin back to the border and end this thing without filling the sky with mushroom clouds.
Guess you didn't get the memo that the corrupt ukranian leader is getting cocky and wants to take this war back across the border.
That and a nuclear war okay with you?
Corner? What corner? He invaded Crimea, he invaded Ukraine.
The only "corner" is to go back to Russia, and leave Ukraine and Crimea.
The bridge is the main transport route from Russia to the Crimea and to Ukraine. It is a desirable infrastructure target because it is essential to movements of troops and materiel.
-
(1) Losing the War?
(2) Unpopularity at home with war and protests?
(3) Already significant meglomaniac tendencies?
(4) Fairly credible evidence of terminal or debilitating illness?
(5) 30+ years of pent up anger and resentment for fall of USSR?
(6) Basically being forced into the corner like an angry badger?
Tell me again how my premise is false? I hope Putin gets tossed out of Ukraine, but based on what I am hearing fron Uke leadership the past few days? Thses turds are sending veiled threats that they want to take their war road show all the way to Moscow.
It's madness that might trigger World War 3. You okay with that?
Some of that is bravado aimed at energizing the troops and citizenry.
In case you hadn't noticed, it isn't the right time of year to start chasing the Russians to Moscow. Zelenskyy and the Ukrainians KNOW this.
-
Bullshit.
Showing your neocon stripes Pete? You got buddies and allies with Turtle and Biden.
@catfish1957
YIKES!
You have outed me!
Oh,woe is me!
This means no more party invitations from the Turtle and the Retard.
You FIEND!
-
It's irrevelant to you because you are "all in" for Zellinski.
Me, I am incensed my tax dollars are going over there for his graft and benefit. Those funds would be better suited stopping fentanyl from entering the country. Or even better, not spent at all, and slowing the pace of inflation due to governmental runaway spending.
You speak of the graft and benefit our tax dollars may be providing, and I, too am incensed about that part.
Unfortunately, the same people who are pocketing the likely lion's share of that graft and benefit using Ukraine aid as an excuse are just as likely to be pocketing a fortune from the open borders, human trafficking, and fentanyl trade, either at the Chinese supply end, the Cartel level, or some level more regional, if not all three.
Frankly, I do not trust the Organized Crime syndicate that is masquerading as the legitimate government of these United States any more, and perhaps even less, than the Government of the Ukraine, who at least have something to lose if some of that support does not get to the front lines to fight the Russians.
Russia started it, they invaded, and Ukraine is trying to evict them.
Russia can pack up and leave any time.
That includes the Crimea.
-
You're wrong.
Ukraine did not invade anyone. The Ukrainian people have suffered numerous atrocities at the hands of the invaders. The Ukrainians have not asked for anyone to fight for them. They have asked for the tools/weapons to fight the invaders. The Ukrainians are the good guys!
I hate to see money tossed around like nothing, but I do support money going for weapons and of course weapons being transferred to the Ukrainians. I want to see the good guys push the evil invaders out of their country.
@bilo
Paying illegal aliens to move to America is "throwing our money away". Paying someone else to rid the world of "The Return of the Soviet Union" is money well spent because for one thing,not a single American soldier will die because of it.
Not that I am happy about the Ukranians and the typical Russians dying,either. I am not,but it seems like this is the only way to remove that madman from the seat of power in the new version of the USSR. If he isn't removed,he is likely to start another World War.
-
It's irrevelant to you because you are "all in" for Zellinski.
Me, I am incensed my tax dollars are going over there for his graft and benefit. Those funds would be better suited stopping fentanyl from entering the country. Or even better, not spent at all, and slowing the pace of inflation due to governmental runaway spending.
@catfish1957
Please splain to pore ol bubba me how NOT funding the overthrow on the USSR-Part 2 without involving American forces is NOT a good way to spend money?
Maybe you think it would be cheaper to send US Combat troops to Europe in a few years to try to help prevent The USSR,Part-2 from occupying all of Europe and turning it into a Soviet police state makes more sense?
-
https://twitter.com/RikhardHusu/status/1578308226709590017
-
https://twitter.com/RikhardHusu/status/1578308226709590017
@Hoodat
I think I am in love.
-
That must have been quite a "truck bomb" to knock down the bridge span AND set a train on fire a good distance away:
(https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2022/10/08/07/63249451-11293851-image-a-15_1665211477159.jpg)
Actually, the damage to the train bridge may be more significant, due to the heat.
-
You're wrong.
Ukraine did not invade anyone. The Ukrainian people have suffered numerous atrocities at the hands of the invaders. The Ukrainians have not asked for anyone to fight for them. They have asked for the tools/weapons to fight the invaders. The Ukrainians are the good guys!
I hate to see money tossed around like nothing, but I do support money going for weapons and of course weapons being transferred to the Ukrainians. I want to see the good guys push the evil invaders out of their country.
I'll wager that damned little of the billions we've donated to Ukraine actually found its way to defense uses Bilo but you can delude yourself if you wish.
-
You speak of the graft and benefit our tax dollars may be providing, and I, too am incensed about that part.
Unfortunately, the same people who are pocketing the likely lion's share of that graft and benefit using Ukraine aid as an excuse are just as likely to be pocketing a fortune from the open borders, human trafficking, and fentanyl trade, either at the Chinese supply end, the Cartel level, or some level more regional, if not all three.
Frankly, I do not trust the Organized Crime syndicate that is masquerading as the legitimate government of these United States any more, and perhaps even less, than the Government of the Ukraine, who at least have something to lose if some of that support does not get to the front lines to fight the Russians.
Russia started it, they invaded, and Ukraine is trying to evict them.
Russia can pack up and leave any time.
That includes the Crimea.
:yowsa: Every word true! Well said @Smokin Joe
-
Here's a security camera view of the bridge explosion.
https://rumble.com/v1n2s4y-cctv-footage-of-the-the-kerch-bridge-explosion.html
Watch the beginning carefully, and be prepared to stop the action.
You can see the truck enter from the right, then it disappears in the flash.
-
I'll wager that damned little of the billions we've donated to Ukraine actually found its way to defense uses Bilo but you can delude yourself if you wish.
@Bigun
You say that just like the money wouldn't have been pissed away and pocketed by OUR elected officials.
NOTHING in the US is going to change for the better as long as the DNC controls our government.
Even if/when we start electing Americans to govern us again instead of globalists,we will have to keep a close eye on those bastards too.
As a wise man once noted,"Power corrupts,and absolute power corrupts absolutely."
-
Unfortunately, the same people who are pocketing the likely lion's share of that graft and benefit using Ukraine aid as an excuse . . .
It should be noted that these same people have a vested interest in prolonging this war as long as possible by giving Ukraine enough weapons to keep it close while at the same time denying Ukraine the weaponry needed to end it quickly. Just saying.
-
Here's a security camera view of the bridge explosion.
https://rumble.com/v1n2s4y-cctv-footage-of-the-the-kerch-bridge-explosion.html
Watch the beginning carefully, and be prepared to stop the action.
You can see the truck enter from the right, then it disappears in the flash.
Thanks for posting, @Fishrrman
-
@Bigun
You say that just like the money wouldn't have been pissed away and pocketed by OUR elected officials.
NOTHING in the US is going to change for the better as long as the DNC controls our government.
Even if/when we start electing Americans to govern us again instead of globalists,we will have to keep a close eye on those bastards too.
As a wise man once noted,"Power corrupts,and absolute power corrupts absolutely."
What I'm saying is that MOST of that money has been pissed away and pocketed by OUR elected officials after it has been laundered through the Ukraine! @sneakypete
-
It should be noted that these same people have a vested interest in prolonging this war as long as possible by giving Ukraine enough weapons to keep it close while at the same time denying Ukraine the weaponry needed to end it quickly. Just saying.
Of course! Why would those people want to cut that pipeline?
-
@Hoodat
I think I am in love.
I gotta admit I was a little aroused after watching it.
-
Here's a security camera view of the bridge explosion.
https://rumble.com/v1n2s4y-cctv-footage-of-the-the-kerch-bridge-explosion.html
Watch the beginning carefully, and be prepared to stop the action.
You can see the truck enter from the right, then it disappears in the flash.
Someone 'believed' enough to be driving that truck, or they were ignorant of the load...
-
Someone 'believed' enough to be driving that truck...
If that were the case, then they would have slowed down or even stopped to set it off at the most strategic spot. At least in the middle of the road to take out both halves.
-
If that were the case, then they would have slowed down or even stopped to set it off at the most strategic spot. At least in the middle of the road to take out both halves.
They did set it off next to a train full of tank cars going the other way on the railroad bridge, and apparently in a place which would flex the span enough to make it come off the pylons. For what they had on board the truck, that may well have been the ideal position.
-
"first train passes the attack zone" (Video)
https://mobile.twitter.com/GeromanAT/status/1578787131392393222
-
Russians With Attitude
@RWApodcast
Head of Crimea Aksyonov says that the undamaged part of the Crimean bridge is now open to cars and busses. All vehicles are being inspected at checkpoints
9:48 AM · Oct 8, 2022 ·Twitter Web App
(Video)
https://mobile.twitter.com/mfa_russia/status/1578784788659544072
-
Revisit the video testimony from the impechment hearings in the House and give me a total of the number of questions on Trump's change in policy toward Ukraine ---- at least until you lose count. The testimony is chilling in light of the war we finally got to start.
David Reaboi, Late Republic Nonsense
@davereaboi
The really great thing about America is, immigrants can come here; run foreign policy for America as it relates to their home country; and dream of nothing more than crushing their home country’s adversaries. Nice country!
Alexander S. Vindman
@AVindman
·8h
I’ve been dreaming of this moment.
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Fejx9tOWYAY57tV?format=jpg&name=small)
4:43 PM · Oct 8, 2022 Twitter for iPhone
-
Meanwhile in Donetsk Oblast:
'Whole Families' Among 180 Bodies Found in Mass Grave in Lyman: Ukraine
AILA SLISCO | 10/7/22 AT 7:24 PM EDT
Ukrainian officials say that at least 180 bodies, including "whole families" with young children, have been discovered in a mass grave in Lyman less than one week after troops reclaimed the formerly Russian-occupied city.
Yevhen Zhukov, head of the patrol department of Ukraine's National Police, announced the discovery on Friday in a message posted to a Telegram account that he operates under the call sign "Marshal," according to the state-owned media outlet Ukrinform.
Zhukov said in the message that a mass grave "in which 180 were buried" had been discovered in "freed Lyman," adding that "whole families lie in mass graves," including the "burials of children born in 2019-2021." . .
https://www.newsweek.com/whole-families-among-180-bodies-found-mass-grave-lyman-ukraine-1750064
-
(https://img-9gag-fun.9cache.com/photo/aWGW6W6_460s.jpg)
-
Russia started it, they invaded, and Ukraine is trying to evict them.
Russia can pack up and leave any time.
That includes the Crimea.
The US has been driving to this war for almost two decades ---- it's why the US pissed all over peace taks since the beginning of the year and are so comfortabe taking about Armageddon @Smokin Joe Our government loves this war.
Like it or not, this is a US orchestrated war against Russia that began in 2004 with the US-assisted Orange Revolution, continuing through the US-backed coup against the Ukrainian government in 2014 and the start of the hot Ukraine civil war that continues today.
All was going splendidly, with McCain and Graham in 2016 swearing US support to Ukrainian fighters: "2017 is the year of offense" (Video)
https://youtu.be/JeWHviwLMy8
Then came President Trump who put a stop to it ------ and was impeached for it.
But, not even a failed impeachment stopped the US congress, military and department of state from continuing its drumbeat for war with increasing calls for Ukraine's membership in NATO and more miitary aid.
With Biden's installation, the path to war became wide open ----- throwing flaming hyperboles at any talk of peace: POTUS has even called for the removal of Putin, Ukraine's admission to NATO, and promised to stop the Russian pipelines "one way or the other". Blinken calls the sabotage of the pipeines a "great opportunity".
Biden and Congress are busy destroying our economy for generations to support Ukraine's military and insure no worker for the Ukrainian government goes without a paycheck ---- when members of Congress aren't busy calling for Putin's assassination. The US military has put the replenishment of our weapons a priority second to Ukraine's.
This war is not about "freedom" ---- Ukraine is a black hole of international corruption masquerading as a country. This is yet another boundary dispute in Europe's centuries' old disputes in The Borderland.
From its start 18 years ago to its finish, this is a US war ---- being fought with the more expendable --- and one we're quickly escalating.
Our government does all of this without articulating a single US national security concern or other US interest. Shoudn't we be demanding one before the mushroom cloud?
-
Like it or not, this is a US orchestrated war against Russia that began in 2004 with the US-assisted Orange Revolution, continuing through the US-backed coup against the Ukrainian government in 2014 and the start of the hot Ukraine civil war that continues today.
Pure bullshit.
-
Russian missile strike kills 3 people, destroys apartment block in Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia
October 6, 20228:40 AM EDT
A Russian rocket strike destroyed a five-storey apartment block in the southern Ukrainian city of Zaporizhzhia, killing at least three people and leaving other residents trapped under rubble, the regional governor and emergencies service said on Thursday.
Firefighters rushed through the streets to tackle the blazes after the overnight attack, and more explosions were heard on Thursday morning in what local officials said was a renewed Russian strike.
He later told Ukrainian television that one woman was killed in the overnight shelling, but said another woman who was earlier reported dead had survived.
Ukrainian emergencies service said later on Thursday a total of three bodies had been pulled from the rubble.
Twelve people were wounded, including a three-year-old child. Five were still under the rubble, Starukh said.
https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/shelling-ukraines-zaporizhzhia-causes-fires-injuries-official-2022-10-06/
Putin's war against Ukrainian civilians continues.
-
Pure bullshit.
If any of that was even vaguely true, Ukrainians would have joined the Russians in their invasion and not dug in against them. The proof of the lie is available for anyone willing to see.
-
(https://img-9gag-fun.9cache.com/photo/aL1P2eg_460s.jpg)
-
Russian missile strike kills 3 people, destroys apartment block in Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia
Putin's war against Ukrainian civilians continues.
That was a miss, by the Russians. That is not what they were hoping to hit.
There are plenty are targets there which do not include 'apartments'.
Russians are incompetent boobs.
-
(https://img-9gag-fun.9cache.com/photo/ay20n3y_460s.jpg)
-
The proof of the lie is available for anyone willing to see.
The proof of the lie has been posted here multiple times. Yet the poster continues to peddle it knowing full well that it is a lie.
-
That was a miss, by the Russians. That is not what they were hoping to hit.
But they have become quite proficient in hitting apartments, schools, and other civilian targets over the last several months.
-
(https://img-9gag-fun.9cache.com/photo/ay20n3y_460s.jpg)
Didn't the Nazis do the exact same thing after the July '44 plot?
-
Six children among those in hospital after attack on Zaporizhzhia, governor says
7h ago | 02:40
The number of people affected by the Russian shelling in the city of Zaporizhzhia is still uncertain.
Earlier, authorities said that 17 people had been killed, then that dozens had been killed or injured.
Oleksandr Starukh, the governor of the Zaporizhzhia region, has now said that at least 12 people were killed and 49 have been taken to hospital.
In the Telegram post below, he says: "Tonight the enemy used tactical aviation for a missile attack on the regional centre.
"According to preliminary information, the planes fired 12 missiles at Zaporizhzhia.
"Most of the rockets hit residential high rises and private houses in one of the district of Zaporizhzhia.
"A nine-storey building was partially destroyed. Five houses were destroyed. Affected infrastructure objects.
"Twenty cars were damaged. So far, 12 people have died. Forty-nine victims were hospitalised, including six children.
"The information is being clarified. There may be people under the rubble.
"A rescue operation is underway at the scene. Eight people have already been rescued. The victims are provided with the necessary assistance."
https://news.sky.com/story/ukraine-latest-news-large-fire-on-key-bridge-linking-russia-to-crimea-mass-graves-uncovered-in-liberated-town-12541713?postid=4622081#liveblog-body
-
If any of that was even vaguely true, Ukrainians would have joined the Russians in their invasion and not dug in against them. The proof of the lie is available for anyone willing to see.
:amen:
-
If any of that was even vaguely true, Ukrainians would have joined the Russians in their invasion and not dug in against them. The proof of the lie is available for anyone willing to see.
How have you missed the civil war in Eastern Ukraine that's been raging for eight years @DB ?
-
How have you missed the civil war in Eastern Ukraine that's been raging for eight years @DB ?
Eight years. That's the number of years that Russian troops have occupied Ukrainian soil.
-
Eight years. That's the number of years that Russian troops have occupied Ukrainian soil.
Like how France occupied the US between 1778 and 1782?
-
Like how France occupied the US between 1778 and 1782?
No. Not even close.
-
No. Not even close.
My bad----I assumed you'd figure out mine was a rhetorical question.
-
My bad----I assumed you'd figure out mine was a rhetorical question.
That makes it even more obtuse.
-
Jordan Schachtel @ dossier.substack.com
@JordanSchachtel
The war has shined light on a giant civil divide in eastern Ukraine. In Crimea, over 90% prefers Russia. Elsewhere close to border, you find high numbers too. Ukraine is truly two countries. The spirit of a united country is long gone, broken by outside interests & corrupt govt.
10:27 AM · Oct 5, 2022 ·Twitter Web App
(https://i.guim.co.uk/img/static/sys-images/Guardian/Pix/pictures/2013/12/15/1387071132364/The-ethno-linguistic-divi-001.jpg?width=620&quality=85&fit=max&s=78d8b7788860511c8903eae98e70a6a7)
-
Ninety percent of people living in America speak English. Does that mean we want to be part of England? Seriously, how many times are you going to bring up this idiotic argument?
-
Russians conduct air strike on convoy of civilian vehicles in Kherson Oblast, killing at least 5
Sun, October 9, 2022 at 7:28 AM
(https://s.yimg.com/ny/api/res/1.2/vWbJ1a74WWEVhalxAkEm2Q--/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTcwNTtoPTM1MztjZj13ZWJw/https://s.yimg.com/uu/api/res/1.2/FDTMUmDj_h_F8nKvRup5yw--~B/aD00NTA7dz05MDA7YXBwaWQ9eXRhY2h5b24-/https://media.zenfs.com/en/the_new_voice_of_ukraine_articles_294/dfe8d4dc97920a3f3893a2183182863d)
At least five people were killed in the Russian attack on civilians.
The civilians were waiting to cross to the left bank of the Dnipro River near the mouth of the Inhulets River.
According to the police officer, people heard the sound of an aircraft above and saw it firing at them. As a result of the attack, an unidentified projectile, probably a rocket, made a direct hit on a van. At least five people were killed and another five were wounded. . .
https://news.yahoo.com/russians-conduct-air-strike-convoy-112800916.html
-
Most of Canada speaks English and shares a common culture with the US. Does that mean we should just take it?
-
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Fenr6mtXwAEz2sg?format=jpg&name=900x900)
-
Most of Canada speaks English and shares a common culture with the US. Does that mean we should just take it?
Only the parts that have gas and oil, obviously.
Looking at the map though, it looks like Kiev is not included in those 'majority Russian speaking' areas. Yet Kiev was the primary target of the initial invasion. Go figure. Looks like someone is trying to bullshit us with the same old disproved bullshit as before.
-
Looking back on history, I recall a time where someone made this same claim about the majority German speakers in Austria and the Sudetenland of Czechoslovakia. Looks like someone is stealing the same arguments that Adolf Hitler used.
-
https://mobile.twitter.com/Blue_Sauron/status/1578992871813705729
Ukraine is now less than 25 km from Svatove.
-
I would have thought the Russians would have left mines everywhere.
-
Pure bullshit.
@Hoodat
Well,leftist spin,at a minimum.
As with every war ever fought,there is plenty of guilt to go around,but regardless of what ANYONE tries to claim,almost all of the guilt on this one rests firmly on the shoulders of the Kremlin.
-
That was a miss, by the Russians. That is not what they were hoping to hit.
There are plenty are targets there which do not include 'apartments'.
Russians are incompetent boobs.
@240B
Not really,but the Russian Army is utterly controlled by the old-line Communists still in the Kremlin,and all their equipment is the result of "Soviet Engineering". Which means almost all of it is crap,suitable for targets,and not much else.
Also,there are damn few volunteers in the Neo-Soviet Army,and it shows. People who are dragged away from remote villages and forced into the Neo-Soviet Army are NOT what anyone would call "euthanistic soldiers".
-
Putin to meet security council after calling bridge explosion ‘terrorism’
The Hill by Julia Mueller - 10/09/22
https://thehill.com/policy/international/3680300-putin-to-meet-security-council-after-calling-bridge-explosion-terrorism/ (https://thehill.com/policy/international/3680300-putin-to-meet-security-council-after-calling-bridge-explosion-terrorism/)
Russian President Vladimir Putin on Sunday accused Ukraine of an explosion that damaged the Kerch Bridge, which connected Russia to annexed Crimea, and called the incident “a terrorist act.”
“There’s no doubt it was a terrorist act directed at the destruction of critically important civilian infrastructure of the Russian Federation,” Putin said in a Sunday meeting with the chairman of Russia’s Investigative Committee. “And the authors, perpetrators, and those who ordered it are the special services of Ukraine.”
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov announced that the Russian president will convene with his Security Council on Monday in a meeting with no stated agenda, according to Bloomberg.
The Russian president reportedly last met with the council ahead of his order to partially mobilize hundreds of thousands of Russians to aid his war efforts.
More at link.
-
(https://i.guim.co.uk/img/static/sys-images/Guardian/Pix/pictures/2013/12/15/1387071132364/The-ethno-linguistic-divi-001.jpg?width=620&quality=85&fit=max&s=78d8b7788860511c8903eae98e70a6a7)
The spirit of a united country is long gone, broken by outside interests & corrupt govt.
@Right_in_Virginia
It would be more correct to say that the Soviets displaced the existing citizens of Crimea and replaced them with Soviet citizens and military members after they invaded and the previous citizens fled to Ukraine to escape becoming Soviet subjects.
-
Ukraine nuclear plant reconnected to grid after line was cut
https://abcnews.go.com/Business/wireStory/ukraine-nuclear-plant-reconnected-grid-line-cut-91253126 (https://abcnews.go.com/Business/wireStory/ukraine-nuclear-plant-reconnected-grid-line-cut-91253126)
The U.N. nuclear watchdog says an external power line to Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, the biggest in Europe, has been repaired after shelling disconnected the facility from the grid and forced it to resort to emergency diesel generators
An external power line to Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant — the biggest in Europe — was repaired on Sunday after shelling disconnected the facility from the grid and forced it to resort to emergency diesel generators, the U.N. nuclear watchdog said.
The International Atomic Energy Agency said the 750-kilovolt line was reconnected to the plant on Sunday evening following repair work by Ukrainian engineers. That enabled the plant to start switching off the generators that had kicked in to provide it with power after the line — its last connection to the grid — was cut early Saturday.
IAEA Director-General Rafael Grossi tweeted that the reconnection was “a temporary relief in a still-untenable situation.”
The plant has been held by Russian forces for months, but operated by Ukrainian employees. All six reactors at the site are shut down but they still require electricity for cooling and other safety functions.
More at link.
-
Most of Canada speaks English and shares a common culture with the US. Does that mean we should just take it?
@DB
EXCELLENT observation!
I am eaten alive with jealousy that I didn't think to post it.
-
DB wrote in a post somewhere above:
"Most of Canada speaks English and shares a common culture with the US. Does that mean we should just take it?"
Well this is way off-topic, but I'm gonna answer your question:
YES.
We SHOULD "liberate" Canada from the marxist government that now rules the place.
EDIT:
At least the western provinces -- Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta.
The Maritimes can go with New England when the USA breaks up.
Southern BC can go with western WA/OR.
-
Looking back on history, I recall a time where someone made this same claim about the majority German speakers in Austria and the Sudetenland of Czechoslovakia. Looks like someone is stealing the same arguments that Adolf Hitler used.
@Hoodat
Well,if it looks like a socialist,talks like a socialist,and smells like a socialist...........
-
DB wrote in a post somewhere above:
"Most of Canada speaks English and shares a common culture with the US. Does that mean we should just take it?"
Well this is way off-topic, but I'm gonna answer your question:
YES.
We SHOULD "liberate" Canada from the marxist government that now rules the place.
And this post is intended to be completely serious -- this is what I would really advocate.
@Fishrrman
Including the ones that don't want to be "liberated"?
AFAIK,there is nothing preventing those who are unhappy from leaving and going somewhere more free.
-
Putin to meet security council after calling bridge explosion ‘terrorism’
The Hill by Julia Mueller - 10/09/22
https://thehill.com/policy/international/3680300-putin-to-meet-security-council-after-calling-bridge-explosion-terrorism/ (https://thehill.com/policy/international/3680300-putin-to-meet-security-council-after-calling-bridge-explosion-terrorism/)
Russian President Vladimir Putin on Sunday accused Ukraine of an explosion that damaged the Kerch Bridge, which connected Russia to annexed Crimea, and called the incident “a terrorist act.”
“There’s no doubt it was a terrorist act directed at the destruction of critically important civilian infrastructure of the Russian Federation,” Putin said in a Sunday meeting with the chairman of Russia’s Investigative Committee. “And the authors, perpetrators, and those who ordered it are the special services of Ukraine.”
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov announced that the Russian president will convene with his Security Council on Monday in a meeting with no stated agenda, according to Bloomberg.
The Russian president reportedly last met with the council ahead of his order to partially mobilize hundreds of thousands of Russians to aid his war efforts.
More at link.
Well there's some in your face hypocrisy for you... What exactly has Russia been doing to Ukrainian infrastructure and cities for the last 7 months???
-
I would have thought the Russians would have left mines everywhere.
It takes time and organization to booby trap as you withdraw. I get the impression that the Russians who are withdrawing have neither so much. Without documentation, mines or booby traps become as much a hazard for the Russians should they advance again.
And there remains the optics of leaving things behind kids might set off.
-
I would have thought the Russians would have left mines everywhere.
Over 5,000 And Counting | Ukraine Races To Clear Liberated Izyum of Mines Planted By Putin's Troops
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bBrCOUjGP4s (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bBrCOUjGP4s)
-
@Right_in_Virginia
It would be more correct to say that the Soviets displaced the existing citizens of Crimea and replaced them with Soviet citizens and military members after they invaded and the previous citizens fled to Ukraine to escape becoming Soviet subjects.
How woud this change the fact that TODAY Ukraine is two countries --- and the spirit of a united country is long gone, broken by outside interests & corrupt govt??
@sneakypete
-
Well there's some in your face hypocrisy for you... What exactly has Russia been doing to Ukrainian infrastructure and cities for the last 7 months???
Infringing upon the Azov Battalion's copyright?
-
Infringing upon the Azov Battalion's copyright?
The Azov Battalion was effectively disbanded in early 2015. But then you knew that already.
-
How woud this change the fact that TODAY Ukraine is two countries ---
@sneakypete
@Right_in_Virginia
Uhhh,it wouldn't. In fact,it VERIFIES it.
-
Most of Canada speaks English and shares a common culture with the US. Does that mean we should just take it?
What if the Canadians want to be part of the US and want us to our help make it happen?
-
@Right_in_Virginia
Uhhh,it wouldn't. In fact,it VERIFIES it.
So why not allow the borders to reflect the reality of two separate and distinct countries instead of fighting a war over it @sneakypete ?
-
So why not allow the borders to reflect the reality of two separate and distinct countries instead of fighting a war over it @sneakypete ?
@Right_in_Virginia
Why are you asking ME this,instead of the Russian embassy?
-
@Right_in_Virginia
Why are you asking ME this,instead of the Russian embassy?
I'd be more inclined to ask the US State Department and Pentagon @sneakypete ----- but in this moment I was enjoying a chat with YOU. happy77
-
What if the Canadians want to be part of the US and want us to our help make it happen?
Obviously, it would justify our invasion of Canada, the wanton bombing of Canadian civilian structures, the torture, rape, and murder of Canadian citizens, and the annexation of whatever territory we think has the most oil on it.
-
So why not allow the borders to reflect the reality of two separate and distinct countries instead of fighting a war over it @sneakypete ?
Because Russia won't allow that.
-
I'd be more inclined to ask the US State Department and Pentagon @sneakypete ----- but in this moment I was enjoying a chat with YOU. happy77
@Right_in_Virginia
Well,it IS kinda flattering that you think I can influence Neo-Soviet policy.
-
Obviously, it would justify our invasion of Canada, the wanton bombing of Canadian civilian structures, the torture, rape, and murder of Canadian citizens, and the annexation of whatever territory we think has the most oil on it.
@Hoodat
Whatever it takes to keep them out of the US.
After all,look at who they keep voting for in Canada.
-
@Right_in_Virginia
Well,it IS kinda flattering that you think I can influence Neo-Soviet policy.
I never said *that* @sneakypete :laugh: --- I was simply interested in your opinion and thoughts. :shrug:
-
So why not allow the borders to reflect the reality of two separate and distinct countries instead of fighting a war over it @sneakypete ?
You are right. New York, you're on your own.
-
I just saw more surveillance videos of the Kerch bridge explosion. The explosion did not come from that truck. The videos showed the inspection of the truck before crossing, and another showed the location of the truck at the time of explosion was already 50 yards or so ahead of the point of explosion.
-
I just saw more surveillance videos of the Kerch bridge explosion. The explosion did not come from that truck. The videos showed the inspection of the truck before crossing, and another showed the location of the truck at the time of explosion was already 50 yards or so ahead of the point of explosion.
Got links?
-
Got links?
Try this. It is a live stream that should still be going. Start watching about 14 min from the beginning.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F6ltMCxKOPU
The actual videos are posted on Reddit, but I have no clue where to find them.
-
Mystery 'wave' is seen under Crimea bridge before explosion
YardNews
Video shows mystery 'wave' under Crimea bridge just before it was blown up killing three: Speculation grows that Ukraine used a boat or explosive-laden drone - despite Russian claims of truck bomb - as attack threatens Putin's supply lines
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h8jxlhYFWfg (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h8jxlhYFWfg)
-
Orcs will be orcs:
Putin's wrath unleashed: 83 Russian missiles are fired at Ukrainian cities, bringing death and destruction across the country - with Vladimir warning there will be a 'severe' response to further 'attacks'
By CHRIS PLEASANCE and DAN SALES FOR MAILONLINE
10 October 2022
Vladimir Putin has vowed a 'severe' response to attacks on Russia after firing dozens of missiles at Ukraine this morning, blowing up power networks and killing civilians in retaliation for the Crimean bridge blast at the weekend.
At least 83 rockets were fired, Ukraine's military said, with half shot down but half slamming into cities across the country. At least ten people were killed and 60 wounded, Ukraine said, with eight of those deaths and 24 injuries in Kyiv alone. Rockets also hit the German consulate, but the building was empty.
A mixture of missiles and Iranian-made suicide drones were used to strike the cities of Dnipro and Zaporizhzhia in southern Ukraine, northern Kharkiv and Sumy, central Zhytomyr and Vinnytsia, and even far-western Ternopil and Lviv, President Volodymyr Zelensky said. Some of these cities have not been hit in months.
* * *
Source: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11298407/Missile-strikes-hit-Kyiv-Putin-pledged-revenge-Crimea-bridge-blast.html
-
Orcs will be orcs:
Putin's wrath unleashed: 83 Russian missiles are fired at Ukrainian cities, bringing death and destruction across the country - with Vladimir warning there will be a 'severe' response to further 'attacks'
By CHRIS PLEASANCE and DAN SALES FOR MAILONLINE
10 October 2022
Vladimir Putin has vowed a 'severe' response to attacks on Russia after firing dozens of missiles at Ukraine this morning, blowing up power networks and killing civilians in retaliation for the Crimean bridge blast at the weekend.
At least 83 rockets were fired, Ukraine's military said, with half shot down but half slamming into cities across the country. At least ten people were killed and 60 wounded, Ukraine said, with eight of those deaths and 24 injuries in Kyiv alone. Rockets also hit the German consulate, but the building was empty.
A mixture of missiles and Iranian-made suicide drones were used to strike the cities of Dnipro and Zaporizhzhia in southern Ukraine, northern Kharkiv and Sumy, central Zhytomyr and Vinnytsia, and even far-western Ternopil and Lviv, President Volodymyr Zelensky said. Some of these cities have not been hit in months.
* * *
Source: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11298407/Missile-strikes-hit-Kyiv-Putin-pledged-revenge-Crimea-bridge-blast.html
@Kamaji
What a freaking sissy-boy!
He can't take on the Ukranian Army,so he attacks the innocent non-combatants in the cities!
How many women and children did you murder today,you cowardly punk!
Then again,this should be no surprise. After all,this wuss spent his entire career as an officer in the KGB,where his job was to ORDER the round up and torture innocent civilians,including women and children. He had to order it done because he wasn't man enough to take on unarmed women and children.
The song "Macho Man" by "The Village People" should be playing in the background anytime a video of him is aired.
-
@Kamaji
What a freaking sissy-boy!
He can't take on the Ukranian Army,so he attacks the innocent non-combatants in the cities!
How many women and children did you murder today,you cowardly punk!
Then again,this should be no surprise. After all,this wuss spent his entire career as an officer in the KGB,where his job was to ORDER the round up and torture innocent civilians,including women and children. He had to order it done because he wasn't man enough to take on unarmed women and children.
The song "Macho Man" by "The Village People" should be playing in the background anytime a video of him is aired.
:thumbsup:
-
Putin's wrath unleashed: 83 Russian missiles are fired at Ukrainian cities, bringing death and destruction across the country - with Vladimir warning there will be a 'severe' response to further 'attacks'
Vladimir Putin has vowed a 'severe' response to attacks on Russia after firing dozens of missiles at Ukraine this morning, blowing up power networks and killing civilians in retaliation for the Crimean bridge blast at the weekend.
The blast and fire sent part of the 12-mile Kerch Strait Bridge tumbling into the sea and killed at least three people, according to the Russian authorities. A senior Ukrainian official corroborated Russian reports that Ukraine was behind the attack. The official, speaking on the condition of anonymity because of a government ban on discussing the blast, added that Ukraine’s intelligence services had orchestrated the explosion, using a bomb loaded onto a truck being driven across the bridge.
More: https://www.nytimes.com/2022/10/08/world/europe/ukraine-crimea-bridge-explosion.html
Michael Tracey
@mtracey
Selfies in front of an oversized commemorative stamp depicting the moment that civilians traveling on a civilian bridge were incinerated in an ISIS-style truck bomb attack
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Fesr0N5WIAEsREL?format=png&name=small)
5:32 AM · Oct 10, 2022 Twitter Web App
-
Russians with Attitude
@RWApodcast
Map of today's strikes against Ukrainian energy infrastructure
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FetIn4MWYAIV9Nv?format=jpg&name=small)
7:37 AM · Oct 10, 2022 Twitter for Android
-
It takes time and organization to booby trap as you withdraw. I get the impression that the Russians who are withdrawing have neither so much. Without documentation, mines or booby traps become as much a hazard for the Russians should they advance again.
And there remains the optics of leaving things behind kids might set off.
I learned the difference between a rout and a retreat recently. In a rout the soldiers drop everything and just run, or drive away as fast as possible. In a retreat the soldiers withdraw in an organized manner creating as many defensive barriers as possible.
-
I just saw more surveillance videos of the Kerch bridge explosion. The explosion did not come from that truck. The videos showed the inspection of the truck before crossing, and another showed the location of the truck at the time of explosion was already 50 yards or so ahead of the point of explosion.
I've seen a couple people analyze the video and bridge construction and they are all saying it had to come from underneath the bridge. The point they make is that the bridge elements would not have been pushed up and off the posts they rest on if the explosion was on top. I don't know how the train catches on fire though from an explosion under the bridge, unless there were two different devices synced up.
However they did it, it sure was pretty slick.
-
Why is Randi Weingarten, head of the teachers' union, in Ukraine? More important, is she wearing a mask? Will she organize a drag queen event for little Ukrainian schoolchildren?
Randi Weingarten 🇺🇦🇺🇸💪🏿👩🎓
@rweingarten
Woke up this am to reports of disgusting Russian missile strikes in Kyiv, Lviv & other cities.Heading to the border now to assess the situation. This Russian attempt to frighten civilians & the effect on children (who are learning online today) is why this 🇺🇦 trip is so important
6:13 AM · Oct 10, 2022
Randi Weingarten 🇺🇦🇺🇸💪🏿👩🎓
@rweingarten
Crossing into #Ukraine
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Fet1b_oUAAAa26w?format=jpg&name=small)
10:53 AM · Oct 10, 2022
Timothy HJ Nerozzi 庭夢
@TimothyNerozzi
Serious question, not a joke and not rhetorical — Why is the president of the American Federation of Teachers going to the border of Ukraine amid missile strikes to "assess the situation?"
10:05 AM · Oct 10, 2022
-
(https://i.imgur.com/VihOxQh_d.webp?maxwidth=640&shape=thumb&fidelity=medium)
-
(https://i.imgur.com/rxIsT1z_d.webp?maxwidth=640&shape=thumb&fidelity=medium)
-
(https://i.imgur.com/rxIsT1z_d.webp?maxwidth=640&shape=thumb&fidelity=medium)
More importantly, Ukraine is not Russia.
-
G-7 leaders to hold emergency meeting on Ukraine; Russian missile strikes draw angry condemnation
Amanda Macias, Rocio Fabbro, Natasha Turak | MON, OCT 10 20225:47 PM EDT
The leaders of the G-7 group of the world’s most developed economies will hold an emergency meeting Tuesday to discuss Russia’s war in Ukraine, following coordinated Russian missile strikes on civilians targets in cities across the country.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is also expected to speak at the meeting, which will be held over secure video.
Top officials in the United States, European Union and at the United Nations expressed shock and horror Monday over the strikes, which Zelenskyy said had killed at least 14 people and injured 97 more.
President Joe Biden said the attacks “once again demonstrate the utter brutality” of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s war on Ukraine.
U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres was “shocked” by the attacks, saying through a spokesman that they represented an escalation of the war.
In addition to the human toll, the strikes damaged significant parts of Ukraine’s energy grid, prompting the nation’s energy ministry to announce it would halt exports of electricity to the European Union starting Tuesday.
Russia’s missile strikes came just two days after a blast destroyed part of Russia’s Kerch Bridge, the only bridge linking Russia to the Crimean peninsula, which Moscow illegally annexed in 2014. . . .
https://www.cnbc.com/2022/10/10/russia-ukraine-live-updates.html
Putin's war on Ukrainian civilians continues unabated.
-
'Everyone's Drunk. No Uniforms. No Food.' Inside The Confusion Greeting Some Of Russia's Newly Mobilized Troops
https://www.rferl.org/a/russia-mobilization-chaos-deaths-ukraine/32072319.html (https://www.rferl.org/a/russia-mobilization-chaos-deaths-ukraine/32072319.html)
Four days after Russian President Vladimir Putin announced the order to mobilize hundreds of thousands of men to fight in Ukraine, Aleksandr Koltun, a 35-year-old father of six, showed up at the local draft board office in the Siberian city of Bratsk and presented himself for service.
He, and a batch of other conscripts, were sent later that day to Novosibirsk for further preparations for deployment.
Nine days later, his relatives said, he was dead.
"My daughter-in-law…told me, she called me in tears in the middle of the night and said that Sasha had died," Koltun's mother, Yelena Gudo, said, using Aleksandr's familiar, affectionate name.
Russia is continuing to ramp up its mobilization efforts, a massive campaign aimed at shoring up the faltering, seven-month war in Ukraine and, by extension, the credibility of the Kremlin. Tens, if not hundreds, of thousands of Russians are being called up under the process.
By all accounts, the process has been chaotic and haphazard.
Newly mobilized soldiers -- known colloquially in Russian as mobiki -- have reported being left without food and water while awaiting orders; videos have shown logistics officers telling new conscripts to buy their own equipment, or take first-aid supplies from their own home medicine cabinets -- or even their wives' personal sanitary supplies. Soldiers have taken to posting videos on Russian social networks complaining about the conditions and disorganization.
The process has also seen a small, but growing number of fatalities. At least 16 people have died, according to news reports and activists, since Putin made the announcement on September 21.
Many of the deaths have been reported as suicides. Others, like Koltun's, are unexplained, and his relatives fear they will never find out how he died.
"What really happened there, we still don't know," she told RFE/RL's Siberia Realities.
'All Mothers Need To Think Before Sending Their Sons There'
More at link.
-
I've seen a couple people analyze the video and bridge construction and they are all saying it had to come from underneath the bridge. The point they make is that the bridge elements would not have been pushed up and off the posts they rest on if the explosion was on top. I don't know how the train catches on fire though from an explosion under the bridge, unless there were two different devices synced up.
However they did it, it sure was pretty slick.
@bilo
IF the train was carrying gasoline,diesel fuel,coal,or any other flamable,the heat from the explosion below it would set it off.
-
Why is Randi Weingarten, head of the teachers' union, in Ukraine? More important, is she wearing a mask? Will she organize a drag queen event for little Ukrainian schoolchildren?
@mountaineer
Good question.
Unless he went there to do a write up about the "tremendous positive effect the Biden administration had saving Ukraine from the Russia invasion",I can't begin to guess.
-
(https://i.imgur.com/rxIsT1z_d.webp?maxwidth=640&shape=thumb&fidelity=medium)
@Right_in_Virginia
You mean we live in a vacuum where nothing that happens anywhere else in the universe affects America?
Good to know!
BTW,there may be minor traces of sarcasm in the above post.
-
More importantly, Ukraine is not Russia.
@Hoodat
Yeah,good luck convincing the "better Red than dead club" of that.
-
Disclose.tv
@disclosetv
·
2h
JUST IN - Biden promises Ukraine's Zelensky advanced air defense systems after Russian attacks earlier today.
-
Kerch Strait Bridge Update: Russia’s Still Using It
https://www.battleswarmblog.com/?p=52901 (https://www.battleswarmblog.com/?p=52901)
As bad as the damage looked from the Kerch Strait Bridge explosion, Russia is still using the bridge:
• The rail bridge has two tracks going each way, and they ran a test 15-car train on the other span. I have a civil engineer/bridge inspector friend who thinks it’s probably unwise to use the rail bridge at all, as the fire has almost certainly weakened the structure through spalling. But Russia doesn’t have a lot of options.
• The destroyed train hasn’t been cleared yet.
• They’ve opened up the surviving lane for traffic. “It’s been said that the road span can handle 20 cars an hour and has a weight capacity of 3.5 tons.” That’s rural mail route capacity, not “support a major front in a war” capacity.
• Russia is trying to repair the bridge.
• They’re using passenger-only ferries to cross, but the run rate is so low they may only have one ferry in service.
Peter Zeihan says it’s potentially a turning point in the war:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6I363uSKyAw&t=3s (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6I363uSKyAw&t=3s)
• “By far the most significant development of the war to date.” I would say that the failure to take Hostomel Airport in the opening phases of the war was bigger, as that meant Russia’s high risk/high reward decapitation strike had failed.
• “The Kerch bridge is the only large-scale rail connection between mainland Russia and the Crimean peninsula, which is home to about two and a half million people.”
• All other rail lines are under threat of Ukrainian artillery.
• He reiterates that everything in Russia runs on rail, as they never built a modern road network in most of the country.
• “With Kerch being the only real connection, it is the primary primary way that the Russians Supply Crimea in the southwestern front with not just troops and equipment, but with food and fuel.”
• He estimates the bridge spans couldn’t be repaired without several months of work.
• “Now that the Ukrainians know it can be done, you can bet they’re going to try to hit other parts of it to make sure the thing stays offline.”
• “For the first time we have a path forward for the Ukrainians here to win that is not long and windy.”
• Russia finally has a problem it can’t just shove bodies at. “You don’t throw a half a million people at logistics. This is something where either you have the connections or you don’t.”
• Russian troops in Zaporizhzhia, Kherson and Crimea are “suddenly on their own.”
• They can now only supply those regions in two ways. “One is by truck, and we know that because of all the Javelins that have been put into Ukraine, and all the RPGs, that the Russians are almost out of their entire military tactical truck fleet, and they’ve started using city buses and Scooby-Doo vans, and those just can’t take the volume of stuff that an active frontline needs.”
More at link.
-
@Right_in_Virginia
You mean we live in a vacuum where nothing that happens anywhere else in the universe affects America?
Good to know!
BTW,there may be minor traces of sarcasm in the above post.
:thumbsup:
-
@Right_in_Virginia
You mean we live in a vacuum where nothing that happens anywhere else in the universe affects America?
Nope @sneakypete , not at all --- and neither did Washington or Jefferson. We should interfere and act ONLY when a national US interest is threatened.
So tell me, Pete, what is the US national interest threatened by yet another boundary dispute in centuries of such disputes in Europe's Borderland?
-
Nope @sneakypete , not at all --- and neither did Washington or Jefferson. We should interfere and act ONLY when a national US interest is threatened.
So tell me, Pete, what is the US national interest threatened by yet another boundary dispute in centuries of such disputes in Europe's Borderland?
Maybe you'd like to take a crack at answering my question, too? @Kamaji
-
Nope @sneakypete , not at all --- and neither did Washington or Jefferson. We should interfere and act ONLY when a national US interest is threatened.
So tell me, Pete, what is the US national interest threatened by yet another boundary dispute in centuries of such disputes in Europe's Borderland?
@Right_in_Virginia
A little thing called a "World War".
That sort of thing happens when one nation is allowed to attack and occupy a weaker nation with no downside to them.
-
@Hoodat
Yeah,good luck convincing the "better Red than dead club" of that.
You have to question the wisdom of someone highlighting Ukraine sovereignty as a barrier to US intervention when it is Russian troops that are actively occupy it.
-
. . . by yet another boundary dispute . . .
More bullshit. This isn't a boundary dispute. It never has been a boundary dispute. But then you knew that already. Yet here you are yet again pushing the same tired false claim.
Remember back when you were saying that the Russian liberators were simply protecting the independent states of Luhansk and Donetsk? I sure do. Again, pure bullshit. Lies, lies, lies, lies. It never stops.
-
So tell me, Pete, what is the US national interest
Putting a stop to bullies, standing up for human rights, and demonstrating to the world that we will not tolerate despots who violate the sovereignty of peaceful nations with zero regard for human life.
The world was a much safer place in 1991, and it will be one again when Russia's ability to wage war against its neighbors is eliminated.
-
Maybe you'd like to take a crack at answering my question, too? @Kamaji
Your question has been answered multiple times by numerous posters here. And without fail, you ignored every single response.
And now you're back asking the same asinine question again, with no respect at all for anyone courteous enough to engage you with a response.
-
Map of today's strikes against Ukrainian energy infrastructure
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FetIn4MWYAIV9Nv?format=jpg&name=small)
You call this a border dispute. Yet you post this? Unreal.
-
Putting a stop to bullies, standing up for human rights, and demonstrating to the world that we will not tolerate despots who violate the sovereignty of peaceful nations with zero regard for human life.
The world was a much safer place in 1991, and it will be one again when Russia's ability to wage war against its neighbors is eliminated.
:amen:
If people think giving Russia Ukranian territory will end the aggression hasn't been paying attention.
-
The targets of Putin's war.
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FesyT9cXkAEyRVX?format=jpg&name=small)
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FesyTjbXkAEruSC?format=jpg&name=small)
-
Ukrainians sing songs while sheltering from Russian assault
Lee Brown | October 10, 2022 9:19am
Ukrainians forced to shelter in Kyiv metro stations broke out into tender songs of defiance Monday as Russian missiles rained down on the capital.
Moving videos showed stations completely packed with people on platforms, stairs and stationary trains — and a respectful silence other than a chorus of voices singing the national anthem and other traditional songs.
One clip caught people cheering and giving a huge round of applause after one of the underground performances came to an end.
“How I adore our people,” said one of the Ukrainians sharing footage, Lina Molina, calling it proof they are a “nation of invincibles.”
Foreign Ministry adviser Liubov Tsybulska also shared footage, writing: “Russia, we sing and stay strong no matter how hard you try to kill us.”
(https://nypost.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/10/Kyiv-Metro-Station-25.jpg)
Commentators compared it to scenes from the Blitz when Britons in London’s Underground stations listened to singers and even bands while sheltering from Nazi bombings.
Nazi leader Adolf “Hitler thought he could bomb them into surrender but his crimes simply made them more determined to bring an end to the Nazi enterprise,” one person wrote.
Russian President Vladimir Putin “never learned from history,” that commentator said. . .
https://nypost.com/2022/10/10/defiant-ukrainians-singing-while-sheltering-underground/
-
Civilians targeted by Russia in this "border war" [sic]:
(https://nypost.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/10/Ukraine-Map-Oct10-2022-1.jpg?quality=75&strip=all&w=1535)
-
Is Belarus set to join Ukrainian conflict? Lukashenko announces he will deploy 'joint military task force' with Russia on western border – sparking fury in Europe
CHRIS JEWERS | 08:37 EDT, 10 October 2022 | UPDATED: 20:36 EDT, 10 October 2022
Fears were raised today that Belarus could join the conflict in Ukraine after President Alexander Lukashenko announced he will deploy a 'joint military task force' with Russia on the country's western border.
The dictator said this was in response to what he said was a clear threat to Belarus from Kyiv and its backers in the West, claiming without evidence that that Lithuania, Poland and Ukraine were training Belarusian 'radicals' for terror attacks, after announcing plans to deploy joint troops with Moscow.
Lukashenko's announcement sparked fury in Europe, with the European Commission urging Belarus to refrain from any involvement in Russia's 'brutal illegitimate undertaking' that violated the United Nations Charter and international law.
Specifically, it told Minsk immediately to stop allowing the territory of Belarus to serve as a launch pad for very recent missile strikes and drone attacks against Ukrainian civilians. . .
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11299305/Belarus-Lukashenko-announces-deploy-joint-military-task-force-Russia.html
Mussolini is thinking about invading Greece.
-
“How I adore our people,” said one of the Ukrainians sharing footage, Lina Molina, calling it proof they are a “nation of invincibles.”
@Hoodat
Russia bit off more than they could chew.
Ukraine responded in the earliest periods of the war with quick, smart, well trained troops. The Orcs never expected that. When the Orcs special forces were killed at the airport and then the convoy on the way to Kyiv was chewed up the Ukrainians became a people who would not be conquered.
At the end of this Russia will not be an aggressor for at least a generation if not longer.
-
Is Belarus set to join Ukrainian conflict? Lukashenko announces he will deploy 'joint military task force' with Russia on western border – sparking fury in Europe
CHRIS JEWERS | 08:37 EDT, 10 October 2022 | UPDATED: 20:36 EDT, 10 October 2022
Fears were raised today that Belarus could join the conflict in Ukraine after President Alexander Lukashenko announced he will deploy a 'joint military task force' with Russia on the country's western border.
The dictator said this was in response to what he said was a clear threat to Belarus from Kyiv and its backers in the West, claiming without evidence that that Lithuania, Poland and Ukraine were training Belarusian 'radicals' for terror attacks, after announcing plans to deploy joint troops with Moscow.
Lukashenko's announcement sparked fury in Europe, with the European Commission urging Belarus to refrain from any involvement in Russia's 'brutal illegitimate undertaking' that violated the United Nations Charter and international law.
Specifically, it told Minsk immediately to stop allowing the territory of Belarus to serve as a launch pad for very recent missile strikes and drone attacks against Ukrainian civilians. . .
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11299305/Belarus-Lukashenko-announces-deploy-joint-military-task-force-Russia.html
Mussolini is thinking about invading Greece.
If he attacks it will be the end of him. If we've learned one thing it's that the Orcs are not only poorly trained, poorly led and poorly equipped. The Belarussian army is even less prepared.
-
@Hoodat
Russia bit off more than they could chew.
Ukraine responded in the earliest periods of the war with quick, smart, well trained troops. The Orcs never expected that. When the Orcs special forces were killed at the airport and then the convoy on the way to Kyiv was chewed up the Ukrainians became a people who would not be conquered.
Russia launched this war with a fifteen day plan. And nine months later, they are still operating off of that fifteen day plan. Just dump more soldiers in, and the Ukrainians will be overwhelmed.
At no point have the Russians taken a step back and began preparations for an extended conflict. They continue on as if Kyiv will capitulate any day now with zero contingency for replacements and equipment.
-
@Right_in_Virginia
A little thing called a "World War".
That sort of thing happens when one nation is allowed to attack and occupy a weaker nation with no downside to them.
We're the ones funding and accelerating a World War using Ukraine. Are you saying World War is our national interest @sneakypete ??
-
Putting a stop to bullies, standing up for human rights, and demonstrating to the world that we will not tolerate despots who violate the sovereignty of peaceful nations with zero regard for human life.
This is the excuse. What is the threatened US national interest?
-
Your question has been answered multiple times by numerous posters here. And without fail, you ignored every single response.
My question has not been answered.
-
My question has not been answered.
Yes it has. And you willfully chose to ignore the answer.
-
This is the excuse. What is the threatened US national interest?
Peace has always been the US national interest. And only Russia stands in the way of that.
-
General Armageddon: The notoriously brutal commander who oversaw the destruction of Aleppo and has now been appointed by Putin to revive Russia's faltering invasion of Ukraine
By CHRIS JEWERS FOR MAILONLINE
11 October 2022
Russia's devastating airstrikes across Ukraine on Monday had all the hallmarks of General Sergei Surovikin, the notoriously brutal commander who has now taken charge of Vladimir Putin's invasion of Ukraine.
Known as General Armageddon, Surovikin oversaw the destruction of Aleppo, having previously fought in the 1990s conflicts in Tajikistan and Chechnya.
Surovikin, 55, was appointed on Saturday, after Moscow's forces were pushed back by Kyiv in recent weeks in a series of embarrassing setbacks, and hours after the blast on the Kerch Bridge joining Russian-occupied Crimea to the Russian mainland.
The Russian defence ministry said General Surovikin had been appointed 'commander of the Joint Grouping of Forces in the areas of the special military operation', using the Kremlin's term for Putin's on-going invasion.
* * *
Source: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11302251/Ukraine-brutal-general-oversaw-destruction-Aleppo-controls-Putins-forces.html
-
'Desperate' Putin's double trouble: UK intelligence chief says Russian despot is losing support at home and his 'exhausted' troops are running out of supplies - as defiant Zelensky taunts Kremlin that missile barrage which killed 14 will not break Ukraine
By MATTHEW LODGE FOR MAILONLINE
10 October 2022
The head of GCHQ has said 'desperate' Russian president Vladimir Putin is losing the war with Ukraine both at home and abroad and faces a potential revolt against his leadership as 'exhausted' troops run out of supplies and munitions.
Sir Jeremy Fleming, the director of the UK's intelligence, cyber and security agency, is set to claim the war is badly backfiring in Putin's home country as fighting-age Russians desperately try to avoid being drafted into his 'war of choice'.
In a speech in London later today, Sir Jeremy will say that despite claims of an 'inevitable Russian military victory' at the start of the war, 'it's clear that Ukraine's courageous action on the battlefield and in cyberspace is turning the tide'.
The security chief will also suggest that 'Russia's forces are exhausted' and it has become reliant on prisoners and inexperienced conscripts to backup depleted numbers on the front line.
It comes a day after Russia launched its biggest missile barrage on Ukraine since its illegal invasion in February, killing 11 people and injuring scores more in strikes in cities, including the capital Kyiv.
A defiant Volodymyr Zelenksy branded Russia a 'terrorist state' after the attack and said it showed the Kremlin is desperate as it is 'not capable of opposing us on the battlefield'.
* * *
Source: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11301055/Zelensky-hits-terrorist-state-Russia-video-filmed-bomb-site-missile-strikes.html
-
We're the ones funding and accelerating a World War using Ukraine.
More lies.
Are you saying World War is our national interest @sneakypete ??
Preventing WWIII is in our best interest. And history teaches us that handing Czechoskovakia over to the aggressors won't achieve that.
-
Preventing WWIII is in our best interest.
Yeah, that would be nice. Unfortunately, the current administration seems intent on doing the opposite.
-
Peace has always been the US national interest.
Then why is the US escalating this bordee dispute to a nuclear war?
-
We're the ones funding and accelerating a World War using Ukraine. Are you saying World War is our national interest @sneakypete ??
@Right_in_Virginia
WE are the ones that invaded Ukraine?
Have you lost your freaking mind?
WHAT could have possibly led to THAT brain fart? Are you living in some alternate universe?
-
Then why is the US escalating this bordee dispute to a nuclear war?
@Right_in_Virginia
I used to think you were just a "peacenick" that was terrified of dying.
I now thing you are an actual "Pro Soviet". Nothing else explains your dedication to Putin and a neo-Soviet victory.
I will now start addressing you as "comrade",comrade.
-
Biden essentially is urging Russia to use nukes. Disagreement with the administration's blank check/no oversight/Armageddon approach to this entire conflict is hardly pro-Soviet. If anything, it's pro-sanity. I certainly don't want Russia using nukes on Ukraine - or anyone else.
-
Biden essentially is urging Russia to use nukes. Disagreement with the administration's blank check/no oversight/Armageddon approach to this entire conflict is hardly pro-Soviet. If anything, it's pro-sanity. I certainly don't want Russia using nukes on Ukraine - or anyone else.
How so?
-
@Right_in_Virginia
I used to think you were just a "peacenick" that was terrified of dying.
I now thing you are an actual "Pro Soviet". Nothing else explains your dedication to Putin and a neo-Soviet victory.
I will now start addressing you as "comrade",comrade.
Accepting the truth about your own government's actions can be very difficut @sneakypete ----- and the government's long history in Ukraine is one of the most difficult.
I don't like that you're resorting to name calling as your defense --- but, I do understand it's all you've got. I hope your decision keeps your blinders firmly in place; you're going to need them.
-
G7 Leaders Pledge ‘Undeterred’ Support for Ukraine After Russian Strikes
https://www.nytimes.com/live/2022/10/11/world/russia-ukraine-war-news (https://www.nytimes.com/live/2022/10/11/world/russia-ukraine-war-news)
At an emergency summit, leaders from the Group of 7 nations warned of “severe consequences” if Russia uses chemical, biological or nuclear weapons in Ukraine. The Ukrainian military said it shot down numerous Russian cruise missiles, a day after Moscow’s broadest strikes in months.
KYIV, Ukraine — Following Russia’s intense aerial assault against civilian targets, the leaders of the Group of 7 nations on Tuesday pledged “undeterred and steadfast” financial and military support for Ukraine, and emphasized “severe consequences” for Russia if it were to use chemical, biological or nuclear weapons.
In a broad statement of support for Ukraine following an emergency virtual summit, G7 leaders pledged “undeterred and steadfast” financial and military help for Kyiv, and reiterated there would be “severe consequences” if Russia were to use chemical, biological or nuclear weapons.
More at link.
-
Russia launched this war with a fifteen day plan. And nine months later, they are still operating off of that fifteen day plan. Just dump more soldiers in, and the Ukrainians will be overwhelmed.
At no point have the Russians taken a step back and began preparations for an extended conflict. They continue on as if Kyiv will capitulate any day now with zero contingency for replacements and equipment.
This kind of decision making seems to be typical of authoritarian regimes. Everyone's afraid to tell the guy in charge the plan has failed and that they need to rethink what they are doing.
-
G7 Leaders Pledge ‘Undeterred’ Support for Ukraine After Russian Strikes
https://www.nytimes.com/live/2022/10/11/world/russia-ukraine-war-news (https://www.nytimes.com/live/2022/10/11/world/russia-ukraine-war-news)
At an emergency summit, leaders from the Group of 7 nations warned of “severe consequences” if Russia uses chemical, biological or nuclear weapons in Ukraine. The Ukrainian military said it shot down numerous Russian cruise missiles, a day after Moscow’s broadest strikes in months.
KYIV, Ukraine — Following Russia’s intense aerial assault against civilian targets, the leaders of the Group of 7 nations on Tuesday pledged “undeterred and steadfast” financial and military support for Ukraine, and emphasized “severe consequences” for Russia if it were to use chemical, biological or nuclear weapons.
In a broad statement of support for Ukraine following an emergency virtual summit, G7 leaders pledged “undeterred and steadfast” financial and military help for Kyiv, and reiterated there would be “severe consequences” if Russia were to use chemical, biological or nuclear weapons.
More at link.
I believe only 2 of these countries has really stepped up, the USA and the UK. My view is the sooner Ukraine can expel the Orcs the sooner we can look at how to get out of NATO.
-
(https://img-9gag-fun.9cache.com/photo/a8qY6zV_460s.jpg)
-
I am getting nothing but complaints about this thread...if the attacks don't stop I will shut this thread down...
-
Ukraine LIVE: 'Desperate' Putin warned of mutiny as 'dreadful' weapon shortage exposed
https://www.express.co.uk/news/world/1680961/Ukraine-live-vladimir-putin-russia-mutiny-crimea-kyiv-attack-counter-offensive-latest (https://www.express.co.uk/news/world/1680961/Ukraine-live-vladimir-putin-russia-mutiny-crimea-kyiv-attack-counter-offensive-latest)
Ukrainian officials believe more than 61,000 Russian soldiers have been killed in the war since the invasion began on February 24.
Vladimir Putin has been warned the "tide is turning" as the Russian people start to turn on him amid a string of "dreadful" failures and chronic weapon supply issues. Sir Jeremy Fleming, the head of GCHQ, said it is becoming clear to the Russian people quite how badly Putin has “misjudged the situation".
The Director of GCHQ, Britain’s cyber security agency, will use a speech in London on Tuesday to highlight the ongoing threats from Russia and China. He is expected to explain that Putin now finds himself in a "desperate" situation as his population "flees the draft, realising they can no longer travel" and his recruits are forced onto the battlefield without adequate supplies.
In his keynote address, Sir Jeremy will add: “Their gains are being reversed. The costs to Russia – in people and equipment are staggering. We know – and Russian commanders on the ground know – that their supplies and munitions are running out.
More at link.
-
Elon Musk blocks Ukraine from using Starlink in Crimea over concern that Putin could use nuclear weapons: report
https://www.businessinsider.com/elon-musk-blocks-starlink-in-crimea-amid-nuclear-fears-report-2022-10 (https://www.businessinsider.com/elon-musk-blocks-starlink-in-crimea-amid-nuclear-fears-report-2022-10)
• Elon Musk denied a Ukrainian request to enable the use of Starlink in Russian-occupied Crimea.
• Musk told political analyst Ian Bremmer he fears a Ukrainian offensive could start a nuclear war.
• The SpaceX CEO denied that he recently spoke with Russian President Vladimir Putin, as Bremmer claims.
Elon Musk personally rejected a Ukrainian request to extend his satellite internet service to Crimea, the SpaceX CEO fearing that an effort to retake the peninsula from Russian forces could lead to a nuclear war, according to a report published Tuesday.
Following Russia's February invasion of Ukraine, Musk — and the US government — provided Kyiv with thousands of Starlink systems, enabling Ukrainian forces to communicate in what were previously dead zones. The low energy requirements of the service's satellite receivers have enabled it to be connected to reconnaissance drones, Yahoo News reported, providing valuable, real-time intelligence on Russian movements and the ability to target them.
But recently there have been problems. Last week, the Financial Times reported that the service was suffering "catastrophic" outages on the frontlines, prompting speculation that it had been shut off in areas controlled by Russia — perhaps to prevent the Kremlin from itself exploiting the network.
More at link.
-
(https://img-9gag-fun.9cache.com/photo/aDY3D89_460s.jpg)
Several reports that China is getting tired of Putin's insanity.
Putin sold China a quick, clean war, which would be over in days.
Now that Putin is intentionally punitively bombing/killing civilians, China is afraid of guilt by association.
-
Yeah, that would be nice. Unfortunately, the current administration seems intent on doing the opposite.
This is true. It is a sad state of affairs when Ukraine has accumulated more armor by capturing Russian equipment than it has received from all NATO countries combined. Biden just needs to shut the hell up and stop flaunting cash around. The statements he has made so far have pushed us closer to war than any weaponry he could ever give Ukraine.
-
Then why is the US escalating this bordee dispute to a nuclear war?
Because Joe Biden is a reckless idiot who does not care about American interests.
-
Rich Baris "The People's Pundit"
@Peoples_Pundit
Or, it suggests that they are not trying to inflict mass casualties as the @nytimes is clearly hoping they do.
Even at the start of the war, the targets were largely not about personnel, though of course people die in armed conflict.
New York Times World
@nytimesworld
·9h
The Russian missile attacks that killed at least 19 people across Ukraine on Monday were wide-ranging, but they were not as deadly as they could have been. That has renewed questions over the quality of Russia’s weapons. https://nyti.ms/3T8sFCB
9:55 AM · Oct 11, 2022·Twitter Web App
-
New York Times World
@nytimesworld
·9h
The Russian missile attacks that killed at least 19 people across Ukraine on Monday were wide-ranging, but they were not as deadly as they could have been. That has renewed questions over the quality of Russia’s weapons. https://nyti.ms/3T8sFCB
I agree. Most of the cities being bombed by missiles and drones have highly valuable military and infrastructure targets. If Russia could hit 'real' targets, they would. Since their technological munitions are nearly spent. They are now just lobbing over 'dumb bombs' to hit whatever they hit.
-
V FOR VICTORY Ukraine war could be over by CHRISTMAS as Russian army faces total collapse in humiliation for Putin
https://www.the-sun.com/news/6396587/ukraine-war-over-by-christmas-russian-army-total-collapse/ (https://www.the-sun.com/news/6396587/ukraine-war-over-by-christmas-russian-army-total-collapse/)
THE war in Ukraine could be over by Christmas as the Russian army faces total collapse in a massive humiliation for Vladimir Putin.
Mad Vlad's forces could be pushed back to the Russian border by the end of the year if Kyiv keeps up its counter-offensive, a senior British government source has claimed.
Ben Hodges, a former US military chief in charge of American forces in Europe, said Russian lines were collapsing fast.
"Based on all the things we are seeing it has the feeling of a collapse, at least in the Donbas area, and I do believe the Russians will be pushed beyond the February 23 line by the end of the year," Hodges told The Time, referring to the date before Russia's unwinnable invasion kicked off.
He said Putin's army - once dubbed the 'second best in the world' - was one "that's been defeated".
The experienced commander said it could take Ukraine until summer next year to recapture Crimea given the build-up of quality Russian forces near the peninsula.
But if they retake Kherson - the Black Sea port city being closed in on - then they could push within range of Crimea and shower Russian checkpoints with long-range rockets supplied by Britain and America that can hit targets 50 miles away.
"Once they do, the people in Crimea are trapped," said Hodges.
More at link.
-
(https://img-9gag-fun.9cache.com/photo/aDY3D89_460s.jpg)
Several reports that China is getting tired of Putin's insanity.
Putin sold China a quick, clean war, which would be over in days.
Now that Putin is intentionally punitively bombing/killing civilians, China is afraid of guilt by association.
China knows they are in serious trouble and Russia is only making thigs worse. I'm not talking about public opinion or politics. China imports 85% of their energy and Russia is one of their suppliers. Russia's oil output is down and the technical expertise to fix that left the country. Also, China can't produce enough food to feed their population and fertilizer production is way down as well as crop production because Ukraine is not able to produce, or export, grain the way they normally do. China worries about internal unrest more than anything and there's nothing like food shortages and energy blackouts to get people mad.
-
Rich Baris "The People's Pundit"
@Peoples_Pundit
Or, it suggests that they are not trying to inflict mass casualties as the @nytimes is clearly hoping they do.
No one is claiming that Russia is trying to inflict mass casualties. No one. This is a strawman, and a rather pathetic one at that.
-
Also, China can't produce enough food to feed their population
This is THE biggest drawback to communist rule. Every communist nation requires a free nation to produce enough surplus food to feed it.
-
This is THE biggest drawback to communist rule. Every communist nation requires a free nation to produce enough surplus food to feed it.
And thanks to the good folks at our Department of State, WE always accommodate!
-
(https://img-9gag-fun.9cache.com/photo/aeQ0ZnO_460s.jpg)
-
Accepting the truth about your own government's actions can be very difficut @sneakypete ----- and the government's long history in Ukraine is one of the most difficult.
I don't like that you're resorting to name calling as your defense --- but, I do understand it's all you've got. I hope your decision keeps your blinders firmly in place; you're going to need them.
@Right_in_Virginia
You are truly delusional.
-
(https://img-9gag-fun.9cache.com/photo/aeQ0ZnO_460s.jpg)
You got that right.
-
Ukrainians get out of their cars to pay their respects to fallen hero.
(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QSUobskvQRs)
-
More bullshit. This isn't a boundary dispute.
Every European dispute is a boundry dispute ----- always has been and always will be. Why we're flrting wth a nuclear war over a postage stamp in Eastern Ukraine still needs a credible reason.
Here's a peek at Europe's "boundaries" just over the last 100 years. (Video)
https://youtu.be/66rycNCY-xM
-
@Right_in_Virginia
You are truly delusional.
Prove it @sneakypete Prove it.
-
Prove it @sneakypete Prove it.
@Right_in_Virginia
Prove to a fool that they are a fool?
ROFLMAO!
-
Stop the personal attacks. The topic is Ukraine, not each other.
-
Stop the personal attacks. The topic is Ukraine, not each other.
Let the record show I've not attacked anyone @Mod2 ---- Especially not our @sneakypete I simply asked him to explain his personal attack(s) on me.
-
Let the record show I've not attacked anyone @Mod2 ---- Especially not our @sneakypete I simply asked him to explain his personal attack(s) on me.
@Right_in_Virginia
A rational response is not a personal attack,and it should never be an offense to correct someone who is wrong.
-
Every European dispute is a boundry dispute ----- always has been and always will be. Why we're flrting wth a nuclear war over a postage stamp in Eastern Ukraine still needs a credible reason.
Here's a peek at Europe's "boundaries" just over the last 100 years. (Video)
https://youtu.be/66rycNCY-xM
LOL... So WWII was a "boundaries dispute"... So a war to take over a country and subjugate its citizens is a "boundaries dispute". I don't think those words mean what you think they mean and is a major obstacle of having a rational discussion...
-
LOL... So WWII was a "boundaries dispute"... So a war to take over a country and subjugate its citizens is a "boundaries dispute". I don't think those words mean what you think they mean and is a major obstacle of having a rational discussion...
:thumbsup:
-
@Right_in_Virginia
A rational response is not a personal attack,and it should never be an offense to correct someone who is wrong.
So then correct me and prove I'm, as you call me, "delusional" ---- or knock off the personal attacks @sneakypete
-
Namecalling - callling another member a fool, stupid, crazy, irrational or anything similar - will be considered a personal attack. Don't do it. Myst already said this thread could be shut down. Don't press it. Learn how to disagree like adults.
-
LOL... So WWII was a "boundaries dispute"... So a war to take over a country and subjugate its citizens is a "boundaries dispute". I don't think those words mean what you think they mean and is a major obstacle of having a rational discussion...
Yep.
-
(https://img-9gag-fun.9cache.com/photo/aXnpWmv_460s.jpg)
-
(https://img-9gag-fun.9cache.com/photo/aXnpWmv_460s.jpg)
Once an orc, always an orc.
-
(https://img-9gag-fun.9cache.com/photo/aDY3b4B_460s.jpg)
-
So then correct me and prove I'm, as you call me, "delusional" ---- or knock off the personal attacks @sneakypete
@Right_in_Virginia
Yeah,but first I will do my next trick,which is turning water into wine.
-
(https://img-9gag-fun.9cache.com/photo/aDY3b4B_460s.jpg)
@240B
Has he been executed yet?
-
Putin threatens more strikes on Ukraine after missile blitz
https://americanmilitarynews.com/2022/10/putin-threatens-more-strikes-on-ukraine-after-missile-blitz/ (https://americanmilitarynews.com/2022/10/putin-threatens-more-strikes-on-ukraine-after-missile-blitz/)
President Vladimir Putin threatened further missile attacks on Ukraine after Russia hit Kyiv and other cities in the most intense barrage of strikes since the first days of its invasion, marking a dangerous new escalation in the war.
“If attempts to commit terrorist acts on our territory continue, the responses from Russia will be harsh and their scale will correspond to the level of threat to Russia,” Putin said in televised comments to a meeting of his Security Council on Monday. “No one should have any doubts.”
He said Monday’s “massive strikes” targeted energy and communications infrastructure in Ukraine, as well as military command installations. Those came a day after Putin accused Ukrainian forces of carrying out an explosion Saturday that damaged a road and rail bridge connecting Crimea across the Kerch Strait to Russia.
Putin’s claims were undermined by evidence on social media of missiles hitting Kyiv’s most popular park, a prominent pedestrian bridge and other civilian infrastructure in the center of the capital. Russia’s Defense Ministry said it hit targets in Ukraine with high-precision weaponry.
The broad burst of firepower prompted an outcry from international leaders, who said the assault was a significant escalation. Group of Seven leaders plan to hold an emergency video conference together with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to address the attack on Tuesday.
“They are trying to destroy us and wipe us off the face of the Earth,” Zelenskyy said on his Telegram channel, urging people to stay in bomb shelters as air-raid alerts sounded in every region of the country except occupied Crimea. “Unfortunately there are dead and wounded.”
Russia launched 83 missile strikes at Ukraine on Monday fired from Astrakhan in southern Russia, 43 of which were intercepted, a spokesman for air defense, Yuriy Ihnat, said. The assault also included Iranian-made Shahed-136 unmanned drones from Belarus and Crimea, the military said.
More at link.
-
The attack was simply a Putin outburst and pique of rage because he is losing a war which he thought was impossible to lose. Putin is "outraged" that the STUPID IDIOTIC Ukrainians would 'dare' to fight back against him. (and win)
His armaments, both conventional and technological, are waning thin and he has no ready resupply and no ability to manufacture new ones. This is a problem because soon he may have only chemical or nuclear weapons left in his stockpiles.
Putin is escalating his "Hitler in the bunker" mentality which causes him to bellow, 'Kill them all! Destroy Everything!' Unfortunately for Putin, this policy frequently has a reciprocal response from those affected and from other people who think they may be the next target.
We can only hope that some brave internal (or external) movement will either take him out or disrupt his ability to launch horrific weapons of mass destruction, which will affect and may eventually involve, the entire Earth.
-
This is THE biggest drawback to communist rule. Every communist nation requires a free nation to produce enough surplus food to feed it.
And yet the leftists keep trying to impose fascism, or communism on us.
I think Ukraine is the downfall of Russia. Russia won't recover. The Russian population is already in decline and with this war they have killed off a lot of their young men as well as with the mobilization 100's of thousands more have fled the country.
-
And thanks to the good folks at our Department of State, WE always accommodate!
I think the era of globalization is coming to an end. It's not only the MAGA movement in the USA. Govt's all around the world are changing and the most common thread among the change is the desire of the voters for their govt to focus on their country. The USA has propped up a globalized world and at least half of us want it ended.
-
Huge Ukrainian Offensive in Luhansk?
https://www.battleswarmblog.com/?p=52929 (https://www.battleswarmblog.com/?p=52929)
Weeb Union (not my favorite Ukraine war mapper channel) is reporting a huge Ukrainian offensive just got underway in Luhansk:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OJAia5Mn-3o&t=2s (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OJAia5Mn-3o&t=2s)
Takeaways:
• “The reported numbers in this offensive is between 35,000 and 40,000 Ukrainian soldiers over a length of about 50 kilometers.”
• Goal seems to be full control of the P-66 highway running from Troitske to Kreminna.
• “They are trying to attack and capture Svatova.”
• “Svatova is the supply hub of the Russian army here in the Luhansk border.”
• He postulates this is the last Ukrainian offensive before Russian mobilization reinforcements reach the area. I think he greatly overestimates the effect Russia’s hastily mobilized, ill-equipped and ill-trained new recruits might have on the battlefield.
Not seeing any confirmation elsewhere yet. Developing…
-
Svatove will be a big win for Ukraine.
-
Now that Russia has emptied their prisons, military police are now waiting outside of food lines, shelters, and other programs for impoverished or drug alcohol treatment facilities, forcing them onto buses and shipping them to the frontlines. This has happened in many counties in history when they are losing a war. Next, they will go to the high schools to start rounding up young boys.
Putin has destroyed Russia's future.
-
Next, they will go to the high schools to start rounding up young boys.
Putin has destroyed Russia's future.
(https://imgs.search.brave.com/obFte9Llj2VusQ9GuSNxsgo35N465Dy_b5uorVRtm14/rs:fit:640:433:1/g:ce/aHR0cHM6Ly9pbWcu/aXppc21pbGUuY29t/L2ltZy9pbWc0LzIw/MTEwOTI0LzY0MC9l/eHRyZW1lbHlfeW91/bmdfc29sZGllcnNf/ZnJvbV9hcm91bmRf/dGhlX3dvcmxkXzY0/MF8wOC5qcGc)
-
Bloomberg
@business
Ukraine will need at least $3 billion a month next year to finance its wartime economy, which means allies will have to step up with more support, the head of the International Monetary Fund said
(https://pbs.twimg.com/card_img/1580290887392759808/A7dkNm1d?format=jpg&name=small)
War-Torn Ukraine Needs at Least $3 Billion a Month in 2023, IMF Says
Ukraine will need at least $3 billion a month next year to finance its wartime economy, which means allies will have to step up with more support, the head of the International Monetary Fund said.
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-10-12/ukraine-needs-at-least-3-billion-a-month-next-year-imf-says?utm_campaign=socialflow-organic&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter&cmpid=socialflow-twitter-business&utm_content=business
5:54 PM · Oct 12, 2022 SocialFlow
(https://i.postimg.cc/BvfNCjF2/06-B95-DD6-53-C8-4-E96-AB33-487-B5559-D147.jpg)
-
Glenn Greenwald
@ggreenwald
The marriage between neocons and left-liberals (meaning the areas where leftists and liberals align: now most places) began with Russiagate.
But this was always the key: Russiagate wasn't just a dumb domestic scandal but also, way more importantly, a foreign policy/CIA campaign.
10:06 AM · Oct 11, 2022 ·Twitter Web App
-
Glenn Greenwald
@ggreenwald
For the first few months of the war, it was deemed "Russian propaganda" to say what was so obvious, even after Obama's former CIA Director Leon Panetta admitted it: this is a proxy war between the US and Russia.
It's seen this way around the world:
Branko Marcetic
@BMarchetich
·Oct 11
Meanwhile, Hungarian PM Orban says what numerous advocates for diplomacy have been saying for many, many months: negotiations will only work if it's *the US* and Russia at the table.
https://politico.eu/article/viktor-orban-donald-trump-end-war-ukraine-russia/
12:18 PM · Oct 11, 2022 ·Twitter Web App
-
Impotent Missile Strikes Can’t Reverse Russia’s Losing as Beginning of the End of the War Unfolds
Small Wars Journal By Brian E. Frydenborg 10/12/2022
https://smallwarsjournal.com/jrnl/art/impotent-missile-strikes-cant-reverse-russias-losing-beginning-end-war-unfolds (https://smallwarsjournal.com/jrnl/art/impotent-missile-strikes-cant-reverse-russias-losing-beginning-end-war-unfolds)
This Is the Beginning of the End of the War. The current Ukrainian advances will be the ones to push Russian ground forces completely out of Ukraine, leaving any remaining combat to take place on or just over the border with Russia or with longer-range systems, ending major ground combat operations on Ukrainian soil
SILVER SPRING—Since early march, I have been bullish—very bullish—on Ukraine’s prospects for victory, but even I am continually thrilled and elated at how often Ukraine surprises me by exceeding even my high expectations. And, after the latest events, it is clear to me now that in many ways, we are seeing the beginning of the end of the war, at least in terms of major ground combat operations in Ukraine not on the border with Russia. I don’t mean to imply that this is soon, but that these current operations will lead to and include both the climax and most of the denouement, even if it takes months, half a year, or longer.
How I Got to Here
Back in April, after Russia had collapsed quickly on the Kyiv, Chernihiv, and Sumy fronts, I realized that if (when, for me) Ukraine could retake Kherson City and the rest of the west bank of the Dnipro River in Kherson Oblast, that would mean that the bulk of Russian forces would have been exhausted, weakened, damaged, or even destroyed, with little to stop for long a determined Ukrainian advance along the additional sixty-ish miles to the northern border of Crimea with Kherson Oblast.
While in April I was focused on the eventual coming of Crimea into play (including how Ukraine would very likely take out the Kerch Strait/Crimean Bridge)—itself inspired by my piece analyzing how anti-ship missiles would soon sideline or even destroy the Russian Navy (and in which I was probably the only person, at least in English, to predict the sinking of the Moskva in an article before it happened)—by late July, with Russia having stalled in a spectacularly pathetic fashion, I was focused on explaining why Ukraine will win and then, in early August, the logical follow up: how Ukraine will win.
At the time, Russia had already begun moving significant numbers of troops—including some of its remaining better-quality troops and equipment that hadn’t yet been destroyed or routed—from the eastern theater to the southern theater, from the Donbas line running through the Luhansk and Donetsk Oblasts, mainly to Kherson and Zaporizhzhia Oblasts, neither of which were fully under Kremlin control (indeed, the regional capital city of Zaporizhzhia Oblast was and still is not under Russian control).
I noted then that this was taking troops from more easily defended terrain and more entrenched positions and moving them to less defensible terrain and less dug-in positions. Furthermore, just as strikes with advanced recently supplied precision Western weapons—designed specifically in years past to counter the very weapons Russia was deploying against Ukraine—had decimated Russian logistics, ammunition dumps, command posts and headquarters, and communications on the Donbas front (both on the front line and well-behind the front in the Russian rear) to the point that Russia had lost all major offensive capability there, that had all also started to happen on the Kherson front in the south. In fact, even before Russia’s reinforcements began arriving in the south, these attacks were so effective that damage to key regional bridges across the Dnipro River along with all the other attacks had effectively trapped thousands of Russian troops on the west bank of the Dnipro and largely cut off their escape and resupply.
Knowing how poorly-led the Russians were, Ukraine took its time, announcing far ahead of time that they were coming large, hard, and fast for Kherson, baiting the Russians into committing more troops into an easily-cut-off position so that they added thousands more to the troops stuck on the west bank of the Dnipro River, waiting to more severely disable all the bridges so that now, there are as many as 25,000 Russian troops that are effectively cut off and in the process of being encircled.
And, in a masterstroke the type of which I anticipated (but not its location), while all this was unfolding, Ukraine saw a major target of opportunity in the Kharkiv sector and smashed Russia’s entire Kharkiv front back literally thousands of square miles in a just days. I had noted in my early August piece that Russia’s redeployments from the east to the south would weaken its strength there and provide just such targets of opportunity, on which I fully expected Ukraine would sniff out and capitalize; it was somewhat mathematical.
The intrepid and swift Ukrainians exceeded even my expectations, though, with this Kharkiv sector smashthrough (“breakthrough” doesn’t really do it justice) and it continuing through to the important nearby Russian logistics hub of Lyman in Donetsk and beyond. Both a tertiary-, relatively-sideshow front compared to the Donbas and Kherson fronts but also and extension of the Russian Donbas line, the Kharkiv front presented the Russians to the Ukrainians at their weakest, with the Ukrainians completely surprising and outmaneuvering them. Throughout the Kharkiv sector fighting, it was clear that advanced Ukrainian weaponry supplied by the West, which had destroyed Russian air-defenses and also gave Ukraine effective air-defenses, had actually given Ukraine air superiority—and not Russia—on the front lines (still one of the great ongoing stories of this war). Thus, during these offensives, Russia has been unable to provide effective air cover or reconnaissance for its inferiorly-equipped troops (who have far less night-vision equipment than their Ukrainian counterparts). All these and other factors explain why the fighting has been so one-sided of late.
More at link.
-
Ukraine brushes off Putin’s latest strikes by seizing back five key villages in territory just annexed by Russia
By JAMES FRANEY FOR THE DAILY MAIL
12 October 2022
Ukraine yesterday brushed off Putin’s latest strikes on its cities by seizing back five key villages in territory Russia has just annexed.
Kyiv has vowed to retake the entire region of Kherson by the end of the year after launching its counter-offensive in August.
It was one of four regions claimed by Russia last month after sham votes. The Ukrainian presidency said troops have ‘liberated five more settlements in the Beryslav district [in the Kherson region]’.
Russia continued to attack civilian targets. A missile hit a market in the eastern city of Avdiivka, killing at least nine. Other strikes targeted energy production near Dnipro.
* * *
Source: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11309861/Ukraine-brushes-Putins-latest-strikes-seizing-five-key-villages.html?ico=topics_pagination_desktop
-
‘You think you’re a superpower… and you’re not’: Vladimir Putin now knows he’s ‘not invincible’ after Ukraine losses, says UK defense secretary Ben Wallace
By MAILONLINE REPORTER
13 October 2022
UK defense minister Ben Wallace says Vladimir Putin has found out he is not invincible and that Russia is not a superpower after embarrassing setback in the war with Ukraine. The Defense Secretary said the authoritarian leader's 'strategic assumptions seem to be wrong all over the place' and that he is facing discontent among troops sent to fight in Ukraine. The 52-year-old said months of war, which has seen Russia forced to call up hundreds of thousands of reserves in the wake of tremendous losses to its professional army, means now 'the basic Ukrainian soldier is better than the basic Russian soldier.'
The Secretary of State for Defense (pictured), who served in the Scots Guards for seven years before becoming an MP, said it was vital the international community continues to stand with Ukraine as it battles against Putin's forces. He added that the authoritarian leader would have no qualms shoving millions of people 'into a meat grinder with no rules, no regard for human lives and innocent people and civilians.' He made the remarks in an interview with the Evening Standard, in which he said Putin had believed his 'own hype' and 'counted tanks on the parade ground and presume you are invincible and you are not.'
Mr Wallace said that the conflict, which has turned a large part of eastern Europe into a warzone needs to end in defeat for Putin. He said that while 'superpowers have lost wars before,' the eight-month war in Ukraine will have led Putin to realize 'he's not a superpower.' He told the paper that Ukraine has been underestimated and Russia overestimated at every step, but that the number of people Putin can 'shove into a meat grinder' is on his side. He said: 'If that is successful, that will send a message across the whole world that that's how you win wars. We cannot, the international community, accept that.' Pictured: Ukrainian solders firing weapons towards Russian forces near Toretsk in the Donetsk region.
* * *
Source: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/galleries/article-11310929/Vladimir-Putin-knows-hes-not-invincible-Ukraine-losses.html
-
Russia urges civilians to 'leave with their children' and evacuate Kherson for their own safety in a sign of Vladimir Putin's weakening hold on the annexed region as Ukrainian forces continue to advance
By MAILONLINE REPORTER
14 October 2022
Russia has urged civilians to 'leave with their children' and evacuate Kherson for their own safety in a sign of Vladimir Putin's weakening hold on the annexed region as Ukrainian forces continue to advance. Evacuees are expected to begin arriving in Russia on Friday after a Moscow-installed official strongly urged residents to leave Ukraine's southern Kherson region. Vladimir Saldo had urged all civilians to 'protect themselves' as he cited daily rocket attacks by Kyiv forces. Pictured: A dynamo Kyiv fan displays a banner reading 'Kherson is Ukraine' during a soccer game in Marshal Jozef Pilsudski Stadium, Krakow, Poland on October 13, 2022.
The Kherson administration chief was speaking mainly to residents on the west bank of the Dnipro River which includes the regional capital — the only major Ukrainian city Russia has captured intact since Putin began his invasion in February. 'We suggested that all residents of the Kherson region, if they wish, to protect themselves from the consequences of missile strikes... go to other regions,' Saldo said in a video message. And it has now been claimed that the first civilians fleeing from Kherson are due to arrive in Russia's southern region of Rostov on Friday, TASS news agency reports. Pictured: Ukrainian servicemen check the trenches dug by Russian soldiers in a retaken area in Kherson region, Ukraine, on October 12, 2022.
Kherson is one of four partially occupied Ukrainian provinces that Russia claims to have annexed in recent weeks, and arguably the most strategically important. It controls both the only land route to the Crimea peninsula Russia seized in 2014, and the mouth of the Dnipro, the 2,200-kilometer-long (1,367-mile-long) river that bisects Ukraine. Pictured: Ukrainian soldiers retook settlements in Kherson last week.
* * *
Source: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/galleries/article-11315183/Russians-urged-leave-children-evacuate-Kherson.html
-
Bloomberg
@business
Ukraine will need at least $3 billion a month next year to finance its wartime economy, which means allies will have to step up with more support, the head of the International Monetary Fund said
5:54 PM · Oct 12, 2022 SocialFlow
Ukraine will need at least $3 billion a month next year to finance its wartime economy, which means allies will have to step up with more support, the head of the International Monetary Fund said.
“Our current thinking is that the financing requirements” will be around $3 billion to $4 billion a month, Kristalina Georgieva said at a meeting in Washington on Wednesday . . .
(https://i.postimg.cc/BvfNCjF2/06-B95-DD6-53-C8-4-E96-AB33-487-B5559-D147.jpg)
@Right_in_Virginia , the person in the photo you included with this article does not at all look like Kristalina Georgieva, the person making the statement. The IMF is in Washington lobbying the regime for more money for themselves. Yet you dishonestly attributed her words to someone else in an attempt to deceive others by projecting an untrue narrative.
-
Russia continues intensified bombardments into fifth day
5h ago | 05:12
Russia is keeping up its targeted attacks on critical infrastructure across Ukraine, in a fifth straight day of intensified bombardments.
Multiple Russian missile strikes shook the capital of the Zaphorizhzhia region overnight as the city continued to be a focal point for Russian fire.
Zaporizhzhia regional Governor Oleksandr Starukh said Friday morning several explosions were reported in the city overnight at infrastructure facilities, causing fires.
Preliminary reports mentioned no victims.
Russian forces have struck the regional capital and the surrounding area continuously in recent days and weeks, creating concerns about the safety of the nearby nuclear power plant.
The regional capital is about 100 miles (160 kilometers) from the plant, which is the largest nuclear power facility in Europe.
The heavier Russian barrage began last Monday and comes as Ukraine pushes its military counteroffensive on the southern front.
(https://liveblog.digitalimages.sky/lc-images-sky/lcimg-63fae738-b8f9-4db4-9629-735e2b9e8b64.jpeg)
https://news.sky.com/story/ukraine-latest-news-putin-moves-iranian-drones-into-belarus-as-moscow-warns-west-of-uncontrolled-escalation-12541713?postid=4655211#liveblog-body
-
Rescuers arrive at destroyed residential building in Ukraine
21 hours ago
(https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/1024/branded_news/1641C/production/_127146119_p0d6vqkp.jpg)
An 11-year old boy was rescued from the rubble of a shelled residential building in Mykolaiv in southern Ukraine on Thursday morning.
In footage released by Ukrainian authorities, the boy could be seen covered in a blanket as he was taken out of the destroyed building on a stretcher.
An official statement said the boy had been trapped for more than six hours after a five-storey block was hit by Russian missiles. Teams continued to search for more people after he was pulled out.
The attack comes during a week of intense Russian bombardments, the heaviest in months. Targets included energy infrastructures and other non-military targets - including a children's playground.
https://www.bbc.com/news/av/world-europe-63249300
-
"Pure cannon fodder": BBC on deaths of recently conscripted Russians
KATERYNA TYSHCHENKO | 13 OCTOBER 2022 | 20:14
Russia has acknowledged the deaths of several of its conscripts in Ukraine. Russian media reports that these soldiers have been sent to the front without training.
Source: BBC News Russian (https://www.bbc.com/russian/features-63244129)
BBC journalists identified three out of five soldiers [whose deaths were reported by the Chelyabinsk Oblast military commissariat on Thursday, 13 October]: Anton Borisov, Igor Yevseev and Timur Akhmetshin.
They were conscripted by the Korkino military commissariat [in Chelyabinsk Oblast, Russia] between 26 and 29 September. A total of almost 1,000 people were conscripted around that time, the relatives of the deceased said.
On 3 October, the men found themselves near Luhansk. From there, they were transferred to Kherson Oblast. By 9 October, their relatives received the first death notifications.
An acquaintance of one of the soldiers shared a recording of their phone call in which one conscript from Chelyabinsk Oblast, currently hospitalised in Sevastopol (Crimea), explains the circumstances of the death of the five men to another recently conscripted soldier who is preparing to depart for the front.
Quote: "The first day we arrived [at the front], without having ever used a gun, we were deployed in an assault group with only two grenade launchers – we were pure cannon fodder. I had to read a manual on how to use [the grenade launchers]. On the third day, we retreated, spent the night, then advanced and took positions in the trenches.
[The Ukrainians] had taken up their positions some 200 metres away from us and began to storm us. Drones were dropping [grenades?] on us, one after the other. I was [injured]. We were shooting at them for another hour, but they were already only 50 metres away. We had no cover, the armoured vehicle that was covering us burned down, the tank burned down. During a quieter moment, I ran, corpses all around me. I heard a mortar-launched bomb fly by. I don’t know how I got out of there." . .
https://www.pravda.com.ua/eng/news/2022/10/13/7371864/
-
So is Russia killing off its people to stir up anger against Ukraine? What other motivations is there? All their anger should be directed at Putin and those in power who follow his orders.
-
President Xi of China must be laughing his head off at the ineptness of the Russian military. Putin conscripts children and old men, and the US Dept. of Defense holds drag queen events and offers sex-change surgery to soldiers. Barron's: Xi Decade Reshapes China's Military, And The Region (https://www.barrons.com/news/xi-decade-reshapes-china-s-military-and-the-region-01665717009)
-
(https://i.postimg.cc/BvfNCjF2/06-B95-DD6-53-C8-4-E96-AB33-487-B5559-D147.jpg)
@Right_in_Virginia , the person in the photo you included with this article does not at all look like Kristalina Georgieva, the person making the statement.
Recheck my post, Sparky. I did not include the graphic as part of the tweet.
-
Recheck my post, Sparky. I did not include the graphic as part of the tweet.
This is your post, no?
https://www.gopbriefingroom.com/index.php/topic,478214.msg2721636.html#msg2721636
You posted tweet. You posted photo. Together in the same post. It is dishonest.
-
This is your post, no?
You posted tweet. You posted photo. Together in the same post. It is dishonest.
The graphic is after the end of the tweet ---- it is not a part of it. Sorry, I didn't mean to confuse you. Here's the graphic solo for your viewing comfort-----
(https://i.postimg.cc/BvfNCjF2/06-B95-DD6-53-C8-4-E96-AB33-487-B5559-D147.jpg)
-
The graphic is after the end of the tweet ---- it is not a part of it. Sorry, I didn't mean to confuse you. Here's the graphic solo for your viewing comfort-----
What you were trying to do was falsely portray Zelenskiy as asking for more money by attaching him to a statement made by someone else. It wasn't Zelenskiy saying it. It was Kristalina Georgieva who does not represent the Ukrainian government. The IMF is lobbying Washington for more cash, yet you tried pinning that on Zelenskiy. Again, it is dishonest. And instead of owning it, here you are trying to play innocent.
-
What you were trying to do was falsely portray Zelenskiy as asking for more money .....
You shoud consider taking a nice, long walk outside for a needed change in focus----- and I propose this most sincerely.
-
You shoud consider taking a nice, long walk outside for a needed change in focus----- and I propose this most sincerely.
Then help me understand. Explain to me your connection between the article linking Kristalina Georgieva lobbying for more money and the image portraying Zelenskiy asking for money? Seriously. What was the point you were trying to make?
-
If we have to lock Thread 3, there will not be another thread. js.
-
Russian army will be 'annihilated' if it uses nuclear weapons: Borrell
(https://img-9gag-fun.9cache.com/photo/a7qyBgA_460swp.webp)
-
Russians criticize Kremlin for deaths of new recruits in Ukraine
Ivan Nechepurenko, Cassandra Vinograd and Helene Cooper - NYT | October 14, 2022
With criticism from pro-war bloggers over the reported deaths of new recruits fighting in Ukraine intensifying, President Vladimir Putin of Russia on Friday defended his recent draft, saying he had no regrets about the war in Ukraine.
His remarks came as prominent military bloggers have accused the Kremlin’s defense officials of throwing unprepared recruits into battle. The draft has also run into resistance across Russia as villagers, activists, and even some elected officials have asked why the conscription drive has appeared to hit minority groups and rural areas harder than the big cities. In late September, anger with the call-up spilled over into street protests.
Some 222,000 Russians already have been drafted and 16,000 of them have been deployed “in units that get involved in fulfilling combat tasks,” Putin told a news conference in Astana, Kazakhstan, adding that he expects the mobilization to be completed within two weeks.
When Putin announced a “partial mobilization” in September, he said that servicemen called up for active duty would “undergo mandatory additional military training.” The Russian government said that such training could take up to one month.
Russian media has reported at least seven deaths among people who were recently drafted. Asked Friday why some mobilized servicemen had died so soon after mobilization began, Putin said that in some cases training could take just 10 days. . .
. . . Roman Saponkov, a Russian military blogger, responded to the reports of recent deaths by saying Thursday that the mobilization should have been declared six months earlier, because now the country’s military command is under pressure to deploy troops to the front lines as soon as possible to help repel Ukraine’s recent battlefield advances.
“That’s why we will see many deaths among the mobilized,” he said in his blog. “Today they are superheroes who were thrown to rescue the situation at the last moment.”
Hawkish commentators criticized the initial rollout of the draft, with one popular pro-war blogger on Telegram, Rybar, saying they received “huge numbers of stories” of people with health problems or without combat experience getting draft notices.
As reports of the deaths in Ukraine filtered in this week, one Russian military blogger, who goes by the name Grey Zone and claims to be linked to the Russian mercenary community, said that the mobilization continues to be chaotic and that no lessons had been learned from the initial wave of criticism. . .
https://www.bostonglobe.com/2022/10/14/world/russians-criticize-kremlin-deaths-new-recruits-ukraine/
-
(https://pbs.twimg.com/card_img/1580290887392759808/A7dkNm1d?format=jpg&name=small)
War-Torn Ukraine Needs at Least $3 Billion a Month in 2023, IMF Says
Ukraine will need at least $3 billion a month next year to finance its wartime economy, which means allies will have to step up with more support, the head of the International Monetary Fund said.
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-10-12/ukraine-needs-at-least-3-billion-a-month-next-year-imf-says?utm_campaign=socialflow-organic&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter&cmpid=socialflow-twitter-business&utm_content=business
Tucker reacts ****slapping (Video)
https://rumble.com/embed/v1lcp4y/?pub=4
-
Putin says no more massive strikes - for now
7 hours ago
Russian President Vladimir Putin has said there is no need for more massive strikes on Ukraine, days after the heaviest bombardment of the country since the war began.
He said most designated targets of the strikes had been hit, adding that it was not his aim to destroy Ukraine.
Moscow's goal of mobilising 300,000 men would be met within two weeks, he said.
It comes as Russian forces are mostly in retreat and Ukraine advances, almost eight months since the invasion.
Speaking to journalists after a summit with regional leaders in Kazakhstan's capital Astana, the Russian leader said that the recent strikes had destroyed 22 out of the 29 targets in Ukraine set by the military and that "they are getting" the remaining seven.
"There's no need for massive strikes. We now have other tasks," he said.
From Monday onwards, Russia unleashed a wave of strikes on cities across Ukraine, in what Mr Putin said was retaliation for a blast which damaged a key bridge between Russia and annexed Crimea.
Dozens of people were killed and injured in the strikes, which also damaged infrastructure. Central areas of Kyiv were targeted for the first time since the invasion.
But Mr Putin said it was not Russia's intention to destroy Ukraine, but he did not regret the invasion. . .
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-63255617
Looks like Russia is running out of missiles. Either that, or Putin is realizing that Ukraine is doing an effective job of shooting them out of the sky.
-
Tucker reacts ****slapping (Video)
https://rumble.com/embed/v1lcp4y/?pub=4
(https://i.postimg.cc/W1TQ8nQg/1647547242523.jpg)
-
(https://www.understandingwar.org/sites/default/files/Kharkiv%20Battle%20Map%20Draft%20October%2014%2C2022.png)
-
(https://www.understandingwar.org/sites/default/files/Kherson-Mykolaiv%20Battle%20Map%20Draft%20October%2014%2C2022.png)
-
(https://www.understandingwar.org/sites/default/files/Donetsk%20Battle%20Map%20Draft%20October%2014%2C2022.png)
-
Russian authorities are continuing to engage in “Russification” social programming schemes that target Ukrainian children.
A local news outlet from Russia’s Novosibirsk Oblast reported on October 13 that 24 orphans from Luhansk Oblast arrived in Novosibirsk for placement with Russian foster families. Ukrainian Mayor of Melitopol Ivan Fedorov similarly reported that Russian occupation authorities in Melitopol and other occupied regions are deporting Ukrainian children to Russian-occupied Crimea, Krasnodar Krai, and Tula and Volgograd Oblasts under the guise of “children’s trips” and “further education” programs. As ISW has previously reported, such forced deportations of Ukrainian children to Russia and Russian-occupied territory may constitute violations of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide. Occupation authorities in Russian-occupied Mariupol are also reportedly pressuring Ukrainian teenagers to join the “Youth Guard,” a children’s paramilitary organization that encourages anti-Ukrainian sentiments. Mariupol Mayoral Advisor Petro Andryushchenko reported on October 14 that uniformed members of the Youth Guard visited a Ukrainian school and gave children one week to consider joining the group. The coerced engagement of Ukrainian children in youth militarization programs fits into wider Russification schemes intended to erase Ukrainian identity in Russian-occupied parts of Ukraine.
https://twitter.com/O_Ostapchuk/status/1580636236212936704
https://www.understandingwar.org/backgrounder/russian-offensive-campaign-assessment-october-14
-
Putin says no more massive strikes - for now
7 hours ago
Russian President Vladimir Putin has said there is no need for more massive strikes on Ukraine, days after the heaviest bombardment of the country since the war began.
He said most designated targets of the strikes had been hit, adding that it was not his aim to destroy Ukraine.
Moscow's goal of mobilising 300,000 men would be met within two weeks, he said.
It comes as Russian forces are mostly in retreat and Ukraine advances, almost eight months since the invasion.
Speaking to journalists after a summit with regional leaders in Kazakhstan's capital Astana, the Russian leader said that the recent strikes had destroyed 22 out of the 29 targets in Ukraine set by the military and that "they are getting" the remaining seven.
"There's no need for massive strikes. We now have other tasks," he said.
From Monday onwards, Russia unleashed a wave of strikes on cities across Ukraine, in what Mr Putin said was retaliation for a blast which damaged a key bridge between Russia and annexed Crimea.
Dozens of people were killed and injured in the strikes, which also damaged infrastructure. Central areas of Kyiv were targeted for the first time since the invasion.
But Mr Putin said it was not Russia's intention to destroy Ukraine, but he did not regret the invasion. . .
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-63255617
Looks like Russia is running out of missiles. Either that, or Putin is realizing that Ukraine is doing an effective job of shooting them out of the sky.
In other words, they’re out of munitions. Putin shot his wad, and got his jollies. And now he’s flaccid.
-
(https://img-9gag-fun.9cache.com/photo/aZDxO7p_460s.jpg)
How Russia 'recruits' volunteers - Van pulls up and starts grabbing people.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=befHsEqMvFY
-
https://twitter.com/RepThomasMassie/status/1580956077096861697
-
Refused to cooperate with the enemy: conductor Yuriy Kerpatenko was shot in Kherson
14 Oct 2022
(https://newsreadonline.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/bd8f71abc353b85a283ab6c0db62a263.jpg)
In occupied Kherson, the Russian military killed conductor Yuriy Kerpatenko. the invaders shot the conductor of the Kherson Music and Drama Theater named after Mykola Kulish in his own house.
The shooting of conductor Yuri Kerpatenko was reported on Facebook by journalist Elena Vanina. Kafirs shot a man because he refused to cooperate with them.
According to the journalist, Yuri Kerpatenko stopped going to connection in September. The man was killed when he was only 46 years old.
He refused to work with them, they said that we would come to you again. They came to his house and shot him right there. It is difficult to find out big details, because everyone in Kherson is afraid, but the information is 100%, – said Elena Vanina.
Yuri Kerpatenko was also an orchestrator and accordionist. He acted as the chief conductor of the “Gileya” chamber orchestra.
Since 2000, he has worked in the Kherson Regional Philharmonic. In 2004, he became the chief conductor of the Mykola Kulish Kherson Music and Drama Theater. . .
https://newsreadonline.com/refused-to-cooperate-with-the-enemy-conductor-yuriy-kerpatenko-was-shot-in-kherson/
-
Russian army 'mutiny' as troops 'kill commander and surrender' as morale plummets
The Russians had virtually no ammunition and some even had to share one assault rifle between two.
JOHN VARGA | Oct 15, 2022 | 08:51
(https://cdn.images.express.co.uk/img/dynamic/78/590x/Russia-1683089.webp?r=1665823468295)
Russian troops killed their commander after he tried to stop them from surrendering to Ukraine's army, it has been reported. The soldiers were part of the recently mobilised reserve and had just arrived at the front. Vladimir Putin's army has suffered a series of humiliating defeats on the battlefield in recent weeks.
Ukraine's army has made spectacular advances in the northeast, east and south of the country as they continue their counteroffensive on a number of fronts.
The military setbacks have forced the Kremlin to shake up their military command yet again and introduce a nationwide "partial" mobilisation.
Russia's Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu announced in September a draft of 300,000 reservists to help boost frontline troops fighting in Ukraine.
The announcement led to a mass exodus of Russian men from the country, as they sought to escape the call-up.
Those unable to flee were forced to report for duty at military enlistment offices.
Ukraine's military launched a hotline called "I want to live", encouraging conscripted Russians to get in touch and promising them safety and humane treatment if they surrendered.
https://www.express.co.uk/news/world/1683089/russia-news-troops-mutiny-kill-commander-putin-ukraine-war-latest
-
Russian soldiers forced to buy own body armour online in embarrassment for Putin
ALESSANDRA SCOTTO DI SANTOLO | Oct 15, 2022 | 10:49
Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered the mobilisation three weeks ago, part of a response to Russian battlefield defeats. . .
. . . Defending the order, Putin said the front line was too long to defend solely with contract soldiers.
But according to the UK Ministry of Defence, soldiers were even forced to buy their own armour before being deployed because of the government's scarce financial availability.
In its latest update, the MoD said: "Contingents of mobilised Russian reservists have been deployed to Ukraine over the last two weeks. Their average level of personal equipment is almost certainly lower than the already poor provision of previously deployed troops.
"Many reservists are likely required to purchase their own body armour, especially the modern 6B45 vest, which is meant to be on general issue to combat units as part of the Ratnik personal equipment programme.
"This vest has been selling on Russian online shopping sites for 40,000 roubles (approx. USD $640), up from around 12,000 roubles (appox. USD $190) in April.
"In 2020, the Russian authorities announced that 300,000 sets of Ratnik body armour had been supplied to the Russian military, which was ample to equip the force currently deployed in Ukraine.
"Endemic corruption and poor logistics remain one of the underlying causes of Russia’s poor performance in Ukraine." . .
https://www.express.co.uk/news/world/1683124/russia-news-soldiers-mobilisation-vladimir-putin-ukraine-war
-
(https://img-9gag-fun.9cache.com/photo/aeQ0n6Q_460s.jpg)
-
'The hell with it': Elon Musk will fund Ukraine's Starlink after all
https://www.politico.com/news/2022/10/15/elon-musk-will-fund-ukraines-starlink-00061982 (https://www.politico.com/news/2022/10/15/elon-musk-will-fund-ukraines-starlink-00061982)
The move followed a social-media backlash against his proposed halt to funding the service.
Elon Musk says SpaceX will continue to financially support its Starlink terminals in Ukraine after all.
The SpaceX founder and high-profile tech entrepreneur sent a letter to the Pentagon in September asking the agency to take over funding for the satellite communication system, which the company donated to Ukraine earlier this year after Russia’s invasion.
“The hell with it … even though Starlink is still losing money & other companies are getting billions of taxpayer $, we’ll just keep funding Ukraine govt for free,” Musk tweeted Saturday following a social-media backlash against his proposed halt to funding the service.
-
Ukraine says strike destroyed 'significant' Russian weapons and equipment
CNN 10/15/2022
A top US officials tells CNN the Russian military is running low on troops and equipment needed to continue Vladimir Putin's war on Ukraine. CNN senior international correspondent Fred Pleitgen reports.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vzSEF9aCSUw (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vzSEF9aCSUw)
-
A desperate Putin is reportedly pushing for a temporary cease-fire; Ukraine says no way
https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2022/10/15/2128956/-A-desperate-Putin-is-reportedly-pushing-for-a-temporary-cease-fire-Ukraine-says-no-way (https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2022/10/15/2128956/-A-desperate-Putin-is-reportedly-pushing-for-a-temporary-cease-fire-Ukraine-says-no-way)
Vladimir Putin was in a state of denial when he held a news conference on Friday in Kazakhstan’s capital Astana following a summit meeting of the Confederation of Independent States (CIS), comprising some former Soviet republics.
Here’s how Putin assessed the war in Ukraine, according to a report by the independent Russian news outlet Meduza:
“I want to be clear. What’s happening now is unpleasant, to put it mildly. But all the same things would have happened later, under worse conditions for us. So our actions are correct and timely.”
“Unpleasant?’ That is indeed putting mildly what has been an unmitigated disaster for Putin and Russia. At the same time, we shouldn’t forget that the Ukrainian people have paid a heavy price as they’ve successfully fought off the Russian invaders.
But now the Russian leader has become increasingly desperate as he has painted himself into an ever shrinking corner. Ukraine’s counteroffensive has continued to liberate more territory in provinces annexed by Russia just weeks ago; the “partial mobilization” has been a total failure, resulting in far more Russian men fleeing the country than showing up at enlistment centers, and Western countries have pledged to build up Ukraine’s air defenses after last Monday’s massive missile attack following the embarrassing attack on the Crimean bridge.
So what is happening behind the scenes in the Kremlin. According to Meduza, which has good sources in the Kremlin, Putin is now trying to buy time to regroup by pushing for a temporary ceasefire, which likely would include withdrawing troops from part of the occupied Kherson region. Ukraine has already signaled that the ceasefire proposal is a non-starter.
But the fact that Russia would consider such a proposal is a sign of growing desperation over how the war is going. It also may reflect its battlefield strategy, giving up most offensive initiatives in favor of adopting a more defensive posture. Not that this will stop Ukrainian forces from advancing.
-
Russia military range shooting leaves 11 dead, 15 wounded, defense ministry says
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/russia-military-range-shooting-dead-wounded-belgorod-region/ (https://www.cbsnews.com/news/russia-military-range-shooting-dead-wounded-belgorod-region/)
Two volunteer soldiers fired at other troops at a Russian military firing range near Ukraine, killing 11 and wounding 15 others, before being killed, the Russian Defense Ministry said on Saturday.
The ministry said in a statement that the shooting took place in the Belgorod region in southwestern Russia that borders Ukraine. It said that the two men from an unnamed ex-Soviet nation fired on soldiers during target practice and were killed by return fire.
The ministry called the incident a terrorist attack.
The shooting comes amid a hasty mobilization ordered by President Vladimir Putin to beef up Russian forces in Ukraine — a move that triggered protests and caused hundreds of thousands to flee Russia.
Putin said on Friday that over 220,000 reservists already had been called up as part of an effort to recruit 300,000.
Even though the Russian leader declared that only people who had recently served in the military will be subject to the call-up, activists and rights groups reported military conscription offices rounding up people without any army experience — some of whom were also unfit for service for medical reasons.
-
A desperate Putin is reportedly pushing for a temporary cease-fire
When the last Russian soldier leaves Ukraine, then we can talk cease fire.
-
The problems with 'rushed' untrained troops are many. Some/many people simply cannot kill. When faced with a situation where they have to pull the trigger on men rushing toward them, some will freeze and go catatonic shaking. Others will throw their weapons and run. Others will go fetal and start bawling. And a few will just start shooting anyone in sight including their fellow men.
Untrained soldiers tend to 'fire blind' like shooting through a door. If something is rustling in a bush or something startles them, even though they do not know who or what it is, they will fire on it. This leads to a lot of friendly fire incidents.
Incidents of mutiny and defections will be ubiquitous. Especially since 'The Russian Federation' is a conglomerate of many very disparate cultures and States which have little or nothing in common, some will have no problem shooting a White guy commander from Moscow who they do not know who is pushing them into the grinder.
Putin may find that his overwhelming 'cannon fodder' war of attrition tactic, is costing him more on the battlefield than he is gaining. Tactics that may have worked in the 1940s (with allied assistance) no longer apply today. Not to mention that Russia had a lot more 'disposable people' then, than they do today.
-
Russian army 'mutiny' as troops 'kill commander and surrender' as morale plummets
The Russians had virtually no ammunition and some even had to share one assault rifle between two.
JOHN VARGA | Oct 15, 2022 | 08:51
(https://cdn.images.express.co.uk/img/dynamic/78/590x/Russia-1683089.webp?r=1665823468295)
Russian troops killed their commander after he tried to stop them from surrendering to Ukraine's army, it has been reported. The soldiers were part of the recently mobilised reserve and had just arrived at the front. Vladimir Putin's army has suffered a series of humiliating defeats on the battlefield in recent weeks.
Ukraine's army has made spectacular advances in the northeast, east and south of the country as they continue their counteroffensive on a number of fronts.
The military setbacks have forced the Kremlin to shake up their military command yet again and introduce a nationwide "partial" mobilisation.
Russia's Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu announced in September a draft of 300,000 reservists to help boost frontline troops fighting in Ukraine.
The announcement led to a mass exodus of Russian men from the country, as they sought to escape the call-up.
Those unable to flee were forced to report for duty at military enlistment offices.
Ukraine's military launched a hotline called "I want to live", encouraging conscripted Russians to get in touch and promising them safety and humane treatment if they surrendered.
https://www.express.co.uk/news/world/1683089/russia-news-troops-mutiny-kill-commander-putin-ukraine-war-latest
@Hoodat
he military setbacks have forced the Kremlin to shake up their military command yet again and introduce a nationwide "partial" mobilisation.
I am guessing THAT is going over like a lead baloon.
After all,this ain't the 1940's and news from outside Russia is available to everyone. The Politboro can't get away with the lies like they could in the 40's.
-
Ukraine is Not Afraid of Russia - Putin Fails Again
Jake Broe
The Russian military continues to lose ground in Kherson. Damage to the Crimean Bridge turns out to be more extensive than initially reported. Russia is also getting very creative and desperate to find Russian men to mobilize.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wsrnCUGkjFM (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wsrnCUGkjFM)
-
Over the past week, there has been a significant increase in artillery, UAV, and cruise missiles destroyed.
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FfGOE2zWQAIrfSQ?format=jpg&name=900x900)
-
Russia and the Russian people are not nearly as isolated from their war as they would like to believe.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GlsHrbSRi5E
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6jA1XAXcomA
-
Russia says 11 killed in shooting at military base in Belgorod
Gunmen open fire on volunteer soldiers at a Russian military training ground in Belgorod, killing 11 and wounding 15 others.
16 Oct 2022
Gunmen have opened fire at a Russian military training ground near Ukraine, killing at least 11 people and wounding 15 others, according to Russia’s Defense Ministry.
The ministry said the “terrorist” attack took place on Saturday in the southwestern Belgorod region that borders Ukraine.
It said the two assailants – nationals from an unspecified former Soviet republic – fired on volunteer soldiers during target practice and were killed by return fire.
The shooting comes amid a hasty mobilisation ordered by President Vladimir Putin to beef up Russian forces in Ukraine – a move that triggered protests and caused hundreds of thousands to flee Russia. It also comes a week after a blast damaged a bridge in Crimea, the peninsula annexed by Russia from Ukraine in 2014.
“During a firearms training session with individuals who voluntarily expressed a desire to participate in the special military operation (against Ukraine), the terrorists opened fire with small arms on the personnel of the unit,” the defence ministry statement said. . .
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/10/16/russia-says-11-killed-in-shooting-at-military-base-in-belgorod
The shooters were Tajiks. The President of Tajikistan's response to Putin, "Please do not relate to the countries of Central Asia as the former USSR!"
https://twitter.com/nexta_tv/status/1580972196822147074
-
I'm guessing that these mines are magnetic?
Russian soldier cluelessly ploughs armoured vehicle into clearly visible landmines
(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rn1yNPOXPdo)
-
(https://i.imgur.com/h7uu9FZ.jpg)
-
Ezra Levant 🍁🚛
@ezralevant
4h
China is evacuating its citizens from Ukraine. What do they expect is about to happen?
8:33 AM · Oct 16, 2022
Zhang Meifang张美芳
@CGMeifangZhang
China government official
With the current grim security situation in #Ukraine, China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Chinese Embassy in Ukraine on Sat urge Chinese citizens in the country to enhance safety precautions and evacuate. The Embassy will assist in organizing the evacuation of people in need.
10:16 AM · Oct 15, 2022
-
Ezra Levant 🍁🚛
@ezralevant
4h
China is evacuating its citizens from Ukraine. What do they expect is about to happen?
8:33 AM · Oct 16, 2022
Zhang Meifang张美芳
@CGMeifangZhang
China government official
With the current grim security situation in #Ukraine, China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Chinese Embassy in Ukraine on Sat urge mChinese citizens in the country to enhance safety precautions and evacuate. The Embassy will assist in organizing the evacuation of people in need.
10:16 AM · Oct 15, 2022
@mountaineer
I dunno. Hard to believe the Soviets would tip them off about something major,but it does seem like they have reason to believe the Bush is going to get bad there real soon.
-
(https://img-9gag-fun.9cache.com/photo/aPgG4ZR_460s.jpg)
-
Russian Guards unit in major revolt as Putin faces catastrophic collapse in army morale
JOHN VARGA | Oct 16, 2022 | 11:32
Vladimir Putin is facing another military revolt, after an army guards unit publicly complained about a lack of critical military equipment and of suffering from exhaustion. The 126th Coastal Defence Brigade is believed to be currently on military duties in the Kherson region. The area has seen intense fighting in recent weeks, as Ukraine's army continues its counteroffensive to retake the province and the port city of Kherson, which is strategically located on the Dnipro River and Black Sea.
The brigade is a detachment of Russia's Black Sea Fleet and was only recently granted the "Guards" honorific.
The award was intended to compensate the unit for the heavy losses it suffered, while unsuccessfully attempting to capture Voznesensk in southrern Ukraine earlier in the campaign.
However, the soldiers appear to be increasingly unhappy with the conditions in which they are having to serve.
Members of the brigade published a video to social media on October 13, in which they complained about suffering from fatigue and a lack of vital military hardware.
They said they had been on active duty since the beginning of the war and had not been granted any breaks or rotation.
Moreover, they asserted that they were being "crushed" by Ukraine's army and were in desperate need of transport.
The Guardsmen claimed that they had only one BTR (armoured personnel vehicle) for 80 people.
https://www.express.co.uk/news/world/1683420/russia-news-guards-brigade-revolts-kherson-putin-ukraine-war-update
Am I reading this correctly? Does this brigade only have 80 soldiers remaining? Or are they saying they have one BTR for every 80 soldiers?
-
(https://img-9gag-fun.9cache.com/photo/aPgG4ZR_460s.jpg)
@240B
Ok,as I think you all know that I am probably not the biggest fan of the Neo-Soviets that you know,but 100 rapes over that span of time,especially when you take into consideration the very real "I need to get laid today because I will probably die tomorrow" mindset of the typical 18-22 year old soldier,is only shocking in that it is so low.
AND,,,,,since when have 18-22 year old soldiers needed Viagra?
-
I believe this Viagra story has come up (no pun intended) in other wars. In other words, urban legend.
-
AND,,,,,since when have 18-22 year old soldiers needed Viagra?
Game, set, match. When I was 18, I could have used some anti-viagra.
-
This is clearly a war crime.
The next time I see this, I hope it is happening over Moscow.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Njqx_sw4IAY
Burns at around 5000 degrees.
Can only be extinguished with sand.
Will burn through metal and most things.
Causing random fires all over the area.
Disperses harmful gases.
Supposed to be used for illumination only.
Banned for use on personnel.
If a person is hit by this stuff, even a spark of it, it will burn to the bone and through.
-
UN General Assembly condemns Russian annexation of 4 Ukrainian regions
https://americanmilitarynews.com/2022/10/un-general-assembly-condemns-russian-annexation-of-4-ukrainian-regions/ (https://americanmilitarynews.com/2022/10/un-general-assembly-condemns-russian-annexation-of-4-ukrainian-regions/)
The United Nations General Assembly condemned Russia’s annexation of parts of eastern Ukraine in a symbolic vote that nonetheless exceeded western expectations for how much support the measure would receive.
The General Assembly voted 143-5, with 35 nations including India and China abstaining, to approve the western-backed resolution, which opposed Russia’s “attempted illegal annexation” of the four regions.
The vote was a strong indication of how isolated Russia has become over its invasion and decision to absorb the eastern Ukrainian regions of Donetsk, Kherson, Luhansk and Zaporizhzhya.
-
Russia continues to conduct massive, forced deportations of Ukrainians that likely amount to a deliberate ethnic cleansing campaign in addition to apparent violations of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide
https://www.understandingwar.org/backgrounder/russian-offensive-campaign-assessment-october-15 (https://www.understandingwar.org/backgrounder/russian-offensive-campaign-assessment-october-15)
Key Takeaways
• Russia is conducting forced deportation of Ukrainians that likely amount to a deliberate ethnic cleansing campaign in addition to apparent violations of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide.
• Prominent Russian milbloggers who yesterday announced the existence of “hit lists” reportedly originating with the Russian Ministry of Defense (MoD) and targeting milbloggers for their coverage of operations in Ukraine walked back their claim on October 15.
• The Wagner Group Private Military Company is likely continuing efforts to assert its supremacy over the Russian Ministry of Defense (MoD) and more conventional Russian ground forces.
• Russia may have signed a new contract with Iran for the supply of Arash-2 drones.
• Russian forces continued counterattacks west of Kreminna.
• Russian milbloggers widely discussed the likelihood of a Ukrainian counteroffensive on Kreminna and Svatove.
• Russian sources claimed that Ukrainian troops launched a general counteroffensive in northern Kherson Oblast.
• Russian forces continued ground attacks in Donetsk Oblast.
• Ukrainian forces likely struck Russian military assets situated along Russian ground lines of communication (GLOCs) in Zaporizhia Oblast and southern Donetsk Oblast.
• Mobilized Russian forces engaged in a fratricidal altercation at a training ground in Belgorod Oblast.
• Russian and occupation administration officials continued to enact restrictions on movement and conduct strict law enforcement activities in Russian-occupied territories.
Russian Deputy Prime Minister Marat Khusnullin stated on October 14 that “several thousand” children from Kherson Oblast are “already in other regions of Russia, resting in rest homes and children’s camps.”[1] As ISW has previously reported, Russian authorities openly admitted to placing children from occupied areas of Ukraine up for adoption with Russian families in a manner that may constitute a violation of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide.[2]
Russian authorities may additionally be engaged in a wider campaign of ethnic cleansing by depopulating Ukrainian territory through deportations and repopulating Ukrainian cities with imported Russian citizens. Ethnic cleansing has not in itself been specified as a crime under international law but has been defined by the United Nations Commission of Experts on violations of humanitarian law committed on the territory of the former Yugoslavia as “rendering an area ethnically homogeneous by using force or intimidation to remove persons of given groups from the area” and “a purposeful policy designed by one ethnic or religious group to remove by violent and terror-inspiring means the civilian population of another ethnic or religious group from certain geographic areas.”[3] According to the UN definition, ethnic cleansing may be carried out by forcible removal, among other methods.[4] These definitions of ethnic cleansing campaigns are consistent with reports of the forcible deportation and adoption of Ukrainian children, as well as reports by Ukrainian sources that reconstruction projects in Mariupol are intended to house “tens of thousands of Russians” who will move to Mariupol.[5]
Prominent Russian milbloggers who yesterday announced the existence of “hit lists” reportedly originating with the Russian Ministry of Defense (MoD) and targeting milbloggers for their coverage of operations in Ukraine walked back their claim on October 15. As ISW reported on October 14, prominent Russian milblogger Semyon Pegov of the WarGonzo Telegram channel accused “individual generals and military commanders” of the Russian MoD of developing a “hitlist” of Russian milbloggers whom the MoD intends to prosecute for “discrediting” the MoD’s handling of the war in Ukraine.[6] Pegov’s claim was amplified by several other milbloggers and generated substantial panic about censorship in the hyper-nationalist Russian information space.[7]
More at link.
-
(https://preview.redd.it/mw02bae0zrt91.jpg?width=960&crop=smart&auto=webp&s=0a8b680b5ace2054d16fcfca939840b645913a7c)
-
(https://img-9gag-fun.9cache.com/photo/aeQ0n6Q_460s.jpg)
(https://preview.redd.it/mw02bae0zrt91.jpg?width=960&crop=smart&auto=webp&s=0a8b680b5ace2054d16fcfca939840b645913a7c)
Russia will "DESTROY THE WORLD!!" with 200 rockets and 400 cruise missiles!
Putin has definitely lost his mind. This will not end well for Russia.
-
(https://img-9gag-fun.9cache.com/photo/aZDNbE0_460s.jpg)
-
Ukraine war: Kyiv attacked by kamikaze drones say officials
At least five explosions have been heard in the Ukrainian capital Kyiv - with a presidential adviser blaming "kamizake drones" sent by Russia.
"It shows their desperation," said Andriy Yermak, head of Ukrainian President Zelensky's office.
Mayor Vitalii Klitschko said residential buildings in the central Shevchenkivskiy area had been damaged.
A week ago, the capital was hit by Russian missiles at rush hour, part of nationwide attacks which left 19 dead.
The explosions on Monday began at around 06:30 local time (03:30 GMT), and there were at least five in total. The most recent was at around 08:10 local time.
https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-63280523
-
If China wants Mongolia and Russia, THERE IS NO BETTER TIME THAN NOW.
-
If China wants Mongolia and Russia, THERE IS NO BETTER TIME THAN NOW.
Xi must be watching all this with a satisfied and slightly amused expression on his face.
-
Anger Over Russia's Battlefield Defeats Bursts Into The Open, Posing A Challenge For Putin
https://www.rferl.org/a/russia-battlefield-defeats-ukraine-putin-challenges/32063612.html (https://www.rferl.org/a/russia-battlefield-defeats-ukraine-putin-challenges/32063612.html)
For weeks now, on the uncensored Telegram channels of hard-line nationalists and Russian military bloggers, there's been a litany of angry criticism of Russia's military commanders amid a stunning Ukrainian counteroffensive in the Kharkiv region and elsewhere resulting in substantial Russian losses.
Now with the Ukrainians' weekend victory in Lyman, a Donetsk region city and strategic rail hub southeast of Kharkiv, that criticism is bursting into wider public view, hitting the front pages of some of Russia's biggest newspapers.
That's a serious problem for Russia's military brass -- and potentially for the Kremlin.
"I wouldn't predict a palace coup imminently. If there were one, we'd almost be the last ones to know about it, these things happen pretty swiftly when they do," said James Nixey, who heads the Russia and Eurasia program at the Chatham House think tank in London. "But obviously, there is increasing discontent in the upper Russian echelons about the course of the war, and that is being manifested in various ways, people can’t hold it in."
"The problem is Putin's grip in all sorts of ways is too strong for people to mobilize and consolidate and form an alliance, to move against him," he told RFE/RL. "I personally think...the Russian elite has never been as at risk of collapse quite frankly than it is now."
Over the 23 years Putin has been in power, Russia's once freewheeling media has been squeezed into submission. After the February 24 invasion, he signed legislation that in many cases criminalizes independent reporting on the war, as well as criticism and dissent, by outlawing "discrediting the armed forces."
That dovetailed with the closure of some of the country's best-known independent outlets, like the Ekho Moskvy radio station and the newspaper Novaya gazeta. Even Internet resources and social-media companies like Facebook, Twitter, and VK have been censored or brought to heel.
The messaging app Telegram, however, has remained uncensored by Russian regulators. The result has been a flood of information, criticism, and discussion, including about how badly the war is going for Russian forces.
And pro-Russian military bloggers have taken full advantage.
'Send All These Bastards...Barefoot To The Front'
Inside Russia, discussions of the military's early setbacks in Ukraine have been muted. Even after Russian forces failed to capture Kyiv in the early weeks of the invasion, thwarted by Ukrainian defenses, Russian commanders and bloggers characterized the withdrawal and shifting of forces to the Donbas -- the Donetsk and Luhansk regions -- as merely a tactical decision.
More and video at link.
-
Ukraine deploys upwards of 2,500 troops to Artyomovsk, Soledar — LPR militia
https://tass.com/politics/1523689 (https://tass.com/politics/1523689)
TASS Military operation in Ukraine 17 Oct, 05:52
It is reported that Ukrainian forces are suffering huge losses
LUGANSK, October 17. /TASS/. The Ukrainian Armed Forces deployed as many as 2,500 troops to the cities of Artyomovsk and Soledar in the Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR) in the past week, the Lugansk People’s Republic’s militia officer Andrey Marochko told TASS on Monday.
"In the past week, the enemy deployed as many as 2,500 reinforcement troops to the area near Soledar and Artyomovsk but these reinforcements are already gone," he said.
According to LPR intelligence, Ukrainian forces are suffering huge losses. "In particular, the 20th battalion of the 93rd Separate Mechanized Brigade lost over 60% of its troops, which, along with service members’ refusal to go into battle, caused the battalion’s withdrawal to the Chasov Yar area," Marochko said.
The militia officer earlier told TASS that the Ukrainian Armed Forces were deploying reserve troops to the Artyomovsk area amid an offensive operation by the allied forces, which had caused a shortage of troops in other sectors of the frontline.
-
Putin will deploy 9,000 Russian troops to Belarus as Kremlin allies fuel fears of a new ground assault on the Ukrainian capital by closing their embassies in Kyiv
By SUMMER GOODKIND FOR MAILONLINE
16 October 2022
Russia is set to deploy 9,000 soldiers to Belarus, the Belarusian defence ministry has claimed, sparking fears that a fresh ground assault on the Ukrainian capital could be imminent.
Although the Kremlin has claimed that the move is part of a defensive operation, some commentators believe that Putin is attempting to draw Belarus - a country bordering both Russia and Ukraine - into his war, the Telegraph has reported.
Russia's defence ministry stated that the decision to send soldiers into Belarus, for the first time since March, was 'dictated by the ongoing activity in the areas bordering us.'
* * *
Source: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11322217/Putin-deploy-9-000-Russian-troops-Belarus.html
-
'War criminal' wanted in West over shooting down of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 is 'made commander of Putin's frontline forces in Ukraine'
By WILL STEWART and NATASHA ANDERSON FOR MAILONLINE
16 October 2022
A wanted 'war criminal' accused of complicity in the shooting down of Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17 has been 'made a commander in Vladimir Putin's frontline forces fighting in Ukraine'.
Igor Strelkov, 51, former defence minister of self-styled Donetsk People's Republic, has been an arch-critic of the Kremlin over the Ukraine campaign.
But now in a change of tack, the ex-FSB colonel and hardliner has been appointed a frontline commander, it is reported.
He was pictured bidding farewell to his wife wearing military fatigues.
Strelkov - real named Igor Girkin - was blamed for the downing of MH17 which was hit by a BUK missile supplied by Russia in 2014. Over the 298 civilians killed when the Boeing 777 from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur was blown out of the sky.
Strelkov, under his previous name, was among the three Russian nationals and one Ukrainian tried for murder in the Netherlands over the downing of the plane. The Dutch court handling the trial is expected to hand down its verdict next month.
* * *
Source: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11320591/War-criminal-wanted-downing-MH17-commander-Putins-frontline-forces-Ukraine.html
-
Russian forces wipe out two command posts in Ukraine operation, top brass reports
https://tass.com/politics/1523737 (https://tass.com/politics/1523737)
It is reported that Russian air defense forces shot down nine Ukrainian unmanned aerial vehicles and intercepted 21 HIMARS and Olkha rockets and two American HARM anti-radar missiles in the past day
MOSCOW, October 17. /TASS/. Russian combat aircraft, missile and artillery troops struck two Ukrainian army command posts and six ammunition depots in the past day in the special military operation in Ukraine, Defense Ministry Spokesman Lieutenant-General Igor Konashenkov reported on Monday.
"in the past 24 hours, operational-tactical and army aviation aircraft, missile and artillery troops struck two command posts in the areas of the settlements of Dvurechnaya in the Kharkov Region and Drobyshevo in the Donetsk People’s Republic. They destroyed six ammunition depots in the areas of the communities of Figolevka in the Kharkov Region, Verkhnekamenskoye and Soledar in the Donetsk People’s Republic, Novogrigorovka in the Nikolayev Region, Novopetrovka and Davydov Brod in the Kherson Region," the spokesman said.
In the past 24 hours, Russian troops struck 39 Ukrainian artillery units at firing positions, manpower and military hardware in 127 areas, the general said.
Russian forces continued delivering precision strikes against military command centers and energy infrastructure sites in the special military operation in Ukraine, Konashenkov reported.
"In the past 24 hours, the Russian Armed Forces continued delivering strikes by long-range air-and sea-based high-precision weapons against Ukrainian military command centers and energy infrastructure facilities. All the designated targets were struck," the spokesman said.
Russian troops thwarted a Ukrainian army attempt to break through the defense in the Kherson Region, eliminating over 100 militants, Konashenkov reported.
"In the Nikolayev-Krivoi Rog direction, Russian troops thwarted an attempt by Ukrainian army units to break through the defense in the area of the settlement of Bruskinskoye in the Kherson Region, destroying over 100 Ukrainian military personnel, 13 combat armored vehicles and eight motor vehicles," the spokesman said.
More at link.
-
If China wants Mongolia and Russia, THERE IS NO BETTER TIME THAN NOW.
@240B
If I were one of the North Korean "Masters",I would be worried about China,too. If China gets her way,there will only be ONE set of "Masters" in Asia,and they will all be Chinese.
-
Richard Grenell
@RichardGrenell
The Biden Administration is giving Ukraine $19 billion while negotiating with the Iranian Regime to give them billions of dollars - all the while Iran supplies Russia with drones to attack Ukraine. Biden is officially on both sides of the Ukraine war.
10:04 AM · Oct 17, 2022
Julian Röpcke🇺🇦
@JulianRoepcke
The Russian/Iranian Shaheed-136 needed at least 30 minutes from Belarus to Kyiv.
If the Ukrainian army claims are true, 90% were shot down before reaching their targets. But from the wild AK fire over the city, it rather looks like 🇺🇦 lacks the means to down those little bastards
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FfQZr5OXEAEBZSi?format=jpg&name=medium)(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FfQZr5NWQAE7MZA?format=jpg&name=medium)
3:58 AM · Oct 17, 2022
-
Glenn Greenwald
@ggreenwald
Here is just a small sample of the carousel of new US enemies whom neocons and other US officials have equated with Hitler (or "worse than Hitler") to instigate wars:
- Mahmoud Ahmadinejad (remember him?)
- Assad
- Gaddafi
- Saddam Hussein
- Vladimir Putin
Trivializing Hitler.
10:32 AM · Oct 16, 2022 Twitter Web App
Glenn Greenwald
@ggreenwald
There are other events in history worth studying for modern conflicts, so we're not equating a fight to control the Donbas with Hitler's march through Europe and the Holocaust.
Key is the Cuban Missile Crisis. Read @KatrinaNation in the WP today on this:
(https://pbs.twimg.com/card_img/1579818789616631808/AUPNWKU7?format=jpg&name=small)
Opinion | The Cuban missile crisis was 60 years ago, but it’s urgently relevant today
That pivotal moment proves that de-escalation and diplomacy can prevail.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2022/10/11/cuban-missile-crisis-ukraine-lessons/
10:35 AM · Oct 16, 2022 Twitter Web App
-
Two red herrings crammed into one post. How quaint.
-
Meanwhile, back in Ukraine:
Central Kyiv hit by kamikaze drone strikes; heavy fighting rages in two hot spots in eastern Ukraine
Holly Ellyatt, Amanda Macias, Rocio Fabbro | OCT 17 2022 | 2:38 PM EDT
(https://image.cnbcfm.com/api/v1/image/107135479-1665990573826-gettyimages-1244031743-AA_17102022_904443.jpeg?v=1665992327&w=740&h=416&ffmt=webp)
Firefighters conduct work after the Russian drone attacks in Kyiv, Ukraine on October 17, 2022. At least 4 separate explosions were heard in Kyiv, while authorities reported that the attacks were carried out with kamikaze drones.
Anadolu Agency | Anadolu Agency | Getty Images
Residential buildings in the Ukrainian capital Kyiv have been damaged after drone attacks on a central district Monday morning.
Kyiv’s Mayor Vitali Klitschko said 28 explosive-laden drones had headed to the capital this morning and while many were intercepted, a small number had hit several locations with at least five explosions heard in the city.
Four people are known to have died as a result of the drone attacks, including a pregnant woman.
Russia has stepped up its use of attacks carried out by drones in recent weeks, with various targets hit in Ukraine, particularly energy infrastructure.
Heavy fighting is taking place in the eastern region of Donbas in Ukraine, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Sunday, with Ukraine’s military stating that Russian forces were on the offensive around Bakhmut.
The town is a key target for Russia’s forces who are seeking to make and cement territorial gains in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions that make up the Donbas, particularly after having to retreat from other settlements to the north, around Kharkiv.
https://www.cnbc.com/2022/10/17/russia-ukraine-war-updates.html
-
Ukraine is sending mobile artillery, tanks, and armored personnel carriers to the front lines.
What is new, is now Ukraine is sending dozens of buses embedded with them.
The buses are needed to pick up all the kidnapped Russian conscripts who are surrendering by the hundreds.
-
At least four dead after Russian bomber crashes into block of flats
Chanel Zagon Berny Torre • 17 OCTOBER 2022 • 7:21PM
At least four people are reported to have died with others still missing after one of Russia's warplanes crashed into an apartment building in the southern Russian city of Yeysk.
One of the country's newest and most advanced warplanes collided with the high rise block on Monday after one of its engines caught fire during takeoff.
The death toll from the incident has risen to four with six still missing, according to local media reports.
Shocking photos show the moment that the plane crashed into the residential building, and the resulting aftermath has caused a fire spanning at least 2,000 square meters.
The Russian Defence Ministry said both crew members of the Su-34 bailed out safely, while pictures shared on Russian Telegram news channels showed one of the pilots descending under a parachute, illuminated by the blazing wreckage.
Local authorities in Yeysk, a port city across the Sea of Azov from Mariupol, said that the massive fire engulfed several floors of an apartment building and at least 15 flats were affected.
The Su-34 has a reported price tag of more than £43 million.
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2022/10/17/ukraine-news-russia-war-latest-belarus-putin-fighting-donetsk/
-
. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=afK23H2UHLo)
-
Moscow and Kyiv swap women prisoners for sailors
Patrick Jackson | 1 hour ago
Russia has exchanged 108 Ukrainian women held as prisoners of war for 110 Russian captives held by Ukraine, officials on both sides say.
Of the women, 37 were reportedly captured after surrendering at the siege of the Azovstal steel works in Mariupol, which ended in May.
Most of the Russians freed are sailors from merchant ships held in Ukraine.
They also include members of pro-Russian separatist military units from the Donbas in eastern Ukraine.
Daylight photos were released of the Ukrainian women boarding coaches in an unspecified area and later of them arriving after dark in government-held territory in the southern region of Zaporizhzhia.
(https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/976/cpsprodpb/152A4/production/_127229668_hugre.jpg.webp)
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-63293901
-
https://twitter.com/daryna_antoniuk/status/1582046508329095169
-
Let's not forget where Iran got it's drone technology from. Yet another FU-America from the Obama-Biden Administration:
Iran–U.S. RQ-170 incident (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iran%E2%80%93U.S._RQ-170_incident)
-
‘My son has died’: Russia mourns loss of first drafted soldiers in Ukraine
As newly mobilised men return from the front in coffins, critics complain of aggressive recruiting, low morale and poor training
Andrew Roth | 15 Oct 2022 | 10.24 EDT
(https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/059a9ae56a0cdec3c75024ba403da5b41a34f8e9/0_182_5472_3283/master/5472.jpg?width=620&quality=85&dpr=1&s=none)
Newly mobilised Russian recruits at a railway station in Prudboi, Volgograd region, 29 September. Photograph: AP
Andrei Nikiforov, a lawyer from St Petersburg, was one of the hundreds of thousands of Russians mobilised since last month to hold the frontlines in his country’s faltering war in Ukraine.
On 25 September he received his call-up papers. By 7 October, just two weeks later, he was dead.
“We don’t know what happened,” said Alexander Zelensky, the head of the Nevsky Collegium of Lawyers, of which Nikiforov was a member. Zelensky and a member of Nikiforov’s family confirmed his call-up and death. “All we have is a date and a place.”
That place was Lysychansk, one of the most dangerous spots near the frontlines.
The first coffins are now returning to Russia from Ukraine, bringing the remains of ordinary Russians who at first were promised a quick “special military operation” and now have been drafted to go and fight in a war. Their deaths may mark another inflection point for Russia in this conflict, where mismanagement has led to Kremlin infighting and at least half a million men have been drafted or fled their homes to avoid it.
The newly minted soldiers died within weeks of Vladimir Putin’s mobilisation announcement on 21 September. On Thursday, the Chelyabinsk region announced the deaths of five mobilised soldiers from a single military commissariat. Reports on Saturday said that another four had died from the Krasnoyarsk region alone. Family members of some men who died said they had been promised two months of training before they would be sent to the frontlines.
According to BBC Russian, another 14 have died, even before reaching the front, of causes including suicide, heart attacks, in fights and other mysterious ailments. . .
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/oct/15/my-son-has-died-russia-mourns-loss-of-first-drafted-soldiers-in-ukraine
-
My opinion hasn't changed much since this all started. Russia is well on its way to committing national suicide right before our eyes.
When will they remove Putin, the primary cause of their destruction?
-
My opinion hasn't changed much since this all started. Russia is well on its way to committing national suicide right before our eyes.
When will they remove Putin, the primary cause of their destruction?
:thumbsup:
-
Richard Grenell
@RichardGrenell
The Biden Administration is giving Ukraine $19 billion while negotiating with the Iranian Regime to give them billions of dollars - all the while Iran supplies Russia with drones to attack Ukraine. Biden is officially on both sides of the Ukraine war.
10:04 AM · Oct 17, 2022
Julian Röpcke🇺🇦
@JulianRoepcke
The Russian/Iranian Shaheed-136 needed at least 30 minutes from Belarus to Kyiv.
If the Ukrainian army claims are true, 90% were shot down before reaching their targets. But from the wild AK fire over the city, it rather looks like 🇺🇦 lacks the means to down those little bastards
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FfQZr5OXEAEBZSi?format=jpg&name=medium)(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FfQZr5NWQAE7MZA?format=jpg&name=medium)
3:58 AM · Oct 17, 2022
@mountaineer
You don't REALLY expect the Biden Crime Family to shut down THEIR cut of all the money transferred, do you?
-
When will America remove Soros/Biden/Kamala/Pelosi/Schumer, the primary cause of the destruction of America?
-
When will America remove Soros/Biden/Kamala/Pelosi/Schumer, the primary cause of the destruction of America?
Hopefully Pelosi and Schumer are done come November.
-
My opinion hasn't changed much since this all started. Russia is well on its way to committing national suicide right before our eyes.
When will they remove Putin, the primary cause of their destruction?
Your comment is spot on.
I don't think Putin will be removed. He is surrounded by like minded fanatics. Also, from the video's I've seen done by "1420" a majority of Russians believe the motherland is under attack and must be defended.
-
@mountaineer
You don't REALLY expect the Biden Crime Family to shut down THEIR cut of all the money transferred, do you?
The leftists controlling Brandon are among the dumbest "smart" people I've ever seen. They keep trying to get friendly with Iran and alienate a key oil exporter and our number one buyer of American made weaponry, Saudi Arabia.
-
I don't think Putin will be removed. He is surrounded by like minded fanatics.
Biden's entire Ukraine policy centers on wearing Russia down to the point where Putin steps down from power. And he doesn't care how many Russians or Ukrainians need to die for that to occur.
Our policy instead should be centered on the defeat of the Russian Army as quickly as possible, removing them as a threat to the world. But Biden doesn't want that. He wants to drag this war out forever.
-
The leftists controlling Brandon are among the dumbest "smart" people I've ever seen. They keep trying to get friendly with Iran and alienate a key oil exporter and our number one buyer of American made weaponry, Saudi Arabia.
Nothing smart about it. But that is exactly what they are doing. And don't forget the UAE. Biden screwed them over big time shortly after he took office, all because Trump worked out a peace deal between them and Israel.
-
Michael Tracey
@mtracey
Escalation of Iran's involvement in Ukraine war highlights the dangers of protracting wars (i.e., current US policy) rather than curtailing them. Addition of new belligerents has "internationalized" and raised the stakes of what might've initially been a more localized conflict
10:41 PM · Oct 17, 2022 ·Twitter Web App
-
Escalation of Iran's involvement in Ukraine war highlights the dangers of putting fools like Joe Biden in office.
Iran's involvement also shows that Russia is incapable of supplying the continuation of this war on their own. It also shows that they are unable to field an army capable of executing their objectives and are now relying on a terror war of missile attacks to force Ukraine to capitulate. Maybe they should have left Ukraine alone in the first place.
-
How many weeks now have the Russians been trying to take Bakhmut?
-
This is our war against Russia -- who will govern The Donbas in The Borderland is the excuse we put in play in 2014 ---
What US national interest has had the US formenting a war with Russia since at least the Orange Revolution ---- sending Graham and McCain to Ukraine in 2016 promising Ukrainian soldiers "2017 will be the year of offense" with full US support? (But, gratefully, then came Trump)
Video: https://youtu.be/JeWHviwLMy8
-
(https://vancouver.citynews.ca/wp-content/blogs.dir/sites/9/2019/11/DCAH451-1119_2019_171743.jpg)
Michael Tracey
@mtracey
The "nation-building" has been going full-steam-ahead since 2014
Michael Tracey
@mtracey
·Apr 20
The US has been so granularly embedded in the governance of Ukraine that it even created a plan for street parking
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FQ0KRHtXsAIDgAi?format=jpg&name=medium)
1:32 AM · Oct 18, 2022 Twitter Web App
-
Michael Tracey
@mtracey
Remember when both Republicans and Democrats pretended to be huge skeptics of "nation-building"? Since February, the US has dispersed at least $9 billion to underwrite the most basic functions of the Ukraine government, like paying the salaries and pensions of state employees
12:58 AM · Oct 18, 2022 ·Twitter Web App
-
This is our war against Russia -- who will govern The Donbas in The Borderland is the excuse we put in play in 2014 ---
2014. 2014. Something significant happened that year. What was it?
Oh yeah, I remember. That was the year that Russia decided to invade Ukraine because their puppet got canned.
Russia started this war. They own it. The claim above is a lie.
-
2014. 2014. Something significant happened that year. What was it?
Oh yeah, I remember. That was the year that Russia decided to invade Ukraine because their puppet got canned.
Russia started this war. They own it. The claim above is a lie.
:thumbsup:
-
Michael Tracey
@mtracey
Remember when both Republicans and Democrats pretended to be huge skeptics of "nation-building"? Since February, the US has dispersed at least $9 billion to underwrite the most basic functions of the Ukraine government, like paying the salaries and pensions of state employees
12:58 AM · Oct 18, 2022 ·Twitter Web App
Is that why Russia decided to roll 100,000 troops through Belarus and attack Kyiv?
btw, no one here supports the Biden Administration policy of handing cash to Ukraine. No one. But then you knew that already. Another strawman.
-
2014. 2014. Something significant happened that year. What was it?
Oh yeah, I remember. That was the year that Russia decided to invade Ukraine because their puppet got canned.
Russia started this war. They own it. The claim above is a lie.
Nope.. This one's on us. We pushed for it for almost a decade----- prodded, instigated, interfered, armed, inflamed, pissed on negotiations, expodentially accelerated it----- weakening our own military readiness and economic security in the process.
If you think we've done this out of concern Russia is going to march through Europe or who's going to govern The Donbas in the outerbanks of The Borderland, or for "freedom", think again ---- only this time think with a clear head from outside the Cold War box you're trapped in.
-
btw, no one here supports the Biden Administration policy of handing cash to Ukraine.
Based on your posting history, your apparent disappointment with Biden is he hasn't done enough to propel this conflict into WWIII.
-
Sandbag sculpture: how Kyiv is shielding statues from Russian bombs
Charlotte Higgins and Artem Mazhulin, Kyiv | 18 Oct 2022
(https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/6a382895d8b76241c8a2bc535363655eeedde5af/647_237_7151_4290/master/7151.jpg?width=1140&quality=45&dpr=2&s=none)
The boarded-up monument to Taras Shevchenko in Kyiv. Photograph: Ed Ram/The Guardian
For two Mondays in a row Russia has launched missiles at Kyiv’s city centre, in the most intense strikes on the capital since Moscow launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
The targets of these missiles are unclear – if they were meant to strike crucial infrastructure, the only real clarity is that they have exploded in central, residential districts, falling close to parks, offices and cultural buildings.
Two of last week’s explosions were so close to significant national monuments that some speculated that the statues themselves – sandbagged and protected – might have been the targets.
One of those missiles cratered a children’s playground a few metres from a monument to Taras Shevchenko, Ukraine’s national poet. Fundamental in creating a Ukrainian-language literature, he was exiled by Tsar Nicholas I and banned for writing or making art for a decade. In a neat turn of history, his monument, when it was erected in 1939, replaced an earlier statue of that very same Russian ruler.
Another missile, landing on the other side of the park bearing Shevchenko’s name, hit a road intersection, part of a morning of Russian strikes that killed seven and injured more than 50 in the city. It also scattered hoarding protecting a monument to the statesman and scholar Mykhailo Hrushevsky, a key figure in the pre-revolutionary Ukrainian nationalist movement, and the author of a 10-volume history of the country. . .
. . . One Kyiv public sculpture that is neither sandbagged nor boxed up, and lacks protection of any kind, is the imposing equestrian statue dedicated to Mykola Shchors. The Ukrainian officer fought in the Red Army against the independent Ukrainian People’s Republic that was briefly established between 1917 and 1920.
(https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/8964f5e03373292c5ea565d352102fb1c8231918/0_0_7831_4701/master/7831.jpg?width=620&quality=45&dpr=2&s=none)
Graffitied statue dedicated to Mykola Shchors. Photograph: Ed Ram/The Guardian
The statue is daubed with graffiti, translating to slogans such as “demolish me completely!” and “butcher”. There are plenty of people in Kyiv who would not mind at all if one of Vladimir Putin’s missiles happened to hit that one.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/oct/18/sandbag-sculpture-kyiv-shielding-statues-from-russian-bombs
-
Based on your posting history, your apparent disappointment with Biden is he hasn't done enough to propel this conflict into WWIII.
Based on my posting history, it has been repeated over and over again that I oppose Biden's policy with Ukraine. Please stop lying about what I believe.
A rapid defeat of the Red Army (which Biden opposes) is the one thing that will prevent WWIII from happening. I have stated this again and again and again throughout these threads. Why do you feel compelled to distort my position?
-
Energy situation 'critical' after Russian attacks
Hugo Bachega & Paul Kirby | 1 hour ago
Russian forces have again targeted Ukraine's energy facilities, leaving part of Kyiv and other cities with no power and water.
A presidential aide said the situation across Ukraine was now critical.
Prosecutors say two people were killed in an attack on the capital. Plumes of smoke were seen billowing from around a power station near the Dnipro river.
Power and water were cut in Zhytomyr, west of Kyiv, and two facilities were badly damaged in Dnipro.
"Everyone should be ready, first, to save electricity, and second, rolling power blackouts are also possible if strikes continue," said Kyrylo Tymoshenko, the deputy head of the president's office.
"The entire population needs to prepare for a tough winter."
President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Twitter on Tuesday that in the past eight days, 30% of Ukraine's power stations had been destroyed, "causing massive blackouts across the country".
Ukrainian energy firm DTEK said two of its thermal power plants had been significantly damaged by Russian shelling, leaving one worker dead and six others wounded. . .
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-63297239
Putin's war against Ukrainian civilians continues.
-
Biden's entire Ukraine policy centers on wearing Russia down to the point where Putin steps down from power. And he doesn't care how many Russians or Ukrainians need to die for that to occur.
Our policy instead should be centered on the defeat of the Russian Army as quickly as possible, removing them as a threat to the world. But Biden doesn't want that. He wants to drag this war out forever.
I think you're right. Initially I thought it was just fear of Putin that was behind Biden's incredibly slow response to the invasion of Ukraine but it sure seems like the problem is deeper than that. A lot of money is being moved around when if they really wanted Ukraine to win this war quickly it would be weapons that would be flowing in bigger quantities and quicker.
-
Nothing smart about it. But that is exactly what they are doing. And don't forget the UAE. Biden screwed them over big time shortly after he took office, all because Trump worked out a peace deal between them and Israel.
The Abraham Accords are such a great step forward and of course Brandon is screwing it all up. The interesting thing about the Accords is they were worked out by a person with no govt. experience, kinda shows how bad the State Dept. is.
-
2014. 2014. Something significant happened that year. What was it?
Oh yeah, I remember. That was the year that Russia decided to invade Ukraine because their puppet got canned.
Russia started this war. They own it. The claim above is a lie.
Thank You for keeping the focus on the truth of it.
Russia is the invader. Russia is committing all kinds of atrocities. Russia is the cause of this war and Russia can end this war immediately by withdrawing from the sovereign territory of Ukraine that was recognized as such by Russia when Ukraine surrendered the nuclear missiles in it's territory.
-
Nope.. This one's on us. We pushed for it for almost a decade----- prodded, instigated, interfered, armed, inflamed, pissed on negotiations, expodentially accelerated it----- weakening our own military readiness and economic security in the process.
The historical record shows this to be patently false. Every single bit of it. On February 22, 2014, traitor (and Russian puppet) Viktor Yanukovych was driven from power. Five days later, Russian troops crossed the Ukraine border. That was over eight years ago. So enough with the lies and bullshit. You know this already.
If you think we've done this out of concern Russia is going to march through Europe or who's going to govern The Donbas in the outerbanks of The Borderland, or for "freedom", think again ---- only this time think with a clear head from outside the Cold War box you're trapped in.
If I think we've done what, exactly? Biden is blowing it, bigtime. How many times do I have to say that? What part do you not get? Russia's entire army could have been wiped out on the roads between Kyiv and Belarus last March. Yet Biden blocked every attempt to give Ukraine the firepower to do it.
And in case you haven't looked at a map lately, Kyiv isn't in Donbas. Neither is Kharkiv, Lviv, Dniepro, Kherson, Zhaporizia, etc. Yet all of these have been targeted by Russia. This isn't a border war. It is an attempt by Russia to take over Ukraine. Putin's own words - 'They're just drug addicts and nazis'.
Putin is a bully. And bullies won't stop until they get their asses kicked. You want to bring up WWIII? How about looking at the last war. France in 1939, with the largest standing army and no German troops from Metz to Berlin, could have stopped WWII in its tracks. But they took your advice instead.
-
The historical record shows this to be patently false. Every single bit of it. On February 22, 2014, traitor (and Russian puppet) Viktor Yanukovych was driven from power. Five days later, Russian troops crossed the Ukraine border. That was over eight years ago. So enough with the lies and bullshit. You know this already.
If I think we've done what, exactly? Biden is blowing it, bigtime. How many times do I have to say that? What part do you not get? Russia's entire army could have been wiped out on the roads between Kyiv and Belarus last March. Yet Biden blocked every attempt to give Ukraine the firepower to do it.
And in case you haven't looked at a map lately, Kyiv isn't in Donbas. Neither is Kharkiv, Lviv, Dniepro, Kherson, Zhaporizia, etc. Yet all of these have been targeted by Russia. This isn't a border war. It is an attempt by Russia to take over Ukraine. Putin's own words - 'They're just drug addicts and nazis'.
Putin is a bully. And bullies won't stop until they get their asses kicked. You want to bring up WWIII? How about looking at the last war. France in 1939, with the largest standing army and no German troops from Metz to Berlin, could have stopped WWII in its tracks. But they took your advice instead.
:thumbsup:
Well said.
-
On Defense In Bakhmut, Ukrainian Forces Hit From All Sides
Maryan Kushnir | October 18, 2022 | 17:12 GMT
Soldiers with Ukraine's 30th Mechanized Brigade say they have been hit from all sides around the key Ukrainian city of Bakhmut. Russian forces have been making slow but steady progress in the area. RFE/RL's Maryan Kushnir was with the Ukrainian troops and has this report from one of the hottest zones in the war.
https://www.rferl.org/embed/player/0/32090013.html
https://www.rferl.org/a/ukraine-donbas-donetsk-bakhmut-war-russia-/32090013.html
Russia has been trying to take Bakhmut since the first week of July.
-
A rapid defeat of the Red Army (which Biden opposes) is the one thing that will prevent WW from happening.
And if this were 1922 you might be right.
-
The historical record shows this to be patently false. Every single bit of it. On February 22, 2014, traitor (and Russian puppet) Viktor Yanukovych was driven from power.
Spend some time getting to know Victoria Nuland. --- Then gather the facts on the Orange Revolution, including its instigators and consequences.
2014 is also the year Hunter Biden was placed on the Board of Burisma - the largest natural gas producer in Ukraine.
Yup, 2014 --- probably ground zero for Biden's war with Russia.
-
And if this were 1922 you might be right.
History isn't going to be kind to your posts here.
-
Ukraine lawmakers dig at Kremlin branding Chechnya 'Russian-occupied'
https://www.anews.com.tr/world/2022/10/18/ukraine-lawmakers-dig-at-kremlin-branding-chechnya-russian-occupied (https://www.anews.com.tr/world/2022/10/18/ukraine-lawmakers-dig-at-kremlin-branding-chechnya-russian-occupied)
A majority of Ukrainian lawmakers voted on Tuesday to back a resolution that "recognises the Chechen republic of Ichkeria as territory temporarily occupied by the Russian Federation as a result of armed aggression which contravened the UN's Statute".
Ukraine's parliament voted on Tuesday to declare the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria "temporarily Russian-occupied" land in a resolution certain to anger Moscow, which takes a zero-tolerance line on any talk of separatism inside its borders.
Ichkeria is the historical name of Russia's southern region of Chechnya that was devastated by two bloody wars between Russian troops and Chechen separatists after the 1991 breakup of the Soviet Union.
The Muslim-majority region is now headed by Ramzan Kadyrov, a former warlord who emerged out of the devastation and, backed by the Kremlin and huge financial support for Chechnya, now describes himself as a footsoldier of President Vladimir Putin.
More at link.
-
Russia facing accusations of taking children from Ukraine to 'live as Russians'
https://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/russia-is-taking-ukrainian-orphans-from-annexed-regions-and-raising-them-as-russians/p9h3gol0i (https://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/russia-is-taking-ukrainian-orphans-from-annexed-regions-and-raising-them-as-russians/p9h3gol0i)
The Commissioner for Children’s Rights in Russia, who is reported to be ultimately responsible for the forced removal of children from occupied regions of Ukraine and their adoption in Russia, has been sanctioned by western countries, including Australia.
Russia is facing accusations of forcibly taking children from occupied regions of Ukraine to be raised in Russia, prompting concerns of cultural erasure.
According to a recent Associated Press (AP) investigation, Russia’s "open effort" to adopt Ukrainian children is well underway.
Thousands of children have been found in basements of war-torn cities such as Mariupol and at orphanages in the Russian-backed territories of Donbas.
Russia says that these children don't have parents or guardians to look after them, or that they can't be reached. But according to the AP, officials have deported children to Russia or Russian-held territories without their consent, have lied to them about their parents and given them Russian families and citizenship.
More at link.
-
(https://img-9gag-fun.9cache.com/photo/a8qjpnQ_460s.jpg)
Russia is increasingly involving Russian Muslims and Muslim mercenaries from the Middle East in their war with Ukraine. Russia does not seem to comprehend that Russians from Moscow and Minsk are every bit as much "infidels" as are the Ukrainians. More than that, if Muslims from different sects show up on a battlefield at the same time, they are just as likely to fight each other as anyone else.
Involving Muslims in a Western war is a precarious gambit. They do not fight by 'civilized' standards, and their fanatical religion makes them impossible to control, even by their own loose command structure.
-
Biden is blowing it, bigtime. How many times do I have to say that? What part do you not get? Russia's entire army could have been wiped out on the roads between Kyiv and Belarus last March. Yet Biden blocked every attempt to give Ukraine the firepower to do it.
How many times do I have to say a protracted, expansive conflict is what Biden and Ukraine want?
-
History isn't going to be kind to your posts here.
Why not @DB ?
-
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FfYSlKmWYAgqI0k?format=jpg&name=small)
-
Second best army in the world goes to war with equipment their grandfathers used.
(https://fws-share-pook.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/website/auctions/items/full/3179114_1.jpg)
Mosin-Nagant Carbine Model 1944G with bayonet in fixed position.
-
Spend some time getting to know Victoria Nuland. --- Then gather the facts on the Orange Revolution, including its instigators and consequences.
2014 is also the year Hunter Biden was placed on the Board of Burisma - the largest natural gas producer in Ukraine.
Yup, 2014 --- probably ground zero for Biden's war with Russia.
The biggest problem with your post hoc argument here is that Hunter Biden joined the board of Burisma 74 days AFTER Russian troops crossed the border. Also, the Orange Revolution took place in 2004 - not 2014. This is the pitfall of making it up as you go. The historical record is clear here, and is widely available to anyone capable of clicking a mouse. Not sure why you continue to insist on posting lies.
Here is the Senate report if you are interested: https://www.finance.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/HSGAC%20-%20Finance%20Joint%20Report%202020.09.23.pdf
In late 2013 and into 2014, mass protests erupted in Kyiv, Ukraine, demanding
integration into western economies and an end to systemic corruption that had plagued the
country. At least 82 people were killed during the protests, which culminated on Feb. 21 when
Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych abdicated by fleeing the country. Less than two months
later, over the span of only 28 days, significant events involving the Bidens unfolded.
On April 16, 2014, Vice President Biden met with his son’s business partner, Devon
Archer, at the White House. Five days later, Vice President Biden visited Ukraine, and he soon
after was described in the press as the “public face of the administration’s handling of Ukraine.”
The day after his visit, on April 22, Archer joined the board of Burisma. Six days later, on April
28, British officials seized $23 million from the London bank accounts of Burisma’s owner,
Mykola Zlochevsky. Fourteen days later, on May 12, Hunter Biden joined the board of Burisma,
and over the course of the next several years, Hunter Biden and Devon Archer were paid
millions of dollars from a corrupt Ukrainian oligarch for their participation on the board.
The 2014 protests in Kyiv came to be known as the Revolution of Dignity — a revolution
against corruption in Ukraine. Following that revolution, Ukrainian political figures were
desperate for U.S. support. . .
-
History isn't going to be kind to your posts here.
It already isn't. The Russians are "protectors" and "liberators"? Please.
-
Russia facing accusations of taking children from Ukraine to 'live as Russians'
https://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/russia-is-taking-ukrainian-orphans-from-annexed-regions-and-raising-them-as-russians/p9h3gol0i (https://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/russia-is-taking-ukrainian-orphans-from-annexed-regions-and-raising-them-as-russians/p9h3gol0i)
More Russian war crimes.
-
Biden's entire Ukraine policy centers on wearing Russia down to the point where Putin steps down from power. And he doesn't care how many Russians or Ukrainians need to die for that to occur.
Our policy instead should be centered on the defeat of the Russian Army as quickly as possible, removing them as a threat to the world. But Biden doesn't want that. He wants to drag this war out forever.
@Hoodat
Of course his handlers and he want it to go on forever. There is no money to be skimmed in international peace.
-
How many times do I have to say a protracted, expansive conflict is what Biden and Ukraine want?
You can say it as many times as you like. But that won't make it true. Ukraine never wanted this war. They simply wanted to be left alone to do what is in their best interest. They would be overjoyed if Russia got the hell out of their country and ended the war today.
-
Based on your posting history, your apparent disappointment with Biden is he hasn't done enough to propel this conflict into WWIII.
@Right_in_Virginia
Better to be a warrior than a surrender monkey.
-
Second best army in the world goes to war with equipment their grandfathers used.
(https://fws-share-pook.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/website/auctions/items/full/3179114_1.jpg)
Mosin-Nagant Carbine Model 1944G with bayonet in fixed position.
(https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2022/04/05/09/56237875-10683195-image-a-5_1649147135199.jpg)
-
You can say it as many times as you like. But that won't make it true. Ukraine never wanted this war. They simply wanted to be left alone to do what is in their best interest. They would be overjoyed if Russia got the hell out of their country and ended the war today.
Her definition of "protracted" is Ukraine not surrendering to Putin to "end it" quickly. How dare they defend their land and lives...
-
Her definition of "protracted" is Ukraine not surrendering to Putin to "end it" quickly. How dare they defend their land and lives...
Well that is definitely the pro-Putin position. But I wouldn't want to accuse anyone of that openly.
-
Well that is definitely the pro-Putin position. But I wouldn't want to accuse anyone of that openly.
...then don't. happy77
-
(https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2022/04/05/09/56237875-10683195-image-a-5_1649147135199.jpg)
@Hoodat
I have the carbine verson of that rifle here at my house. Serial number 200. Found it in a hidden weapons cache in Laos.
I have a funny story to tell that involves that rifle.
When I got medievaced from VN for "Tropical Acne" (Agent Orange infestation) I was totally unprepared for re-entry into the US. One day I am prepping to go on a roadblock mission into Laos,and the next day,literally, I am given orders sending me back to the states for medical treatment.
With literally no time to prepare myself mentally for reinsertion into American life,I find myself wandering around in downtown DC staring at all the tall buildings,the cars,and the women. Which is fine,but I happened to be carrying a fifth of whiskey in one hand,and the Soviet rifle in the other.
I was approached by a DC cop who smiled at me and said "Cool rifle! Can I see it?"
I said "Sure!",and handed it to him.
He pulled the bolt back to make sure there wasn't any ammo in the chamber or the magazine,handed it back to me,smiled,and said "Welcome Home,soldier!",and walked away.
It took me a few days to really understand what had happened and how lucky I had been to not have been tossed into a jail cell.
Once again,proof, that it is MUCH better to be lucky than to be smart.
-
@Hoodat
I have the carbine verson of that rifle here at my house. Serial number 200. Found it in a hidden weapons cache in Laos.
Apparently, they are easy to come by these days in Luhansk.
-
Apparently, they are easy to come by these days in Luhansk.
@Hoodat
With the whole damn world filled with AK's,I am honestly shocked to see the Russians still issuing WW-1 era bolt-action rifles.
On top of everything else,the damn things kick like a mule due to the caliber and the stock design.
-
Her definition of "protracted" is Ukraine not surrendering to Putin to "end it" quickly. How dare they defend their land and lives...
@DB
She and I are constantly butting heads over Putin's War,but I do NOT think she is a Soviet fan for even an instant.
IMNSHO,she is just a peacenik who is so terrified of war and dying that she would surrender before she would fight.
Some people are just born that way and there is nothing they can do about it.
The "Better Red than Dead" crowd.
-
Russian Forces in Ukraine Under Pressure as Kherson Towns to Be Evacuated
Oct. 18, 2022, at 2:57 p.m.
LONDON (Reuters) - The new commander of Russian forces in Ukraine acknowledged on Tuesday that his troops were under broad pressure and faced hard choices, as the Russian-appointed governor of occupied Kherson province announced a partial evacuation.
"The situation in the area of the 'Special Military Operation' can be described as tense," Sergei Surovikin, an air force general named this month to command Russia's invasion forces, told the state-owned Rossiya 24 television news channel.
"The enemy continually attempts to attack the positions of Russian troops," he said. "First of all, this concerns the Kupiansk, Lyman and Mykolaiv-Kryvyi Rih sectors."
Kupiansk and Lyman are in eastern Ukraine, while the area between Mykolaiv and Kryvyi Rih is essentially the northern part of Kherson province in southern Ukraine.
Russian forces in Kherson have been driven back by 20-30 km (13-20 miles) in the last few weeks and are at risk of being pinned against the right or western bank of the Dnipro River.
Shortly after Surovikin's comments were aired, the Russian-appointed governor of Kherson region, Vladimir Saldo, announced an "organised, gradual displacement" of civilians from four towns on the right bank.
In a video statement, Saldo accused Ukrainian forces, without citing evidence, of planning to destroy a major dam at the Nova Kakhovka hydroelectric power station. . .
https://www.usnews.com/news/world/articles/2022-10-18/russian-forces-in-ukraine-under-pressure-as-kherson-towns-to-be-evacuated
-
The historical record shows this to be patently false. Every single bit of it. On February 22, 2014, traitor (and Russian puppet) Viktor Yanukovych was driven from power. Five days later, Russian troops crossed the Ukraine border. That was over eight years ago. So enough with the lies and bullshit. You know this already.
If I think we've done what, exactly? Biden is blowing it, bigtime. How many times do I have to say that? What part do you not get? Russia's entire army could have been wiped out on the roads between Kyiv and Belarus last March. Yet Biden blocked every attempt to give Ukraine the firepower to do it.
And in case you haven't looked at a map lately, Kyiv isn't in Donbas. Neither is Kharkiv, Lviv, Dniepro, Kherson, Zhaporizia, etc. Yet all of these have been targeted by Russia. This isn't a border war. It is an attempt by Russia to take over Ukraine. Putin's own words - 'They're just drug addicts and nazis'.
Putin is a bully. And bullies won't stop until they get their asses kicked. You want to bring up WWIII? How about looking at the last war. France in 1939, with the largest standing army and no German troops from Metz to Berlin, could have stopped WWII in its tracks. But they took your advice instead.
C'mon, man, some folks just want 'peace in our time'. *****rollingeyes*****
I agree. Move fast, strike hard, and do not stop until the invaders are repulsed.
Biden's sandbagging, including slowing the delivery of the Polish jets when they could have been tearing up troop columns, seems to be bent on extending the conflict instead of resolving it.
My bet is that the longer it goes, the better his chances of siphoning off funding that should have gone to benefit Ukraine in the form of weapons, ammunition, or humanitarian aid.
-
Her definition of "protracted" is Ukraine not surrendering to Putin to "end it" quickly. How dare they defend their land and lives...
Why do you continue to conflate "negotiate" with "surrender" and civil dispute with nuclear war?
-
Why do you continue to conflate "negotiate" with "surrender" and civil dispute with nuclear war?
What is there to "negotiate"?
Russia go home, back within borders established at the time Ukraine gave up its nukes in exchange for Russia's assurance of protection/nonaggression.
Anything else requires Ukraine to submit to an aggressor nation, which will inevitably be back for more.
-
Ukraine never wanted this war. They simply wanted to be left alone to do what is in their best interest.
You do remember Kiev has been waging a brutal war on the Donbas for eight years, not passing out ponies and lollipops, do you not? Is this war the best interest you refer to?
-
What is there to "negotiate"?
Russia go home, back within borders established at the time Ukraine gave up its nukes in exchange for Russia's assurance of protection/nonaggression.
What of the Donbas' desire for an end to Ukraine's destruction and tyranny? We used to be the champions of: When, in the course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another ....
-
What of the Donbas' desire for an end to Ukraine's destruction and tyranny? We used to be the champions of: When, in the course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another ....
You telling me all those 'Nazis' wanted to be overrun by Russia?
-
What is there to "negotiate"?
Russia go home, back within borders established at the time Ukraine gave up its nukes in exchange for Russia's assurance of protection/nonaggression.
Anything else requires Ukraine to submit to an aggressor nation, which will inevitably be back for more.
Yep. It really is that simple. This war ends the second Russia leaves Ukraine. Anyone wanting peace knows this already. Of course anyone wanting peace would also have been condemning the hell out of Russia for the past nine months. Just pointing out that there is a clear distinction between pro-peace and pro-Russia.
-
What of the Donbas' desire for an end to Ukraine's destruction and tyranny?
Mariupol before and after:
(https://wp.inews.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/SEI_93058912-760x988.jpg)
The destruction and tyranny of this Donbas city came exclusively at the hands of Russia.
Here's Lyman.
Before:
(https://imgs.search.brave.com/fPYnEJ0JkRVc1IS3AuQpGHIQPhZC8KUGFyDWUaY8geM/rs:fit:905:225:1/g:ce/aHR0cHM6Ly90c2Uy/Lm1tLmJpbmcubmV0/L3RoP2lkPU9JUC44/VmV3OEljb0R2NUZ2/Wk02MkxVYVhBSGFE/NCZwaWQ9QXBp)
After:
(https://imgs.search.brave.com/A1aj1kuXWHHEAAt7DMG2lGGT6j5rlATxv_RsLSJhKmY/rs:fit:690:387:1/g:ce/aHR0cHM6Ly9zLnlp/bWcuY29tL3V1L2Fw/aS9yZXMvMS4yL2VD/am83OVNvbVJlTm5C/Qk1vWFM1TUEtLX5C/L2FEMHpPRGM3ZHow/Mk9UQTdZWEJ3YVdR/OWVYUmhZMmg1YjI0/LS9odHRwczovL21l/ZGlhLnplbmZzLmNv/bS9lbi91a3JheWlu/c2thX3ByYXZkYV9h/cnRpY2xlc180NTEv/ZGFmODYyZTkzNGU1/MDBkZWY0YzhlMWZh/Y2JjNDZhMWM)
Again, mass graves at the hands of the Russians.
-
I tell you what, @Right_in_Virginia . You claim (without evidence) Ukraine's destruction and tyranny of Donbas. Here's your chance to prove it. Can you cite a single act of tyranny or destruction in Donbas or Crimea that occurred BEFORE the Russians invaded in Feb 2014? Because I am willing to bet that after nine months of accusing Ukraine of the worst atrocities, you can't come up with a single one that predates Russia's incursion.
-
You telling me all those 'Nazis' wanted to be overrun by Russia?
Nope. I'm saying the citizens of the Donbas wanted an end to the death and destruction rained down on them for almost a decade by the Azoz Battalion at the orders from the Ukrainian government in Kiev --- prompting the Donbas to twice vote for independence. Remember when we understood the need for independence?
-
C'mon, man, some folks just want 'peace in our time'. *****rollingeyes*****
I agree. Move fast, strike hard, and do not stop until the invaders are repulsed.
Biden's sandbagging, including slowing the delivery of the Polish jets when they could have been tearing up troop columns, seems to be bent on extending the conflict instead of resolving it.
My bet is that the longer it goes, the better his chances of siphoning off funding that should have gone to benefit Ukraine in the form of weapons, ammunition, or humanitarian aid.
@Smokin Joe
Good guess!
As a wise man once noted,"Follow da Bejamin's!"
-
Putin brings in martial law in annexed Ukrainian territory amid fears he will move to full war footing and detonate a nuke over Black Sea - as 'General Armageddon' evacuates 60,000 people before Battle of Kherson
By CHRIS PLEASANCE FOR MAILONLINE
19 October 2022
Vladimir Putin has declared martial law in the occupied regions of Ukraine as officials begin evacuating civilians from the city of Kherson, with a battle for control of the stronghold now looming.
Putin said the order will come into effect from midnight tonight in Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions - giving him sweeping powers to curtail the freedoms of civilians, repurpose industries and potentially press-gang Ukrainians into his army to fight against their fellow countrymen.
The order also affects occupied Crimea and Krasnodar, Belgorod, Bryansk, Voronezh, Kursk, and Rostov, all of which are on Russia's own territory bordering Ukraine, though stops short of full martial law in these areas.
* * *
Source: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11331035/Fears-Putin-declare-war-Ukraine-resort-nukes-Kherson-look-set-fall.html
-
Russia's military leadership is 'increasingly dysfunctional', with a 'worsening shortage of capable officers' and four of the five commanding generals fired since war began, MoD reveals
By CHRIS PLEASANCE FOR MAILONLINE
19 October 2022
Russia's military leadership is 'increasingly dysfunctional' with the war in Ukraine being spearheaded by rookie officers as Putin's forces are beaten back on the battlefield.
Four out of five of Russia's top generals have been sacked since the start of the war, Britain's Ministry of Defence said today, with Sergei Surovikin now in charge.
'Their replacements have so far done little to improve Russia's battlefield performance', the MoD added, as Surovikin appeared to be preparing for a retreat from the southern stronghold of Kherson.
British spies did not name the four generals who had been sacked, but one of them is almost certain to be Valery Gerasimov - chief of the general staff who was last seen in a tense encounter with Putin during war games in eastern Russia.
The other three are likely to be Aleksandr Dvornikov, Surovikin's predecessor, Gennady Zhidko, former commander of Russia's southern armies, and Aleksandr Zhuravlev, who headed the western grouping.
* * *
Source: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11331639/Russias-leadership-increasingly-dysfunctional-worsening-shortage-capable-officers.html
-
Nope. I'm saying the citizens of the Donbas wanted an end to the death and destruction rained down on them for almost a decade by the Azoz Battalion at the orders from the Ukrainian government in Kiev --- prompting the Donbas to twice vote for independence. Remember when we understood the need for independence?
Lies, lies, and more lies. This all started when Russian troops crossed over into Donbas in 2014. The Azov Battalion ceased to exist by 2015. All of these facts have been posted again and again. Yet the lies continue.
Oh, and that Donbas vote? That was a sham as well. But then you knew that already since the facts of those referendums have been posted here repeatedly. Unless you consider including online votes cast in Russia as having legitimacy in the affairs of Ukraine.
2014 Donbas status referendums
Referendums on the status of Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts, parts of Ukraine that together make up the Donbas region, were claimed to have taken place on 11 May 2014 in many towns under the control of the Russian-controlled Donetsk and Luhansk People's Republics.[1][2] These referendums intended to legitimise the establishment of the so-called "republics," in the context of the Russian invasion of Crimea and rising pro-Russian unrest in the aftermath of the 2014 Ukrainian Revolution.[2] In addition, a counter-referendum on accession to Dnipropetrovsk Oblast was held in some Ukrainian-controlled parts of Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts.[3][4][5]
The results of the separatist referendums were not officially recognised by any government, including those of Ukraine, the United States, and the countries of the European Union[6] The Ukrainian government said that the referendum was illegal, and a number of nations—such as Germany, the United States, France, and Britain—said that the referendum was unconstitutional and lacked legitimacy. The Russian government expressed "respect" for the results and urged a "civilised" implementation, and later announced recognition of the republics on 21 February 2022, becoming the first UN member state to do so. . .
Allegations of fraud
The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) released an audio recording on 5 May that they said was a phone call between a Donetsk separatist leader named Dima Boitsov, and the leader of the far-right paramilitary Russian National Unity group Alexander Barkashov. In the recording, Boitsov said he wanted to postpone the referendum due to the DPR's inability to control all of Donetsk Oblast. Barkashov said that he had communicated with Putin, and insisted Boitsov hold the referendum regardless of the separatist leader's concerns. He suggested that Boitsov tabulate the results as 89% in favour of autonomy.[26] [27] Separatists stated that the recording was fake.[28] However, the 89% mentioned in the phone call exactly match the result of the referendum, which took place on 11 May 2014, i.e. several days after the recording had been published.
Swiss newspaper Tages-Anzeiger reported that voters were able to vote as many times as they wanted.[29] Internal Affairs ministry officials branded the vote a farce, and said that just over 32 percent of registered voters in Donetsk Oblast participated in the vote.[30]
According to Andrei Buzin, co-chair of GOLOS Association, there were significant irregularities in the organisation and holding of the referendum.[31]
Polling day
The day before the referendum, it was reported in Ukrainian media that a group of pro-Russian separatists in possession of a 100,000 ballots already marked with a 'yes' vote for the referendum were captured during the ongoing government "anti-terrorist" operation, and that the ballots were seized by government forces. Local news reported that polling in some occupied schools had already begun a day in advance.[28][48][49]
A campaign of intimidation, beatings, and hostage taking has forced many pro-Ukrainian activists and known opponents of secession to Russia to flee the region, leaving the referendum to take place without any dissent or opposing voices. At least 24 people were being held by insurgents in Donetsk region at the time of the referendum, according to Human Rights Watch.[50] CNN reported seeing some voters vote more than once at ballot boxes.[51] When interviewing voters at a polling station in Donetsk, VICE News crew were detained for three hours by masked men with assault rifles who demanded their memory cards.[52]
The referendum began early on 10 May in Mariupol, which according to the separatist group's election official Sergey Beshulya was due to the possibility of Ukrainian security forces returning.[53] Other locations also reported early voting in some areas.[48] For the remainder of the province, polling began at 8:00 a.m. on 11 May. Donetsk and Luhansk residents living in Russia were able to cast their votes in Moscow.[54] Non-binding votes were also cast abroad, including in Barcelona as a show of support.[55] Local news sources claimed that many residents did not intend to vote while others did not know where polling stations were located.[54]
Clear ballot boxes were used, following protocol of national Ukrainian elections
Many of the voters were not on the registration lists but were allowed to vote after showing identification documents. A CNN crew saw several people vote twice at one polling station,[56] and the BBC filmed a woman putting two ballot papers into the same box.[57] Reporters with German newspaper Bild followed a man that they said voted eight times. He was asked twice if he lived in Donetsk. He answered no, which the polling officials said was not a problem.[58] Referendum organisers reduced the number of voting stations, leading to long queues, which were then broadcast on Russian television as "proof" that voter turnout was high.[59] According to The Guardian, in Mariupol where clashes two days before the referendum between the Ukrainian National Guard and local anti-Kyiv protesters caused the deaths of at least 9, "there were huge queues of people, almost all of whom said they were voting yes to separatism".[60] In Mariupol, a city of 500,000, only four voting stations were open.[61]
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2014_Donbas_status_referendums
Oh, and about those referendums you cite? The alleged result was that the Russian-occupied Donbas territories would become independent states. Yet Russia has now annexed those independent states. Doesn't that violate the results of the very referendums you cite? Explain how that works.
-
Putin declares martial law in four occupied regions as Kyiv presses offensive
https://www.cnn.com/2022/10/19/europe/putin-russia-martial-law-intl/index.html (https://www.cnn.com/2022/10/19/europe/putin-russia-martial-law-intl/index.html)
Russian President Vladimir Putin announced on Wednesday that he has signed a law introducing martial law in four Ukrainian regions the Kremlin claims to have annexed, in violation of international law.
The regions are Kherson, Zaporizhzhia, Donetsk and Luhansk. Russia does not control the entirety of those regions and is in a hasty retreat in Kherson after Ukrainian forces regained territory there.
But Putin nonetheless said he would impose the policy during a scheduled Security Council meeting.
Russian-installed leaders in Kherson region earlier Wednesday began massively ramping up the relocation of up to 60,000 people amid warnings over Russia’s ability to withstand a Ukrainian counter-offensive.
“In this regard, let me remind you that in the Donetsk People’s Republic, the Luhansk People’s Republic, as well as in the Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions, martial law was in effect before joining Russia,” Putin said during a televised address.
“Now we need to formalize this regime within the framework of Russian legislation,” he said.
“Therefore, I signed a decree on the introduction of martial law in these four subjects of the Russian Federation, so it will be immediately sent to the Federation Council,” Putin said.
More at link.
-
(https://media.tenor.com/clcfEFLqBawAAAAC/drcox-scrubs.gif)
I knew not to post to this thread and did it anyway :shrug:
-
(https://media.tenor.com/clcfEFLqBawAAAAC/drcox-scrubs.gif)
I knew not to post to this thread and did it anyway :shrug:
Feeling better?
-
Feeling better?
Not really, but it's on me so no worries.
-
Not really, but it's on me so no worries.
:thumbsup:
-
(https://img-9gag-fun.9cache.com/photo/a5XKE8L_460s.jpg)
-
(https://img-9gag-fun.9cache.com/photo/avQLQ9Z_460s.jpg)
-
(https://img-9gag-fun.9cache.com/photo/a5XKE8L_460s.jpg)
:mauslaff:
-
Putin introduces martial law in four illegally annexed regions
Holly Ellyatt | 5 hours ago
President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday introduced martial law in the four regions of Ukraine that Russia illegally annexed last month.
Martial law will be introduced in Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia — regions in Ukraine that Moscow claimed as Russian territory following sham referendums in September that Ukraine and its allies have condemned as illegal and illegitimate.
The decree, announced as Putin addressed a meeting of the Russian Security Council on Wednesday, will likely mean that the regions’ civil administrations will be replaced by military ones.
Putin said all those regions should ensure that steps are taken to safeguard “critically important facilities” and said he had made the decision due to Kyiv’s refusal to recognize the annexation of the four areas.
“Constitutional laws on the admission of four new regions into the Russian Federation have come into force. The Kyiv regime, as you know, refused to recognize the will and choice of people, rejects any proposals for negotiations. On the contrary, shelling continues. Civilians are dying,” Putin said, according to comments reported by Russian state news agency Tass.
Putin said he had signed a decree on the introduction of martial law in these four regions and this will now be sent for approval by the Federation Council, or Senate.
https://www.cnbc.com/2022/10/19/putin-introduces-martial-law-in-illegally-annexed-ukrainian-regions.html
-
https://twitter.com/Podolyak_M/status/1582712376758964227
-
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FfcHFb3WAAIbbAu?format=jpg&name=small)
-
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FfcHFb3WAAIbbAu?format=jpg&name=small)
World Reputation should be one of the listed casualties as well.
-
Oh, and that Donbas vote? That was a sham as well.
Relax.... by now most rational adults understand you consider all information you don't like to be "a sham" ----- turning this @Hoodat dominated thread into a colossal waste of time.
-
Relax.... by now most rational adults understand you consider all information you don't like to be "a sham" ----- turning this @Hoodat dominated thread into a colossal waste of time.
I don't find that to be so at all. It's how I keep up with what is going on over there. I'm sure most that read this thread appreciate your contributions @Right_in_Virginia as well as @Hoodat . Other members post here with news as well.
-
Relax.... by now most rational adults understand you consider all information you don't like to be "a sham" -----
I provided links to back it up. Where are yours?
-
This from CNN - Russia
Independent observers from the Russian Federation did not recognize the Donetsk poll
13 мая 2014
A poll of the population in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions of Ukraine, which its organizers called a referendum and on the basis of the results of which they declared the independence of these regions, raises great doubts about the legitimacy - such a statement was made in Moscow at a press conference by Russian independent experts.
The press conference, which took place in the Rosbalt agency, was attended by State Duma deputy Ilya Ponomarev, leader of the movement "For Human Rights" Lev Ponomarev, as well as the head of the Interregional Association of Voters, co-chairman of the movement "GOLOS" Andrei Buzin. All of them were at the time of the referendum in Donbass.
Thus, according to Andrei Buzin, the violations in the organization and holding of this referendum were so great that "there is no need to talk about turnout." At the same time, according to the expert, its organizers decided that the results of the referendum will be valid for any turnout, which, according to the expert, contradicts all world practice.
Nevertheless, as both Ilya Ponomarev and Lev Ponomarev have stated, Kiev should begin negotiations with separatist leaders in the name of calm, despite all doubts about the legitimacy of the referendum results.
Moscow reacted favorably to this survey, however, the Kremlin's press service said that it now expects the practical implementation of the results of the referendums, which should take place "without any recurrence of violence through a dialogue between representatives of Kiev, Donetsk and Lugansk."
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine stated that the referendum has no legal significance and its results will not have any legal consequences for the territorial integrity and structure of Ukraine.
The European Union also categorically did not accept the results of the survey in two regions of the eastern part of Ukraine.
"Turnout cannot be determined"
Ilya Ponomarev called the turnout in the referendum "large", making a reservation that the 70 percent that the organizers are talking about "do not exist at all."
According to his own estimates, in the two referendums the turnout was about 40 percent, which, however, is quite a lot.
At the same time, he noted that those queues in front of polling stations, which fell into the lenses of television cameras, were created artificially, since there were too few polling stations.
Andriy Buzin said that the provision according to which the results of the polls will be valid for all citizens of Ukraine and state bodies without any approval in any turnout does not correspond to the world practice of holding referendums and is likely to cause great claims.
He explained that, usually, in particular in Russia, during referendums their result is recognized only with a 50 percent turnout.
At the same time, according to Andrei Buzin, it is simply impossible to make any objective opinion about the turnout in referendums in two areas.
"It is impossible to verify this for sure, no one will ever know what the turnout was. I am sure that the official election commission does not know this, since they did not have the opportunity to collect this data from all points," Ilya Ponomarev supported him.
https://www.bbc.com/russian/international/2014/05/140513_russian_experts_donbass_vote
-
I don't find that to be so at all. It's how I keep up with what is going on over there. I'm sure most that read this thread appreciate your contributions @Right_in_Virginia as well as @Hoodat . Other members post here with news as well.
Yes! It's why I will keep this thread alive.
-
Polls close in eastern Ukraine amid allegations of fraud and double-voting
Atika Shubert and Ben Brumfield, CNN | Updated 4:13 PM EDT, Sun May 11, 2014
Donetsk, Ukraine
CNN
—
Pro-Russian activists in eastern Ukraine insisted Saturday that a controversial referendum on greater autonomy will go ahead – despite calls from Kiev and Moscow not to hold the vote amid soaring tensions.
Voters in the city of Donetsk faced this question on the ballot: “Do you support the Act of Independence of the People’s Republic of Donetsk?” The options are “yes” or “no.” A similar question is being put to voters in Luhansk.
Many of the voters were not on the outdated registration lists but were allowed to vote after showing identification documents.
There also seemed to be no system in place to prevent one person from voting at multiple polling stations.
A CNN crew saw several people vote twice at one polling station, where the ballot boxes were decorated with new Donetsk independence flags.
There was also a report of video showing three men arrested near Slovyansk with boxes of “yes” ballots in their car.
But in a Sunday afternoon news conference, the head of the People’s Republic of Donetsk Central Election Committee, Boris Litvinov, disputed reports that people were voting twice in some areas. Litivinov said the lines were so long that many people had a hard time voting once, let alone twice.
He also denied the report about ballot fraud. Litvinov said there was no reason for pro-Russian activists to cheat because voter turnout was so high.
The polls were told to stay open for 14 hours, rather than the usual 12, to allow time to add people to the voter list if necessary, the election committee said, adding that access to the most recent electoral rolls has been barred by Kiev.
Litvinov was the official to announce that polls had closed. Results are expected later.
Two incidents heightened tensions at polling places Sunday.
Rubber bullets were fired into the air at a station in Donetsk, said election committee member Sergey Tretyakov.
Tretyakov also said police in Krasnoarmeysk tried to prevent people from voting.
The central government in Kiev has declared the polls illegal.
Russia’s mixed messages
The message coming from Moscow on the referendum appears mixed.
Russian police officers oversaw voting at a Moscow polling station erected for expat Ukrainians to vote in the Donetsk and Luhansk referendums.
But last week, Russian President Vladimir Putin also urged the pro-Russian sympathizers to delay the referendum to give dialogue “the conditions it needs to have a chance.”
Putin’s unexpected call appears to have dented the confidence of some pro-Russian activists.
However, representatives of the pro-Russian groups in Donetsk and Luhansk voted to go ahead with it.
Meanwhile, in Slovyansk, a Russian government-controlled TV channel was periodically showing a banner along the bottom of the screen that told viewers where they can vote in Sunday’s referendum.
That channel, Russia 24, is available over the air to residents of Donetsk, who can access it in their homes.
The banner listed the location and voting hours and advised voters to bring a passport. The banner was shown only on the Russia 24 channel, not on other channels. . .
https://edition.cnn.com/2014/05/11/world/europe/ukraine-crisis/
-
Yes! It's why I will keep this thread alive.
And I thank you! It has to be a hard thread to moderate.
-
As you already know, @Right_in_Virginia , this 'vote' [sic] did not take place until AFTER Russian troops took control of these areas.
And then there's the matter of your blatant hypocrisy on this matter. If this was really a vote for Donbas independence, then why did Russia just annex this territory? You can't carry Putin's water by referring to this referendum as legit when Putin himself doesn't honor it.
Now, where are your links?
-
The farce of the ‘referendum’ in the Donbas
Agata Wierzbowska-Miazga Tadeusz Iwański Piotr Żochowski | 2014-05-14
On 11 May pro-Russian separatists organised a ‘referendum’ on the sovereignty of the Donetsk and Lugansk regions, the results of which (89.07% and 96.2% respectively ‘in favour’) were falsified, and whose voting processes did not meet democratic standards. On 12 May the Donetsk and Lugansk separatists adopted a resolution on the sovereignty of the ‘Donetsk People's Republic’ and the ‘Lugansk Republic People’s’, and started talks about unification and the creation of a so-called entity of Novorossiya (a term from Russian imperial ideology in the late eighteenth century, defining the southern and eastern regions of today's Ukraine as a part of Russia). The Ukrainian central authorities did not take any measures to prevent the separatists holding the vote, and the anti-terrorist operation which has been ongoing for several weeks with army and Interior Ministry forces has once again proven to be very limited.
The destabilisation of eastern Ukraine, which has been continuing for more than two months, and the government’s inept attempts to resolve the situation, have had the effect of deepening social discontent and boosting anti-government sentiments both among the public and the local elites, including the representatives of the regional state administration. Moscow has effectively recognised the results of the separatist referenda; from the Russian point of view, the voting and the results have been successful propaganda exercises which will strengthen separatist activities in other districts of Ukraine.
How the 'referenda' proceeded
The separatists reported that turnout at the ‘referenda’ was 75% in the Donetsk region and 81% in the Lugansk region. Both the turnout and the results should be regarded as preposterous, and the plebiscite itself as incompatible with Ukrainian law, which does not provide for local referendums. The separatists possessed only rudimentary lists of voters (the central authorities denied them access to the register of voters); there were widespread instances of casting votes for other persons, and there were no observers. There was no security for the ballots; they had already been handed out on the streets several days earlier. The separatists failed to create a sufficient number of voting points, and in many places in both districts the 'referendum' did not take place at all.
The separatists reported that 1540 polling stations were opened in the Donetsk region (during the parliamentary elections in 2012, 2444 polling stations operated), but this number seems to have been strongly and repeatedly overstated. They did not provide any numbers for people participating in the vote, but merely gave a significant overestimate of the turnout. Given that 3.35 million people are entitled to vote in the Donetsk region, and 1.8 million in the Lugansk region (based on the Central Electoral Commission of Ukraine’s figures), with such a small number of polling stations it would have been physically impossible for 75% and 81% of those eligible to vote. The polling stations were mainly set up in the cities, but even there their numbers was insufficient. In extreme cases, such as in Mariupol, only four polling stations were opened (there were 218 in the elections in 2012), with 345,000 people eligible to vote. The authorities in Kyiv called the referendum “an illegal act of effrontery”, organised and funded by the Kremlin. Acting president Oleksandr Turchynov surprisingly stated that turnout in the Donetsk region had been below 32%, and in the Lugansk region about 24%; in so doing, he indirectly acknowledged the legitimacy of the process itself. These estimates, however, have not been supported by any research exit polls on the ground, and thus cannot be relied on.
The increase in anti-government sentiment in the Donbas
One success for the separatists is that the local population now mainly blame the situation in the eastern regions on the authorities in Kyiv. In the public perception, the military actions, problems with supplies and transport in the region, the anarchic state of life, the deterioration of security on the streets and roads, and the acts of terror that are the result of separatist activities, are the responsibility of the government in Kyiv and the anti-terrorist operation it is conducting. By exploiting the errors Kyiv has committed in the region, Russian mass propaganda is reinforcing the sense among the local population that the central government is the enemy, and that the separatists are an alternative which offers an opportunity for positive change. The effectiveness of the separatists is also bolstered by the lack of a well thought-out campaign by Kyiv which would clarify the objectives of the military operation.
Dissatisfaction with the policy of the central government has also been demonstrated by the local power and business elites. The Party of Regions and the Communist Party of Ukraine, which still retain influence in the Donbas, have demanded the immediate termination of the anti-terrorist operation and the start of negotiations with the separatists. The oligarch Rinat Akhmetov made a similar statement through his press service; on 11 May he called for the cessation of hostilities and began forming patrols in Mariupol made up of employees belonging to his Metinvest holding. In turn Serhiy Taruta, the governor of the Donetsk region, called on the authorities in Kyiv to call off the military operations and hold a nationwide referendum on devolution on 15 June, the same day as a potential second round of the presidential elections could be held. . .
https://www.osw.waw.pl/en/publikacje/analyses/2014-05-14/farce-referendum-donbas
-
Let's say Cuba invades Florida and then holds a referendum on whether or not Florida wants to be part of Cuba. They immediately hold a referendum and then announce record turnout and 89% support (the exact same number that Cuba ordered). You would consider that election to be legit, @Right_in_Virginia ?
-
I provided links to back it up. Where are yours?
I have provided links and videos for the past eight months ---- which you ignore --- and yet label me a liar.
This thread deserves to be more than a repository for propaganda from the Kiev International and open fire on anyone who presents a different POV. This subject deserves the tough questions and a thorough investigation of the unrevised events leading to the confict blossoming into another European based world war.
But, for all intents and purposes this is your thread @Hoodat and you live to shut down rational adult disussion. Personally, I think this is :bs: and have had enough of it.
-
I have provided links and videos for the past eight months ----
None of which had a single thing to do with the 2014 referendum.
---- which you ignore ---
I don't ignore them. I pretty much challenge everything you post here. Especially the non-rational propaganda that makes up 95% of what you post.
--- and yet label me a liar.
I said you post lies. I didn't label you a liar.
This thread deserves to be more than a repository for propaganda from the Kiev International and open fire on anyone who presents a different POV.
I will donate $100 to this forum right now if you can show me a post here that came from the Kiev International.
. . . and open fire on anyone who presents a different POV.
I never considered asking someone to back up what they post as "opening fire". But clearly you are sensitive to having your posts challenged. Any time lies are posted, expect them to be challenged.
This subject deserves the tough questions and a thorough investigation of the unrevised events leading to the confict blossoming into another European based world war.
So what tough questions do you have? What is your take on the atrocities that are being committed against Ukrainian civilians? Why do you think people continue to lay blame on the Azov Battalion even though they have been defunct since 2015? Do you think the fact of Viktor Yanukovych being a Russian puppet had anything to do with the Revolution of Dignity? And do you think there is any connection between Russian troops and military hardware infiltrating into Ukraine in Feb 2014 and the violence that ensued shortly after?
See, you have been asked questions for months now. And you are the one who ignores them. I never ever back away from any question you ask of me. Yet my questions to you go unanswered again and again and again.
But, for all intents and purposes this is your thread @Hoodat and you live to shut down rational adult disussion.
The irony of that statement coming from you is hysterical.
Personally, I think this is :bs: and have had enough of it.
You're just pissed because Russia is faltering on the battlefield. But you still show up to post the same tired lies about Ukraine being responsible for Russia's invasion and atrocities against Ukrainian civilians.
-
Apparently, Kherson is in process of surrendering. So is being reported.
-
. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5gkQv7rLZSg)
-
Russia 'plans false flag attack on hydroelectric dam to flood Kherson' in latest attack on energy plants as Ukraine brings in four-hour blackouts to tackle electricity shortages
By MAILONLINE REPORTER
20 October 2022
Russia is laying the groundwork to destroy a key Ukrainian dam which would flood Kherson and cover its troops' retreat from the city, a think-tank has concluded. General Sergei Surovikin, Russia's new supreme commander in Ukraine, has spoken to Russian media in recent days about what he called a 'devastating strike' on the Nova Kakhovka dam (pictured) which he said was being plotted by Kyiv 's troops.
Surovikin, who has also been preparing the Russian public for a retreat from the region, said the blast would flood Kherson and cause widespread damage. This is likely setting up for a 'false-flag attack' that would cover Russia 's retreat and prove a distraction from its latest battlefield humiliation, analysts from the Institute for the Study of War have concluded. Breaching the dam would also be another blow to Ukraine's battered energy grid, with people told to brace for rolling four-hour blackouts from today after a third of the country's power plants were blown up in a little over a week.
Ukraine has already struck the dam several times with long-range rockets, because a key roadway runs over it which Russia was using to supply its troops. But Kyiv's attacks stopped once the roadway was unusable. Blackouts will occur across Ukraine from 7am local time today, the country's national grid operator said, and continue each day until 10pm. The power cuts will also affect heating, with people told to stock up on 'warm socks and blankets and hugs for family and friends' as winter approaches and temperatures dip below freezing overnight. Russia has been using hundreds of missiles and suicide drones to attack Ukraine's infrastructure in an apparent attempt to break civilian will to continue the war. Such attacks are a war crime, under international law.
* * *
Source: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/galleries/article-11335967/Russia-plans-false-flag-attack-hydroelectric-dam-flood-Kherson.html
-
Blowing that dam could open up a lot more front. The lake area upstream of the dam could disappear, making it much easier to cross.
-
Devastation on Ukraine’s eastern front, where the notorious Wagner group is making gains
Sebastian Shukla, Frederik Pleitgen and Rich Harlow - CNN | October 20, 2022 | 5:47 AM EDT
Bakhmut, Ukraine (CNN) — The weather in Bakhmut deceives the senses, sunny and warm – almost peaceful.
But a deafening boom of outgoing artillery from the critical eastern Ukrainian town shook that notion out of the system, as Ukrainian soldiers on Wednesday launched offensives to try to reclaim positions from Russian forces.
Three men could be seen making a run for it out of town, one with a microwave strapped to his back.
Russia’s war in Ukraine has been going on for eight months. It’s only when you descend into the city of Bakhmut that you really get a sense of the devastation and destitution that Russian President Vladimir Putin’s invasion has wrought.
(https://media.cnn.com/api/v1/images/stellar/prod/221019163827-02-bakhmut-cnn.jpg)
A vantage point gives a view over the city of Bakhmut in eastern Ukraine.
Our guide is a Ukrainian military medic, who goes by the nom-de-guerre “Katrusya.” In tinted sunglasses and fatigues, she slings our convoy into the center of the city at breakneck speed.
Flashing through the windows is a near ghost town.
“For the past two months, Russians have been trying to break into the city defenses and have not been successful,” she tells us between cigarettes.
She took us to see a building that had just been shelled. Our car hadn’t even come to a complete halt as another artillery shell hit close by. We scrambled for cover as more artillery rained down nearby for around 20 minutes.
(https://media.cnn.com/api/v1/images/stellar/prod/221019163922-03-bakhmut-cnn.jpg)
Katrusya is a combat medic in Bakhmut. She lost her husband in the fighting a month ago.
The attacks are normal, says Katrusya, as she leans on a wall – a picture of composure – as we take shelter from the incoming shells.
“The artillery attacks fly every day so it’s never quiet here. Other parts of the city take hits many times a day,” she says.
A handful of residents are still on the streets of Bakhmut. Buildings have no windows; the streets are pockmarked with craters and industrial garbage bins have merged into small pools of trash.
Those who remain seem to live in a parallel universe. They’re out on their bikes, running errands, and elderly women drag their shopping trolleys behind them, though which shops are open seems a mystery.
Sergey is one of those Bakhmut inhabitants still walking the streets. Asked if he is worried about the shelling he replies, “Afraid of what, mate? Everything is going to be okay.”
He then stares out into the distance, almost as if he doesn’t really believe his own words. . .
https://www.cnn.com/2022/10/19/europe/ukraine-war-bakhmut-struggle-intl/index.html
-
Divided loyalties in Ukraine city as Russia presses assault
AFP | 19/10/2022 - 07:32
Patriotic messages stating the fact that "Bakhmut is Ukraine" are scrawled on monuments all around this frontline city.
But not everybody agrees that it should be so.
The subject is up for debate at the local market, where the city's few remaining residents stock up on food and clothes for the winter to the sounds of artillery.
One shopper, Yulia, said she believed Ukrainian forces bombed cities that were about to be captured by Russia -- repeating a conspiracy theory popular on social media.
"I don't understand why Ukraine is destroying cities," said the 46-year-old, who declined to give her surname saying that she was afraid of reprisals for her views.
"I've heard that Ukraine is doing this to itself to ensure that Russia does not get anything," said Yulia, leaving the market as the bombing came closer and closer.
She recognised that Russia was responsible for the assault on her country but said it was up to the Ukrainians now to lay down their arms in order to bring peace.
(https://s.rfi.fr/media/display/364ce9f4-4d71-11ed-ab8b-005056a90284/e73b38e19802609c1fcccd89c0aa3f2430862104.webp)
Smoke rises outside Bakhmut, where the conflict has exposed divided loyalties Dimitar DILKOFF AFP
Bakhmut is located in eastern Ukraine's industrial Donbas region, where Russia-backed rebels started a conflict in 2014 and loyalties are often very divided.
Social media groups created by local residents in Bakhmut, which had 70,000 residents before the war, contain posts that criticise the Ukrainian army's actions but stop short of actively supporting Russia.
'Wrong side of the line'
In the nearby city of Kramatorsk, the main Telegram group used by local residents -- "I Love Kramatorsk" -- messages praising Russian strikes on Kyiv can get hundreds of likes as well as dozens of negative comments.
Selling cakes from a stall, Lesya, 46, said that before the war began she had a flourishing textile business with 16 employees -- some of whom were "separatists".
(https://s.rfi.fr/media/display/60bc2614-4f6f-11ed-91ad-005056a90284/af7b6287d4d7f05f479d7aa7d61b99c44d6b9a38.webp)
Some inhabitants of Donbas accept or support the idea of Moscow gaining control in the hope of ending the conflict or because of family ties in Russia Dimitar DILKOFF AFP
"Some of them escaped to Russia thinking they will be able to come back here afterwards" if Bakhmut falls, she said, adding that they had been "drugged" by Russian state propaganda.
"Me, I'm a normal Ukrainian with a son in the Ukrainian army," said Lesya.
"But for them I'm a Banderovka" -- a reference to Ukrainian nationalist hero Stepan Bandera, who fought alongside the Nazis against the Soviet Union in World War II.
Some inhabitants of Donbas accept or support the idea of Moscow gaining control in the hope of ending the conflict or because of family ties in Russia or because they identify with President Vladimir Putin's rhetoric about a "Russian world". . .
https://www.rfi.fr/en/international-news/20221019-divided-loyalties-in-ukraine-city-as-russia-presses-assault
-
Blowing that dam could open up a lot more front. The lake area upstream of the dam could disappear, making it much easier to cross.
Not until it freezes. Dams are sediment traps, and the bottom is likely silty and very soft--too much so for vehicles, armor or troops.
-
Why Russia — losing everywhere else in Ukraine — is still trying to capture Bakhmut
PETER WEBER | OCTOBER 19, 2022
The war in Ukraine hasn't exactly been going Russia's way for the past six weeks. After making slow but steady advances in Ukraine's eastern Donbas region over the summer, Russian forces lost ground quickly in a Ukrainian counteroffensive first in northeastern Kharkiv province, then in southern Kherson, prompting Russian President Vladimir Putin to launch a deeply unpopular and shambolic mobilization effort to generate new forces.
Even as Russian troops are trying to regroup behind new defensive lines in Kharkiv, Luhansk, and Kherson provinces, however, private mercenaries from Russia's Wagner Group plus troops from the separatist Donetsk People's Republic have been slowly battling their way toward the city of Bakhmut, in Donetsk province, between Moscow's losses in Kharkiv and Kherson.
"There once may have been a logic to Russia's focus on capturing Bakhmut," the next step westward after Moscow took nearby Severodonetsk and Lysychansk, BBC News reports. But that was in the summer, and now "Russia has largely been forced to change from being an offensive to a defensive army." Presumably, the forces trying to break through entrenched Ukrainian lines into Bakhmut could be better used elsewhere. So why is Russia still so intent on capturing Bakhmut?
BAKHMUT IS THE KEY TO THE REST OF DONETSK
Bakhmut, with a prewar population of about 70,000, is a hub of roads and railway lines in a war where control of supply routes has been of critical importance. "Russia likely views seizing Bakhmut as a preliminary to advancing on the Kramatorsk-Sloviansk urban area, which is the most significant population center of Donetsk Oblast held by Ukraine," Britain's Ministry of Defense assesses.
https://twitter.com/GeromanAT/status/1580486447634604032
https://theweek.com/russo-ukrainian-war/1017551/why-russia-losing-ground-everywhere-else-is-still-trying-to-capture
From the map above, Bakhmut looks like the Bastogne of Ukraine.
-
Zelenskiy calls on West to warn Russia not to blow up dam
https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/ukraine-curbs-power-usage-after-russian-attacks-destroy-some-energy-plants-2022-10-19/ (https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/ukraine-curbs-power-usage-after-russian-attacks-destroy-some-energy-plants-2022-10-19/)
• Blowing up dam could flood large area in southern Ukraine
• Ukrainian forces advancing near dam on west bank of Dnipro
• Washington says Iranian troops flew drones in attacks on Ukraine
FRONT LINE NORTH OF KHERSON, Ukraine, Oct 21 (Reuters) - Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy called on the West to warn Russia not to blow up a huge dam that would flood a swath of southern Ukraine, as his forces prepare to push Moscow's troops from Kherson in one of the war's most important battles.
In a television address, Zelenskiy said Russian forces had planted explosives inside the huge Nova Kakhovka dam, which holds back an enormous reservoir that dominates much of southern Ukraine, and were planning to blow it up.
"Now everyone in the world must act powerfully and quickly to prevent a new Russian terrorist attack. Destroying the dam would mean a large-scale disaster," he said.
Russia accused Kyiv earlier this week of rocketing the dam and planning to destroy it, in what Ukrainian officials called a sign that Moscow might blow it up and blame Kyiv. Neither side produced evidence to back up their allegations.
The vast Dnipro bisects Ukraine and is several km wide in places. Bursting the dam could send a wall of water flooding settlements below it, towards the city of Kherson, which Ukrainian forces hope to recapture in a major advance.
It would also wreck the canal system that irrigates much of southern Ukraine, including Crimea, which Moscow seized in 2014.
The alarm has echoes of a World War Two disaster at another huge dam further upriver, which Ukrainian historians say was dynamited by Soviet sappers as their troops retreated, causing floods that swept away villages and killed thousands of people.
Zelenskiy called on world leaders to make clear that blowing up the dam would be treated "exactly the same as the use of weapons of mass destruction", with similar consequences to those threatened if Russia uses nuclear or chemical weapons.
More at link.
-
The alarm has echoes of a World War Two disaster at another huge dam further upriver, which Ukrainian historians say was dynamited by Soviet sappers as their troops retreated, causing floods that swept away villages and killed thousands of people.
Yep. The Russians sacrificed thousands upon thousands of Ukrainian civilians by blowing these dams without warning. They didn't give civilians the chance to seek higher ground. Russian contempt for Ukraine has been going on for a very long time.
-
Yep. The Russians sacrificed thousands upon thousands of Ukrainian civilians by blowing these dams without warning. They didn't give civilians the chance to seek higher ground. Russian contempt for Ukraine has been going on for a very long time.
Orcs are always orcs.
-
Zelenskiy calls on West to warn Russia not to blow up dam
Neither side produced evidence to back up their allegations.
@Elderberry
Gee,if I could just figure out which side would benefit from the dam being destroyed and which side would be hurted!
WARNING! There MIGHT be some slight traces of sarcasm in the above post.
-
Yep. The Russians sacrificed thousands upon thousands of Ukrainian civilians by blowing these dams without warning. They didn't give civilians the chance to seek higher ground. Russian contempt for Ukraine has been going on for a very long time.
@Hoodat
Soviet contempt for the lives of ALL living creatures EXCEPT FOR THE SOVIET LEADERSHIP has been a fact of life since 1917.
-
Ukraine’s forces press their momentum on Kherson’s frontline
As they target a makeshift Russian HQ on the west bank of the Dnieper with drones and missiles, a recon unit of the Ukrainian army believe they are closing in on a prize city
Daniel Boffey, Kherson oblast | 21 OCT 2022
(https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/01c26570aacc7951299a9d5834a22c8e4607c3af/0_261_7841_4707/master/7841.jpg?width=1900&quality=85&dpr=1&s=none)
With a deafening roar the rockets erupted from the launcher on the back of the Mitsubishi. The pickup truck was parked by a field of blackened dead sunflowers on territory that had been seized back from Russian forces in the Kherson region in south Ukraine just two weeks ago.
Barely 30 seconds later, the two 122mm missiles, arcing through the heavy grey sky, devastated a makeshift Russian headquarters that had been a base for about 100 soldiers in an abandoned school in the village of Dudchany, five miles south-west.
Ukraine’s forces now have every intention of taking Dudchany back within the next few weeks as they attempt to push west towards the city of Kherson, the eponymous regional capital, and the first city to fall to Russia after Vladimir Putin’s February invasion.
This is the frontline in the great advance by Ukrainian forces on the Kherson oblast. In recent days, Sergey Surovikin, the newly appointed commander of Putin’s forces, who made his reputation as ‘General Armageddon’ in Syria, has admitted that there are “difficult decisions to make” in the region. The Russian-appointed civil authorities have ordered an evacuation from the parts of Kherson city that lie north of the Dnieper.
Ukrainian soldiers believe the momentum is with them. “We have a window,” says Max, 38.
Max commands a unit of 30 men, soon to be 54 . . .
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/oct/21/we-have-a-window-ukraines-forces-press-their-momentum-on-khersons-frontline
-
Ukrainian forces pile pressure on Russian-held Kherson
SABRA AYRES and HANNA ARHIROVA - AP | October 21, 2022, 11:04 AM
KYIV, Ukraine -- Ukrainian forces piled pressure on Russian positions in occupied Kherson, targeting resupply routes across a major river while inching closer Friday to making a full-scale assault on one of the first urban areas Russia captured after invading the country.
As many as 2,000 Russian draftees have poured into the Kherson region - one of four provinces illegally annexed by Moscow - “to replenish losses and strengthen units on the front line," according to the Ukrainian army's general staff.
The deputy head of the Kremlin-installed regional administration in Kherson, Kirill Stremousov, said Ukrainian shelling of a Dnieper River crossing killed at four civilians late Thursday. Vadim Ilmiyev, the top health official, said 13 others were wounded in the attack.
Natalia Humeniuk, a spokesperson for Ukraine’s southern operational command, confirmed the Antonivskyi Bridge was struck but only after the start of a 10 p.m. local curfew to avoid civilian casualties.
“We do not attack civilians and settlements," Humeniuk told Ukrainian television.
Stremousov said the attack occurred some 40 minutes after the curfew's start. Among the dead and wounded were journalists from the Russia-created TV channel Tamvria, he said.
Earlier Ukrainian strikes had made the bridge inoperable, prompting Russian authorities to set up ferry crossings and pontoon bridges to transport supplies to Russian troops in Kherson, which sits on the Dnieper's western bank. Ukraine's military has regularly targeted those crossings with rockets. . .
https://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/ukrainian-forces-pile-pressure-russian-held-kherson-91854998
-
Monument to Victims of Stalin's Famine Removed in Mariupol
AFP | one day ago
(https://static.themoscowtimes.com/image/article_1360/f7/634213142.jpg)
The Holodomor monument in Mariupol being removed.
The Moscow-installed authorities of the port city of Mariupol, which fell to Russian forces after a devastating siege earlier in the year, took down a monument to Ukrainian victims of Stalin's famine on Wednesday.
Kyiv has been calling the 1930s man-made hunger under Josef Stalin a "genocide," while Moscow has been downplaying it as an episode of famine all over the Soviet Union.
The state-run RIA Novosti news agency published a video of a truck uprooting the monument in Mariupol.
"We are not taking out a memorial, we are getting rid of a symbol of the political disinformation of the population, particularly of our youth," local youth organization spokeswoman Evgenya Krotova told RIA Novosti.
Local university professor Olga Shmatshkova said it was best not to "remind people over and over about the scariest (times)."
"Let's make our motherland cleaner and more beautiful, we will still keep the memories of our problems in our souls," she told RIA Novosti.
https://twitter.com/PjotrSauer/status/1582678714810511361
https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2022/10/20/monument-to-victims-of-stalins-famine-removed-in-mariupol-a79141
-
Monument to Victims of Stalin's Famine Removed in Mariupol
AFP | one day ago
(https://static.themoscowtimes.com/image/article_1360/f7/634213142.jpg)
The Holodomor monument in Mariupol being removed.
The Moscow-installed authorities of the port city of Mariupol, which fell to Russian forces after a devastating siege earlier in the year, took down a monument to Ukrainian victims of Stalin's famine on Wednesday.
Kyiv has been calling the 1930s man-made hunger under Josef Stalin a "genocide," while Moscow has been downplaying it as an episode of famine all over the Soviet Union.
The state-run RIA Novosti news agency published a video of a truck uprooting the monument in Mariupol.
"We are not taking out a memorial, we are getting rid of a symbol of the political disinformation of the population, particularly of our youth," local youth organization spokeswoman Evgenya Krotova told RIA Novosti.
Local university professor Olga Shmatshkova said it was best not to "remind people over and over about the scariest (times)."
"Let's make our motherland cleaner and more beautiful, we will still keep the memories of our problems in our souls," she told RIA Novosti.
https://twitter.com/PjotrSauer/status/1582678714810511361
https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2022/10/20/monument-to-victims-of-stalins-famine-removed-in-mariupol-a79141
Cultural cleansing. Again, something that orcs do.
-
(https://img-9gag-fun.9cache.com/photo/a2Kqbzd_460s.jpg)
-
Ethnic Cleansing? Fear? Damage Control? Why Russia Really Wants To Get Ukrainians Out Of Kherson
Todd Prince | October 21, 2022 | 15:11 GMT
(https://gdb.rferl.org/08b90000-0a00-0242-9e0b-08dab3605fa6_cx0_cy5_cw0_w1023_r1_s.jpg)
Civilians evacuated from the Russian-occupied Kherson region of Ukraine arrive at a railway station in the town of Dzhankoi, on the Russia-annexed Crimean Peninsula, on October 20.
As Ukrainian forces advanced toward Kherson, the only regional capital seized by Russia following its February invasion, hundreds of residents carrying basic belongings in bags could be seen boarding boats on October 19 to leave the city.
The Russia-installed authorities in Kherson have said they want to “evacuate” as many as 60,000 people from the city and the region ahead of its possible liberation by Ukrainian forces, describing it as a “humanitarian” effort and -- without evidence -- spreading fear of reprisals by Kyiv against its own citizens.
Ukrainian officials and Western experts say that Russia -- which continues to bombard civilian objects, including energy infrastructure and apartment buildings -- has ulterior motives that range from altering the region’s ethnic composition to concerns about partisan subversion.
While some of those fleeing are doing so voluntarily -- from locals who threw their support behind the invasion to Russian officials and workers who were later sent to Kherson -- others are being spooked and some possibly forced to leave, Ukrainian offices have said.
Kirill Stremousov, deputy head of the Russian occupation administration in Kherson, said in an October 20 post on Telegram that about 15,000 people have already been moved out of the region, a number that could not be independently verified.
Buses sent to collect people from villages outside the city of Kherson were largely empty as frightened residents tried to hide, Oleh Baturin, a Kherson-based journalist, told Current Time on October 20. He said officials were “insistent” but did not hear of people being forced to relocate.
The Kremlin’s decision to move such a large number of individuals is more about hurting Ukraine than it is about helping Russia or the people it is uprooting, analysts said.
“Russia does not appear to reap any economic benefits from resettling tens of thousands of unwilling Ukrainians in Russia, suggesting that the purpose of such removals is both to damage Ukraine’s long-term economic recovery as it retakes its territory and, more importantly, to support Russia’s ethnic cleansing campaign, which is attempting to eradicate the Ukrainian ethnicity and culture,” the U.S.-based Institute for the Study of War said in an October 19 report. . .
https://www.rferl.org/a/russia-kherson-evacuation-motives-analysis/32094994.html
-
https://twitter.com/EmineDzheppar/status/1583488590847569921
-
Ukraine’s forces press their momentum on Kherson’s frontline
As they target a makeshift Russian HQ on the west bank of the Dnieper with drones and missiles, a recon unit of the Ukrainian army believe they are closing in on a prize city
Daniel Boffey, Kherson oblast | 21 OCT 2022
(https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/01c26570aacc7951299a9d5834a22c8e4607c3af/0_261_7841_4707/master/7841.jpg?width=1900&quality=85&dpr=1&s=none)
With a deafening roar the rockets erupted from the launcher on the back of the Mitsubishi. The pickup truck was parked by a field of blackened dead sunflowers on territory that had been seized back from Russian forces in the Kherson region in south Ukraine just two weeks ago.
Barely 30 seconds later, the two 122mm missiles, arcing through the heavy grey sky, devastated a makeshift Russian headquarters that had been a base for about 100 soldiers in an abandoned school in the village of Dudchany, five miles south-west.
Ukraine’s forces now have every intention of taking Dudchany back within the next few weeks as they attempt to push west towards the city of Kherson, the eponymous regional capital, and the first city to fall to Russia after Vladimir Putin’s February invasion.
This is the frontline in the great advance by Ukrainian forces on the Kherson oblast. In recent days, Sergey Surovikin, the newly appointed commander of Putin’s forces, who made his reputation as ‘General Armageddon’ in Syria, has admitted that there are “difficult decisions to make” in the region. The Russian-appointed civil authorities have ordered an evacuation from the parts of Kherson city that lie north of the Dnieper.
Ukrainian soldiers believe the momentum is with them. “We have a window,” says Max, 38.
Max commands a unit of 30 men, soon to be 54 . . .
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/oct/21/we-have-a-window-ukraines-forces-press-their-momentum-on-khersons-frontline
That's taking 'technicals' to a new level.
-
Mock German Panzer V Panther spotted in Ukraine. Looks like a turret replica on a ATS-59 chassis. Cool looking, though.
https://www.reddit.com/r/UkraineWarVideoReport/comments/ya0ocr/panther_tank_spotted_in_ukraine/
-
Lights go out in Ukraine as Russia launches “massive” strike
https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-kyiv-europe-power-outages-e64ad07feb99a59d5187c5a0572eb8b9?utm_source=hubpage&utm_medium=RelatedStories&utm_campaign=position_01 (https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-kyiv-europe-power-outages-e64ad07feb99a59d5187c5a0572eb8b9?utm_source=hubpage&utm_medium=RelatedStories&utm_campaign=position_01)
KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Hundreds of thousands of people in central and western Ukraine woke up on Saturday to power outages and periodic bursts of gunfire, as Ukrainian air defense tried to shoot down drones and incoming missiles.
Russia has intensified its strikes on power stations, water supply systems and other key infrastructure across the country, the latest phase of the war as it nears the eight-month mark.
Ukraine’s air force said in a statement Saturday that Russia had launched “a massive missile attack” targeting “critical infrastructure,” hours after air raid sirens blared across the country. It said that it had downed 18 out of 33 cruise missiles launched from air and sea.
Over the past two weeks, Moscow has increased its attacks on key civilian infrastructure across Ukraine. About 40% of the country’s electric power system has been severely damaged, officials said. Zelenskyy said earlier in the week that 30% of Ukraine’s power stations have been destroyed since Oct. 10.
More at link.
-
Russia has caused ‘humanitarian tragedy’ in Ukraine, Polish UN envoy says
https://www.polskieradio.pl/395/9766/Artykul/3057822,Russia-has-caused-%E2%80%98humanitarian-tragedy%E2%80%99-in-Ukraine-Polish-UN-envoy-says (https://www.polskieradio.pl/395/9766/Artykul/3057822,Russia-has-caused-%E2%80%98humanitarian-tragedy%E2%80%99-in-Ukraine-Polish-UN-envoy-says)
Poland’s permanent representative to the United Nations has condemned Russia for causing “a tragedy” and “an enormous humanitarian crisis” in Ukraine, and called on the international community to step up pressure on the Kremlin to end the war.
Krzysztof Szczerski made the appeal at a UN Security Council meeting on the situation in Ukraine on Friday night, Polish state news agency PAP reported.
'Russia bears full responsibility for destruction and loss of life' in Ukraine
The Polish envoy told the gathering: “This whole tragedy, this enormous humanitarian crisis is purely man-made. It is Russia who started the aggression, and only Russia bears the full responsibility for all the destruction and loss of life it has caused.”
Szczerski condemned Russia’s current wave of “mass air strikes against civilian infrastructure,” which continued on Saturday, and stressed that the shelling of civilians was a war crime, officials told reporters.
Poland’s ambassador to the UN added that “civilians are protected by international humanitarian law, including the Geneva Conventions,” according to officials.
More at link.
-
Attacking civilians. It's what Russia does.
-
Attacking civilians. It's what Russia does.
Orcs will be orcs.
-
Lights go out in Ukraine as Russia launches “massive” strike
KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Hundreds of thousands of people in central and western Ukraine woke up on Saturday to power outages and periodic bursts of gunfire, as Ukrainian air defense tried to shoot down drones and incoming missiles.
Russia has intensified its strikes on power stations, water supply systems and other key infrastructure across the country, the latest phase of the war as it nears the eight-month mark.
Ukraine’s air force said in a statement Saturday that Russia had launched “a massive missile attack” targeting “critical infrastructure,” hours after air raid sirens blared across the country. It said that it had downed 18 out of 33 cruise missiles launched from air and sea.
Over the past two weeks, Moscow has increased its attacks on key civilian infrastructure across Ukraine. About 40% of the country’s electric power system has been severely damaged, officials said. Zelenskyy said earlier in the week that 30% of Ukraine’s power stations have been destroyed since Oct. 10.
More at link.
@Elderberry
Of course they did. There are two things that communists REALLY excel at doing. One is murdering civilians,and the other is the communist leadership making sure THEIR asses and the asses of their families are never put at risk.
I am not sure that being a personal coward is an actual requirement to become a communist leader,but it sure seems that way.
-
Attacking civilians. It's what Russia does.
@Hoodat
Communist leaders are more than happy to murder their own people for nothing more than having "questionable loyalty",so murdering the innocents of other nations is no big deal to them at all.
-
Biden: McCarthy Is ‘Uninformed’ for Saying There Won’t Be Ukraine ‘Blank Check’ — ‘It’s About’ NATO and Europe
IAN HANCHETT | 21 Oct 2022
During a portion of an interview with MSNBC released on Friday, President Joe Biden responded to House Minority Leader Rep. Kevin McCarthy’s (R-CA) promise that if Republicans take control of Congress, there won’t be a “blank check” for Ukraine and people won’t support a blank check by saying that he “can understand somebody having that view who’s uninformed,” and that while a lot of money is being spent in Ukraine, “it’s so much more than the Ukrainians. It’s about NATO. It’s about Western Europe. It’s about making sure that Putin is not able to succeed in the way that he is using the brutality of his activities.”
Host Jonathan Capehart asked, “Given what Leader McCarthy said, should he even be speaker?”
Biden responded, “Well, look, I can understand somebody having that view who’s uninformed, and believe it, because it costs so much money to help them. We’re spending a lot of money helping the Ukrainians, but it’s so much more than the Ukrainians. It’s about NATO. It’s about Western Europe. . .
https://www.breitbart.com/clips/2022/10/21/biden-mccarthy-is-uninformed-for-saying-there-wont-be-ukraine-blank-check/
In other words, the $50 billion you are now asking for is for NATO and Western Europe, and not for arming Ukraine. Got it.
-
Russian torture in occupied Ukraine was 'arbitrary, widespread and absolutely routine'
JOHN SEXTON | October 21, 2022 | 5:20 PM
(https://hotair.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/Izium-730x0.jpg)
A report published yesterday which documents the routine use of torture in Izium, a small city in eastern Ukraine which was recently recaptured after months of Russian occupation. The Associated Press sent reports to the city and spoke with residents who identified 10 locations which had been used by Russians to torture both Ukrainian military personnel and civilians.
Russian torture in Izium was arbitrary, widespread and absolutely routine for both civilians and soldiers throughout the city, an Associated Press investigation has found. While torture was also evident in Bucha, that devastated Kyiv suburb was only occupied for a month. Izium served as a hub for Russian soldiers for nearly seven months, during which they established torture sites everywhere.
Based on accounts of survivors and police, AP journalists located 10 torture sites in the town and gained access to five of them. They included a deep sunless pit in a residential compound with dates carved in the brick wall, a clammy underground jail that reeked of urine and rotting food, a medical clinic, a police station and a kindergarten…
At a mass grave site created by the Russians and discovered in the woods of Izium, at least 30 of the 447 bodies recently excavated bore visible marks of torture — bound hands, close gunshot wounds, knife wounds and broken limbs, according to the Kharkiv regional prosecutor’s office. Those injuries corresponded to the descriptions of the pain inflicted upon the survivors.
The story, which was co-published with PBS Frontline, is full of first person accounts. For instance, a 38-year-old Ukrainian soldier named Mykola Mosyakyn who was captured and tortured three separate times by the Russians.
“They beat me with sticks. They hit me with their hands, they kicked me, they put out cigarettes on me, they pressed matches on me,” he recounted. “They said, ‘Dance,’ but I did not dance. So they shot my feet.”
After three days they dropped him near the hospital with the command: “Tell them you had an accident.”…
https://hotair.com/john-s-2/2022/10/21/russian-torture-in-occupied-ukraine-was-arbitrary-widespread-and-absolutely-routine-n505047
Not understanding how anyone here can turn a blind eye to this.
-
10 Torture Sites in 1 Town: Russia Sowed Pain, Fear in Izium
Lori Hinnant, Evgeniy Maloletka, Vasilisa Stepanenko | OCTOBER 2, 2022
(https://i0.wp.com/www.pbs.org/wgbh/frontline/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/1000.jpeg)
Mattresses lie on the floor in a holding cell at the basement of a police station which was used by Russian forces in the recently liberated town of Izium, Ukraine, Thursday, Sept. 22, 2022. Based on accounts of survivors and police, Associated Press journalists located 10 torture sites in the town and gained access to five of them including the police station. (AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka)
IZIUM, Ukraine (AP) — The first time the Russian soldiers caught him, they tossed him bound and blindfolded into a trench covered with wooden boards for days on end.
Then they beat him, over and over: Legs, arms, a hammer to the knees, all accompanied by furious diatribes against Ukraine. Before they let him go, they took away his passport and Ukrainian military ID — all he had to prove his existence — and made sure he knew exactly how worthless his life was.
“No one needs you,” the commander taunted. “We can shoot you any time, bury you a half-meter underground and that’s it.”
The brutal encounter at the end of March was just the start. Andriy Kotsar would be captured and tortured twice more by Russian forces in Izium, and the pain would be even worse.
Russian torture in Izium was arbitrary, widespread and absolutely routine for both civilians and soldiers throughout the city, an Associated Press investigation has found. While torture was also evident in Bucha, that devastated Kyiv suburb was only occupied for a month. Izium served as a hub for Russian soldiers for nearly seven months, during which they established torture sites everywhere.
Based on accounts of survivors and police, AP journalists located 10 torture sites in the town and gained access to five of them. They included a deep sunless pit in a residential compound with dates carved in the brick wall, a clammy underground jail that reeked of urine and rotting food, a medical clinic, a police station and a kindergarten.
The AP spoke to 15 survivors of Russian torture in the Kharkiv region, as well as two families whose loved ones disappeared into Russian hands. Two of the men were taken repeatedly and abused. One battered, unconscious Ukrainian soldier was displayed to his wife to force her to provide information she simply didn’t have.
The AP also confirmed eight men were killed under torture in Russian custody, according to survivors and families. All but one were civilians. . .
https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/frontline/article/ukraine-war-russia-torture-izium/
In case someone is still confused over who the real nazis are here.
-
Biden: McCarthy Is ‘Uninformed’ for Saying There Won’t Be Ukraine ‘Blank Check’ — ‘It’s About’ NATO and Europe
IAN HANCHETT | 21 Oct 2022
During a portion of an interview with MSNBC released on Friday, President Joe Biden responded to House Minority Leader Rep. Kevin McCarthy’s (R-CA) promise that if Republicans take control of Congress, there won’t be a “blank check” for Ukraine and people won’t support a blank check by saying that he “can understand somebody having that view who’s uninformed,” and that while a lot of money is being spent in Ukraine, “it’s so much more than the Ukrainians. It’s about NATO. It’s about Western Europe. It’s about making sure that Putin is not able to succeed in the way that he is using the brutality of his activities.”
Host Jonathan Capehart asked, “Given what Leader McCarthy said, should he even be speaker?”
Biden responded, “Well, look, I can understand somebody having that view who’s uninformed, and believe it, because it costs so much money to help them. We’re spending a lot of money helping the Ukrainians, but it’s so much more than the Ukrainians. It’s about NATO. It’s about Western Europe. . .
https://www.breitbart.com/clips/2022/10/21/biden-mccarthy-is-uninformed-for-saying-there-wont-be-ukraine-blank-check/
In other words, the $50 billion you are now asking for is for NATO and Western Europe, and not for arming Ukraine. Got it.
It would be nice if McCarthy could be half as clear as you.
I'm all for helping Ukraine defeat the invaders, but I believe most, if not all, of the aid should be weaponry. As far as NATO is concerned I would love to see the USA pull out of it. We've carried them on our backs for way too long.
-
Attacking civilians. It's what Russia does.
It would not be the first time Russians have caused Ukrainians to starve or freeze, something which contributes to Ukrainians' dogged defense of their country.
-
Russian torture in occupied Ukraine was 'arbitrary, widespread and absolutely routine'
JOHN SEXTON | October 21, 2022 | 5:20 PM
(https://hotair.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/Izium-730x0.jpg)
A report published yesterday which documents the routine use of torture in Izium, a small city in eastern Ukraine which was recently recaptured after months of Russian occupation. The Associated Press sent reports to the city and spoke with residents who identified 10 locations which had been used by Russians to torture both Ukrainian military personnel and civilians.
Russian torture in Izium was arbitrary, widespread and absolutely routine for both civilians and soldiers throughout the city, an Associated Press investigation has found. While torture was also evident in Bucha, that devastated Kyiv suburb was only occupied for a month. Izium served as a hub for Russian soldiers for nearly seven months, during which they established torture sites everywhere.
Based on accounts of survivors and police, AP journalists located 10 torture sites in the town and gained access to five of them. They included a deep sunless pit in a residential compound with dates carved in the brick wall, a clammy underground jail that reeked of urine and rotting food, a medical clinic, a police station and a kindergarten…
At a mass grave site created by the Russians and discovered in the woods of Izium, at least 30 of the 447 bodies recently excavated bore visible marks of torture — bound hands, close gunshot wounds, knife wounds and broken limbs, according to the Kharkiv regional prosecutor’s office. Those injuries corresponded to the descriptions of the pain inflicted upon the survivors.
The story, which was co-published with PBS Frontline, is full of first person accounts. For instance, a 38-year-old Ukrainian soldier named Mykola Mosyakyn who was captured and tortured three separate times by the Russians.
“They beat me with sticks. They hit me with their hands, they kicked me, they put out cigarettes on me, they pressed matches on me,” he recounted. “They said, ‘Dance,’ but I did not dance. So they shot my feet.”
After three days they dropped him near the hospital with the command: “Tell them you had an accident.”…
https://hotair.com/john-s-2/2022/10/21/russian-torture-in-occupied-ukraine-was-arbitrary-widespread-and-absolutely-routine-n505047
Not understanding how anyone here can turn a blind eye to this.
But they were there to 'liberate' these people, right? **nononono*
-
Russia Is Wasting Its Last Good Troops In A Pointless Attack On A Worthless Town
David Axe | Oct 21, 2022 | 06:17pm EDT
(https://imageio.forbes.com/specials-images/imageserve/63531994c103cdbccce382e3/0x0.jpg?format=jpg&crop=960,540,x0,y83,safe&width=960)
Ukrainian troops. UKRAINIAN DEFENSE MINISTRY PHOTO
Six weeks after the Ukrainian army launched twin counteroffensives in eastern and southern Ukraine, Russian forces across the country are regrouping, digging in, pulling back. Bracing for Ukrainian attacks and the coming winter.
There’s one exception. Around the town of Bakhmut, just north of the separatist Donetsk People’s Republic in eastern Ukraine, Russian troops, pro-Russian separatists and mercenaries from The Wagner Group are continuing a desperate, bloody operation they began way back in May. An attack that, despite Russian claims to the contrary, has failed to break Bakhmut’s Ukrainian garrison.
“The enemy is trying to hold the temporarily captured territories,” the Ukrainian general staff reported on Friday. “At the same time, it does not stop trying to conduct offensive actions in the Bakhmut and Avdiivka directions.” Avdiivka lies 25 miles south of Bakhmut.
It barely makes sense. Bakhmut has no strategic value. Western analysts observing the Russian operation around the town, and counting Russia’s mounting losses, have concluded that the Bakhmut op … isn’t really about Bakhmut. It’s about creating a narrative.
“Russian forces are likely continuing to falsify claims of advances in the Bakhmut area to portray themselves as making gains in at least one sector amid continuing losses in northeast and southern Ukraine,” the Institute for the Study of War in Washington, D.C. concluded last month.
The Bakhmut operation is a lie. And it’s a lie that contains more lies. The overall narrative the Kremlin hopes to create is that, despite all the evidence to the contrary, its forces still can win in Ukraine. And the forces contributing to the Bakhmut attack—in particular, the separatists and Wagner—all are trying to take credit for the fictional wins.
Wagner, a for-profit company that has sent thousands of its fighters to Ukraine, clearly hopes to grab a bigger share of the Russian war industry while Russia’s conventional forces are weak from eight months of costly warfare. The company’s financier Yevgeny Prigozhin “is jockeying for more prominence,” ISW posited.
The separatists’ motivation is less tangible. ISW cited Bakhmut’s “emotional significance to pro-war residents of the Donetsk People’s Republic,” but noted the town’s “little other importance.”
The Russians first attacked Bakhmut in May during a broader Russian push into eastern Ukraine—a push that culminated in Russian troops capturing the twin cities of Severodonetsk and Lysychansk in July. The attacks on Severodonetsk and Lysychansk were so costly for Russian forces that they had little choice but to pause.
The Ukrainians took advantage of the pause. . .
https://www.forbes.com/sites/davidaxe/2022/10/21/russia-is-wasting-its-last-good-troops-in-a-pointless-attack-on-a-worthless-town/
This has become exclusively a Wagner Group operation, along with separatists troops from Donetsk and Luhansk. This is where all those recruited prison convicts have ended up. The Russians are losing nothing here, letting Wagner and inferior Russo-Ukrainians die for their behalf.
-
DailyMail
By WILL STEWART and BRITTANY CHAIN
PUBLISHED: 13:50 EDT, 22 October 2022
Mutiny in Putin's ranks? Conscripts drafted into Ukraine war 'threaten to topple Russian regime over spluttering invasion'
Dozens of soldiers have staged an extraordinary mutiny against Vladimir Putin
One conscript told the group they should topple the rules over Ukraine invasion
There are mounting concerns from the frontline about the lack of resources
Russian men are being called to war with a lack of food, weapons and clothes
(more)
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11343917/Conscripts-drafted-Ukraine-war-threaten-topple-Russian-regime-failing-invasion.html
-
Biden's sending US troops - 101st Airborne - from Ft. Campbell to Europe. What possibly could go wrong?
-
Biden's sending US troops - 101st Airborne - from Ft. Campbell to Europe. What possibly could go wrong?
@mountaineer
The 101st Airborne, as well as many other divisions deploy to Europe on a regular schedule to train with other NATO Troops.
There is NOTHING special about this deployment. Routine.
-
To Romania.
-
Russia’s defense chief warns of ‘dirty bomb’ provocation
ANDREW MELDRUM | today
(https://storage.googleapis.com/afs-prod/media/b9c4fe343fca4a76bb3c2cfdffdbdcf3/1000.jpeg)
KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Russia’s defense chief alleged Sunday that Ukraine was preparing a “provocation” involving a radioactive device, a stark claim that was strongly rejected by U.S., British and Ukrainian officials amid soaring tensions as Moscow struggles to stem Ukrainian advances in the south.
Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu made the allegations in phone calls with his counterparts from the United States, Britain, France and Turkey.
Russia’s defense ministry said Shoigu voiced concern about “possible Ukrainian provocations involving a ‘dirty bomb,’” a device that uses explosives to scatter radioactive waste. It doesn’t have the devastating effect of a nuclear explosion, but could expose broad areas to radioactive contamination.
Russian authorities repeatedly have made allegations that Ukraine could detonate a dirty bomb in a false flag attack and blame it on Moscow. Ukrainian authorities, in turn, have accused the Kremlin of hatching such a plan.
British Defense Secretary Ben Wallace strongly rejected Shoigu’s claim and warned Moscow against using it as a pretext for escalation.
The British Ministry of Defense noted that Shoigu, in a call with Wallace, “alleged that Ukraine was planning actions facilitated by Western countries, including the UK, to escalate the conflict in Ukraine.”
“The Defense Secretary refuted these claims and cautioned that such allegations should not be used as a pretext for greater escalation,” the ministry said.
The U.S. also rejected Shoigu’s “transparently false allegations,” White House National Security Council spokesperson Adrienne Watson said in a statement. “The world would see through any attempt to use this allegation as a pretext for escalation.” . .
https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-putin-europe-think-tanks-business-deb83a49c24736928a010b0a449f308c
-
Russia evacuates, escalates in Kherson
Jonathan Landay and Pavel Polityuk | October 23 2022 - 5:58pm
Under pressure in the south of Ukraine, Russia has fired missiles and drones into Ukrainian-held Mykolaiv, destroying an apartment block in the ship-building city near the front and said the war was trending towards "uncontrolled escalation".
Mykolaiv lies about 35 kilometres northwest of the front line to occupied Kherson, the southern region where Russia has ordered 60,000 people to flee a Ukrainian counter offensive "to save your lives" .
Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu, who some Russian nationalists have blamed for Moscow's setbacks since the February 24 invasion, discussed the "rapidly deteriorating situation" in calls with French, British and Turkish counterparts, the ministry said on Sunday.
He also spoke by phone with US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin for the second time in three days. The Pentagon's readout of the call said Austin told Shoigu he "rejected any pretext for Russian escalation".
Without providing evidence, Shoigu said Ukraine could escalate by using a "dirty bomb" - conventional explosives laced with radioactive material. Ukraine does not possess nuclear weapons, while Russia has said it could protect Russian territory with its nuclear arsenal.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba rejected the allegation, calling it "absurd" and "dangerous". He added: "Russians often accuse others of what they plan themselves."
The White House National Security Council also rejected Shoigu's claims. "The world would see through any attempt to use this allegation as a pretext for escalation," a statement from the Council said.
In his nightly video message, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said only Russia was capable of using nuclear weapons in Europe, and Shoigu's "telephone carousel" made matters clear.
"Everyone understands full well," Zelenskiy said. "They understand who is the source of all the dirty things imaginable in this war."
A Russian missile strike on Sunday wiped out the top floor of an apartment block in Mykolaiv, sending shrapnel and debris across a plaza and into neighbouring buildings, smashing windows and cracking walls. Cars were crushed under rubble, Reuters witnessed. No fatalities were recorded.
Ukraine shot down 14 Russian "kamikaze" drones over Mykolaiv overnight . . .
https://www.canberratimes.com.au/story/7953200/russia-evacuates-escalates-in-kherson/
-
https://twitter.com/NOELreports/status/1584135662508572678
Russian report here: https://t.me/smotri_media/27933
-
'Not a civilian evacuation': Collaborators and Russians leaving Kherson, resident says
Russian officials claim they are trying to remove all civilians from the city, the focus of a major counteroffensive by Ukrainian troops. But in a detailed interview, one resident told Sky News that the evacuation is not designed for them.
John Sparks | 23 October 2022 | 05:51, UK
Fear is a powerful thing and it is motivating many to leave the Ukrainian city of Kherson.
With Ukrainian troops closing in on the city, thousands have left using ferries to cross the great Dnipro River.
Kherson was the first major city to fall to Vladimir Putin's military after the invasion began in February and its recapture would represent a major prize for the Ukrainians.
In footage filmed for Sky News, we see people in Kherson boarding boats from the city's piers, their bags and suitcases hauled speedily behind them.
However, who exactly are these evacuees? Russian officials say they are trying to remove all civilians, warning of Ukrainian shelling and "terrorist attacks".
But in a detailed interview, one resident of Kherson told Sky News that the evacuation is not designed for them.
"This is not a civilian evacuation. The collaborators are running away and those who came to help the occupiers," said Vlad, a local writer, activist and organiser, whose full name we are not using.
"In truth [those fleeing] number no more than a few thousand people a day.
"And who are those people they are taking out?
"Mostly it's families of Russian officers, families of Russian officials and collaborators who helped to organise the referendum. Among them are teachers and doctors, municipal workers and kindergarten staff.
"Those who have taken Russian passports." . . .
'Everything stolen'
Russia's military chief, General Sergei Surovikin, seemed to raise the prospect of a withdrawal when he told an interviewer that the situation in Kherson has been "difficult".
Our interviewee simply is not sure.
"I don't think anybody knows, even the Russian soldiers," he said. However, the large-scale looting of this city is not something that is open to question.
Sky News has seen pictures of ransacked shops and businesses with signs placed on the front. "Empty," they read. "Everything's stolen." Our interviewee says that everything has been lifted, large and small.
"In the last few days, we've seen them take fire trucks, ambulances, equipment from the cancer clinic and the regional hospital, anything of high value. They take it quickly, load it in the cars and take it to Crimea. It's the robbery of a city." . . .
https://news.sky.com/story/not-a-civilian-evacuation-collaborators-and-russians-fleeing-kherson-resident-says-12727584
Russia did the exact same thing to Ukraine in 1941 in the wake of the German advance. They stole all the food, capital goods, and anything else of value and took them East. They also conscripted all Ukrainian males from 16 to 56 and put them in the path of the Wehrmacht to slow the advance. These Ukrainian units suffered 97% casualties. Oh, and then the Russians blew all the dams, drowning thousands of Ukrainian civilians downstream.
Spooky how history repeats itself.
-
Russia Isn't Planning on Mobilized Soldiers Leaving Kherson! (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=siUOFy0bC-8)
-
So, after Russia self-immolates, who will get which parts of the carcass?
-
Who do you think you are kidding, Mr Putin? 'Dad's Army' of Russians dragged into spluttering Ukraine invasion includes overweight middle-aged men and women learning how to handle machine guns in bizarre scenes at training camp
By BRITTANY CHAIN FOR MAILONLINE
21 October 2022
Bizarre new pictures have emerged of unassuming, middle-aged Russian civilians who have not yet been called on to fight on the frontlines in Putin's army posing with assault rifles and learning hand-to-hand combat.
The group were taking part in combat and weapons training sessions in Russia's Rostov region - which shares a 250 mile border with Ukraine - to ensure they're prepared to fight if they're needed.
But most of the participants appeared out of place and awkward as they learned how to load and fire Kalishnikov assault weapons.
* * *
Source: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11341835/Unassuming-Russians-pose-photos-weapons-learn-combat-protect-themselves.html
-
US holds rare call with Russia but says there's no Kremlin interest in ending war in Ukraine
By AFP
21 October 2022
Russia's defense minister and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin held their first calls since May on Friday in a sign Moscow and Washington have restored lines of communication as Vladimir Putin ups his attacks on civilians.
But Secretary of State Antony Blinken warned there was no signs that Moscow is prepared to end the war in Ukraine as pro-Kremlin officials said they were turning Ukraine's southern city of Kherson into a 'fortress' in the face of Kyiv's advance.
Few details emerged of the conversation between Russia's Sergei Shoigu and Austin but both sides confirmed they had discussed Ukraine.
* * *
Source: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11342053/Pentagon-chief-Lloyd-Austin-talks-Kremlin-counterpart.html
-
Major explosion kills three at gunpowder factory working 24/7 to make rocket launchers and air defence systems for war on Ukraine
By TOM SCOTSON FOR MAILONLINE
23 October 2022
A major explosion killed three people at a gunpowder factor working 24/7 to make rocket launchers and air defence systems for the war in Ukraine.
Perm Gunpowder Plant, which produces Grad and Smerch weaponry for Russian troops, reportedly went up in flames.
Video footage showed a plume of smoke rising in the distance, with some witnesses claiming to have seen the explosion at the time of the attack.
* * *
Source: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11345515/Major-explosion-kills-three-gunpowder-factory-Russia.html
-
Major explosion kills three at gunpowder factory working 24/7 to make rocket launchers and air defence systems for war on Ukraine
(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lk3AdO8iyIg)
-
Russian State TV Boss Says Drown Ukrainian Children, Burn Families Alive
ANDERS ANGLESEY | 10/23/22 | 12:54 PM EDT
ARussian state TV host and his guest engaged in an exchange where the two discussed drowning, raping, and burning Ukrainians.
In a video uploaded to Twitter on Sunday by Russian Media Monitor creator Julia Davis, RT director of broadcasting Anton Krasovsky and writer Sergei Lukayanenko dehumanized Ukrainians and casually discussed raping and killing them.
The conversation led Kings College London visiting professor of defense studies, Michael Clarke, to say it was an example of "the complete moral degeneracy" in Russian President Vladimir Putin's Russia.
Clarke told Newsweek: "There are lots of these exchanges across the three main state-controlled channels. This one is only unusual in the severity of its racist spite. The fact that RT's director of broadcasting is making most of the comments is significant as the authority he carries with the network indicates that RT is not just giving airtime to some random outrageous racist but is aligning itself with the sentiments."
During the exchange, Lukyanenko mentioned stories about Viagra packs being handed out to Russian soldiers as an example of "hysteria" and "sick fantasies."
However, Krasovsky interjected and said: "For them to rape Ukrainian grannies. Gawd, those grannies would spend their burial savings to get raped by Russian soldiers." . . .
https://www.newsweek.com/russian-state-tv-boss-says-drown-ukrainian-children-burn-families-alive-1754116
This isn't some baseless claim that someone posted on Twitter. This is what is being broadcast on Russian State TV from Konigsburg to Vladivostok.
-
Russian State TV Boss Says Drown Ukrainian Children, Burn Families Alive
ANDERS ANGLESEY | 10/23/22 | 12:54 PM EDT
ARussian state TV host and his guest engaged in an exchange where the two discussed drowning, raping, and burning Ukrainians.
In a video uploaded to Twitter on Sunday by Russian Media Monitor creator Julia Davis, RT director of broadcasting Anton Krasovsky and writer Sergei Lukayanenko dehumanized Ukrainians and casually discussed raping and killing them.
The conversation led Kings College London visiting professor of defense studies, Michael Clarke, to say it was an example of "the complete moral degeneracy" in Russian President Vladimir Putin's Russia.
Clarke told Newsweek: "There are lots of these exchanges across the three main state-controlled channels. This one is only unusual in the severity of its racist spite. The fact that RT's director of broadcasting is making most of the comments is significant as the authority he carries with the network indicates that RT is not just giving airtime to some random outrageous racist but is aligning itself with the sentiments."
During the exchange, Lukyanenko mentioned stories about Viagra packs being handed out to Russian soldiers as an example of "hysteria" and "sick fantasies."
However, Krasovsky interjected and said: "For them to rape Ukrainian grannies. Gawd, those grannies would spend their burial savings to get raped by Russian soldiers." . . .
https://www.newsweek.com/russian-state-tv-boss-says-drown-ukrainian-children-burn-families-alive-1754116
This isn't some baseless claim that someone posted on Twitter. This is what is being broadcast on Russian State TV from Konigsburg to Vladivostok.
When they start resorting to Muzzie terrorist tactics, you know the war efforts is sure not going to plan.
-
Russia faces 'inevitable defeat' in Kherson as elites 'scramble to negotiate with the West and position themselves to replace Putin'
By CHRIS PLEASANCE FOR MAILONLINE
24 October 2022
Russia is staring down the barrel of an 'inevitable defeat' in the city of Kherson, the former head of Britain's armed forced has said.
General Lord Dannatt, former chief of the general staff, said Putin's forces are in the midst of a 'managed withdrawal' from the regional capital - in southern Ukraine - to avoid a chaotic rout of the kind they suffered last month in Kharkiv.
Meanwhile the country's elite are trying to negotiate an end to the war with the West because they realise they have lost, according to the head of Ukraine's military intelligence branch, Kyrylo Budanov.
* * *
Source: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11348419/Russia-faces-inevitable-defeat-Kherson-former-head-UK-armed-forces-says.html
-
Russia faces 'inevitable defeat' in Kherson as elites 'scramble to negotiate with the West and position themselves to replace Putin'
By CHRIS PLEASANCE FOR MAILONLINE
24 October 2022
Russia is staring down the barrel of an 'inevitable defeat' in the city of Kherson, the former head of Britain's armed forced has said.
General Lord Dannatt, former chief of the general staff, said Putin's forces are in the midst of a 'managed withdrawal' from the regional capital - in southern Ukraine - to avoid a chaotic rout of the kind they suffered last month in Kharkiv.
Meanwhile the country's elite are trying to negotiate an end to the war with the West because they realise they have lost, according to the head of Ukraine's military intelligence branch, Kyrylo Budanov.
* * *
Source: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11348419/Russia-faces-inevitable-defeat-Kherson-former-head-UK-armed-forces-says.html
What's to negotiate?
Just get out of all the territory you recognized as Ukraine when Ukraine gave up all the nuclear missiles in it's territory.
-
What's to negotiate?
Just get out of all the territory you recognized as Ukraine when Ukraine gave up all the nuclear missiles in it's territory.
Yep. It really is that simple.
-
The orcs have found an Uruk-Hai:
Chechen leader Kadyrov slams Russia's 'weak' attacks on Ukraine and calls for cities to be 'WIPED OUT' as Kremlin doubles down on claims Kyiv plans to set off a 'dirty bomb'
By JACK NEWMAN FOR MAILONLINE
25 October 2022
Chechen warlord Ramzan Kadyrov has slammed Russia's 'weak' attacks on Ukraine in the latest show of high profile dissent from one of Vladimir Putin's biggest cheerleaders.
The colonel general ordered Kremlin troops to 'wipe out Ukrainian cities off the face of the earth' in a chilling video message on Telegram.
The head of the Chechen Republic said Russia should respond with fire and fury to the surge in counterattacks on its border regions.
* * *
Source: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11351635/Chechen-leader-Kadyrov-slams-Russias-weak-Ukraine-attacks-calls-cities-WIPED-OUT.html
-
The age of Ukrainians is over. The time of the Orc has come.
(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R1x4JkZTfPs)
-
The age of Ukrainians is over. The time of the Orc has come.
(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R1x4JkZTfPs)
This is why it is so important to stop Russia's aggression and end the era of naked aggression before it grows and consumes the world. China is returning to their Marxist-Leninist roots and I'm sure they are considering how they can take Taiwan and break out of the first island chain based on Russia's performance against the west's weaponry.
Put an end to it before it grows.
-
This is why it is so important to stop Russia's aggression and end the era of naked aggression before it grows and consumes the world. China is returning to their Marxist-Leninist roots and I'm sure they are considering how they can take Taiwan and break out of the first island chain based on Russia's performance against the west's weaponry.
Put an end to it before it grows.
Failure to stop it i n Ukraine will only lead to China making a move. Afghanistan laid the groundwork for Ukraine, demonstrating complete incompetence on the part of this administration, which could have only encouraged Putin to invade.
-
Russia accused of sabotaging Ukraine water pipe to Mykolaiv
Viktoriia Zhuhan & Nader Ibrahim | 12 hours ago
For six months, homes in Ukraine's southern coastal city of Mykolaiv have been without clean drinking water.
Military and UN experts have told a BBC investigation they believe Russian forces deliberately cut off the water supply last April.
Satellite imagery and data suggest the pipeline to the city was deliberately destroyed while under Russian control.
Destroying resources vital for civilian life is widely regarded as violations of international humanitarian law.
But in recent weeks Russia has further targeted Ukraine's power and water infrastructure, prompting shortages across the country.
Queuing in the street in Mykolaiv to collect clean drinking water is dangerous as the city is close to the front line and is often shelled. Since Russia's invasion it has remained under Ukrainian control.
"You are standing in line. It's terribly scary to go out, God forbid something will fly in now," says Anya, a 36-year-old mother who fled to Mykolaiv from the neighbouring Kherson region under Russian occupation.
Residents like Anya, who also cares for four other members of her family, do have access to what is called technical water in their homes, but it can't be used for drinking or cooking.
Even washing in it inflames their skin. "It is really very salty. It has a brown, greenish colour," she says.
These are the conditions that residents have had to endure for six months after the water supply to the city was cut off.
Evidence collected by the BBC points to this being a deliberate act by Russian forces.
(https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/976/cpsprodpb/AA46/production/_126909534_mediaitem126909343.jpg.webp)
In April this year, a Ukrainian news outlet published the above images which it says show damage caused by Russian forces to Mykolaiv's only water supply pipeline.
The BBC has analysed satellite and social media pictures which back up this claim. . .
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-63383605
Putin's war on Ukrainian civilians continues.
-
'Russia miscalculated its strength and after eight months still can't win' in Ukraine, state TV pundit says in rare admission of failure - while also doubting Kyiv has a 'dirty bomb'
By CHRIS PLEASANCE FOR MAILONLINE
25 October 2022
Russia miscalculated its strength and is losing the war in Ukraine, an expert told state media last night in a rare and risky outburst.
Viktor Olevich, a well-known 'Americanist' within Russia and chief analyst at the Centre for Actual Politics, told viewers and a stunned host that Russia 'cannot win' despite eight months of fighting.
Olevich, who was schooled in the US but now lives in Moscow, also cast doubt on Russia's claims that Ukraine is building a 'dirty bomb' despite the protests of host Andrey Norkin.
* * *
Source: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11352887/Russian-state-TV-pundit-makes-rare-admission-failure-Ukraine.html
-
Kiev says strike in southern Ukraine hit dozens of Chechnyan fighters
https://www.anews.com.tr/world/2022/10/25/kiev-says-strike-in-southern-ukraine-hit-dozens-of-chechnyan-fighters (https://www.anews.com.tr/world/2022/10/25/kiev-says-strike-in-southern-ukraine-hit-dozens-of-chechnyan-fighters)
Kherson (dpa) In the Russian-occupied Kherson region of Ukraine, more than 100 soldiers from Chechnya were hit by artillery, according to Ukrainian sources.
The Ukrainian military governor of the Kherson region, Serhiy Khlan, stated that the Chechen unit had been stationed in the school of a village on the other bank of the river after their withdrawal from the city of Kherson across the Dnipro River.
The men had revealed their whereabouts themselves through photos on social networks, he said. He reported more than 40 dead and 60 buried.
More at link.
-
Russians hate Chechens about as much as they hate Ukrainians. Chechens, along with DPR/LPR fighters are left to cover the retreat of Russian troops out of Kherson.
-
Failure to stop it i n Ukraine will only lead to China making a move. Afghanistan laid the groundwork for Ukraine, demonstrating complete incompetence on the part of this administration, which could have only encouraged Putin to invade.
We see this so clearly, hopefully a majority of the country does as well.
All of this mess was created by Brandon's incredible incompetence. I have no desire for the USA to continue as the world's policeman, but I don't want the tyrants of the world to think they can do anything they please. If those being attacked are willing to stand up and defend themselves why not give them the weapons to do it.
-
Putin's warlord Ramzan Kadyrov declares Ukraine war 'the Big Jihad' and urges Muslims to rise up and fight 'demons' as Russia's security council calls for the country to be 'de-Satanized'
By WILL STEWART and CHRIS PLEASANCE FOR MAILONLINE
26 October 2022
Chechen warlord Ramzan Kadyrov has declared the war in Ukraine to be 'the Big Jihad' while urging Russian Muslims to rise up and fight 'demons' and the forces of 'Satanic democracy'.
Kadyrov, one of Putin's most hardline supporters, ranted against gay people, the transgender, and Western liberals online - saying they have overrun Ukraine, want to destroy Russia, and it is the duty of patriots to take up arms against them.
'They want to break our Motherland into pieces, humiliate, trample in the dirt and, in the end, defile our faith and culture so that we don't have any identity and not a single family value,' he said. 'I see degradation and Satanism in this.
'And I'd rather fight it in the bud than let this abomination envelop our Motherland.'
His language was then adopted by the Russian Security Council which last night proclaimed that hundreds of Satanist sects are now spreading across Ukraine and that the country must be 'completely de-Satanzied'.
It marks a shift in tone from earlier in the war, when Moscow declared it was fighting against fascists and wanted Ukraine to be 'de-Nazified'. Now, at least according to the Kremlin, they are fighting the Devil.
* * *
Source: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11355721/Ramzan-Kadyrov-declares-Ukraine-Big-Jihad-urges-fight-against-Satanists.html
-
Putin's warlord Ramzan Kadyrov declares Ukraine war 'the Big Jihad' and urges Muslims to rise up and fight 'demons' as Russia's security council calls for the country to be 'de-Satanized'
By WILL STEWART and CHRIS PLEASANCE FOR MAILONLINE
26 October 2022
Chechen warlord Ramzan Kadyrov has declared the war in Ukraine to be 'the Big Jihad' while urging Russian Muslims to rise up and fight 'demons' and the forces of 'Satanic democracy'.
Kadyrov, one of Putin's most hardline supporters, ranted against gay people, the transgender, and Western liberals online - saying they have overrun Ukraine, want to destroy Russia, and it is the duty of patriots to take up arms against them.
'They want to break our Motherland into pieces, humiliate, trample in the dirt and, in the end, defile our faith and culture so that we don't have any identity and not a single family value,' he said. 'I see degradation and Satanism in this.
'And I'd rather fight it in the bud than let this abomination envelop our Motherland.'
His language was then adopted by the Russian Security Council which last night proclaimed that hundreds of Satanist sects are now spreading across Ukraine and that the country must be 'completely de-Satanzied'.
It marks a shift in tone from earlier in the war, when Moscow declared it was fighting against fascists and wanted Ukraine to be 'de-Nazified'. Now, at least according to the Kremlin, they are fighting the Devil.
* * *
Source: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11355721/Ramzan-Kadyrov-declares-Ukraine-Big-Jihad-urges-fight-against-Satanists.html
Ahhh. So now it's satanism the Russians are fighting in Ukraine, satanism and transgenderism, not nazis and nazification. :silly:
-
Ahhh. So now it's satanism the Russians are fighting in Ukraine, satanism and transgenderism, not nazis and nazification. :silly:
Russians are now saying openly one of their goals is to kill Ukrainian children.
(https://img-9gag-fun.9cache.com/photo/aeQGYYq_460s.jpg)
-
(https://img-9gag-fun.9cache.com/photo/amA9Ppy_460s.jpg)
-
Failure to stop it i n Ukraine will only lead to China making a move. Afghanistan laid the groundwork for Ukraine, demonstrating complete incompetence on the part of this administration, which could have only encouraged Putin to invade.
@Smokin Joe
You can bet the farm on that,and the Chinese make the Russians look like pick-pockets by comparison.
AND......,IF the Dims maintain control over our government,you can bet your ass that the US will do nothing to stop them. The western "movers and shakers",both political as well as corporate,LOVE all those bonus checks they get at the end up the year from the profits piled up by using Chinese slave labor to build crap products for the US market.
Sadly,at this point I am not sure it will make a difference if the Republicans take power if it is the same bastard heading up the RNC now.
Like it or stroke out to it,the ONLY chance we have of saving America is Trump being our next President.
-
'Russia miscalculated its strength and after eight months still can't win' in Ukraine, state TV pundit says in rare admission of failure - while also doubting Kyiv has a 'dirty bomb'
By CHRIS PLEASANCE FOR MAILONLINE
25 October 2022
Russia miscalculated its strength and is losing the war in Ukraine, an expert told state media last night in a rare and risky outburst.
Viktor Olevich, a well-known 'Americanist' within Russia and chief analyst at the Centre for Actual Politics, told viewers and a stunned host that Russia 'cannot win' despite eight months of fighting.
Olevich, who was schooled in the US but now lives in Moscow, also cast doubt on Russia's claims that Ukraine is building a 'dirty bomb' despite the protests of host Andrey Norkin.
* * *
Source: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11352887/Russian-state-TV-pundit-makes-rare-admission-failure-Ukraine.html
@Kamaji
Viktor Olevich was a brave man,and a man of honor as well. I hope some international peace award gets his name in the near future.
If he is not dead of "disappeared" in 10,9,8,......,he will be soon.
-
We see this so clearly, hopefully a majority of the country does as well.
All of this mess was created by Brandon's incredible incompetence. I have no desire for the USA to continue as the world's policeman, but I don't want the tyrants of the world to think they can do anything they please. If those being attacked are willing to stand up and defend themselves why not give them the weapons to do it.
@bilo
Absolutely NOT true!
It was created by his corruption,his greed,and the greed and corruption of so many career US politicians and their corporate butt-buddies.
Trying to claim Slow Joe did this due to incompetence does not give him the proper credit for the the truly evil and corrupt SOB that he really is.
-
@Smokin Joe
You can bet the farm on that,and the Chinese make the Russians look like pick-pockets by comparison.
AND......,IF the Dims maintain control over our government,you can bet your ass that the US will do nothing to stop them. The western "movers and shakers",both political as well as corporate,LOVE all those bonus checks they get at the end up the year from the profits piled up by using Chinese slave labor to build crap products for the US market.
Sadly,at this point I am not sure it will make a difference if the Republicans take power if it is the same bastard heading up the RNC now.
Like it or stroke out to it,the ONLY chance we have of saving America is Trump being our next President.
:beer:
Good to see you back!
-
(https://img-9gag-fun.9cache.com/photo/aGExjL6_460s.jpg)
-
Ukraine says southern counter-offensive complicated by wet weather, terrain
Max Hunder | October 26, 2022 | 10:21 AM EDT
KYIV, Oct 26 (Reuters) - Ukraine's counter-offensive against Russian forces in the southern Kherson region is proving more difficult than it was in the northeast because of wet weather and the terrain, Ukraine's defence minister said on Wednesday.
Kyiv's forces are piling pressure on Russian troops in the strategically important Kherson region occupied by Moscow since the start of its Feb. 24 invasion, threatening President Vladimir Putin with another big battlefield setback.
"First of all, the south of Ukraine is an agricultural region, and we have a lot of irrigation and water supply channels, and the Russians use them like trenches," Defence Minister Oleksii Reznikov told a news conference. "It's more convenient for them."
"The second reason is weather conditions. This is the rainy season, and it's very difficult to use fighting carrier vehicles with wheels," he said, adding that this reduced the options for Ukraine's armed forces. . . .
https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/ukraine-says-southern-counter-offensive-complicated-by-wet-weather-terrain-2022-10-26/
-
The old saying, 'If you are cold, then they are cold.' would apply.
If Ukraine is bogged down, so are the Russians.
The war moves to long range weapons and air power.
-
Putin's war within Russia: The brave activists risking their lives and freedom to bring an end to Ukrainian invasion with guerrilla protest tactics
By CHRIS PLEASANCE FOR MAILONLINE
27 October 2022
The names and faces of brave Russians defying Vladimir Putin's crackdown to oppose the Ukraine war from within have been revealed in a new documentary.
Activists risking their lives to protest include Sasha, who is facing up to 10 years in jail for placing fake price tags containing anti-war slogans on supermarket shelves.
Another, Natalia, has been using a SIM card she bought while studying in the UK to broadcast anti-war messages on TikTok, while journalists and mothers Olga and Elena have been trying to document the true death toll.
Their exploits were captured by a documentary-maker who gave his name only as Vasiliy, who is also Russian, who said he wanted to show that not all of his countrymen support Putin's war.
* * *
Source: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11360627/Brave-activists-fighting-against-Putins-war-Ukraine-Russia.html
-
Biden administration tears into Russia for using photos of Slovenian smoke detectors to suggest they have 'proof' Ukraine can make a dirty bomb
By GEOFF EARLE, DEPUTY U.S. POLITICAL EDITOR FOR DAILYMAIL.COM
27 October 2022
A White House official is calling out Russia for 'ridiculous' disinformation after it pushed out an image purporting to show the threat of a Ukrainian 'dirty bomb' that was actually an old picture of Slovenian fire extinguishers.
The U.S. and allies, as well as the Ukrainians, are closely monitoring the situation in Ukraine after Russia has raised repeatedly warnings that the Ukrainians would set off a 'dirty bomb' in their own country.
White House national security spokesman John Kirby has warned it has echoes of the kind of 'false flag' operations Russia is known for – where the Kremlin puts out information about the specter of a threat to justify its own plans.
In this case, Russia's ministry of foreign affairs released stock images of nuclear reactors and storage facilities to bolster its claims about the supposed Ukrainian dirty bomb threat.
'Russia shared an image of dirty bomb material as “proof” of its false claims. Only -wait for it- the photo, taken in 2010, is apparently of a pile of Slovenian smoke detectors,' National Security Council spokeswoman Adrienne Watson tweeted Thursday.
'Russian disinfo: ridiculous, unsurprising… made with horrifying intent & devastating repercussions.'
* * *
Source: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11361893/White-House-tears-Russia-using-photos-Slovenian-smoke-detectors-dirty-bomb-proof.html
-
Russian Offensive Campaign Assessment, October 27
https://www.understandingwar.org/backgrounder/russian-offensive-campaign-assessment-october-27 (https://www.understandingwar.org/backgrounder/russian-offensive-campaign-assessment-october-27)
Russian President Vladimir Putin continues to reject the idea of Ukrainian sovereignty in a way that is fundamentally incompatible with serious negotiations. Putin continued to reject Ukrainian sovereignty during a speech at the Valdai Discussion Club on October 27. Putin stated that the “single real guarantee of Ukrainian sovereignty” can only be Russia, which “created” Ukraine.[1] Putin reiterated that it is a “historical fact” that Ukrainians and Russians are fundamentally “one people” that were wrongly separated into “different states.”[2] Putin stated on October 26 that Ukraine has “lost its sovereignty” and become a NATO vassal.[3]
Putin’s statements reject the legal fact that Ukraine is a fully sovereign state, that the Russian Federation recognized Ukraine’s sovereignty, and that the Ukrainian people exist as a distinct nation. Putin’s perpetuation of the narrative that Ukraine and Russia are a single people separated into different states by arbitrary historical circumstance indicates his continued objective to destroy the Ukrainian state and erase the notion of a Ukrainian people. He added during the question-and-answer period that “if some part of that single ethnicity at some moment decided that it had reached such a level as to consider itself a separate people, then one could only respond with respect.”[4] The many conditionals in this comment underscore Putin’s rejection of the idea that there is currently any independent Ukrainian national identity. These statements, along with many Russian actions, must cause serious reflection on the question of whether Russia’s war against Ukraine is a genocidal action since genocide is legally defined as “acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group.”[5]
A senior Russian official threatened that Russia could target Western commercial satellites supporting Ukraine. Russian Foreign Ministry Deputy Director of the Department for Non-Proliferation and Arms Control Konstantin Vorontsov told the United Nations that the United States and its allies were trying to use space to enforce Western dominance and that "quasi-civilian infrastructure may be a legitimate target for a retaliatory strike."[6] Reuters reported that US National Security Council Spokesperson John Kirby stated that the United States will meet any attack on US infrastructure “with a response.”[7]
Key Takeaways
• Russian President Vladimir Putin continues to reject Ukrainian sovereignty in a way that is fundamentally incompatible with serious negotiations.
• A senior Russian official threatened that Russia could target Western commercial satellites supporting Ukraine.
• Russian sources claimed that Ukrainian forces conducted counteroffensive operations in northeastern Kharkiv Oblast and along the Kreminna-Lysychansk line.
• Russian forces are continuing to make defensive preparations along the east bank of the Dnipro River in Kherson Oblast.
• Russian sources claimed that Ukrainian forces conducted limited ground assaults in Kherson Oblast.
• Russian forces continued to conduct ground attacks in Donetsk Oblast.
• The Russian military sent mobilization notices to foreign citizens working in Russia.
• Yevgeny Prigozhin‘s Wagner Group may be further developing its air warfare capabilities and fielding more complex equipment on par with the conventional Russian military.
• Russian and occupation administration officials began seizing residents’ cell phones in Russian-occupied territories to support law enforcement and operational security measures.
More at link.
-
As been stated numerous times, a "border" war was lie from the git-go.
De-nazification was also a lie from the git-go.
It was all lies to justify Putin consuming Ukraine.
-
As been stated numerous times, a "border" war was lie from the git-go.
De-nazification was also a lie from the git-go.
It was all lies to justify Putin consuming Ukraine.
Unlike the Afghani's the Ukrainians are more than willing to fight for their freedom.
The next crisis is going to be China. They are returning to their Marxist-Maoist roots. The Chinese economy is crumbling and they are already having a hard time feeding their people.
Our problem is Brandon is not up to the task at hand everything he has gotten involved in has been a disaster.
-
Russian Army Docs Expose It's Miserable State!
(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cj9TDMbb3lM)
This confirms what many already know about the Russian military. There is no mid-level command structure. The generals at the top set the orders for everyone.
-
Putin's invasion goes into reverse: 'Severely undermanned and poorly trained' Russian units are forced on to the defensive across the front-line in Ukraine
By CHRIS PLEASANCE FOR MAILONLINE
28 October 2022
Russia has largely given up attacking Ukraine and has been forced on to the defensive after Putin's military got mauled by Kyiv's armies.
Severely undermanned and poorly trained Russian units have stopped advancing across most of the front line in the last six weeks, British intelligence said today.
In Kherson, companies of soldiers which should consist of 100 men were fighting with just six to eight troops each, Ministry of Defence analysts added.
While Putin is attempting to bolster these units with conscripted troops, Russia is unlikely to be able to resume its offensive in the near future.
Meanwhile, Ukrainian forces are advancing in both the north and south of the country - pushing east from Kharkiv into Luhansk and advancing towards Kherson.
* * *
Source: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11365681/Putins-invasion-goes-reverse-Russia-forced-defensive.html
-
Anybody that doesn't think that Putin and Stalinism doesn't still have a firm hold on Moscow needs to read and ponder this for a few moments.
In ANY free country anywhere in the world a leader that put his military and his nation in a predicament like this would have been removed from office months ago.
-
Barracks hit in Svatove, killing 60 and wounding over 100. Also, corruption exists on the Russian side, too. Money was provided to rebuild housing, but all those funds disappeared:
https://t.me/luhanskaVTSA/6523
Translation:
In the Svativ region, a barracks with the occupiers was destroyed, in the so-called "LPR" they once again noted the inexpediency of rebuilding Popasna, the state of consideration of applications for compensation for destroyed housing was recognized by the occupiers as unsatisfactory
None of the occupiers is able to take responsibility for the decision regarding Popasna. First, a decree was issued on the inexpediency of its restoration, then at a higher level, that is, in Russia, it was refuted, and now local residents are again being prepared for the preliminary development of affairs. They are looking for funds for the construction of housing in Pervomaisk and Zolote. Options are being considered with Lysychansk and Severodonetsk.
Although in the last two cities, as in Rubizhne with Kreminna, they could not even promptly consider applications for compensation for destroyed housing. Either the money arrived, and then suddenly disappeared, or disappeared before it was received, but the facts of mass non-payments have already reached the so-called leadership of the "republic". The perpetrators are being sought, the missing funds are not.
-
Barracks housing Russian occupiers destroyed in Svatove district in Luhansk Oblast
OLENA ROSHCHINA – THURSDAY, 27 OCTOBER 2022, 09:33
A barracks has been destroyed and about 60 Russian occupiers have been killed in the Svatove district in Luhansk Oblast, Serhii Haidai, Head of Luhansk Oblast Military Administration, has reported. . . .
. . . Details: Haidai states that the number of killed occupiers is growing.
On 26 October, Ukrainian aircraft carried out five strikes. It has been confirmed that clusters of manpower, weapons and military equipment of the Russians, three strong points and an anti-aircraft missile system were hit.
In total, air defence units shot down a Russian Ka-52 helicopter, a Kh-59 missile and 17 attack UAVs.
Over the past day, Ukraine’s Rocket Forces and Artillery hit four command posts, eight clusters of manpower, weapons and military equipment, three ammunition storage sites and six other important sites used by the Russian invaders.
Another attack by the Russians was repelled in the area of Bilohorivka. . .
https://www.pravda.com.ua/eng/news/2022/10/27/7373704/
-
Unlike the Afghani's the Ukrainians are more than willing to fight for their freedom.
The next crisis is going to be China. They are returning to their Marxist-Maoist roots. The Chinese economy is crumbling and they are already having a hard time feeding their people.
Our problem is Brandon is not up to the task at hand everything he has gotten involved in has been a disaster.
The Afghans got the government they wanted: a Muslim semi-theocracy.
That we failed to 'build' our version of what we thought would be a better government for Afghans (and, admittedly, many Afghans agreed), the winners in that, aside from arms dealers, got their way.
Those decisions have ultimately, been internal there, and in a sense, they were free to fight for western style freedom in defiance of a host of cultural norms, or revert to the government they had. The apparent choice was for the latter, under duress or not.
-
The Afghans got the government they wanted: a Muslim semi-theocracy.
That we failed to 'build' our version of what we thought would be a better government for Afghans (and, admittedly, many Afghans agreed), the winners in that, aside from arms dealers, got their way.
Those decisions have ultimately, been internal there, and in a sense, they were free to fight for western style freedom in defiance of a host of cultural norms, or revert to the government they had. The apparent choice was for the latter, under duress or not.
I agree with your points.
Nonetheless, I will always be struck by watching the military age Afghani's running down the runways looking to flee rather than picking up arms to fight. As opposed to seeing the multi millionaire Klitscko brothers picking up weapons to fight the Orcs.
-
I agree with your points.
Nonetheless, I will always be struck by watching the military age Afghani's running down the runways looking to flee rather than picking up arms to fight. As opposed to seeing the multi millionaire Klitscko brothers picking up weapons to fight the Orcs.
Well, it was apparent that without the awesome firepower and know-how of the Coalition (esp. US) forces, they were going to be overrun, especially when the high ranking people were fleeing with their pockets full.
That's a big contrast with "I don't need a ride, I need more ammo."
Some people/cultures are better at inspiring a population to fight, for one thing, and the memory of the Holodomor stands in stark contrast to the history of a nation that has never been conquered from without by foreigners.
-
'There is only us and them - enemies' - Ukrainians dug in trenches on Belarus and Russia frontline
Adam Parsons | 28 October 2022 | 19:32, UK
They tell us to run, and so we run. Through the scrub, the mud and the undergrowth until we stop under the shelter of trees. Out of breath, out of sight and, for now, out of danger.
This is a place of mud, weapons and nervous energy. We are in the area where the borders of Ukraine, Belarus and Russia converge. What was once a novelty on a map is now a tangible military pinch point and Russia's next assault on Ukraine might well come through this terrain.
We are with the Ukrainian Border Force, who monitor and guard the frontier. A year ago, these people worried about customs checks on the hundreds of lorries that came through every day, en route between Turkey and Russia. It was, says a smiling, broad-shouldered man guard called Barack, "good work - interesting, not too hard".
Now, there are no lorries and the guards have become the first line of defence. If Russian troops do pour through this border once more - and there is a growing feeling that they will - then these men and women will be the ones to greet them; to try to repel the Russian army. And so, the border guards have adapted to a new and vastly more perilous world.
"I don't want to do this," one of them says to me. "But I do it because I love my land and my country. If I need to fight, I will do this without thinking. It's just work." . . .
. . .
'We need more weapons'
They have a variety of weaponry - heavy machine guns, anti-tank missiles, rifles, ammunition and so on. There are minefields around us and a variety of concealed look-out posts. The job of preparing to resist a huge invading army is an intimidating one. It's not one that they're really trained for, but it's one they've embraced.
The trouble is that while the spirit is boundless, the resources are not.
"We need more weapons because we don't know the intensity of the possible attack. We do not know how long we will need to maintain the defence on the border," says Halyna, the spokesperson for the Chernihiv border guard unit.
"We are reacting to the raising of the risk by the invasion with more preparation, more fortification - we want to stop them at the border.
"We need heavy weapons. If they send infantry, you can use assault rifles and machine guns and it will all be contained. The problem begins when tanks and their armoured personnel carriers come from their side."
What, I ask, were the lessons they learned from the February attack?
"That they are unpredictable. This is the first lesson. And they are not our friends."
https://news.sky.com/story/ukraine-war-there-is-only-us-and-them-enemies-ukrainians-dug-in-trenches-on-belarus-and-russia-frontline-12732416
-
Russian Losses Fueled by New Units Untrained in 'Basic' Weaponry: Ukraine
ZOE STROZEWSKI | 10/27/22 | 4:06 PM EDT
ussian forces in Ukraine are seeing "significant" manpower losses because of their lack of training with "basic" types of weapons, the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine said Thursday.
In an operational update on Facebook, the General Staff detailed what it said were some of the issues facing Russia's troops in the Ukraine war. These included a lack of material and technical support for Russian units taking part in "hostilities" on Ukrainian territory. In the southern Kherson region, for example, there have been increases in theft and looting by Russian soldiers who don't have access to warm clothes, the update said.
It added that mobilized Russian troops who "arrived in the area to perform combat missions did not undergo appropriate training and lack practical skills in the use of basic types of weapons. This leads to significant losses of enemy manpower." . . .
https://www.newsweek.com/russian-losses-fueled-new-units-untrained-basic-weaponry-ukraine-1755259
-
Russian Losses Fueled by New Units Untrained in 'Basic' Weaponry: Ukraine
ZOE STROZEWSKI | 10/27/22 | 4:06 PM EDT
ussian forces in Ukraine are seeing "significant" manpower losses because of their lack of training with "basic" types of weapons, the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine said Thursday.
In an operational update on Facebook, the General Staff detailed what it said were some of the issues facing Russia's troops in the Ukraine war. These included a lack of material and technical support for Russian units taking part in "hostilities" on Ukrainian territory. In the southern Kherson region, for example, there have been increases in theft and looting by Russian soldiers who don't have access to warm clothes, the update said.
It added that mobilized Russian troops who "arrived in the area to perform combat missions did not undergo appropriate training and lack practical skills in the use of basic types of weapons. This leads to significant losses of enemy manpower." . . .
https://www.newsweek.com/russian-losses-fueled-new-units-untrained-basic-weaponry-ukraine-1755259
@Hoodat
These "losses" are not numbers. They are young men from a society that was already dying off due to Soviet population control methods,and they literally can NOT be replaced because there is no one available to replace them.
The Soviets thought this population control method made excellent sense because this meant there would be more wealth and power to be shared with fewer people.
This bill is now coming due several generations too late to do anything about it other than to take care to not waste the lives of any more of their young men and women.
Kinda late for that,too.
Pooty-Poot and the cabal of international criminals known as the Neo-Soviet Politburo just managed to burn Russia's future to the ground.
I can only hope that one day there will be more international war crimes tribunals like there was with the Nazi's after WW-2,and that Putin and the entire neo-Soviet leadership are hanged in public for this massive crime against humanity.
-
Fresh Ukrainian armor moving forward
video (http://www.reddit.com/r/UkraineWarVideoReport/comments/ydw11p/fresh_ukrainian_armour_moving_forward/)
(music from Black Sabbath)
-
Written off in advance How an untrained and unarmed ‘platoon’ of new conscripts from Moscow was decimated near Svatove
Elizabeth Nesterova | 25 October 2022, 12:02
Source: https://zona.media/article/2022/10/25/anabasis
(https://s3.zona.media/i/e/bd0c9122aa3ec1bb9d8fd995b00bac66_1400x850)
Photo: screenshot of the video of the YouTube channel Rus_GamerPro
On October 8, a group of new conscripts from the Moscow region recorded an understated but still urgent video, in which they hoped to tell the civilian audience about their circumstances. Their platoon of 30 was about to be sent to Lyman, to take part in a Russian offensive there. The soldiers, dressed in rag-tag uniforms each of them had to put together around retail shops, said that they were going to the front without any training, and with weapons that were “rusty, stuck, or jammed.” With only a day’s worth of firing practice, and no acquaintance at all with the vehicles some of them would have to drive, they felt completely unprepared to be sent to a war “hot spot.” The day after recording the video, the platoon of 30 was sent to the Luhansk region. By October 17, when the video was first published on YouTube, only 13 men were left in the unit. The rest of them were either dead or missing. Here’s what happened to the platoon, based on an extended investigation published recently by Mediazona and the videos recorded by the soldiers — one of them still unpublished.
Most of the men who appeared in the published video (which has now been removed from YouTube) had been drafted on September 23–25 — that is, in the very first days of mobilization, which started on September 21.
According to his sister, one of them received a draft letter on September 22. On September 25, he was sent, straight from the draft office, to the army base in Alabino, a village on the outskirts of Naro-Fominsk, a town in the Moscow region. Over the several days he spent there, he was able to buy himself a uniform and all the other essential gear.
From Alabino, the conscripts were taken to a camp near the village of Nikitovka in the Belgorod region, which shares a border with Ukraine. From there, via a village called Khokhlovo, they were sent to the Luhansk region. In all that time, they got nothing that would even resemble adequate training. The mobilized men were assigned to the First platoon, Second company of the Fifteenth motorized rifle regiment within the “elite” Taman Division, stationed in Naro-Fominsk.
By October 9, they had arrived in the vicinity of Svatove, a Ukrainian city in the Luhansk region. There, the command deposited them in a “small grove,” leaving them with a non-working radio, so that the troops had no communication “either with the headquarters, the commander, or the Second or Third platoons.” All in all, there were 30 of them in position, including one BMP mechanic-driver who had never seen his combat vehicle.
In one of the two videos they made, the soldiers explained that they were barely armed. They had machine guns, but no hand grenades, and no rounds for the RPG launcher. One of the machine guns was broken. Soon the company commander ordered the platoon to “meet the enemy column.” The soldiers objected that they’d never fired an RPG, to which the commander replied: “Why don’t I send you ahead to the first line, and you’ll warm up your weapons right there.”
In the evening on October 12, the platoon’s positions came under Ukrainian artillery fire. An hour later, they saw a group of 30–40 Russian troops moving towards the front line.
We came up to those guys, asking what was going on, whether the village had been surrendered. They answered: “The battle is lost, we were beaten with mortars, we’re retreating.” There were about two companies there, the Fifth and Sixth companies, conscripts exactly like ourselves. One of them said that there would be a tank battle soon.
Shortly afterwards, four Russian tanks drove past the First platoon’s positions, in the direction of the frontline, with the headlights on. 20 minutes later, the men heard artillery fire, and soon the tanks came back, at a low speed, with all the lights turned off. “We all jumped up, gathered our guns and bulletproof vests, got our bags, and just followed the tanks,” said one of the conscripts. Their officers tried to stop them from retreating, but when artillery shells began to strike nearby, “they all scattered like cockroaches,” jumping into their vehicles and leaving. . .
https://meduza.io/en/feature/2022/10/26/written-off-in-advance
-
Mobilization chaos in Russia
(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oDj5T8vnXek)
-
The Soviets were famous for restricting information to the serfs that sever them,so I have to wonder in this day of cell phones and global communications,how much,if any,of this is getting back to the Russian population.
Surely this can't just continue to happen with no consequences to what passes for leadership these days.
-
Well, it was apparent that without the awesome firepower and know-how of the Coalition (esp. US) forces, they were going to be overrun, especially when the high ranking people were fleeing with their pockets full.
That's a big contrast with "I don't need a ride, I need more ammo."
Some people/cultures are better at inspiring a population to fight, for one thing, and the memory of the Holodomor stands in stark contrast to the history of a nation that has never been conquered from without by foreigners.
Nothing like strong leadership at a moment of crisis.
When all we are asked for is the supplying of weapons to defend themselves from invaders I'm all for it. The Ukrainians have proven they are more than capable given the weaponry.
-
Russians withdraw military equipment from key airfield near occupied Kherson
2022/10/29 - 14:17
Satellite images from 27 October shared by OSINT analyst Tim Ehrhart show that Russian troops have fully withdrawn their military equipment stationed at the Chornobaivka airfield
https://twitter.com/ArtisanalAPT/status/1586098526941237249
Made by the Satel Logic company, they show only abandoned trenches for equipment in which the Russians attempted to hide their equipment from Ukrainian strikes. . .
https://euromaidanpress.com/2022/10/29/russians-withdraw-military-equipment-from-key-airfield-near-occupied-kherson/
-
'Massive' drone attack on Black Sea Fleet - Russia
Hugo Bachega, Kyiv & James Gregory, London | 11 hours ago
Ukraine has carried out a "massive" drone attack on the Black Sea Fleet in the Crimean port city of Sevastopol, damaging one warship, Russia says.
Nine drones were used, a top official said. Ukraine has not commented.
Without providing evidence, Russia accused British troops of being involved in Saturday's attack - and in blowing up gas pipelines last month.
In its response, the UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) said Russia was "peddling false claims of an epic scale".
Russia said the ships targeted in Saturday's attack were involved in the internationally-brokered deal to allow grain exports from Ukrainian ports and hours later announced that it was suspending its participation in it.
The attack comes as Ukrainian troops successfully retake territory occupied by Russian troops since they launched their invasion on 24 February.
Russia has replied by launching large-scale attacks on Ukrainian infrastructure, particularly on the country's energy grid.
Crimea was annexed by Russia from Ukraine in 2014 and is extremely symbolic for Russian President Vladimir Putin.
In recent weeks, several attacks have hit the peninsula, where the Russian army has built up a large presence.
Sevastopol is the largest city in the region and home to Russia's Black Sea fleet.
Mikhail Razvozhaev, the Russian-installed governor of the city, said Russia's navy had repelled the latest attack - the "most massive" on the city since February.
He said that all unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) had been shot down and no "civilian infrastructure" had been damaged.
At least one vessel sustained minor damage, the Russian ministry of defence said. . .
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-63437212
-
Russians are upset democrats are stealing their favorite lies, disinformation, and propaganda tactics, in response,
Democrats are upset Russians are stealing their favorite lies, disinformation, and propaganda tactics.
With massive infusions of weapons and money into the Ukraine, the Ukrainians are playing we are so dirt poor we can't do nuthin! When the Russians attack, they cry we have nuthin and can't do nuthin, NATO allies need to send us everythin they got, weapons and money included!
Help. yes. everything, Hell NO
Tell the Ukrainians to talk to Joe Biden and have the Afghanistan rebels share the Army they got from us to the Ukraine! really!
-
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FgTldSVWAAE5D1E?format=jpg&name=small)
-
Maybe Putin is really the Biden of Russia.
-
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FgTldSVWAAE5D1E?format=jpg&name=small)
71,000+ killed
If that number is anywhere close to the truth it's hard to see how Putin has any support within Russia. This war could go on for years so that number could easily double. Russia really is destroying itself.
-
Maybe Putin is really the Biden of Russia.
Maybe!
Putin has made one mistake after another and isn't smart enough to recognize defeat when it's staring him in the face. Instead, Putin keeps doubling down in trying to conquer Ukraine and bully the world. The end result is more and more Russians are dying, Ukraine is getting stronger and bordering nations are increasing their security as well as joining NATO.
-
71,000+ killed
If that number is anywhere close to the truth it's hard to see how Putin has any support within Russia. This war could go on for years so that number could easily double. Russia really is destroying itself.
Possibly, but keep in mind that the current Russo-Ukraine war has been going on for quite sometime; approximately since 2014.
There has been a regime change in Ukraine -- U.S. dollars have been flowing into Ukraine also for quite some time and currently under Joe billions have been sent (at least pledged).
Also, there has been evidence or reports that Ukraine had been murdering its own people - not to say that this has or is happening under Zelensky, but Ukraine has not been innocent in all of this.
Yes, the war has escalated, but that escalation came when Joe started throwing money to Ukraine and also keep in mind the escalation happened after Joe's debacle in Afghanistan.
Bottom line to me is this is NOT our war. Joe should have never started shelling out money to Zelensky. Zelensky only expects and almost demands more.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russo-Ukrainian_War
-
Possibly, but keep in mind that the current Russo-Ukraine war has been going on for quite sometime; approximately since 2014.
There has been a regime change in Ukraine -- U.S. dollars have been flowing into Ukraine also for quite some time and currently under Joe billions have been sent (at least pledged).
Also, there has been evidence or reports that Ukraine had been murdering its own people - not to say that this has or is happening under Zelensky, but Ukraine has not been innocent in all of this.
Yes, the war has escalated, but that escalation came when Joe started throwing money to Ukraine and also keep in mind the escalation happened after Joe's debacle in Afghanistan.
Bottom line to me is this is NOT our war. Joe should have never started shelling out money to Zelensky. Zelensky only expects and almost demands more.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russo-Ukrainian_War
Wikipedia, the well known source of truth...
-
Maybe!
Putin has made one mistake after another and isn't smart enough to recognize defeat when it's staring him in the face. Instead, Putin keeps doubling down in trying to conquer Ukraine and bully the world. The end result is more and more Russians are dying, Ukraine is getting stronger and bordering nations are increasing their security as well as joining NATO.
@bilo
Russia was only a free nation for the blink of an eye,and then the Secret Police took over again in the form of Putin and his "proxy" in the early days.
They aren't even pretending to freedom these days.
The ONLY thing that can save Russia with a MINIMUM of bloodshed is a coup by the Politiburo and a return to freedoms. The problem is everybody still in charge there is a creature of the Soviet Slave State,and that is all they know.
Which leaves a violent revolution by the long-suggering Russian serfs. IF that happens,it is going to get ugly by Biblical standards.
I see no peaceful solution to this problem. I wish I did,but I don't. Things can NOT continue to go on as they are now,so change MUST take place.
-
Wikipedia, the well known source of truth...
Simply pointing out some history and time frame involved here. There are many reference entities; so, which would you rather believe? I believe most lean liberal - but the timeline itself is basically the same. The 'reasons' or events that lead up to or make up the timeline may vary.
My main point is that this conflict is not new and IMO has been escalated by Joe & Company.
https://www.graduateinstitute.ch/communications/news/understanding-roots-russia-ukraine-war-and-misuse-history
https://www.wilsoncenter.org/publication/why-did-russia-give-away-crimea-sixty-years-ago
https://www.history.com/news/ukraine-timeline-invasions
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/the-20th-century-history-behind-russias-invasion-of-ukraine-180979672/
https://www.historyextra.com/period/general-history/russia-invade-ukraine-history-relationship-crimea-why-conflict-facts/
https://www.pbs.org/newshour/world/a-historical-timeline-of-post-independence-ukraine
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-18010123
https://www.cfr.org/timeline/ukraines-struggle-independence-russias-shadow
https://gis.huri.harvard.edu/resource-type/timeline-maps
-
Possibly, but keep in mind that the current Russo-Ukraine war has been going on for quite sometime; approximately since 2014.
There has been a regime change in Ukraine -- U.S. dollars have been flowing into Ukraine also for quite some time and currently under Joe billions have been sent (at least pledged).
Also, there has been evidence or reports that Ukraine had been murdering its own people - not to say that this has or is happening under Zelensky, but Ukraine has not been innocent in all of this.
Yes, the war has escalated, but that escalation came when Joe started throwing money to Ukraine and also keep in mind the escalation happened after Joe's debacle in Afghanistan.
Bottom line to me is this is NOT our war. Joe should have never started shelling out money to Zelensky. Zelensky only expects and almost demands more.
@libertybele
I don't understand why so many act as though this conflict began in Feb 2022 and the West had nothing to do with it instead of demanding answers before the world as we know it is blown apart.
The US led West pushed for this for almost a decade----- prodding, instigating, interferring, arming, inflaming, pissing on negotiations ----- Had it not been for the election of Trump, 2017 would indeed have been "the year of offense against the Russians" as McCain proclaimed to Ukrainian soldiers in 2016----promising them our complete support.
This is the West's planned war against Russia -- who will govern The Donbas in The Borderland is the excuse put in play in 2014 ---
Some folks need to spend some time reviewing reports from before Feb 2022 ---- getting to know Victoria Nuland and the State Department's role in the 2014 Ukraine election for president. --- Then gathering the facts on the Ukrainian Revolution in 2014, including its instigators and the brutal Kiev led war it reignited in the Donbas.
BTW, 2014 is also the year Hunter Biden was placed on the Board of Burisma - the largest natural gas producer in Ukraine ----- just a coincidence, I'm sure.
Folks are free to root for Ukraine's victory and celebrate Zelensky's every move as divinely-inspired strategic genius. But, they shoud also take at least a credible shot at explaining why the US has been involved in this up to its eyeballs since 2014---and why it is now depleting our treasury and our military readiness --- actively prolonging this conflict all the way to nuclear war.
Just my $0.02 :shrug:
-
@libertybele
I don't understand why so many act as though this conflict began in Feb 2022 and the West had nothing to do with it instead of demanding answers before the world as we know it is blown apart.
The US led West pushed for this for almost a decade----- prodding, instigating, interferring, arming, inflaming, pissing on negotiations ----- Had it not been for the election of Trump, 2017 would indeed have been "the year of offense against the Russians" as McCain proclaimed to Ukrainian soldiers in 2016----promising them our complete support.
This is the West's planned war against Russia -- who will govern The Donbas in The Borderland is the excuse put in play in 2014 ---
Some folks need to spend some time reviewing reports from before Feb 2022 ---- getting to know Victoria Nuland and the State Department's role in the 2014 Ukraine election for president. --- Then gathering the facts on the Ukrainian Revolution in 2014, including its instigators and the brutal Kiev led war it reignited in the Donbas.
BTW, 2014 is also the year Hunter Biden was placed on the Board of Burisma - the largest natural gas producer in Ukraine ----- just a coincidence, I'm sure.
Folks are free to root for Ukraine's victory and celebrate Zelensky's every move as divinely-inspired strategic genius. But, they shoud also take at least a credible shot at explaining why the US has been involved in this up to its eyeballs since 2014---and why it is now depleting our treasury and our military readiness --- actively prolonging this conflict all the way to nuclear war.
Just my $0.02 :shrug:
That is the biggest red flag and concern -- the depletion of our treasury and our military. As for Hunter and Joe, well, IMHO it's easy enough to connect the dots.
-
@libertybeleThe US led West pushed for this for almost a decade----- prodding, instigating, interferring, arming, inflaming, pissing on negotiations -----
For the 68th time, can you provide any evidence that supports your claim?
Some folks need to spend some time reviewing reports from before Feb 2022 ---- getting to know Victoria Nuland and the State Department's role in the 2014 Ukraine election for president. ---
Russia's incursion into Ukraine predates the 2014 election. But then you already knew that, yet chose to push this false narrative anyway.
Then gathering the facts on the Ukrainian Revolution in 2014, including its instigators
The 2014 Revolution was instigated by the Ukrainian people for the purpose of removing Russian puppet Viktor Yanukovych from office.
and the brutal Kiev led war it reignited in the Donbas.
War in the Donbas was ignited by the invasion of Russian troops into Ukraine. You knew this already, yet here you are again pushing the same false narrative in an attempt to purposely deceive people.
BTW, 2014 is also the year Hunter Biden was placed on the Board of Burisma - the largest natural gas producer in Ukraine
Again AFTER Russia invaded.
Folks are free to root for Ukraine's victory and celebrate Zelensky's every move as divinely-inspired strategic genius.
Not really concerned with Zelenskiy here (although you seem to be obsessed with him since you keep bringing him up). But I am definitely rooting for the Ukraine military to put an end to the atrocities that Russia is committing against the Ukrainian population. And that includes Donbas.
But, they shoud also take at least a credible shot at explaining why the US has been involved in this up to its eyeballs since 2014---and why it is now depleting our treasury and our military readiness --- actively prolonging this conflict all the way to nuclear war.
Just my $0.02 :shrug:
Strawman. No one is disputing the corruption of the Obama Administration and the Biden regime. What I am questioning is how is the US responsible for Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Either support your claim, or stop making it.
-
For the 68th time, ....
Well, you *are* the moth to my flame -----
-
Again, @Hoodat the dots are easy to connect. Again, the conflict between Russia and Ukraine has been ongoing.
I have posted several links to most of my posts including the involvement of both Joe and Hunter before Joe became president. I also posted several links to research and videos by Glenn Beck outlining the Ukraine/Burisma/US involvement. Coincidence that Trump was looking into the $$ to Ukraine and Burisma involvement and then he's impeached? Then Joe runs for president and wins with more votes than were cast. Come on. Then ....
Back in January, 2022 before Putin escalated the war, Biden announced a prediction that Putin would invade Ukraine -- quite a prediction wasn't it? Perhaps some might even see it as antagonistic or provoking. Interesting don't you think that the Joe administration was giving Ukraine $$ almost immediately after Joe took office. Gee, perhaps Putin may have sensed that as a threat, especially since NATO allies have been giving Z plenty of $$ and ammunition as well before Putin actually decided to escalate the ongoing conflict.
The U.S. to date has paid Ukraine over $18billion dollars.
Interesting don't you think that Hunter Biden joined the board of Burisma (2014) ... "over the course of the next several years, Hunter Biden and Devon Archer were paid millions of dollars from a corrupt Ukrainian oligarch for their participation on the board."
The war has been on going, with Hunter up to his eyebrows in corruption in Ukraine and when Daddy becomes president, the war then escalates with billions of dollars being paid out to Ukraine.
https://static.poder360.com.br/2022/02/2014-Coup-1.pdf (Ukraine Revolution 2014)
https://www.atlanticcouncil.org/blogs/ukrainealert/how-ukraines-orange-revolution-shaped-twenty-first-century-geopolitics/ (Ukraine Orange Revolution 2004)
https://www.finance.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/HSGAC%20-%20Finance%20Joint%20Report%202020.09.23.pdf
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/01/19/us/politics/biden-putin-russia-ukraine.html
Bottom line, this is their war not ours. $18 billion is a lot to throw at Ukraine.
I don't know about you but I find it alarming that the U.S. will be running out of diesel by November 8 -- 25 days after it was announced on October 14, 2022. (I posted links to the articles). We are looking at a very real potential of our economy coming to a halt.
It was reported a few months ago that the ruble is very strong despite sanctions. Putin isn't hurting, but Europe is hurting with a prediction that thousands will freeze to death this winter and it is very probable as things stand now that the U.S. may follow. (Links to articles were also posted).
-
@libertybele
I don't understand why so many act as though this conflict began in Feb 2022 and the West had nothing to do with it instead of demanding answers before the world as we know it is blown apart.
The US led West pushed for this for almost a decade----- prodding, instigating, interferring, arming, inflaming, pissing on negotiations ----- Had it not been for the election of Trump, 2017 would indeed have been "the year of offense against the Russians" as McCain proclaimed to Ukrainian soldiers in 2016----promising them our complete support.
This is the West's planned war against Russia -- who will govern The Donbas in The Borderland is the excuse put in play in 2014 ---
Some folks need to spend some time reviewing reports from before Feb 2022 ---- getting to know Victoria Nuland and the State Department's role in the 2014 Ukraine election for president. --- Then gathering the facts on the Ukrainian Revolution in 2014, including its instigators and the brutal Kiev led war it reignited in the Donbas.
BTW, 2014 is also the year Hunter Biden was placed on the Board of Burisma - the largest natural gas producer in Ukraine ----- just a coincidence, I'm sure.
Folks are free to root for Ukraine's victory and celebrate Zelensky's every move as divinely-inspired strategic genius. But, they shoud also take at least a credible shot at explaining why the US has been involved in this up to its eyeballs since 2014---and why it is now depleting our treasury and our military readiness --- actively prolonging this conflict all the way to nuclear war.
Just my $0.02 :shrug:
Your $0.02 is worth more than $1 Trillion (even accounting for today's debased currency). I simply can not understand why this is so difficult for many to see.
:shrug:
-
Again, @Hoodat the dots are easy to connect. Again, the conflict between Russia and Ukraine has been ongoing.
I have posted several links to most of my posts including the involvement of . . . .
Not a single word of that addresses Russia's violation of Ukraine sovereignty by sending military troops into Donetsk, Luhansk, and Crimea. Not a single word. Everything you mention took place AFTER Russia invaded. Everything. So no, the US is not to blame for Putin's actions.
btw, Ukraine was on the fast track to EU membership in 2013 (http://European Union–Ukraine Association Agreement). Yanukovych, under Russian orders, sabotaged that.
-
Your $0.02 is worth more than $1 Trillion (even accounting for today's debased currency). I simply can not understand why this is so difficult for many to see.
:shrug:
The most obvious reason is that the premise is complete bullshit.
-
Possibly, but keep in mind that the current Russo-Ukraine war has been going on for quite sometime; approximately since 2014.
There has been a regime change in Ukraine -- U.S. dollars have been flowing into Ukraine also for quite some time and currently under Joe billions have been sent (at least pledged).
Also, there has been evidence or reports that Ukraine had been murdering its own people - not to say that this has or is happening under Zelensky, but Ukraine has not been innocent in all of this.
Yes, the war has escalated, but that escalation came when Joe started throwing money to Ukraine and also keep in mind the escalation happened after Joe's debacle in Afghanistan.
Bottom line to me is this is NOT our war. Joe should have never started shelling out money to Zelensky. Zelensky only expects and almost demands more.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russo-Ukrainian_War
:mauslaff:
-
:mauslaff:
(https://media.tenor.com/FBqmmYQDL88AAAAM/whatever-idc.gif)
-
Again, @Hoodat the dots are easy to connect. Again, the conflict between Russia and Ukraine has been ongoing.
I have posted several links to most of my posts including the involvement of both Joe and Hunter before Joe became president. I also posted several links to research and videos by Glenn Beck outlining the Ukraine/Burisma/US involvement. . . .
Yet again, can you cite a single thing that predates Russia's 2014 invasion of Ukraine. Without exception, every single thing that you have mentioned occurred AFTER Russia invaded. Yanukovych's ouster and Russia's border incursion predate every single one of your dots.
-
80% of Kyiv is left without water as Putin blitzes civilian infrastructure with missiles across Ukraine, cutting off electricity in multiple cities
By CHRIS PLEASANCE FOR MAILONLINE
31 October 2022
Ukraine's capital has been left largely without water and suffering power cuts this morning after Russia unleashed another missile barrage on major cities.
Vitali Klitschko, the mayor of Kyiv, said 80 per cent of his city has been left without water and 350,000 homes have no power after Russian cruise missiles hit key infrastructure sites - with witnesses reporting five explosions.
Kharkiv, in the north, Dnipro and Cherkasy, in central Ukraine, and the southern city of Zaporizhzhia were also hit - causing power cuts.
More than 50 cruise missiles were fired by Russian strategic bombers with 44 of the projectiles shot down, Kyiv's commanders said.
It comes two days after Russia's Black Sea fleet was damaged by explosive-laden drones in an attack blamed on Ukraine.
* * *
Source: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11372595/Kyiv-without-power-Russian-missiles-slam-cities-Ukraine.html
-
80% of Kyiv is left without water as Putin blitzes civilian infrastructure with missiles across Ukraine, cutting off electricity in multiple cities
By CHRIS PLEASANCE FOR MAILONLINE
31 October 2022
Ukraine's capital has been left largely without water and suffering power cuts this morning after Russia unleashed another missile barrage on major cities.
Vitali Klitschko, the mayor of Kyiv, said 80 per cent of his city has been left without water and 350,000 homes have no power after Russian cruise missiles hit key infrastructure sites - with witnesses reporting five explosions.
Kharkiv, in the north, Dnipro and Cherkasy, in central Ukraine, and the southern city of Zaporizhzhia were also hit - causing power cuts.
More than 50 cruise missiles were fired by Russian strategic bombers with 44 of the projectiles shot down, Kyiv's commanders said.
It comes two days after Russia's Black Sea fleet was damaged by explosive-laden drones in an attack blamed on Ukraine.
* * *
Source: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11372595/Kyiv-without-power-Russian-missiles-slam-cities-Ukraine.html
Once again, just like their German ideological/philosophical forebears, the Russian nazis take out their frustrations at their military losses on civilians.
-
Biden lost his temper, the people familiar with the call said. The American people were being quite generous, and his admin…working hard to help Ukraine, he said, raising his voice, and Zelenskyy could show a little more gratitude.
Story from NBC News: Biden lost temper with Zelenskyy in June phone call when Ukrainian leader asked for more aid (https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/national-security/biden-lost-temper-zelenskyy-phone-call-ukraine-aid-rcna54592)
-
Your $0.02 is worth more than $1 Trillion (even accounting for today's debased currency). I simply can not understand why this is so difficult for many to see.
:shrug:
Thank you for this @art.prout
-
Once again, just like their German ideological/philosophical forebears, the Russian nazis take out their frustrations at their military losses on civilians.
It's as though they have the attitude "if I can't have it nobody can".
I don't see how you can live in peace with this evil.
-
Biden lost his temper, the people familiar with the call said. The American people were being quite generous, and his admin…working hard to help Ukraine, he said, raising his voice, and Zelenskyy could show a little more gratitude.
Story from NBC News: Biden lost temper with Zelenskyy in June phone call when Ukrainian leader asked for more aid (https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/national-security/biden-lost-temper-zelenskyy-phone-call-ukraine-aid-rcna54592)
Biden highlighted how generous the US taxpayer had been doling money out to the State Dept, NATO, and bordering countries while denying Ukraine the weapons it had been requesting for the last four months. It was around the time of this call that the first HIMARS systems were being deployed in Ukraine after months of waiting.
As for losing his temper, this is just another symptom of his dementia and his unfitness for office.
It's no secret that Ukraine needs help. Lots of it. Their President would be derelict not to ask. But let's not confuse his request with the sheer corruption and incompetence of the current US administration. Sending billions to Romania or Poland shouldn't count as money given to Ukraine. Neither should huge sums given to the US State Department or USAID.
-
It's as though they have the attitude "if I can't have it nobody can".
Pure envy.
I don't see how you can live in peace with this evil.
You can't.
-
Well, you *are* the moth to my flame -----
More like the fact checker to your lies.
-
More like the fact checker to your lies.
:thumbsup:
-
Why Belarusian soldiers are fighting for Ukraine
43m ago
Retired Air Vice-Marshal Sean Bell gives his assessment of Belarus's involvement in the war.
He spoke to Sky News about why there are Belarusian soldiers fighting for Ukraine - despite Alexander Lukashenko, the leader of Belarus, being a "puppet" of Vladimir Putin.
Video at link.
https://news.sky.com/story/ukraine-latest-news-russia-sends-signal-it-could-withdraw-from-kherson-ukraine-says-its-unlikely-putin-will-survive-war-12541713?postid=4779370#liveblog-body
-
Biden lost his temper, the people familiar with the call said. The American people were being quite generous, and his admin…working hard to help Ukraine, he said, raising his voice, and Zelenskyy could show a little more gratitude.
Story from NBC News: Biden lost temper with Zelenskyy in June phone call when Ukrainian leader asked for more aid (https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/national-security/biden-lost-temper-zelenskyy-phone-call-ukraine-aid-rcna54592)
Well, at least people familiar with the phone call are making Joe look tough on Zelenskyy.
I still take the stance of enough is enough. Ukraine has been given plenty for years. NO MORE!! We've spent billions. Americans are feeling the adverse affects. Time to stop throwing $$ at a problem that isn't ours.
-
Well, at least people familiar with the phone call are making Joe look tough on Zelenskyy.
I still take the stance of enough is enough. Ukraine has been given plenty for years. NO MORE!! We've spent billions. Americans are feeling the adverse affects. Time to stop throwing $$ at a problem that isn't ours.
In other words, time to turn chickensh*t and welch on our solemn obligations. Just like every other third world turd of a country.
-
In other words, time to turn chickensh*t and welch on our solemn obligations. Just like every other third world turd of a country.
Reality check. The choice we are faced with now after giving them billions which hasn't helped is to continue to deplete our resources and our military?? Sorry .... we haven't turned on them, what we've done hasn't helped and has only inflicted hardships on our own country and people.
If this Republic falls, then where will they get their aid?? Who is going to come to our aid? Russia? China? (We're now targets). Certainly not Europe as they are predicting thousands of Europeans will freeze to death this winter. Canada? (yeah right)
-
Reality check. The choice we are faced with now after giving them billions which hasn't helped is to continue to deplete our resources and our military?? Sorry .... we haven't turned on them, what we've done hasn't helped and has only inflicted hardships on our own country and people.
If this Republic falls, then where will they get their aid?? Who is going to come to our aid? Russia? China? (We're now targets). Certainly not Europe as they are predicting thousands of Europeans will freeze to death this winter. Canada? (yeah right)
Reality check: we promised to guarantee their security if they gave up their nuclear weapons. Now, when fulfilling our promises requires a little more than blithe talk, some of us want to turn chickensh*t. Bwaack, bwaack, bwaak.
-
Reality check: we promised to guarantee their security if they gave up their nuclear weapons. Now, when fulfilling our promises requires a little more than blithe talk, some of us want to turn chickensh*t. Bwaack, bwaack, bwaak.
Obviously you either have no rebuttal or you missed my point.
Guarantee their security? Ok ... so, should we enter into war? Keep giving them billions? What exactly do you propose??
BTW bawk and laugh at yourself .... meanwhile there are those of us that do see the dangers of WWIII and the severity of the hardship that this has created for our country.
I'll stick with making America First. Without her, where is the rest of the world going to be? Think about it instead of quickly using snide antics.
-
I'll stick with making America First. Without her, where is the rest of the world going to be? Think about it instead of quickly using snide antics.
I can appreciate a genuine isolationist viewpoint even if I may disagree with it. It should be able to stand on it's own merit. No reason to bolster it with falsehoods on how the US is responsible for the 2014 revolution or the Russian invasion which quickly followed.
-
I can appreciate a genuine isolationist viewpoint even if I may disagree with it. It should be able to stand on it's own merit. No reason to bolster it with falsehoods on how the US is responsible for the 2014 revolution or the Russian invasion which quickly followed.
Why do you insist on looking at such a narrow field of Russia/Ukraine conflict? I posted links that go way, way before 2014.
Perhaps it's not truly isolationism when what you've done isn't working and hasn't worked. Short of getting involved in armed conflict, what do you propose as a solution?
I see it at this point as it's either them or us. :shrug:
-
Short of getting involved in armed conflict, what do you propose as a solution?
Provide Ukraine with the weapons needed to lay waste the entire Russian Army deployed on Russian soil. Give Ukraine the capability to remove Russia's capacity for war for the next two decades.
As far as lessons learned goes, we should have embraced them as Western partners and wholeheartedly supported their entry into the EU. And we should have pressured Russia to withdraw in 2014 instead of letting that fester for eight years just like we did with Saddam in Iraq. And above all else, we should hold US politicians accountable for graft, perjury, and extortion, among other things. I cannot for the life of me understand why Marie Yovanovitch isn't in prison this very moment for perjuring herself before Congress. Not to mention countless State Dept officials who were on the take.
-
Provide Ukraine with the weapons needed to lay waste the entire Russian Army deployed on Russian soil. Give Ukraine the capability to remove Russia's capacity for war for the next two decades.
As far as lessons learned goes, we should have embraced them as Western partners and wholeheartedly supported their entry into the EU. And we should have pressured Russia to withdraw in 2014 instead of letting that fester for eight years just like we did with Saddam in Iraq. And above all else, we should hold US politicians accountable for graft, perjury, and extortion, among other things. I cannot for the life of me understand why Marie Yovanovitch isn't in prison this very moment for perjuring herself before Congress. Not to mention countless State Dept officials who were on the take.
In theory, ok, but in reality not. We've already spent billions. It is my understanding that we have also drawn down our military equipment to supply them with weapons....so I just don't see continuing to do the same thing and expecting a different result as an option, nor do I believe that we should place hardships on Americans and that is where we are at.
I believe Joe and his handlers mindset is geared towards war. Why else would they keep depleting reserves, munitions and crippling our economy??
Many things that perhaps we should have done as you mentioned, but, the ship has sailed and we're taking on water.
I agree as well that we should hold politicians/officials accountable, but we haven't done so and that is why we find ourselves with the overwhelming corruptness that we have in our govt and our Republic hanging on by a thread.
-
Ukrainian Saboteurs Reportedly Blew Up Russian Helicopters 500 Miles From Ukraine
David Axe | Oct 31, 2022 | 06:24pm EDT
(https://imageio.forbes.com/specials-images/imageserve/636049cd295903240c876f4e/0x0.jpg?format=jpg&crop=1500,703,x0,y82,safe&width=960)
A Kamov Ka-52.
Russian air force regiments flying the service’s Kamov Ka-52 attack helicopters have been having a difficult war. It just got a lot more difficult.
Ukrainian air-defenses have shot down at least a quarter of the 100 or so twin-rotor Ka-52s the air force operated before Russia’s wider war on Ukraine starting late February. And now Ukrainian saboteurs have damaged or destroyed another four Ka-52s at an airfield in western Russia, according to Ukraine’s military intelligence agency.
“Two Ka-52s were destroyed at the airfield in the Pskov region, and two more were seriously damaged,” the intel agency claimed Monday.
It’s impossible to verify the agency’s assertion. But Russian social media users mentioned incidents involving helicopters in Pskov Oblast. And there is a video purportedly depicting the daytime sabotage. The short video depicts a man crouching alongside a Ka-52, preparing what appears to be a bomb combining an MD-5M detonator with a VZD-6Ch mechanical fuze.
The VZD-6Ch operates on a delay of up to six hours, giving a saboteur plenty of time to escape.
Ukrainian agents working in Pskov Oblast would need as much time as they can get. Veretye air base in Pskov lies 15 miles from the Russian border with Estonia, and 500 miles from Ukraine. It’s unclear how the potential saboteurs may have infiltrated Russia, but they undoubtedly traveled some distance.
Whether the apparent bombs destroyed any Ka-52s or merely damaged them, it was a powerful blow. The two-seat Ka-52 is Russia’s best attack helicopter. And they’re in increasingly short supply.
The air force has written off at least 25 Ka-52s that outside analysts can confirm. Most of them were shot down by Ukrainian air-defenses, many while hovering as their crews held laser designators on target in order to guide anti-tank missiles.
Don’t count on manufacturer Kamov to make good those losses any time soon. It took Kamov 14 years to supply the roughly 100 Ka-52s that the Russian air force went to war with. And Russia’s production of military aircraft actually has decreased owing to foreign sanctions on high-tech components that Russian industry never has been able to manufacture on its own.
https://www.forbes.com/sites/davidaxe/2022/10/31/ukrainian-saboteurs-reportedly-blew-up-russian-helicopters-500-miles-from-ukraine/
-
In theory, ok, but in reality not. We've already spent billions. It is my understanding that we have also drawn down our military equipment to supply them with weapons....so I just don't see continuing to do the same thing and expecting a different result as an option, nor do I believe that we should place hardships on Americans and that is where we are at.
I believe Joe and his handlers mindset is . . .
Joe Biden's incompetence, weakness, wastefulness, and treason does not disqualify what should be done. Billions have been squandered. Billions have been given to other European nations. Billions have been used to fund USAID. Billions have enriched the foreign budgets of State Department officials. And billions have been transferred to the Pentagon for 'drawdowns' of very old equipment. Can't get that money back. But if this money had instead been used to arm Ukraine with the weapons needed to destroy the Russian army on the battlefield, this war could have ended already.
Biden doesn't necessarily want war. But he definitely wants an excuse to send money to every corner of Europe - money that will trickle back to him and his friends. And worse still, he wants to drag this war out as long as possible, because he wrongly thinks that will weaken Putin more than a quick Ukrainian victory. And the biggest loser in all of this is the Ukrainian people.
Just from a humanitarian standpoint, I want the war, the atrocities, and the enslavement committed against the Ukrainian people to end. And the quickest way to achieve that is to remove the Russian Army from Ukraine either by retreat or annihilation.
-
In other words, time to turn chickensh*t and welch on our solemn obligations. Just like every other third world turd of a country.
It's how democrats roll, from Vietnam to Afghanistan, they have turned their backs and left (often in extreme disorder).
My biggest problem is that we have no idea how much of that money actually got to Ukraine. My bet is that it has been seriously siphoned off in a host of other directions despite claims it was going to help the Ukrainians fight.
-
It's how democrats roll, from Vietnam to Afghanistan, they have turned their backs and left (often in extreme disorder).
My biggest problem is that we have no idea how much of that money actually got to Ukraine. My bet is that it has been seriously siphoned off in a host of other directions despite claims it was going to help the Ukrainians fight.
I'm all for weapons and supplies to beat the bear back. No cash.
-
I'm all for weapons and supplies to beat the bear back. No cash.
Yep, me, too.
-
Joe Biden's incompetence, weakness, wastefulness, and treason does not disqualify what should be done. Billions have been squandered. Billions have been given to other European nations. Billions have been used to fund USAID. Billions have enriched the foreign budgets of State Department officials. And billions have been transferred to the Pentagon for 'drawdowns' of very old equipment. Can't get that money back. But if this money had instead been used to arm Ukraine with the weapons needed to destroy the Russian army on the battlefield, this war could have ended already.
Biden doesn't necessarily want war. But he definitely wants an excuse to send money to every corner of Europe - money that will trickle back to him and his friends. And worse still, he wants to drag this war out as long as possible, because he wrongly thinks that will weaken Putin more than a quick Ukrainian victory. And the biggest loser in all of this is the Ukrainian people.
Just from a humanitarian standpoint, I want the war, the atrocities, and the enslavement committed against the Ukrainian people to end. And the quickest way to achieve that is to remove the Russian Army from Ukraine either by retreat or annihilation.
Joe is an evil, corrupt politician that isn't all there (as we all know). I see that the war in the Ukraine has greatly weakened our country and I'm not so sure that the escalation wasn't by design. Certainly Joe & Company have profited.
We both agree that the atrocities against Ukraine need to end. Also the Russian people aren't free from harm. From my viewpoint with Joe in office the conflict will continue. I don't see Russia retreating and to annihilate them would mean WWIII. Just my opinion.
-
I'm all for weapons and supplies to beat the bear back. No cash.
Haven't we given them weapons and supplies and in doing so haven't we drawn down on our own reserves?
-
Haven't we given them weapons and supplies and in doing so haven't we drawn down on our own reserves?
Anything taken from active inventory can be said to 'draw down' our reserves. Every bullet. Every shell. We were supposed to be set up for a two theater war, and there's a lot of aging materiel out there. That becomes a use or lose it proposition, and at least this way its disposal is serving a purpose besides training EOD personnel in vlosing things up. Replacement stocks of ammo and arms should be the latest and best, for out guys to use if the need arises.
Frankly, I am far more concerned about this administration's energy policy. It is the root driver behind inflation, and this winter there may well be critical regional shortages of fuels essential for heating and shipping. If you think prices are high now, just wait.
-
Anything taken from active inventory can be said to 'draw down' our reserves. Every bullet. Every shell. We were supposed to be set up for a two theater war, and there's a lot of aging materiel out there. That becomes a use or lose it proposition, and at least this way its disposal is serving a purpose besides training EOD personnel in vlosing things up. Replacement stocks of ammo and arms should be the latest and best, for out guys to use if the need arises.
Frankly, I am far more concerned about this administration's energy policy. It is the root driver behind inflation, and this winter there may well be critical regional shortages of fuels essential for heating and shipping. If you think prices are high now, just wait.
I have posted a couple of times that the projected date that we run out of diesel is November 8 and I do fear what's going to happen as a result. More and more empty shelves and people losing their jobs. I think we may see a revolt. The GOP taking the majority in either House isn't going to solve the problem and possibly they will be blamed. At the end of the day, it doesn't matter who's to blame, the energy crisis and the economic crisis is here.
-
I'm all for weapons and supplies to beat the bear back.
Which is all Ukraine has asked from us from the beginning.
-
Anything taken from active inventory can be said to 'draw down' our reserves. Every bullet. Every shell. We were supposed to be set up for a two theater war, and there's a lot of aging materiel out there. That becomes a use or lose it proposition, and at least this way its disposal is serving a purpose besides training EOD personnel in vlosing things up. Replacement stocks of ammo and arms should be the latest and best, for out guys to use if the need arises.
And with the 'draw down' the Pentagon ends up with the money that Biden claims went to Ukraine.
-
And with the 'draw down' the Pentagon ends up with the money that Biden claims went to Ukraine.
Yep! and guaranteed the replacements will cost more than the original materiel, if for no other reason than being more advanced (not to mention Bidenflation)
-
Joe is an evil, corrupt politician that isn't all there (as we all know). I see that the war in the Ukraine has greatly weakened our country
No. Joe Biden has greatly weakened our country. To the point that Russia thought they could take Ukraine and get away with it. The Afghanistan debacle was their cue.
I'm not so sure that the escalation wasn't by design. Certainly Joe & Company have profited.
If you mean the escalation in spending, absolutely. I don't think Biden directly encouraged Russia from invading Ukraine. But I definitely believe his incompetence and the asinine statements he delivered were seen by Putin as a giant 'welcome' sign.
We both agree that the atrocities against Ukraine need to end. Also the Russian people aren't free from harm. From my viewpoint with Joe in office the conflict will continue. I don't see Russia retreating and to annihilate them would mean WWIII. Just my opinion.
Of course the conflict will continue with Biden's current policy. I keep saying that Biden wants to drag this out.
I see three courses of action here:
- Stab Zelenskiy in the back. Cut off all aid and support and leave Ukraine to the mercy of those committing atrocities against their people. Let Putin have the gas and oil fields of eastern Ukraine. Allow Russia to park troops on the Polish and Romanian borders. And live with Russia's energy extortion.
- Give Ukraine just enough equipment to continue the war indefinitely, tying down the Russian army, and making this a political albatross for Putin. The misery and atrocities against the Ukrainian people will continue for months on end. The US Treasury is further depleted with empty promises of helping Ukraine while money is syphoned off to our NATO allies.
- Give Ukraine everything they need now to destroy the Russian army, retake their country (all of it), and set Russia back for decades. This will bring stability to the entire region. Ukraine will then be free to join the EU and begin the road to economic prosperity while Russia's grip on European energy markets would be severed. Everyone wins.
I choose Option 3.
-
Yep! and guaranteed the replacements will cost more than the original materiel, if for no other reason than being more advanced (not to mention Bidenflation)
Those M-113s had been sitting in a surplus lot somewhere collecting dust for the last decade or so. But the Pentagon just found a buyer for all that old surplus equipment that went out of production in 2007. Ukraine just purchased every bit of it at retail as if it just came of the assembly line. It's not as if they are in a position to bargain. Biden already set the cost.
Biden: "Here's $1 billion in equipment that you didn't ask for, but we're going to give the Pentagon $5 billion to release it to you. And then we're going to tell everyone else that we just gave Ukraine $5 billion in aid, even though all they got was $1 billion in used equipment."
That is how a draw down works.
-
Ukrainian fighters eliminated the deputy chief of staff of PMC “Wagner”
29 October, 2022
During a combat mission, soldiers of the Ukrainian special forces “Hort” liquidated the deputy chief of staff of the PMC “Wagner” mercenaries.
The Hort special unit reported this on Facebook.
“During the performance of a combat mission, the soldiers of our special forces in close combat encountered a group of militants of the infamous Prigozhin PMC Wagner. The combat contact sent the entire enemy group to hell. Among the two hundredth Wagnerites, the deputy chief of staff was identified,” the report says.
The servicemen also “captured” the weapon of the liquidated invader – AK-12. Hort noted that the enemy army adopted this assault rifle in 2018.
(https://en.defence-ua.com/media/contentimages/5cf635d15295e3ad.jpg)
AK-12 assault rifle of the dead occupier captured by defenders of Ukraine / Photo credi: Khort special unit
https://odessa-journal.com/ukrainian-fighters-eliminated-the-deputy-chief-of-staff-of-pmc-wagner/
-
How odd it is that Putin openly told the world his intentions to attack the Ukraine and not long after threatened the Ukraines neighbors. Some might recall i then told people that Putin intended to be this centuries Hitler gobbling up neighbors with the excuse of people having loyalties to both Countries.
The democrats weakened America as much as they could, even going to ridiculous lengths, then after a great deal of empowering them, Communists or radical muslim nations, they are ready to provoke war with them.
The Afghanistan debacle should have warned even dullards something was and is drastically wrong, and war approaches, like democrats letting loose the co-vid virus.
-
Obviously you either have no rebuttal or you missed my point.
Guarantee their security? Ok ... so, should we enter into war? Keep giving them billions? What exactly do you propose??
BTW bawk and laugh at yourself .... meanwhile there are those of us that do see the dangers of WWIII and the severity of the hardship that this has created for our country.
I'll stick with making America First. Without her, where is the rest of the world going to be? Think about it instead of quickly using snide antics.
You see nothing, and are proud of it. The country weeps for people like that.
-
Russia 'suffers deadliest day of invasion yet with nearly a THOUSAND troops killed' as video shows panic-stricken soldiers fleeing on armored vehicle which flips as it speeds away from Ukrainian attack
By MAILONLINE REPORTER
31 October 2022
Nearly 1,000 Russian soldiers have been killed in a single day in Ukraine, Kyiv has claimed, marking the deadliest day of Vladimir Putin's war since his troops invaded the country eight months ago. Ukrainian forces have been making gains across Russian-occupied areas, with fighting intensifying in the country's east and in the southern city of Kherson. In a blow to Putin's invasion, 950 Russian soldiers were killed on Sunday, pushing his force's death toll up to at least 71,200, Kyiv has claimed.
And in yet another example of the incompetence of his forces, video shows panic-stricken Russian soldiers fleeing a Ukrainian attack on an armored vehicle - only for it to flip over and fling the troops into the air. Footage, apparently from Kherson, shows Russian soldiers running towards an armored vehicle as Ukrainian missiles rain down on them. The soldiers scramble on top of the armored vehicle and are seen smiling as they speed off down a road away from the Ukrainian attack.
But the vehicle suddenly veers to the right and into a ditch, causing the Russian soldiers - no longer smiling - to scream in fear. The driver quickly steers to the left, but the speeding vehicle flips over - flinging the troops on to the road below them. The video then cuts out. It is the latest example of just how incompetent Putin's forces are as Russia tries to round up as many men as possible and push them to the front lines, regardless of skill, training and equipment. The UK's Ministry of Defence (MoD) said in its latest intelligence briefing that Russia has deployed several thousand newly mobilized reservists to the front line in Ukraine - but in many cases they are 'poorly equipped'. 'In September, Russian officers were concerned that some recently mobilized reservists were arriving in Ukraine without weapons,' the MoD said in its Monday morning briefing. For those Russian soldiers who are turning up with weapons, they are often being issued AKM rifles, which fires 7.62 mm ammunition. This is different to the ammunition required in the rifles issued to Russia's regular combat units.
* * *
Source: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/galleries/article-11374173/Video-shows-panicked-Russians-speeding-away-Ukrainian-attack.html
-
That video shows that there is very little command structure in place. The scene was chaos. No one was issuing orders. And no one was taking orders either. Whoever wanted to jump on jumped on.
-
Russian lawmaker who called for end to Putin's war is comatose in hospital after claims 'he was attacked at parliament building' and suffered 'unfortunate fall'
By WILL STEWART FOR MAILONLINE
1 November 2022
A Russian lawmaker who called for an end to Putin's war in Ukraine is comatose in hospital after suffering serious head injuries.
Anatoly Karpov, 71, who was a chess grandmaster in the 1970s before turning to politics, is thought to have been injured in Moscow some time overnight on Saturday - amid claims he 'suffered a fall'.
He is now on a neurology ward at the renowned Sklifosovsky Institute and has been placed in a medically induced coma, with allies describing his condition as 'serious'.
* * *
Source: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11376515/Russian-lawmaker-called-end-Ukraine-war-coma-falling.html
-
(https://img-9gag-fun.9cache.com/photo/avQPwNW_460s.jpg)
Unlike Joe Biden/Austin/Milley and the idiot fool Blinken - at least the Russians had enough 'common sense' to remove all of their equipment before surrendering a working airfield to an active enemy. Leaving $85 Billion dollars in ammo and top shelf equipment to the Taliban, who are dedicated to destroying ALL Western nations, is the STUPIDEST military move in all of history.
-
Ukraine shoots down two Russian choppers in three minutes - weeks after blasting four helicopters in 18 minutes - as Putin's forces increase air attacks in bid to reverse defeats in Kherson
By JACK NEWMAN FOR MAILONLINE
1 November 2022
Ukraine has shot down two Russian attack helicopters in just three minutes in the latest blow to Putin's botched invasion.
Anti-aircraft gunners hit the Ka-52 Alligators in Kherson region yesterday evening, Ukraine's Air Force said.
The £12 million single-seat attack helicopter is nicknamed the 'Black Shark' and has been described as Russia's 'deadliest helicopter'.
Its battlefield management system allows it to share data with other aircraft to coordinate attack operations.
The attack came just weeks after Ukrainian troops shot down four Russian helicopters in 18 minutes.
Ukraine also blew up a Mi-8 helicopter gunship in Donetsk after a surface-to-air missile picked it out of the sky yesterday.
* * *
Source: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11376801/Ukraine-shoots-two-Russian-choppers-three-minutes.html
-
Haven't we given them weapons and supplies and in doing so haven't we drawn down on our own reserves?
Yes, @libertybele
DoD Fights to Replace Munitions Sent to Ukraine
https://news.clearancejobs.com/2022/10/27/dod-fights-to-replace-munitions-sent-to-ukraine/
Ukraine War Shows the US Military Isn’t Ready for War With China
Providing Kyiv with weapons has depleted the Pentagon’s munitions alarmingly, and defending Taiwan would be far more costly.
https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2022-09-18/ukraine-war-shows-the-us-military-isn-t-ready-for-war-with-china?leadSource=uverify%20wall
Ukraine War Is Depleting U.S. Ammunition Stockpiles, Sparking Pentagon Concern
https://www.wsj.com/articles/ukraine-war-depleting-u-s-ammunition-stockpiles-sparking-pentagon-concern-11661792188
US Has Given So Many Weapons To Ukraine That Its Weapon Stockpile Is Depleting: Report
https://www.ndtv.com/world-news/us-has-given-so-many-weapons-to-ukraine-that-its-weapon-stockpile-is-depleting-report-3309504
-
Obviously you either have no rebuttal or you missed my point.
Guarantee their security? Ok ... so, should we enter into war? Keep giving them billions? What exactly do you propose??
BTW bawk and laugh at yourself .... meanwhile there are those of us that do see the dangers of WWIII and the severity of the hardship that this has created for our country.
I'll stick with making America First. Without her, where is the rest of the world going to be? Think about it instead of quickly using snide antics.
:thumbsup: @libertybele
-
You see nothing, and are proud of it. The country weeps for people like that.
(https://www.pngitem.com/pimgs/m/40-405973_red-thumbs-down-png-png-download-thumbs-down.png)
[ @libertybele ]
-
Thank you for this @art.prout
Thank you for your persistence!
888high58888
-
(https://img-9gag-fun.9cache.com/photo/aGExW7K_460s.jpg)
-
Yep! and guaranteed the replacements will cost more than the original materiel, if for no other reason than being more advanced (not to mention Bidenflation)
The amount needed for a safe stockpile will be less with the collapse of Russia as a conventional threat.
-
The amount needed for a safe stockpile will be less with the collapse of Russia as a conventional threat.
@bilo
WHY is it that so many people fail to see and understand a concept as basic as that?
It makes no sense at all,but the only explanation that I can come up with is they don't WANT to see it because it upsets their understanding of how the world works.
-
The amount needed for a safe stockpile will be less with the collapse of Russia as a conventional threat.
What does NATO cost every year for the last 70+ years... The purpose of NATO is to contain the ambitions of Russia consuming its neighbors which it has a long history of doing.
Russia is committing suicide right before our eyes and people want to go all weak-kneed in fear of "WWIII" which Russia cannot wage economically. It already losing the war it started with Ukraine, it is in no position to expand that front to the rest of Europe. And if Russia wants this to end all they have to do is leave Ukraine - which they are going to do one way or another.
-
What does NATO cost every year for the last 70+ years... The purpose of NATO is to contain the ambitions of Russia consuming its neighbors which it has a long history of doing.
Russia is committing suicide right before our eyes and people want to go all weak-kneed in fear of "WWIII" which Russia cannot wage economically. It already losing the war it started with Ukraine, it is in no position to expand that front to the rest of Europe. And if Russia wants this to end all they have to do is leave Ukraine - which they are going to do one way or another.
:thumbsup:
-
(https://img-9gag-fun.9cache.com/photo/aGExW7K_460s.jpg)
This is interesting. So did Latvia, Estonia or the Ukraine shoot down the copters? Or, looking at the jpg address is it a joke?
-
This is interesting. So did Latvia, Estonia or the Ukraine shoot down the copters? Or, looking at the jpg address is it a joke?
Most likely a gag, since the Pskov Oblast in Russia is hundreds of km from Ukraine, and to-date, as far as we know, Ukraine is not making military forays that deep into Russia.
On the other hand, the reporting from the Daily Mail (https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11376801/Ukraine-shoots-two-Russian-choppers-three-minutes.html), which doesn't typically engage in such larks, indicates that Ukraine is claiming it shot the helicopters down over Kherson, which is definitely within Ukraine's own territory.
-
Most likely a gag, since the Pskov Oblast in Russia is hundreds of km from Ukraine, and to-date, as far as we know, Ukraine is not making military forays that deep into Russia.
On the other hand, the reporting from the Daily Mail (https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11376801/Ukraine-shoots-two-Russian-choppers-three-minutes.html), which doesn't typically engage in such larks, indicates that Ukraine is claiming it shot the helicopters down over Kherson, which is definitely within Ukraine's own territory.
Thanks
-
This is interesting. So did Latvia, Estonia or the Ukraine shoot down the copters? Or, looking at the jpg address is it a joke?
Unable to see the link in @240B 's post (because of VPN). But from my understanding, the sabotage attack on the base near Estonia was on the ground, not in the air. There's a link up thread on it: https://www.gopbriefingroom.com/index.php/topic,478214.msg2731142.html#msg2731142
-
Most likely a gag, since the Pskov Oblast in Russia is hundreds of km from Ukraine, and to-date, as far as we know, Ukraine is not making military forays that deep into Russia.
On the other hand, the reporting from the Daily Mail (https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11376801/Ukraine-shoots-two-Russian-choppers-three-minutes.html), which doesn't typically engage in such larks, indicates that Ukraine is claiming it shot the helicopters down over Kherson, which is definitely within Ukraine's own territory.
Unable to see the link in @240B 's post (because of VPN). But from my understanding, the sabotage attack on the base near Estonia was on the ground, not in the air. There's a link up thread on it: https://www.gopbriefingroom.com/index.php/topic,478214.msg2731142.html#msg2731142
My bad. Apparently, they claim that they did engage in a sabotage mission in the Pskov region, which is hundreds of km from Ukraine proper.
Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/davidaxe/2022/10/31/ukrainian-saboteurs-reportedly-blew-up-russian-helicopters-500-miles-from-ukraine/?sh=5da150d2b8f9
-
I would guess there's quite a few people with Ukrainian heritage in the Russian armed forces.
Hard to protect things from those people.
-
Ukrainian Air Force says it has no effective defense against ballistic missiles Iran plans to ship to Russia
Ukraine’s Air Force on Tuesday said it currently has no effective defense against the types of ballistic missile that Iran is preparing to ship to Russia to use in its war against Ukraine.
Yuriy Ihnat, spokesperson for Ukraine’s Air Force Command, said the range of the Iranian ballistic missiles being supplied, with “one having a range of 300km the other 700km,” will allow Russian forces to strike anywhere inside Ukraine.
“There is a high probability that they will be delivered to the north above Ukraine [border], from where they can be launched to threaten the entire Ukraine,” Ihnat said at a press conference in Kyiv on Tuesday.
Earlier on Tuesday, CNN reported that Iran is preparing to send about 1,000 additional weapons, including surface-to-surface short range ballistic missiles and more attack drones for Russia to use against Ukraine.
Asked whether Ukraine’s Armed Forces were ready to defend against these types of Iranian ballistic missiles, Ihnat replied that they “will take all measures and means of protection against these missiles” that they can.
However, Ihnat warned “currently we have no effective defense against these missiles. It is theoretically possible to shoot them down, but it is very difficult to do it with the means we currently have.” ............
https://www.cnn.com/europe/live-news/russia-ukraine-war-news-11-01-22#h_a3c9a4c6cbf1a7db4aa447563f868979
-
What an inverted world...
Russia has to buy missiles from Iran...
-
What an inverted world...
Russia has to buy missiles from Iran...
...and the Iranian materiel is superior to Russian.
-
...and the Iranian materiel is superior to Russian.
That is the Greatest gain for the West in all of this. Russia has been exposed as a third world nation stuck in a nostalgia from 50-60 years ago.
Not only are the Iranians, Indians, Chinese, even the Taliban can beat them with the $85 billion dollar gift Biden and his crew gifted them. Russians are yesterday's threat. The 'real' threat today, even to Russia, is China, which is threatening the World.
-
...and the Iranian materiel is superior to Russian.
One wonders if U.S. or Israeli air-defenses can shoot these Iranian missiles down.
-
One wonders if U.S. or Israeli air-defenses can shoot these Iranian missiles down.
Of course we can jam or destroy them. They are all based on American technology given to them by their 'brother' Obama, who is himself like them a Shi'a Muslim. (although he is non-practicing most of the time)
-
...and the Iranian materiel is superior to Russian.
It ought to be. Iran is employing US technology gifted to them by the Obama Administration.
Iran–U.S. RQ-170 incident (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iran%E2%80%93U.S._RQ-170_incident)
-
Ukraine 93rd Mechanized Brigade taking on Wagner nazis near Bakhmut
(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r4MSCLztsvY)
-
Footage shows 100 Russian recruits mutiny and refuse to be sent to Ukraine after learning £4,200 lump sum they were promised has NOT been paid to their families
By WILL STEWART FOR MAILONLINE
2 November 2022
Video shows a mutiny igniting in Ulyanovsk after more than 100 mobilised Russians refused to be sent to the frontline to fight against Ukraine.
The troops revolted because Vladimir Putin’s officials failed to pay a 'promised' payment of £4,200 to their families in the impoverished Chuvashia region, they claimed.
A female military officer is earlier seen remonstrating with the uniformed men, amid reports that national guards and OMON riot police were called in to suppress the insubordination.
* * *
Source: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11381053/Russian-recruits-mutiny-refuse-sent-Ukraine-4-200-NOT-paid-families.html
-
Told you so:
U.S. Government Database Redacts Names Of Non-Profits Receiving Over $250 Million In Taxpayer-Funded Ukraine ‘Aid.’
NATALIE WINTERS | November 1, 2022
The federal government is hiding the names of non-profit groups receiving nine and eight-figure grants from the Biden administration during the Russia-Ukraine war.
ForeignAssistance.gov, the federal government’s flagship website tracking its foreign spending, itemized the nearly $3.2 billion that has been allocated to Ukraine for “economic development” and “humanitarian assistance” for fiscal year 2022. The grants come from a variety of agencies including the United States Agency for International Development, the Department of State, and the Department of Energy.
32 grants totaling nearly $300 million dollars, however, have identified their non-governmental organization (NGO) implementing partner as either “NGO – United States Redacted”; “NGO – Non United States Redacted”; or “NGO – International Redacted.”
For example, four grants totaling $100,000,000, $57,000,000, $43,000,000, and $10,000,000 to support “emergency humanitarian assistance” were allocated to unidentified NGOs.
A $7,900,000 grant sent to an unidentified NGO even saw its purpose redacted, pursuant to the “Exceptions Outlined in the Foreign Aid Transparency and Accountability Act of 2016.”
The only detail about the grant is that it aims to “support the Mission’s goal for an independent, prosperous, and healthy Ukraine united around core European values in one or more of the following sectors: strengthening of democratic governance, and more inclusive, sustainable, market-driven economic growth.”
https://warroom.org/2022/11/01/government-hides-names-of-ngos-receiving-100-million-grants/
This is some of the money that Biden hails as going to help Ukraine win the war. But it went to the State Department, USAID, and the Department of Energy instead.
-
Told you so:
U.S. Government Database Redacts Names Of Non-Profits Receiving Over $250 Million In Taxpayer-Funded Ukraine ‘Aid.’
NATALIE WINTERS | November 1, 2022
The federal government is hiding the names of non-profit groups receiving nine and eight-figure grants from the Biden administration during the Russia-Ukraine war.
ForeignAssistance.gov, the federal government’s flagship website tracking its foreign spending, itemized the nearly $3.2 billion that has been allocated to Ukraine for “economic development” and “humanitarian assistance” for fiscal year 2022. The grants come from a variety of agencies including the United States Agency for International Development, the Department of State, and the Department of Energy.
32 grants totaling nearly $300 million dollars, however, have identified their non-governmental organization (NGO) implementing partner as either “NGO – United States Redacted”; “NGO – Non United States Redacted”; or “NGO – International Redacted.”
For example, four grants totaling $100,000,000, $57,000,000, $43,000,000, and $10,000,000 to support “emergency humanitarian assistance” were allocated to unidentified NGOs.
A $7,900,000 grant sent to an unidentified NGO even saw its purpose redacted, pursuant to the “Exceptions Outlined in the Foreign Aid Transparency and Accountability Act of 2016.”
The only detail about the grant is that it aims to “support the Mission’s goal for an independent, prosperous, and healthy Ukraine united around core European values in one or more of the following sectors: strengthening of democratic governance, and more inclusive, sustainable, market-driven economic growth.”
https://warroom.org/2022/11/01/government-hides-names-of-ngos-receiving-100-million-grants/
This is some of the money that Biden hails as going to help Ukraine win the war. But it went to the State Department, USAID, and the Department of Energy instead.
Slush funds?
-
(https://img-9gag-fun.9cache.com/photo/az2Ag6b_460s.jpg)
-
Slush funds?
With a capital S!
-
Terrified Russia: Antidepressant sales surge as military mobilisation brings reality of Ukraine war home - seeing 400,000 flee the country to avoid conscription.. but there's no sign of Putin toppling yet, Western officials reveal
By CHRIS PLEASANCE FOR MAILONLINE
2 November 2022
Antidepressant sales in Russia have skyrocketed as the miserable reality of Putin's war in Ukraine finally dawns on the public, Western officials have said.
Russians spent 70 per cent more on the pills in the first eight months of this year compared to last, even though they spent much of 2021 in Covid lockdowns, figures have shown.
'Russians feel frightened' as the 'catastrophic error' of Putin's invasion - including conscription and a tanking economy - begin to hit people's lives, the officials added.
* * *
Source: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11381667/Sales-antidepressants-soar-Russia-reality-Ukraine-war-bites.html
-
The Joe Biden, Putin, Xi, socialist world utopia is here! All it took was making fools out of enough Americans last Presidential election. Are you useful fools enjoying your useful foolery now? Add in co-vid mindless hysteria and nasty toxic vaccines, quite deadly like a Germ warfare against by our President lock stepping with his most favored nation, China/Xi. How many useful fools does it take to destroy the most powerful nation the world has ever seen? Esp from without and within?
:smokin: :smokin: :smokin:
-
SICKLY VLAD Bombshell leaked spy docs suggest Putin DOES have Parkinson’s and cancer… and is ‘stuffed full of steroids’
https://www.thesun.ie/news/9658645/putin-parkinsons-pancreatic-cancer-russian-insider-reveals/ (https://www.thesun.ie/news/9658645/putin-parkinsons-pancreatic-cancer-russian-insider-reveals/)
BOMBSHELL leaked spy documents appear to confirm Vladimir Putin does have early stage Parkinson's disease and pancreatic cancer.
The 70-year-old Russian tyrant's health has long been the source of speculation - with Western intelligence suggesting he has serious health issues.
Rumours of the president's ill health have been swirling for years - and he is believed to be followed by a team of doctors who carefully monitor his health.
There have been Western claims about Putin’s health, notably from ex-MI6 head Sir Richard Dearlove, who said the Russian leader faces being sent to a sanatorium, and will be gone by 2023, due to medical issues.
The tyrant was recently pictured with suspected track marks from IV treatment on the back of his hand - amid rumours he's suffering from cancer and crippling pain.
And in emails now seen by The Sun Online, a Russian intelligence source close to the Kremlin appeared to confirm Putin has been diagnosed with early stage Parkinson's and pancreatic cancer.
They said there are also rumours he now has prostate cancer.
"I can confirm he has been diagnosed with early stage Parkinson's disease, but it's already progressing," the Russian security services insider claimed in the email.
"This fact will be denied in every possible way and hidden.
"Putin is regularly stuffed with all kinds of heavy steroids and innovative painkilling injections to stop the spread of pancreatic cancer he was recently diagnosed with.
"It not only causes a lot of pain, Putin has a state of puffiness of the face and other side effects - including memory lapses.
"In his close circle, there are rumours that in addition to pancreatic cancer, which is gradually spreading, Putin also has prostate cancer."
Kremlin officials have always denied there is anything wrong with their leader.
Putin has long prided himself on his "strongman" image - but his dramatic change over the past few years has prompted speculation that he may be suffering from a severe physical illness.
His public appearances during the Ukraine war have shown him out of breath, stumbling over his words, or looking exhausted.
Earlier this month, Putin appeared to be visibly in pain during a parade in Moscow's Red Square to celebrate breaking international law to annex four regions of Ukraine.
More at link.
-
https://www.thesun.ie/news/9658645/putin-parkinsons-pancreatic-cancer-russian-insider-reveals/ (https://www.thesun.ie/news/9658645/putin-parkinsons-pancreatic-cancer-russian-insider-reveals/)
The Russian president has repeatedly raised the spectre of using nuke weapons - and it's feared he could potentially be lining up a test in the Black Sea.
Game theory specialist Georgy Egorov warned a nuclear strike "makes sense" for Putin if he only has a few months to live.
He told Novaya Gazeta: "It makes sense to use nuclear weapons for Putin in only one situation - if the rumours about his health problems are true - if he has a few months left to live - he does not want to go down in history as a loser."
It comes after a video exposed a mysterious mark on Putin's hand as he tried to grasp a Russian soldier's arm last month.
-
Told you so:
U.S. Government Database Redacts Names Of Non-Profits Receiving Over $250 Million In Taxpayer-Funded Ukraine ‘Aid.’
NATALIE WINTERS | November 1, 2022
The federal government is hiding the names of non-profit groups receiving nine and eight-figure grants from the Biden administration during the Russia-Ukraine war.
ForeignAssistance.gov, the federal government’s flagship website tracking its foreign spending, itemized the nearly $3.2 billion that has been allocated to Ukraine for “economic development” and “humanitarian assistance” for fiscal year 2022. The grants come from a variety of agencies including the United States Agency for International Development, the Department of State, and the Department of Energy.
32 grants totaling nearly $300 million dollars, however, have identified their non-governmental organization (NGO) implementing partner as either “NGO – United States Redacted”; “NGO – Non United States Redacted”; or “NGO – International Redacted.”
For example, four grants totaling $100,000,000, $57,000,000, $43,000,000, and $10,000,000 to support “emergency humanitarian assistance” were allocated to unidentified NGOs.
A $7,900,000 grant sent to an unidentified NGO even saw its purpose redacted, pursuant to the “Exceptions Outlined in the Foreign Aid Transparency and Accountability Act of 2016.”
The only detail about the grant is that it aims to “support the Mission’s goal for an independent, prosperous, and healthy Ukraine united around core European values in one or more of the following sectors: strengthening of democratic governance, and more inclusive, sustainable, market-driven economic growth.”
https://warroom.org/2022/11/01/government-hides-names-of-ngos-receiving-100-million-grants/
This is some of the money that Biden hails as going to help Ukraine win the war. But it went to the State Department, USAID, and the Department of Energy instead.
Let's see if a Pub Congress has the will to put and end to this. Talk's cheap deeds are precious.
-
Slush funds?
I can't help but wonder how much of this money ended up in Rat campaign funds. Money is fundgible.
-
I can't help but wonder how much of this money ended up in Rat campaign funds. Money is fundgible.
A hell of a lot of it. And Republicans are too stupid to do anything about it.
Rafael Warnock has only been in the Senate for two years. Yet his campaign raised over $100 million dollars this election cycle. Mark Kelly in Arizona? Also only two years. Yet he managed to raise over $80 million. No Republican candidate comes anywhere close to that.
Fetterman? $60 million. Tim Ryan? $50 million. Mandela Barnes? $35 million. In each of these races, the Democrat has raised far more money than their Republican opponents. And all of it came from the massive spending packages enacted since Biden took over. Massive corruption. And Republican have been completely silent.
-
A hell of a lot of it. And Republicans are too stupid to do anything about it.
Rafael Warnock has only been in the Senate for two years. Yet his campaign raised over $100 million dollars this election cycle. Mark Kelly in Arizona? Also only two years. Yet he managed to raise over $80 million. No Republican candidate comes anywhere close to that.
Fetterman? $60 million. Tim Ryan? $50 million. Mandela Barnes? $35 million. In each of these races, the Democrat has raised far more money than their Republican opponents. And all of it came from the massive spending packages enacted since Biden took over. Massive corruption. And Republican have been completely silent.
:thumbsup:
-
Russian conscripts are resorting to 'playing dead on the battlefield' as they are sent in to fight with poor equipment and insufficient training
By MAILONLINE REPORTER
2 November 2022
Russian conscripts are resorting to 'playing dead on the battlefield' as they are sent to fight in Ukraine with poor equipment and insufficient training. The wife of a Russian man sent to fight in Moscow’s 423rd Guards Motor Rifle Regiment said that her husband and his fellow conscripts pretended to be dead, as they only had machine guns to defend themselves. He and others are facing court martial after leaving the frontline in Ukraine. Pictured: File photo of Russian recruits.
It comes as antidepressant sales in Russia skyrocketed as the miserable reality of Putin's war in Ukraine finally dawns on the public, Western officials said. Russians spent 70 per cent more on the pills in the first eight months of this year compared to last, even though they spent much of 2021 in Covid lockdowns, figures have shown. 'Russians feel frightened' as the 'catastrophic error' of Vladimir Putin's invasion - including conscription and a tanking economy - begin to hit people's lives, the officials added. At least 400,000 have fled since Putin announced he would begin drafting people into the army in September, significantly more than the 300,000 he added to his ranks. Pictured: An anti-war protest in Saint-Petersburg, Russia in March.
Ekaterina said that her 27-year-old husband was trained in trench digging before being moved to the front line. She told independent Russian outlet Novaya Gazeta Europe: 'For many hours they simply lay on the ground and pretended to be dead for one simple reason: they no longer had any weapons other than machine guns. There were mortars against them, drones flew over them, if they even moved a finger, then a drone would immediately fly in and destroy them.'
* * *
Source: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/galleries/article-11383181/Russian-conscripts-resorting-playing-dead-battlefield.html
-
From the article:
Officials say there is no sign that Putin has decided to change course in Ukraine and no sign that anyone is preparing to replace him. Russia is now into its ninth month of fighting in Ukraine and has failed to achieve any of the military objectives set by Putin at the start of the war. The Kremlin thought it was getting involved in an easy conflict that would take days to resolve and had 'no Plan B' for what to do if the war went awry, officials said. 'They still don't have Plan B,' the officials added.
Spot on. They are still operating off the 15-day plan they initiated last winter.
-
Pentagon Confirms US Boots Are On The Ground In Ukraine
by Tyler Durden
Tuesday, Nov 01, 2022 - 02:20 PMTwo bombshell reports by the Associated Press and Washington Post Monday and Tuesday have confirmed that the United States has boots on the ground in the Ukraine conflict. Crucially, these troops are performing tasks separate from mere embassy security.
The American troops are said to be performing "inspections" of US weapon caches after last week the State Department and Pentagon unveiled a new plan to track US-supplied weapons in efforts to implement accountability for the billions of dollars worth of arms and ammunition transferred to Ukrainian forces since near the start of the war eight months ago.
"A small number of U.S. military forces inside Ukraine have recently begun doing onsite inspections to ensure that Ukrainian troops are properly accounting for the Western-provided weapons they receive, a senior U.S. defense official told Pentagon reporters Monday," the AP/WaPo reporting (https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2022/11/01/us-weapons-ukraine-oversight/) revealed. ...
More at Zero Hedge (https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/pentagon-confirms-us-boots-ground-ukraine-close-front-lines?fbclid=IwAR2-Y0ksLk-liAbC6Vpot0ZQhuZ-6j0M2tWl53vzNFX_Ic_hji9i25jW-yk)
-
Pentagon Confirms US Boots Are On The Ground In Ukraine
by Tyler Durden
Tuesday, Nov 01, 2022 - 02:20 PM More at Zero Hedge (https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/pentagon-confirms-us-boots-ground-ukraine-close-front-lines?fbclid=IwAR2-Y0ksLk-liAbC6Vpot0ZQhuZ-6j0M2tWl53vzNFX_Ic_hji9i25jW-yk)
In other words, the U.S. military has auditors on the ground to make sure weapons delivered are properly accounted for. Watch out for those deadly green eye-shades!
-
Spot on. They are still operating off the 15-day plan they initiated last winter.
@Hoodat
Of course they are. After all,they are Soviets,and for people with a Soviet "mind-set" the PLAN is EVERYTHING.
.
Admitting an official plan failed would be the equivalent of saying the sun sets in the east. It would just be so impossible nobody could possibly believe it.
Thus,they are "still winning".
-
In other words, the U.S. military has auditors on the ground to make sure weapons delivered are properly accounted for. Watch out for those deadly green eye-shades!
Would those be "boots on the ground" or just wingtips?
-
Would those be "boots on the ground" or just wingtips?
My guess is that army auditors still wear the boots and the green. Appearances can be deceiving.
-
Would those be "boots on the ground" or just wingtips?
More like accountants on the ground. But it reveals where the auditing goals of this administration lie. Wish we had "boots on the ground" inside USAID.
There was a story coming out of Ukraine that was posted on the Ukraine board 2 or 3 months back. The gist of the story was that the Americans were dropping off arms supplies at the border and that those supplies were not making their way to Ukrainian military units. The person making the point was saying that the Americans needed to do due diligence to ensure that the arms reached the troops instead of making their way to the black market. Perhaps the Pentagon is taking them up on this.
(Of course the primary reason earlier on that US weapons weren't making their way to Ukrainian troops is because US weapons weren't being dropped off at the border in the first place).
But back to the gist of the story. The point being driven home here is that US military forces are indeed inside Ukraine. For the Pentagon to casually admit this shows the incompetence of our current command structure.
-
More like accountants on the ground. But it reveals where the auditing goals of this administration lie. Wish we had "boots on the ground" inside USAID.
There was a story coming out of Ukraine that was posted on the Ukraine board 2 or 3 months back. The gist of the story was that the Americans were dropping off arms supplies at the border and that those supplies were not making their way to Ukrainian military units. The person making the point was saying that the Americans needed to do due diligence to ensure that the arms reached the troops instead of making their way to the black market. Perhaps the Pentagon is taking them up on this.
(Of course the primary reason earlier on that US weapons weren't making their way to Ukrainian troops is because US weapons weren't being dropped off at the border in the first place).
But back to the gist of the story. The point being driven home here is that US military forces are indeed inside Ukraine. For the Pentagon to casually admit this shows the incompetence of our current command structure.
:thumbsup:
-
Flag disappears from Russian controlled Kherson government building
Adam Parker, OSINT editor | 4h ago | 08:12
Videos and photos shared online today show the Kherson Regional Administration building in the annexed city without a Russian flag.
(https://liveblog.digitalimages.sky/lc-images-sky/lcimg-8ff52acc-bd02-4542-aa19-df11111c7766.jpeg)
Russian-installed authorities in the southern Ukrainian city ordered an evacuation of residents two weeks ago after Ukraine's advances around the city.
A video posted on the 16 September by Russian state media agency Ria Novosti shows the Russian flag above the same building.
(https://liveblog.digitalimages.sky/lc-images-sky/lcimg-0d6740c0-d653-4e37-901e-db47f0c9df84.jpeg)
https://news.sky.com/story/ukraine-war-latest-putin-launches-military-satellite-into-space-as-russia-is-accused-of-covert-mobilisation-12541713?postid=4798087#liveblog-body
-
Flag disappears from Russian controlled Kherson government building
Adam Parker, OSINT editor | 4h ago | 08:12
Videos and photos shared online today show the Kherson Regional Administration building in the annexed city without a Russian flag.
(https://liveblog.digitalimages.sky/lc-images-sky/lcimg-8ff52acc-bd02-4542-aa19-df11111c7766.jpeg)
Russian-installed authorities in the southern Ukrainian city ordered an evacuation of residents two weeks ago after Ukraine's advances around the city.
A video posted on the 16 September by Russian state media agency Ria Novosti shows the Russian flag above the same building.
(https://liveblog.digitalimages.sky/lc-images-sky/lcimg-0d6740c0-d653-4e37-901e-db47f0c9df84.jpeg)
https://news.sky.com/story/ukraine-war-latest-putin-launches-military-satellite-into-space-as-russia-is-accused-of-covert-mobilisation-12541713?postid=4798087#liveblog-body
Tacitly admitting to the inevitable.
-
In other words, the U.S. military has auditors on the ground to make sure weapons delivered are properly accounted for. Watch out for those deadly green eye-shades!
This is how weapons should be sent, and only weapons!
-
https://twitter.com/wartranslated/status/1587884866536083456
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FglMiuzXkAEbBdR?format=png&name=medium)
There is a marked difference between Soviet and American command structures. In Russia, things happen because a general wills it. In the US, things happen because lower officers are taught to take initiative themselves.
-
https://twitter.com/nexta_tv/status/1587808847544082432
-
Kherson residents describe reign of terror under Russian rule
Alleged hanging of woman in southern Ukraine signifies Moscow’s brutality in occupied territory
FT | November 4, 2022
Natalia Chorna had warned her more outspoken twin sister to be careful after Russian forces occupied their home town of Skadovsk near Kherson, southern Ukraine, in February. But Tetyana Mudryenko found it hard to keep her anger about the war to herself.
Last month, Mudryenko paid the ultimate penalty for proclaiming Skadovsk Ukrainian territory. According to several witnesses, she was dragged into the street by the self-appointed pro-Moscow authorities and hanged in a public execution.
“In occupied Skadovsk, you can’t have your own opinion,” said Chorna, 56.
As Ukraine pursues its counteroffensive in Kherson and Russia forcibly relocates tens of thousands of people, those living in the southern region have said the occupying authorities are terrorising anyone who defies them.
Residents of Skadovsk, a Black Sea port of some 15,000 inhabitants, told the Financial Times that people were being jailed and having their possessions confiscated for speaking out against their Russian occupiers.
Russian soldiers are also seizing the homes of Ukrainians who had moved to territory controlled by Kyiv, or who have been deported to Russia or occupied Crimea.
The Ukrainian military said on Tuesday that Russian forces had expanded the area from which they were forcing residents to evacuate, ostensibly to protect them from the fighting but also to make it easier to defend the region. . .
. . . Chorna said Mudryenko, a former paediatric nurse who was as passionate about helping disabled children as she was about being Ukrainian, had had several confrontations with Russian troops during their occupation.
On a walk near the seaside one spring day, the sisters ran into a group of Russian soldiers wearing balaclavas and Mudryenko confronted them.
“She looked at the orc, right in his eyes and asked: ‘Why are you here? Will you shoot me?’,” said Chorna, referring to Russian troops by a derogatory term Ukrainians have used since the February invasion.
The most recent incident prior to her death came in early October, when Mudryenko scolded Ukrainian police for collaborating with Russian forces and cried out “Skadovsk is Ukraine!”
On October 7, Chorna, who had left Skadovsk in April for the twins’ hometown of Dnipro in Ukrainian-controlled territory, called Mudryenko to see how she was doing after the altercation. But the connection was bad and the call dropped out.
Some time later, according to Chorna and local eyewitnesses, Mudryenko and her partner, 60-year-old Anatoliy Oryekhov, were abducted from the front yard of their home by Ukrainian police officers collaborating with Russia.
Neighbours told Chorna that the home had also been ransacked by occupiers, who stole the couple’s car and bicycles.
For days, no one knew of their whereabouts. Then, on October 15, Chorna got a call from a woman who said that Mudryenko was not only dead but that she had been dragged into the street by occupation authorities and killed in a public display of terror.
“She told me that ‘Tanya’ was hanged,” said Chorna, using her sister’s nickname. “They poured something into her mouth and then hanged her in front of the courthouse.”
https://www.ft.com/content/99349f01-c587-4ab4-86df-85ff3c0fcd3b
Reprint: https://ukrainetoday.org/2022/11/04/kherson-residents-describe-reign-of-terror-under-russian-rule/
-
Sounds like "International War Crimes" to me.
Where is the UN and NATO on this?
Are they able to skim off so much money from the AID "pile" that they just can't afford to fulfill their obligations?
-
Russian troops loot Kherson as lines redrawn ahead of final battle for city
Luke Harding, Kyiv | 5 Nov 2022 | 09.00 EDT
(https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/7e4cd6f8c542fdb42120fbf96add58f1d4e4a5da/0_275_8256_4954/master/8256.jpg?width=940&quality=45&dpr=2&s=none)
A woman in the Kherson region village of Arkhanhelske, which was formerly occupied by Russian forces. Photograph: Bülent Kılıç/AFP/Getty Images
Moscow is deporting residents along with stolen art, tractors and cars as Ukraine’s forces close in
Things are disappearing in the Ukrainian city of Kherson at a rapid rate. Some are physical objects. Russian troops are taking away ambulances, tractors and stolen private cars. Cultural things are going too: archives, and paintings and sculptures from the art and local lore museums. Even the bones of Catherine the Great’s friend and lover, Grigory Potemkin, have been grubbed up from a crypt in St Catherine’s cathedral and spirited away.
Russian soldiers are ferrying this loot across the Dnieper river, to the left bank of the Kherson region. They have also been deporting local citizens under the guise of a humanitarian rescue mission. Others have refused to leave. A round-the-clock curfew has been introduced. Nobody knows how many of Kherson’s 300,000 pre-war inhabitants remain. According to relatives of those still there, the city is mostly empty, its ghostly fate likely to be decided over the next few weeks in a series of bloody battles.
Last Thursday, the Russian flag was taken down from Kherson’s neo-classical regional state administration building. The gesture prompted speculation that Moscow was about to abandon the city, which it seized in early March, paving the way for the Ukrainian army’s triumphant return. From a military perspective this would make sense, as the Russian contingent is effectively surrounded. At the same time it seems far-fetched Vladimir Putin and his generals would leave Kherson without a struggle.
Locals are unconvinced by Moscow’s machinations. “It’s probably a trick,” Alyona Lapchuk told the Observer. “The Russians are dressing up as civilians and hiding in houses.”
Lapchuk, who left Kherson in April, said it was more likely Russian troops were preparing for bitter street-to-street fighting over the autumn and winter. If this strategy failed, the Russian army would probably “destroy” Kherson, in much the same way it flattened Mariupol, killing tens of thousands of civilians, she suggested. . .
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/nov/05/ukraine-russian-troops-loot-kherson-as-lines-redrawn-ahead-of-final-battle-for-city
No different than the Nazis looting the Louvre in 1940. Putin may claim this as Russian territory, but he certainly doesn't treat the people living here as Russian citizens.
-
Now Putin turns on his own men: Desperate Russian army brings in 'blocking units' which 'threaten to shoot their own retreating soldiers'
CHRISTIAN OLIVER | 06:18 EDT, 5 November 2022 | UPDATED: 08:12 EDT, 5 November 2022
Vladimir Putin is set to deploy special units to shoot his own military if they retreat from the war in Ukraine, UK government defence chiefs said on Friday.
Britain's Ministry of Defence said that Russia will deploy so-called 'blocking units' which 'threaten to shoot their own retreating soldiers in order to compel offensives'.
With low morale at a peak among Russian soldiers, Putin is turning on his own men.
'Due to low morale and reluctance to fight, Russian forces have probably started deploying 'barrier troops' or 'blocking units',' the Ministry of Defence said in an intelligence update on Friday.
'These units threaten to shoot their own retreating soldiers in order to compel offensives and have been used in previous conflicts by Russian forces,' the briefing added.
'Recently, Russian generals likely wanted their commanders to use weapons against deserters, including possibly authorising shooting to kill such defaulters after a warning had been given. Generals also likely wanted to maintain defensive positions to the death.'
Stalin used 'barrier troops' in the Second World War as part of his 'No One Turn Back' order. . .
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11393197/Putin-turns-men-brings-blocking-units-shoot-retreating-soldiers.html
The NKVD is back. They possibly killed more Russian soldiers than the Germans did in WWII.
-
Shades of "Enemy at the Gates"...how Soviet of him.
-
According to relatives of those still there, the city is mostly empty, its ghostly fate likely to be decided over the next few weeks in a series of bloody battles.
@Hoodat
I don't think the Ukrainians are going to rush into Kherson. It's more likely they will encircle Kherson and then start attacking with artillery the Orcs new forward defense line across the river and also cut off Kherson from any aid. Also, why rush into urban warfare when they are killing so many Orcs elsewhere.
-
According to relatives of those still there, the city is mostly empty, its ghostly fate likely to be decided over the next few weeks in a series of bloody battles.
@Hoodat
I don't think the Ukrainians are going to rush into Kherson. It's more likely they will encircle Kherson and then start attacking with artillery the Orcs new forward defense line across the river and also cut off Kherson from any aid. Also, why rush into urban warfare when they are killing so many Orcs elsewhere.
Rather than risk killing Ukrainians, let the orcs come out to play. Cordon the city off, and shell the known troops. One caveat, however, the Russians are likely to disperse press ganged refugees among troop concentrations, so there is risk of blue-on-blue while shelling.
-
I don't think the Ukrainians are going to rush into Kherson. It's more likely they will encircle Kherson and then start attacking with artillery the Orcs new forward defense line across the river and also cut off Kherson from any aid.
Agreed.
-
Rather than risk killing Ukrainians, let the orcs come out to play. Cordon the city off, and shell the known troops. One caveat, however, the Russians are likely to disperse press ganged refugees among troop concentrations, so there is risk of blue-on-blue while shelling.
@Hoodat
The only thing I've seen where the Ukrainians could be accused of being reckless has been how they attack weakened Orc positions by driving their vehicles at the highest speed possible right at the Orcs and then jump out, or off the vehicle, to kill the unprepared Orcs. I think they've tried to keep civilian deaths down as much as possible as well as trying to minimize their losses.
The Ukrainians have so depleted the Orcs they're buying drones from Iran and grabbing young men off the street in Russia to go fight with no training and inadequate weaponry. It really is just a matter of time until Russia will have lost so many Orcs they will have to withdraw. Maybe then Putin and Brandon can talk about what foreign policy geniuses they are.
-
I expect the Russians to lay waste to the city to create a better defensive position. And I expect the Ukrainians to make a point of sparing/protecting as many civilians as possible.
The best thing Ukraine has going for it is poor Russian morale. They will be patient and use this to their advantage in Kherson city.
-
Ukraine War Diaries: Ghost cities and patriots
Robert Mulhern | 5 November 2022 | 03:06, UK
Often driving alone, sometimes with a small group, Seva Koshel is no stranger to frontline supply drops into eastern Ukraine.
From medical kits to modified army vehicles and more recently, generators, the 40-year-old military volunteer completes regular assignments for Ukrainian soldiers positioned at the very spear-tip of the fight against Russia.
In the last eight months, now part-time CEO Seva has witnessed everything from war crimes to deadly air attacks. He has also suffered the loss of fallen comrades.
After eight months of fighting, war and its associated horrors have become something of a grim routine. But this week, at the end of a lonely road that leads to one of the war's fiercest battlegrounds, there's a surprise - unshakable resolve in the form of Russian-speaking Ukrainian fighters.
"If I say to someone [in Kyiv or in Ukraine] 'Bakhmut district', they understand that it's one of the most difficult places to fight," he explains in the latest episode of the Sky News Ukraine War Diaries podcast. The city of Bakhmut is part of Ukraine's Donetsk region, which Seva has visited several times as part of his volunteering.
"In Donetsk, there have been a lot of guys whom I met [who are] from [Bakhmut] and, they're a bit jealous at the commander of the armed forces because we are de-occupying south of Ukraine and they are dreaming when we will de-occupy Donetsk and Luhansk and to say, honestly, I have never seen such patriots.
"They are Russian-speaking, but they hate Russia, [despite being] connected with Russia even more than we [are] here in Kyiv or the western part of Ukraine.
"For me it was quite a surprise." . .
https://news.sky.com/story/ukraine-war-diaries-ghost-cities-and-patriots-12737313
-
RUSSIAN OFFENSIVE CAMPAIGN ASSESSMENT, NOVEMBER 5
(https://understandingwar.org/sites/default/files/styles/square_thumbnail/public/ISW%20LOGO%202_62.jpg)
. . . [Wagner nazi] Prigozhin continues to rely on ineffective convicts to staff his forces.
Prigozhin declined to comment on a reporter’s question regarding ongoing recruitment drives at Krasnoyarsk Krai penal colonies, despite previously openly discussing prisoner participation in the war with Russian outlets like RiaFan.[7] Russian opposition outlet The Insider, however, found that over 500 prisoners recruited into Wagner units have died in the past two months.[8] The publication added that Wagner lost between 800 and 1,000 mercenaries in Ukraine, indicating convicts comprise a large proportion of Wagner’s forces in Ukraine. Ukrainian intelligence officials also previously reported that many prisoners suffering from infectious diseases infected Wagner troops, to which Prigozhin responded that he does not discriminate on the basis of illness.[9]
. . .
Former Donetsk People’s Republic (DNR) Security Minister and current DNR military commander Aleksandr Khodakovsky claimed on November 5 that Russian friendly fire may have caused up to 60% of total Russian losses since the end of Russian offensive operations in Mariupol in mid-May.[14]
Even if this statistic is exaggerated, the fact that a Russian commander is publicly speculating on such a damning indicator of Russian and proxy competency indicates the deep challenges Russian forces face. Friendly fire typically does account for a limited number of losses in war but ordinarily nowhere near 60% of total casualties, which demonstrates a lack of communication and command and control coordination between Russian forces. Russian and Ukrainian sources also reported that a Russian rotation returning to its base near Pavlivka, Donetsk Oblast on November 5 drove into a ditch constructed by army subcontractors without prior discussion or warning, further demonstrating a widespread lack of cross-training and coordination between Russian troops.[15] The frequent replacement of Russian military leaders, promotion of inexperienced soldiers, and cobbled-together Russian force composition including Russian contract soldiers, Russian mobilized soldiers, DNR and Luhansk People’s Republic (LNR) forces, and Wagner Group forces exacerbate the fragmented nature of the Russian chain of command and ineffectiveness of Russian forces and likely contributes to frequent friendly fire incidents.
https://understandingwar.org/backgrounder/russian-offensive-campaign-assessment-november-5
-
Turkey Bitchslaps Russia
https://www.battleswarmblog.com/?p=53161 (https://www.battleswarmblog.com/?p=53161)
Commenter Greg The Class Traitor asked about this on another thread, so I thought I would throw this Anders Puck Nielsen video up with a bit of context.
Basically Ukraine managed to hit (but not sink) some Russian warships in Sevastopol harbor with some waterborne drones, and Putin threw a hissy fit, declaring the Ukrainian grain export deal was off. Turkey promptly went “No it isn’t” and said exports would continue with Turkish flags on the grain ships in question, causing Russia to back down and rejoin the deal pretty much immediately.
Historically, there’s no love lost between Turkey and Russia. (Honestly, you could swap out any other of either of those two country’s neighbors in that sentence, and it would still be true.) The fact that there were ten different Russo-Turkish wars (plus the Crimean War and World War I) should give you an inkling of how deep and bitter that enmity extends. That’s one of the factors that made NATO such a useful ally against the Soviet Union during the Cold War. Even today, Russia and Turkey are fighting a quasi-proxy war between Russian-backed Armenia and Turkish-backed Azerbaijan over Nagorno-Karabakh, and Russia is on the losing end there as well.
Takeaways:
• “It looks like a diplomatic defeat in a stand-off with Turkey, and it shows that Russia is essentially unable to control the maritime domain in the Black Sea.”
• “Russia was clearly very upset about the attack. It was a big deal in the Russian media, and they put a lot of effort into portraying it as a terrorist attack. And just to be clear, when there is a war going on, it is not terrorism to attack the opponent’s military.” This is clearly a “Duh!” point, but one worth spelling out given the vast swarms of pro-Russian bots who argue otherwise.
• “The deal was made such that it had a duration of 120 days, so it was up for renewal in November…For quite a while is has seemed that Russia has been unhappy about the grain deal. I don’t think they had expected that it would be such a big success.”
• “As I am recording this we are up to 477 shipments and more than 10 million tons of cargo. That’s a lot. I don’t think the Russians had expected Ukraine to be able to make a safe corridor that quickly.”
• “If we remember how the war was going back in July, then Russia was still on the offensive. People were still talking about Russia closing the land corridor to Transnistria and maybe taking Odessa. So from a Russian perspective the idea might well have been that the deal would never work. Because it was going to take months for Ukraine to make a safe corridor, and before that time, Ukraine would have lost the access to the ports.”
More at link.
Let’s look at Russia’s backdown over the grain deal.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xqSxjm2CCq4 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xqSxjm2CCq4)
-
Russia and US in discussion to resume nuclear weapon reduction talks as Moscow tones down nuke threats following talks with American officials
By RACHAEL BUNYAN FOR MAILONLINE
8 November 2022
Russia and the US are discussing resuming their nuclear weapon reduction talks in the coming weeks.
Talks between the two sides on strategic nuclear weapons have been non-existent since Russia invaded Ukraine on February.
But the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (New START) talks may resume in the next few weeks after Moscow toned down its nuclear threats following talks with American officials.
The talks could be held in the Middle East as Moscow no longer sees Switzerland, the traditional venue, as sufficiently neutral after it imposed sanctions on Russia over the Ukraine war, sources told Russian newspaper Kommersant.
In September, Russia said it was studying the possibility of a face-to-face meeting between Russian and US negotiators on the landmark nuclear arms treaty.
The treaty is one of the very few diplomatic agreements that remain in place between Moscow and Washington as relations hit rock-bottom over Putin's invasion of Ukraine.
* * *
Source: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11402909/Russia-discussion-resume-nuclear-weapon-reduction-talks.html
-
Russia and US in discussion to resume nuclear weapon reduction talks as Moscow tones down nuke threats following talks with American officials
Are they going to let Iran serve as the mediator?
-
'The main goal is to physically eliminate Putin': Anti-Russian activists and former Moscow politicians gather in Poland to discuss Vladimir's removal from power
By MAILONLINE REPORTER
8 November 2022
Anti-Russian activists and former Moscow politicians have gathered in Poland to discuss overthrowing Vladimir Putin and 'physically eliminating' the Kremlin leader. The group, who met in Jablonna near Warsaw over the weekend, said that a revolution and civil war was the only way to remove Putin from power, with some suggesting that the Kremlin leader 'should be killed.' Pictured: Putin visits site of construction of the infrastructure facilities of the 'Volga Sea' tourism on November 7, 2022.
Other activists, such as lawyer Alexei Baranovsky, said that those who remained loyal to Putin throughout the Ukraine war should also be killed, reports Polish newspaper Gazeta Wyborcza. Former Russian politician Viacheslav Maltsev pointed to how a revolution could occur given that some of Putin's opponents are already involved in a 'guerrilla fight' aimed at ending the war in Ukraine which has seen around 100,000 Russian soldiers killed. 'The main goal is to physically eliminate Putin,' Maltsev, who fled Russia after the Kremlin accused him of being an 'extremist' for opposing the government, said during the meeting.
Maltsev added that Putin's assassination would lead to a civil war, but it would 'not be as bloody as the war in Ukraine.' Another former politician, who was not named, said: 'The fight against terrorists requires terrorists' methods.' But some of the former Russian politicians and anti-Kremlin activists were opposed to a plan of killing Putin, saying instead that the Russian leader should be 'handed over to international courts' for a trial over war crimes committed in Ukraine. Pictured: Volunteers of the Ukrainian World Foundation inspect a former Russian military fortification in the northern Kherson region.
* * *
Source: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/galleries/article-11403949/Anti-Russian-activists-gather-plot-Putins-elimination.html
-
Russia's army may not recover from the Ukraine war: Putin has lost HALF his tanks and will find it 'very difficult' to rebuild, Pentagon says
By CHRIS PLEASANCE FOR MAILONLINE
9 November 2022
Russia's military may never recover from the damage it has suffered in Ukraine, the Pentagon has said.
Colin Kahl, the under secretary for defence, revealed half of Vladimir Putin's tanks have been destroyed and most of his precision missiles used up since he ordered the invasion a little over eight months ago.
Sanctions mean it will be 'very difficult' for Moscow to rebuild its forces to their pre-war strength, Kahl added, before even taking into account the 'tens of thousands of casualties' suffered since February 24.
* * *
'Putin went into this war trying to extinguish Ukraine as an independent, sovereign democratic country. He's failed, and that's not going to change.
'A sovereign, independent, democratic Ukraine is going to endure.'
The true scale of Russia's losses in Ukraine are unclear, but are thought to be high.
* * *
Source: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11407217/Russias-army-never-recover-Ukraine-war-Pentagon-says.html
-
Putin sends his right-hand man to the frontline: Kremlin's defense minister Shoigu visits Russian command center in Ukraine after marines say 'catastrophic planning' saw troops treated as 'cannon fodder'
By MAILONLINE REPORTER
9 November 2022
Russian defense minister Sergei Shoigu (pictured, left with glasses) today visited his military's command center on Ukrainian soil as Putin's troops continue to be pressed back in occupied territories. Images released by the defense ministry showed Shoigu studying a series of documents alongside 'General Armageddon' Sergei Surovikin (pictured, far left) at an undisclosed location in occupied Ukraine.
Surovikin (pictured) was appointed overall commander of Russia's armed forces by Putin exactly one month ago, having earned his ominous title overseeing the brutal destruction of Aleppo amid the Russian intervention in Syria. Since his appointment, Russia's military has dramatically stepped up missile strikes on several Ukrainian cities and the use of Iranian made 'kamikaze' drones has been widely implemented. But Moscow's troops have faced staunch resistance from Ukraine's armed forces in the eastern Donetsk and the southern Kherson regions.
It comes as Russian marines said their 'incompetent' generals are treating them as 'cannon fodder' after their unit suffered devastating losses, with 300 men reportedly killed or wounded in four days of heavy fighting in eastern Ukraine. Marines from Russia's 155th Naval Infantry Brigade wrote a scathing letter to their regional governor, claiming they had lost 300 servicemen in a four-day massacre in Pavlivka thanks to the catastrophic planning of Generals Rustam Muradov and Zurab Akhmedov.
* * *
Source: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/galleries/article-11407487/Putin-sends-right-hand-man-command-center-amid-troops-complaints.html
-
(https://img-9gag-fun.9cache.com/photo/a4oj8Vy_460s.jpg)
-
I have to say, the very last title I would want today is "Russian military General/Admiral/Commander Force Brigade Commandant (anything)". You either die on the field of battle (noble), or you die by Putin himself or you take the honorable way out.
-
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2kS4PZlF_BM
-
Senior Russian-appointed official in occupied Kherson ‘killed in road accident’
Tim Lister, Uliana Pavlova, Anna Chernova and Darya Tarasova, CNN | Updated 10:00 AM EST, Wed November 9, 2022
Ukraine CNN — One of the most senior Russian-appointed officials in occupied Ukrainian territory has been killed, Russian officials and state news agencies said Wednesday.
The Russian-appointed deputy head of the Kherson region in southern Ukraine, Kirill Stremousov, died in a road accident, the press secretary of the head of the region said, according to Russian news agency TASS.
Stremousov was killed in an accident on the highway between Kherson and Armyansk in Crimea, the Russian state media company Vesti (VGTRK) reported, citing the region’s health minister. Stremousov was 45 years old, according to Vesti.
His death was also announced by the Russian-appointed “head” of Kherson, Vladimir Saldo, who wrote in a statement on Telegram: “It is very hard for me to say that Kirill Stremousov died today. He died on the territory of the Kherson region, moving in a car that got into an accident”.
Stremousov, a Ukrainian who was quick to side with the Russian occupation when Kherson fell early in the invasion, had become one of the most vocal and outspoken of Russian appointees. . .
https://www.cnn.com/2022/11/09/europe/kirill-stremousov-kherson-official-killed-intl/index.html
Looks like his car may have hit a partisan RPG.
-
Senior Russian-appointed official in occupied Kherson ‘killed in road accident’
Tim Lister, Uliana Pavlova, Anna Chernova and Darya Tarasova, CNN | Updated 10:00 AM EST, Wed November 9, 2022
Ukraine CNN — One of the most senior Russian-appointed officials in occupied Ukrainian territory has been killed, Russian officials and state news agencies said Wednesday.
The Russian-appointed deputy head of the Kherson region in southern Ukraine, Kirill Stremousov, died in a road accident, the press secretary of the head of the region said, according to Russian news agency TASS.
Stremousov was killed in an accident on the highway between Kherson and Armyansk in Crimea, the Russian state media company Vesti (VGTRK) reported, citing the region’s health minister. Stremousov was 45 years old, according to Vesti.
His death was also announced by the Russian-appointed “head” of Kherson, Vladimir Saldo, who wrote in a statement on Telegram: “It is very hard for me to say that Kirill Stremousov died today. He died on the territory of the Kherson region, moving in a car that got into an accident”.
Stremousov, a Ukrainian who was quick to side with the Russian occupation when Kherson fell early in the invasion, had become one of the most vocal and outspoken of Russian appointees. . .
https://www.cnn.com/2022/11/09/europe/kirill-stremousov-kherson-official-killed-intl/index.html
Looks like his car may have hit a partisan RPG.
(https://i.imgflip.com/703xmx.jpg)
-
Satellite Images Show A Russian Buildup In Belarus. Experts Say It May Be A Bluff.
https://www.rferl.org/a/satellite-images-russia-buildup-belarus/32121143.html (https://www.rferl.org/a/satellite-images-russia-buildup-belarus/32121143.html)
When Russia held large-scale military exercises in Belarus in February, the two countries described them as defensive in nature, aimed at repelling outside aggression, namely from Ukraine and NATO.
But as the exercises wound down, many of the 30,000 Russian troops stationed in Belarus then poured over the border of Ukraine as part of President Vladimir Putin's invasion, now in its eighth month.
New satellite imagery obtained by RFE/RL's Belarus Service shows thousands of Russian troops may have returned to Belarus, raising questions about whether another incursion into Ukraine from the north is imminent -- or if Moscow, with the help of Minsk, is merely trying to distract Kyiv.
The Russians "don't have enough combat power to launch an offensive [from Belarus], and there are no vital Ukrainian points nearby," said Mark Cancian, a military analyst at the Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies.
Russian forces have suffered significant losses in manpower and equipment since September, when Ukraine launched a counteroffensive that continues in the Donbas in the east and Kherson in the south.
"The Russians probably want to distract Ukrainians and pull some of their forces away from Kherson and the Donbas," Cancian told RFE/RL.
Tent Encampments
Satellite imagery captured by the commercial company Planet Lab on October 31 and obtained by RFE/RL shows Russia has set up more than 300 tents in three locations over the past month to temporarily house soldiers at three training grounds in Belarus.
They included at least 190 tents at Abuz-Lyasnouski in western Belarus where ground forces train, 35 in Repishcha in central Belarus where artillery forces exercise, and 80 in Lasvida outside Minsk where airborne forces train.
Abuz-Lyasnouski is the southernmost of the locations, located about 160 kilometers north of the Ukrainian border.
Hundreds of pieces of military hardware, including trucks and some howitzers, have arrived at the bases as well, according to the images.
More at link.
-
Russia's army may not recover from the Ukraine war: Putin has lost HALF his tanks and will find it 'very difficult' to rebuild, Pentagon says
By CHRIS PLEASANCE FOR MAILONLINE
9 November 2022
Russia's military may never recover from the damage it has suffered in Ukraine, the Pentagon has said.
Colin Kahl, the under secretary for defence, revealed half of Vladimir Putin's tanks have been destroyed and most of his precision missiles used up since he ordered the invasion a little over eight months ago.
Sanctions mean it will be 'very difficult' for Moscow to rebuild its forces to their pre-war strength, Kahl added, before even taking into account the 'tens of thousands of casualties' suffered since February 24.
* * *
'Putin went into this war trying to extinguish Ukraine as an independent, sovereign democratic country. He's failed, and that's not going to change.
'A sovereign, independent, democratic Ukraine is going to endure.'
The true scale of Russia's losses in Ukraine are unclear, but are thought to be high.
* * *
Source: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11407217/Russias-army-never-recover-Ukraine-war-Pentagon-says.html
It's a good start, maybe if Russia military is completely decimated they will stop trying to impose their tyranny on their neighbors.
-
It's a good start, maybe if Russia military is completely decimated they will stop trying to impose their tyranny on their neighbors.
They didn't fire any cruise missiles last Monday either. For the last several Mondays, Russia had launched massive cruise missile attacks against Ukrainian civilians. But nothing this last Monday. Maybe they ran out of missiles.
-
Little respite for Ukrainian artillery fighters near Bakhmut
09/11/2022 - 07:28 | Modified: 09/11/2022 - 07:26
(https://s.france24.com/media/display/b66d27d2-5ff7-11ed-9c03-005056a97e36/w:1024/p:16x9/46e2dc7547eb336140756c66147c5a189f7b17a1.webp)
Fighting has raged around the eastern Ukrainian city Bakhmut BULENT KILIC AFP
Bakhmut (Ukraine) (AFP) – From the woods at the edge of Bakhmut, a besieged Ukrainian city in the Donbas region, a soldier shouts: "Postril!"
The signal -- meaning "fire!" in Ukrainian -- sends a huge orange fireball spitting from a 130mm field gun and blows away the surrounding vegetation.
In highly choreographed movements, five soldiers quickly remove the smoking hot empty cartridge and replace it, allowing for another "Postril!".
These soldiers are part of the Ukrainian army's 93rd brigade. Their targets are the Russian positions across the Bakhmut frontline.
Fighting has raged for four months around this eastern city, which is still held by Ukrainian troops but surrounded by Moscow's forces.
"We are covering our infantry and chasing out the enemy's artillery units. Right now, we are working a lot more than usual," said artilleryman Dmytro, 25.
After the war started, his unit was given M-46 Soviet field guns, also called M1954 for the year they were introduced during a parade in Moscow's Red Square. . .
https://www.france24.com/en/live-news/20221109-little-respite-for-ukrainian-artillery-fighters-near-bakhmut
-
Putin gags Russian officials who dared to criticise the war and BANS state media from quoting them
By RACHAEL BUNYAN FOR MAILONLINE
10 November 2022
Vladimir Putin is gagging Russian officials who have dared to criticise his war in Ukraine, with the Russian leader banning state media from quoting them.
The Kremlin has begun a campaign of silencing prominent politicians who have become frustrated with Putin's invasion, which has seen at least 100,000 Russian soldiers killed.
The list of officials who have been critical of the war has been handed to state media with the instruction to stop quoting them in their reports, sources close to the State Duma and media operation told Russian news outlet Verstka.
* * *
Source: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11412339/Putin-gags-Russian-officials-dared-criticise-war-BANS-state-media-quoting-them.html
-
Has Putin set a TRAP for Ukraine in Kherson? Russia blows up bridges, lays mines and could even FLOOD the area by destroying dam as forces retreat…and Kyiv admits 'they aren't leaving without a fight'
By CHRIS PLEASANCE FOR MAILONLINE
10 November 2022
Ukraine sees no sign that Russia is leaving Kherson without a fight, a senior adviser to President Zelensky has said, amid fears in Kyiv that Moscow's heavily stage-managed announcement of retreat is actually a carefully laid trap.
Mykhailo Podolyak, one of President Zelensky's most-senior advisers, said last night that Russian troops remain in the city and that Kyiv believes reinforcements are on their way. 'Actions speak louder than words,' he tweeted, 'Ukraine will liberate territories based on intelligence data, not staged TV statements.'
Oleksiy Arestovych, another senior adviser and former head of military intelligence, was a little more optimistic but still cautious - saying that Russian forces do appear to be leaving the region 'but not as much as would be taking place if it was a full pullout or regrouping.'
The Russians are destroying bridges as they flee and mining roads, according to Arestovych, who added: 'For the moment, we don't know their intentions - will they engage in fighting with us and will they try to hold the city of Kherson? They are moving very slowly.'
Zelensky also voiced fears overnight that Russia may try to blow up a dam at Nova Khakovka, flooding the area around Kherson and draining a reservoir which the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant relies on to cool itself - potentially triggering a meltdown.
* * *
Source: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11411551/Is-Russias-retreat-Kherson-actually-trap-laid-Ukraine.html
-
Has Putin set a TRAP for Ukraine in Kherson? Russia blows up bridges, lays mines and could even FLOOD the area by destroying dam as forces retreat…and Kyiv admits 'they aren't leaving without a fight'
It won't be the first time that Russians killed tens of thousands of Ukrainians by blowing dams without warning.
-
It won't be the first time that Russians killed tens of thousands of Ukrainians by blowing dams without warning.
Yup.
-
Ukraine attacks Russian units in Kherson, saying Moscow didn’t request a ‘green corridor’ for withdrawal
https://www.cnbc.com/2022/11/10/russia-ukraine-war-updates.html (https://www.cnbc.com/2022/11/10/russia-ukraine-war-updates.html)
Russia has suffered another self-inflicted blow to morale this week after it announced Wednesday that it will withdraw its troops from a significant part of the southern Kherson region.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy showed restraint as he reflected on the announcement in his nightly address last night, saying it was important to remain impassive about Russia’s withdrawal, while other Ukrainian officials questioned whether Russia’s announced withdrawal was a feint, designed to lure Ukrainian forces into a trap.
Ukraine said it was skeptical that the withdrawal had actually begun, with one official saying departing Russian troops were laying land mines in Kherson city in a bid to turn it into a “city of death,” as well as blowing up bridges across the Dnieper River to slow Ukrainian forces’ advance.
Serhiy Khlan, a member of the Kherson Regional Council, said that the Russians were moving their equipment to the left bank of the Dnieper River and that Ukraine’s forces were destroying it.
Ukraine’s army chief Valeriy Zaluzhnyi said on Telegram Thursday that Kyiv could not yet confirm whether Russia was indeed pulling out of the region, but said Ukrainian troops had advanced four miles in the past 24 hours and recaptured 12 settlements.
Since Oct.1, Ukraine’s forces had advanced 22.6 miles in the Kherson region and had recaptured 41 settlements, Zaluzhnyi said on Telegram Thursday. He attributed Russia’s withdrawal from a chunk of Kherson, that was announced yesterday, to Ukraine destroying the logistics routes and support system, leaving Russian units “no other option than to flee.”
More at link.
-
They didn't fire any cruise missiles last Monday either. For the last several Mondays, Russia had launched massive cruise missile attacks against Ukrainian civilians. But nothing this last Monday. Maybe they ran out of missiles.
It's possible they have depleted their arsenal to the point that they don't dare use anymore. The sanctions have made it very hard to get chips and other parts that they use to import. I remember seeing that they could only manufacture 200 tanks per year and it's probably even less now for the same reason. This has always been a reason to support Ukraine. Obviously, first and foremost was the importance of supporting a sovereign nation from the aggression of another nation, but seeing the destruction of Russia's ability to terrorize it's neighbors is a great benefit of doing the right thing.
-
Serhiy Khlan, a member of the Kherson Regional Council, said that the Russians were moving their equipment to the left bank of the Dnieper River and that Ukraine’s forces were destroying it.
@Elderberry
I'm sure the Ukrainians will continue to try and destroy as much Russian equipment as possible. It would be dumb not to, if not the equipment will just be used elsewhere to help kill Ukrainians. Also, I'm sure the Ukrainian's will try to kill as many Russians as possible as the Russians retreat for the same reason.
The public Russian announcement of retreat was just a poor PR stunt for the benefit of the Russian people who are just starting to realize more than 70,000 Russian soldiers have been killed fighting an enemy who was supposed to surrender 10 days after the war was started by Russia.
-
Analysis: Russian withdrawal a 'necessary humiliation'
Deborah Haynes | 20h ago | 15:47
A very public decision by Russia to order the withdrawal of its forces from the southern Ukrainian city of Kherson appears to be a necessary humiliation.
Exposed on the west bank of the Dnipro River, commanders faced the choice of stay and slowly die under Ukrainian bombardment or retreat and live to fight another day.
Ukrainian troops will rightly be wary of a trap, designed to draw them forward into Russian fire.
But if – as it seems – President Vladimir Putin's forces are genuinely retreating to new defensive lines on the opposite side of the river, it will mark an important win for Ukraine as well as a much-needed psychological boost after more than two and a half months of a bloody counter-offensive in the south.
The big question now is whether the Ukrainians can exploit their momentum to keep pushing the Russians back or will the frontlines literally and metaphorically freeze until the spring?
Both sides are exhausted, have suffered heavy casualties and face increasingly difficult fighting conditions as winter closes in, temperatures drop and visibility worsens.
But there is little doubt that Ukraine's armed forces will want to continue to fight, provided their Western partners continue to deliver weapons and ammunition.
That is the single biggest factor on the Ukrainian side that the government in Kyiv cannot control - beyond keeping up the pressure on their US, British and other NATO suppliers.
For Russian President Vladimir Putin, though, he will doubtless be hoping – as has happened all too often in the past – that the ability of the West to stay the course will falter when things become too tough and drag on beyond too many election cycles.
He will be counting on soaring energy prices, tanking economies and increasingly unhappy populations in Western nations piling pressure on their respective governments to change course on Ukraine.
Despite his troops underperforming and failing in the north, east and now the south, the Russian leader is showing no sign of backing down or altering his plans to seize Ukraine.
He just needs time to regroup, re-arm and wait for the bulk of some 300,000 reservists recently mobilised to gain a semblance of training so they can attempt new offensives.
That means the West's will and ability to stick with Ukraine needs to outlast Putin's will to wage war.
https://news.sky.com/story/ukraine-war-latest-russia-signals-retreat-in-kherson-but-kyiv-fears-trap-mod-says-russian-commanders-probably-ordered-to-shoot-deserters-12541713?postid=4842831#liveblog-body
-
US refuses to give Ukraine advanced drones - report
1h ago | 10:36
The Biden administration has refused to hand over advanced drones to Ukraine, according to a report by the Wall Street Journal.
Ukraine had requested the weapons to help fight back against Russia, but the Pentagon declined.
US officials were reportedly concerned that providing the drones could escalate the conflict and signal that America was supplying weapons able to target positions inside Russia.
Western officials have refused to become directly involved in the conflict to avoid an all-out war with Russia.
Last week, the US announced an additional $400m in military aid to Ukraine.
This included refurbishing T-72 tanks and missiles for HAWK air defence systems.
https://news.sky.com/story/ukraine-war-latest-russia-signals-retreat-in-kherson-but-kyiv-fears-trap-mod-says-russian-commanders-probably-ordered-to-shoot-deserters-12541713?postid=4846318#liveblog-body
The Biden Regime once again blocks a quicker path to a victorious ending. They want this war to drag out.
-
Ukrainian troops approach outskirts of Kherson after taking key town
Peter Beaumont and Isobel Koshiw, Kyiv | 10 Nov 2022 | 09.44 EST
Ukrainian forces were closing in on the outskirts of Kherson city as Russia said on Thursday it had begun the retreat from the southern city that it announced the previous day.
Hours after Ukraine claimed the liberation of the key town of Snihurivka, images emerged of relaxed-looking soldiers from Ukraine’s 28th Mechanised Brigade with a Ukrainian flag in Kyslivka, a village just outside Klapaya and about nine miles (15km) from Kherson’s city centre.
https://twitter.com/bayraktar_1love/status/1590690124232527872
The Russian defence ministry, confirming that its withdrawal was under way, said: “The Russian troop units are manoeuvring to a prepared position on the left bank of the Dnipro River in strict accordance with the approved plan.”
Witness reports said Russian forces were still visible in Kherson, with Ukrainian troops continuing their advance from three directions – from the north, east and west – as the large pocket around the city once held by Russian forces appeared to be shrinking.
Vadym Skibitsky, Ukraine’s deputy military intelligence chief, estimated over half of the Russian forces that were stationed on the right bank were still there – a force that had previously been put at some 20,000. . . .
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/nov/10/ukraine-capture-snihurivka-kherson-russia-war
-
(https://img-9gag-fun.9cache.com/photo/aQEMMme_460s.jpg)
-
Russia Starts Bugging Out
https://www.battleswarmblog.com/?p=53264 (https://www.battleswarmblog.com/?p=53264)
Lets look at the news that Russia has announced a complete withdrawal from Kherson oblast north/west of the Dnipro River.
First up: A big picture overview from Peter Zeihan, that I have some minor to moderate quibbles with.
Takeaways:
• Russia has announced withdrawing from the Kherson pocket, which is their only territory west of the Dnipro River.
• “Reports at this point indicate that the Russians are withdrawing at full speed from all positions.”
• Not a rout…yet.
• “Based on whose statistics you’re looking at, they’re somewhere between 20,000 and 40,000 Russian forces in the area, but it’s generally accepted on both sides these are the best troops that the Russians have, with the best training and the best equipment.”
• Those Russians haven’t been properly supplied for a month due to the Kerch Strait Bridge attack. “Which is the only heavy rail connection that can handle freight transport from Russia proper to the southern front.”
• “Everything now has to come in by truck and the Russians have lost the vast majority of their tactical truck support fleet for the military and are now using civilian vehicles, making them very vulnerable.”
• “Not enough shells and not enough fuel have been getting to the Kherson front.”
• One result: For the last two weeks, Ukrainian artillery has received zero counter-battery fire. “So the Ukrainians have just been able to plug away with whatever ammo they have.”
-------
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mbl1v_4vqbA (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mbl1v_4vqbA)
Next up: Suchomimus offers a detailed map update. Zeihan is a geopolitical generalist jack of all trades, but detailed video and geolocation analysis is all Suchomimus does.
Takeaways:
• Russia has blown up most (probably all) of the bridges over the Inhulets River.
• Russia has several ferries to run troops and equipment over the Dnipro, along with rallying point to stage units for withdrawal. Some of the staging areas have been hit by Ukrainian artillery, but satellite photos show Russian forces spread out in those areas to minimize damage.
• No evidence of heavy vehicles using those ferries yet. “It’s unknown if these ferries and barges can actually support anything heavier or not, and if they can, it’s likely they can only carry one at a time.”
• There are two ferry loading points in Kherson city itself.
• There are also Russian Raptor class patrol boats operating in the Dnipro, which makes sense.
------
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i7Bg_3-UVyI (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i7Bg_3-UVyI)
-
Putin 'tried and failed' to test 'doomsday' Poseidon nuclear-powered torpedo in recent weeks and submarine is returning to base from Arctic, says senior US intelligence source
By HARRIET ALEXANDER FOR DAILYMAIL.COM
10 November 2022
Russia has tried and failed to test its pioneering 'doomsday' torpedo, American intelligence sources believe, in a possible sign that the sanctions against Moscow are beginning to bite.
The fearsome nuclear-powered torpedo, named Poseidon, is launched from the Belgorod - the world's largest submarine, which only went into service this summer.
Belgorod was unveiled with great fanfare in 2019, and the Poseidon torpedo - first announced in 2015 - seen as the crown jewels of the submarine.
Russia boasted at the time that Poseidon would be capable of destroying entire cities by triggering a tsunami.
But on Thursday, U.S. sources told CNN they had observed the Belgorod preparing for a test - then leaving the testing area in the Arctic Sea, and returning to port without carrying out the trial.
* * *
Source: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11415165/Putin-tried-failed-test-doomsday-Poseidon-nuclear-powered-torpedo-recent-weeks.html
-
The flag of freedom flies over Kherson: Ukrainians gather to raise their national banner in town square as final Russians flee across the river amid barrage of missile fire
By CHRIS PLEASANCE FOR MAILONLINE
11 November 2022
The Ukrainian flag is once again flying over the city of Kherson today as Kyiv's troops moved into the city after Russia's last troops retreated in the early hours, blowing up the main bridge out of the city as they left.
Images showed yellow and blue banners being raised outside the Kherson civil administration building as crowds gathered to welcome Kyiv's men who were pictured moving into the outskirts - welcomed by jubilant locals. Troops advancing through surrounding towns said people burst into tears when they saw them.
By 1pm local time most of the city was under Kyiv's control - Ukrainian officials said - but urged civilians to stay inside their homes while they root out any last Russian stragglers who got left behind.
Ukraine's artillery had pounded the city and the nearby Dnipro River overnight and into the early hours in the hopes of destroying any last Russians trying to flee. Rumours swirled that thousands of troops might be trapped in the city, but as they day wore on those hopes seemed to be ill-founded.
Fears that Russia could be laying some kind of trap also failed to materialise, perhaps suggesting a disinformation campaign to delay the Ukrainian advance long enough for Moscow's men to get out.
* * *
Source: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11416201/Russia-facing-huge-losses-Kherson-20-000-troops-surrounded-expert-says.html
-
Kremlin insists Kherson still part of Russia despite troop withdrawal
Friday 11 November 2022 | 13:36, UK
A Ukrainian flag has been raised in the city of Kherson after Russia completed its retreat of troops from the west bank of the river dividing the region of the same name.
In a statement carried by Russia's state news agencies, the defence ministry said the withdrawal was finished at 5am on Friday and that no military equipment was left on the western bank.
Areas the Russian military withdrew from include the city of Kherson, the only regional capital Moscow seized during its eight-month war in Ukraine.
A member of the Kherson regional council said residents are being asked to stay at home while searches for any remaining Russian soldiers are carried out.
They also said many Russian troops drowned while trying to leave Kherson.
After the Russian retreat, a picture posted on social media appeared to show a Ukrainian flag being raised in the centre of the city by residents.
Sky's Alex Rossi, reporting from Kherson region, said: "One woman told me that she has been pretty much living in her basement since the Russians took control of the area - many, many months, effectively living underground, living in fear.
"And she was absolutely delighted to see the Ukrainian soldiers that we were with." . .
(https://e3.365dm.com/22/11/1600x900/skynews-ukraine-kherson-flag_5961964.jpg?20221111113434)
https://news.sky.com/story/ukraine-war-kremlin-insists-kherson-still-part-of-russia-despite-troop-withdrawal-12744439
It's pretty clear that the residents of Kherson consider themselves part of Ukraine, not part of Russia.
-
The videos coming out of Kherson are amazing and bring tears to my eyes!!!
https://twitter.com/i/status/1591066758592761857 (https://twitter.com/i/status/1591066758592761857)
https://twitter.com/i/status/1591046432349642753 (https://twitter.com/i/status/1591046432349642753)
https://twitter.com/i/status/1591134263071870979 (https://twitter.com/i/status/1591134263071870979)
https://twitter.com/i/status/1591062567623217153 (https://twitter.com/i/status/1591062567623217153)
https://twitter.com/i/status/1591046432349642753 (https://twitter.com/i/status/1591046432349642753)
BTW, it's good to be back! ***gadsen@@@
-
Putin 'has been offered surrender terms by the West' as he loses control of Kherson - and 'his cronies have reacted positively because it allows them to stay in power and avoid criminal charges'
By WILL STEWART and CHRIS PLEASANCE FOR MAILONLINE
11 November 2022
Vladimir Putin has been offered surrender terms by the West, a respected Russian policy expert revealed today, as Moscow's troops were forced to withdraw from the city of Kherson in yet another humiliating defeat.
Professor Valery Solovey, formerly at Moscow's prestigious Institute of International Relations and who claims to have connections in the Kremlin, said the surrender would see Russia give up all territory in Ukraine with the exception of Crimea, which would become a demilitarised zone and its status would not be discussed again until 2029.
In return, Putin and his cronies would avoid criminal charges over the war and be allowed to remain in power, Professor Solovey claimed.
He said the proposal had been discussed between Kyiv and its Western allies before being presented to Putin's inner circle - who had reacted positively to the idea.
Russia has been calling for a return to the negotiating table in recent days while there have been suggestions that Washington is quietly leaning on Kyiv to do the same.
General Mark Milley, head of the US general staff, said this week that a winter lull in fighting presents an 'opportunity' for talks.
* * *
Source: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11417563/Putin-offered-surrender-terms-West-loses-control-Kherson.html
-
The videos coming out of Kherson are amazing and bring tears to my eyes!!!
Reminds me of those WWII newsreels of allied troops liberating French, Dutch, and Italian cities.
-
Russian Offensive Campaign Assessment, November 10
Karolina Hird, Kateryna Stepanenko, Riley Bailey, Katherine Lawlor, and Mason Clark | 17 hrs ago
. . . Ukrainian Air Force Command spokesperson Yuriy Ignat stated that Russian forces will likely further reduce the pace of their campaign to strike Ukrainian critical infrastructure, likely enabling Ukrainian authorities to address most of the damage to infrastructure. Ignat announced on November 10 that on the night of November 9 to 10 Russian forces did not conduct any air or cruise missile strikes on Ukrainian critical infrastructure facilities.[12] Ignat stated that Russian forces have begun to stockpile high-precision weapons systems to launch a future massive campaign reminiscent of the October 10 strikes, because small numbers of daily cruise missile and drone strikes are now generating few results.[13] Ignat stated Russian forces spent months accumulating the high-precision weapons systems they used in the October campaign against Ukrainian critical infrastructure.[14] ISW has previously assessed that Russian forces have greatly depleted their arsenal of high-precision weapons systems and have suffered significant aviation losses and therefore would struggle to maintain the pace of their campaign against Ukrainian infrastructure.[15] It will likely take Russian forces months to accumulate the number of high-precision weapons systems needed to return to the pace of strikes it conducted in mid-October despite Ignat’s reporting that Russian factories are drastically increasing the manufacturing of cruise missiles.[16] Ukrainian officials have previously stated that they could restore energy supplies to communities in Ukraine within a matter of a few weeks if the pace of the Russian campaign dramatically slowed.[17] ISW also assessed that Russian President Vladimir Putin may have ordered the campaign against Ukrainian critical infrastructure to curry favor with the Russian pro-war nationalist camp that has been consistently demanding escalation in Ukraine.[18] A reduced pace in the campaign will likely contribute to renewed criticisms from the pro-war nationalist camp. Russian forces likely retain the capability to damage Ukrainian critical infrastructure and impose costs on Ukrainian civilians in the winter but are unlikely to be able to inflict decisive — and lasting — damage. . . .
https://www.criticalthreats.org/analysis/russian-offensive-campaign-assessment-november-10
Basically, Russia is running woefully short of cruise missiles. There hasn't been a cruise missile attack in over a week.
-
The videos coming out of Kherson are amazing and bring tears to my eyes!!!
https://twitter.com/i/status/1591066758592761857 (https://twitter.com/i/status/1591066758592761857)
https://twitter.com/i/status/1591046432349642753 (https://twitter.com/i/status/1591046432349642753)
https://twitter.com/i/status/1591134263071870979 (https://twitter.com/i/status/1591134263071870979)
https://twitter.com/i/status/1591062567623217153 (https://twitter.com/i/status/1591062567623217153)
https://twitter.com/i/status/1591046432349642753 (https://twitter.com/i/status/1591046432349642753)
BTW, it's good to be back! ***gadsen@@@
Thanks for posting this. It was great to see.
-
The videos coming out of Kherson are amazing and bring tears to my eyes!!!
https://twitter.com/i/status/1591066758592761857 (https://twitter.com/i/status/1591066758592761857)
https://twitter.com/i/status/1591046432349642753 (https://twitter.com/i/status/1591046432349642753)
https://twitter.com/i/status/1591134263071870979 (https://twitter.com/i/status/1591134263071870979)
https://twitter.com/i/status/1591062567623217153 (https://twitter.com/i/status/1591062567623217153)
https://twitter.com/i/status/1591046432349642753 (https://twitter.com/i/status/1591046432349642753)
BTW, it's good to be back! ***gadsen@@@
Those videos expose the repeated lies that these cities were "liberated" by the Russians when this all started.
-
Those videos expose the repeated lies that these cities were "liberated" by the Russians when this all started.
Yep. That whole 'Russians are "liberators and protectors"' claim by one poster here has been complete bullshit from Day One. You would think that after atrocity after atrocity committed against the Ukrainian people that the poster would acknowledge it.
-
Kherson residents told to stay at home while search for remaining Russian troops takes place
10h ago | 06:32
A member of Kherson regional council has been giving an update on the situation there.
They said city residents were being encouraged to stay at home while searches for any remaining Russian soldiers were carried out.
They also said many Russian troops drowned while trying to leave Kherson.
They added that the city was almost under the control of the Ukrainian armed forces.
https://news.sky.com/story/ukraine-war-latest-putin-kherson-retreat-war-live-12541713?postid=4850682#liveblog-body
I wonder how many?
-
Scenes of Celebration in Kyiv
58m ago | 16:00
Earlier we shared images of Kyiv residents taking to the streets to celebrate Kherson city being liberated from Russian control.
It appears the celebrations are continuing, with more people in Ukraine's capital heading out wearing Ukrainian flags and the blue and yellow colours of their country.
(https://liveblog.digitalimages.sky/lc-images-sky/lcimg-d60ec533-6781-4116-a7ae-67dabf37e500.jpeg)
(https://liveblog.digitalimages.sky/lc-images-sky/lcimg-b0847ccd-013f-476e-bcd6-46db735132fa.jpeg)
(https://liveblog.digitalimages.sky/lc-images-sky/lcimg-89718a5e-b63c-4b93-b57e-2c39e60d2950.jpeg)
(https://liveblog.digitalimages.sky/lc-images-sky/lcimg-1a4eaeb2-036b-4100-b9ad-fd02d0101e17.jpeg)
(https://liveblog.digitalimages.sky/lc-images-sky/lcimg-3bc15cbf-93fd-41de-91be-87a36872037f.jpeg)
https://news.sky.com/story/ukraine-war-latest-putin-kherson-retreat-war-live-12541713?postid=4854310#liveblog-body
-
Ukrainian special forces may already be at the Dnieper River, and if the UAF can across in sufficient numbers before the Russians can dig in any further, they might be able to unhinge the Russians' entire southern defense line and continue the rout.
https://www.ukrinform.net/rubric-ato/3612486-ukrainian-forces-reach-right-bank-of-dnieper-in-certain-areas-of-kherson-region.html (https://www.ukrinform.net/rubric-ato/3612486-ukrainian-forces-reach-right-bank-of-dnieper-in-certain-areas-of-kherson-region.html)
-
Meanwhile in Melitopol...
Russia-Installed Official In Ukraine's Melitopol Survives Apparent Assassination Attempt
https://www.rferl.org/a/ukraine-melitopol-russian-official-assassination-attempt/32125742.html (https://www.rferl.org/a/ukraine-melitopol-russian-official-assassination-attempt/32125742.html)
-
Russia claims Henichesk as new "capital of Kherson Oblast"
https://finance.yahoo.com/finance/news/russia-claims-henichesk-capital-kherson-074011946.html
Following the withdrawal of Russian forces from the city of Kherson [the official administrative centre, or capital, of Kherson Oblast - ed.], Russia has claimed that the city of Henichesk is the new "capital" of Kherson Oblast.
Source: TASS, a Kremlin-aligned Russian media outlet
Details: A representative of the Russian occupation administration in Kherson Oblast said that Henichesk has been chosen as the new "capital" of Kherson Oblast and main "government agencies" have been relocated to the city.
-
Ukraine Signals It Will Stay on the Offensive, Despite Talk of a Lull
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/11/12/world/europe/ukraine-war-strategy-russia.html
As jubilant Ukrainian troops hoist their national flag over Kherson after a comprehensive Russian retreat, they give no sign of stopping their offensives for the winter, or allowing the war to settle into a stalemate.
In the east, Ukrainian forces continue to grind forward and have repelled repeated Russian efforts to seize towns like Bakhmut and Pavlivka, reportedly killing hundreds of Russian soldiers. In the south, they are striking deep behind Russian lines, hitting Moscow’s troops before they can settle and build defenses on the eastern bank of the Dnipro River, across from Kherson.
And there are growing hints from troops on the ground, and volunteers close to them, that the Ukrainians are preparing for a new land offensive between those two fronts, south through the Zaporizhzhia region toward Melitopol, challenging Russia’s hold on the entire southern area that it seized in the invasion that began in February.
Excerpt
-
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FhWpAkqXgAAlZtC?format=jpg&name=small)
-
https://twitter.com/UKR_Report/status/1591269291235872768
This is why the democrats never lack for campaign cash! Thousands of pipelines like this into the public treasury!
-
This is why the democrats never lack for campaign cash! Thousands of pipelines like this into the public treasury!
DNCC is one massive money laundering operation. Who needs election laws when you can operate like the Sopranos.
-
UKR REPORT
@UKR_Report
·
Follow
⚡️🇺🇦Gongress sends money to Ukraine, Ukraine invests in FTX, FTX donates money to Democrats.
This is why the democrats never lack for campaign cash! Thousands of pipelines like this into the public treasury!
Maybe Congress should have sent weapons instead as Ukraine requested.
-
DNCC is one massive money laundering operation. Who needs election laws when you can operate like the Sopranos.
And the Republicans allow it. Again and again, they allow it. It's reason #472 why they are known as the Stupid Party.
-
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FhWpAkqXgAAlZtC?format=jpg&name=small)
The number that should just scream give up and withdraw is 80,000+ killed.
-
https://twitter.com/UKR_Report/status/1591269291235872768
This is why the democrats never lack for campaign cash! Thousands of pipelines like this into the public treasury!
If the House majority ends up being the Pubs they really need to investigate what's going on. No matter what we should cut off all money and only send weapons.
-
And the Republicans we allow it. Again and again, they allow it. It's reason #472 why they are known as the Stupid Party.
Fixed it!
-
Fixed it!
I stand corrected. Although a lot of us feel powerless to change it. Every primary, the candidates I vote for do not win.
-
I stand corrected. Although a lot of us feel powerless to change it. Every primary, the candidates I vote for do not win.
Join the friggin club! I think I'm a founding member.
-
And the Republicans allow it. Again and again, they allow it. It's reason #472 why they are known as the Stupid Party.
It is likely they are involved, not just allowing it. The candidates they have consistently and most virulently opposed are ones who would tear the scam wide open.
-
Ukraine will return to talks when its conditions are met - MP
https://www.ukrinform.net/rubric-ato/3613105-ukraine-will-return-to-talks-when-its-conditions-are-met-mp.html (https://www.ukrinform.net/rubric-ato/3613105-ukraine-will-return-to-talks-when-its-conditions-are-met-mp.html)
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky clearly outlined the terms of negotiations with Russia, and Ukraine will sit down at the negotiating table when those terms are fulfilled.
Davyd Arakhamia, the head of the Servant of the People faction in parliament and a member of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on National Security, Defense and Intelligence, said this in a post on Telegram, Ukrinform reports.
"Our President Volodymyr Zelensky clearly named the conditions under which it is possible to talk about something with Russia. They include the restoration of territorial integrity, compensation for all the damages inflicted, punishment for all war criminals, effective guarantees that this will not happen again," Arakhamia said.
Arakhamia emphasized that Kyiv's position remains unchanged: "Ukraine will sit down at the negotiating table when our conditions are fulfilled."
More at link.
-
https://twitter.com/MFA_Ukraine/status/1591753860288499712
-
Ukraine will return to talks when its conditions are met - MP
https://www.ukrinform.net/rubric-ato/3613105-ukraine-will-return-to-talks-when-its-conditions-are-met-mp.html (https://www.ukrinform.net/rubric-ato/3613105-ukraine-will-return-to-talks-when-its-conditions-are-met-mp.html)
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky clearly outlined the terms of negotiations with Russia, and Ukraine will sit down at the negotiating table when those terms are fulfilled.
Davyd Arakhamia, the head of the Servant of the People faction in parliament and a member of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on National Security, Defense and Intelligence, said this in a post on Telegram, Ukrinform reports.
"Our President Volodymyr Zelensky clearly named the conditions under which it is possible to talk about something with Russia. They include the restoration of territorial integrity, compensation for all the damages inflicted, punishment for all war criminals, effective guarantees that this will not happen again," Arakhamia said.
Arakhamia emphasized that Kyiv's position remains unchanged: "Ukraine will sit down at the negotiating table when our conditions are fulfilled."
More at link.
This position may change if the FTX scandal gains any traction in the legacy media. As bad as it is that the Rats would funnel money to Ukraine for them to use as they saw fit it's worse that instead of buying weapons, medical supplies, and repairing infrastructure they "invested" the money in a crypto exchange that then turned around and gave campaign donations to the Rats.
-
This position may change if the FTX scandal gains any traction in the legacy media. As bad as it is that the Rats would funnel money to Ukraine for them to use as they saw fit it's worse that instead of buying weapons, medical supplies, and repairing infrastructure they "invested" the money in a crypto exchange that then turned around and gave campaign donations to the Rats.
That's an indictment of the Democrats, not Ukraine. They took what they were given under the given conditions.
-
This position may change if the FTX scandal gains any traction in the legacy media. As bad as it is that the Rats would funnel money to Ukraine for them to use as they saw fit it's worse that instead of buying weapons, medical supplies, and repairing infrastructure they "invested" the money in a crypto exchange that then turned around and gave campaign donations to the Rats.
Since when have the Ukrainians been getting wads of cash to use as they see fit?
-
That's an indictment of the Democrats, not Ukraine. They took what they were given under the given conditions.
True enough and in the end the innocent civilians and brave soldiers suffer because of it.
-
Since when have the Ukrainians been getting wads of cash to use as they see fit?
https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2022/11/ftx-ceo-sam-bankman-fried-admits-ftx-crypto-laudromat-ukrainian-government/
I am aware that the Gateway Pundit has been against any aid to Ukraine from the beginning, but the CEO of FTX has admitted to the scam.
-
https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2022/11/ftx-ceo-sam-bankman-fried-admits-ftx-crypto-laudromat-ukrainian-government/
I am aware that the Gateway Pundit has been against any aid to Ukraine from the beginning, but the CEO of FTX has admitted to the scam.
Uh huh. You mean he’s pitching a lie to save his a!$. Why assume he’s suddenly become a paragon of virtue?
-
(https://img-9gag-fun.9cache.com/photo/aOxdDqr_460s.jpg)
-
Now that they lost Kherson, the Russians are putting out peace feelers to see if they can keep what's left of their newly "annexed" territories, including Mariupol, Melitopol, and the Zaporhizia nuke plant.
"Russia's spy chief 'to talk to US' as G20 leaders meet to discuss Ukraine war"
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2022/11/14/russias-spy-chief-talk-us-g20-leaders-meet-discuss-ukraine-war/ (https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2022/11/14/russias-spy-chief-talk-us-g20-leaders-meet-discuss-ukraine-war/)
Russia's foreign intelligence chief has flown to Turkey for high-level talks with the United States, Russian media has reported.
Sergey Naryshkin, the head of Russia's SVR spy agency, flew to Ankara earlier today with a Russian delegation, Kommersant reported.
The report could not immediately be confirmed. The newspaper said the Kremlin had refused to confirm or deny such a meeting was taking place.
The paper did not name members of the American delegation. Mr Naryshkin's usual US counterpart is Bill Burns, the director of the CIA. Joe Biden sent Mr Burns to Moscow in November last year to try to dissuade Vladimir Putin from going ahead with his planned invasion of Ukraine.
If confirmed it would be the first face-to-face high-level diplomatic contact between Washington and Moscow since Sergei Lavrov and Anthony Blinken, the US Secretary of State, met in Geneva in January, a month before the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Excerpt.
-
Putin 'to strip passports of citizens who criticise Russia's war with Ukraine' after Kremlin troops' humiliating retreat from Kherson
By ARTHUR PARASHAR FOR MAILONLINE
13 November 2022
Russian president Vladimir Putin is 'to strip passports of citizens who criticise Russia's war with Ukraine' just days after the humiliating withdrawal of his troops from Kherson.
In March, Russian parliament brought in laws that criminalised protesting the conflict in Ukraine and 'discrediting' Russia's army. Those who disobeyed were told they could face up to 15 years in prison.
And now, Putin is reportedly proposing changes to a bill which will target non-birth citizens who acquired Russian passports during the occupation of the key southern city by Moscow forces.
* * *
Source: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11423359/Putin-strip-passports-citizens-criticise-Russias-war-Ukraine.html
-
Orcs will be orcs:
Advancing Ukraine soldiers uncover new torture chamber as Putin's thugs are accused of fresh war crimes
By CHRIS MATTHEWS FOR MAILONLINE
12 November 2022
Ukrainian soldiers uncovered a torture chamber after they liberated Mykolaiv and Kherson from Russian troops on Friday.
It is the latest evidence to suggest Putin's thugs are responsible for war crimes during Russia's brutal invasion of Ukraine.
A makeshift Russian prison used to torture and interrogate Ukrainian dissidents was filmed on fire in Kherson last night after the area was liberated by President Zelensky's troops.
* * *
Source: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11420067/Ukraine-soldiers-uncover-new-torture-chamber-Putins-thugs-accused-fresh-war-crimes.html
-
Zelensky visits Kherson after accusing Russia of committing hundreds of war crimes
https://www.nytimes.com/live/2022/11/14/world/russia-ukraine-war-news/zelensky-visits-recaptured-city-as-ukrainian-forces-work-to-restore-services?smid=url-share
Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenksy made a surprise visit to Kherson Monday to offer support to residents of the newly recaptured city, where investigators have begun to uncover possible proof of wartime atrocities committed during the months-long occupation by Russian forces.
Zelensky said in his nightly address Sunday that officials had uncovered evidence of more than 400 war crimes. Russian forces, Zelensky alleged, left behind a trail of devastation and dead bodies in the wake of their hasty evacuation, similar to what Ukrainian officials found in April in Bucha, a Kyiv suburb, and Borodianka, a city east of the Ukrainian capital.
“The situation in the Kherson region is still very dangerous,” Zelensky said.
Just hours later, Zelensky was in the eponymous regional capital to speak with local officials. He told reporters that it was important to travel to Kherson, noting that Ukrainian servicemen and journalists on the ground were taking similar risks.
“I think it is necessary to be here and talk about Kherson residents, to support people. To make them feel that we are not only talking about it, but we are really returning, really raising our flag,” he said.
(https://media.cnn.com/api/v1/images/stellar/prod/221114110331-02-zelensky-kherson-111422.jpg?c=16x9&q=h_720,w_1280,c_fill)
Zelensky has a come a very long way since his days as a comedian and pretend president on Ukrainian TV. Putin certainly underestimated him as a ligthweight when they met at the "Normandy 4" conference in December 2019, just like Khrushchev misjudged Kennedy in Vienna in June 1961.
Flahsback: "JFK Was Completely Unprepared For His Summit with Khrushchev
'He just beat the hell out of me,' Kennedy said."
https://www.history.com/news/kennedy-krushchev-vienna-summit-meeting-1961 (https://www.history.com/news/kennedy-krushchev-vienna-summit-meeting-1961)
(https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/976/cpsprodpb/16AA4/production/_110063829_hi058536055.jpg)
-
Zelensky visits Kherson after accusing Russia of committing hundreds of war crimes
https://www.nytimes.com/live/2022/11/14/world/russia-ukraine-war-news/zelensky-visits-recaptured-city-as-ukrainian-forces-work-to-restore-services?smid=url-share
(https://media.cnn.com/api/v1/images/stellar/prod/221114110331-02-zelensky-kherson-111422.jpg?c=16x9&q=h_720,w_1280,c_fill)
Zelensky has a come a very long way since his days as a comedian and pretend president on Ukrainian TV. Putin certainly underestimated him as a ligthweight when they met at the "Normandy 4" conference in December 2019, just like Khrushchev misjudged Kennedy in Vienna in June 1961.
Flahsback: "JFK Was Completely Unprepared For His Summit with Khrushchev
'He just beat the hell out of me,' Kennedy said."
https://www.history.com/news/kennedy-krushchev-vienna-summit-meeting-1961 (https://www.history.com/news/kennedy-krushchev-vienna-summit-meeting-1961)
(https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/976/cpsprodpb/16AA4/production/_110063829_hi058536055.jpg)
Some men rise to the demands history puts on them; others do not.
-
Every time I get a flash of "Go Ukes" in their ass kicking of the Ruskies, someone posts a pic of Zellinsky, and it kills the mood. :thud:
-
Every time I get a flash of "Go Ukes" in their ass kicking of the Ruskies, someone posts a pic of Zellinsky, and it kills the mood. :thud:
And why is that? The dude's got balls of steel! lesser leaders would have fled or surrendered a long time ago.
-
And why is that? The dude's got balls of steel! lesser leaders would have fled or surrendered a long time ago.
Yep, best guy you got that your tax money can buy..... :cool:
-
Yep, best guy you got that your tax money can buy..... :cool:
So why didn't he run away in February, when he had the chance?
-
Uh huh. You mean he’s pitching a lie to save his a!$. Why assume he’s suddenly become a paragon of virtue?
I'm not assuming anything at this point. If it's true it is a big deal. If not it still illustrates the problem of sending huge sums of money to Ukraine without congressional oversight.
-
So why didn't he run away in February, when he had the chance?
One of those risk/reward moves I guess. He threw the dice and it came up "7" thrice.
-
And why is that? The dude's got balls of steel! lesser leaders would have fled or surrendered a long time ago.
Good point!
At the lowest point he stood firm and in doing so inspired others to do the same.
-
I'm not assuming anything at this point. If it's true it is a big deal. If not it still illustrates the problem of sending huge sums of money to Ukraine without congressional oversight.
:silly:
Sorry. You trust Congrees to look after money??
:silly:
-
(https://img-9gag-fun.9cache.com/photo/aOxdDqr_460s.jpg)
lol, was this posted before or after Putin called Ukrainians a bunch of nazis and drug addicts?
-
One of those risk/reward moves I guess. He threw the dice and it came up "7" thrice.
Uh, no. With 100,000 Russian troops closing in on Kyiv, he rallied the nation, choosing to stand and fight. This isn't characteristic of someone who allegedly has millions of embezzled money tucked away in Swiss bank accounts. Think Hamid Karzai.
Say what you want about Zelenskiy. Accuse him of whatever propaganda you wish. But you gotta admit that he has shown extreme fortitude in the throes of war, rallying his people and standing against the Russian Bear. And that is evident throughout the people of Ukraine. Their morale remains high even though they've been underdogs for almost a decade. And I'm a sucker for underdogs.
Slava Ukraini.
-
I'm not assuming anything at this point. If it's true it is a big deal. If not it still illustrates the problem of sending huge sums of money to Ukraine without congressional oversight.
When did those huge amounts of money get sent to Ukraine?
-
And also remember that Putin had sent GRU, FSB, Spetsnaz, and/or Wagner operatives into Kyiv on February 24 to hunt and kill Zelensky but they got wiped out first. And Zelensky still didn't run away...
-
"CIA Director Bill Burns met with Russian counterpart Monday"
https://www.cnn.com/2022/11/14/politics/cia-director-bill-burns-russian-counterpart/
CIA Director Bill Burns met with his Russian intelligence counterpart, Sergey Naryshkin, in Ankara Monday as part of an ongoing effort by the US to “communicate with Russia on managing risk” and to discuss the cases of “unjustly detained US citizens,” a National Security Council spokesperson tells CNN.
“We have been very open about the fact that we have channels to communicate with Russia on managing risk, especially nuclear risk and risks to strategic stability,” the spokesperson said. “As part of this effort, Bill Burns is in Ankara today to meet with his Russian intelligence counterpart.”
CNN has previously reported that national security adviser Jake Sullivan has also been in touch with his Russian counterparts to warn them of the consequences should Russia use a nuclear weapon in Ukraine.
The spokesperson emphasized that Burns “is not conducting negotiations of any kind.”
“He is not discussing settlement of the war in Ukraine. He is conveying a message on the consequences of the use of nuclear weapons by Russia, and the risks of escalation to strategic stability. He will also raise the cases of unjustly detained US citizens.”
The spokesperson added that the US briefed Ukraine on the meeting in advance of Burns’ trip.
Excerpt.
-
'They were raping girls here and killing and beating men' - horrors of Kherson prison laid bare
Alex Rossi | 14 November 2022 | 17:49, UK
The gates swing open, creaking ominously on their hinges.
This is the first time Valery has been back to the prison where the Russians took him.
As he walks through the gates he points out the cell on the second floor where he was locked up.
And when he recounts what happened here it's clear that it is a painful experience.
'Every day people were tortured'
"In the 20 cells, there were more than 180 prisoners. Every day people were tortured," Valery says.
"If you get inside the prison and see what they have written on the walls you will see how much they hated us."
Valery was a successful businessman before he was arrested when he resisted as soldiers stole his trucks from his factory.
What the Russians didn't know was their crimes were recorded on CCTV as they looted his office and drove away with his vehicles.
He shows me the images on his phone. They clearly show the soldiers filling bags with valuables and computing equipment.
When they left they smashed everything up.
Each image is dated - it all happened in March shortly after the invasion when they captured Kherson city.
On the walls of the prison graffiti reads "Zelenskyy we are coming".
But surprisingly Valery considers himself lucky as, he says, other inmates were tortured far worse.
"They were tortured severely. They were electrocuted. They were suffocating people in water. They cut people. They were doing things that I can't imagine how any human being could do. We were praying that Ukraine would return to Kherson as soon as possible.
"Please forgive me. This is hard for me. It's difficult, very difficult. Please forgive me."
What happened in this building during the Russian occupation is only now coming to light.
Andrei from the apartment block next door told Valery the residents could also hear the screams.
"I heard everything, it was terrifying.
"They were raping girls here. Then they brought men here and were beating them and killing them." . . .
https://news.sky.com/story/ukraine-war-horrors-of-kherson-prison-where-ukrainians-were-tortured-severely-by-russians-comes-to-light-12746879
-
Uh, no. With 100,000 Russian troops closing in on Kyiv, he rallied the nation, choosing to stand and fight. This isn't characteristic of someone who allegedly has millions of embezzled money tucked away in Swiss bank accounts. Think Hamid Karzai.
Say what you want about Zelenskiy. Accuse him of whatever propaganda you wish. But you gotta admit that he has shown extreme fortitude in the throes of war, rallying his people and standing against the Russian Bear. And that is evident throughout the people of Ukraine. Their morale remains high even though they've been underdogs for almost a decade. And I'm a sucker for underdogs.
Slava Ukraini.
"I don't need a ride, I need more ammo!"
Right up there with "Retreat Hell, we just got here!"
Words that inspire, and which resonate with a population.
Compare and contrast with the Afghan leadership bailing with bags of money.
-
"I don't need a ride, I need more ammo!"
Right up there with "Retreat Hell, we just got here!"
Words that inspire, and which resonate with a population.
Compare and contrast with the Afghan leadership bailing with bags of money.
:thumbsup:
-
:silly:
Sorry. You trust Congrees to look after money??
:silly:
No I think the conservative media is our only hope.
-
When did those huge amounts of money get sent to Ukraine?
Read the news, or prior links. I'm not doing your homework for you.
-
Either you put this money in that account or we can't do bid'ness....
...and Sonofabitch!
-
Either you put this money in that account or we can't do bid'ness....
...and Sonofabitch!
In laymen's terms, this is known as 'influence peddling'.
-
In laymen's terms, this is known as 'influence peddling'.
Quid pro quo..
Baksheesh....
Kickbacks....
Call it what you will, but it is wrong, and especially so holding a country for ransom.
-
Total military aid to Ukraine from EU and its Member States reaches EUR 8B
https://www.ukrinform.net/rubric-ato/3614412-total-military-aid-to-ukraine-from-eu-and-its-member-states-reaches-eur-8b.html (https://www.ukrinform.net/rubric-ato/3614412-total-military-aid-to-ukraine-from-eu-and-its-member-states-reaches-eur-8b.html)
The total military aid provided by the European Union and its Member States to Ukraine reaches EUR 8 billion, or about 45% of the amount of aid that Kyiv receives from the United States.
EU High Representative Josep Borrell said (https://www.eeas.europa.eu/eeas/foreign-affairs-council-press-remarks-high-representative-josep-borrell-after-meeting-2_en) this at a press conference following the meeting of foreign ministers of the EU countries, according to an Ukrinform correspondent.
“We should not confuse the € 3.1 billion from the European Peace Facility, with the [combined] military support of the European Union and its Member States to Ukraine. Sometimes you can read some figures, a comparison between the United States’ effort and the European effort. I asked my military staff to do the best estimation of which is the amount of our military support to Ukraine, and I can advance a figure that tomorrow will be discussed with the Defence Ministers. I think I can say that at least €8 billion in military equipment have already been provided to Ukraine by the European Union and the Member States. It is about 45% of the effort done by the United States, so it is not negligible,” Borrell said.
-
Quid pro quo..
Call it what you will, but it is wrong, and especially so holding a country for ransom.
It's what Joe Biden does. He even brags about doing it. And now you see how Democrats were able to raise so much money this election year. In the first few weeks after the AZ primary, Mark Kelly spent $30 million on ads bashing Blake Masters while McConnell denied him money to fight back.
-
Read the news, or prior links. I'm not doing your homework for you.
Maybe you should do your own homework, first; then perhaps you’d stop peddling lies.
-
No I think the conservative media is our only hope.
You got that right. The Republicans in Congress certainly aren't willing to lift a finger to stop it (to their own election demises).
-
Maybe you should do your own homework, first; then perhaps you’d stop peddling lies.
Being blind to the reality of the FTX corruption doesn't add to a posters credibility.
I am as supportive as any poster who wants Ukraine to prevail in it's war with Russia. However, I don't want that to blind me to Ukrainian corruption and involvement in helping to fund the Rats by means of a money laundering operation.
-
You got that right. The Republicans in Congress certainly aren't willing to lift a finger to stop it (to their own election demises).
I'm becoming more convinced that we will end up with only 2 choices. We either push for a peaceful separation or form a 3rd party. The Pub party is controlled by DC establishment types even though a large majority of the party does not support them, or their beliefs. If either solution is not possible then all we can do is encourage conservatives living in solidly blue states to move to swing states, or solidly red states.
-
Being blind to the reality of the FTX corruption doesn't add to a posters credibility.
I am as supportive as any poster who wants Ukraine to prevail in it's war with Russia. However, I don't want that to blind me to Ukrainian corruption and involvement in helping to fund the Rats by means of a money laundering operation.
Then why do you blindly assume that bales of cash were just magically shipped to Ukraine, and that Zelenskyy took time out from his petty affairs at the Dnipro to engage in a complex, complicated money-laundering scheme to convert that cash into bitcoin, and then tracelessly transfer that bitcoin to DNC operatives, where it was then converted back into cash and turned into DNC party contributions.
To start with, where are those bales of cash?
-
I'm becoming more convinced that we will end up with only 2 choices. We either push for a peaceful separation or form a 3rd party. The Pub party is controlled by DC establishment types even though a large majority of the party does not support them, or their beliefs. If either solution is not possible then all we can do is encourage conservatives living in solidly blue states to move to swing states, or solidly red states.
I moved from California to Arizona and now its gone full blue... Only my rep is red...
-
Strikes put Ukraine in darkness; missiles cross into Poland [killing 2 Poles]
https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-war-zelenskyy-kherson-9202c032cf3a5c22761ee71b52ff9d52
Russia pounded Ukraine’s energy facilities Tuesday with its biggest barrage of missiles yet, striking targets across the country and causing widespread blackouts, and a U.S. official said missiles crossed into NATO member Poland, where two people were killed.
A defiant Ukrainian President Volodymr Zelenskyy shook his fist and declared: “We will survive everything.”
Polish government spokesman Piotr Mueller did not immediately confirm the information from a senior U.S. intelligence official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitive nature of the situation. But Mueller said top leaders were holding an emergency meeting due to a “crisis situation.”
Polish media reported that two people died Tuesday afternoon after a projectile struck an area where grain was drying in Przewodów, a Polish village near the border with Ukraine.
Neighboring Moldova was also affected. It reported massive power outages after the strikes knocked out a key power line that supplies the small nation, an official said.
Zelenskyy said Russia fired at least 85 missiles, “most of them at our energy infrastructure,” and shut down power in many cities.
Excerpt.
-
NATO Article 5
-
(https://i.imgflip.com/70wbao.jpg)
-
(https://i.imgflip.com/70tnge.jpg)
-
Being blind to the reality of the FTX corruption doesn't add to a posters credibility.
I am as supportive as any poster who wants Ukraine to prevail in it's war with Russia. However, I don't want that to blind me to Ukrainian corruption and involvement in helping to fund the Rats by means of a money laundering operation.
That money likely wasn't ever in the hands of Ukrainians, the 'paper trail' just reads that way.
-
The 10-point peace plan for Ukraine proposed by Zelensky
https://www.straitstimes.com/world/europe/the-10-point-peace-plan-for-ukraine-proposed-by-zelensky
NUSA DUA - Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Tuesday called on the Group of 20 major economies meeting in Indonesia to step up their leadership and stop Russia’s war in his country under a peace plan he has proposed.
“We will not allow Russia to wait it out, build up its forces, and then start a new series of terror and global destabilisation,” he said via videolink to the summit on the Indonesia island of Bali. “I am convinced now is the time when the Russian destructive war must and can be stopped.”
Here are excerpts from the 10-point peace formula that Mr Zelensky outlined in his speech at the summit.
(Titles Only here)
1. Radiation and nuclear safety
2. Food security
3. Energy security
4. Prisoners and deportees
5. United Nations Charter and Ukraine’s territorial integrity
6. Russian troops and hostilities
7. Justice
8. Immediate protection of the environment
9. Prevention of escalation
10. Confirmation of the end of the war
Excerpts at link.
-
Zelensky at G20 summit: If Russia wants to end this war, let it prove it with actions
https://www.ukrinform.net/rubric-ato/3614516-zelensky-at-g20-summit-if-russia-wants-to-end-this-war-let-it-prove-it-with-actions.html (https://www.ukrinform.net/rubric-ato/3614516-zelensky-at-g20-summit-if-russia-wants-to-end-this-war-let-it-prove-it-with-actions.html)
Ukraine has always been a leader in peacekeeping efforts, and the world has witnessed it. And if Russia says that it supposedly wants to end this war, let it prove it with actions.
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky said this in his speech at the G20 summit, Ukrinform reports.
The full text of the president’s speech is provided below:
Full text at link.
-
Russia's Lavrov Says Ukraine's Terms For Negotiations 'Unrealistic'
https://www.barrons.com/news/russia-s-lavrov-says-ukraine-s-terms-for-negotiations-unrealistic-01668520514?tesla=y (https://www.barrons.com/news/russia-s-lavrov-says-ukraine-s-terms-for-negotiations-unrealistic-01668520514?tesla=y)
Russia's Foreign Minister, Sergei Lavrov, says that Ukraine's conditions for restarting talks with Moscow are "unrealistic". Speaking at the G20 summit, where pressure is mounting on Russia to end the conflict, he says "all problems are with the Ukrainian side, which is categorically refusing negotiations and putting forward conditions that are obviously unrealistic". Lavrov says he made this position clear during a conversation with French President Emmanuel Macron.
-
Russia's Lavrov Says Ukraine's Terms For Negotiations 'Unrealistic'
https://www.barrons.com/news/russia-s-lavrov-says-ukraine-s-terms-for-negotiations-unrealistic-01668520514?tesla=y (https://www.barrons.com/news/russia-s-lavrov-says-ukraine-s-terms-for-negotiations-unrealistic-01668520514?tesla=y)
Russia's Foreign Minister, Sergei Lavrov, says that Ukraine's conditions for restarting talks with Moscow are "unrealistic". Speaking at the G20 summit, where pressure is mounting on Russia to end the conflict, he says "all problems are with the Ukrainian side, which is categorically refusing negotiations and putting forward conditions that are obviously unrealistic". Lavrov says he made this position clear during a conversation with French President Emmanuel Macron.
Got to love that... Russia from the start said surrender was the only option for Ukraine.
-
Starving, Freezing, Getting Shot At By Their Own Regiment—No Wonder These Russian Draftees Surrendered
David Axe | Nov 14, 2022 | 08:00am EST
(https://imageio.forbes.com/specials-images/imageserve/6371c00086685b27568888ab/Russian-draftees-after-surrendering-near-Svatove-/0x0.jpg?format=jpg&crop=1704,799,x84,y0,safe&width=960)
Russian draftees after surrendering near Svatove.VIA SOCIAL MEDIA
The 92nd Mechanized Brigade is one of the best and, for the Russians, most dangerous formations in the Ukrainian army. So you can’t blame the gaggle of under-trained, under-equipped and badly led Russian draftees for surrendering the first chance they got when the 92nd and other Ukrainian brigades attacked them near Svatove in eastern Ukraine’s Donbas region on Nov. 7.
The surrender could be a sign of things to come as Ukraine’s eastern counteroffensive barrels into its third month, and the Russian army shoves more unready draftees to the front in a desperate—and so far failing—bid to slow the Ukrainians.
It doesn’t appear the deepening winter is going to help the Russians, either.
A video that circulated online on Sunday depicts at least 21 middle-age Russian draftees—presumably some of the roughly 300,000 men the Kremlin forced into military service starting in September—after they surrendered on the previous Monday. “The command is giving up,” one draftee says, his hands bound. Their officers “threw them out to the slaughter.”
The draftee describes dire conditions for the Russian regiments—reportedly including the 346th Motorized Rifle Regiment—occupying Svatove, a town with a prewar population of 16,000 that abuts the P66 highway, which itself threads through the forest and fields to Severodonetsk, one of the bigger cities in Donbas.
The Ukrainians held Severodonetsk until July. Liberating the city is a top priority in Kyiv. Approaching the city from the north means going past Svatove. It’s not for no reason the Ukrainian eastern command has assigned the 92nd Mechanized Brigade to that sector. If any formation can get the job done, it’s the 92nd. . . .
https://www.forbes.com/sites/davidaxe/2022/11/14/starving-freezing-getting-shot-at-by-their-own-regiment-no-wonder-these-russian-draftees-surrendered/
The 92nd Mech Brigade is bad ass.
-
Cool video of Russian Kaliber intercepted over Kyiv:
https://www.reddit.com/r/CombatFootage/comments/yw737b/the_moment_of_a_russian_caliber_over_the_kyiv/
-
Ukraine 'blows up Russian oil depot 190 miles from Moscow in drone strike' hours after Putin's forces launched barrage of 90 missiles
By WILL STEWART FOR MAILONLINE and REUTERS
16 November 2022
Images show a suspected Ukrainian military drone attack on a Russian oil depot just 190 miles from Moscow.
The 4am attack 'blew up an oil depot in the settlement of Stalnoi Kon', said regional governor Andrey Klychkov.
Unverified images on social media showed what appeared to be a single rupture on the side of an oil storage tank, blackened by soot.
The logo of Russia's state-controlled pipeline operator Transneft can be seen on the tank, which state television said was believed to be empty. The alleged drone attack left a crater some 12ft deep, according to one report.
Since the start of Russia's offensive in Ukraine, several fuel or ammunition depots in southern Russia have been attacked by drones or helicopters, with authorities blaming Ukrainian forces.
The latest apparent attack comes a day after Russia fired almost 100 missiles at cities across Ukraine, causing three deaths and cutting the power supply to millions.
* * *
Source: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11433955/Ukraine-blows-Russian-oil-depot-190-miles-Moscow-drone-strike.html
-
Ukraine has now reclaimed more than HALF the territory Russia had captured since war began
By DAVID AVERRE FOR MAILONLINE
15 November 2022
Ukraine has reclaimed more than 50 per cent of the territory it had lost since the beginning of the war to Russian troops, a new report has claimed.
Within a week of Vladimir Putin ordering his tanks to roll across the Ukrainian border on February 24, Russian armed convoys had paraded into north eastern Ukraine and had pulled up mere miles from the outskirts of Kyiv.
There they remained while Russian troops flooded into the south, rumbling through the Zaporizhzhia region and into Kherson where they seized the eponymous city on the Dnieper river.
* * *
Source: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11431345/Ukraine-reclaimed-HALF-territory-Russia-captured-war-began.html
-
Disclose.tv
@disclosetv
JUST IN - Poland's president says it's "very likely" missile blast was from the Ukrainian air defense, calling it an "unfortunate accident."
6:51 AM · Nov 16, 2022 ·Twitter Web App
-
Matt Walsh
@MattWalshBlog
Remember yesterday when a Ukrainian missile hit Poland and Zelensky immediately blamed Russia and used the incident to try and pull western governments into a global nuclear war?
8:57 AM · Nov 16, 2022
Zelenskyy yesterday: “Terror is not limited to our national borders. Russian missiles hit Poland … NATO territory. This is a Russian missile attack on collective security -- a very significant escalation. We must act”
https://twitter.com/tomselliott/status/1592851112654032898
-
Disclose.tv
@disclosetv
JUST IN - Poland's president says it's "very likely" missile blast was from the Ukrainian air defense, calling it an "unfortunate accident."
6:51 AM · Nov 16, 2022 ·Twitter Web App
Putin may be insane, but he isn't suicidal. Invoking the Wrath if NATO and U.S. while in "retreat mode" would make no sense whatsoever.
-
Matt Walsh
@MattWalshBlog
Remember yesterday when a Ukrainian missile hit Poland and Zelensky immediately blamed Russia and used the incident to try and pull western governments into a global nuclear war?
8:57 AM · Nov 16, 2022
Zelenskyy yesterday: “Terror is not limited to our national borders. Russian missiles hit Poland … NATO territory. This is a Russian missile attack on collective security -- a very significant escalation. We must act”
https://twitter.com/tomselliott/status/1592851112654032898
Can't be.... This is the greatest leader who ever lived.
////00000////
-
Kim Dotcom
@KimDotcom
·1h
“NATO needs to act”
“This is a Russian missile strike”
“This is a very serious escalation”
“Put Russia in its place. Terrorists”
That’s what @ZelenskyyUa said about the missiles that hit Poland. Now we know that these were Ukrainian missiles. Stop supporting this lunatic.
-
:facepalm2:
If the orcs really wanted this to stop, all they'd have to do is to pick their sorry asses up, walk or drive back across the internationally recognized border between Ukraine and Russia, and start behaving like something less than orcs.
It's all within Russia's control; that they have not pulled out means that they are not interested in peace.
-
Russian colonel involved in Putin's mobilisation campaign is found shot dead in mysterious circumstances in his office at prestigious military school
By WILL STEWART FOR MAILONLINE
16 November 2022
A colonel closely involved in Vladimir Putin's mobilisation campaign for the war in Ukraine has been found shot dead.
Colonel Vadim Boyko, 44, was found with 'multiple bullet wounds' inside his office at the prestigious Makarov Pacific Higher Naval School in Vladivostok today.
Witnesses said Colonel Boyko had come to work and walked into his office before 'five shots' were heard. A subordinate ran to investigate, and found the body.
Despite the witness claims of multiple shots, initial reports in Russia said that suicide was suspected.
But BAZA media - which has close law enforcement links - said criminal investigators had found five shell casings and four Makarov pistols beside the dead colonel.
* * *
Source: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11434895/Russian-colonel-involved-Putins-mobilisation-campaign-shot-dead-military-school.html
-
Matt Walsh
@MattWalshBlog
Remember yesterday when a Ukrainian missile hit Poland and Zelensky immediately blamed Russia and used the incident to try and pull western governments into a global nuclear war?
8:57 AM · Nov 16, 2022
I remember the first part where Zelenskiy initially blamed Russia. But I certainly don't remember the part where Zelenskiy tried to invoke a global nuclear war. Anybody got a quote on that?
-
Its is hard to understand people who think Russia which is failing badly in a war that it started with its neighbor can fight WWIII and somehow benefit from that.
Russia can end the war anytime they like while keeping their long-standing borders intact. All they have to do is leave Ukraine.
It isn't very complicated.
-
Its is hard to understand people who think Russia which is failing badly in a war that it started with its neighbor can fight WWIII and somehow benefit from that.
Russia can end the war anytime they like while keeping their long-standing borders intact. All they have to do is leave Ukraine.
It isn't very complicated.
:thumbsup:
-
Kyiv says Poland strike a ‘very sensitive issue,’ wants to see evidence that its forces fired missile
Holly Ellyatt | NOV 16 2022 | 5:12 AM EST | UPDATED 4 HOURS AGO
Ukraine’s Defense Ministry responded cautiously to mounting evidence suggesting its own armed forces fired a missile that hit Poland, killing two people — saying the issue was “very sensitive” and that it wanted its own officials to be able access the site where the incident took place.
Early Wednesday morning, The Associated Press reported, citing three unnamed U.S. officials, that preliminary assessments indicated “the missile that struck Poland had been fired by Ukrainian forces at an incoming Russian missile.”
Other media agencies, including NBC News, cited similar details on Wednesday; Reuters reported a NATO source as saying President Joe Biden had told the G-7 and NATO partners that the strike was caused by “a Ukrainian air defense missile,” while The Wall Street Journal cited two senior Western officials briefed on the preliminary U.S. assessments as saying the missile was from a Ukrainian air defense system.
Those initial findings were then confirmed by NATO on Wednesday morning with Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg telling reporters that while investigations continue, the strike was likely caused by a Ukrainian air defense missile but that, ultimately, Russia was “responsible for the war that has caused this situation.”
Earlier Wednesday, Ukraine’s Defense Ministry was cautious about the initial assessments of the incident. Yuriy Sak, an advisor to Ukraine’s defense minister, Oleksiy Reznikov, told CNBC that Kyiv welcomed a thorough investigation of the incident and said the issue was “very sensitive.” . . .
https://www.cnbc.com/2022/11/16/ukraine-reacts-as-initial-findings-suggest-it-fired-the-missile-that-hit-poland.html
-
Glenn Greenwald
@ggreenwald
US funding for war in Ukraine in 9 months:
Mar: $ 13.6 billion
May: $ 40b
Nov: $ 37.7b: Biden's new request
That $ 91.3 billion is 33% more than Russia's *total military spending for the year*
It's *double* the US's average annual expenditure for its own war in Afghanistan
10:04 AM · Nov 16, 2022
-
Glenn Greenwald
@ggreenwald
US funding for war in Ukraine in 9 months:
Mar: $ 13.6 billion
May: $ 40b
Nov: $ 37.7b: Biden's new request
That $ 91.3 billion is 33% more than Russia's *total military spending for the year*
It's *double* the US's average annual expenditure for its own war in Afghanistan
10:04 AM · Nov 16, 2022
Clearly, if Ukraine had gotten $91.3 billion, their tanks would be in Moscow right now.
-
Clearly, if Ukraine had gotten $91.3 billion, their tanks would be in Moscow right now.
:thumbsup:
-
Someone got rich as hell off of that money, while Ukraine continues to rely on Russia as its #1 arms supplier.
-
:facepalm2:
If the orcs really wanted this to stop, all they'd have to do is to pick their sorry asses up, walk or drive back across the internationally recognized border between Ukraine and Russia, and start behaving like something less than orcs.
It's all within Russia's control; that they have not pulled out means that they are not interested in peace.
Turn their tanks and guns around and use them on their own generals and leaders, frankly, if what I'm reading is true.
-
Turn their tanks and guns around and use them on their own generals and leaders, frankly, if what I'm reading is true.
That would work, too.
-
3 convicted in 2014 downing of Malaysian jet over Ukraine
MIKE CORDER and RAF CASERT | an hour ago
SCHIPHOL, Netherlands (AP) — A Dutch court on Thursday convicted three men of murder for their role in shooting down a Malaysia Airlines passenger jet with a Russian surface-to-air missile, killing all 298 people aboard the aircraft as it flew over a separatist-controlled region of eastern Ukraine in 2014.
The convictions, along with the life sentences handed to the two Russians and a pro-Moscow Ukrainian who were tried in absentia, were seen as directing the blame for the jet’s downing at the government of Russian President Vladimir Putin, even though the Kremlin has always denied any connection to it.
The trial, held in a courtroom near Amsterdam’s Schiphol airport where Flight MH17 took off for Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, put the Kremlin’s involvement in the separatist conflict in eastern Ukraine at the heart of the case.
Against the geopolitical upheaval caused by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine this year, the court held that Moscow in 2014 had overall control of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic, the separatist area where the missile was launched.
Presiding Judge Hendrik Steenhuis said evidence presented by prosecutors in the trial — which lasted more than two years — proved that the Boeing 777 was brought down by a Buk missile fired by pro-Moscow Ukrainian fighters on July 17, 2014. The crash scattered wreckage and bodies over farmland and fields of sunflowers.
The 298 passengers and crew killed in the downing came from more than a dozen countries, although nearly 200 were Dutch citizens. . .
https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-business-kuala-lumpur-malaysia-netherlands-099084a82b49b77b116878e24fc63a18
Russia continues to protect those responsible for this 2014 Russian attack on civilians.
-
(https://img-9gag-fun.9cache.com/photo/a2Kdn7E_460s.jpg)
-
One thing that amazes me is how the Russians offer no help to their comrades. I have seen video after video of Ukrainian drones dropping grenades or mortar shells on Russian positions. When the grenade goes off you can see one or two Russian with shrapnel wounds struggling to move. The ones who are not injured simply run off, abandoning their wounded comrades, exposed and in need of medical aid.
-
One thing that amazes me is how the Russians offer no help to their comrades. I have seen video after video of Ukrainian drones dropping grenades or mortar shells on Russian positions. When the grenade goes off you can see one or two Russian with shrapnel wounds struggling to move. The ones who are not injured simply run off, abandoning their wounded comrades, exposed and in need of medical aid.
@Hoodat
That's what you get when you have an untrained army that doesn't want to be there,and no leadership at the company level.
-
They are strangers that don't know each other thrown into an impossible situation. All they want to do is survive.
-
Russia 'secretly moves 100 missiles back from Belarus, sparking fears he plans large-scale attack in Ukraine'
By CHRIS JEWERS FOR MAILONLINE and AFP
18 November 2022
Vladimir Putin's commanders are reported to have secretly moved almost 100 air defence missiles to Russia from allied Belarus, sparking fears he is planning to launch a large-scale attack in Ukraine.
Analysts have said the movement of the S-300 and S-400 missiles is either a sign of Russia taking precautions against a potential Ukrainian blitz in retaliation of Moscow's recent strikes, or of a larger atrocity still to come - the use of a dirty bomb.
'Whatever Russia has in mind to inflict on Ukraine the Kremlin appears to be expecting retaliation on its own soil from Ukraine or the West,' an analyst told The Mirror in an interview on Friday. Their identity was kept confidential.
* * *
Source: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11444679/Russia-secretly-moves-100-missiles-Belarus.html
-
It means Russia ran out of their supplies and are pulling them in from other countries.
-
Russia 'secretly moves 100 missiles back from Belarus, sparking fears he plans large-scale attack in Ukraine'
By CHRIS JEWERS FOR MAILONLINE and AFP
18 November 2022
Vladimir Putin's commanders are reported to have secretly moved almost 100 air defence missiles to Russia from allied Belarus, sparking fears he is planning to launch a large-scale attack in Ukraine.
Analysts have said the movement of the S-300 and S-400 missiles . . .
Gee, how about that. Russia did have S-300 missiles close to the Polish border. Go figure.
-
It means Russia ran out of their supplies and are pulling them in from other countries.
Or it means Russia doesn't want to have to account for why one of their S-300s is missing.
-
Gee, how about that. Russia did have S-300 missiles close to the Polish border. Go figure.
Good point.
-
On a visit to Kherson, I see why the Ukrainians will win — with our support
By Douglas Murray
November 18, 2022
Russia is going to lose this war. And Ukraine is going to win it. How can I say that with confidence? Because yesterday I was in the city of Kherson and saw Russia’s defeat with my own eyes.
Kherson is part of the south of Ukraine that was invaded and occupied in March this year. In September it was one of the four regions which the Kremlin gave a “vote” to in order to pretend that the regions really wanted to be part of Russia, not Ukraine. These “plebiscites” were meant to validate the occupier. But the whole thing was a sham, with results not seen since Saddam Hussein held “elections” in which he regularly received over 100% of the vote.
The Kremlin thought it was playing a clever game in “making official” its gobbling up these vast regions. But all the time Ukraine — backed by military provisions sent from the West — fought a far cleverer and braver war.
In recent days the consequences have been paying off. Last week the Ukrainians managed to take back the city of Kherson and much of the surrounding region. And they did it with barely a fight. So swift was the Ukrainian advance that many Russian soldiers didn’t even get the memo that they were meant to have fled the city.
One Russian soldier went into the local shop in the morning to get vodka and turned around to see two Ukrainian soldiers behind him. He is now among the prisoners of war that both sides are collecting in preparation for any final peace deal.
* * *
Source: https://nypost.com/2022/11/18/on-a-visit-to-kherson-i-see-why-the-ukrainians-will-win-with-our-support/
-
Russian missile intercepted with German AA.
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/r1JUwxrXQwQ
-
UK PM Sunak on surprise trip to Ukraine, meets Zelenskyy
https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-zelenskyy-british-politics-kyiv-europe-c15a7620922eec1402ed4fa0d4b9b79b
British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak promised 125 anti-aircraft guns and other air-defense technology as he made an unannounced visit Saturday — his first — to Ukraine’s snow-blanketed war-time capital for talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
The air-defense package, which Britain valued at 50 million pounds ($60 million), comes as Russia has been pounding Ukraine’s power grid and other key infrastructure from the air, causing widespread blackouts for millions of Ukrainians as the frigid cold of winter draws near.
The package includes radar and other technology to counter Iran-supplied exploding drones that Russia has used against Ukrainian targets. It comes on top of a delivery of more than 1,000 anti-air missiles that Britain announced earlier this month.
The U.K. has been one of the staunchest Western supporters of Ukraine’s resistance to Russia’s invasion, giving Kyiv 2.3 billion pounds ($2.7 billion) in military aid.
Zelenskyy described the two countries as “the strongest of allies.”
“With friends like you by our side, we are confident in our victory. Both of our nations know what it means to stand up for freedom,” the Ukrainian leader said on Twitter.
“The courage of the Ukrainian people is an inspiration to the world,” Sunak said in comments alongside Zelenskyy in the presidential palace. “In years to come we will tell our grandchildren of your story.”
He pledged that Britain “will stand with you until Ukraine has won the peace and security it needs and deserves and then we will stand with you as you rebuild your great country.”
Excerpt.
(https://storage.googleapis.com/afs-prod/media/9a6ce9db3e0b4e77b4f2a12a7bdf2299/1000.jpeg)
-
Russia fired cruise missile with dummy nuclear warhead, indicating shortage of weapons
18 November, 01:08 PM
(https://static.nv.ua/shared/system/Article/posters/002/598/351/original/47064a915bd5c94a580a2ebaac8243ae.jpg?q=85&stamp=20221118131034&w=600&f=webp)
Consequences of Russia's attack on the Zaporizhzhia Oblast (Photo:REUTERS/Stringer)
Russia is launching cruise missiles with dummy nuclear warheads at Ukraine – evidence that the enemy’s stockpile of cruise missiles is running so low that it is dipping into its strategic reserves, Ukrainian military analysts Defense Express wrote on Nov. 17.
Kyiv’s air defenses shot down at least four Shahed-type kamikaze drones and at least two cruise missiles on Nov. 18.
Defense Express, citing its own sources, reported that one of these two enemy missiles was of the Kh-55 type, which had no warhead at all. Instead of a warhead, a block was “screwed” into this missile, which acted as an imitator of a nuclear warhead.
“Simply put, for this strike, the orcs (Russians) took at least one Kh-55 from their ‘nuclear arsenal’, ‘unscrewed’ the nuclear warhead from this missile and replaced it with an empty ‘block’, and then fired it at Ukraine,” the experts said.
Such actions by the Russians may have several explanations, Defense Express said:
- The Russian military involved in the preparation and execution of the next attack simply took the orders “from above” to ensure the massive use of cruise missiles on Nov. 17. That’s why the X-55 with a dummy nuclear warhead was used. But even this option indicates that the stockpile of cruise missiles in the Russian Federation is being depleted to a level critical for the Kremlin, since they have started using missiles from the “nuclear arsenal.”
- Another possible explanation is that the Russians deliberately used the Kh-55 with a dummy nuclear warhead to add to the mass attack in order to overwhelm Ukraine air defenses.
“Indeed, this really fits the Rashists’ (Russian fascists) style – to ‘use a sledgehammer to crack a nut.’ But even this option shows even more vividly that the Russian missile stockpile is running out,” the experts sad. . .
https://english.nv.ua/nation/russia-fired-cruise-missile-with-dummy-nuclear-warhead-indicating-shortage-of-weapons-50285029.html
-
Massive explosion hits Russian Gazprom gas pipeline amid suspicions of sabotage linked to Putin's war on Ukraine
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11447127/Explosion-hits-Russian-gas-pipeline-amid-suspicions-sabotage-linked-Putins-war-Ukraine.html (https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11447127/Explosion-hits-Russian-gas-pipeline-amid-suspicions-sabotage-linked-Putins-war-Ukraine.html)
• Enormous explosion hit one of Russia's major gas pipelines, sending flames and smoke billowing into the sky
• There are fears it may be a 'tit-for-tat' after traces of explosives were found at the site of the Nord Stream blast
• The fireball was visible for miles in every direction today after hitting about 14 miles east of St Petersburg
• Swedish prosecutor claimed sabotage was the cause of the Nord Stream pipeline blasts of September 26
(https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2022/11/19/14/64722225-11447127-image-m-77_1668868596770.jpg)
An enormous explosion has hit one of Russia's major gas pipelines, sending flames and smoke billowing into the sky above and prompting fears it was a retribution attack for Vladimir Putin's continued invasion of Ukraine.
The fireball was visible for miles in every direction after hitting about 14 miles east of St Petersburg, the nation's second largest city and Putin's hometown.
One source said: 'Everything is automatic there, and such explosions by themselves, without external influence, are impossible.'
The blast is believed to have hit the main gas pipeline belonging to Gazprom Transgaz SPB, and could have potentially impacted up to one million people.
Ambulances and emergency vehicles were rushing to the scene this afternoon. Eyewitnesses reported intensive care vehicles also drove to the site of the explosion.
It's understood investigators and forensic specialists were also at the site of the explosion as they rush to determine the cause.
However, the major blast did not hit close to residential areas, and there are no initial reports of casualties coming out of Russia.
One working theory is that the explosion may have been linked to the war in Ukraine.
Russia has deliberately targeted Ukraine's vital energy supply lines in recent attacks which have been condemned around the world and left millions of Ukrainians freezing as winter approaches.
More at link.
-
That's a shame.
-
Massive explosion hits Russian Gazprom gas pipeline amid suspicions of sabotage linked to Putin's war on Ukraine
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11447127/Explosion-hits-Russian-gas-pipeline-amid-suspicions-sabotage-linked-Putins-war-Ukraine.html (https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11447127/Explosion-hits-Russian-gas-pipeline-amid-suspicions-sabotage-linked-Putins-war-Ukraine.html)
• Enormous explosion hit one of Russia's major gas pipelines, sending flames and smoke billowing into the sky
• There are fears it may be a 'tit-for-tat' after traces of explosives were found at the site of the Nord Stream blast
• The fireball was visible for miles in every direction today after hitting about 14 miles east of St Petersburg
• Swedish prosecutor claimed sabotage was the cause of the Nord Stream pipeline blasts of September 26
(https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2022/11/19/14/64722225-11447127-image-m-77_1668868596770.jpg)
An enormous explosion has hit one of Russia's major gas pipelines, sending flames and smoke billowing into the sky above and prompting fears it was a retribution attack for Vladimir Putin's continued invasion of Ukraine.
The fireball was visible for miles in every direction after hitting about 14 miles east of St Petersburg, the nation's second largest city and Putin's hometown.
One source said: 'Everything is automatic there, and such explosions by themselves, without external influence, are impossible.'
The blast is believed to have hit the main gas pipeline belonging to Gazprom Transgaz SPB, and could have potentially impacted up to one million people.
Ambulances and emergency vehicles were rushing to the scene this afternoon. Eyewitnesses reported intensive care vehicles also drove to the site of the explosion.
It's understood investigators and forensic specialists were also at the site of the explosion as they rush to determine the cause.
However, the major blast did not hit close to residential areas, and there are no initial reports of casualties coming out of Russia.
One working theory is that the explosion may have been linked to the war in Ukraine.
Russia has deliberately targeted Ukraine's vital energy supply lines in recent attacks which have been condemned around the world and left millions of Ukrainians freezing as winter approaches.
More at link.
It probably was Ukraine that did this and I don't blame them. I hope more pipelines are blown up. Russia should experience what they've been doing to Ukraine.
-
Russia’s military collapse is accelerating. Now what?
Blowing Hot and Cold
https://cepa.org/article/russias-military-collapse-is-accelerating-now-what/ (https://cepa.org/article/russias-military-collapse-is-accelerating-now-what/)
Heat speeds up decomposition. But in the military, it is cold that corrodes. As the temperature drops, it takes more effort to move about and you get hungrier more quickly. If supplies fail to match needs, morale sinks. Desertion, surrender, looting, and mutiny all start looking more attractive. Actual fighting, less so.
In the past, General Winter was Russia’s great ally. But now the cold months are helping Ukraine. Its soldiers are better equipped, better trained, better led, better treated, and therefore more highly motivated. Russians, by contrast, are paying the price for their system’s endemic incompetence and corruption. When you are wearing the wrong clothes, the cold bites hard. Just ask the Germans and the French, who invaded Russia wearing their summer uniforms. Modern technology makes things worse: the thermal signature of vehicles, and even human warmth, is more conspicuous to infrared cameras. Russians suffered from that at the tail-end of last winter, nine months ago. Now it will hurt them again.
Russia badly needs a pause to regroup and refit but has little chance of enjoying one: Ukraine is on the front foot now and will press home its advantage. Long-range strikes are having a devastating effect on Russia’s already-flimsy logistics. The longer this goes on, the higher the chance of a Russian military collapse. That will raise the stakes in the power struggle that is already going on in the Kremlin. It is bad to lose a fight in Ukraine. It is even worse to lose one in Moscow.
More at link.
-
Give us coal for Christmas please: Ukraine
https://www.transcontinental.com.au/story/7989626/give-us-coal-for-christmas-please-ukraine/?cs=12 (https://www.transcontinental.com.au/story/7989626/give-us-coal-for-christmas-please-ukraine/?cs=12)
Ukraine is pleading with Australia to send coal shipments for Christmas as Russia targets the nation's energy infrastructure, dooming millions to a freezing winter.
Temperatures in Ukraine have already dipped below freezing and electricity is being rationed through scheduled blackouts as Russia ramps up its attacks.
Kyiv's envoy to Australia Vasyl Myroshnychenko is asking Australia to have coal ships loaded before Christmas to help Ukrainians make it through the winter with electricity and running water.
A shipment of coal takes around six to eight weeks to reach Ukraine, before being carted by train.
Freezing temperatures are expected to linger into March.
-
Ukraine is pleading with Australia to send coal shipments for Christmas as Russia targets the nation's energy infrastructure, dooming millions to a freezing winter.
As the Saudi Arabia of coal, the United States is in the best position to deliver coal. But that won't happen because there is no way for Biden to launder money from it. It would mean that we would actually have to send them coal instead of the current tactic of saying we were sending coal to Ukraine while instead giving money to USAID and the State Department to be funneled back to Democrat special interest groups.
-
Russia’s military collapse is accelerating. Now what?
Russia badly needs a pause to regroup and refit but has little chance of enjoying one: Ukraine is on the front foot now and will press home its advantage. Long-range strikes are having a devastating effect on Russia’s already-flimsy logistics. The longer this goes on, the higher the chance of a Russian military collapse. That will raise the stakes in the power struggle that is already going on in the Kremlin. It is bad to lose a fight in Ukraine. It is even worse to lose one in Moscow.
More at link.
@Elderberry
And worse of all,will be the Chinese invasion,with the Russians completely powerless to stop them.
AND......,this could even lead to WW-3 if any western nations came to the aid of Russia.
The US certainly can't afford to take Russia's side because the Chinese would shut down our supply of EVERY BLEEPING THING that they manufacture and sell to us,thus bankrupting the US.
-
The demonisation of Volodymyr Zelensky
https://www.spiked-online.com/2022/11/20/the-demonisation-of-volodymyr-zelensky/
In the aftermath of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the US offered Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky the chance to evacuate. But Zelensky declined. ‘The fight is here’, he said. ‘I need ammunition, not a ride.’
Zelensky’s defiant statement set the tone for his remarkable leadership over these past nine months. In the face of Russian aggression, he has stood as tall as he expects his people to. He has rallied Ukrainians in their hour of need. He has given voice to their desire for national freedom. ‘The most terrible steel’, he said on Ukrainian independence day this August, ‘is not within missiles, aircrafts and tanks but in shackles’.
Yet for those in the West wanting Ukraine to give in to Russian aggression, to surrender territory and sovereignty to an invading force, to accept the ‘shackles’, Zelensky’s leadership appears as a problem. And so those peddling this ‘anti-war’ line have taken to demonising him, often in an absurd fashion. They have presented his determination to resist foreign aggression as ‘escalationary’. They have repackaged his defiance as a provocation to Russia.
A lot of folks have no idea that Zelensky only became president in April 2019 after winning Ukraine's presidential election in a landslide on a reform platform. He was an outsider and not part of the pro-European Poroshenko regime before him, or the pro-Kremlin Yanukovych regime before he fled to Russia in February 2014. He was just a comedian and an actor in a popular TV show called "Servant of the People," which he used as a springboard for his candidacy, never expecting to actually win.
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt6235122/
https://www.washingtonpost.com/arts-entertainment/2022/03/22/servant-of-the-people-zelensky-netflix-show/
Putin sized Zelensky up at the so-called "Normandy Four" summit in December 2019, just like Khrushchev did Kennedy in Vienna in June 1961, and decided that he was a lightweight coward who would flee at the first sight of Russian tanks bearing down on Kyiv.
Like Khrushchev, Putin was wrong.
(https://www.politico.eu/cdn-cgi/image/width=1160,height=773,fit=crop,quality=80,onerror=redirect,format=auto/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/GettyImages-1187383263.jpg)
-
Back when China was still China, before the entire American economy relocated there in the 80/90s, Russia and China had a lot of territorial disputes. No doubt today, China has already taken any disputed land/islands from Russia and more. Whatever they can get away with, China will certainly take.
-
Back when China was still China, before the entire American economy relocated there in the 80/90s, Russia and China had a lot of territorial disputes. No doubt today, China has already taken any disputed land/islands from Russia and more. Whatever they can get away with, China will certainly take.
@240B
No truer words have ever been written.
At their true apexes, Communism and Capitalism are indistinguishable.
WHY is it that no one seems to take any interest in and acknowledge this basic economic and human truth?
-
(https://img-9gag-fun.9cache.com/photo/aPgBYrG_460s.jpg)
-
(https://img-9gag-fun.9cache.com/photo/aPgBYrG_460s.jpg)
Don't tell me they lost Rocket Raccoon!!
-
Don't tell me they lost Rocket Raccoon!!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tHntEfzBp9o
Caught On Camera: Retreating Russian Soldiers Steal Raccoon And Llama From Zoo In Ukraine's Kherson
World News
Edited by Ritu Singh
Updated: November 15, 2022 3:21 pm IST
Russian soldiers retreating from Ukraine's Kherson were caught on camera stealing animals from a local zoo during their withdrawal from the area. Seven raccoons, two female wolves, peacocks, a llama and a donkey from Kherson Zoo were among the animals stolen, a report in The Washington Post said.
(more)
https://www.ndtv.com/world-news/caught-on-camera-retreating-russian-soldiers-steal-raccoon-and-llama-from-zoo-in-ukraines-kherson-3521959
-
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tHntEfzBp9o
Caught On Camera: Retreating Russian Soldiers Steal Raccoon And Llama From Zoo In Ukraine's Kherson
World News
Edited by Ritu Singh
Updated: November 15, 2022 3:21 pm IST
Russian soldiers retreating from Ukraine's Kherson were caught on camera stealing animals from a local zoo during their withdrawal from the area. Seven raccoons, two female wolves, peacocks, a llama and a donkey from Kherson Zoo were among the animals stolen, a report in The Washington Post said.
(more)
https://www.ndtv.com/world-news/caught-on-camera-retreating-russian-soldiers-steal-raccoon-and-llama-from-zoo-in-ukraines-kherson-3521959
Seriously? The Orcs must've been hungry.
-
Kremlin now says Zelenskyy can stay in power in Ukraine
https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2022/nov/21/kremlin-now-says-zelenskyy-can-stay-power-ukraine/?cx_testId=18&cx_testVariant=cx_1&cx_artPos=5&cx_experienceId=EX8EVP8I1R8R&utm_source=piano&utm_medium=side-rail&utm_campaign=5_item_Pos_5#cxrecs_s
Russia is apparently walking back its earlier goals to overthrow Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s government in its faltering invasion.
On Monday, a Kremlin spokesman said the “special operation” in Ukraine ordered by Russian President Vladimir Putin is not focused on regime change in Kyiv.
“No, the president has spoken about this already,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters, according to TASS, the official Russian news agency.
In February, Mr. Putin called on the Ukrainian military to oust Mr. Zelenskyy.
Excerpt.
-
Kremlin now says Zelenskyy can stay in power in Ukraine
https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2022/nov/21/kremlin-now-says-zelenskyy-can-stay-power-ukraine/?cx_testId=18&cx_testVariant=cx_1&cx_artPos=5&cx_experienceId=EX8EVP8I1R8R&utm_source=piano&utm_medium=side-rail&utm_campaign=5_item_Pos_5#cxrecs_s
Excerpt.
How "generous" of Putin.
-
Seriously? The Orcs must've been hungry.
For the Llama, maybe. But there's no way I'd eat raccoon.
-
For the Llama, maybe. But there's no way I'd eat raccoon.
@Hoodat
Maybe that's because you're not an Orc?
-
For the Llama, maybe. But there's no way I'd eat raccoon.
A couple of weeks ago, on my online Poker site, i saw a user named something like PETARULES95.
In the chat section, I started a discussion of how to cook Koala, including cooking temps, sauces, and even wine selection.
Bitch went ballistic. Was going to turn me into the United Nations, Interpol, and her PETA managment :silly: :silly: :silly:
-
A couple of weeks ago, on my online Poker site, i saw a user named something like PETARULES95.
In the chat section, I started a discussion of how to cook Koala, including cooking temps, sauces, and even wine selection.
Bitch went ballistic. Was going to turn me into the United Nations, Interpol, and her PETA managment :silly: :silly: :silly:
:mauslaff:
-
PETA = People Eating Tasty Animals
-
A couple of weeks ago, on my online Poker site, i saw a user named something like PETARULES95.
In the chat section, I started a discussion of how to cook Koala, including cooking temps, sauces, and even wine selection.
Bitch went ballistic. Was going to turn me into the United Nations, Interpol, and her PETA managment :silly: :silly: :silly:
Yeah, it's amazing. I just saw an exchange on Fecebook where someone was whining because a deer hunter took down a cougar while looking to fill his deer tag. (The whiner caught hell on the board). Cougar are a shoot-on-sight critter here.
-
Yeah, it's amazing. I just saw an exchange on Fecebook where someone was whining because a deer hunter took down a cougar while looking to fill his deer tag. (The whiner caught hell on the board). Cougar are a shoot-on-sight critter here.
Yep...
Funniest part was when I told the lady that before she turned me into Interpol and the United Nations, to at least let me finish eating the evidence first.
-
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tHntEfzBp9o
Caught On Camera: Retreating Russian Soldiers Steal Raccoon And Llama From Zoo In Ukraine's Kherson
World News
Edited by Ritu Singh
Updated: November 15, 2022 3:21 pm IST
Russian soldiers retreating from Ukraine's Kherson were caught on camera stealing animals from a local zoo during their withdrawal from the area. Seven raccoons, two female wolves, peacocks, a llama and a donkey from Kherson Zoo were among the animals stolen, a report in The Washington Post said.
(more)
https://www.ndtv.com/world-news/caught-on-camera-retreating-russian-soldiers-steal-raccoon-and-llama-from-zoo-in-ukraines-kherson-3521959
I don't know much about cooking/eating racoon. Probably because I would never have the nerve to catch/hold one like that.
Sounds like rumors are true. The Russians are really low on ammo.
-
(https://i.imgflip.com/71raio.jpg)
-
You noticed that too, eh? Kherson is no longer being mentioned in Russian state media and milblog postings...like it never happened!
-
Russia has 'very nearly exhausted' its supply of Iranian drones used to attack Ukraine's energy facilities
By CHRIS JEWERS FOR MAILONLINE
23 November 2022
Russia has 'very nearly exhausted' its supply of Iranian-built drones that it has been using to wreak terror on Ukraine, according to Britain's Ministry of Defence.
Since October 10, Russia has launched six massive aerial attacks against Ukraine's power grid and other infrastructure, and has used the Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) to overwhelm Ukraine's air defences and strike deep into Kyiv's territory.
Analysts believe Moscow has been using the drones to compensate for a shortage of cruise missiles, having conducted thousands of strikes across Ukraine since Vladimir Putin launched his brutal invasion of the country on February 24.
But now, after carrying out hundreds of attacks with the Iranian-made Shahed-136 'suicide' drones, Britain's MoD has said Russia's UAV supply is also running low.
* * *
Source: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11461137/Russia-nearly-exhausted-supply-Iranian-drones-MoD-says.html
-
Looks like the Ukrainian are across the Dnieper River and cleaning out the Kinburn peninsula.
After retaking Kherson City, Ukraine’s forces battle Russia’s on a strategic peninsula.
https://www.nytimes.com/live/2022/11/23/world/russia-ukraine-war-news/after-retaking-kherson-city-ukraines-forces-take-on-russias-on-a-strategic-black-sea-peninsula?smid=url-share
After forcing Russian troops to retreat from the city of Kherson two weeks ago, Ukrainian special forces are now battling the Russians on the islands and in marshes to the southwest, trying to push them out of a strategically vital peninsula at the mouth of the Dnipro River where it meets the Black Sea.
The fighting is focused on the Kinburn Spit, on the east bank of the Dnipro River, the Ukrainian authorities said on Tuesday. For tourists who have visited the sliver of land, the spit is a place of rare natural beauty, but it could also prove pivotal to the next phase of the country’s war against Moscow.
Russia took control of the peninsula in June in one of its last notable advances in the south before it was forced onto the defensive by a sustained Ukrainian counteroffensive. Two weeks ago, the Kremlin ordered a retreat from the city of Kherson, on the west bank of the Dnipro, but military experts said it would fight tenaciously to keep control of Kinburn.
-
Ukraine Situation Report: Battle For Kinburn Spit Underway
https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/ukraine-situation-report-battle-for-kinburn-spit-underway
Ukrainian forces have recaptured much of the southern part of the country up to the Dnipro River and now a battle is underway to dislodge Russian troops from their last stronghold in Mykolaiv Oblast.
Ukrainian troops are now fighting to liberate the Kinburn Spit, the tip of the narrow Kinburn Peninsula jutting into the Black Sea. It’s a strategic chokepoint for both the Dnipro and South Bug rivers, controlling access to the key ports of Kherson City and Mykolaiv respectively.
Excerpt.
-
Russians HAVE to be the most pig-headed people in the world,or they would have already sent Putin off to take a dirt nap.
Russia is so weak and so poor now that every day I wake up and DON'T read that China has invaded Russia in the east is a bit of a surprise.
-
Russians HAVE to be the most pig-headed people in the world,or they would have already sent Putin off to take a dirt nap.
QFT. They also put up with people like Stalin for a while too.
-
QFT. They also put up with people like Stalin for a while too.
@Weird Tolkienish Figure
Stalin is understandable in the historical context. The typical Russia had no access to non-Party news back then. Today everybody in Russia has access to the web that wants it.
-
Nov 23, 2022
BREAKING: Biden to send Ukraine ANOTHER $400 million in weapons from US stockpile
200 generators, ammunition for both air defense and artillery systems, 150 heavy machine guns with thermal sights to shoot drones, 10,000 120mm mortar rounds, and 20 million rounds of small arms ammunition, among other items, are being sent, the Pentagon said on Tuesday.
Roberto Wakerell-CruzThe Biden administration will send another $400 million in weapons to Ukraine, pulling gear from its own stockpiles to support the fight against Russia. The move will help get gear to Kyiv as fast as possible as Russian forces continue to attack Ukrainian energy sources before winter sets in.
The US has committed over $19 billion in weapons and aid to Ukraine since the attack by Russia on February 24. The aid package will be done via presidential drawdown authority, allowing the Pentagon to use its own stockpile of weapons to ship to Ukraine, reports AP.
200 generators, ammunition for both air defense and artillery systems, 150 heavy machine guns with thermal sights to shoot drones, 10,000 120mm mortar rounds, and 20 million rounds of small arms ammunition, among other items, are being sent, the Pentagon reportedly said on Tuesday. ...
The Post Millennial (https://thepostmillennial.com/breaking-biden-to-send-ukraine-another-400-million-in-weapons-from-us-stockpile)
-
Blackouts across Ukraine amid wave of Russian strikes
49 minutes ago
Ukraine and neighbouring Moldova have faced widespread blackouts after the latest wave of Russian strikes.
At least six civilians in Ukraine were killed in the barrage, and officials were forced to shut down three nuclear reactors due to power outages.
Moldova was not directly hit but half the country lost power.
With winter setting in, Moscow has stepped up strikes on Ukraine's energy infrastructure. Half of the country's power grid needs repair.
On Wednesday, an air-raid alert was issued across Ukraine, followed by reports of explosions in a number of locations - including in the capital Kyiv and in the Western city Lviv.
In the southern Zaporizhzhia region, a newborn baby was killed when a missile hit a maternity unit, emergency services said.
General Valeriy Zaluzhniy - the commander of Ukraine's armed forces - said 67 cruise missiles were launched by Moscow, with air defences successfully intercepting 51 projectiles.
But the attack has caused significant damage to infrastructure across the country. . .
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-63729427
-
Nov 23, 2022
BREAKING: Biden to send Ukraine ANOTHER $400 million in weapons from US stockpile
200 generators, ammunition for both air defense and artillery systems, 150 heavy machine guns with thermal sights to shoot drones, 10,000 120mm mortar rounds, and 20 million rounds of small arms ammunition, among other items, are being sent, the Pentagon said on Tuesday.
Roberto Wakerell-CruzThe Post Millennial (https://thepostmillennial.com/breaking-biden-to-send-ukraine-another-400-million-in-weapons-from-us-stockpile)
Meanwhile he issues ANOTHER demand to take OUR AR-15s because of Idaho. 9999hair out0000
-
Zelesky maybe crooked, I don't know. If he is, our government is complicit.
But he is darn sure there. And it seems that the people are fighting to keep their country.
I salute them.
To me, that is the bottom line.
-
Zelesky maybe crooked, I don't know. If he is, our government is complicit.
But he is darn sure there. And it seems that the people are fighting to keep their country.
I salute them.
To me, that is the bottom line.
:thumbsup:
-
Good for Germany! Gee, Brandon, here's your sign. 888mouth
Ukraine war: How Germany ended reliance on Russian gas
When Vladimir Putin switched off the gas taps to Europe, Germany more than most feared a winter of blackouts. Ministers scrambled to secure alternative supplies, painfully aware that a heavy dependence on Russian gas had left this industrial nation woefully exposed.
But fast forward a few months and, as lights sparkle in the Christmas markets, there is a sense of tentative optimism in the Glühwein spiced air. Germany's hastily assembled strategy to manage without Russian gas appears - for now - to be working.
"Energy security for this winter is guaranteed," the Chancellor Olaf Scholz told MPs in the German parliament on Wednesday morning.
Not only are the country's gas stores full; the result, in part, of a frantic - and expensive - buying operation on the world's markets.
But, up on Germany's windswept North Sea coast, engineers have just finished building - in record time - the country's very first import terminal for liquified natural gas (LNG).
LNG is natural gas which is cooled to liquid form to reduce its volume and make easier to transport. It's then converted back to gas form upon reaching its destination.
Germany is rightly notorious for its ponderous bureaucracy; this kind of project would normally take years, but the authorities slashed away at red tape to enable completion in under 200 days.........
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-63709352
-
END GAME Ukraine boasts it could retake Crimea by Christmas and end war in Spring a year after Vladimir Putin’s invasion
https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/20484905/ukraine-crimea-christmas-end-war-spring/ (https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/20484905/ukraine-crimea-christmas-end-war-spring/)
UKRAINE could reach Crimea by Christmas and end the war by next spring, according to Kyiv.
Retired major general Volodymyr Havrylov said it is "only a matter of time" before Ukraine recaptures Crimea after Putin illegally seized the territory back in 2014.
He told Sky News: "Of course, we would like to make it sooner than later."
Havrylov said Ukraine's aim to retake Crimea could be helped by a "black swan" event in Russia, such as an unexpected, drastic political change.
He said it was "possible" Ukrainian forces could be back in Crimea by the end of year without such an event, however.
Havrylov said he also believes the war could be wrapped up shortly after the year anniversary in February.
He added: "Of course, in this case, the war will take some time.
"But my feeling is that by the end of the spring, this war will be over."
Havrylov also dismissed the idea of peace talks with Moscow, saying it would only happen if Russian troops gave up all Ukrainian territory - including Crimea.
He said: "There is a decision inside the society in Ukraine that we are going up to the end.
More at link.
-
Good for Germany! Gee, Brandon, here's your sign. 888mouth
Ukraine war: How Germany ended reliance on Russian gas
When Vladimir Putin switched off the gas taps to Europe, Germany more than most feared a winter of blackouts. Ministers scrambled to secure alternative supplies, painfully aware that a heavy dependence on Russian gas had left this industrial nation woefully exposed.
But fast forward a few months and, as lights sparkle in the Christmas markets, there is a sense of tentative optimism in the Glühwein spiced air. Germany's hastily assembled strategy to manage without Russian gas appears - for now - to be working.
"Energy security for this winter is guaranteed," the Chancellor Olaf Scholz told MPs in the German parliament on Wednesday morning.
Not only are the country's gas stores full; the result, in part, of a frantic - and expensive - buying operation on the world's markets.
But, up on Germany's windswept North Sea coast, engineers have just finished building - in record time - the country's very first import terminal for liquified natural gas (LNG).
LNG is natural gas which is cooled to liquid form to reduce its volume and make easier to transport. It's then converted back to gas form upon reaching its destination.
Germany is rightly notorious for its ponderous bureaucracy; this kind of project would normally take years, but the authorities slashed away at red tape to enable completion in under 200 days.........
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-63709352
You may not recall, but there were several posters who noted at the start of the current invasion that Russia would end up losing a large market share in oil and LNG because European customers would seek other sources. Nigeria is expanding their oil and gas production and is exploring development in areas they previously didn't exploit. They are just one example. In addition to losing customers Russia is forced to shut down production in some areas and restarting the production demands highly skilled people and all the international companies with the best people have pulled out of Russia. Now Russia is facing a reduced price for the oil they produce if they want to sell it. IOW, Putin has set back Russia at least 50 years.
Now it makes sense why Russia is so desperately trying to destroy Ukraine's electricity grid. They need a negotiated end to the war before their economy collapses.
All we have to do is make sure Ukraine has the air defense systems they need and more offensive weaponry. We don't need to send any money.
@Elderberry
-
END GAME Ukraine boasts it could retake Crimea by Christmas and end war in Spring a year after Vladimir Putin’s invasion
https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/20484905/ukraine-crimea-christmas-end-war-spring/ (https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/20484905/ukraine-crimea-christmas-end-war-spring/)
UKRAINE could reach Crimea by Christmas and end the war by next spring, according to Kyiv.
Retired major general Volodymyr Havrylov said it is "only a matter of time" before Ukraine recaptures Crimea after Putin illegally seized the territory back in 2014.
He told Sky News: "Of course, we would like to make it sooner than later."
Havrylov said Ukraine's aim to retake Crimea could be helped by a "black swan" event in Russia, such as an unexpected, drastic political change.
He said it was "possible" Ukrainian forces could be back in Crimea by the end of year without such an event, however.
Havrylov said he also believes the war could be wrapped up shortly after the year anniversary in February.
He added: "Of course, in this case, the war will take some time.
"But my feeling is that by the end of the spring, this war will be over."
Havrylov also dismissed the idea of peace talks with Moscow, saying it would only happen if Russian troops gave up all Ukrainian territory - including Crimea.
He said: "There is a decision inside the society in Ukraine that we are going up to the end.
More at link.
They have been inspiring. They held on when no one gave them a chance and now that they have better weaponry they have not only pushed the Russians back, but have exercised better strategy and tactics while doing it.
I think the critical issue is stopping the systematic destruction of their electric grid.
-
They have been inspiring. They held on when no one gave them a chance and now that they have better weaponry they have not only pushed the Russians back, but have exercised better strategy and tactics while doing it.
I think the critical issue is stopping the systematic destruction of their electric grid.
@bilo
IMNSHO,this is primarily because the ONLY Russians that want to fight this war are Putin and his cohorts. Even his Generals are against it.
I suspect that unless Pooty-Poot is VERY lucky/VERY fast on his feet,he is going to end up facing a firing squad by the time the dust settles.
The military has already pretty much decided to quit fighting,and once the militia/police inside Russia decide to quit arresting protesters,it is OVER for Putin and his cabal of dictators.
What worries ME more than anything else is an aggressive China invading eastern Russia to get their hands on the natural resources there they so badly need to keep their economy humming and their own ministers from swinging from ropes.
It's fun being a dictator until the music stops playing. After that,it's all about running for your life.
-
European Parliament declares Russia a terrorist state
https://abcnews.go.com/International/live-updates/russia-ukraine/?id=88905005 (https://abcnews.go.com/International/live-updates/russia-ukraine/?id=88905005)
The European Parliament adopted a resolution on Wednesday recognizing Russia as a state sponsor of terrorism.
"The European Parliament adopts a resolution declaring Russia a terrorist state," Guy Verhofstadt, a member of the European Parliament from Belgium, said in a Twitter post. "Putin's regime is a state sponsor of terrorism, complicit in war crimes [and] must face the international consequences."
-
European Parliament declares Russia a terrorist state
https://abcnews.go.com/International/live-updates/russia-ukraine/?id=88905005 (https://abcnews.go.com/International/live-updates/russia-ukraine/?id=88905005)
The European Parliament adopted a resolution on Wednesday recognizing Russia as a state sponsor of terrorism.
"The European Parliament adopts a resolution declaring Russia a terrorist state," Guy Verhofstadt, a member of the European Parliament from Belgium, said in a Twitter post. "Putin's regime is a state sponsor of terrorism, complicit in war crimes [and] must face the international consequences."
@Elderberry
I am GUESSING that comes complete with economic embargos,fines,and penalties?
-
Lukashenko Says Ukraine Faces 'complete Destruction' If It Does Not Negotiate With Russia
https://www.republicworld.com/world-news/russia-ukraine-crisis/lukashenko-says-ukraine-faces-complete-destruction-if-it-does-not-negotiate-with-russia-articleshow.html (https://www.republicworld.com/world-news/russia-ukraine-crisis/lukashenko-says-ukraine-faces-complete-destruction-if-it-does-not-negotiate-with-russia-articleshow.html)
Belarus' President Alexander Lukashenko has warned Ukraine that it will face complete destruction if it does not negotiate with Russia. The Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko is a close ally of Russia and he allowed his nation to become the launchpad for Russian troops. Russian troops entered Ukraine from east and north, and troops who entered Ukraine from the north were stationed in Belarus.
They crossed the Belarus-Ukraine border and attempted to take Kyiv, but they did not succeed. Belarus has avoided getting directly involved in the war although Ukrainian intelligence has claimed that Russia is planning a false flag operation on Belarus to get Lukashenko directly involved in the war. Institute for Study of War has said that such a false flag operation won't eliminate the factors that are restricting Lukashenko from getting directly involved in the war.
Lukashenko tells Ukraine to sit at the negotiating table
Alexander Lukashenko has said, "Everything is in Ukraine's hands." He has said that he recognises negotiating can be hard, difficult and painful for Ukraine but "they have to do it if they want to recover. Otherwise, it will lead to a complete destruction of Ukraine." He said that peace talks are inevitable. He said, "Europe has finally opened its eyes," implying that they can now put pressure on Ukraine to sit at the negotiating table with Russia.
His statements have led to anger in Ukraine. Meanwhile, Ukraine is suffering from blackouts, due to the intensive damage to power grids. According to reports from Sky news, satellite images released by NASA showcases how widespread these blackouts are.
More at link.
-
Lukashenko Says Ukraine Faces 'complete Destruction' If It Does Not Negotiate With Russia
https://www.republicworld.com/world-news/russia-ukraine-crisis/lukashenko-says-ukraine-faces-complete-destruction-if-it-does-not-negotiate-with-russia-articleshow.html (https://www.republicworld.com/world-news/russia-ukraine-crisis/lukashenko-says-ukraine-faces-complete-destruction-if-it-does-not-negotiate-with-russia-articleshow.html)
Belarus' President Alexander Lukashenko has warned Ukraine that it will face complete destruction if it does not negotiate with Russia. The Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko is a close ally of Russia and he allowed his nation to become the launchpad for Russian troops. Russian troops entered Ukraine from east and north, and troops who entered Ukraine from the north were stationed in Belarus.
They crossed the Belarus-Ukraine border and attempted to take Kyiv, but they did not succeed. Belarus has avoided getting directly involved in the war although Ukrainian intelligence has claimed that Russia is planning a false flag operation on Belarus to get Lukashenko directly involved in the war. Institute for Study of War has said that such a false flag operation won't eliminate the factors that are restricting Lukashenko from getting directly involved in the war.
Lukashenko tells Ukraine to sit at the negotiating table
Alexander Lukashenko has said, "Everything is in Ukraine's hands." He has said that he recognises negotiating can be hard, difficult and painful for Ukraine but "they have to do it if they want to recover. Otherwise, it will lead to a complete destruction of Ukraine." He said that peace talks are inevitable. He said, "Europe has finally opened its eyes," implying that they can now put pressure on Ukraine to sit at the negotiating table with Russia.
His statements have led to anger in Ukraine. Meanwhile, Ukraine is suffering from blackouts, due to the intensive damage to power grids. According to reports from Sky news, satellite images released by NASA showcases how widespread these blackouts are.
More at link.
:mauslaff:
This is desperation speaking. What he really means is that Putin faces total destruction if Ukraine doesn’t buy the lie and give in.
-
Havrylov also dismissed the idea of peace talks with Moscow, saying it would only happen if Russian troops gave up all Ukrainian territory - including Crimea.
Word.
-
Lukashenko is a puppet clown of Putin's.
Bottomline: Russia is training a reported 130,000 to 300,000 drafted youth to prepare for an offensive in the spring. The problem is that there are now no surprises. Ukraine knows what is coming, and they will be somewhat prepared to deal with the next wave of attacks by Russia.
The outcome will be staggering numbers of dead Russians. It will be a meat grinder. And eventually, all these young boys whose parents had only one child will generate a furor in Russia against the modern day Hitlerian monster Putin. I give it two years max and the Russian people realizing their sons are not coming home because they are dead rise up and kill Putin and his entire cabal.
-
Belarus foreign minister dies suddenly at 64 - one day after meeting Pope's envoy amid speculation they were discussing secret peace plan to end Ukraine war
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11472289/Belarus-foreign-minister-dies-suddenly-speculation-hed-discussing-secret-peace-plan.html
The foreign minister of Russian ally Belarus died suddenly today at the age of 64, it was announced in Minsk.
Vladimir Makei was seen as the only main channel of communication to the West in dictator Alexander Lukashenko's hardline pro-Moscow regime.
His sudden death came the day after he met with the Pope's envoy Ante Jozić amid speculation they were discussing a secret peace plan over the war in Ukraine.
Career spy Makei had been foreign minister for a decade and was due tomorrow and Monday to host Vladimir Putin's foreign minister Sergei Lavrov in Minsk.
Lavrov's spokeswoman said Russia was 'shocked' at his passing.
No cause of death was given - but several sources speculated that his demise could be suspicious.
Makei was described as 'healthy'.
He was seen as eyeing the Belarus presidency in the event of Lukashenko quitting - and was a former chief of staff to the tyrant.
He had been trained in the Soviet GRU - the military intelligence agency - and had a reputation as Lukashenko's 'grey cardinal'.
Excerpt.
Comrade Putin was displeased with him.
-
So the eyes are starting to open and there are so many corrupt politicians that there is no one stopping Joe. I wonder how many have there hands in the billions that have been sent over to Ukraine (supposedly)? Zelenskyy is just as corrupt.
I believe Joe is the most corrupt president in history.
European officials say US profiting from Ukraine war, call Inflation Reduction Act 'very worrying'
Senior European officials say US 'selling more gas and at higher prices,' and 'selling more weapons' amid Ukraine war
Top European officials have attacked President Biden's actions amid the ongoing war in Ukraine and have even questioned whether the United States remains an ally as gas prices soar and U.S. green energy policies have put Europeans into "full-blown panic mode," according to a report.
European officials, speaking anonymously to Politico, accused the U.S. of "profiting" off of Russian President Vladimir Putin's invasion of Ukraine and complained that green subsidies and taxes included in the Inflation Reduction Act have deteriorated relationships between the U.S. and European allies and partners.
"The fact is, if you look at it soberly, the country that is most profiting from this war is the U.S. because they are selling more gas and at higher prices, and because they are selling more weapons," a senior official told Politico.
"We are really at a historic juncture," the official added, arguing that U.S. policies have disrupted trade and that high gas prices are turning public opinion against aid for Ukraine. "America needs to realize that public opinion is shifting in many EU countries."
https://www.foxnews.com/world/european-officials-says-us-profiting-ukraine-war-call-inflation-reduction-act-very-worrying
-
So the eyes are starting to open and there are so many corrupt politicians that there is no one stopping Joe. I wonder how many have there hands in the billions that have been sent over to Ukraine (supposedly)? Zelenskyy is just as corrupt.
I believe Joe is the most corrupt president in history.
European officials say US profiting from Ukraine war, call Inflation Reduction Act 'very worrying'
Senior European officials say US 'selling more gas and at higher prices,' and 'selling more weapons' amid Ukraine war
Top European officials have attacked President Biden's actions amid the ongoing war in Ukraine and have even questioned whether the United States remains an ally as gas prices soar and U.S. green energy policies have put Europeans into "full-blown panic mode," according to a report.
European officials, speaking anonymously to Politico, accused the U.S. of "profiting" off of Russian President Vladimir Putin's invasion of Ukraine and complained that green subsidies and taxes included in the Inflation Reduction Act have deteriorated relationships between the U.S. and European allies and partners.
"The fact is, if you look at it soberly, the country that is most profiting from this war is the U.S. because they are selling more gas and at higher prices, and because they are selling more weapons," a senior official told Politico.
"We are really at a historic juncture," the official added, arguing that U.S. policies have disrupted trade and that high gas prices are turning public opinion against aid for Ukraine. "America needs to realize that public opinion is shifting in many EU countries."
https://www.foxnews.com/world/european-officials-says-us-profiting-ukraine-war-call-inflation-reduction-act-very-worrying
Sorry but these Eurotrash are worse than Biden on this IMO. They're pissed we're making any profit at all with their own idiotic anti-fossil fuel policies.
-
On the Anniversary of Ukraine’s Famine, Parallels to Russia’s Strikes
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/11/26/world/europe/ukraine-war-holodomor-strikes.html (https://www.nytimes.com/2022/11/26/world/europe/ukraine-war-holodomor-strikes.html)
The Holodomor commemoration came as President Vladimir V. Putin was accused of degrading Ukraine’s power grid to freeze the country into submission.
KYIV, Ukraine — When Joseph Stalin engineered a famine designed to break the will of Ukrainians opposed to the Kremlin’s farming policies, he turned the grain-rich breadbasket of Europe into a land of starvation, deprivation and death.
(https://static01.nyt.com/images/2022/11/26/world/26ukraine-ledeall-top-sub-02/merlin_217410054_2b7f2001-9ec1-4e33-b8e3-c3a25f488eb0-superJumbo.jpg?quality=75&auto=webp)
Placing candles on Saturday at a memorial to honor the victims of the Holodomor, a famine engineered in 1932
by Joseph Stalin that killed millions of Ukrainians.
Ninety years later, President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia has turned his missile arsenal on civilian infrastructure in an effort to shatter Ukrainian resolve and force Kyiv to bend to his will, leaving millions in darkness and cold, threatening access to clean water and compromising the nation’s health care system.
But when Ukrainians across the country lit candles at 4 p.m. on Saturday to mark the 90th anniversary of the Holodomor, which means “death by hunger” in Ukrainian, President Volodymyr Zelensky vowed that Ukrainians would not allow history to repeat itself.
“Once they wanted to destroy us with hunger, now — with darkness and cold,” he said. “We cannot be broken. Our fire will not go out. We will conquer death again.”
This time, he said, the world would not be silent.
Mr. Zelensky was joined by European leaders in the gilded halls of Mariinsky Palace, the ceremonial home of the president of Ukraine that was commissioned by the Empress Elizabeth Petrovna of Russia in 1744, to announce a new “grain from Ukraine” initiative, using the potent symbolism of the day to pledge to support nations struggling to feed their people.
More at link.
-
The red line: Biden and Xi’s secret Ukraine talks revealed
https://www.spectator.co.uk/article/the-red-line-biden-and-xis-secret-ukraine-talks-revealed/ (https://www.spectator.co.uk/article/the-red-line-biden-and-xis-secret-ukraine-talks-revealed/)
ince the beginning of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, China has played a decisive – though publicly low-profile – role in strategic decision-making in both Washington and Moscow. As I report for the first time in my new book Overreach, it was a back-channel intervention approved by Beijing that caused the US to scupper a deal for the Poles to provide Soviet-made MiG-29 jets to the Ukrainian Air Force back in March. And since September a flurry of personal diplomacy by Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi with Nato and the US has led to a rare moment of public agreement over Russia, when Xi Jinping said that the world ‘needs to prevent a nuclear crisis on the Eurasian continent’ in a meeting with Joe Biden at the G20 summit in Bali.
Throughout the war, China’s true position on the Russia-Ukraine conflict has been hard to pin down – not least because Beijing has been telling both sides what they want to hear. In March, Wang implicitly appeared to be blaming the US for ‘stoking tensions’ and ‘sowing discord’ with Russia. Last month he told his Russian counterpart, Sergei Lavrov, that ‘China will also firmly support the Russian side, under the leadership of President Putin, to unite and lead the Russian people’, according to state broadcaster CCTV. Wang also promised that ‘China is willing to deepen contacts with the Russian side at all levels’. Yet in September, on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly, Wang had told Nato Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg that China ‘stays open-minded to dialogues and exchanges with Nato and is willing to jointly promote the sound and steady development of bilateral relations … in the spirit of honesty and mutual respect’.
So whose side is Beijing really on? The reality is that China has consistently backed only one side – its own. But the illusion of Chinese support was one of the many miscalculations that led Vladimir Putin down the road to war. At a summit in Beijing on 4 February this year, Xi and Putin announced a ‘friendship without limits’ with ‘no forbidden areas’ of cooperation. Both leaders declared the new level of Sino-Russian strategic partnership ‘superior’ to the alliances of the Cold War era. Beijing was aware of Russia’s plans for a military operation, according to a source with longstanding close ties to the top levels of China’s political and military leadership. But the Russians presented the coming military operation as a ‘limited operation to recover a lost Russian province [and] reunite Russia within historical boundaries’. That narrative fitted China’s own over Taiwan – though it was made clear that the Russian operation must not interfere with the Beijing Winter Olympics, which ended on 20 February – four days before Putin’s invasion.
Most importantly, in a confidential annexe to the ‘friendship without limits’ was a mutual security guarantee that Russia had sought from China for decades but hitherto been unable to obtain, said the source. Like Nato’s Article 5 – that an attack on one member is an attack on all – Beijing and Moscow pledged to come to each other’s aid militarily in the case of a foreign invasion of their territory and if special conditions were satisfied concerning the cause of such an invasion. That extremely canny and prescient proviso, inserted at Chinese insistence, would effectively exclude territories recently annexed during wartime, thus releasing Beijing from any commitment to respond to attacks on annexed territories in Ukraine.
The scale of Russia’s military operation – in particular the closely held secret of the blitzkrieg attack on Kyiv, of which even Lavrov was unaware as late as 21 February – took Beijing by surprise. Though the Chinese officially supported Putin diplomatically, blaming Nato for provoking the conflict, there was deep (and entirely well-founded) concern that Putin had overreached and would provoke the West into a united front that a limited operation in Donbas would have avoided. Putin’s threat of nuclear escalation on 27 February alarmed the world, including the Chinese. A key priority for Beijing was for the Russo-Nato confrontation to ‘avoid any nuclear escalation and to help in reaching a ceasefire’, said the source, who has regular personal contact with the leaders of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA). Now Putin had – recklessly in Chinese eyes – played his most dangerous card right at the beginning of the conflict.
So when, a few days later, a further escalation threatened in the form of an offer by the Polish government to supply Ukraine with its entire fleet of Soviet-era MiG-29 fighters, the Chinese grew concerned. In truth, there was little likelihood of the Polish MiGs making much difference on the battlefield. Poland’s 26 to 33 MiG-29s had been made in the early 1980s for the East German Air Force and had been sold to Warsaw for the symbolic sum of €1 each in 2003. Romania, which owned 20 similar MiG-29 jets, had decommissioned them many years ago. Nonetheless, a Nato country providing fighter jets of any kind to Kyiv represented an important symbolic, if not necessarily operationally significant, step towards direct Nato involvement in the conflict. Initially, Washington was positive. But a day later, on 8 March, the Pentagon abruptly reversed its position, pronouncing Poland’s proposal ‘not tenable’.
More at link.
-
(https://img-9gag-fun.9cache.com/photo/avQ7P7d_460s.jpg)
-
'Shame on the Motherland': Grieving father who lost his conscript son in Ukraine war accuses Putin of being a 'traitor' to Russia and dares FSB to arrest him for speaking out against the despot
By WILL STEWART FOR MAILONLINE
27 November 2022
A tragic father who lost his conscript son in Vladimir Putin's war in Ukraine has accused the Kremlin dictator of being a traitor to Russia for the for killing or maiming of up to 100,000 servicemen.
Dmitry Shkrebets, 44, accused the Russian president and his commanders of 'murdering' his son by their incompetence and rule-breaking, and went on to challenge Russia's FSB secret service to arrest him for claiming Putin 'betrayed' him.
Shkrebets lost his son Yevgeny, 20, on the Moskva cruiser - the flagship of Russia's Black Sea naval fleet which was sunk by Ukrainian missiles earlier in the war.
* * *
Source: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11474113/Putin-traitor-Russia-commanders-murdered-son-rages-father-conscript.html
-
Putin says Russian deaths in Ukraine don't really matter in the big picture
Ukrayinska Pravda
Putin on war deaths: 30,000 people die in road accidents and from alcohol in Russia
Quote from Putin: "Of course, this is a huge tragedy [the death of a relative - ed.]. It is a void that cannot be filled with anything when a loved one is gone, especially a son.
But you know what comes to my mind: in our country, about 30,000 people die in road accidents, nearly the same number die from alcohol. Unfortunately, it happens. This is how life works. Life is complex and multifaceted, more complicated than can be written somewhere on paper.
We are all under the Lord, under Allah, under Christ, I don't know, everyone who believes in higher powers, it doesn't matter what religion a person adheres to: we are all mortal, we are all under the Lord. And someday we will all leave this world. It is inevitable. The question is how we lived."
https://news.yahoo.com/putin-war-deaths-30-000-155637794.html
Essentially, Putin is telling mothers of dead conscripts that they would have died anyway. They're dead whether in Ukraine or still in Russia. Everybody dies. Why not die fighting Ukraine? <- kind of a weird thing to say to mothers who are morning their teenage and twenty something sons.
-
Putin says Russian deaths in Ukraine don't really matter in the big picture
Ukrayinska Pravda
Putin on war deaths: 30,000 people die in road accidents and from alcohol in Russia
Quote from Putin: "Of course, this is a huge tragedy [the death of a relative - ed.]. It is a void that cannot be filled with anything when a loved one is gone, especially a son.
But you know what comes to my mind: in our country, about 30,000 people die in road accidents, nearly the same number die from alcohol. Unfortunately, it happens. This is how life works. Life is complex and multifaceted, more complicated than can be written somewhere on paper.
We are all under the Lord, under Allah, under Christ, I don't know, everyone who believes in higher powers, it doesn't matter what religion a person adheres to: we are all mortal, we are all under the Lord. And someday we will all leave this world. It is inevitable. The question is how we lived."
https://news.yahoo.com/putin-war-deaths-30-000-155637794.html
Essentially, Putin is telling mothers of dead conscripts that they would have died anyway. They're dead whether in Ukraine or still in Russia. Everybody dies. Why not die fighting Ukraine? <- kind of a weird thing to say to mothers who are morning their teenage and twenty something sons.
Wow. What disingenuous B.S.
-
He's also citing Allah, eh, in his explanation about how death just happens. Not Putin's fault. Nope. Not at all.
-
Putin says Russian deaths in Ukraine don't really matter in the big picture
Ukrayinska Pravda
Putin on war deaths: 30,000 people die in road accidents and from alcohol in Russia
Quote from Putin: "Of course, this is a huge tragedy [the death of a relative - ed.]. It is a void that cannot be filled with anything when a loved one is gone, especially a son.
But you know what comes to my mind: in our country, about 30,000 people die in road accidents, nearly the same number die from alcohol. Unfortunately, it happens. This is how life works. Life is complex and multifaceted, more complicated than can be written somewhere on paper.
We are all under the Lord, under Allah, under Christ, I don't know, everyone who believes in higher powers, it doesn't matter what religion a person adheres to: we are all mortal, we are all under the Lord. And someday we will all leave this world. It is inevitable. The question is how we lived."
https://news.yahoo.com/putin-war-deaths-30-000-155637794.html
Essentially, Putin is telling mothers of dead conscripts that they would have died anyway. They're dead whether in Ukraine or still in Russia. Everybody dies. Why not die fighting Ukraine? <- kind of a weird thing to say to mothers who are morning their teenage and twenty something sons.
:shrug:
Should I feel sorry for the Russians? They put up with this guy. At least the Chinese are starting to stand up for themselves now. Not so the Russians.
-
Wow. What disingenuous B.S.
@Kamaji
Ifn ya didunt no betta,ya MIGHT think he was out of touch wid reality.
And don't think for a minute that he doesn't really think like that. Standard mindset for dictators.
-
Russian attacks on energy grid amount to genocide, says Ukraine
Russia's attacks on Ukrainian energy infrastructure amount to genocide, a top Ukrainian official says.
Strikes on key facilities targeted "the full Ukrainian nation" and were an effort to force Kyiv to surrender, the prosecutor-general told the BBC.
The term genocide refers to an effort to wipe out a group of people. Russia denies having any such aim.
Millions of people across Ukraine are facing power cuts in freezing weather, following sustained Russian attacks.
Efforts are ongoing to reconnect homes cut off from electricity. Officials say Kherson has now been fully resupplied, following the city's recapture by Ukrainian troops earlier this month.
But people in 14 regions and the capital Kyiv remain under usage restrictions, according to President Volodymyr Zelensky.
Genocide involves "the intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnic, racial or religious group", according to a definition provided by the UN Genocide Convention.
Among the acts which may qualify are killing or causing serious harm to members of that group - or forcibly transferring its children elsewhere.
In his BBC interview, Ukrainian Prosecutor-General Andriy Kostin said that, as well as the attacks on the energy grid, 11,000 Ukrainian children had been forcibly deported to Russia.
Mr Kostin said his office was investigating reports of more than 49,000 war crimes and crimes of aggression since Russia launched its full-scale invasion on 24 February.
The "same pattern of conduct" was being seen in every Ukrainian settlement occupied by Russian forces, he observed.
A war crime constitutes a violation of the so-called "rules" of war set out by international treaties including the Geneva Conventions. ..................
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-63773654
-
Ukrainian medical staff are removing red crosses from their uniforms to avoid being deliberately targeted by Russian forces, charity says
By ELENA SALVONI FOR MAILONLINE
27 November 2022
Frontline medical staff in Ukraine are being targeted by enemy fire more than in any other war and are being treated as 'high-value targets' by Russian forces, according to a humanitarian charity.
Medics4Ukraine, which trains combat medical staff, claim they are being specifically targeted, forcing them to remove red crosses from their uniforms to avoid being identified and deliberately attacked by Putin's troops.
The World Health Organisation has recorded 703 attacks on hospitals and medical facilities since February.
* * *
Source: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11475029/Ukraine-medics-removing-red-crosses-uniforms-avoid-targeting-Russian-forces-charity-says.html
-
Russia’s Pointless Attacks In Bakhmut Are Running Into A Wall Of Ukrainian Artillery
David Axe | Nov 22, 2022 | 08:00am EST
(https://imageio.forbes.com/specials-images/imageserve/637beca68082a0fb60817eea/A-152-millimeter-howitzer-belonging-to-the-40th-Artillery-Brigade-/0x0.jpg?format=jpg&crop=1709,802,x0,y52,safe&width=960)
A 152-millimeter howitzer belonging to the 40th Artillery Brigade.UKRAINIAN DEFENSE MINISTRY PHOTO
When Ukrainian brigades launched twin counteroffensives in eastern and southern Ukraine back in late August and early September, most Russian regiments either had no choice but to retreat, or wisely chose to retreat in order to preserve their surviving forces.
There were weird exceptions. For reasons that defy military logic, Russian troops in a few eastern sectors not only stayed in place—they attacked.
These isolated Russian assaults—call them “countercounterattacks”—so far have not resulted in meaningful territorial gains for the Russians. They have however resulted in heavy casualties. Especially for the Russian side. “The Ukrainians are fighting a very, very successful mobile defense,” U.S. Army Gen. Mark Milley, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told reporters on Wednesday.
Just one corps of the Ukrainian army is doing most of the killing. The artillery. In the eastern town of Bakhmut, where pro-Russian separatists and Russian mercenaries from The Wagner Group have been conducting perhaps the biggest of the isolated countercounterattacks, Russian and allied forces are under daily bombardment by one of Ukraine’s best artillery formations. The 40th Artillery Brigade.
The brigade is a new formation. The Ukrainian army stood up the 40th Artillery Brigade back in 2015 as part of its wider mobilization in response to the Russian occupation of Crimea and subsequent attack on eastern Ukraine’s Donbas region. When Russia widened its war on Ukraine in February, the 40th Artillery Brigade was in the eastern city of Kharkiv, just 25 miles from the Russian border.
At that time, the brigade possessed only old Soviet artillery, including 2A36 and 2A65 152-millimeter towed howitzers and MT-12 100-millimeter anti-tank guns. After February, the brigade added American-made M777 155-millimeter towed howitzers—reportedly 21 of them—plus quadcopters for reconnaissance.
The M777 can fire Excalibur GPS-guided shells to a distance of 25 miles. The combination of drones, M777s and Excaliburs is a deadly one. The 40th helped to defend Kharkiv through the summer and, in the fall, joined the eastern counteroffensive. In September, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky awarded the brigade a citation for “courage and bravery.”
The 40th Artillery Brigade’s gunners, working in conjunction with spotters, gunners and mortarmen from the 53rd Mechanized Brigade, have scored some impressive hits on separatist and Wagner troops in Bakhmut. . .
https://www.forbes.com/sites/davidaxe/2022/11/22/russias-pointless-attacks-in-bakhmut-are-running-into-a-wall-of-ukrainian-artillery/
-
Russia’s Pointless Attacks In Bakhmut Are Running Into A Wall Of Ukrainian Artillery
David Axe | Nov 22, 2022 | 08:00am EST
(https://imageio.forbes.com/specials-images/imageserve/637beca68082a0fb60817eea/A-152-millimeter-howitzer-belonging-to-the-40th-Artillery-Brigade-/0x0.jpg?format=jpg&crop=1709,802,x0,y52,safe&width=960)
A 152-millimeter howitzer belonging to the 40th Artillery Brigade.UKRAINIAN DEFENSE MINISTRY PHOTO
When Ukrainian brigades launched twin counteroffensives in eastern and southern Ukraine back in late August and early September, most Russian regiments either had no choice but to retreat, or wisely chose to retreat in order to preserve their surviving forces.
There were weird exceptions. For reasons that defy military logic, Russian troops in a few eastern sectors not only stayed in place—they attacked.
These isolated Russian assaults—call them “countercounterattacks”—so far have not resulted in meaningful territorial gains for the Russians. They have however resulted in heavy casualties. Especially for the Russian side. “The Ukrainians are fighting a very, very successful mobile defense,” U.S. Army Gen. Mark Milley, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told reporters on Wednesday.
Just one corps of the Ukrainian army is doing most of the killing. The artillery. In the eastern town of Bakhmut, where pro-Russian separatists and Russian mercenaries from The Wagner Group have been conducting perhaps the biggest of the isolated countercounterattacks, Russian and allied forces are under daily bombardment by one of Ukraine’s best artillery formations. The 40th Artillery Brigade.
The brigade is a new formation. The Ukrainian army stood up the 40th Artillery Brigade back in 2015 as part of its wider mobilization in response to the Russian occupation of Crimea and subsequent attack on eastern Ukraine’s Donbas region. When Russia widened its war on Ukraine in February, the 40th Artillery Brigade was in the eastern city of Kharkiv, just 25 miles from the Russian border.
At that time, the brigade possessed only old Soviet artillery, including 2A36 and 2A65 152-millimeter towed howitzers and MT-12 100-millimeter anti-tank guns. After February, the brigade added American-made M777 155-millimeter towed howitzers—reportedly 21 of them—plus quadcopters for reconnaissance.
The M777 can fire Excalibur GPS-guided shells to a distance of 25 miles. The combination of drones, M777s and Excaliburs is a deadly one. The 40th helped to defend Kharkiv through the summer and, in the fall, joined the eastern counteroffensive. In September, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky awarded the brigade a citation for “courage and bravery.”
The 40th Artillery Brigade’s gunners, working in conjunction with spotters, gunners and mortarmen from the 53rd Mechanized Brigade, have scored some impressive hits on separatist and Wagner troops in Bakhmut. . .
https://www.forbes.com/sites/davidaxe/2022/11/22/russias-pointless-attacks-in-bakhmut-are-running-into-a-wall-of-ukrainian-artillery/
Methinks the number of war college studies and doctoral theses coming out of the Ukraine conflict will be substantial.
-
In Ukraine, Bakhmut Becomes a Bloody Vortex for 2 Militaries
Thomas Gibbons-Neff and Natalia Yermak | 11/27/2022 | 8:15:00 PM
BAKHMUT, Ukraine — For almost an hour, the stream of Ukrainian casualties in the eastern city of Bakhmut seemed unending: Ambulances, an armored personnel carrier and private vehicles all screamed to a halt, one after another, and disgorged the wounded in front of the city’s only military hospital.
A soldier propped up by his comrades, his face a mass of mangled flesh, walked in the main gate. The dark green stretcher that awaited him was one of several still covered in blood.
By around noon on Friday, doctors had counted 50 wounded, many of them soldiers. The day before was even worse: 240 people had come through the hospital’s doors with everything from gunshot wounds to shrapnel injuries and concussions.
“They came in batches — 10, 10, five, 10,” said Parus, one of the Ukrainian medics at the hospital, as artillery screeched overhead and the chatter of machine-gun fire echoed off the surrounding buildings. “In the last couple of days the Russians have tried to advance more intensely.”
In the nine months since Russia invaded, Ukraine has celebrated major victories, breaking the siege of its capital, Kyiv, and pushing Russian forces out of the Kharkiv region and the port city of Kherson. But Bakhmut, in Ukraine’s Donbas region, has become a destructive vortex for both countries’ militaries. For months, they have thrown masses of troops and matériel into battle here as the Russians mount desperate attempts to capture the city and the Ukrainians to hold it. . . .
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/11/27/world/europe/ukraine-war-bakhmut.html
-
Sounds a lot like Verdun.
-
Sounds a lot like Verdun.
Or Stalingrad. War is shit.
-
**nononono* **nononono* **nononono*
Exclusive: U.S. weighs sending 100-mile strike weapon to Ukraine
WASHINGTON, Nov 28 (Reuters) - The Pentagon is considering a Boeing proposal to supply Ukraine with cheap, small precision bombs fitted onto abundantly available rockets, allowing Kyiv to strike far behind Russian lines as the West struggles to meet demand for more arms.
U.S. and allied military inventories are shrinking, and Ukraine faces an increasing need for more sophisticated weapons as the war drags on. Boeing's proposed system, dubbed Ground-Launched Small Diameter Bomb (GLSDB), is one of about a half-dozen plans for getting new munitions into production for Ukraine and America's Eastern European allies, industry sources said.
Although the United States has rebuffed requests for the 185-mile (297km) range ATACMS missile, the GLSDB's 94-mile (150km) range would allow Ukraine to hit valuable military targets that have been out of reach and help it continue pressing its counterattacks by disrupting Russian rear areas...............
https://www.reuters.com/business/aerospace-defense/100-mile-strike-weapon-weighed-ukraine-arms-makers-wrestle-with-demand-sources-2022-11-28/
-
'We're Dying Like Flies': Remote Russian Village Grapples With Shortage Of Men Amid Putin's War In Ukraine
Radio Free Europe 11/27/2022
https://www.rferl.org/a/russia-village-mobilization-ukraine-impact-far-east/32151036.html (https://www.rferl.org/a/russia-village-mobilization-ukraine-impact-far-east/32151036.html)
BUKACHACHA, Russia – Andrei Epov ferries passengers to the small Siberian village of Bukachacha by bus from the nearest major city, the regional capital, Chita.
Set deep in the taiga, the village of 1,200 in Zabaikalsky Krai, in Russia’s Far East, is difficult to reach – and, according to locals, an even more difficult place to live. And Russia’s war on Ukraine, which President Vladimir Putin launched in February and rages on with no end in sight, has only exacerbated the problems for Bukachacha’s residents.
(https://gdb.rferl.org/058a0000-0aff-0242-bcac-08dacc83dfa5_w1023_r0_s.jpg)
A significant percentage of the village’s military-age men were swept up in the Kremlin's nationwide mobilization that Putin announced in September, including one man who ran the local bakery and another who delivers water to elderly residents, locals say.
“The authorities forgot about Bukachacha. They remembered it only now, during the mobilization,” Epov says in between calls he fields from people seeking to book a seat on his bus.
RFE/RL’s Siberia.Realities traveled to see firsthand the impact of Putin’s war and mobilization on remote villages like Bukachacha, where Soviet-era factories have long since closed and career prospects for young people lie mostly in coal mining.
Epov drew a comparison between Bukachacha and the eastern Ukrainian city of Mariupol, which was captured by Russian forces following a brutal siege that left the city in ruins.
“[Life] in Bukachacha is like after a war,” Epov says. “There’s just one difference: They’ll rebuild Mariupol, whereas we lived in ruins and will continue to do so.”
'Taken Away'
In the weeks following Putin’s military mobilization, news emerged from Bukachacha that a local man who had delivered water to village residents, including the elderly, had been enlisted for Russia’s war on Ukraine.
That was confirmed by a local official, Viktor Nadelyayev, who told the news portal Chita.ru that “the drivers we had have been taken away” in the mobilization.
That has left the elderly in Bukachacha, like Natalya, to haul buckets of water from a well up to several kilometers back home by foot.
“It’s still winter, and we have no street cleaners, so it is icy. It’s not easy to haul buckets,” says Natalya, who spoke on condition that only her first name be used.
-
NATO chief says ‘door is open’ to Ukraine
https://thehill.com/policy/international/3754149-nato-chief-says-door-is-open-to-ukraine/
NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg on Tuesday said the “door is open” to admitting Ukraine into the security alliance and that the country would one day be a member.
Stoltenberg reaffirmed the commitment to bringing Ukraine into the western alliance and said Russian President Vladimir Putin would also have to contend with Finland and Sweden soon joining NATO after both countries applied in the wake of Russia’s late February invasion of Ukraine.
“President Putin cannot deny sovereign nations to make their own sovereign decisions that are not a threat to Russia,” Stoltenberg said in comments ahead of a NATO foreign ministers meeting in Bucharest, Romania. “I think what he’s afraid of is democracy and freedom, and that’s the main challenge for him.”
Excerpt.
-
Russia largely abandons battalion tactical groups in Ukraine as weaknesses revealed
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2022/11/29/russia-largely-abandons-battalion-tactical-groups-ukraine-weaknesses/
Russian forces have largely stopped deploying as battalion tactical groups because the formations have proved ineffective, the UK's Ministry of Defence (MoD) has said.
In its latest intelligence update on Tuesday, the ministry said that while “the BTG concept has played a major part in Russian military doctrine for the last ten years” it has proven unsuccessful in the kind of high-intensity fighting seen in Ukraine.
A battalion tactical group (BTG) is a temporary formation bringing together troops and equipment from different units to complete particular operational objectives.
The Russian army is believed to have deployed about 115 battalion tactical groups to Ukraine, with each comprising hundreds of troops supported by tanks and artillery.
According to the MoD, the formations are “integrated with a full range of supporting sub-units, including armour, reconnaissance and (in a departure from usual Western practice) artillery”.
But several weaknesses in the concept have been revealed during the “high intensity, large-scale combat” of the war in Ukraine, the ministry said.
They criticised Russia’s distribution of its artillery, saying a lack of concentrated firepower has become a hindrance to the army.
“Decentralised distribution of artillery has not allowed Russia to fully leverage its advantage in numbers of guns; and few BTG commanders have been empowered to flexibly exploit opportunities in the way the BTG model was designed to promote,” the MoD said.
The MoD also singled out the “relatively small allocation of combat infantry” in the system, which “has often proved insufficient".
Excerpt.
-
(https://img-9gag-fun.9cache.com/photo/aBd8y7O_460s.jpg)
-
Ukraine’s forces strike power plant in Russia’s Kursk region
https://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/world/2022/11/30/ukraines-forces-strike-power-plant-in-russias-kursk-region/ (https://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/world/2022/11/30/ukraines-forces-strike-power-plant-in-russias-kursk-region/)
KYIV: Ukrainian forces struck a power plant in multiple attacks on Russia’s Kursk region on Tuesday, causing some electricity outages, a local governor said.
“In total, there were about 11 launches. A power plant was hit,” Roman Starovoyt, the governor of the Kursk region, said on the Telegram messaging app.
“Because of this, there are partial power outages in the Sudzha and Korenevo districts.” The districts are part of Russia’s Kursk region and sit over Ukraine’s northeast border.
Russian authorities in regions bordering Ukraine have repeatedly accused Kyiv of attacking targets such as power lines, fuel, and ammunition stores.
-
'Ukraine drone attack' sparks inferno at Russian oil depot: Giant blaze hits critical resupply route for Putin's invading forces
By WILL STEWART and CHRIS PLEASANCE FOR MAILONLINE
30 November 2022
An oil depot in Russia exploded in a towering inferno this morning after a drone attack thought to have been orchestrated by Ukraine.
Three tanks containing thousands of tonnes of diesel fuel caught fire around 6am local time at a site in Bryansk, a Russian region that borders Ukraine to the north.
The fire began after a drone dropped explosives into one of the fuel tanks, according to Russian media. Nobody was injured in the attack.
* * *
Source: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11484797/Ukraine-drone-attack-sparks-inferno-Russian-oil-depot-Bryansk.html
-
Revelling in rape, torture and brutal executions: How Putin's Wagner mercenaries' terrifying brutality echoes another group of criminals-turned-soldiers... Hitler's reviled Dirlewanger brigade
By DAVID AVERRE FOR MAILONLINE
29 November 2022
Summary executions. Torture. Rape. Recruitment of violent prisoners.
These are the hallmarks of the infamous Wagner Group – a Russian private military company (PMC) led by a close ally of Putin whose fingerprints are all over the invasion of Ukraine.
Wagner mercenaries are deployed to further Russian interests abroad by doing the jobs that no official military branch could be associated with and have earned a reputation for using sheer force and brutality to achieve their goals.
The chief financier and founder of PMC Wagner Yevgeny Prigozhin claims his contractors are deployed across the border to help achieve the Russian president's goal – the so-called 'denazification' of Ukraine.
But ironically, the methods employed by Wagner mercs bare a stark resemblance to those of the Dirlewanger brigade – a notorious division of the Nazis' SS paramilitary organisation who raped, murdered and pillaged their way through Europe as they executed Adolf Hitler's dark designs.
* * *
Source: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11390513/How-brutality-Russias-Wagner-mercenaries-echoes-reviled-Nazi-SS-battalion.html
-
Just one in four Russians support Vladimir Putin's invasion of Ukraine, leaked Kremlin study shows
By JAMES FRANEY IN BUCHAREST FOR THE DAILY MAIL
30 November 2022
Russian support for Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine has plummeted to new lows – with just one in four supporting the war, it emerged last night.
A leaked study, conducted by the Kremlin’s Federal Protective Service, showed just 25 per cent of the public supported a continuation of Putin’s so-called ‘special military operation’.
It comes as British Foreign Secretary James Cleverly called for the Russian leader to face trial for war crimes.
* * *
Source: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11487855/Just-one-four-Russians-support-Vladimir-Putins-invasion-Ukraine-leaked-Kremlin-study-shows.html
-
Revelling in rape, torture and brutal executions: How Putin's Wagner mercenaries' terrifying brutality echoes another group of criminals-turned-soldiers... Hitler's reviled Dirlewanger brigade
By DAVID AVERRE FOR MAILONLINE
29 November 2022
Summary executions. Torture. Rape. Recruitment of violent prisoners.
These are the hallmarks of the infamous Wagner Group – a Russian private military company (PMC) led by a close ally of Putin whose fingerprints are all over the invasion of Ukraine.
Wagner mercenaries are deployed to further Russian interests abroad by doing the jobs that no official military branch could be associated with and have earned a reputation for using sheer force and brutality to achieve their goals.
The chief financier and founder of PMC Wagner Yevgeny Prigozhin claims his contractors are deployed across the border to help achieve the Russian president's goal – the so-called 'denazification' of Ukraine.
But ironically, the methods employed by Wagner mercs bare a stark resemblance to those of the Dirlewanger brigade – a notorious division of the Nazis' SS paramilitary organisation who raped, murdered and pillaged their way through Europe as they executed Adolf Hitler's dark designs.
* * *
Source: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11390513/How-brutality-Russias-Wagner-mercenaries-echoes-reviled-Nazi-SS-battalion.html
I heard they executed someone who was a "traitor" (supposedly, he surrendered) by hitting his head with a sledgehammer. And it's on social media.
-
I heard they executed someone who was a "traitor" (supposedly, he surrendered) by hitting his head with a sledgehammer. And it's on social media.
They did. Here's one of the articles about it: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11429279/Putins-leading-female-propagandist-defends-sickening-sledgehammer-execution.html
-
NATO chief says ‘door is open’ to Ukraine
https://thehill.com/policy/international/3754149-nato-chief-says-door-is-open-to-ukraine/
Excerpt.
I think this would be a big mistake. I think the first thing that needs to be done is to find out where all the money has been going. I do want to see weaponry sent, but a lot of money has been flowing to Ukraine, or NGO's, lets find out what has been going on.
-
Ukraine’s forces strike power plant in Russia’s Kursk region
https://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/world/2022/11/30/ukraines-forces-strike-power-plant-in-russias-kursk-region/ (https://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/world/2022/11/30/ukraines-forces-strike-power-plant-in-russias-kursk-region/)
KYIV: Ukrainian forces struck a power plant in multiple attacks on Russia’s Kursk region on Tuesday, causing some electricity outages, a local governor said.
“In total, there were about 11 launches. A power plant was hit,” Roman Starovoyt, the governor of the Kursk region, said on the Telegram messaging app.
“Because of this, there are partial power outages in the Sudzha and Korenevo districts.” The districts are part of Russia’s Kursk region and sit over Ukraine’s northeast border.
Russian authorities in regions bordering Ukraine have repeatedly accused Kyiv of attacking targets such as power lines, fuel, and ammunition stores.
Good!
Let the Orcs find out how it is to be without power.
-
Trenches, mud and death: One Ukrainian battlefield looks like something out of World War I
https://www.cnbc.com/2022/11/30/trenches-endless-mud-and-death-the-battle-of-bakhmut.html
The sight of trenches, endless mud and mass destruction — with just the stumps of trees emerging from a boggy, churned up landscape — is rightly associated with World War I.
But in Ukraine today, one ongoing and intense battle has descended into the same fierce trench warfare seen a century ago in northern Europe.
For several months now, Russian and Ukrainian forces have been fighting for control of the city of Bakhmut in eastern Ukraine — in what is essentially a key part of a larger battle for control of the Donbas. The Donbas is a region in eastern Ukraine that contains two pro-Russian, so-called “republics” that Russia says it wants to “liberate.”
As the “Battle of Bakhmut” drags on, however, the area has been likened to a “vortex” for both the Ukrainian and Russian forces (of regular units and the state-sanctioned paramilitary organization, the Wagner Group) with both sides suffering what’s believed to be heavy casualties with few territorial gains. Both sides have frequently reported the deaths of over 100 of each others’ soldiers per day.
Meanwhile, fighting there has turned the landscape into a mass of mud, trenches and charred trees. The Ukrainian Ministry of Defense tweeted a video of trenches in the area, saying the Ukrainian infantry had been holding the line for several months under heavy fire from Russian forces.
Some analysts have posted images comparing the destruction of the area to the “Battle of Verdun” in World War I, a bloody and intense battle between French and German forces that lasted from February to December 1916.
One of the longest and fiercest battles during the war, it is also seen as one of the most costly in terms of life; both France and Germany are estimated to have seen hundreds of thousands of casualties each. In the end, the French forces won the battle but it came to symbolize the immense destructiveness and human cost of war.
-
(https://img-9gag-fun.9cache.com/photo/aPg9d9n_460s.jpg)
-
Looks like they are "losing the war at home",too.
The next step is public protests,with the police ordered to arrest the protestors and shoot any that resist.
This whole thing is going to blow up in Putin's face when that happens.
Can you say "Russian Revolution,Part 2"?
-
Putin fell down stairs, soiled himself as speculation over worsening health grows: report
By Olivia Land and Snejana Farberov
December 2, 2022
Russian President Vladimir Putin fell down the stairs and soiled himself this week amid mounting speculation that his health is declining, an anti-Kremlin Telegram channel with apparent links to his security team reported.
Putin, 70, suffered the unfortunate fall at his Moscow official residence on Wednesday evening, according to the Telegram channel “General SVR,” which purports to be run by a former Russian spy.
The ailing Russian leader allegedly fell down five steps before landing on his coccyx, or tailbone.
Although his security guards immediately rushed to his aid, the impact of the fall caused Putin to “involuntarily defecate” due to “cancer affecting his stomach and bowels,” according to the channel.
The incident is the latest health scare for Putin, who is rumored to suffering from worsening cancer and Parkinson’s disease amid the ongoing war with Ukraine.
* * *
Source: https://nypost.com/2022/12/02/putin-fell-down-stairs-soiled-himself-amid-health-woes-report/
-
This is NOT good. If Putin is really 'terminally ill', then there is nothing to stop him from pushing the nuclear button.
They say, 'Go out with a bang.'
-
If you look at his most recent photos this past week, his physical appearance has markedly degraded over the past few weeks. He's clearly wasting away and his suits hang off him, and his face and neck are bloated. Definitely got cancer of some sort, coupled with Parkinson's. He's not going to be mobile for much longer, and this fall is probably the beginning of the end for him.
-
This is NOT good. If Putin is really 'terminally ill', then there is nothing to stop him from pushing the nuclear button.
They say, 'Go out with a bang.'
Only if his underlings follow orders - they still have lives to live.
-
Only if his underlings follow orders - they still have lives to live.
Exactly.
-
Putin fell down stairs, soiled himself as speculation over worsening health grows: report
By Olivia Land and Snejana Farberov
December 2, 2022
* * *
Source: https://nypost.com/2022/12/02/putin-fell-down-stairs-soiled-himself-amid-health-woes-report/
Even if the story isn't true, it is still a sign of his weakening power that this story is circulating. If he was still at the top of his game no one would dare to repeat the story.
Also, if he does have colon cancer, I can't think of many worse ways to go. Maybe brain cancer. Or cancer of the spine.
-
Zelensky announces a decree banning religious organizations and churches in Ukraine with “ties to Russia.”
His government has also been raiding Ukrainian Orthodox churches and arresting priests.
https://twitter.com/greg_price11/status/1598723160228081664
-
Zelensky announces a decree banning religious organizations and churches in Ukraine with “ties to Russia.”
His government has also been raiding Ukrainian Orthodox churches and arresting priests.
https://twitter.com/greg_price11/status/1598723160228081664
Gee, what's wrong with this picture?? Anyone still think that there just might be a slight possibility that the Ukraine gov't might be doing away with those that don't comply with their dictatorial rules and regulations and blaming those deaths on the Russians?
-
What do the Russians care about such charges?
There is nothing that is going to be done about the charges or to the Neo-Soviet leadership,so it's nothing more than a fart into the wind.
People in the west just don't seem to remember that even though "communism is dead",the Russian leadership is STILL composed of Communist Party of the USSR appointees.
However,thanks to the incompetence of Putin and his Soviet pals,they may be out of power soon and living in the Lubyanka basements will awaiting trial.
And they not only brought it upon themselves,they did it to themselves. It will NOT be a Russian Revolution that brings about the collapse of Communism in Russia,but the freaking stupidity of the neo-Soviet leadership who are refusing to recognize that times have changed, and they needed to modify their way of governing in order to survive. They seem to think it is still 1930,and deserve every-freaking thing that happens to them,including being burnt at the stake if that were to happen.
Hell,the revolutionaries could probably sell tickets to that one. The CPUSSR has been brutalizing and enslaving the Russian citizens since Day One of their control. They need to get a little taste of what they have been serving up,
-
Gee, what's wrong with this picture?? Anyone still think that there just might be a slight possibility that the Ukraine gov't might be doing away with those that don't comply with their dictatorial rules and regulations and blaming those deaths on the Russians?
Didn't he previously ban news stations and political parties, while jailing opposition leaders? And now the church. :pondering:
-
Gee, what's wrong with this picture?? Anyone still think that there just might be a slight possibility that the Ukraine gov't might be doing away with those that don't comply with their dictatorial rules and regulations and blaming those deaths on the Russians?
He's banning them because those churches are working for Putin's former KGB crony Patriarch Kirill, the head of the Russian orthodox Church. It's a sensible wartime measure when the priests' loyalties are in doubt.
-
“The Ukrainians are fighting a very, very successful mobile defense,” U.S. Army Gen. Mark Milley, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told reporters on Wednesday.
.
That probably means the Ukrainians are staring to lose. Miss Miley is rarely right about anything.
-
Or Stalingrad. War is shit.
@Weird Tolkienish Figure
And THAT is an understatement,my friend!
Damn shame that none of the loons that start these wars end up either being crippled and maimed themselves,or swinging from streetlamps.
-
He's banning them because those churches are working for Putin's former KGB crony Patriarch Kirill, the head of the Russian orthodox Church. It's a sensible wartime measure when the priests' loyalties are in doubt.
I think it maybe similar to WWII when the Japanese Americans were locked up?
-
Just one in four Russians support Vladimir Putin's invasion of Ukraine, leaked Kremlin study shows
By JAMES FRANEY IN BUCHAREST FOR THE DAILY MAIL
30 November 2022
Russian support for Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine has plummeted to new lows – with just one in four supporting the war, it emerged last night.
A leaked study, conducted by the Kremlin’s Federal Protective Service, showed just 25 per cent of the public supported a continuation of Putin’s so-called ‘special military operation’.
It comes as British Foreign Secretary James Cleverly called for the Russian leader to face trial for war crimes.
* * *
Source: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11487855/Just-one-four-Russians-support-Vladimir-Putins-invasion-Ukraine-leaked-Kremlin-study-shows.html
@Kamaji
This is BIG when you stop and consider that almost all the votes will come from St.Petersburg and Moscow.
I am not sure about St.Pete,but I know for a fact that "only the fit and faithful" were granted the "privilege" of living in Moscow. They were,for the most part,the "party faithful that were 100 percent in favor of Communism,and put their asses on the line in the 20's,30's,and 40's to protect and build Communist Russia into a super power.
I was told by Russians on both of my trips to Russia that in order to live in Moscow,your family had to have a strict pro-Soviet POV on life and government. You couldn't just move there,you had to apply for a permit to live there,have your family investigated,fingerprinted,and photographed,and their history of support for Communism had to have been without question. And this was told to me BY Russians who lived in Moscow.
One example was one woman I dated while there was the daughter of a "Hero of the Soviet Union" during WW-2,and was then a professor at Moscow State University. The family consisted of him,her,and her daughter,yet they had the entire top floor of an apartment block building all to themselves.
Another woman I dated while there shared a one bathroom,1 kitchen apartment with another family. Her father was killed in WW-2 while fighting the Nazi's,and that is why they were allowed to live in Moscow and work at a factory.
Even decorated WW-2 Soviet veterans with facial scarring or missing limbs from amputations were not allowed to live in Moscow. They didn't present the right image for "victorious heroes".
-
Good!
Let the Orcs find out how it is to be without power.
@bilo
It won't have any real effect until the strikes start being make in Moscow or St. Petersburg. It probably won't even be reported inside Russia.
-
I think it maybe similar to WWII when the Japanese Americans were locked up?
No, not at all. Those Russian-connected priests were acting as spies and agents provocateurs on Kirill's orders in Moscow, at the behest of Putin. They got caught. There is another Orthodox Church in Ukraine, which is loyal and a suitable alternative.
-
This is NOT good news if true.
Now,IF we had been hearing rumbles about how the Politburo is getting troubled by the lack of success with the Ukrainian invasion and questioning leadership,it would be EXCELLENT news for the entire world,including Russia.
We ain't hearing that,though. What we are hearing is "more of the same,but harder" from a VERY ill old man that wants to go down in history as a winner,not a loser or someone who has to compromise his stated goals.
We SHOULD be at a minimum hearing vague rumors about how the Politburo is getting fed up and wanting to remove Putin and stop the war. We ain't even hearing rumors,though. AFAWK,the whole damn Politburo still backs him.
This scares me a little. By all normal standards, he should be getting gentle pushes to leave office due to "bad health issues" by now.
-
This is NOT good. If Putin is really 'terminally ill', then there is nothing to stop him from pushing the nuclear button.
They say, 'Go out with a bang.'
@240B
Well,he still has a wife and children,and that MIGHT keep him from doing that.
There are also other Politiburo members who are "in the know as to his plans" that have family members they love and don't want to lose.
I THINK,and sincerely HOPE that if Putin goes batshit crazy and orders a nuclear strike that the Politburo will order him taken out. After all,they have families,too.
-
Gee, what's wrong with this picture?? Anyone still think that there just might be a slight possibility that the Ukraine gov't might be doing away with those that don't comply with their dictatorial rules and regulations and blaming those deaths on the Russians?
No. I think they're ferreting out spies.
-
No. I think they're ferreting out spies.
Those Russian Orthodox priests were feeding Putin information and assisting with targeting. Historically, the Russian Orthodox Church has long been an organ for the State Security Apparatus, going back to the 18th and 19th centuries.
Remember Father Gapon at "Bloody Sunday" in 1905 St. Petersburg?
He was a spy.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Georgy_Gapon
-
No, not at all. Those Russian-connected priests were acting as spies and agents provocateurs on Kirill's orders in Moscow, at the behest of Putin. They got caught. There is another Orthodox Church in Ukraine, which is loyal and a suitable alternative.
I guess the point I was trying to make, very ineloquently :laugh:, is that during war a country doesn't know who is "with 'em and who is against 'em". So, consequently, chances aren't taken. If these priests were verified as Russian agents, I see no reason that they wouldn't be arrested.
-
Those Russian Orthodox priests were feeding Putin information and assisting with targeting. Historically, the Russian Orthodox Church has long been an organ for the State Security Apparatus, going back to the 18th and 19th centuries.
Remember Father Gapon at "Bloody Sunday" in 1905 St. Petersburg?
He was a spy.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Georgy_Gapon
The orthodox churches are not like the Western roman catholic church, which is a separate sovereign entity. The orthodox churches are creatures of the state in which they are headquartered, and typically the government has a say in who is appointed to lead the church (sort of like the Church of England). As such, it is not unsurprising to find that a government like that of Putin's Russia has, in essence, perverted the Christian mission of the Russian Orthodox church by turning it into a den of spies.
-
Putin fell down stairs, soiled himself as speculation over worsening health grows: report
He has a lot in common with our president, then, doesn't he?
Perhaps we should call him Vladimir Poopin'.
-
He has a lot in common with our president, then, doesn't he?
Perhaps we should call him Vladimir Poopin'.
:thumbsup:
-
.
That probably means the Ukrainians are staring to lose. Miss Miley is rarely right about anything.
They are having a tough time of it around Bakhmut.
-
@bilo
It won't have any real effect until the strikes start being make in Moscow or St. Petersburg. It probably won't even be reported inside Russia.
Yeah, but they can't do that because it would ignite an even bigger problem.
What the Ukrainians are enduring is brutal. I think there are legitimate questions about corruption that need to be answered, but that is secondary to defeating the Russians. The Orcs violate every convention without the slightest hesitation. Ukraine needs more weapons for air defense especially.
-
No, not at all. Those Russian-connected priests were acting as spies and agents provocateurs on Kirill's orders in Moscow, at the behest of Putin. They got caught. There is another Orthodox Church in Ukraine, which is loyal and a suitable alternative.
When churches become agents of the State this is what happens.
-
Gee, what's wrong with this picture?? Anyone still think that there just might be a slight possibility that the Ukraine gov't might be doing away with those that don't comply with their dictatorial rules and regulations and blaming those deaths on the Russians?
@libertybele
Gee,and to think those Russian Priests are so saintly!
You seem to have forgotten,or possibly have never known that the CMMF in charge of the Russian Holy Orthodox Church is a dedicated Communist.
I don't know if the same guy is still alive,but the one of charge back when Yeltsin was running for President against the Commumist Party Candidate had the whole damn Moscow chruch fall out and march in support of the Communists.
I know this is going to make your head explode,but that doesn't make it any less true.
Organized religion is nothing less than a form of Communism.
-
Didn't he previously ban news stations and political parties, while jailing opposition leaders? And now the church. :pondering:
@mountaineer
The Orthodox Church in Ukraine,and every other Soviet satellite/former satellite nation is an arm of the Soviet Communist Party. "Priest" was actually a KGB career field not so long ago,and maybe even still is. They were all under the control of Moscow.
-
He's banning them because those churches are working for Putin's former KGB crony Patriarch Kirill, the head of the Russian orthodox Church. It's a sensible wartime measure when the priests' loyalties are in doubt.
@Timber Rattler
There is no doubt as to where the loyalty of those priests' lays.
-
@libertybele
Gee,and to think those Russian Priests are so saintly!
You seem to have forgotten,or possibly have never known that the CMMF in charge of the Russian Holy Orthodox Church is a dedicated Communist.
I don't know if the same guy is still alive,but the one of charge back when Yeltsin was running for President against the Commumist Party Candidate had the whole damn Moscow chruch fall out and march in support of the Communists.
I know this is going to make your head explode,but that doesn't make it any less true.
Organized religion is nothing less than a form of Communism.
I wasn't even going to reply because I know that you don't believe in God. I am a baptized Roman Catholic and I have been confirmed as well in the Episcopal Catholic Church. I don't agree with some of the teachings of the Church however I cannot ignore the blatant shortcomings as well of those that proclaim to be 'born again Christians'.
My faith has been shattered many times but I keep coming back to it. In my heart I know that Jesus Christ died on the cross so that my sins can be forgiven.
It should never be forgotten that there are those that have been persecuted for their belief in God; that is communism or just plain murder.
No one forces me to read the Bible, no one forces me to believe in God and no one forces me to practice or reveal my faith.
@sneakypete I have a hunch that one day you will become a believer and that your heart will be opened. I have prayed for you many times for just that reason.
I know that this may make your head explode, but nonetheless God is good.
-
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FjC1QRVXwAEmeQ2?format=jpg&name=900x900)
-
I wasn't even going to reply because I know that you don't believe in God. I am a baptized Roman Catholic and I have been confirmed as well in the Episcopal Catholic Church. I don't agree with some of the teachings of the Church however I cannot ignore the blatant shortcomings as well of those that proclaim to be 'born again Christians'.
My faith has been shattered many times but I keep coming back to it. In my heart I know that Jesus Christ died on the cross so that my sins can be forgiven.
It should never be forgotten that there are those that have been persecuted for their belief in God; that is communism or just plain murder.
No one forces me to read the Bible, no one forces me to believe in God and no one forces me to practice or reveal my faith.
@sneakypete I have a hunch that one day you will become a believer and that your heart will be opened. I have prayed for you many times for just that reason.
I know that this may make your head explode, but nonetheless God is good.
@libertybele
If that makes you happy,I am happy for you,but the places and conditions where you worship have NOTHIING in common with the Russian/Soviet Orthodox Church.
-
@libertybele
If that makes you happy,I am happy for you,but the places and conditions where you worship have NOTHIING in common with the Russian/Soviet Orthodox Church.
Gottcha.
-
Two Russian nuclear bombers 'are damaged in suspected Ukrainian drone strike on airbase'
By WILL STEWART and CHRIS PLEASANCE FOR MAILONLINE
5 December 2022
A Russian airbase where a major attack was being prepared against Ukraine has been hit by a suspected drone attack that damaged two long-range bombers.
The Engels-2 airbase, near the city of Saratov, was hit by an explosion in the early hours of Monday that left two Tu-95 bombers - which have been used to carry out airstrikes on Ukraine's infrastructure - damaged.
Another explosion hit a Russian military base near the city of Ryazan, killing three and wounding five after a fuel truck detonated.
Kyiv has not claimed responsibility for the blasts but is widely thought to be behind dozens of similar strikes on bases and supply depots on Russia's western border.
It comes just days after an inferno broke out at an oil depot in the Russian border region of Bryansk in an attack thought to have been orchestrated by Kyiv. A similar oil depot blaze broke out in November in the settlement of Stalnoi Kon'.
* * *
Source: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11502793/Russian-bombers-damaged-suspected-Ukrainian-drone-strike-Engels-2-airbase.html
Video captures Russian bombers exploding in Ukrainian drone strike
By Yaron Steinbuch
December 5, 2022
* * *
Source: https://nypost.com/2022/12/05/video-captures-ukrainian-drone-hitting-russian-bombers/
-
Maybe THE "sickest" thing I have ever heard of in my entire life is the Neo-Soviet Politburo allowing a man that is obiviously power-mad as well as insane,carry of a pointless war they are obviously losing.
The Neo Soviet Union is already as military weak as a kitten,and can't even defeat a 4th rate power like Ukraine unless they go nuclear,and that would end with the total destruction of Russia. After all,if they will nuke Ukraine,what would stop them from nuking the rest of Europe?
Or even the US?
What are they going to do when the Chinese invade northern Russia in order to get all the riches under ground there,as well as give them more space to put their people to POSSIBLY prevent a Chinese revolution.
Maybe ask the Chinese to "Pretty Please don't be mean to us!"?
Can ANYBODY find ANY possible justification for Putin continuing the losing war he started?
Or for the Politburo to not back him against a brick war while facing a firing squad for being responsible for the collapse of the Soviet Union?
Can you even begin to imagine the panic that will/would cause amongst the Neo-Soviet elites? SOB's have never had an actual job in their freaking lives. They are all appointees,and the appointments are based on which family they came from.
If you think the Dim Party is inbred,you ain't seen nothing yet. Take a look at the Russian "leadership".
-
Defense of Ukraine
@DefenceU
Morning Pikachu Dance. Winter has never been an obstacle to a good mood.
🎥 by Operative #UAarmy
Ukraine government organization
https://twitter.com/i/status/1599644738189070337 (https://twitter.com/i/status/1599644738189070337)
-
Ukrainian Drones Hit 2 Bases Deep in Russia
https://www.nytimes.com/live/2022/12/05/world/russia-ukraine-war-news (https://www.nytimes.com/live/2022/12/05/world/russia-ukraine-war-news)
Here’s what we know:
• The brazen attacks escalated the war. Hours later, Ukraine said that Moscow had launched a new barrage of airstrikes.
• Ukrainian drones attack military bases hundreds of miles inside Russia, escalating the war.
• Russia fires a barrage of missiles across Ukraine.
• When the air raid sirens ring out, residents of Kyiv head underground.
• Putin inspects a bridge linking Russia and Crimea, two months after an explosion partially destroyed it.
• A woman is shot and killed trying to cross into Ukrainian-held territory in Kherson.
• An E.U. embargo of Russian oil and the G7’s price cap take effect.
• Ukraine will auction a yacht seized from a Putin ally.
KYIV, Ukraine — Ukraine executed its most brazen attack into Russian territory in the nine-month-old war on Monday, targeting two military bases hundreds of miles inside the country, using unpiloted drones, according to the Russian Defense Ministry and a senior Ukrainian official.
The drones were launched from Ukrainian territory, and at least one of the strikes was made with the help of special forces close to the base who helped guide the drones to the target, said the official, speaking on condition of anonymity to convey sensitive information.
The strikes signaled a new willingness by Kyiv to take the fight to bases in the heart of Russia, raising the stakes in the war, and demonstrated for the first time Ukraine’s ability to attack at such long distances. Shortly after the attacks on the bases, Russia sent a barrage of missiles streaking toward Ukrainian cities.
The Kremlin said that the weapons launched by Ukraine were Soviet-era jet drones and were aimed at bases in Ryazan and Engels, about 300 miles from the Ukrainian border. It said that its forces had intercepted the drones, and that “the fall and explosion of the wreckage” had “slightly damaged” two planes, killing three servicemen and wounding four others.
More at link.
-
Ukraine Shot Russia In The Heart: Emergency Call from Kremlin!
ANKA Daily News
The amount of conflict that has been building between Russia and Ukraine has reached its zenith. Explosions have started taking place at an extremely frequent rate. An unusual plot was devised by the Ukrainian army, and it came dangerously close to entrapping Russia. The question now is, what exactly did the Ukrainian army want to do? Which region seen an increase in the severity of the conflicts?
In order to have a conversation on this, let's review the maps and brush up on our prior knowledge. The Russian army was halted before it could reach Kiev after making significant progress in the operations that were launched from the east of Ukraine. The Russian army was only successful in occupying four districts in Ukraine during their invasion.
After this stage, the Russian army, which had taken Luhansk, Donetsk, Zaphorizhia, and Kherson, entered a nightmarish phase of the conflict. During the counter operations that the Ukrainian army initiated, it conducted raids in a variety of different places. The majority of the Russian tanks that were transported to Ukraine were eliminated by drones operated by the Ukrainian military. The destruction of Russian ammo storage facilities. Because of this, the Russian army was unable to continue the ground campaign because none of the necessary equipment could be used.
At this juncture, the army of Ukraine started formulating a significant strategy. The Russian military is successfully causing significant damage thanks to the plan that was executed today. The big plan that Ukraine has formulated is well received by military specialists.
First, the Ukrainian army was successful in retaking the territory that Russia had taken in the Kherson region. This region was the largest regional capital that Russia conquered while they were in control of it. After the city of Kherson was freed, Ukraine gained the upper hand in terms of psychological dominance. Because Russia endured its gravest setback in this conflict and won nothing.
Throughout this procedure, Zelensky adhered to an incredibly excellent policy. The astute and audacious statements made by Zelensky from the very beginning of the war had an effect on the direction that the fight would take. When this conflict is done, there will be dozens of publications written by political scientists about how successful Zelensky's policies were!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gvUKSx4w6g0 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gvUKSx4w6g0)
-
Only Russia’s decisive loss on the battlefield will end the Ukraine war
https://www.aspistrategist.org.au/only-russias-decisive-loss-on-the-battlefield-will-end-the-ukraine-war/ (https://www.aspistrategist.org.au/only-russias-decisive-loss-on-the-battlefield-will-end-the-ukraine-war/)
Russian President Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine is a global crisis. Putin could not let Ukraine chart its own political path or accept an independent Ukrainian identity. The invasion thus is not only about one country attacking another. It is about undermining the post–World War II liberal global order in favour of one in which great powers hold imperial spheres of influence. This war, the largest in Europe since World War II, has also resulted in a worldwide economic slowdown that is unlikely to abate. The war is far from over.
Yes, Ukrainian forces have major successes in recent months, including the counteroffensive around Kharkiv and Russia’s forced withdrawal from the city of Kherson. Russia’s military overall has performed worse in the war than Western military analysts had anticipated. Some analysts also underestimated Ukrainians and their will to fight. But Ukraine has also suffered heavy losses. According to the latest US estimates, approximately 100,000 Russian and 100,000 Ukrainian soldiers have been killed or injured since the start of Russia’s invasion.
More to the point, Ukraine remains reliant on Western military and economic aid, the bulk of which comes from the United States. Ukraine cannot sustain itself without this aid, and Putin knows that. He remains committed to a war-of-attrition strategy and the long game of breaking Western unity on Ukraine, and to years of fighting with his neighbour. Last month, Putin signed a decree to establish a centralised electronic database of information related to Russian citizens’ military registration that is set to open on 1 April 2024. This example shows that he is thinking in years, not months. Conversely, while there’s evidence that Ukraine’s Western allies are reaching a point of fatigue regarding their own military stocks and what they are willing to transfer, they have not energised their industrial bases to offset this reality. Putin is also aware of this fact.
More at link.
-
Ukrainian Drones Hit 2 Bases Deep in Russia
That's all good and good, but until Ukraine strikes Moscow nothing will change.
"Moscow On Fire" is becoming far and wide including in Russia, this is happening.
-
Why Ukraine will never lose Bakhmut:
(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=91YrR5kAJyo)
-
Kyiv Claims Russia Used Banned Chemical Weapon
https://www.rferl.org/a/ukraine-russia-banned-chemical-weapon/32161182.html (https://www.rferl.org/a/ukraine-russia-banned-chemical-weapon/32161182.html)
The Ukrainian Navy has accused Russia of using a banned chemical weapon against Ukrainian troops in eastern Ukraine. In a post on Facebook on December 4, the navy asserted Russia had dropped chloropicrin grenades from drones, but that Ukrainian troops had used chemical defenses "to protect themselves from the strong irritant effect" of the prohibited substance. The chemical -- which was developed as a poison gas during World War I -- was reportedly dispersed using K-51 aerosol grenades. The reports could not be verified, and there was no immediate reaction from Moscow.
-
Ukraine Hits Airbase 600 Kilometers Inside Russia
https://www.battleswarmblog.com/?p=53487 (https://www.battleswarmblog.com/?p=53487)
Ukraine has been so successful at hitting Russian infrastructure with HIMARS that it’s no longer news when they hit something 100 kilometers behind Russia’s lines.
But when they hit something 600 kilometers away, that’s news.
Several people have been killed in explosions at two Russian military airfields, according to reports.
A fuel tanker exploded killing three and injuring six in an airfield near the city Ryazan, south-east of Moscow, Russian state media is reporting.
Another two people are reported to have been hurt in an explosion at an airfield in the Saratov region.
It is not known what caused the blasts. Both areas are hundreds of kilometres from the Ukrainian border.
Long-range Russian strategic bombers are believed to be based at the Engels airbase in the Saratov region.
Reportedly two Tu-95 bombers were hit.
He suggests that the attack may have been carried out by a new Ukrainian drone with a reported range of 1,000 kilometers. Whatever it was presumably cost a whole lot less than a strategic bomber.
Ukraine’s ever-increasing range puts a whole lot of Russian infrastructure (military and otherwise) under potential threat. Perhaps Putin should take that into consideration before ordering the next round of attacks on Ukrainian power plants…
-
U.S. Altered Himars Rocket Launchers to Keep Ukraine From Firing Missiles Into Russia
https://www.wsj.com/articles/u-s-altered-himars-rocket-launchers-to-keep-ukraine-from-firing-missiles-into-russia-11670214338?mod=djemalertNEWS (https://www.wsj.com/articles/u-s-altered-himars-rocket-launchers-to-keep-ukraine-from-firing-missiles-into-russia-11670214338?mod=djemalertNEWS)
Experts debate whether long-range missiles for Ukraine would deter Putin or widen war
WASHINGTON—The U.S. secretly modified the advanced Himars rocket launchers it gave Ukraine so they can’t be used to fire long-range missiles into Russia, U.S. officials said, a precaution the Biden administration says is necessary to reduce the risk of a wider war with Moscow.
The U.S. since June has supplied Ukrainian forces with 20 High Mobility Artillery Rocket System launchers, or Himars, and a large inventory of satellite-guided rockets with a range of almost 50 miles. Those rockets, known as the Guided Multiple Launch Rocket System, or GMLRS, have been used to strike Russian ammunition depots, logistics supplies and command centers on Ukrainian territory.
But the Himars launchers have a unique feature intended to prevent them from becoming even more potent battlefield systems. U.S. officials say the Pentagon has modified the launchers so they can’t fire long-range missiles, including the U.S.’s Army Tactical Missile System rockets, or ATACMS, which have a range of nearly 200 miles.
The previously undisclosed modifications show the lengths the Biden administration has gone to balance its support for Ukraine’s forces against the risk of escalation with Moscow. They also reflect apprehensions among administration officials that their Ukrainian partner might stop keeping its promise not to strike Russian territory with U.S.-provided weapons.
More at link.
-
'I'm Russian, I kill my countrymen... but they're criminals': Soldiers who defected from Putin's military say they joined Ukraine after witnessing atrocities...and have each killed as many as 18 of their former comrades
By MAILONLINE REPORTER
6 December 2022
Russian soldiers who defected from Vladimir Putin's military have said they decided to fight for Ukraine after witnessing atrocities committed by their former comrades. One soldier, who goes by the call-sign 'Caesar,' said he has shot and killed at least 18 Russian soldiers on the battlefield since joining Ukraine's foreign legion.
* * *
Source: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/galleries/article-11508249/Defected-soldiers-Putins-army-say-kill-former-comrades.html
-
Ukraine leader defiant as drone strikes hit Russia again
https://www.wvnews.com/ukraine-leader-defiant-as-drone-strikes-hit-russia-again/article_c52bbd60-75cd-11ed-8ddb-3f4ac8106622.html (https://www.wvnews.com/ukraine-leader-defiant-as-drone-strikes-hit-russia-again/article_c52bbd60-75cd-11ed-8ddb-3f4ac8106622.html)
KYIV, Ukraine — Drones struck inside Russia’s border with Ukraine on Tuesday in the second day of attacks exposing the vulnerability of some of Moscow’s most important military sites, experts said.
Ukrainian officials did not formally confirm carrying out drone strikes inside Russia, and they have maintained ambiguity over previous high-profile attacks.
But Britain’s Defense Ministry said Russia was likely to consider the attacks on Russian bases more than 300 miles from the border with Ukraine as “some of the most strategically significant failures of force protection since its invasion of Ukraine.”
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Russian authorities will “take the necessary measures” to enhance protection of key facilities. Russian bloggers who generally maintain contacts with officials in their country’s military criticized the lack of defensive measures.
A fire broke out at an airport in Russia’s southern Kursk region that borders Ukraine after a drone hit the facility, the region’s governor said Tuesday. In a second incident, an industrial plant 50 miles from the Ukrainian border was also targeted by drones, which missed a fuel depot at the site, Russian independent media reported.
“They will have less aviation equipment after being damaged due to these mysterious explosions,” said Yurii Ihnat, spokesman for the Air Force Command of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. “This is undoubtedly excellent news because if one or two aircraft fail, then in the future, some more aircraft may fail in some way. This reduces their capabilities.”
Moscow blamed Kyiv for unprecedented attacks on two air bases deep inside Russia a day earlier. The attacks on the Engels base in the Saratov region on the Volga River and the Dyagilevo base in the Ryazan region in western Russia were some of the most audacious inside Russia during the war.
In the aftermath, Russian troops carried out another wave of missile strikes on Ukrainian territory that struck homes and buildings and killed civilians, compounding damage done to power and other infrastructure over weeks of attacks.
More at link.
-
U.S. Altered Himars Rocket Launchers to Keep Ukraine From Firing Missiles Into Russia
US altered HIMARS rocket launchers to extend length of war.
-
US altered HIMARS rocket launchers to extend length of war.
Exactly. It's a stupid calculation, the same kind of "limited war" thinking that Lyndon Johnson engaged in during the Vietnam War.
-
Exactly. It's a stupid calculation, the same kind of "limited war" thinking that Lyndon Johnson engaged in during the Vietnam War.
Ike had it right in 1961, when he stated that the Military-Industrial Complex would be rife with abuse of power. Vietnam, WOT, Ukraine.....
It seems it never ends.
-
Russia builds up defences inside its OWN borders as UK intelligence says Vladimir Putin's clueless generals mistakenly fear Ukraine's fightback will be so successful they could INVADE
By DAVID WILCOCK, DEPUTY POLITICAL EDITOR FOR MAILONLINE
PUBLISHED: 04:39 EST, 7 December 2022
Russian soldiers are digging defences inside their own country in the mistaken belief that Ukraine could launch an invasion of its own, military intelligence.
In a sign of how badly its own brutal invasion is going, Vladimir Putin's humiliated forces are 'extending defensive positions' along the border with north eastern Ukraine and 'deep inside' the Belgorod region.
The Ministry of Defence said that Putin's generals could be acting to boost patriotic feeling at home - where the war is very unpopular - by inventing an invasion threat.
* * *
Source: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11511483/Russia-builds-defences-amid-false-fears-Ukraine-launch-revenge-invasion.html
-
Only Russia’s decisive loss on the battlefield will end the Ukraine war
Which is what I've been saying since Day One. Unfortunately, the Biden Regime is not in agreement with that outcome.
-
Ike had it right in 1961
Just as Goldwater had it right in 1964.
-
Ukrainian Scouts Were In Their Foxholes Near Bakhmut When A Russian Bomber Came Crashing Down
David Axe | Dec 6, 2022 | 05:14pm EST
(https://imageio.forbes.com/specials-images/imageserve/638fbd628d918ea530d221fe/The-wreckage-of-a-Russian-Su-24-bomber-near-Bakhmut-/0x0.jpg)
The wreckage of a Russian Su-24 bomber near Bakhmut.UKRAINIAN ARMY PHOTO
A Ukrainian army reconnaissance battalion was directly below when, on the night of Dec. 2, allied forces around Bakhmut in eastern Ukraine shot down the 62nd Russian jet—a twin-engine, supersonic Sukhoi Su-24 bomber.
A recon scout from the Skala Battalion recalled the shoot-down and its grizzly aftermath in a thread on Twitter on Dec. 5. The thread is a window into the brutal air battle over Bakhmut.
Russian forces for months have been trying, and failing, to capture Bakhmut—this despite the town having little military value. Befuddled analysts, struggling to understand the Russians’ obsession with Bakhmut, have proposed motivations that are more political than practical.
Maybe Russian-allied mercenaries from The Wagner Group are fighting for Bakhmut to prove they can succeed where regular Russian troops fail. Maybe the pro-Russian separatist forces in the area view Bakhmut as a symbol of separatist identity. Maybe the Kremlin just craves a victory, even a meaningless one.
In any event, Russian air force fighters and bombers—some flown by regular air force pilots, others crewed by Wagner mercs—relentlessly have bombed Bakhmut and the Ukrainian battalions in and around the town.
The Skala Battalion believed that one Russian plane in particular—the Su-24 with the registration number RF-93798—was prowling over its sector of the Bakhmut front. “For three days [before Dec. 2], this plane’s been circling the war zone and terrorizing military and civilians,” the Skala scout wrote.
“When such a plane flies by, it's really scary, because everyone knows what powerful bombs the bomber is equipped with,” they added.
Around 9:00 P.M. on the night of Dec. 2, Ukrainian troops—reportedly belonging to a paramilitary border-patrol unit—shot down RF-93798. . .
https://www.forbes.com/sites/davidaxe/2022/12/06/ukrainian-scouts-were-in-their-foxholes-near-bakhmut-when-a-russian-bomber-came-crashing-down/
-
The Same Missiles That Shot Down An American Stealth Fighter In 1999 Are Now Defending Ukraine
David Axe | Dec 7, 2022 | 08:00am EST
(https://imageio.forbes.com/specials-images/imageserve/63905255d6fdd8b0f12539e4/An-ex-Polish-S-125-in-Ukrainian-service-/0x0.jpg)
An ex-Polish S-125 in Ukrainian service.VIA SOCIAL MEDIA
On March 27, 1999, a Serbian army S-125 surface-to-air missile battery shot down a U.S. Air Force F-117 stealth fighter outside Belgrade. Twenty-three years later, the S-125 stealth-killer still is at war—in Ukraine.
Photos that have circulated online in recent weeks depict at least one ex-Polish S-125 system making its way from Poland to Ukraine, where the Ukrainian air force undoubtedly plans to deploy it in order to shoot down Russian warplanes and missiles.
The ex-Polish S-125 joins ex-Soviet S-125s that already were in Ukrainian service. The Polish SAM is one of a dizzying array of air-defense systems that the U.S., Germany, Spain, France and other countries have pledged to Ukraine since Russia widened its war on the country starting in February.
The goal: to help Kyiv build a wall of missiles and guns around Ukrainian cities and power plants and blunt the impact of relentless Russian air raids.
The S-125 isn’t new. Soviet air-defense troops first deployed the 2,000-pound missile and its associated radars and support equipment around Moscow back in 1960.
Over the next 60 years, the S-125—steadily upgraded with better warheads, fuzes and supporting radars—proved to be one of the world’s most fearsome, and durable, air-defense systems.
Egyptian S-125s between 1970 and 1973 knocked down around a dozen Israeli jets. In 1991, an Iraqi S-125 battery shot down a U.S. Air Force F-16. . .
https://www.forbes.com/sites/davidaxe/2022/12/07/the-same-missiles-that-shot-down-an-american-stealth-fighter-in-1999-are-now-defending-ukraine/?sh=7d0f362e7699
The main difference between Poland and the US here is while the US has pledged heavy AA missiles, Poland has actually delivered heavy AA missiles.
-
Russians March on Foot to Advance Yards in Bloody Eastern Ukraine Battle
Moscow’s troops have taken positions at the gates of the crossroads city of Bakhmut, sending in waves of infantry despite growing losses
Thomas Grove | Dec. 8, 2022 | 5:30 am ET
BAKHMUT, Ukraine—Oleksander Matviyenko, a junior officer in the Ukrainian army here on one of the most hotly contested front lines of the war, fights off Russian attacks with other defenders nearly every day. But they keep on coming.
“We shoot at them, they send more. It doesn’t end,” said Lt. Matviyenko, 26, a yellow-and-blue Ukrainian flag patched onto his olive-green uniform. “There’s so many of them.”
The battle for Bakhmut has become a bloodbath for both sides as Russia steps up its attempts to take what used to be a quaint, tree-lined city. Ukrainian defense officials said Moscow is losing around 50 soldiers a day to maintain a slow, bruising advance to reach the city’s easternmost gates.
If the Russians break through to take control of Bakhmut, it would open a path to the political and economic centers of Slovyansk and Kramatorsk in the Ukrainian-held portions of the Donbas area, once one of the country’s main industrial regions. Moscow tried to seize the area in a pincer movement in the early days of the war and into the summer. After a lightning offensive, Ukraine regained much of the lost ground. Now, as Russia slowly burns through its artillery stockpiles, defense analysts said, its troops are advancing once again but on tank and foot. This time it is so President Vladimir Putin can tout a rare victory to the Russian people after a succession of withdrawals, most recently in Kherson, giving it outsize importance to the Kremlin, analysts said.
“The costs associated with six months of brutal, grinding, and attrition-based combat around Bakhmut far outweigh any operational advantage that the Russians can obtain from taking Bakhmut,” wrote the Institute for the Study of War, a U.S. defense think tank based in Washington, D.C. . . .
https://www.wsj.com/articles/russians-march-on-foot-to-advance-yards-in-bloody-eastern-ukraine-battle-11670406883
-
Russians March on Foot to Advance Yards in Bloody Eastern Ukraine Battle
I haven't been following the Ukraine War that closely, but isn't this the same few square miles that have been fought for, for months now.
Almost like WW1 trench warfare.
-
I haven't been following the Ukraine War that closely, but isn't this the same few square miles that have been fought for, for months now.
Almost like WW1 trench warfare.
There was an article posted earlier comparing it to Passchendaele.
-
Ukrainian soldiers face a new adversary: muddy trenches
https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/ukrainian-soldiers-face-new-adversary-muddy-trenches-2022-11-29/
Squelching through thick mud on Tuesday, Petro, a Ukrainian soldier dug in not far from Russian positions in the Donbas, recounted matter-of-factly how his unit had to use buckets to clear out water-logged trenches.
"We're more or less okay, but it's bit harder now because of the rain and a light frost. It's a swamp. It's dried a bit today...," the 35-year-old said, warming up in a dugout near the trenches.
"It's okay, we're holding up," he added, laughing.
Heavy rain and falling temperatures are making conditions even grimmer along the frontlines, where tens of thousands of Ukrainians and Russians are facing off as the war, now in its 10th month, grinds into winter.
Buoyed by the recapture of the southern city of Kherson from Russia this month, Ukraine wants to maintain the initiative on the battlefield even as deteriorating conditions make it harder to manoeuvre easily and for troops to keep warm.
(https://nypost.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/11/ukraine-trenches-221126-90.jpg?quality=75&strip=all&w=501)
(https://gdb.rferl.org/034d0000-0aff-0242-a9a2-08dad3a9da19_w1071_s_d3.jpg)
(https://gdb.rferl.org/058a0000-0aff-0242-2250-08dad3abe3f5_w1071_s_d3.jpg)
-
(https://img-9gag-fun.9cache.com/photo/a6qo1Xq_460s.jpg)
-
Russia shells eastern front, Ukraine says, as war aims appear to shift
https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/putin-acknowledges-russias-war-ukraine-could-be-long-one-2022-12-07/
Russian forces have shelled the entire front line in the Donetsk region in eastern Ukraine, Ukrainian officials said, part of what appears to be the Kremlin's scaled-back ambition to secure only the bulk of territory it has claimed.
The fiercest fighting was near the towns of Bakhmut and Avdiivka, the region's governor Pavlo Kyrylenko said in a television interview. Five civilians were killed and two wounded in Ukrainian-controlled parts of Donetsk over the previous day, he said early on Friday.
"The entire front line is being shelled," he said, adding that Russian troops were also trying to advance near Lyman, which was recaptured by Ukrainian forces in November, one of a number of battlefield setbacks suffered by Russia in the past few months.
In Bakhmut and other parts of the Donetsk region that neighbours Luhansk province, Ukrainian forces countered with barrages from rocket launchers, a Reuters witness said.
"The Russians have intensified their efforts in Donetsk and Luhansk," Ukrainian presidential adviser Oleksiy Arestovych said in a video post.
"They are now in a very active phase of attempting to conduct offensive operations. We are advancing nowhere but, rather, defending, destroying the enemy's infantry and equipment wherever it tries to advance."
Excerpt.
-
**nononono* **nononono*
Russia-Ukraine live news: US warns of expanding Iran, Russia ties
Weapons sent to Ukraine falling in wrong hands: Russia
While battling accusations of violating international agreements, Russia’s ambassador to the UN has said the weapons the West supplied to Ukraine have been falling into the wrong hands, not only in Europe but also in Africa and the Middle East.
Al Jazeera’s Kristen Saloomey reported Vasily Nebenzya as pointing to recent comments by Nigeria’s president, Muhammadu Buhari, who said weapons and fighters from Ukraine were making their way to the Lake Chad region, emboldening and helping violent groups there.
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2022/12/9/russia-ukraine-live-news-west-is-exploiting-ukraine-putin
-
While battling accusations of violating international agreements, Russia’s ambassador to the UN has said . . .
About as much credibility as the NY Times.
-
Ukraine Is Finally Getting More MiG-29s. Maybe.
David Axe | Dec 12, 2022 | 06:04pm EST
Slovakia again has pledged to Ukraine all 11 of its old Mikoyan MiG-29 fighters. The country recently placed the jets into storage in anticipation of just such a transfer.
This is not the first time the government in Bratislava has offered its old fighters to Kyiv. The Slovaks first proposed to donate the four-decade-old MiGs back in the spring, in the early weeks of Russia’s wider war on Ukraine.
But the Ukrainians need the MiGs more than ever. Urgently, in fact. The twin-engine, supersonic MiG-29s are the Ukrainian air force’s most numerous and arguably most versatile planes—but they’re running out.
“We haven't handed you the MiG-29s yet,” Rastislav Kacer, Slovakia’s foreign minister, said on Monday. “But we’re ready to do it.”
The proposed transfer previously got tangled up in the delicate diplomacy around the Ukraine-Russia war—as well as in Slovakia’s own air-defense problems.
Poland, one of just a handful of NATO countries including Slovakia that operates—or recently operated—MiG-29s, also had mulled donating its old fighters to Ukraine, but the United States objected to Poland’s proposal to stage the MiGs from an American air base for their flight into Ukraine.
In essence, Warsaw aimed to hide behind Washington as it reinforced Kyiv’s battered air force. But the administration of U.S. president Joe Biden rejected the proposal.
So Poland’s 28 MiGs remained in Poland. But the Biden administration “does not object” to Slovakia giving away its own MiGs, according to Politico. One implication is that Washington is okay with its allies rearming the Ukrainian air force, as long as they don’t ask to use American bases for the transfer.
The other implication is that Slovakia plans to send its MiGs directly to Ukraine—or at least stage them at non-American bases along the way.
The Slovak government had its own good reasons to hesitate. The MiGs were its air force’s only front-line air-superiority jets. Slovakia has ordered new Lockheed Martin F-16s from the United States to replace the aging, ex-Soviet planes—but these F-16s aren’t due to arrive until 2024.
To bridge a possible air-defense gap, the Czech Republic and Poland in August agreed to patrol Slovak air space. . .
https://www.forbes.com/sites/davidaxe/2022/12/12/ukraine-is-finally-getting-more-mig-29s-maybe/
-
Ukraine HIMARS'd More Russian HQs and Troop Concentrations
Jake Broe Dec 12, 2022
The Ukrainian forces have been hitting Russian HQs and troop concentrations hard the last week. The Ukrainian military has announced they are waiting for the ground to freeze before they continue counter-offensive operations. Meanwhile Russian soldiers continue to mutiny over poor equipment and training and Russian military bloggers continue to cry about how the Ukrainians are making them look weak.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GuwcvrP7ZC8 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GuwcvrP7ZC8)
-
Ukraine Claims Attack on Key Bridge Outside Putin's Annexed Territory
https://www.newsweek.com/ukraine-claims-attack-key-bridge-outside-putins-annexed-territory-1766558 (https://www.newsweek.com/ukraine-claims-attack-key-bridge-outside-putins-annexed-territory-1766558)
Ukrainian mayor taunted Russia following a strike against a bridge used by Russian troops to transport military equipment into controversially annexed territory on Monday.
The strike comes more than nine months after Russian President Vladimir Putin launched the Ukraine "special military operation" in February, hoping for a quick victory but was blunted by Kyiv's spirited defense and bolstered by Western aid. Putin's troops have struggled to achieve substantial goals in Ukraine, turning to recent attacks on Ukrainian civilian infrastructure ahead of winter.
Amid these attacks, Ukraine has recently launched salvos against Melitopol, a city in the Zaporizhzhia oblast, which Russia annexed in September following referendums dismissed as sham elections by the West.
The latest strike targeted a bridge used by Russian soldiers to bring military equipment into the region. Many details about the strike, including if anyone was injured or the type of weapon used, remained unknown on Monday.
More at link.
-
Please excerpt articles....I noticed a few are very long..
-
Yes, ma'am.
-
Zelensky Names Price for Ukraine’s Winter Survival: Seeks $840+ Million in Donations
Simon Kent 13 Dec 2022
President Volodymyr Zelensky on Tuesday put a price on how much is needed for Ukraine to survive the winter, pleading some 800 million euros (U.S.$840+ million) is necessary to help his country survive Russia’s bombing of its civilian infrastructure.
The call comes as Moscow has switched tactics since October when it began airstrikes targeting Ukraine’s energy network, plunging millions into cold and darkness at the onset of winter.
As AFP reports, Zelensky made the request for more cash donations to help the country’s energy sector at an international conference in Paris, hosted by French President Emmanuel Macron, designed to raise material and money to repair Ukraine’s damaged infrastructure.
“Of course it is a very high amount, but the cost is less than the cost of a potential blackout,” Zelensky told the gathering in the French capital via video link. “I hope that decisions will be made accordingly.”
more
https://www.breitbart.com/europe/2022/12/13/zelensky-names-price-for-ukraines-winter-survival-seeks-840-million-in-donations/
-
(https://img-9gag-fun.9cache.com/photo/aMEjRDR_460s.jpg)
-
Royal Marines deployed on ‘high-risk covert operations’ in Ukraine
https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/royal-marines-deployed-on-high-risk-covert-operations-in-ukraine-r7b50gv3p?fbclid=IwAR08MmJZrZvvcJtd5Uv1NmLdPaX4uO3cndTvePP_Fr--LDz8q-t1NA7Q8SQ
The Royal Marines have taken part in covert operations in Ukraine, a senior general has admitted for the first time.
Lieutenant General Robert Magowan said that the commandos supported “discreet operations” in a “hugely sensitive environment”. He said that their missions carried “a high level of political and military risk”.
(snip)
Writing in the Globe and Laurel, the official publication of the Royal Marines, he described how 350 marines from 45 Commando were sent to escort diplomats from the British embassy at the beginning of the year when it became clear that Russian troops were massing for an invasion.
The commandos returned to Kyiv in April to re-establish the diplomatic mission, providing protection to critical personnel.
"During both phases, the commandos supported other discreet operations in a hugely sensitive environment and with a high level of political and military risk."
The former Royal Marines commandant general also praised the troops for their training of "hundreds" of Ukrainian military personnel.
Excerpt.
(Sorry for the paywall but this is an interesting admission by the Brits)
-
Kharkiv without power, heating and water after new wave of Russian missile strikes across country
Léonie Chao-Fong; Tom Ambrose and Helen Sullivan | Fri 16 Dec 2022 13.02 EST
Here are some of the latest images we have received from the southern Ukrainian city of Kryvyi Rih in Dnipro region, where officials say at least three people were killed by a Russian attack on a residential building.
(https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/be2169114b350abf58f87ececcaa2f52668d3909/0_148_3500_2101/master/3500.jpg?width=700&quality=85&dpr=1&s=none)
Rescuers work at the site of a residential building damaged by a Russian missile in Kryvyi Rih, Ukraine. Photograph: Reuters
(https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/710986560cca4bf88163878f4b74eeee07604bad/0_246_8227_4937/master/8227.jpg?width=700&quality=85&dpr=1&s=none)
A woman cries in front of the building which was destroyed by a Russian attack in Kryvyi Rih. Photograph: Evgeniy Maloletka/AP
(https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/43c6708e1220371a89ed24fb6c9385c1eb779ccc/0_0_3500_2101/master/3500.jpg?width=700&quality=85&dpr=1&s=none)
Rescuers work at the site of a residential building damaged by a Russian missile in Kryvyi Rih. Photograph: Reuters
https://www.theguardian.com/world/live/2022/dec/16/russia-ukraine-war-live-ukrainian-officials-warn-of-major-new-russian-offensive-us-senate-approves-800m-in-aid
Putin's barbaric war against Ukrainian civilians continues during this Christmas season.
-
'More than 40 rockets' fired at Kyiv in 'one of the war's most intense attacks so far'
7h ago | 06:02
Ukraine's capital was attacked with more than 40 rockets this morning, according to a spokesperson for the Kyiv Military Administration.
Mykhailo Shamanov said 37 of these were shot down, while those that got through appear to have hit infrastructure.
Illia Ponomarenko, a defence reporter for the Kyiv Independent, described it as "one of the war's most intense attacks so far".
Ukrainian air defences also shot down 10 missiles over the Dnipropetrovsk region, governor Valentyn Reznichenko said in a separate statement on Telegram.
https://news.sky.com/story/ukraine-war-latest-russia-rejects-christmas-ceasefire-childrens-torture-chamber-uncovered-in-kherson-12541713?postid=5071560#liveblog-body
-
'More than 40 rockets' fired at Kyiv in 'one of the war's most intense attacks so far'
7h ago | 06:02
Ukraine's capital was attacked with more than 40 rockets this morning, according to a spokesperson for the Kyiv Military Administration.
Mykhailo Shamanov said 37 of these were shot down, while those that got through appear to have hit infrastructure.
Illia Ponomarenko, a defence reporter for the Kyiv Independent, described it as "one of the war's most intense attacks so far".
Ukrainian air defences also shot down 10 missiles over the Dnipropetrovsk region, governor Valentyn Reznichenko said in a separate statement on Telegram.
https://news.sky.com/story/ukraine-war-latest-russia-rejects-christmas-ceasefire-childrens-torture-chamber-uncovered-in-kherson-12541713?postid=5071560#liveblog-body
In the FWIW dept., Ukraine did not attack anyone. In fact, they gave up nuclear missiles at the end of the cold war and only asked that their territorial integrity be honored. Of course Russia didn't honor anything. It's why Reagan always said, "trust but verify". You don't have to verify something when you're dealing with someone who is trustworthy.
Russia will not only lose this war, but they will destroy themself in the process. I say it can't happen soon enough!
-
In the FWIW dept., Ukraine did not attack anyone. In fact, they gave up nuclear missiles at the end of the cold war and only asked that their territorial integrity be honored. Of course Russia didn't honor anything. It's why Reagan always said, "trust but verify". You don't have to verify something when you're dealing with someone who is trustworthy.
Russia will not only lose this war, but they will destroy themself in the process. I say it can't happen soon enough!
Your first paragraph it is what is being lost on some.
-
Your first paragraph it is what is being lost on some.
I know, sometimes we get so locked into a position that no matter what we won't budge. I'm all for Ukraine, but I do recognize they have a history of corruption and while I have a great deal of respect for Zelensky's courage at the start of the invasion I am tempering that as I see him posing on magazine covers and his wife not recognizing her symbolic position.
-
I know, sometimes we get so locked into a position that no matter what we won't budge. I'm all for Ukraine, but I do recognize they have a history of corruption and while I have a great deal of respect for Zelensky's courage at the start of the invasion I am tempering that as I see him posing on magazine covers and his wife not recognizing her symbolic position.
Yeah, if they were professional politicians, they might be more cognizant of optics.
-
https://twitter.com/Ramy_Sawma/status/1604077378778513408
-
Moskow on Fire
It is a trending thing. Putin is deathly afraid that Ukraine will attack HIM.
-
Moskow on Fire
It is a trending thing. Putin is deathly afraid that Ukraine will attack HIM.
@240B
I SERIOUSLY doubt that,but I suspect he is VERY afraid of the Kremlin bosses attacking him. NOBODY is more afraid of a new ruler than a former ruler in a dictatorship,and by now everybody in the Kremlin know invading Ukraine was a MAJOR brain fart and must be getting nervous about their own safety and/or careers if they keep supporting him and his Ukrainian brain fart.
I suspect he would already be out of office if it weren't for the Kremlin brass that supported the invasion BECAUSE they are Kremlin geezers and never thought the Ukrainians would dare to fight back,never mind for all practical purposes,defeat the Neo-Soviet invasion force and chase some of them back into Russia.
I SUSPECT the senior geezers that aren't senile are only still supporting this brain fart because they can't figure out how to order a retreat and end to the hostilities without losing their own privileged positions and maybe even their pensions.
I don't think anyone can predict the outcome of this situation at the present time. I SUSPECT that everybody wants it to end by now because a prolonged fight like this is not good for either side,but the Kremlin geezers can't seem to figure out a way they can admit defeat by ending the war,and then be able to maintain their power,positions,and wealth.
Ukraine,of course would LOVE to see the Neo-Soviets declare an end to the invasion and a Neo-Soviet defeat because they KNOW they can never invade Russia and defeat them at home.
I really haven't been paying any attention to the Russian press,so I am asking "Are they doing any actual reporting on what is really happening in Ukraine,and the number of Neo-Soviet troops that are being killed or maimed for life due to the ego of Putin and his followers?
-
https://twitter.com/Ramy_Sawma/status/1604077378778513408
Zellinski and Trudeau with 2 feet of each other. Where's a basket of rotten fruit when you need it.
-
Zellinski and Trudeau with 2 feet of each other. Where's a basket of rotten fruit when you need it.
Those are two different video feeds next to each other. They are not physically next to each other.
-
Yeah, if they were professional politicians, they might be more cognizant of optics.
Melania Trump was not a professional politician and despite the media's best efforts to characterize her in a bad light she was classy and a great symbol to the USA. It can be done.
-
Those are two different video feeds next to each other. They are not physically next to each other.
Never let 'truth' get in the way of parroting Russian propaganda.
-
Zellinski and Trudeau with 2 feet of each other. Where's a basket of rotten fruit when you need it.
888high58888
-
QED.
-
Battle for Bakhmut Is Critical Test of Russia’s Prospects in Ukraine
Russia’s new war commander promised advances in exchange for retreat in the south. Bakhmut in the east is where he is trying to show those gains.
Yaroslav Trofimov | Dec. 18, 2022 | 11:51 am ET
BAKHMUT, Ukraine—Russian shells slammed closer and closer as Ludmyla Bondarenko and Zoya Shilkova, clad in fur coats atop layers of clothing, sat on a bench outside their apartment block, chatting and getting some fresh air on a frigid afternoon in what remains of this eastern Ukrainian city.
At an intersection nearby, Ukrainian troops used a crane to emplace concrete slabs, fortifying the neighborhood. Three freshly arrived tanks roared by, blue-and-yellow flags fluttering from their turrets. A distant staccato of machine-gun fire could be heard amid the thumps of artillery.
“We’re so used to it by now, we no longer pay much attention,” Ms. Bondarenko, 76, said as she pointed to a nearby crater left by a Russian shell in the morning. “It’s been going on for months. When is it going to end?”
“It’s probably never going to end,” replied Ms. Shilkova, 75.
Their apartments have had no heating, power or running water for months. The only available food comes from volunteers. “It’s a humanitarian catastrophe. That’s how we live,” Ms. Bondarenko said. . . .
https://www.wsj.com/articles/battle-for-bakhmut-is-critical-test-of-russias-prospects-in-ukraine-11671382297
-
Zellinski and Trudeau with 2 feet of each other. Where's a basket of rotten fruit when you need it.
It's a split screen.
-
Melania Trump was not a professional politician and despite the media's best efforts to characterize her in a bad light she was classy and a great symbol to the USA. It can be done.
Yes, it can, but Melania had been in the public eye in high circles for decades.
I get the feeling that is not so for Mrs. Zelensky.
-
It's a split screen.
Damn it.
-
Yes, it can, but Melania had been in the public eye in high circles for decades.
I get the feeling that is not so for Mrs. Zelensky.
You are more gracious than I am.
It seems to me that a great many Ukrainians are suffering terribly from the Russian invasion as well as Ukrainian soldiers paying the ultimate price. In light of that appearing to live the "high life" is stupid.
-
You are more gracious than I am.
It seems to me that a great many Ukrainians are suffering terribly from the Russian invasion as well as Ukrainian soldiers paying the ultimate price. In light of that appearing to live the "high life" is stupid.
We don't even know if this "report" is true.
-
We don't even know if this "report" is true.
You got that right. You would think that some papparazi would have snapped a photo of her exiting some high-end Parisian shop. Yet no such photo exists. No eyewitness quote, nor a hearsay quote. Only the 'claim' of a second hand account of an anonymous store employee.
-
We don't even know if this "report" is true.
Shamefully true. Who knows anymore what to believe.
-
Is Sundance a reliable source?
-
Is Sundance a reliable source?
I find him reiable.
-
I find him reiable.
I don't. Been burned too many times on his stories.
-
You got that right. You would think that some papparazi would have snapped a photo of her exiting some high-end Parisian shop. Yet no such photo exists. No eyewitness quote, nor a hearsay quote. Only the 'claim' of a second hand account of an anonymous store employee.
@Hoodat
HEY! If you can't trust a French salesman who works in a upscale boutique to tell you the truth about what some "rich bitch" did,said,and bought,who CAN you trust?
-
What If Russia’s Partial Mobilization Is Actually A General Mobilization?
https://www.battleswarmblog.com/?p=53620 (https://www.battleswarmblog.com/?p=53620)
In a non-embedable video, the YouTuber formerly know as The Russian Dude announced that he had been called up for military service as part of Putin’s “partial mobilization” to throw more cannon fodder into the Ukrainian meatgrinder. (I’m pretty sure that’s an important decision point in why he’s now known as The Canadian Dude.)
Oddly enough, all his male friends received conscription notices as well.
Commenters have long stated that Putin doesn’t want to declare a General Mobilization, because under Soviet Russian law, that requires an actual declaration of war, something still lacking in Vlad’s Special Military Operation.
Maybe Putin wants to roll the dice on one final spring push for Kiev, putting a million men under arms to launch a massive attack, relying on the Russian doctrine of quantity having a quality of its own to final snatch victory from the jaws of defeat.
More at link.
-
Even if they call up 1 million conscripts, they still don't have the means or ability to train or equip them. The Soviet Doctrine lacks the innovative leadership of mid-level officers. Which means they lack the ability to train up officers to compete successfully on the battle field.
In the end, 1 million ill-trained and ill-equipped conscripts will follow the orders of generals, charging forth to their deaths, just as they did under the tsars of old. The shortest life expectancy of all ranks will be lieutenants followed by privates and captains.
-
Russia Has More Artillery Than Ukraine. But Russian Gunners Have A Bad Habit Of Shelling ... Nothing.
David Axe | Dec 18, 2022 | 07:06pm EST
(https://imageio.forbes.com/specials-images/imageserve/639fa799e729612f4ee82004/A-Ukrainian-army-2S7-howitzer-in-action-/0x0.jpg?format=jpg&crop=1440,810,x0,y59,safe&width=960)
A Ukrainian army 2S7 howitzer in action. UKRAINIAN DEFENSE MINISTRY PHOTO
Despite a deluge of Western support for Ukraine over the 10 months of Russia’s wider war on Ukraine, the Russian army still has more artillery and rocket-launchers than the Ukrainian army has.
But Russian gunners have a bad habit of shelling ... nothing. Or worse, shelling friendly troops.
On paper, the Russian army possesses one of the world’s best artillery fire-control systems. In practice, poorly trained and undisciplined Russian gunners following rigid, outdated doctrine are wasting Russia’s artillery advantage. Firing a lot of shells and rockets without necessarily hitting anything. . . .
https://www.forbes.com/sites/davidaxe/2022/12/18/russia-has-more-artillery-than-ukraine-but-russian-gunners-have-a-bad-habit-of-shelling--nothing/?sh=3f7a8e1aed78
https://twitter.com/wartranslated/status/1603381171328532481
-
And Russians just put up with it. Throw their lives away for nothing.
I'd turn their tanks and guns around on their own generals and leaders. But that's just me.
-
More from the article on Russian command structure:
Failures of command result in a lot of wasted shells and rockets and all-too-frequent friendly-fire incidents. Even when artillery is hitting nothing or, worse, hitting allied positions, the gunners just keep blasting away.
There’s a “near-absence of reversionary courses of action” in the Russian fire-control system, analysts Mykhaylo Zabrodskyi, Jack Watling, Oleksandr Danylyuk and Nick Reynolds explained in a study for the Royal United Services Institute in London.
What that means is, in Russian doctrine, brigades, battalions and batteries tend to freeze up in the absence of detailed instructions from higher command. While awaiting fresh orders, lower units just keep doing what they already were doing. Even when it doesn’t make sense. Even when the current course of action is killing friendly troops.
“This approach has probably had the greatest impact in creating a gap between potential and actual capability as regards Russian fires,” Zabrodskyi, Watling, Danylyuk and Reynolds wrote.
Russian gunners simply don’t think for themselves. “All reported contacts are treated as true. All fire missions appear to be given equal priority and are prosecuted in the order in which they are received unless an order to prioritize a specific mission comes from higher authority.”
-
Time for a Russian spring...
-
Ukraine’s Super-Upgraded M-55S Tanks Have Equipped A New Kind Of Brigade
David Axe | Dec 17, 2022 | 05:58pm EST
We finally know which Ukrainian army unit took ownership of those super-upgraded, but very old, M-55S tanks that Slovenia donated to Ukraine.
It’s the 47th Assault Brigade. A new kind of unit with a very special leader. A famous veteran and author named Valery Markus.
The M-55S is a deeply modernized Soviet T-55, a tank type that first entered service in the late 1950s. In the 1990s, the Slovenian army paid Israeli firm Elbit and STO RAVNE in Slovenia to modify 30 of its 36-ton T-55s.
Among other enhancements—including reactive armor, an uprated engine and a new fire-control system—the M-55S has a stabilized, British-made L7 105-millimeter main gun in place of the original Soviet 100-millimeter gun. . .
https://www.forbes.com/sites/davidaxe/2022/12/17/ukraines-super-upgraded-m-55s-tanks-have-equipped-a-new-kind-of-brigade/
-
Ukraine’s Super-Upgraded M-55S Tanks Have Equipped A New Kind Of Brigade
David Axe | Dec 17, 2022 | 05:58pm EST
We finally know which Ukrainian army unit took ownership of those super-upgraded, but very old, M-55S tanks that Slovenia donated to Ukraine.
It’s the 47th Assault Brigade. A new kind of unit with a very special leader. A famous veteran and author named Valery Markus.
The M-55S is a deeply modernized Soviet T-55, a tank type that first entered service in the late 1950s. In the 1990s, the Slovenian army paid Israeli firm Elbit and STO RAVNE in Slovenia to modify 30 of its 36-ton T-55s.
Among other enhancements—including reactive armor, an uprated engine and a new fire-control system—the M-55S has a stabilized, British-made L7 105-millimeter main gun in place of the original Soviet 100-millimeter gun. . .
https://www.forbes.com/sites/davidaxe/2022/12/17/ukraines-super-upgraded-m-55s-tanks-have-equipped-a-new-kind-of-brigade/
IOW, hot rod T-55s...
-
Zelensky visits Bakhmut troops venturing close to bloodiest fighting
https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2022/12/20/zelensky-bakhmut-front-war-ukraine/
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Tuesday made an unexpected visit to troops defending Bakhmut, currently the site of some of the bloodiest fighting in the war, as his forces try to hold off a desperate Russian assault on the city in the eastern Donetsk region.
Zelensky’s trip, which was confirmed by his office on his Facebook page, highlighted the carnage in Bakhmut, where Russian forces, including mercenaries, have been pushing for months to claim a battlefield victory after a string of defeats and retreats in the south and east of Ukraine.
It was not immediately clear where in Bakhmut the president had visited, or how close he had ventured to front line positions. Amid heavy fighting in recent days, some military analysts said that the Russians were making incremental advances, and had warned that Ukrainian troops were at risk of being encircled.
“The President visited the advanced positions of one of the mechanized brigades, the personnel of which is confronting the enemy on the approaches to the city,” Zelensky’s Facebook post said. “The head of state listened to the commander’s report on the operational situation, material and technical support and proposals for further actions. While in the area of hostilities, Volodymyr Zelensky thanked the Ukrainian soldiers for their courage, resilience and strength, which they demonstrate while repelling enemy attacks.”
A video released by a state-run media outlet showed Zelensky, wearing an army green winter jacket, standing by a table with 17 medals on display, then heartily shaking hands with shoulders as he handed out each award.
(https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-apps/imrs.php?src=https://arc-anglerfish-washpost-prod-washpost.s3.amazonaws.com/public/J4Z754PYFYE2SCWYLJOPVLTEYI.JPG&w=916)
-
Ukraine wields US-supplied offensive arms against Russia – for the first time
https://www.debka.com/ukraine-wields-us-supplied-offensive-arms-against-russia-for-the-first-time/ (https://www.debka.com/ukraine-wields-us-supplied-offensive-arms-against-russia-for-the-first-time/)
Monday, Dec. 19 saw the first Ukrainian strikes inside Russia with advanced US missiles that President Joe Biden promised the Ukraine leader a week earlier. DEBKAfile’s military sources report that the Ukrainians used their fresh supplies of AGM-88 Harm missiles to strike power and water supply plants in the Russian town of Belgorod in retaliation for Moscow’s unceasing Iranian-made drone assaults on its vital facilities including power – in a bid to freeze Ukraine into submission.
The American AGM-88 is a high-speed anti-radiation missile designed to disarm the radar systems of antiair weapons. Powered with solid fuel, it can reach a speed of Mach 2 without generating smoke, which makes it hard for the targeted victims to detect in time to ward off its strike.
Our sources note that this missile attack was timed for Monday to coincide with an important summit President Vladimir Putin held with his Belarus ally, , Alexander Lukashenko. The first use of an American offensive weapon on targets inside Russia is expected in military circles to raise the stakes of the Ukraine conflict. Putin may decide to expand his campaign to crush Ukrainian resistance even to the point of taking his war across the border into its NATO neighbors, especially those keeping Kyev supplied with military equipment.
-
Debka is a bad, unreliable source. And HARMs don't operate like that...they're anti-radiation missiles that take out enemy radar systems.
-
I can't imagine Biden giving AGM-88s to Ukraine. Sure, he said he would. But as we have learned over the past 290 days, there is a very wide divide between weapons Biden promises and weapons delivered.
Russia already accused Ukraine of using AGM-88s back in August. I believe we should make this a self-fulfilling prophesy for the Russians, and help achieve air supremacy for Ukraine.
-
I can't imagine Biden giving AGM-88s to Ukraine. Sure, he said he would. But as we have learned over the past 290 days, there is a very wide divide between weapons Biden promises and weapons delivered.
Russia already accused Ukraine of using AGM-88s back in August. I believe we should make this a self-fulfilling prophesy for the Russians, and help achieve air supremacy for Ukraine.
The U.S. actually has given the UAF HARMs, and they have been used to good effect, but not inside Russia.
https://eurasiantimes.com/double-harm-ukrainian-mig-29-fires-two-agm-88-anti-radiation/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b5nWxN1ymW4
https://theaviationist.com/2022/09/09/ukrainian-su-27-agm-88-harm-missiles/
-
It was not immediately clear where in Bakhmut the president had visited, or how close he had ventured to front line positions. Amid heavy fighting in recent days, some military analysts said that the Russians were making incremental advances, and had warned that Ukrainian troops were at risk of being encircled.
@Timber Rattler
Pretty darn impressive, you could hear bombs exploding in the background.
-
Unprovoked attack? This darn war has been ongoing for a decade. IT IS NOT OUR WAR!!! How much more $$$ are we going to give Z and now patriot missiles?? How many will wind up in the wrong hands?? Just a matter of time before WWIII breaks out.
Biden to deliver Patriot missiles to Ukraine as Zelenskyy visits Washington
Biden will announce another $2 billion in military aid for Ukraine[/b]
President Biden's administration will send Patriot missiles to Ukraine for the first time on Wednesday as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy visits Washington to address Congress.
The Patriot missiles, the country's most advanced air defense system, will come as part of a $2 billion security aid package for Ukraine that Biden is expected to announce Wednesday, according to Axios. Zelenskyy left Ukraine to visit Washington, D.C. for the first time since Russia's invasion of his country began in February.
Congress has already approved $65 billion in aid for Ukraine, but lawmakers are now debating an additional $45 billion.
The Ukrainian president is expected to praise lawmakers for their support as his nation fights off an unprovoked invasion by Russia. Zelenskyy is also expected to argue that the war is by no means won and that more help is needed...............
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/biden-deliver-patriot-missiles-ukraine-zelenskyy-visits-washington
-
It actually is our war, and has been since February 24, 2022, with Putin's initial invasion. His overriding goal is to reclaim all the former Soviet States and imperial Russian possessions (such as Finland, Sweden, and even Alaska), and forge them into a new Soviet Union, breaking up NATO and kneecapping the U.S. in the process. It's far better to spend billions now and let the Ukrainians do the fighting instead of spending trillions latter and forcing our children to do it, in either Poland or Germany or Romania. Short-sightedness is what brought about World War II, and it will most assuredly bring about World War III if we make those same mistakes again.
-
Unprovoked attack?
Yes, unprovoked attack.
-
It actually is our war, and has been since February 24, 2022, with Putin's initial invasion. His overriding goal is to reclaim all the former Soviet States and imperial Russian possessions (such as Finland, Sweden, and even Alaska), and forge them into a new Soviet Union, breaking up NATO and kneecapping the U.S. in the process. It's far better to spend billions now and let the Ukrainians do the fighting instead of spending trillions latter and forcing our children to do it, in either Poland or Germany or Romania. Short-sightedness is what brought about World War II, and it will most assuredly bring about World War III if we make those same mistakes again.
The cost would be far cheaper if we concentrated on providing weapons to Ukraine instead of overfunding USAID, the State Dept, NATO, HHS, DoD, etc.
-
Volodymyr Zelensky: $45 Billion Support in Omnibus Bill Is Not Enough
Breitbart, Dec 21, 2022
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is scheduled to speak to Congress and President Joe Biden on Wednesday and claim the $45 billion worth of aid designated for Ukraine in the $1.7 trillion omnibus bill is not enough support.
Congress is weighing whether to pass the massive $1.7 trillion omnibus spending bill that designates $45 billion in military and economic aid for Ukraine. The $45 billion is in addition to the $66 billion lawmakers have already approved of taxpayers’ money for Ukraine.
On Tuesday, Zelensky released a video revealing he will tell Biden and Congress $45 billion is still not enough support.
“We are not in an easy situation. The enemy is increasing its army. Our people are braver and need more powerful weapons,” he said about the Ukrainian war. “We will pass it on from the boys to the Congress, to the president of the United States. We are grateful for their support, but it is not enough. It is a hint — it is not enough.”
Critics of Ukrainian aid say much of the funds have ended up in the hands of American defense contractors. Others have demanded the previous sums of money approved by Congress should be audited before aid more is given. Still others are concerned the sheer amount of money spent defending Ukraine’s borders is too much.
American taxpayers have given more aid to Ukraine than is sent in 2020 to Afghanistan, Israel, and Egypt combined. In just a few short months since the Ukrainian war, the amount of U.S. aid to Ukraine also surpassed three of the largest recipients of U.S. military aid in history.
The New York Times reported Sunday the “[m]ilitary spending next year is on track to reach its highest level in inflation-adjusted terms since the peaks in the costs of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars between 2008 and 2011, and the second highest in inflation-adjusted terms since World War II — a level that is more than the budgets for the next 10 largest cabinet agencies combined.”
https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2022/12/21/volodymyr-zelensky-45-billion-support-omnibus-bill-is-not-enough/
-
It actually is our war, and has been since February 24, 2022, with Putin's initial invasion. His overriding goal is to reclaim all the former Soviet States and imperial Russian possessions (such as Finland, Sweden, and even Alaska), and forge them into a new Soviet Union, breaking up NATO and kneecapping the U.S. in the process. It's far better to spend billions now and let the Ukrainians do the fighting instead of spending trillions latter and forcing our children to do it, in either Poland or Germany or Romania. Short-sightedness is what brought about World War II, and it will most assuredly bring about World War III if we make those same mistakes again.
@Timber Rattler
I am shocked on a daily basis to see there are STILL so many people who self-identify as "conservatives" and STILL can't see that basic truth.
I am perfectly happy seeing the US supply Ukraine anything and everything Ukraine needs that does NOT have the word "nuclear"attached to them in order to defeat the Neo-Soviets as long as "US Combat Troops" is not an item on that list.
Oh,I don't mind them sending NON-COMBAT ARMS specialists there along with some of the more sophisticated equipment in order to teach the Ukrainians there how to properly use and maintain those weapons. Yes,some of them WILL die while doing this,but that's the way the cookie crumbles. If you are not willing to take risks,you have no business wearing a military uniform.
PLUS,these people will do more than train Ukrainian troops.They will also learn Neo-Soviet doctrine and tactics that they can take back to America to better perpare the troops back home for a potential confict with the Russians themselves.
YOU might care if they get killed or injured by life if they go there,but rest assured that there are professional soldiers standing in line to take the place of anyone who refuses to go.
And I firmly believe with every fiber of my being that this could result in the collapse of the Neo-Soviet Union,and the end of Communist Rule everywhere in the world but China.
I see losing a few million dollars of surplus equipment as a bargain-basement price if it serves to eventually remove the hard-line neo-Soviets from power in Russia and prevents the possibility of yet another war in Europe.
I probably shouldn't write this because it just encourages the "surrender monkeys" here,but if we "lose" several million dollars of military equipment like field cannons and drones,that is a very cheap price compared to losing a few thousand US soldiers,never mind the multi-thousands of US soldiers that we would lose if Putin and the Neo-Soviets win and decide to expand Neo-Soviet power into western Europe.
Equipment is easily replaced. Not so young soldiers.
-
Russia's Only Aircraft Carrier Catches Fire
https://www.newsweek.com/russia-kuznetsov-murkansk-fire-aircraft-carrier-1768956
A fire broke out on the flagship of the Russian Navy, according to local media reports.
The blaze started on the Admiral Kuznetsov, Russia's only aircraft carrier, while it was docked at the Zvyozdochka shipyard in the Barents Sea port city of Murmansk, located in the far north-west of Russia, news agency Tass said.
An emergency services source told the agency on Thursday morning that 20 people had been evacuated, the fire was extinguished and that "there were no casualties."
Alexei Rakhmanov, head of the United Shipbuilding Corporation (USC), which is overseeing renovation of the vessel, told RIA Novosti that the incident occurred during repair work.
Excerpt.
-
Russia's Only Aircraft Carrier Catches Fire
https://www.newsweek.com/russia-kuznetsov-murkansk-fire-aircraft-carrier-1768956
A fire broke out on the flagship of the Russian Navy, according to local media reports.
The blaze started on the Admiral Kuznetsov, Russia's only aircraft carrier, while it was docked at the Zvyozdochka shipyard in the Barents Sea port city of Murmansk, located in the far north-west of Russia, news agency Tass said.
An emergency services source told the agency on Thursday morning that 20 people had been evacuated, the fire was extinguished and that "there were no casualties."
Alexei Rakhmanov, head of the United Shipbuilding Corporation (USC), which is overseeing renovation of the vessel, told RIA Novosti that the incident occurred during repair work.
Excerpt.
@Timber Rattler
Accident,or political sabotage as an act of protest?
I haven't seen or heard of any actual political protests inside Russia about the invasion of Ukraine,and all the money being wasted and lives being lost to feed Putin's ego and dream of a return to Stalinist Russia,but now that winter is here and hitting hard and keeping people indoors,you just KNOW they are talking with each other about this mess,and the anger is building.
ESPECIALLY amongst those who have lost a child in the fighting,or had one come home crippled and dependent for life.
-
Russians please, turn your guns around, kill your generals and officers! And please kill Putin.
-
@Timber Rattler
Accident,or political sabotage as an act of protest?
@sneakypete almost certainly an accident. The reason it was in port is because they can't keep it running long enough without breaking down, to dare take it out of port.
-
@sneakypete almost certainly an accident. The reason it was in port is because they can't keep it running long enough without breaking down, to dare take it out of port.
@Ghost Bear
IIRC,the Russians sold an aircraft carrier to China several years ago,and since it was basically complete,but unfinished ,they towed it there.
The last I remember hearing about it,the Chinese had still not been able to leave port with it. This was around 2 years ago.
-
Bakhmut Is ‘Soaked In Blood’ As Eight Of Ukraine’s Best Brigades Battle 40,000 Former Russian Prisoners
David Axe | 22 Dec 2022
Russian mercenary firm The Wagner Group since this summer has been trying, and so far failing, to capture the town of Bakhmut in eastern Ukraine’s Donbas region.
For Wagner, Bakhmut is a symbol. In seizing the ruins of the lifeless town, which lies 10 miles southwest of Russian-occupied Severodonetsk—one of Donbas’s bigger cities—Wagner apparently aims to establish itself as an alternative to the regular Russian army.
But at least eight of the Ukrainian army’s heaviest brigades keep interrupting Wagner’s plan—and making the battle for Bakhmut a statement about Wagner’s weakness rather than its strength.
“The Russian military and mercenaries have been attacking Bakhmut nonstop since May,” Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky said Wednesday. “They have been attacking it day and night, but Bakhmut stands.”
The Ukrainian brigades in and around Bakhmut—the 60th and 71st Infantry Brigades, the 24th, 57th and 58th Mechanized Brigades, the 4th Tank Brigade, the 46th Air Mobile Brigade, the 128th Mountain Brigade and others . . .
https://www.forbes.com/sites/davidaxe/2022/12/22/bakhmut-is-soaked-in-blood-as-eight-of-ukraines-best-brigades-battle-40000-former-russian-prisoners/?sh=1e17366d6f23
https://twitter.com/Militarylandnet/status/1605986043227881473
-
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FkkrFVsXgAEdFf4?format=jpg&name=medium)
-
And Russians just put up with it. Throw their lives away for nothing.
"Even Comrade Lenin underestimated both the anguish of that nine hundred mile-long front, and our cursed capacity for suffering." - Yevgraf Zhivago (Doctor Zhivago)
-
The cost would be far cheaper if we concentrated on providing weapons to Ukraine instead of overfunding USAID, the State Dept, NATO, HHS, DoD, etc.
Amen!
-
How about loans? Bonds?
-
How about loans? Bonds?
Gas, oil, grain, and sunflower oil futures? These would all work. But there's no way for Biden and his cronies to graft cash off of weapons deliveries for commodity futures.
-
Shchedryk (Щедрик)
(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f2cKBWFmnxU)
-
(https://img-9gag-fun.9cache.com/photo/aOxYWM6_460swp.webp)
-
Zelensky rallies Ukrainians with defiant Christmas message after deadly Russian barrage in Kherson
https://www.cnn.com/2022/12/25/europe/ukraine-zelensky-christmas-message-intl/index.html
President Volodymyr Zelensky called on Ukrainians to have “patience and faith” in a defiant Christmas address after a deadly wave of Russian strikes pounded the southern city of Kherson.
Ten months into Russia’s war on Ukraine, Zelensky spoke of endurance and pushing through to the end, while acknowledging that “freedom comes at a high price.”
He urged the nation to stand firm in the face of a grim winter of energy blackouts, the absence of loved ones and the ever-present threat of Russian attacks.
Zelensky’s message came after Ukrainian officials said Russia had launched deadly rocket strikes into downtown Kherson on Christmas Eve, killing at least 10 people and injuring dozens. Zelensky described those attacks as “killing for the sake of intimidation and pleasure.”
Excerpt.
-
Will Ukraine’s Threatened Ban on Russia-Linked Churches Violate Religious Freedom?
https://www.christianitytoday.com/news/2022/december/lavra-ukraine-orthodox-church-russia-religious-freedom-uoc.html
Ukraine, a bastion of religious freedom, is moving to possibly outlaw a church.
President Volodymyr Zelensky began the month by endorsing a draft law to “make it impossible” for the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC), canonically linked to Moscow, to operate. His December 1 decree followed raids on several monasteries under the UOC’s jurisdiction.
Security services searched over 350 buildings and investigated 850 people.
“We will ensure complete independence for our state. In particular, spiritual independence,” stated Zelensky. “We will never allow anyone to build an empire inside the Ukrainian soul.”
The reaction from Russia was swift—but also illustrated the issue.
“The current Ukrainian authorities have openly become enemies of Christ and the Orthodox faith,” stated Dmitry Medvedev, deputy chairman of the Russian Security Council.
(snip)
The raids—centered on the 11th-century Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra complex, known as the Monastery of the Caves—uncovered large amounts of cash, “dubious” Russian citizens, and leaflets calling on people to join the Russian army, according to Ukrainian authorities. Other material cited as evidence included prayer texts of ROC patriarch Kirill and a video of hymn singing that celebrated Russia’s “awakening.”
Kirill has publicly blessed Russia’s invasion of its neighboring nation, even promising forgiveness of sin to soldiers who die in the war. Security services also described finding UOC priests in possession of literature denying Ukraine’s right to exist and contacting Russian intelligence agents.
Excerpt.
-
For those of you who don't know this "Priest" is a KGB career field.
When Yeltsin was running for President and promising to ease communist rule,the Patriarch of the Russian Orthodox Church not only supported Communist rule,but he showed up personally to march at the head of a large delegation of Russian priests and nuns in support of Communist rule.
I was actually in Moscow that day standing close to the flatbed truck where the speeches were made,and watched them form up to march in the parade down Red Square.
I had several Russian businessmen staying at the same hotel I was staying in, translating for me. I also had CNN on the tv in the lobby,but since they were doing nothing but parrotting the Soviet line,that meant nothing.
-
Putin claims Russia is ready to negotiate; Ukraine accuses Kremlin of trying to avoid responsibility
Russian President Vladimir Putin claimed in an interview with state television on Sunday that Moscow wants to negotiate, even as Ukrainian cities were hit with a barrage of missiles over the Christmas weekend.
"We are ready to negotiate with everyone involved about acceptable solutions, but that is up to them - we are not the ones refusing to negotiate, they are," Putin said.
The claim was rebuffed by Mykhailo Podolyak, an adviser to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who said that "Putin needs to come back to reality."
"Russia single-handedly attacked Ukraine and is killing citizens. There are no other 'countries, motives, geopolitics,'" Podolyak tweeted. "Russia doesn’t want negotiations, but tries to avoid responsibility."
https://www.foxnews.com/world/putin-claims-russia-ready-negotiate-ukraine-accuses-kremlin-trying-avoid-responsibility
-
Putin only wants to negotiate terms that are favorable to Russia, i.e. keeping what he's not lost thus far, and ejecting NATO from the Baltics and Eastern Europe. Not a good faith offer at all. The guy's a liar.
-
Putin only wants to negotiate terms that are favorable to Russia, i.e. keeping what he's not lost thus far, and ejecting NATO from the Baltics and Eastern Europe. Not a good faith offer at all. The guy's a liar.
Rumors just hearsay is that Putin/Russia's current position is, "At least let us keep Crimea."
Russia is so beaten down on so many fronts, militarily, economically, globally, as well as with energy production and sale, population loss, and a dozen more, they are trying to come up with some way to stop the war but with some gain. After all of this, they simply cannot lose emptyhanded. That really would cause a civil revolution.
-
Putin claims Russia is ready to negotiate; Ukraine accuses Kremlin of trying to avoid responsibility
Russian President Vladimir Putin claimed in an interview with state television on Sunday that Moscow wants to negotiate, even as Ukrainian cities were hit with a barrage of missiles over the Christmas weekend.
"We are ready to negotiate with everyone involved about acceptable solutions, but that is up to them - we are not the ones refusing to negotiate, they are," Putin said.
The claim was rebuffed by Mykhailo Podolyak, an adviser to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who said that "Putin needs to come back to reality."
"Russia single-handedly attacked Ukraine and is killing citizens. There are no other 'countries, motives, geopolitics,'" Podolyak tweeted. "Russia doesn’t want negotiations, but tries to avoid responsibility."
https://www.foxnews.com/world/putin-claims-russia-ready-negotiate-ukraine-accuses-kremlin-trying-avoid-responsibility
@libertybele
And THERE it is.
Putin is NOT the "leader of a free nation." He is a neo-Stalinist dictator whose career was in the Soviet secret police,and he used the Secret Police files on other Politburo members to be elected President/Dictator for life.
And before any of you claim this can't be done in a nation with elections,let me remind you of J for Janet,Edgar Hoover and his lifetime position as the Director of the US FBI. He had the dirt on EVERYBODY in DC,and THAT is how he stayed in power until his death.
If "Sucks like a Hoover" can remain in power in an alleged democracy for life because of his access to the private conduct of elected officials in what passes for a Democracy, just imagine the power that Putin has,with access to similar records going back for generations.
Putin is going to remain in power until the new generation of Russian leaders manage to seize those files.
We can only hope that whoever it is that seizes those records destroys them instead of uses them to become "Putin,Part 2".
Meanwhile,all of Europe,as well as all of Russia lives in fear of what that madman might do. He needs to be whacked,but in such a way to insure he NEVER becomes a martyr. I honestly don't think he is mentally capable of realizing he is slowly losing power,and taking his gold and fleeing to another nation that will grant him asylum.
The other Politburo members are going to have to agree to remove him from power,and then agree to have him arrested and put on trial for corruption. Given his lifestyle,including one of the biggest personal yachts in the world,that really shouldn't be hard to prove. The only "bump in THAT road" is the entire Soviet leadership has ALWAYS been corrupt and living like princes off the national wealth,and they won't be wanting too much of that exposed.
Not that I see very much support for Putin coming from anywhere. Take away all reason to fear him by removing him from power,and it's over for him.
As to who will replace him and what sort of nation Russia would be under a new government,nobody knows. He could be replaced by someone just like him,or he could be replaced by a true reformer. It's anyone's guess,and I SUSPECT,totally dependent on who gets Putin's secret files and what they do with them.
One thing is certain. The generation of elderly geezers who grew up and gained power under the Soviet system need to be removed from power by votes or natural deaths before any real,permanent changes are made.
-
Putin only wants to negotiate terms that are favorable to Russia, i.e. keeping what he's not lost thus far, and ejecting NATO from the Baltics and Eastern Europe. Not a good faith offer at all. The guy's a liar.
@Timber Rattler
He is nothing less than a neo-Stalinist dictator.
-
Rumors just hearsay is that Putin/Russia's current position is, "At least let us keep Crimea."
Russia is so beaten down on so many fronts, militarily, economically, globally, as well as with energy production and sale, population loss, and a dozen more, they are trying to come up with some way to stop the war but with some gain. After all of this, they simply cannot lose emptyhanded. That really would cause a civil revolution.
@240B
Agreed.
Russia is only a tiny babystep away from an actual revolution,and this scares the hell out of ANYBODY that understands what that can lead to.
Putin MUST be removed from power by the Politburo,not a revolution in the streets. Something easy to say and VERY hard to arrange.
-
Rumors just hearsay is that Putin/Russia's current position is, "At least let us keep Crimea."
Russia is so beaten down on so many fronts, militarily, economically, globally, as well as with energy production and sale, population loss, and a dozen more, they are trying to come up with some way to stop the war but with some gain. After all of this, they simply cannot lose emptyhanded. That really would cause a civil revolution.
I disagree. Everything I've seen indicates an overwhelming support for the invasion and Putin by those that remain in Russia. If Russia fails the Russian people will be propagandized with the consolation that they just couldn't beat the whole world.
Putin and his oligarchs have doomed Russia.
-
I disagree. Everything I've seen indicates an overwhelming support for the invasion and Putin by those that remain in Russia. If Russia fails the Russian people will be propagandized with the consolation that they just couldn't beat the whole world.
Putin and his oligarchs have doomed Russia.
@bilo
WTH are you looking,the Pravda?
I have seen no indication of that anywhere. In fact,I have seen the opposite.
-
Putin claims Russia is ready to negotiate; Ukraine accuses Kremlin of trying to avoid responsibility
Russian President Vladimir Putin claimed in an interview with state television on Sunday that Moscow wants to negotiate, even as Ukrainian cities were hit with a barrage of missiles over the Christmas weekend.
"We are ready to negotiate with everyone involved about acceptable solutions, but that is up to them - we are not the ones refusing to negotiate, they are," Putin said.
The claim was rebuffed by Mykhailo Podolyak, an adviser to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who said that "Putin needs to come back to reality."
"Russia single-handedly attacked Ukraine and is killing citizens. There are no other 'countries, motives, geopolitics,'" Podolyak tweeted. "Russia doesn’t want negotiations, but tries to avoid responsibility."
https://www.foxnews.com/world/putin-claims-russia-ready-negotiate-ukraine-accuses-kremlin-trying-avoid-responsibility
That's a non-starter. Putin wants to retain what he's taken, including Crimea.
-
That's a non-starter. Putin wants to retain what he's taken, including Crimea.
Yep. The only terms of negotiation should be that Russia pulls all troops out of Ukraine, and that Ukraine agrees not to invade Russia.
-
Yep. The only terms of negotiation should be that Russia pulls all troops out of Ukraine, and that Ukraine agrees not to invade Russia.
...and builds a nice wall on the eastern front.
-
That's a non-starter. Putin wants to retain what he's taken, including Crimea.
@Cyber Liberty
Exactly. Pretending you want to negotiate a peace-treaty when you are losing your support at home as well as the war you started is one of the oldest,and most desperate,tricks in the book.
-
@bilo
WTH are you looking,the Pravda?
I have seen no indication of that anywhere. In fact,I have seen the opposite.
Grow up and insult some one else.
-
Grow up and insult some one else.
@bilo
But you are so clueless it is easy to insult you.
-
Moscow delivers Ukraine war ultimatum: Accept our terms
https://www.aol.com/news/russias-lavrov-either-ukraine-fulfils-095056554.html
Moscow's proposals for settlement in Ukraine are well known to Kyiv and either Ukraine fulfils them for their own good or the Russian army will decide the issue, TASS agency quoted Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov as saying.
"Our proposals for the demilitarization and denazification of the territories controlled by the regime, the elimination of threats to Russia's security emanating from there, including our new lands, are well known to the enemy," the state news agency quoted Lavrov as saying late on Monday.
"The point is simple: Fulfil them for your own good. Otherwise, the issue will be decided by the Russian army."
Excerpt.
-
Moscow delivers Ukraine war ultimatum: Accept our terms
https://www.aol.com/news/russias-lavrov-either-ukraine-fulfils-095056554.html
Moscow's proposals for settlement in Ukraine are well known to Kyiv and either Ukraine fulfils them for their own good or the Russian army will decide the issue, TASS agency quoted Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov as saying.
"Our proposals for the demilitarization and denazification of the territories controlled by the regime, the elimination of threats to Russia's security emanating from there, including our new lands, are well known to the enemy," the state news agency quoted Lavrov as saying late on Monday.
"The point is simple: Fulfil them for your own good. Otherwise, the issue will be decided by the Russian army."
Excerpt.
LMAO....
1st rule of successful sincere negotiation is to have the upper hand, or at worst be on even footing. Maybe Russian's Foreign Minister might want to elaborate that a once boasted 2 week campaign that is now bogged down to 10 months of quagmire meets that criteria.
The fact the "Negotiation" term is even being bantered, is proof that Russia now fears Crimea is at risk. And that would be a national embarassment of epic proportions.
-
Moscow delivers Ukraine war ultimatum: Accept our terms
https://www.aol.com/news/russias-lavrov-either-ukraine-fulfils-095056554.html
Moscow's proposals for settlement in Ukraine are well known to Kyiv and either Ukraine fulfils them for their own good or the Russian army will decide the issue, TASS agency quoted Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov as saying.
"Our proposals for the demilitarization and denazification of the territories controlled by the regime, the elimination of threats to Russia's security emanating from there, including our new lands, are well known to the enemy," the state news agency quoted Lavrov as saying late on Monday.
"The point is simple: Fulfil them for your own good. Otherwise, the issue will be decided by the Russian army."
Excerpt.
@Timber Rattler
"our new lands". It just doesn't get any more subtle than that,does it?
I am guessing that it was Santa that brought them the "new lands",because as near as I can remember,there are no new lands on the planet.
The mere fact that the Neo-Soviets are even asking shows their desperation. They now understand that they took a "step too far",and don't know how to get out of it unless Ukraine surrenders to them. Don't forget,with Putin now "President for Life" the old Soviet Union has returned,and the only thing the rulers understand is ruling a police state. To THEM, "diplomacy" is a massive armor attack.
Which is what makes them desperate. They no longer have the armor,and no longer have the money to even run their police state,never mind open new tank factories. Not to mention a manpower shortage.
While it is true that "desperation is never pretty",it is also true that "desperation is always dangerous".
We can only hope that some of the "new blood" (people under 50 years of age) can get together and have enough power to remove Putin and his geezer supporters from power. Otherwise the Neo-Soviet desperation is going to get even worse,and many,many people on both sides will end up dying before they lose.
This can NOT continue without negative consequences to Russia.
-
LMAO....
1st rule of successful sincere negotiation is to have the upper hand, or at worst be on even footing. Maybe Russian's Foreign Minister might want to elaborate that a once boasted 2 week campaign that is now bogged down to 10 months of quagmire meets that criteria.
The fact the "Negotiation" term is even being bantered, is proof that Russia now fears Crimea is at risk. And that would be a national embarassment of epic proportions.
@catfish1957
This massive brain fart wasn't a mere "step too far",it was an "Olympic leap into foolishness". The FACT that the people in power in the Kremlin still think they are living in the early 50's shows us all how senile those old farts really are.
It also shows us how scared the junior Politburo members are of crossing them. The "Old USSR" is still alive and as sick as ever in the Kremlin.
Until and unless the more junior members get some balls,Russia just might end up in a civil war as people get tired of seeing their sons and relatives shipped off to die in a war none of them understand.
-
@catfish1957
This massive brain fart wasn't a mere "step too far",it was an "Olympic leap into foolishness". The FACT that the people in power in the Kremlin still think they are living in the early 50's shows us all how senile those old farts really are.
It also shows us how scared the junior Politburo members are of crossing them. The "Old USSR" is still alive and as sick as ever in the Kremlin.
Until and unless the more junior members get some balls,Russia just might end up in a civil war as people get tired of seeing their sons and relatives shipped off to die in a war none of them understand.
You bring up valid points about the geo-politico-military mindset of Russia. Just because you topple the USSR bear in 1990, doesn't mean you can take the 3 generations of USSR mindset out of the Bear.
Especially, for those of us old enough to remember that the USSR possessed the ultimate superiority of arrogance for decades before it's crash. When those types fall, they don't repent.... They get revenge.
-
(https://img-9gag-fun.9cache.com/photo/aA0gwNZ_460s.jpg)
-
You bring up valid points about the geo-politico-military mindset of Russia. Just because you topple the USSR bear in 1990, doesn't mean you can take the 3 generations of USSR mindset out of the Bear.
Especially, for those of us old enough to remember that the USSR possessed the ultimate superiority of arrogance for decades before it's crash. When those types fall, they don't repent.... They get revenge.
@catfish1957
The entire world,with the exception of China were terrified of the USSR just a couple of decades ago. Now,even the citizens in Russia are more cautious than terrified.
With the exception of the younger members of the Politburo. They "sit too close to the fire" to risk getting burned unless something major happens that forces them to move on the leadership.
-
(https://img-9gag-fun.9cache.com/photo/aA0gwNZ_460s.jpg)
Seems to me the last time they 'negotiated', Ukraine gave up its nuclear weapons for a guarantee their border would be secure.
How's that one working out?
-
Seems to me the last time they 'negotiated', Ukraine gave up its nuclear weapons for a guarantee their border would be secure.
How's that one working out?
Pretty damned lousy, once O'Bastard took office. Not taking sides in this, but I hope Ukraine ends up choking Crimea out of the Bear's maw.
-
Any acceptable terms must begin with the permanent withdrawal of all Russian troops from Ukrainian soil and an end to their Sevastopol leases. And Crimea is Ukrainian soil.
-
(https://img-9gag-fun.9cache.com/photo/aA0gwNZ_460s.jpg)
Off topic: This describes exactly how the PLO 'negotiates' with Israel. Same thing.
-
Off topic: This describes exactly how the PLO 'negotiates' with Israel. Same thing.
@240B
Not to mention how the DNC "negotiates" with the RNC.
-
(https://img-9gag-fun.9cache.com/photo/aXnj9Wz_460s.jpg)
-
Off topic: This describes exactly how the PLO 'negotiates' with Israel. Same thing.
Whenever the Communists came to the negotiating table, it was to buy time to reinforce, consolidate, and reorganize their forces, whether in Korea, Vietnam, or elsewhere.
-
(https://img-9gag-fun.9cache.com/photo/aXnj9Wz_460s.jpg)
@240B
If Russia weren't a Soviet military police state,that would cause heads to roll in the military.
The way things are now,the only heads that are going to roll are going to be the heads of the people who let this become public knowledge.
-
Moscow delivers Ukraine war ultimatum: Accept our terms
https://www.aol.com/news/russias-lavrov-either-ukraine-fulfils-095056554.html
Moscow's proposals for settlement in Ukraine are well known to Kyiv and either Ukraine fulfils them for their own good or the Russian army will decide the issue, TASS agency quoted Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov as saying.
"Our proposals for the demilitarization and denazification of the territories controlled by the regime, the elimination of threats to Russia's security emanating from there, including our new lands, are well known to the enemy," the state news agency quoted Lavrov as saying late on Monday.
"The point is simple: Fulfil them for your own good. Otherwise, the issue will be decided by the Russian army."
Excerpt.
This is Bruce Campbell's Chin at TOS.
Given that TOS has now turned into Pravda West, my wife's edict of "only one message board" means I'm posting here again.
-
This is Bruce Campbell's Chin at TOS.
Given that TOS has now turned into Pravda West, my wife's edict of "only one message board" means I'm posting here again.
I haven't been to TOS lately, but welcome back Major!!
-
This is Bruce Campbell's Chin at TOS.
Given that TOS has now turned into Pravda West, my wife's edict of "only one message board" means I'm posting here again.
Yo Bruce!!! :beer:
-
I haven't been to TOS lately, but welcome back Major!!
It's a dumpster fire, as usual. 888mouth
-
"It’s Orwellian. They act as though years of contrary reporting never existed, and reality is as they now choose to define it." (Video)
https://mobile.twitter.com/SystemUpdate_/status/1607832287940603904
"The media has also been burying years of inconvenient reporting on the neo-Nazi affiliated Azov Battalion. Watch the @NYTimes soften their language in real time, as they rebrand the Azov Battalion from openly neo-Nazi, to far-right, to heroic defenders of Ukraine " (Video)
https://mobile.twitter.com/SystemUpdate_/status/1607832281443635200
"One of the most remarkable features of the Ukraine war is how the media rewrote years of history, almost overnight, to support U.S. intervention in Ukraine. Before Russia invaded, Zelensky was not exactly the poster child for virtuous democratic leadership:" (Video)
https://mobile.twitter.com/SystemUpdate_/status/1607832269791662081
-
They could be defenders. The enemy of my enemy is my friend.
There are Nazis (and other nefarious groups) here as well, are there not? If this country were invaded, would their help be refused?
-
They could be defenders. The enemy of my enemy is my friend.
There are Nazis (and other nefarious groups) here as well, are there not? If this country were invaded, would their help be refused?
We are already being invaded from the South, and none of these people give a rip.
-
We are already being invaded from the South, and none of these people give a rip.
I was actually thinking about a Ukraine/Russia scenario....but I can't argue with what you say.
-
There are Nazis (and other nefarious groups) here as well, are there not? If this country were invaded, would their help be refused?
Stopping the years of brutal military assault by the Azov Battalion on the Donbas region (at the direction of Kiev) is one of the reasons Russia took action.
But now this fact is being erased from history to manipulate and justify our war on Russia.
-
Stopping the years of brutal military assault by the Azov Battalion on the Donbas region (at the direction of Kiev) is one of the reasons Russia took action.
But now this fact is being erased from history to manipulate and justify our war on Russia.
Okey Doke. I guess why the Russians are trying to bomb Ukraine to oblivion.
-
Okey Doke. I guess why the Russians are trying to bomb Ukraine to oblivion.
Why didn't you object to the US and GB shutting off negotiations before the first bombs fell @berdie
-
Why didn't you object to the US and GB shutting off negotiations before the first bombs fell @berdie
-
Maybe because the "negotiations" were insincere?
-
Why didn't you object to the US and GB shutting off negotiations before the first bombs fell @berdie
There were no negotiations. That was a lie spread by a pro-Kremlin blogger that all the other pro-Kremlin blogs picked up. And what was there to negotiate anyway?
-
Why didn't you object to the US and GB shutting off negotiations before the first bombs fell @berdie
Negotiations? lol
That would be where Zelenskiy stated back in January that Ukraine would not be joining NATO. And then Putin invaded anyway. But you knew that already.
-
Stopping the years of brutal military assault by the Azov Battalion on the Donbas region (at the direction of Kiev) is one of the reasons Russia took action.
But now this fact is being erased from history to manipulate and justify our war on Russia.
Best as I can tell, while neither side is guiltless, the atrocities were started by the Luhansk People's Republic and Donetsk People's Republic separatists, and exceeded those committed in response by local militias loyal to Ukraine. They are actual Stalinists there.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/apr/19/ukraine-donetsk-pro-russia-militants
Even pro-Russia Al Jazeera called them out on it.
https://www.aljazeera.com/features/2021/3/22/some-stay-some-die-the-horror-of-ukraines-war-camps
-
Stopping the years of brutal military assault by the Azov Battalion on the Donbas region (at the direction of Kiev) is one of the reasons Russia took action.
The Azov Battalion ceased to exist in 2015, a fact which you already knew. Yet here you are again posting lies about it.
-
The Azov Battalion ceased to exist in 2015, a fact which you already knew. Yet here you are again posting lies about it.
That's all she's got.
-
"It’s Orwellian. They act as though years of contrary reporting never existed, and reality is as they now choose to define it." (Video)
https://mobile.twitter.com/SystemUpdate_/status/1607832287940603904
"The media has also been burying years of inconvenient reporting on the neo-Nazi affiliated Azov Battalion. Watch the @NYTimes soften their language in real time, as they rebrand the Azov Battalion from openly neo-Nazi, to far-right, to heroic defenders of Ukraine " (Video)
https://mobile.twitter.com/SystemUpdate_/status/1607832281443635200
"One of the most remarkable features of the Ukraine war is how the media rewrote years of history, almost overnight, to support U.S. intervention in Ukraine. Before Russia invaded, Zelensky was not exactly the poster child for virtuous democratic leadership:" (Video)
https://mobile.twitter.com/SystemUpdate_/status/1607832269791662081
Shockingly illustrated by the comments that followed this original post. :laugh:
-
That's all she's got.
Yep.
https://www.gopbriefingroom.com/index.php/topic,468874.msg2650188.html#msg2650188
https://www.gopbriefingroom.com/index.php/topic,468874.msg2645001.html#msg2645001
And there's this from last May:
Good guys - Ukraine
Bad guys - Russia
It should become apparent once one checks the veracity of the claims that have been coming from Russia for the past ten years. Take the "Azov Battalion" narrative, for example. A militia unit was founded as a response to a 2014 Russian invasion, and was led by a political extremist. By the end of that year, that leader was expelled, entering the field of politics instead. The "Azov Battalion" was then incorporated into the Ukrainian National Guard, being given the new designation of "Azov Regiment". Under the new authority of the Ukrainian Military, the unit ceased being a political militia.
Yet Russian propaganda has continued for eight years, painting a false narrative on its current status and designation. That same false Russian propaganda has littered these boards for the past three months. And no matter how many times that propaganda is exposed and discredited for the lies they are, it keeps getting posted.
Hope that helps.
All this is readily available information. Yet there is a poster here who continues to parrot the lies of the Russian Federation regarding the Azov Battalion, with malice and forethought.
-
More posting history:
There's only one poster here having difficulty accepting the truth. Here it is again:
Factbox-Last Defenders of Mariupol: What Is Ukraine's Azov Regiment?
May 17, 2022, at 5:36 a.m.
(Reuters) - Russian President Vladimir Putin looks poised to take full control of Ukraine's southeastern port city of Mariupol after the apparent surrender of the last Ukrainian forces holed up at a vast steel works.
At the core of that last stand has been the Azov Regiment whose fighters are lionised as heroes in Ukraine, but reviled by Putin's Kremlin as a band of Russia-hating neo-Nazis.
AZOV'S ORIGINS
The Azov Regiment began as one of many militias of volunteer fighters who banded together to fight pro-Russian separatists backed by Moscow who carved out two breakaway regions in eastern Ukraine in 2014 after Russia annexed the Crimean peninsula.
Mariupol is the spiritual home of the Azov Regiment which it helped Ukraine recapture from pro-Russian fighters in 2014 and where it had a permanent base until the 2022 invasion.
The militia emerged from Andriy Biletskiy's Patriot of Ukraine organisation that critics say championed white nationalist, anti-immigrant extreme-right ideas.
Its logo resembles a black "wolfsangel", a symbol that was used by some Nazi units and is seen by critics as neo-Nazi. The Azov say the logo represents the letters N and I of "national idea" and deny it is neo-Nazi.
Patriot of Ukraine later renamed itself the National Corps and, despite allying with other nationalist parties, failed to win election in 2019. The U.S. State Department labelled the National Corps a "nationalist hate group" in 2018.
Reporting Radicalism, a Freedom House-backed group investigating political extremism in Ukraine, says Biletskiy has written several openly racist texts. Biletskiy denies holding racist or neo-Nazi views and says he believes in values-based nationalism.
The Stanford Center for International Security and Cooperation describes the group as "an extreme-right nationalist paramilitary organisation based in Ukraine".
NATIONAL GUARD
In 2014, the Azov militia was folded into Ukraine's National Guard - a military wing of the interior ministry. Kyiv says it has been reformed away from its radical nationalist origins and that it has nothing to do with politics.
"They are the official army of our state. Anyone who wanted to be involved in politics - they left and are now in politics. Those who decided to serve in the Armed Forces became part of the Armed Forces," President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said in an interview with Greek channel ERT on May 1.
In a statement to CNN last month, Azov said it "appreciates and respects Andriy Biletskiy as the regiment's founder and first commander, but we have nothing to do with his political activities and the National Corps party".
The statement said that Azov's "motivation has always angered Russia. Therefore, disinformation attacks on the Azov Regiment have not stopped since 2014".
It denies allegations of fascism, Nazism and racism and says that Ukrainians from various backgrounds including Greeks, Jews, Crimean Tatars, and Russians serve in Azov.
The regiment's current and fourth commander is Denys Prokopenko, who has been dubbed a Hero of Ukraine by Zelenskiy, who is Jewish. . . .
https://www.usnews.com/news/world/articles/2022-05-17/factbox-last-defenders-of-mariupol-what-is-ukraines-azov-regiment
-
Just to add two things:
1) The National Corps is an ultra nationalist organization, not an anti-Semitic or neo-Nazi organization. They hate Russia, but also want nothing to do with NATO.
2) They are a tiny fringe political group that got barely 2% of the vote in the 2019 elections, and have exact zero seats in the Ukrainian Parliament. The idea that they somehow control Ukraine is an absolute joke. And that means the entire "deNazification" justification advanced by Russia is a joke as well.
-
What exactly does Russia have to gain by attacking the civilian infrastructure of Ukraine? Yeah I get that we've done things like that in the past, but this is a limited war. Why not stick to military targets?
-
What exactly does Russia have to gain by attacking the civilian infrastructure of Ukraine? Yeah I get that we've done things like that in the past, but this is a limited war. Why not stick to military targets?
Terror.
-
What exactly does Russia have to gain by attacking the civilian infrastructure of Ukraine? Yeah I get that we've done things like that in the past, but this is a limited war. Why not stick to military targets?
It's a terror campaign, like Hitler's V1 and V2 strikes against the British and Dutch during World War II.
Also, Putin's strategy has become clear now. He wants to inflict enough suffering and damage on Ukrainian citizens to force Zelensky to surrender or negotiate on Russia's terms (disband his government and leave the country, turn it all over to a Russian puppet, and Russia gets to keep the LPR and DPR and its four illegally annexed oblasts and the Zaporizhia nuke plant).
It's also a perverse echo of Sherman's March through Georgia and South Carolina during our Civil War and the Allied bombing campaigns against Germany and Japan during World War II, and even Desert Storm in 1991 and our march to Baghdad in 2003, at least in Putin's twisted mind.
-
It's a terror campaign, like Hitler's V1 and V2 strikes against the British and Dutch during World War II.
Also, Putin's strategy has become clear now. He wants to inflict enough suffering and damage on Ukrainian citizens to force Zelensky to surrender or negotiate on Russia's terms (disband his government and leave the country, turn it all over to a Russian puppet, and Russia gets to keep the LPR and DPR and its four illegally annexed oblasts and the Zaporizhia nuke plant).
It's also a perverse echo of Sherman's March through Georgia and South Carolina during our Civil War and the Allied bombing campaigns against Germany and Japan during World War II, and even Desert Storm in 1991 and our march to Baghdad in 2003, at least in Putin's twisted mind.
I'm not sure the analogies with Desert Storm or Baghdad are on all fours, but it definitely has echoes of the Allied bombing campaigns, once those moved from a targeted strikes footing to a "total war" footing.
-
I'm not sure the analogies with Desert Storm or Baghdad are on all fours, but it definitely has echoes of the Allied bombing campaigns, once those moved from a targeted strikes footing to a "total war" footing.
I'd agree with that. The air campaigns for both Desert Storm and the War in Iraq focused on air defense, command and control, and critical defense related infrastructure. More importantly, they were followed up with coordinated ground assaults designed to end the war as rapidly as possible. The goal wasn't to push the people into submission - It was the soften up Iraq's military resistance.
Putin is just tossing missiles into Ukraine purely to make civilian life as miserable as possible.
-
I'm not sure the analogies with Desert Storm or Baghdad are on all fours, but it definitely has echoes of the Allied bombing campaigns, once those moved from a targeted strikes footing to a "total war" footing.
Putin has made those analogies though, and twisted them to his purposes.
In Iraq during both wars, the Allied Coalition did make targeted "surgical strikes" on key Iraqi infrastructure targets like government buildings, bridges, airports, and electrical stations to degrade Saddam's military, but it was not indiscriminate, and our commanders made every effort to minimize civilian casualties and collateral damage. Putin, doesn't care, and is taking a more scorched earth approach, in true Russian fashion. But he justifies it in his mind, and to the Russian people, in that he is only doing the same thing that the U.S. and NATO have done before, setting those precedents.
With that said, Putin's invasion is thoroughly evil, and does not represent his endgame, but only another step in his drive to restore the Soviet Union and the Russian Empire before it.
-
There were no negotiations. That was a lie spread by a pro-Kremlin blogger that all the other pro-Kremlin blogs picked up. And what was there to negotiate anyway?
@Timber Rattler
@Right_in_Virginia
There ain't no such critter as "negotiations" with the Soviets. They only PRETEND to negotiate when they they are in trouble,and need a cease-fire to regroup and to prevent having a loss.
They care NOTHING for civilian casualites,troop deaths,or politics (after all they are dictators who elect themselves),or any other factor. The ONLY thing they care about is maintaining absolute power.
-
What exactly does Russia have to gain by attacking the civilian infrastructure of Ukraine?
@Weird Tolkienish Figure
When you are a dictatorship, you MUST establish your "Authori-Tay" over your subjects/slaves,less they start to get cocky and thing they are free.
Russia is,and other than a VERY short break during the Yeltsin years,has been a Soviet Communist dictatorship ever since 1917.
The leadership is composed of ABSOLUTE dictators and there has never been such a critter as a dictator that was willing to let go of his death grip on power since the dawn of time.
-
It's a terror campaign, like Hitler's V1 and V2 strikes against the British and Dutch during World War II.
Also, Putin's strategy has become clear now. He wants to inflict enough suffering and damage on Ukrainian citizens to force Zelensky to surrender or negotiate on Russia's terms (disband his government and leave the country, turn it all over to a Russian puppet, and Russia gets to keep the LPR and DPR and its four illegally annexed oblasts and the Zaporizhia nuke plant).
It's also a perverse echo of Sherman's March through Georgia and South Carolina during our Civil War and the Allied bombing campaigns against Germany and Japan during World War II, and even Desert Storm in 1991 and our march to Baghdad in 2003, at least in Putin's twisted mind.
@Timber Rattler
The ONLY people who can't see this are people who don't WANT to see this because it is an uncomfortable truth,and they live their lives by telling little lies to themselves,and believing them.
There were people justifying dictatorships since the dawn of time because facing the truth would be too painful for them.
Their ancestors justified the Soviet takeover of Eastern Europe,just like they justified the Nazi takeover of the rest of Europe.
In short,they are natural born "Surrender Monkeys".
-
Putin has made those analogies though, and twisted them to his purposes.
In Iraq during both wars, the Allied Coalition did make targeted "surgical strikes" on key Iraqi infrastructure targets like government buildings, bridges, airports, and electrical stations to degrade Saddam's military, but it was not indiscriminate, and our commanders made every effort to minimize civilian casualties and collateral damage. Putin, doesn't care, and is taking a more scorched earth approach, in true Russian fashion. But he justifies it in his mind, and to the Russian people, in that he is only doing the same thing that the U.S. and NATO have done before, setting those precedents.
With that said, Putin's invasion is thoroughly evil, and does not represent his endgame, but only another step in his drive to restore the Soviet Union and the Russian Empire before it.
@Timber Rattler
Of course they are thoroughly evil. What else would anyone expect from a man that retired from the KGB as a Full Colonel,and then convinced the hard-core communists in Russia to vote him in as President for Life?
-
This thread needs a logo. Here's a suggestion......
(https://aipetcher.files.wordpress.com/2011/04/boys_playing_soldiersb.jpg)
-
@Timber Rattler
Of course they are thoroughly evil. What else would anyone expect from a man that retired from the KGB as a Full Colonel,and then convinced the hard-core communists in Russia to vote him in as President for Life?
As best as I can tell as a refugee from TOS, there is a point at which fear of the WEF/globalism/Deep State, and/or an extreme fondness for former President Trump, can go around the bend and make Putin/Russia the good guys simply because our current Administration supports Ukraine.
-
As best as I can tell as a refugee from TOS, there is a point at which fear of the WEF/globalism/Deep State, and/or an extreme fondness for former President Trump, can go around the bend and make Putin/Russia the good guys simply because our current Administration supports Ukraine.
That seems to be the case in a number of instances.
-
As best as I can tell as a refugee from TOS, there is a point at which fear of the WEF/globalism/Deep State, and/or an extreme fondness for former President Trump, can go around the bend and make Putin/Russia the good guys simply because our current Administration supports Ukraine.
Also Tucker Carlson.
-
Also Tucker Carlson.
Yeah, Tucker's lost his mind and jumped the shark for sure.
-
As best as I can tell as a refugee from TOS, there is a point at which fear of the WEF/globalism/Deep State, and/or an extreme fondness for former President Trump, can go around the bend and make Putin/Russia the good guys simply because our current Administration supports Ukraine.
On the surface, it is a clear logical fallacy. It ignores the fact that one can support Ukraine's cause without supporting the Biden regime. One could also argue that the Biden regime itself does not support Ukraine's cause since it continually denies to Ukraine the weaponry needed to defend itself.
The official position of the Biden Regime is to extend the duration of this war indefinitely. And that is a position which I have vehemently opposed since Day One. Russia is the bad guy here. Ukraine is the victim. And the sooner we take away Russia's ability to continue this action, the better. The world will be a safer place when Russia loses its ability to invade other states and perpetrate atrocities against civilians.
-
Yeah, Tucker's lost his mind and jumped the shark for sure.
Tucker has lost the ability to differentiate between Poroshenko and Zelenskiy. All Ukrainians are the same to him. Sort of like Putin calling them "drug addicts" and "nazis".
-
This thread needs a logo. Here's a suggestion......
(https://aipetcher.files.wordpress.com/2011/04/boys_playing_soldiersb.jpg)
Here's one for you:
(https://imgs.search.brave.com/cn7ax1ebvne7PP0VkzCjf5aXLEBHGgotCqOr2OfDLlM/rs:fit:368:498:1/g:ce/aHR0cHM6Ly9tZWRp/YTEudGVub3IuY29t/L2ltYWdlcy9iY2Mz/NWU2OTdjYjhiYTAw/NzIxYTY2MmFjMWZl/YTY0Yi90ZW5vci5n/aWY_aXRlbWlkPTEz/ODAyMDkw.gif)
-
Also Tucker Carlson.
No argument there. He's so dishonest when it comes to Ukraine that it made me question whether he was being dishonest on other topics. So now, I don't watch his show period.
-
Yeah, Tucker's lost his mind and jumped the shark for sure.
I guess that raises the question: Is it possible to be against Sloe Joe's reckless spending in Ukraine and be against Ukranian corruption, yet still greatly desire for Russia to leave Ukraine (including Crimea)?
-
I guess that raises the question: Is it possible to be against Sloe Joe's reckless spending in Ukraine and be against Ukranian corruption, yet still greatly desire for Russia to leave Ukraine (including Crimea)?
Yes, it is.
-
I guess that raises the question: Is it possible to be against Sloe Joe's reckless spending in
the name of Ukraine and be against Ukrainian corruption, yet still greatly desire for Russia to leave Ukraine (including Crimea)?
Yep. Been there since Day One.
-
Yep. Been there since Day One.
I proudly accept your edit to my post!
-
I haven't seen the Deets on Joe's spending proposal on Ukraine, is it no strings attached stuff, or is like loans and stuff, which could actually potentially be break even (at least in theory)? Just curious.
-
I proudly accept your edit to my post!
Meanwhile, Ukraine continues to go without adequate anti-air capabilities as Russia continues to terrorize the civilian population with missiles and suicide drones, while Biden toots his own horn with promises of defense missiles that go undelivered. But how about all that 'Ukraine' money handed out to Samantha Powers at USAID?
-
I haven't seen the Deets on Joe's spending proposal on Ukraine, is it no strings attached stuff
How much do you know about money laundering?
-
Here's a recent Congressional Research Service Report on U.S. aid to Ukraine, and how it is spent. Despite popular belief, we're not just flying pallets of cash to Kyiv and dropping it off, and most of this hasn't even been spent yet:
https://crsreports.congress.gov/product/pdf/IF/IF12040
And the Center for Strategic and International Studies does a good job of explaining it too:
https://www.csis.org/analysis/aid-ukraine-explained-six-charts
Few people actually bother to take the time to read and understand how the assistance works, and instead just make general assumptions. Heck, most people think that Zelensky has been president of Ukraine for 10 years or more. He was elected by a landslide in March 2019 on a reform platform, based, ironically enough, on his TV show "Servant of the People." It was kinda like Jerry Seinfeld running for president at the time, and he was surprised that he actually got elected.
-
No argument there. He's (Tucker Carlson) so dishonest when it comes to Ukraine that it made me question whether he was being dishonest on other topics. So now, I don't watch his show period.
Biden is so dishonest when it comes to everything and yet you do not question him on Ukraine. Why is this @Maj. Bill Martin ?
-
Here's one for you:
(https://imgs.search.brave.com/cn7ax1ebvne7PP0VkzCjf5aXLEBHGgotCqOr2OfDLlM/rs:fit:368:498:1/g:ce/aHR0cHM6Ly9tZWRp/YTEudGVub3IuY29t/L2ltYWdlcy9iY2Mz/NWU2OTdjYjhiYTAw/NzIxYTY2MmFjMWZl/YTY0Yi90ZW5vci5n/aWY_aXRlbWlkPTEz/ODAyMDkw.gif)
Nah. I don't think your logo should be "liar, liar pants on fire". Misled, simpleton children playing war better captures the thread's essence. IMO.
But, perhaps you do know better than I ---- it is, after all, your thread. :shrug:
-
Biden is so dishonest when it comes to everything and yet you do not question him on Ukraine. Why is this @Maj. Bill Martin ?
Where is this post where @Maj. Bill Martin supports Biden's policy of denying Ukraine the weaponry needed to drive Russia out of Ukraine?
-
Nah. I don't think your logo should be "liar, liar pants on fire". Misled, simpleton children playing war better captures the thread's essence. IMO.
The record shows you to be the one still repeating the Azov Battalion lie. But then you knew that already.
-
This is you, no?
"The media has also been burying years of inconvenient reporting on the neo-Nazi affiliated Azov Battalion. Watch the @NYTimes soften their language in real time, as they rebrand the Azov Battalion from openly neo-Nazi, to far-right, to heroic defenders of Ukraine "
-
Biden is so dishonest when it comes to everything and yet you do not question him on Ukraine. Why is this @Maj. Bill Martin ?
My support for Ukraine is based on the actions of Russia, not the bleatings of Biden.
-
What exactly does Russia have to gain by attacking the civilian infrastructure of Ukraine? Yeah I get that we've done things like that in the past, but this is a limited war. Why not stick to military targets?
Once they recognized that they could not defeat the Ukrainian military they began a campaign to destroy the infrastructure to push a depopulation of Ukraine. By forcing Ukrainians to flee and become refugees the eventual collapse of the country is possible. The Russians have also taken as many as 1,000,000 Ukrainians and resettled them throughout Russia.
-
My support for Ukraine is based on the actions of Russia, not the bleatings of Biden.
Word.
-
Word.
Agreed
-
My support for Ukraine is based on the actions of Russia, not the bleatings of Biden.
What are our national economic and security interests that justify our continued war against Russia @Maj. Bill Martin
-
For emphasis purposes only:
My support for Ukraine is based on the actions of Russia, not the bleatings of Biden.
-
What are our national economic and security interests that justify our continued war against Russia @Maj. Bill Martin
You know that NATO thing that's been going on for the last 70 years or so? What do you think its purpose is? To keep Russia and its satellites out of other people's countries consuming them once again. The need for NATO and the expense that goes with it is greatly reduced with a Russia that doesn't have the ability to invade others any longer.
-
You know that NATO thing that's been going on for the last 70 years or so? What do you think its purpose is? To keep Russia and its satellites out of other people's countries consuming them once again. The need for NATO and the expense that goes with it is greatly reduced with a Russia that doesn't have the ability to invade others any longer.
And then there's the oil and gas thingie - i.e. Russia seizing control of Ukrainian petroleum resources in order to increase it's cartel power over the rest of Europe. And of course the human rights angle where we decided long ago that atrocities committed against civilians should not go unchecked. Mass graves filled with civilian victims seems to have an affect on US foreign policy.
But then all of these items (and more) have been repeated here again and again. Yet one poster intentionally ignores them by asking the same obtuse already-answered question for months on end.
-
Inside the Ukrainian counteroffensive that shocked Putin and reshaped the war
https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2022/12/29/ukraine-offensive-kharkiv-kherson-donetsk/?utm_campaign=wp_todays_headlines&utm_medium=email&utm_source=newsletter&wpisrc=nl_headlines&fbclid=IwAR3dRDzolh53KRxM-6L5MLPb-MOJJwSvVZXLY7aPcS64iw7fb3erZZxM3Q0
After weeks of fighting for scraps of territory on the war’s bloodiest front, Oleh, a 21-year-old Ukrainian company commander, was summoned suddenly last August, along with thousands of other soldiers, to an obscure rendezvous point in the Kharkiv region.
At his last position, relentless Russian artillery fire had stalked his men’s every step. But here, in a patch of villages, farmland and streams in Ukraine’s northeast, the quiet was deeply alarming. “The silence bothered me the most,” Oleh said. “It seemed off. How could this be?”
Even more unsettling were the orders his superiors handed down: to charge as far as 40 miles into enemy territory at high speed in an audacious, top-secret counteroffensive — directly between the Russian-occupied stronghold of Izyum and Russia’s own Belgorod region dotted with military bases. It seemed preposterous. “Some kind of dubious operation,” Oleh said.
But after a summer of heavy Russian casualties and President Vladimir Putin’s refusal to conscript reinforcements, the Kremlin’s troops were badly depleted. A shift of units south — to defend the captured regional capital of Kherson amid talk of a big Ukrainian push there — had left the Kharkiv area exposed.
It was a stunning vulnerability, confirmed by Ukrainian reconnaissance teams and small drones. And Kyiv would exploit it to change the dynamic of the war, and achieve Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s goal of redrawing the battlefield map before winter.
After Russia’s invasion began on Feb. 24, Ukrainian troops forced Russia’s retreat from Kyiv in an underdog triumph that ended the first stage of the conflict. Thwarted from conquering the capital, Russia concentrated its power in the south and east, pummeling Ukrainian forces until new, longer-range weapons arrived from the United States and Europe and helped stall Moscow’s advances. Ukraine had survived but, after a half-year of war, one-quarter of its territory was still occupied and its military had failed to show it could launch an offensive to retake substantial ground.
That was about to change.
Excerpt (BIG article!)
-
As best as I can tell as a refugee from TOS, there is a point at which fear of the WEF/globalism/Deep State, and/or an extreme fondness for former President Trump, can go around the bend and make Putin/Russia the good guys simply because our current Administration supports Ukraine.
@Maj. Bill Martin
Not true. Our current administration only supports corruption. They,and their RINO accomplices are nothing more than whores for rent.
-
I guess that raises the question: Is it possible to be against Sloe Joe's reckless spending in Ukraine and be against Ukranian corruption, yet still greatly desire for Russia to leave Ukraine (including Crimea)?
@Cyber Liberty
Not only possible,but essential.
-
What are our national economic and security interests that justify our continued war against Russia @Maj. Bill Martin
@Right_in_Virginia
We are at war with Russia?
Since when?
-
Interesting turn of events...
Ukraine's Azov Regiment visits Israel: 'Mariupol is our Masada'
https://www.jpost.com/international/article-725351
A delegation from Ukraine's Azov Regiment visited Israel in recent days, meeting with officials and IDF reservists and speaking about the ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine.
The delegation arrived in Israel on Thursday and was led by Azov officer Ilya Samoilenko, one of the soldiers who barricaded themselves beneath the Azovstal steelworks during attempts to protect Mariupol from the Russian invasion earlier this year. Joining him in leading the delegation was Yuliya Fedosyuk, deputy head of the Association of Azovstal Defenders' Families.
Samoilenko was taken prisoner by Russia after weeks under siege in the Azvostal steelworks and was released in a prisoner swap in September.
The delegation came to Israel to advocate for members of the Azov Regiment who are still being held as prisoners, to speak about the defense of the Azovstal plant in Mariupol and to counter Russian reports and statements about the regiment and the ongoing war.
The visit was initiated by the Israeli Friends of Ukraine organization and with the support of the Ukrainian Embassy in Israel and the Nadav Foundation.
(snip)
While the Azov Batallion, the predecessor of the Azov Regiment, was heavily associated with neo-Nazi and far-right symbolism and ideologies, the Azov Regiment today insists that it has largely purged those sentiments from the regiment.
Excerpt
-
What are our national economic and security interests that justify our continued war against Russia @Maj. Bill Martin
As others have pointed out, we're not at war with Russia. We're one of many countries supplying weapons and intelligence to the country Russia invaded illegally, but that country, not us, is doing all the fighting. So, as to the reasons why we should be doing that...how long do you have?
1). A Russian conquest of Ukraine would greatly shorten the warning/preparatory time for a Russian invasion of our Eastern European allies. That would require us to maintain a greater and more forward-based military presence in Europe to prevent a future shooting war in which we would be involved. In contrast;
2. Ukraine is draining Russian military strength at a pace impossible outside of an actual armed conflict. I'm not sure we've ever gotten a bigger bang for the buck from our military expenditures than what we're seeing right now in Ukraine. Whenever this war is over, Russia will be a greatly weakened conventional military power, while the strength and resolve of our European NATO allies will be significantly greater. That actually will let us commit far fewer resources to Europe moving forward than we would have had to otherwise. And all that happens without the loss of a single American soldier - just a willingness to support people who are willing to fight for their own country.
3. Our support for Ukraine is a huge deterrent to China or anyone else thinking that we will stand by in the face of aggression. That deterrence was greatly weekend by our pathetic exit from Afghanistan, which is totally on Biden, and which may in fact have encouraged Russia to think they could get away with this invasion. Standing firm with Ukraine is the exact signal we needed to send to China to reverse the message of Afghanistan.
4. If we didn't stand up to Russia, both Russia and China would gain the power of the bully, and be more able to pressure or influence other countries to take economically adverse positions to the United States In the areas of trade, critical resources, etc.. It shows that we still matter on the world stage and can't be pushed around.
5. The only time Article 5 of the NATO treaty was ever invoked was on our behalf, after we were attacked on 9/11. And in response, a bunch of our NATO allies sent support to help avenge us halfway around the world into Afghanistan. Though Ukraine was not a NATO member, it's very clear that Russian aggression does pose a threat to those NATO members. So standing by Ukraine is us being a good ally to those same countries that stood by us.
6. Along the same lines, Ukraine itself, despite not being a NATO ally, also sent troops to Afghanistan. Standing by a country that stood next to us is simply the right and honorable thing to do.
7. Finally, war is a horrible thing. Europeans were killing each other for a thousand years until World War II seemingly woke most of them up, and for 75 years, Europe had avoided a large scale war, and was generally at peace . Just as a matter of basic humanity, that was a good thing. Until Putin decided that killing his fellow Europeans on a large scale would be a fun thing to do. There's a special rung in hell reserved for guys like that, and the idea that Russia should gain/profit from this is a moral obscenity. So, it basically comes down to just fighting evil. That explains why so many ordinary Europeans, who had become very pacifistic in general , support Ukraine.
Considering what we spend on everything else, and the relatively tiny cost of the expenditures to continue supporting Ukraine in its fight against Russia, it's an incredible bargain.
-
As others have pointed out, we're not at war with Russia. We're one of many countries supplying weapons and intelligence to the country Russia invaded illegally, but that country, not us, is doing all the fighting. So, as to the reasons why we should be doing that...how long do you have?
1). A Russian conquest of Ukraine would greatly shorten . . .
A most excellent post. Thank you, @Maj. Bill Martin
-
As others have pointed out, we're not at war with Russia. We're one of many countries supplying weapons and intelligence to the country Russia invaded illegally, but that country, not us, is doing all the fighting. So, as to the reasons why we should be doing that...how long do you have?
1). A Russian conquest of Ukraine would greatly shorten the warning/preparatory time for a Russian invasion of our Eastern European allies. That would require us to maintain a greater and more forward-based military presence in Europe to prevent a future shooting war in which we would be involved. In contrast;
2. Ukraine is draining Russian military strength at a pace impossible outside of an actual armed conflict. I'm not sure we've ever gotten a bigger bang for the buck from our military expenditures than what we're seeing right now in Ukraine. Whenever this war is over, Russia will be a greatly weakened conventional military power, while the strength and resolve of our European NATO allies will be significantly greater. That actually will let us commit far fewer resources to Europe moving forward than we would have had to otherwise. And all that happens without the loss of a single American soldier - just a willingness to support people who are willing to fight for their own country.
3. Our support for Ukraine is a huge deterrent to China or anyone else thinking that we will stand by in the face of aggression. That deterrence was greatly weekend by our pathetic exit from Afghanistan, which is totally on Biden, and which may in fact have encouraged Russia to think they could get away with this invasion. Standing firm with Ukraine is the exact signal we needed to send to China to reverse the message of Afghanistan.
4. If we didn't stand up to Russia, both Russia and China would gain the power of the bully, and be more able to pressure or influence other countries to take economically adverse positions to the United States In the areas of trade, critical resources, etc.. It shows that we still matter on the world stage and can't be ignored.
5. The only time Article 5 of the NATO treaty was ever invoked was on our behalf, after we were attacked on 9/11. And in response, a bunch of our NATO allies sent support to help avenge us halfway around the world into Afghanistan. Though Ukraine was not a NATO member, it's very clear that Russian aggression does pose a threat to those NATO members. So standing by Ukraine is us being a good ally to those same countries that stood by us.
6. Along the same lines, Ukraine itself, despite not being a NATO ally, also sent troops to Afghanistan. Standing by a country that stood next to us is simply the right and honorable thing to do.
7. Finally, war is a horrible thing. Europeans were killing each other for a thousand years until World War II seemingly woke most of them up, and for 75 years, Europe had avoided a large scale war, and was generally at peace . Until Putin decided that killing his fellow Europeans on a large scale would be a fun thing to do. There's a special rung in hell reserved for guys like that, and the idea that Russia should gain/profit from this is a moral obscenity. So, it basically comes down to just fighting evil. That explains why so many ordinary Europeans, who had become very pacifistic in general , support Ukraine.
Considering what we spend on everything else, and the relatively tiny cost of the expenditures to continue supporting Ukraine in its fight against Russia, it's an incredible bargain.
Excellent.
-
The Ukrainians sent troops to Iraq on OUR behalf too, even though they are not NATO members...
https://www.army.mil/article/15056/ukrainians_complete_mission_in_iraq
More than 5,000 Ukrainian troops have served in Iraq during Ukraine's five years of service in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom.
"Enduring peace, stability and prosperity are common values to fight for in the modern world. Your mission in Iraq has been successfully completed," said Viktor Nedopas, Charge d'Affairs of the Ukrainian Embassy in Iraq.
The Ukrainians served as the third-largest Coalition forces contingent in Iraq, with about 1,700 soldiers from 2003-2005.
-
The Ukrainians sent troops to Iraq on OUR behalf too, even though they are not NATO members...
https://www.army.mil/article/15056/ukrainians_complete_mission_in_iraq
Great, but we shouldn't have even sent troops there IMO. Still bitter about that one.
-
Excellent.
This is why I was pleased to see @Maj. Bill Martin posting! His analysis is top notch!
-
One of the most refreshing things about Trump was his rejection of the neocon agenda.
I remember listening to the 2015 GOP primary candidates in their first debate. They all sounded like they wanted to attack Russia the day after they were elected. Absolutely idiotic IMO. Christie and Carlie Fiorina in particular IIRC.
So IMO we need to toe a careful line here...
-
I think one of the core problems with the neocon agenda was it amounted to Americans telling people and other countries how we thought they should live. So it was arguably us imposing our way of life on others. Too often, it became us fighting other people's battles.
I just don't see that as applying at all in Ukraine. This is one large country invading a smaller country, and the citizens of that smaller country fighting fiercely to keep their independence. We're not trying to impose our vision on anyone else, nor are we being asked to send our own young people overseas to fight and die. We're just being asked to give them weapons with which they can defend themselves.
-
As others have pointed out, we're not at war with Russia. We're one of many countries supplying weapons and intelligence to the country Russia invaded illegally, but that country, not us, is doing all the fighting. So, as to the reasons why we should be doing that...how long do you have?
1). A Russian conquest of Ukraine would greatly shorten the warning/preparatory time for a Russian invasion of our Eastern European allies. That would require us to maintain a greater and more forward-based military presence in Europe to prevent a future shooting war in which we would be involved. In contrast;
2. Ukraine is draining Russian military strength at a pace impossible outside of an actual armed conflict. I'm not sure we've ever gotten a bigger bang for the buck from our military expenditures than what we're seeing right now in Ukraine. Whenever this war is over, Russia will be a greatly weakened conventional military power, while the strength and resolve of our European NATO allies will be significantly greater. That actually will let us commit far fewer resources to Europe moving forward than we would have had to otherwise. And all that happens without the loss of a single American soldier - just a willingness to support people who are willing to fight for their own country.
3. Our support for Ukraine is a huge deterrent to China or anyone else thinking that we will stand by in the face of aggression. That deterrence was greatly weekend by our pathetic exit from Afghanistan, which is totally on Biden, and which may in fact have encouraged Russia to think they could get away with this invasion. Standing firm with Ukraine is the exact signal we needed to send to China to reverse the message of Afghanistan.
4. If we didn't stand up to Russia, both Russia and China would gain the power of the bully, and be more able to pressure or influence other countries to take economically adverse positions to the United States In the areas of trade, critical resources, etc.. It shows that we still matter on the world stage and can't be pushed around.
5. The only time Article 5 of the NATO treaty was ever invoked was on our behalf, after we were attacked on 9/11. And in response, a bunch of our NATO allies sent support to help avenge us halfway around the world into Afghanistan. Though Ukraine was not a NATO member, it's very clear that Russian aggression does pose a threat to those NATO members. So standing by Ukraine is us being a good ally to those same countries that stood by us.
6. Along the same lines, Ukraine itself, despite not being a NATO ally, also sent troops to Afghanistan. Standing by a country that stood next to us is simply the right and honorable thing to do.
7. Finally, war is a horrible thing. Europeans were killing each other for a thousand years until World War II seemingly woke most of them up, and for 75 years, Europe had avoided a large scale war, and was generally at peace . Just as a matter of basic humanity, that was a good thing. Until Putin decided that killing his fellow Europeans on a large scale would be a fun thing to do. There's a special rung in hell reserved for guys like that, and the idea that Russia should gain/profit from this is a moral obscenity. So, it basically comes down to just fighting evil. That explains why so many ordinary Europeans, who had become very pacifistic in general , support Ukraine.
Considering what we spend on everything else, and the relatively tiny cost of the expenditures to continue supporting Ukraine in its fight against Russia, it's an incredible bargain.
Frankly, I would like to have one hundredth of a percent of the money we have expended 'not being at war with Russia' since the end of WWII...
...and that does not include the money spent on proxy wars.
That said, I am all in favor of the Russian tide reaching no higher than it has in Ukraine, and await that ebb.
-
Frankly, I would like to have one hundredth of a percent of the money we have expended 'not being at war with Russia' since the end of WWII...
...and that does not include the money spent on proxy wars.
My thought - which may or may not turn out to be right - is that the way you spend less money preparing to fight wars against Russia is for them to become much less of a threat.
We spent far more on defense when we had to be ready to fight the Soviet Union, which obviously was larger and more powerful than just Russia. When it eventually fell apart, our spending on defense dropped significantly because we didn't have to spend as much on defense. So the way I figure it, if the Ukrainians can rip the guts out of Russian conventional forces, that'll mean a second "peace dividend", at least with respect to Europe.
Obviously, we could just abandon Europe and not have to worry about spending anything for it. I'm just not sure that's a good idea.
-
My thought - which may or may not turn out to be right - is that the way you spend less money preparing to fight wars against Russia is for them to become much less of a threat.
We spent far more on defense when we had to be ready to fight the Soviet Union, which obviously was larger and more powerful than just Russia. When it eventually fell apart, our spending on defense dropped significantly because we didn't have to spend as much on defense. So the way I figure it, if the Ukrainians can rip the guts out of Russian conventional forces, that'll mean a second "peace dividend", at least with respect to Europe.
Obviously, we could just abandon Europe and not have to worry about spending anything for it. I'm just not sure that's a good idea.
Abandoning Europe isn't a winning long term strategy, in the past, present, or future. We'd just end up going over there and fighting it out again, round three. No thanks.
I am well aware of the fortunes spent developing the high cards in the Arms Race of the '50s, '60s, and '70s, and have been on that periphery one way or another as an observer most of my life, from the days when the F-14 was being tested over at PAX River, to living among the missile fields of North Dakota. I have even been to the 'pyramid' at Nekoma, which spent a lot of money, developed phased array radar systems, but had the plug pulled before the electronics were warm. What was learned was applied elsewhere, not money wasted, and an interesting landmark to boot. But the tremendous expense of that effort is the reason I referred to wanting just a small fraction of that money spent 'not fighting the USSR'--on deterrents, rather than war. It would still be a fortune more than adequate for my needs.
I am all for the Ukrainians ripping the guts out of the (former?) Soviet Army. Neutralize the threat, by all means (except our troops). Provide the Ukraine the tools they need to fight the fight.
But keep in mind, Russia will rebuild their forces, now with the knowledge of what works, and more importantly, what does not. They will eventually be stronger for it, and that may be under new, more competent management.
Unfortunately, what is unlikely to change is the structure within which that management operates, and that is part of the problem here. The stink of Communism lingers heavily despite all those assurances it was dead, and while the Bolshevik version isn't really gaining ground as well as it might--despite the universities and media embracing it's philosophies and tactics, Chairman Mao's brand is making serious inroads into our society, economy, and hegemony, and has its spies in every research facility and university in the west.
Perhaps the effectiveness of weapons systems we have given Ukraine to deploy will serve as a deterrent to the Chinese, but bet your bottom dollar they are studying every system, capability, and tactic, with eyes toward defeating them all.
-
Thank you for your reply @Maj. Bill Martin A few thoughts and observations follow.
As others have pointed out, we're not at war with Russia. We're one of many countries supplying weapons and intelligence to the country Russia invaded illegally, but that country, not us, is doing all the fighting.
If the US Congress was still in the business of declaring war, I would give you this point. But, it's not. So, what we have is a proxy war with Russia, and the line between this and a direct war is becoming increasingly thin.
Our government from the top down has repeatedly called for a regime change in Russia, even calling for the assassination of its head of state. Our government has pledged unlimited support in time, money, more and more advanced military hardware and the opposition leader in the Senate has declared this war to be the most important issue in the United States today. We have directly countered, not on behalf of NATO, Russian threats with our own specific to nuclear weapons.
We have "advisors" on the ground in Ukraine and US troops placed around Ukraine's borders ----- ready and, apparently, willing to cross them.
Make no mistake about it, this is as much our direct war as it is Russia's. The difference is we're content, for now, to fill the body bags with Ukrainians.
1). A Russian conquest of Ukraine would greatly shorten the warning/preparatory time for a Russian invasion of our Eastern European allies. That would require us to maintain a greater and more forward-based military presence in Europe to prevent a future shooting war in which we would be involved.
I am unconvinced Russia's goal is to reenact Stalin's march through Europe, making your point that follows moot. IMO, Putin is a Tsarist and he wants two things: not to be boxed in by NATO forces (not unlike our nonnegotiable with the Soviets over Cuba) and to be a respected global player.
Subset goals include a return of Crimea to Russia after Khrushchev just tossed it to Ukraine and an independent Donbas for access to the Black Sea ports.
The same Russia we are now told is our most potent enemy is the same Russia who told Bush he was cancelling war games right after the attacks on 911 and offered assistance with intelligence gathering, ----- that warned us a year before the Boston marathon attack. Russia also fought ISIS in Syria and has given Israel near carte blanche to enter Syrian airspace to destroy Iranian weapons stored there.
Why is Russia, but not China, enemy number one?
2. Ukraine is draining Russian military strength at a pace impossible outside of an actual armed conflict. I'm not sure we've ever gotten a bigger bang for the buck from our military expenditures than what we're seeing right now in Ukraine. Whenever this war is over, Russia will be a greatly weakened conventional military power, while the strength and resolve of our European NATO allies will be significantly greater. That actually will let us commit far fewer resources to Europe moving forward than we would have had to otherwise. And all that happens without the loss of a single American soldier - just a willingness to support people who are willing to fight for their own country.
Why and when did Russia become a mortal threat that justifies our neck deep involvement? Are not the WEF and China greater threats to our freedoms?
I mean no disrespect, but nothing you've said remotely addresses the real threats we face in the 21st Century. It all reads more like passages from a Tom Clancy novel written in the 1980s.
3. Our support for Ukraine is a huge deterrent to China or anyone else thinking that we will stand by in the face of aggression. That deterrence was greatly weekend by our pathetic exit from Afghanistan, which is totally on Biden, and which may in fact have encouraged Russia to think they could get away with this invasion. Standing firm with Ukraine is the exact signal we needed to send to China to reverse the message of Afghanistan.
Nope. It looks like you missed this:
" BREAKING: Tony Blinken just said the US couldn’t be supporting Ukraine right now if they were still in Afghanistan and has no ability to support 2 allies at once" (Video)
https://mobile.twitter.com/JackPosobiec/status/1607829330729508871
4. If we didn't stand up to Russia, both Russia and China would gain the power of the bully, and be more able to pressure or influence other countries to take economically adverse positions to the United States In the areas of trade, critical resources, etc.. It shows that we still matter on the world stage and can't be pushed around.
This has to make China laugh, they own the Biden regime and half of the US Congress. (Think 21st Century)
5. The only time Article 5 of the NATO treaty was ever invoked was on our behalf, after we were attacked on 9/11. And in response, a bunch of our NATO allies sent support to help avenge us halfway around the world into Afghanistan. Though Ukraine was not a NATO member, it's very clear that Russian aggression does pose a threat to those NATO members. So standing by Ukraine is us being a good ally to those same countries that stood by us.
Using NATO as a threat on behalf of a non-member turns NATO from a defensive alliance into an offensive one. Are you sure this is what you want?
It's also the most effective way to poke the Bear into action. Why did we do this?
6. Along the same lines, Ukraine itself, despite not being a NATO ally, also sent troops to Afghanistan. Standing by a country that stood next to us is simply the right and honorable thing to do.
Quite different from NATO provoking a war on behalf of a non-member.
7. Finally, war is a horrible thing. Europeans were killing each other for a thousand years until World War II seemingly woke most of them up, and for 75 years, Europe had avoided a large scale war, and was generally at peace . Just as a matter of basic humanity, that was a good thing. Until Putin decided that killing his fellow Europeans on a large scale would be a fun thing to do. There's a special rung in hell reserved for guys like that, and the idea that Russia should gain/profit from this is a moral obscenity. So, it basically comes down to just fighting evil. That explains why so many ordinary Europeans, who had become very pacifistic in general , support Ukraine.
This reads as simplistic talking points nestled in 1985 -- not as good enough reasons for our involvement in and escalation of this war.
Considering what we spend on everything else, and the relatively tiny cost of the expenditures to continue supporting Ukraine in its fight against Russia, it's an incredible bargain.
Why are we continuing to advance our economic collapse and deplete our own military readiness for a (proxy) war with Russia? What is the compelling threat to the United States?
-
The war could stop tomorrow. All that needs to happen is the Russians withdraw and give back the territory they have invaded, and return the Ukrainians who would willingly go home.
Don't forget who started it.
-
Ukrainian Artillerists Work Hard To Maintain Old Howitzers From Estonia
Roman Pahulych, Will Tizard | December 29, 2022 | 17:15 GMT
Ukrainian gunners have learned to be versatile in their adoption of artillery pieces sent from various nations offering support. Targeting Russian invaders effectively in at least one case means mastering older Estonian-donated howitzers. There are varying maintenance needs and performance differences, with a range of ammunition sources. Finnish shells are favored by Ukrainian gunners in the Zaporizhzhya region, along with American 155-mm rounds.
Video: https://www.rferl.org/embed/player/0/32199208.html
https://www.rferl.org/a/ukraine-russia-artillery-zaporizhzhya-155mm-howitzer-estonia-american/32199208.html
-
" BREAKING: Tony Blinken just said the US couldn’t be supporting Ukraine right now if they were still in Afghanistan and has no ability to support 2 allies at once" (Video)
https://mobile.twitter.com/JackPosobiec/status/1607829330729508871
Tony Blinken is an idiot with zero military or Defense Dept experience. He and Avril Haynes are both in bed with Blackstone. Neither one knows jack shit about US military capabilities.
-
Frankly, I would like to have one hundredth of a percent of the money we have expended 'not being at war with Russia' since the end of WWII...
...and that does not include the money spent on proxy wars.
Would you take a check delivered by Sugar Plum Faries?
That said, I am all in favor of the Russian tide reaching no higher than it has in Ukraine, and await that ebb.
ANYTHING that weakens the military might and lessens the agreession of the Neo-Soviets is good for not only world peace,but revived economies. All that money spent on aggressive military action could be better spend on improving education,housing,health care,creating new jobs,etc,etc,etc.
-
The war could stop tomorrow. All that needs to happen is the Russians withdraw and give back the territory they have invaded, and return the Ukrainians who would willingly go home.
Don't forget who started it.
@Smokin Joe
That is such a simple,basic truth that it looks like a 10 year old could understand it,doesn't it?
Russia stops the invasion and retreats back to Russia,and the war is over.
-
As others have pointed out, we're not at war with Russia. We're one of many countries supplying weapons and intelligence to the country Russia invaded illegally, but that country, not us, is doing all the fighting. So, as to the reasons why we should be doing that...how long do you have?
1). A Russian conquest of Ukraine would greatly shorten the warning/preparatory time for a Russian invasion of our Eastern European allies. That would require us to maintain a greater and more forward-based military presence in Europe to prevent a future shooting war in which we would be involved. In contrast;
2. Ukraine is draining Russian military strength at a pace impossible outside of an actual armed conflict. I'm not sure we've ever gotten a bigger bang for the buck from our military expenditures than what we're seeing right now in Ukraine. Whenever this war is over, Russia will be a greatly weakened conventional military power, while the strength and resolve of our European NATO allies will be significantly greater. That actually will let us commit far fewer resources to Europe moving forward than we would have had to otherwise. And all that happens without the loss of a single American soldier - just a willingness to support people who are willing to fight for their own country.
3. Our support for Ukraine is a huge deterrent to China or anyone else thinking that we will stand by in the face of aggression. That deterrence was greatly weekend by our pathetic exit from Afghanistan, which is totally on Biden, and which may in fact have encouraged Russia to think they could get away with this invasion. Standing firm with Ukraine is the exact signal we needed to send to China to reverse the message of Afghanistan.
4. If we didn't stand up to Russia, both Russia and China would gain the power of the bully, and be more able to pressure or influence other countries to take economically adverse positions to the United States In the areas of trade, critical resources, etc.. It shows that we still matter on the world stage and can't be pushed around.
5. The only time Article 5 of the NATO treaty was ever invoked was on our behalf, after we were attacked on 9/11. And in response, a bunch of our NATO allies sent support to help avenge us halfway around the world into Afghanistan. Though Ukraine was not a NATO member, it's very clear that Russian aggression does pose a threat to those NATO members. So standing by Ukraine is us being a good ally to those same countries that stood by us.
6. Along the same lines, Ukraine itself, despite not being a NATO ally, also sent troops to Afghanistan. Standing by a country that stood next to us is simply the right and honorable thing to do.
7. Finally, war is a horrible thing. Europeans were killing each other for a thousand years until World War II seemingly woke most of them up, and for 75 years, Europe had avoided a large scale war, and was generally at peace . Just as a matter of basic humanity, that was a good thing. Until Putin decided that killing his fellow Europeans on a large scale would be a fun thing to do. There's a special rung in hell reserved for guys like that, and the idea that Russia should gain/profit from this is a moral obscenity. So, it basically comes down to just fighting evil. That explains why so many ordinary Europeans, who had become very pacifistic in general , support Ukraine.
Considering what we spend on everything else, and the relatively tiny cost of the expenditures to continue supporting Ukraine in its fight against Russia, it's an incredible bargain.
:thumbsup:
-
Would you take a check delivered by Sugar Plum Faries?
No checks. Bills would be unwieldy, gold too heavy. Bearer Bonds or something of the sort might work.
ANYTHING that weakens the military might and lessens the agreession of the Neo-Soviets is good for not only world peace,but revived economies. All that money spent on aggressive military action could be better spend on improving education,housing,health care,creating new jobs,etc,etc,etc.
With the current trends in education (woke sh*t, CRT, etc.), housing (the Ritz for illegals, veterans camp on the streets), health care (wanna jab, anyone?), creating new jobs (87,000 ARMED IRS agents), maybe we'd be better off just paying down the debt.
-
As fighting near Kreminna continues, Ukraine says Russians have moved out of eastern city to other settlements
Radina Gigova and Olga Viotovych | 2:16 p.m. ET, December 28, 2022
As fighting near the key Ukrainian city of Kreminna in the eastern Luhansk region continues, Russian civilians who had come to the city have stopped their work and left, Serhiy Hayday, head of the Luhansk region military administration, said Wednesday in a television interview.
"The military command has indeed moved [from Kreminna] to other settlements. All the Russians who came to work, the civilians — doctors, repair teams — they have all stopped their work, all left for the Russian Federation, and all the work that was started is now frozen," Hayday said.
Why Kreminna matters: If the Ukrainian military is able to dislodge the Russians from Kreminna, the Ukrainian military could then proceed in two directions, Hayday said.
"There are two prospects. The first is to go to Starobilsk, which is the logistics center of Luhansk region. Whoever controls Starobilsk will be able to control the entire logistics of the Luhansk region with firepower. In other words, there will be almost no roads left along which the enemy could quietly move either personnel or equipment," Hayday said.
"The second direction is towards Rubizhne and Severodonetsk. This is in order to break the grouping, which is now constantly, round the clock, advancing towards Bakhmut. . .
https://www.cnn.com/europe/live-news/russia-ukraine-war-news-12-28-22/index.html
-
Looks like Russia is making plans to evacuate Kreminna. Hopefully, Svatove falls as well. This will greatly complicate Russian logistics.
-
Russia Loses 5 Ammunition Warehouses, Radar Station in Single Day: Ukraine
https://www.newsweek.com/russia-loses-5-ammunition-warehouses-radar-station-single-day-ukraine-1770499 (https://www.newsweek.com/russia-loses-5-ammunition-warehouses-radar-station-single-day-ukraine-1770499)
leksandr Shtupun, the spokesperson of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, said on Friday that Russia lost a radar station and ammunition warehouses in a Ukrainian strike.
Shtupun said during an updated operational briefing posted on Facebook that a hospital in Ukraine's Luhansk region was "full of wounded Russian servicemen" on Thursday. Ukrainian forces also destroyed Russian military equipment and targeted troops.
"Up to 10 armed occupiers were wounded and destroyed in the Donetsk oblast. In addition, 2 units of military equipment were destroyed, and another 3 were damaged," the spokesperson said. "Our aircraft made 5 strikes on areas where the occupiers were concentrated. Also, during this day, an enemy reconnaissance UAV of the 'Orlan-10' type was shot down."
He continued: "At the same time, units of missile troops and artillery of the Defense Forces of Ukraine hit 6 areas of concentration of enemy manpower and military equipment, 5 ammunition warehouses and a radar station."
More at link.
-
Chechens flee Russia in droves to reach Bosnia in bid to escape war
https://www.express.co.uk/news/world/1715164/ukraine-live-chechens-flee-russia-war-bosnia-european-union-migrants (https://www.express.co.uk/news/world/1715164/ukraine-live-chechens-flee-russia-war-bosnia-european-union-migrants)
Chechens fleeing Russia arrived in Bosnia this week, hoping to use the Balkan country as a launchpad to reach the European Union and avoid getting sent to fight in Ukraine.
Scores of Chechens have amassed near near Bosnia’s northwestern border with EU member state Croatia in a bid to escape Putin's war on Ukraine.
“They want to reach the European Union because, in their own words, they are fleeing military draft", the Bosnian Security Ministry said.
More at link.
-
Kiev reports 15,000 people missing since late February
https://tass.com/world/1557939 (https://tass.com/world/1557939)
"According to the latest data, Russia has confirmed 3,392 Ukrainian prisoners, but as many as 15,000 people, including many civilians, have been reported missing in Ukraine," Ukraine's ombudswoman for the rights of prisoners of war and presidential adviser Alena Verbitskaya said
BERLIN, December 30. /TASS/. Some 15,000 people have been reported missing in Ukraine since late February, the country’s ombudswoman for the rights of prisoners of war and presidential adviser Alena Verbitskaya said in an interview with Germany’s Redaktionsnetzwerk Deutschland (RND) on Friday.
"According to the latest data, Russia has confirmed 3,392 Ukrainian prisoners, but as many as 15,000 people, including many civilians, have been reported missing in Ukraine," she said. "We know nothing about them."
More at link.
-
Ukraine Could Get American M-2 Fighting Vehicles. They’re Exactly What The Ukrainian Army Needs To Stay On The Offensive.
David Axe | Dec 30, 2022 | 03:25pm EST
The administration of U.S. president Joe Biden is considering donating to Ukraine some of the U.S. Army’s redundant M-2 infantry fighting vehicles, Bloomberg reported.
It’s exactly what the Ukrainian army needs most as Russia’s wider war on Ukraine grinds toward its 11th month, the wet winter deepens, the ground freezes and Ukraine positions forces for a possible new counteroffensive.
The 25-ton M-2, produced by BAE Systems, is an infantry fighting vehicle. An IFV is an armored personnel carrier that, thanks to its turret-mounted cannon, also can fight. In addition to shuttling troops around the battlefield, IFVs accompany and protect tanks and dismounted infantry.
The three-person M-2 boasts a 25-millimeter chain gun, a launcher for TOW anti-tank missiles, laminate armor that can deflect heavy machine-gun fire and a troop compartment that can fit six infantry.
Now 40 years old, the M-2 isn’t the world’s best IFV, but it arguably is superior to even the newest BMP IFVs in the Russian and Ukrainian arsenals. . .
https://www.forbes.com/sites/davidaxe/2022/12/30/ukraine-could-get-american-m-2-fighting-vehicles-theyre-exactly-what-the-ukrainian-army-needs-to-stay-on-the-offensive/?sh=62bf7eab2d6a
-
(https://img-9gag-fun.9cache.com/photo/aKEd9yj_460s.jpg)
-
(https://img-9gag-fun.9cache.com/photo/aQE1Z4d_460s.jpg)
-
(https://img-9gag-fun.9cache.com/photo/az21dZj_460s.jpg)
-
BREAKING:
Explosions reported in Kursk, Belgorod, Voronezh and Rostov moments ago.
The picture is from Rostov.
Happy New Year’s Eve to Russia from Ukraine.
https://twitter.com/visegrad24/status/1609301405843722240
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FlVjGPsWQAE9IOw?format=jpg)
-
Meanwhile in Moscow...
https://twitter.com/visegrad24/status/1609314624343531522
-
BREAKING:
Explosions reported in Kursk, Belgorod, Voronezh and Rostov moments ago.
That's a shame.
-
And then in Kyiv...
https://twitter.com/oonuch/status/1609315337081872384
https://www.president.gov.ua/en/news/novorichne-privitannya-prezidenta-ukrayini-volodimira-zelens-80197
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XqNrvIHoY0g
-
That's a shame.
A real crying shame
-
If NATO Won’t Give Ukraine Offensive Weapons, ‘Defensive Tanks’ Will Do
Craig Hooper | Dec 28, 2022 | 12:55pm EST
(https://imageio.forbes.com/specials-images/imageserve/63ac7c84c8f0467006cc7317/A-column-of-M60-A3-tanks-roll-out/960x0.jpg)
Older M60-A3 tanks are widely available defensive weapons, and should be sent to Ukraine. AFP VIA GETTY IMAGES
It is no secret that Ukraine needs defensive NATO-standard armored vehicles. Speaking at the Pentagon in mid-September 2022, a forward-thinking “senior military official” noted that Ukraine “may need to transition to NATO compatible” armored vehicles, and that “tanks are absolutely on the table.” But as 2023 looms, NATO-compatible tanks—even less heavily-armed defensive-oriented ones—are still stuck on the proverbial table.
Ukraine has no easy path forward. For modern armored vehicles, there just aren’t too many viable options available. Unless a free-wheeling, on-the-move arms export powerhouse like South Korea rolls up with a surprise offer, only German or American tanks are available in sufficient numbers for Ukraine to start thinking about accumulating a standardized “single model” tank force for the future.
Under normal circumstances, Germany and the United States would be falling all over themselves to “capture” Ukraine’s long-term tank business. But front-line battle tanks are tricky things. . .
https://www.forbes.com/sites/craighooper/2022/12/28/if-nato-wont-give-ukraine-offensive-weapons-maybe-defensive-tanks-will-do/
-
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IrGZ66uKcl0
-
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IrGZ66uKcl0
-
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IrGZ66uKcl0
Just a border skirmish according to our resident expert...
-
Ukraine claims hundreds of Russian recruits killed in 'massive' Donetsk missile strike
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-01-03/dozens-russian-recruits-killed-donetsk-ukraine-missilie-strike/101822758 (https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-01-03/dozens-russian-recruits-killed-donetsk-ukraine-missilie-strike/101822758)
A significant number of Russian recruits were killed in a Ukrainian New Year's Eve attack in the Russian-controlled part of Ukraine's Donetsk province, a source close to the Russian-appointed leadership said on Monday.
Key points:
• Ukraine says as many as 400 Russian recruits were killed in a missile strike. Russia says the number is 63
• The recruits were in temporary accommodation at a vocational college on New Year's Eve
• A former FSB officer says ammunition had been stored in the same building
Footage posted online, which Reuters could not immediately verify, showed a building purported to be a vocational college in the mining town of Makiivka reduced to a field of smouldering rubble.
Ukraine's defence ministry said as many as 400 Russians had been killed, while Russia's Defence Ministry confirmed that 63 servicemen had been killed.
The Donetsk source, who declined to be named, said: "According to my information, there are fewer than 100 killed so far."
"What is being reported [by Ukraine] is greatly exaggerated. Fifty-eight wounded were brought in overnight, which is a lot for a normal day and not much if you believe the information about hundreds of dead," the source said.
"It was a site for mobilised Russian recruits."
More at link.
-
Same story:
Deadly Strike on Russians in Ukraine Exposes Moscow’s Military Failings
A Ukrainian attack with U.S.-made rockets may have left hundreds of casualties, and pro-war Russians accused their military commanders of repeating fatal errors.
Matthew Mpoke Bigg, Anatoly Kurmanaev and Richard Pérez-Peña | Jan. 2, 2023 | 6:37 p.m. ET
In one of their deadliest attacks yet on Russian forces, Ukrainians used American-made rockets to kill dozens — and perhaps hundreds — of Moscow’s troops in a New Year’s Day strike behind the lines, prompting outraged Russian war hawks to accuse their military of lethal incompetence.
The strike by the HIMARS rockets killed 63 Russian soldiers in a building housing them in the occupied city of Makiivka, in eastern Ukraine, the Russian Defense Ministry said on Monday — an unusual admission for a military that has often refused to acknowledge serious losses. A former Russian paramilitary commander in Ukraine, Igor Girkin, wrote on the Telegram app that “many hundreds” were dead and wounded and that many “remained under the rubble.” . . .
. . . Pro-war Russian bloggers and some government officials said the debacle was caused by the military’s own repeated and costly mistakes, like garrisoning troops in a dense concentration within range of Ukrainian artillery, placing them in the same building as an ammunition depot, and allowing them to use cellphones, whose signals the Ukrainians can use to zero in on their target.
“Our generals are untrainable in principle,” wrote Mr. Girkin, who has used the nom de guerre Igor Strelkov. . .
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/01/02/world/europe/ukraine-russia-himars-makiivka.html
-
Amazing how incompetent the Kremlin is.
-
Just a border skirmish according to our resident expert...
This wasn't a massacre that was like done by over-stressed units in battle by poorly trained/led conscripts (like MyLai). These were basically fresh troops, highly trained, in the first month of battle. Makes me think this was ordered from above.
-
Ukraine claims hundreds of Russian recruits killed in 'massive' Donetsk missile strike
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-01-03/dozens-russian-recruits-killed-donetsk-ukraine-missilie-strike/101822758 (https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-01-03/dozens-russian-recruits-killed-donetsk-ukraine-missilie-strike/101822758)
A significant number of Russian recruits were killed in a Ukrainian New Year's Eve attack in the Russian-controlled part of Ukraine's Donetsk province, a source close to the Russian-appointed leadership said on Monday.
Key points:
• Ukraine says as many as 400 Russian recruits were killed in a missile strike. Russia says the number is 63
• The recruits were in temporary accommodation at a vocational college on New Year's Eve
• A former FSB officer says ammunition had been stored in the same building
Footage posted online, which Reuters could not immediately verify, showed a building purported to be a vocational college in the mining town of Makiivka reduced to a field of smouldering rubble.
Ukraine's defence ministry said as many as 400 Russians had been killed, while Russia's Defence Ministry confirmed that 63 servicemen had been killed.
The Donetsk source, who declined to be named, said: "According to my information, there are fewer than 100 killed so far."
"What is being reported [by Ukraine] is greatly exaggerated. Fifty-eight wounded were brought in overnight, which is a lot for a normal day and not much if you believe the information about hundreds of dead," the source said.
"It was a site for mobilised Russian recruits."
More at link.
They were using the basement as a munitions depot. The building and everyone/everything in it was vaporized.
Nobody knows for sure, not even the Russians, but there could have been up to 600 troops on site.
Given Russian incompetence, most of those will have simply disappeared, with no one ever knowing what happened to them.
-
Amazing how incompetent the Kremlin is.
Even more amazing is the fact that this is the same Kremlin a tad over 60 years ago was beating us in the Space Race.
No country (USSR) in my lifetime has lost more prestige and power.
-
Amazing how incompetent the Kremlin is.
@Weird Tolkienish Figure
Police states are incompetent by nature when it comes to politics because there are no alternative or oppossing positions.
The ONLY think they are competent at doing is enslaving people.
-
This wasn't a massacre that was like done by over-stressed units in battle by poorly trained/led conscripts (like MyLai). These were basically fresh troops, highly trained, in the first month of battle. Makes me think this was ordered from above.
@Weird Tolkienish Figure
NOTHING happens in a Communist system that hasn't been approved by the political leadership. All Generals are required to do is follow orders without question regardless of the orders or the consequences. Any that fail to do this end up getting executed.
-
Even more amazing is the fact that this is the same Kremlin a tad over 60 years ago was beating us in the Space Race.
No country (USSR) in my lifetime has lost more prestige and power.
@catfish1957
ONLY because Communist agents in our own government were giving them our secrets,including copies of blue prints.
In case you haven't heard of them,look up "The Rosenbergs".
-
Sorry for not responding earlier -- I was out of town for the holiday.
Thank you for your reply @Maj. Bill Martin A few thoughts and observations follow.
If the US Congress was still in the business of declaring war, I would give you this point. But, it's not. So, what we have is a proxy war with Russia, and the line between this and a direct war is becoming increasingly thin.
I disagree with that completely. I think it is a very clear, very bright line as to whether or not you have troops pulling triggers or not, and that certainly isn't either proven or obvious. We're providing them weapons, intelligence, and out-of-country training. Those things are incredibly valuable, but they're the same things that happened in innumerable conflicts during the Cold War, and both sides understood where those lines were drawn. And I'm sure we have some of the usual military liaison people in terms of keeping us informed, but we don't have Vietnam-type "advisors" running around with maneuver battalions. Seems a pretty clear, bright line to me.
The same Russia we are now told is our most potent enemy is the same Russia who told Bush he was cancelling war games right after the attacks on 911 and offered assistance with intelligence gathering, ----- that warned us a year before the Boston marathon attack. Russia also fought ISIS in Syria and has given Israel near carte blanche to enter Syrian airspace to destroy Iranian weapons stored there.
First, I don't believe they are our most potent enemy. China is. Nor do I believe that Russia's goals in 2001 were the same as they are today. Putin back then saw NATO as a potential avenue for Russia to maintain hegemony as the largest European member of the alliance. Once Putin learned that Russia would have to follow the same process and meet the same standards as everyone else to join NATO, he balked and reversed course.
Russia wasn't in Syria to help us. They couldn't have cared less about either us or ISIS in isolation. Putin sent Russian troops to their proxy state of Syria to help his long-time fellow dictator Assad and that's it. And regionally, Russia has been screwing us in terms of Iran for a very long-time now because they see Iran as a useful regional antagonist of the U.S.. It was Russia who opposed sanctions, pushed for the least possible inspections, , and undermined every effort made to try to get a tough anti-nuclear agreement with Iran.
Why is Russia, but not China, enemy number one?
As I said, Russia isn't. China is, but China is watching very closely how the West responds to Russia aggression.
Are not the WEF and China greater threats to our freedoms?
Since this entire war started, I am at a complete loss to understand the obsession with the WEF, which never wanted this war in the first place. This war actually has undermined the WEF's goals of "globalism" and going green. And this war actually enhances our ability to stand up to China because it is strengthening the alliance of the most advanced nations in the world to resist aggression.
It's the same thing when people saw "why are we more concerned with the borders in Ukraine than our own southern border", as if the Biden Administration was interested in enforcing the southern border before the war in Ukraine. The issues simply aren't related. You oppose the ideals of the WEF through domestic economic legislation, and you secure the southern border by building a wall, hiring more guards, changing asylum law, etc.. And those things are completely independent of whether or not we send weapons to Ukraine.
BREAKING: Tony Blinken just said the US couldn’t be supporting Ukraine right now if they were still in Afghanistan and has no ability to support 2 allies at once" (Video)
I don't understand the relevance of that. Afghanistan and Ukraine are both ground-combat intensive conflicts. A potential conflict with China would involve, overwhelmingly, air and naval assets, which simply aren't involved at all in Ukraine.
-
Sorry for not responding earlier -- I was out of town for the holiday.
I disagree with that completely. I think it is a very clear, very bright line as to whether or not you have troops pulling triggers or not, and that certainly isn't either proven or obvious. We're providing them weapons, intelligence, and out-of-country training. Those things are incredibly valuable, but they're the same things that happened in innumerable conflicts during the Cold War, and both sides understood where those lines were drawn. And I'm sure we have some of the usual military liaison people in terms of keeping us informed, but we don't have Vietnam-type "advisors" running around with maneuver battalions. Seems a pretty clear, bright line to me.
First, I don't believe they are our most potent enemy. China is. Nor do I believe that Russia's goals in 2001 were the same as they are today. Putin back then saw NATO as a potential avenue for Russia to maintain hegemony as the largest European member of the alliance. Once Putin learned that Russia would have to follow the same process and meet the same standards as everyone else to join NATO, he balked and reversed course.
Russia wasn't in Syria to help us. They couldn't have cared less about either us or ISIS in isolation. Putin sent Russian troops to their proxy state of Syria to help his long-time fellow dictator Assad and that's it. And regionally, Russia has been screwing us in terms of Iran for a very long-time now because they see Iran as a useful regional antagonist of the U.S.. It was Russia who opposed sanctions, pushed for the least possible inspections, , and undermined every effort made to try to get a tough anti-nuclear agreement with Iran.
As I said, Russia isn't. China is, but China is watching very closely how the West responds to Russia aggression.
Since this entire war started, I am at a complete loss to understand the obsession with the WEF, which never wanted this war in the first place. This war actually has undermined the WEF's goals of "globalism" and going green. And this war actually enhances our ability to stand up to China because it is strengthening the alliance of the most advanced nations in the world to resist aggression.
It's the same thing when people saw "why are we more concerned with the borders in Ukraine than our own southern border", as if the Biden Administration was interested in enforcing the southern border before the war in Ukraine. The issues simply aren't related. You oppose the ideals of the WEF through domestic economic legislation, and you secure the southern border by building a wall, hiring more guards, changing asylum law, etc.. And those things are completely independent of whether or not we send weapons to Ukraine.
I don't understand the relevance of that. Afghanistan and Ukraine are both ground-combat intensive conflicts. A potential conflict with China would involve, overwhelmingly, air and naval assets, which simply aren't involved at all in Ukraine.
:thumbsup:
-
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FldPwz1WQAIDR78?format=jpg&name=medium)
-
Even more amazing is the fact that this is the same Kremlin a tad over 60 years ago was beating us in the Space Race.
No country (USSR) in my lifetime has lost more prestige and power.
I fear we are in a 'hold my beer...' moment here if we don't get some decent conservative people having some influence on our Government.
-
Putin is facing 'a quick military catastrophe' with his army in an impossible situation where both attacking or defending will cause further defeats, former Russian defence minister warns
By WILL STEWART and CHRIS JEWERS FOR MAILONLINE
4 January 2023
Vladimir Putin is leading Russia towards revolution, making the same catastrophic military mistakes as Russia did in 1917, warns a leading pro-Kremlin war analyst.
His army is at the point of no return where he loses if it attacks and if it retreats, said Igor Strelkov, a former FSB colonel and ex-defence minister of self-styled Donetsk People's Republic in Russian-occupied Ukraine.
'Intelligent people have come to the conclusion that, in the current situation, Russia is in a complete Zugzwang,' he said, in reference to a chess dilemma in which a player is put at a disadvantage because of their obligation to move.
The word is German for 'compulsion to move'. 'It is impossible to keep on defending because it quickly worsens [our] strategic position,' Strelkov said. 'And it is impossible to attack, since this is fraught with a quick military catastrophe.'
He warned: 'The combat effectiveness and morale of the army is strongly reminiscent of the same before the July 1917 offensive of [Alexander] Kerensky.'
Strelkov - real name Igor Girkin - was one of the key players in Putin seizing control of Crimea in 2014, and subjugating Ukrainian region Donetsk the same year. He has key support among army and secret services commanders below the top level.
He has long criticised the Russian leader's current war strategy, and demanded the rushed mobilisation of one million more fighters to defeat Ukraine, as well as a clear-cut of Putin's top commanders and defence ministers.
In his latest critique, he said: 'There is not a word said about the Kremlin going for radical personnel changes and other necessary reforms.
* * *
Source: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11597799/Putin-facing-quick-military-catastrophe-former-Russian-defence-minister-warns.html
-
Even more amazing is the fact that this is the same Kremlin a tad over 60 years ago was beating us in the Space Race.
@catfish1957
Only because their spies were stealing our research,and then cutting corners to beat us to orbit.
Creativity does NOT flourish under Communism. Never has,never will.
-
@catfish1957
Only because their spies were stealing our research,and then cutting corners to beat us to orbit.
Creativity does NOT flourish under Communism. Never has,never will.
They captured German rocket engineers/scientist as the end of the war.
-
Iranian-made drone deployed by Russia in Ukraine contained parts made by 13 US companies and components from other Western countries - as Biden launches 'all hands on deck' task force
By KEITH GRIFFITH FOR DAILYMAIL.COM
4 January 2023
A Ukrainian intelligence assessment has found that a single Iranian-made attack drone launched by Russia contained parts made by more than a dozen US companies.
The Iranian Shahed-136 drone, downed during an attack last fall, contained 40 components manufactured by 13 different American companies, according to a CNN report citing the assessment.
For months, Russia has been hammering Ukraine's civilian infrastructure with waves of drone attacks, which are designed to overwhelm air defenses and demoralize the population.
* * *
Source: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11598729/Iranian-drone-deployed-Russia-Ukraine-contained-parts-13-companies.html
-
Iranian-made drone deployed by Russia in Ukraine contained parts made by 13 US companies and components from other Western countries - as Biden launches 'all hands on deck' task force
By KEITH GRIFFITH FOR DAILYMAIL.COM
4 January 2023
A Ukrainian intelligence assessment has found that a single Iranian-made attack drone launched by Russia contained parts made by more than a dozen US companies.
The Iranian Shahed-136 drone, downed during an attack last fall, contained 40 components manufactured by 13 different American companies, according to a CNN report citing the assessment.
That $1.7 billion in cash from the Obama Administration certainly came in handy.
-
That $1.7 billion in cash from the Obama Administration certainly came in handy.
Yes, it did.
-
Ukraine hits Russian command center in Tokmak, Zaporizhia, killing approximately 80 Russian soldiers.
https://twitter.com/nexta_tv/status/1610238630101909507
-
They captured German rocket engineers/scientist as the end of the war.
@DB
Clearly that was what got them going,same as it got the US going,but without traitors like the Rosenbergs,they would have never been able to accomplish the successful launch of Sputnik.
The only good news out of this is the Rosenbergs were caught,found guilty of treason and espionage at trial,and both were executed.
Today they would probably just be deported with their life savings.
-
Ukraine hits Russian command center in Tokmak, Zaporizhia, killing approximately 80 Russian soldiers.
https://twitter.com/nexta_tv/status/1610238630101909507
That's one of the places that almost certainly would be an intermediate objective if Ukraine was going to make a move on Melitopol.
-
The race to overthrow Putin and take his Kremlin crown has begun, says former Russian defence minister who warned Moscow is facing 'military catastrophe'
By WILL STEWART FOR MAILONLINE
5 January 2023
The race to overthrow Vladimir Putin and grab his crown is underway, says Russian war analyst and former loyalist Igor Strelkov.
'The fight for the political Olympus has begun between the groupings that surround Putin,' he said.
Strelkov - a former FSB colonel key to Putin's annexation of Crimea and subjugation of the Donetsk region of Ukraine in 2014 - is now a staunch critic of the Kremlin's war strategy.
An immediate mass mobilisation of half a million more men is the only way for Putin to avoid defeat and ignominy in the war in Ukraine, he claims.
He spoke amid claims Putin has approved in principle a huge new mobilisation drive.
The fight at the top of the Kremlin focuses on insurgent Putin crony Yevgeny Prigozhin, head of the Wagner private army, and loyalist forces in the defence ministry around weakening defence minister Sergei Shoigu, according to Strelkov.
Others believe security apparatchiks around ex-FSB head Nikolai Patrushev - secretary of the powerful security council - are more likely to pull the trigger on Putin in a bid to save the elite ruling circle if the war continues to go wrong.
* * *
Source: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11601677/The-race-overthrow-Putin-Kremlin-crown-begun-says-former-Russian-loyalist.html
-
Putin tells Ukraine he is ready for peace talks - but only if Kyiv accepts 'new territorial realities'
By CHRIS JEWERS FOR MAILONLINE and AFP
5 January 2023
Vladimir Putin told Turkish leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan he was open to dialogue with Ukraine, but only if Kyiv accepts 'new territorial realities'.
Russian troops occupy large swathes of eastern and southern Ukraine. The Kremlin claims it has annexed the Donetsk, Lugansk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions despite not controlling them in their entirety.
The Kremlin said on Thursday that Putin told Erdogan peace talks are possible, but only if Ukraine accepts that territories occupied by Moscow as Russian.
'Putin again confirmed Russia's openness to serious dialogue on the condition of Kyiv authorities fulfilling the well-known and repeatedly voiced requirements of taking into account the new territorial realities,' the Kremlin said in a statement.
Erdogan had called for peace talks in the phone call with Putin, his office said earlier.
* * *
Source: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11602315/Putin-tells-Ukraine-ready-peace-talks-Kyiv-accepts-territorial-realities.html
-
The race to overthrow Putin and take his Kremlin crown has begun, says former Russian defence minister who warned Moscow is facing 'military catastrophe'
By WILL STEWART FOR MAILONLINE
5 January 2023
The race to overthrow Vladimir Putin and grab his crown is underway, says Russian war analyst and former loyalist Igor Strelkov.
'The fight for the political Olympus has begun between the groupings that surround Putin,' he said.
Strelkov - a former FSB colonel key to Putin's annexation of Crimea and subjugation of the Donetsk region of Ukraine in 2014 - is now a staunch critic of the Kremlin's war strategy.
An immediate mass mobilisation of half a million more men is the only way for Putin to avoid defeat and ignominy in the war in Ukraine, he claims.
He spoke amid claims Putin has approved in principle a huge new mobilisation drive.
The fight at the top of the Kremlin focuses on insurgent Putin crony Yevgeny Prigozhin, head of the Wagner private army, and loyalist forces in the defence ministry around weakening defence minister Sergei Shoigu, according to Strelkov.
Others believe security apparatchiks around ex-FSB head Nikolai Patrushev - secretary of the powerful security council - are more likely to pull the trigger on Putin in a bid to save the elite ruling circle if the war continues to go wrong.
* * *
Source: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11601677/The-race-overthrow-Putin-Kremlin-crown-begun-says-former-Russian-loyalist.html
@Kamaji
DING,DING,DING,DING! And we have a winnah!
Anybody that thinks the elites in the Kremin are going to risk THEIR positions in order to merely arrest Putin is nuts. IMHO,he is not going to live long enough to face a trial once they decide they have no choice but to remove him.
They will execute him and then either declare he died of the various ailments/diseases he suffers from,or they will declare he died of something like a heart attack. A VERY big deal will be made about his state funeral,and they will all be there weeping crocodile tears as his hearse passes through Red Square.
They will then name a successor that is more moderate so they can then pull out of Ukraine and claim they never wanted to invade in the first place,and it was a horrible mistake made by Putin due to his advisors giving him bad information.
And,of course,by then his closest advisors will have all been shot in the basement of the Lubyanka prison,so there will be no one around to challenge the narrative.
-
@Kamaji
DING,DING,DING,DING! And we have a winnah!
Anybody that thinks the elites in the Kremin are going to risk THEIR positions in order to merely arrest Putin is nuts. IMHO,he is not going to live long enough to face a trial once they decide they have no choice but to remove him.
They will execute him and then either declare he died of the various ailments/diseases he suffers from,or they will declare he died of something like a heart attack. A VERY big deal will be made about his state funeral,and they will all be there weeping crocodile tears as his hearse passes through Red Square.
They will then name a successor that is more moderate so they can then pull out of Ukraine and claim they never wanted to invade in the first place,and it was a horrible mistake made by Putin due to his advisors giving him bad information.
And,of course,by then his closest advisors will have all been shot in the basement of the Lubyanka prison,so there will be no one around to challenge the narrative.
Got to admit though, a Putin coup and a Uke withdraw might be some of the best news we've seen in the last 5 years.
Not holding my breath though. Russian leaders entrench themselves with castle moat ferocity.
-
Got to admit though, a Putin coup and a Uke withdraw might be some of the best news we've seen in the last 5 years.
@catfish1957
I honestly can't think of anything that would top it.
Not holding my breath though. Russian leaders entrench themselves with castle moat ferocity.
True,but I don't care who you are or what office you hold,when it comes to YOUR survival of the survival of your "loyal" underlings,YOU are in a HEAP of freaking trouble.
Bureaucrats value NOTHING more than their own survival and positions,and the more power and influence a bureaucrat has,the more they value and the more they are willing to do to protect it.
And this goes times 100 in a virtual slave society like the USSR,where the ones at the top have nowhere to go but to the gallows if they lose their positions because you can bet your Biden whoever replaces them has "Imprison and execute XXX ASAP" at the top of HIS agenda in order to make sure HE doesn't get executed.
Remember,the ONLY "justice" in the neo-Soviet Union is whatever the Politburo Members deem it to be and if you think THEY are casual about keeping THEIR positions,you just haven't been paying any attention.
-
Putin is in no position that make demands.
-
Putin orders 1-day ceasefire; Ukraine rejects ‘trap’
https://americanmilitarynews.com/2023/01/putin-orders-1-day-ceasefire-in-ukraine-reports/ (https://americanmilitarynews.com/2023/01/putin-orders-1-day-ceasefire-in-ukraine-reports/)
Russian President Vladimir Putin has ordered a one-day ceasefire in his now-10-month invasion of Ukraine that aligns with the Orthodox Christmas.
Putin instructed his top military leader, Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu, to order troops to hold fire for 36 hours, starting at noon on Friday and ending at midnight Saturday, Reuters reported. That’s when Christmas is observed on the Orthodox Christian calendar used in Russia and Ukraine.
A senior aide to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Mykhailo Podolyak, appeared to reject notions of a Christmas truce on Twitter.
“[The Russian Federation] must leave the occupied territories – only then will it have a ‘temporary truce,’” Podolyak tweeted. “Keep hypocrisy to yourself.”
More at link.
-
Putin instructed his top military leader, Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu, to order troops to hold fire for 36 hours, starting at noon on Friday and ending at midnight Saturday, Reuters reported. That’s when Christmas is observed on the Orthodox Christian calendar used in Russia and Ukraine.
The Orthodox Church of Ukraine had moved Christmas to Dec 25 last year. And Putin bombed/shelled the hell out of them.
-
Putin tells Ukraine he is ready for peace talks - but only if Kyiv accepts 'new territorial realities'
By CHRIS JEWERS FOR MAILONLINE and AFP
5 January 2023
Vladimir Putin told Turkish leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan he was open to dialogue with Ukraine, but only if Kyiv accepts 'new territorial realities'.
Russian troops occupy large swathes of eastern and southern Ukraine. The Kremlin claims it has annexed the Donetsk, Lugansk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions despite not controlling them in their entirety.
The Kremlin said on Thursday that Putin told Erdogan peace talks are possible, but only if Ukraine accepts that territories occupied by Moscow as Russian.
'Putin again confirmed Russia's openness to serious dialogue on the condition of Kyiv authorities fulfilling the well-known and repeatedly voiced requirements of taking into account the new territorial realities,' the Kremlin said in a statement.
Erdogan had called for peace talks in the phone call with Putin, his office said earlier.
* * *
Source: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11602315/Putin-tells-Ukraine-ready-peace-talks-Kyiv-accepts-territorial-realities.html
Doesn't seem like sincere peace talks to me.
-
Doesn't seem like sincere peace talks to me.
It isn't. This is exactly how O'Bastard gave Crimea to Russia in 2014.
-
It isn't. This is exactly how O'Bastard gave Crimea to Russia in 2014.
@Cyber Liberty
"GAVE"??????
What makes you so sure he would go against his nature and NOT charge a fee for his services?
-
@Cyber Liberty
"GAVE"??????
What makes you so sure he would go against his nature and charge a fee for his services?
I stand corrected @sneakypete! "Sold."
-
I stand corrected @sneakypete! "Sold."
@Cyber Liberty
I made a mistake and did not include the word "NOT" in the post above. I just went back and fixed that.
Thank you for taking my meaning instead of what I actually wrote.
-
Ukraine accuses Russia of breaking their own ceasefire and a 'primitive and cynical deception' after Putin called for '36-hour truce'
By CHRISTIAN OLIVER and CHRIS JEWERS FOR MAILONLINE and AP
6 January 2023
Ukraine has accused Russia of breaking its own ceasefire and of a 'primitive and cynical deception' after Vladimir Putin called for a '36-hour truce' from today.
The ceasefire - proposed by the Russian despot on Thursday to run from from 12pm, January 6 to midnight on January 8 - was rejected by Ukraine as a Moscow sham, with analysts suggesting it was an attempt to allow Russian forces to regroup.
Just hours after the 36-hour truce was supposed to begin, rockets slammed into a residential building in the Ukrainian city of Kramatorsk close to Bakhmut and on the eastern frontline, damaging 14 homes but with no casualties, the mayor said.
* * *
Source: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11606249/Putins-uncertain-truce-begins-Kyiv-dismissing-ploy.html
-
Former PM of oil-rich Russian region and friend of Putin's closest ally is run over and killed while crossing the street
By WILL STEWART FOR MAIL ONLINE
6 January 2023
The former prime minister of an oil-rich Russian region has died after he was rammed by a car while crossing a street.
Magomed Abdulayev, 61, close to ex-Russian president Dmitry Medvedev, was hospitalised but died from severe injuries in Makhachkala city on the Caspian Sea.
Ukraine immediately suggested this was the latest in a succession of Russian deaths in the past year dominated by Vladimir Putin's war.
* * *
Source: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11606393/Former-PM-Russian-region-friend-Putins-closest-ally-killed-crossing-street.html
-
Former PM of oil-rich Russian region and friend of Putin's closest ally is run over and killed while crossing the street
By WILL STEWART FOR MAIL ONLINE
6 January 2023
The former prime minister of an oil-rich Russian region has died after he was rammed by a car while crossing a street.
Magomed Abdulayev, 61, close to ex-Russian president Dmitry Medvedev, was hospitalised but died from severe injuries in Makhachkala city on the Caspian Sea.
Ukraine immediately suggested this was the latest in a succession of Russian deaths in the past year dominated by Vladimir Putin's war.
* * *
Source: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11606393/Former-PM-Russian-region-friend-Putins-closest-ally-killed-crossing-street.html
@Kamaji
My heart goes out to the family of that man,who suddenly seemed to just disappear into thin air.
-
Putin tells Ukraine he is ready for peace talks - but only if Kyiv accepts 'new territorial realities'
By CHRIS JEWERS FOR MAILONLINE and AFP
5 January 2023
Vladimir Putin told Turkish leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan he was open to dialogue with Ukraine, but only if Kyiv accepts 'new territorial realities'.
Russian troops occupy large swathes of eastern and southern Ukraine. The Kremlin claims it has annexed the Donetsk, Lugansk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions despite not controlling them in their entirety.
The Kremlin said on Thursday that Putin told Erdogan peace talks are possible, but only if Ukraine accepts that territories occupied by Moscow as Russian.
'Putin again confirmed Russia's openness to serious dialogue on the condition of Kyiv authorities fulfilling the well-known and repeatedly voiced requirements of taking into account the new territorial realities,' the Kremlin said in a statement.
Erdogan had called for peace talks in the phone call with Putin, his office said earlier.
* * *
Source: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11602315/Putin-tells-Ukraine-ready-peace-talks-Kyiv-accepts-territorial-realities.html
Russia is claiming to have annexed land it never controlled, based on sham referendums that necessarily excluded everyone living in areas that were not under their control.
And yet Putin talks about the need for Ukraine to recognize "territorial realities".
-
Russia is claiming to have annexed land it never controlled, based on sham referendums that necessarily excluded everyone living in areas that were no under their control.
And yet Putin talks about the need for Ukraine to recognize "territorial realities".
@Maj. Bill Martin
Pooty Poot needs to realize he has already lost that war,and unless our elected idiots stop sending Ukraine weapons and supplies,is doomed to formally lose it. Which would,of course,mean he would lose his position in Moscow.
-
What is the over/under for the number of days it takes for the first M-2 to show up in Ukraine? Biden has announced this twice already.
-
What is the over/under for the number of days it takes for the first M-2 to show up in Ukraine? Biden has announced this twice already.
That would be the day the nukes go flying.
-
(https://img-9gag-fun.9cache.com/photo/aRE7Az5_460s.jpg)
T-34s from 1940 heading for the front.
-
(https://img-9gag-fun.9cache.com/photo/aRE7Az5_460s.jpg)
T-34s from 1940 heading for the front.
No way. Is that real?
-
The Soviets stopped manufacturing 85-mm anti-tank guns in 1957, so I can't imagine how 60+ year old anti-tank shells are going to perform on the battlefield.
-
No way. Is that real?
@Hoodat
It is a HISTORIC photo,not one of current events.
-
Yes. Historic. You are correct.
-
New Western firepower outgunning Putin: How Russian raw recruits are losing to Ukraine's modern tech - and Kyiv could 'win the war this year' if Moscow doesn't 'get its act together'
Source: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11611463/New-Western-firepower-outgunning-Putin-Russian-raw-recruits-losing-Ukraines-modern-tech.html
-
British intelligence could have been leaked to Russia by German 'double agent', espionage expert says
Source: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11611391/British-intelligence-leaked-Russia-German-double-agent-expert-says.html
-
British intelligence could have been leaked to Russia by German 'double agent', espionage expert says
Source: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11611391/British-intelligence-leaked-Russia-German-double-agent-expert-says.html
I guess the plot line of next season of Jack Ryan has been established. :cool:
-
Russia bombs Ukrainian village market killing two women and injuring seven including 10-year-old girl as rescuers pull victims from rubble
By DAVID AVERRE FOR MAILONLINE
9 January 2023
A shocking Russian missile attack on a village market in eastern Ukraine this morning left two women dead and several others injured, including a 10-year-old girl.
Harrowing footage from the scene of the strike in Shevchenkove, 50 miles southeast of the regional capital Kharkiv, showed a square littered with debris as rescue workers hurriedly picked their way through the ruins in search of survivors.
One blood-covered woman was seen lying prone amid the rubble waiting for help, with rescuers having placed a dirt-covered cushion under her head as they tended to more serious cases.
* * *
Source: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11614379/Russia-bombs-Ukrainian-village-market-killing-two-women-injuring-seven-including-10-year-old.html
-
Moscow launches 'retaliatory strike' which it claims 'killed 600 Ukrainian servicemen' after 89 Russian troops were wiped out in a New Year's attack
By MAILONLINE REPORTER
8 January 2023
Russia claims to have killed 600 Ukrainian troops in a deadly 'retaliatory strike' in the eastern city of Kramatorsk today. Moscow conducted the missile strikes to avenge the deaths of 89 Russian troops killed in Makiivka on January 1. Following the New Year's Day attack, Russia 's defense ministry made a rare admission and confirmed dozens soldiers died in the fiery blast. Today the ministry claimed that a 'retaliatory strike' killed 'more than 600 Ukrainian servicemen' stationed in two buildings in Kramatorsk used as barracks. Ukraine's armed forces rejected the claim.
'This information is as true as the data that they have destroyed all of our HIMARS,' Sergiy Cherevaty, spokesman for the Eastern group of the Ukrainian armed forces, told the Suspilne media outlet, referring to US-supplied rocket systems. He said Russia could not deliver high-precision strikes. AFP could not independently verify the report. On Saturday, AFP journalists in Kramatorsk, which is located in the eastern region of Donetsk, heard at least four explosions before midnight.
* * *
Source: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/galleries/article-11612477/Moscow-claims-killed-600-Ukrainian-soldiers-retaliatory-strike.html
-
Here's one of the two buildings that Russia claims to have destroyed. Looks like their aim was a bit off.
(https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/976/cpsprodpb/2A47/production/_128232801_mediaitem128232800.jpg.webp)
-
Sorry for not responding earlier -- I was out of town for the holiday.
I think it is a very clear, very bright line as to whether or not you have troops pulling triggers or not, and that certainly isn't either proven or obvious.
This is our war against Russia using, for now, Ukrainian blood @Maj. Bill Martin We've been orchestrating it for years.
"After the 2016 election, John McCain, Lindsey Graham, and Amy Klobuchar went to Ukraine and declared that Russia attacked the USA by hacking the election. The election wasn’t hacked but they didn’t care.". (Video)
https://mobile.twitter.com/mazemoore/status/1612514459028791297
-
This is our war against Russia using, for now, Ukrainian blood @Maj. Bill Martin We've been orchestrating it for years.
You've been repeating this same claim for almost a year now. But I have yet to see a single piece of evidence supporting that claim.
-
This is our war against Russia using, for now, Ukrainian blood @Maj. Bill Martin We've been orchestrating it for years.
In which year, and on what date, do you believe we began orchestrating an actual war against Russia?
-
In which year, and on what date, do you believe we began orchestrating an actual war against Russia?
It was McCain's visit in 2017 that caused Russia to invade Ukraine in 2014.
-
In which year, and on what date, do you believe we began orchestrating an actual war against Russia?
I have posted timelines ad nauseam on these threads @Maj. Bill Martin. It's all there.
But, let me ask you something you've not answered:. What's your proof that the United States has not interfered in Ukrainen affairs for the past ten plus years, poking the Bear across the Ukrainian border for the very thinly disguised proxy war with Russia we are now fighting?
PS: If you have an interest in "talking" with me about this, please ping me to your reply.
Otherwise, carry on.
Thanks.
-
I have posted timelines ad nauseam on these threads @Maj. Bill Martin. It's all there.
Timelines without causal correlation to events that have occurred. Timelines that completely omit the 2014 invasion of Crimea, Luhansk, and Donetsk.
But, let me ask you something you've not answered:. What's your proof that the United States has not interfered in Ukrainen affa
See logical fallacies - burden of proof.
-
It was McCain's visit in 2017 that caused Russia to invade Ukraine in 2014.
@Hoodat
Saw WHAT????????
So,all we have to do to get Russia to invade China,for example,is to get some US RINO politician to visit Beijing?
You have lost your freaking mind!
-
@Hoodat
Saw WHAT????????
So,all we have to do to get Russia to invade China,for example,is to get some US RINO politician to visit Beijing?
You have lost your freaking mind!
Did that really need a /sarc tag? Keep in mind, I'm not the one here blaming the US for eight years of Russian agression.
-
Russia’s Real Aims in Crimea
WOJCIECH KONOŃCZUK | MARCH 13, 2014
The Russian military’s move into Crimea, together with the ongoing tensions in several large cities in Ukraine’s eastern and southern regions, demonstrates that the Ukrainian drama is far from over. It is now beyond dispute that the government established in Kyiv after popular protests drove then president Viktor Yanukovych from power in February 2014 has lost effective control over the largely ethnic-Russian-populated region of Crimea. The territory is under Russia’s de facto occupation.
Russia’s unexpected invasion of the Crimean Peninsula is, in many respects, part of a desperate attempt to strengthen its sway over the new government in Kyiv. Moscow’s apparent plan to annex Crimea is not an end in itself. Rather, Russia seems to be acting in a more sophisticated way, and it is essential to read the situation right.
Moscow aims to influence developments in Ukraine by using Crimea and the destabilization it has inspired in the eastern and southern regions to force Kyiv to adopt an entirely new model of governance. . . .
https://carnegieendowment.org/2014/03/13/russia-s-real-aims-in-crimea-pub-54914
The article continues:
RUSSIA’S ACT OF AGGRESSION
Despite what Russian President Vladimir Putin said in a recent press conference, Crimea was not seized by a local paramilitary “self-defense” force but rather by a few thousand well-equipped and heavily armed Russian troops. The forces came mainly from the Southern Military District, which borders Ukraine and the North Caucasus, and they had extensive support from the 15,000 soldiers of the Russian Black Sea Fleet.
The aggression began on February 23 in Sevastopol, the largest and most pro-Russian city on the peninsula, which has been called the most sacred of the sacred places of Russian imperialism. A rally of a few thousand people, organized by the Russian Front, a radical Crimean organization, dismissed the city’s mayor and elected a new one, who is reportedly a Russian citizen. The demonstrators demanded that the autonomous republic secede from Ukraine and become part of Russia.
On February 27, unidentified armed men entered the Crimean parliament, demanding a special session to determine the region’s future. Under dubious circumstances and, according to Ukrainian press reports, without a quorum, some of the deputies voted to hold an all-Crimean referendum aimed at “improving the status of autonomy and expanding its powers.” They also dismissed the region’s pro-Kyiv prime minister and voted for a new one, who is a member of a radical, pro-Russian political party, Russian Unity.
When several hundred unidentified armed people took control of Crimea’s airports, main roads, local government buildings, and other strategic sites on subsequent days, it became clear that these moves had not been organized by local pro-Russian self-defense groups. . .
-
Did that really need a /sarc tag?
@Hoodat
Well,it looks like it needed one for me.
Keep in mind, I'm not the one here blaming the US for eight years of Russian agression.
Who is? This is not a hit on you,I honestly don't know who you are referring to.
-
Who is? This is not a hit on you,I honestly don't know who you are referring to.
https://www.gopbriefingroom.com/index.php/topic,478214.msg2767178.html#msg2767178
-
https://www.gopbriefingroom.com/index.php/topic,478214.msg2767178.html#msg2767178
@Hoodat
Thanks,I think.
Kinda made my head hurt to read it,though.
Not having a good "chemo brain night,and don't know for sure if this is me or her that is barking at the moon.
I do know that was in English,but I still didn't understand it.
-
It was McCain's visit in 2017 that caused Russia to invade Ukraine in 2014.
Thanks for explaining that. I guess all the Russian experimentation with ESP finally paid off.
-
Russia claims retaliatory strike killed 600 Ukrainian soldiers (But they're lying)
https://hotair.com/john-s-2/2023/01/09/russia-claims-retaliatory-strike-killed-600-ukrainian-soldiers-but-theyre-lying-n522654
Russia continues to humiliate itself. After a deadly rocket attack by Ukraine carried out in the first moments of New Year’s Day killed as many as 400 Russian troops, Russia claimed only 63 had been killed. Russia soon updated that tally to 89 killed but also publicly blamed the troops for their own deaths by claiming the Ukrainian strike was the result of the recently mobilized troops using cell phones. Even some pro-Russian military bloggers said Russia was downplaying the number of deaths and also suggested that leadership was to blame for putting a bunch of inexperienced recruits together in one spot near an ammo dump.
Over the weekend, Russia announced a retaliatory strike which it claimed had killed 600 Ukrainian soldiers in a town called Kramatorsk.
It certainly sounds like a serious attack but was it? Photos from the scene actually show that the attacks missed the building — but more to the point, the building was empty. This reporter from Finland was at the scene of the attack the next day and there’s no sign anyone was killed there.
This tweet reads: “Russia claims it killed hundreds of Ukrainian soldiers in a missile strike on this school in Kramatorsk. I’m there and it’s a bit strange that the building isn’t even insulated. Locals didn’t see any ambulances here in the morning either.”
EXCERPT
(https://hotair.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/Russian-strike-730x0.jpg)
-
But, let me ask you something you've not answered:. What's your proof that the United States has not interfered in Ukrainen affairs for the past ten plus years, poking the Bear across the Ukrainian border for the very thinly disguised proxy war with Russia we are now fighting?
You are asking @Maj. Bill Martin to prove a negative there.
-
Not the first time either.
-
@Right_in_Virginia
But, let me ask you something you've not answered:. What's your proof that the United States has not interfered in Ukrainen affairs for the past ten plus years, poking the Bear across the Ukrainian border for the very thinly disguised proxy war with Russia we are now fighting?
Can't prove a negative. But fortunately, I don't have to. I'd agree we used some degree of economic coercion -- threatened to withhold aid -- if Ukraine didn't take certain actions. If you want to call that "interference in their affairs", fine. But our threat to withhold our own financial aid doesn't constitute an act of war against Russia, which goes to your claim that we've been "orchestrating that war" for years. Especially since Russia was doing even worse in the lead-up to Ukraine's approval of the Agreement with the EU - cutting off certain exports and imports to Ukraine to pressure pols to reject the EU deal, bribes, etc..
Would that "interference" by Russia have given the U.S. the right to invade Ukraine?? Of course not.
The fact is, if the majority of the Ukrainian people rebelled against the idea of ditching the EU in favor of Russia's "Eurasian Economic Union", and tossed out Yanukovych because of his ignoring the February 2013 resolution passed by Parliament, that was their right. Russia doesn't get the right to invade Ukraine just because there was a coup against the pro-Russian President, any more than any other country has the right to invade Russia because Putin doesn't allow free elections.
What is "poking the bear", anyway? Doing something that Russia doesn't like? Tough noogies. They don't get to impose their idiosyncratic view of Russia's right to hegemony over the rest of Eastern Europe just because of their national ego.
-
@Right_in_Virginia
Can't prove a negative. But fortunately, I don't have to. I'd agree we used some degree of economic coercion -- threatened to withhold aid -- if Ukraine didn't take certain actions. If you want to call that "interference in their affairs", fine. But our threat to withhold our own financial aid doesn't constitute an act of war against Russia, which goes to your claim that we've been "orchestrating that war" for years. Especially since Russia was doing even worse in the lead-up to Ukraine's approval of the Agreement with the EU - cutting off certain exports and imports to Ukraine to pressure pols to reject the EU deal, bribes, etc..
Would that "interference" by Russia have given the U.S. the right to invade Ukraine?? Of course not.
The fact is, if the majority of the Ukrainian people rebelled against the idea of ditching the EU in favor of Russia's "Eurasian Economic Union", and tossed out Yanukovych because of his ignoring the February 2013 resolution passed by Parliament, that was their right. Russia doesn't get the right to invade Ukraine just because there was a coup against the pro-Russian President, any more than any other country has the right to invade Russia because Putin doesn't allow free elections.
What is "poking the bear", anyway? Doing something that Russia doesn't like? Tough noogies. They don't get to impose their idiosyncratic view of Russia's right to hegemony over the rest of Eastern Europe just because of their national ego.
:thumbsup:
-
Russia is letting prisoners soak up withering Ukrainian fire in a 'savage' battle, 'trading' them and others for bullets, US official says
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/russia-is-letting-prisoners-soak-up-withering-ukrainian-fire-in-a-savage-battle-trading-them-and-others-for-bullets-us-official-says/ar-AA16bkWq?cvid=a052d9138af64036ab36b76c5ed39e83
Russia is using prisoners and freshly mobilized troops to absorb heavy Ukrainian fire along the war's front lines in order to clear the way for its better trained forces to take ground, a US official said, calling the move a classic Russian tactic.
Prisoners recruited by the Wagner Group — a notorious paramilitary organization with close ties to the Kremlin — and others have recently been deployed to the forefront of fighting around eastern Ukraine's war-torn city of Bakhmut, which has become the epicenter of hostilities between Moscow and Kyiv.
These recruits have been forced to "take the brunt" of Ukrainian firepower in the area before they are replaced by "better trained forces" who move in behind them to try and claim territory, a senior US military official told reporters on Monday.
The official added that Moscow's current tactic of "trading individuals for bullets" has been used on the battlefield throughout Russian history. Russia, for example, did this with conscripts who were sent into the Chechnya region during the First Chechen War of the mid-1990s.
EXCERPT
Dead Russians:
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Fl4G_5jWYAE487L?format=jpg&name=small)
-
Russia is letting prisoners soak up withering Ukrainian fire in a 'savage' battle, 'trading' them and others for bullets, US official says
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/russia-is-letting-prisoners-soak-up-withering-ukrainian-fire-in-a-savage-battle-trading-them-and-others-for-bullets-us-official-says/ar-AA16bkWq?cvid=a052d9138af64036ab36b76c5ed39e83
Russia is using prisoners and freshly mobilized troops to absorb heavy Ukrainian fire along the war's front lines in order to clear the way for its better trained forces to take ground, a US official said, calling the move a classic Russian tactic.
Prisoners recruited by the Wagner Group — a notorious paramilitary organization with close ties to the Kremlin — and others have recently been deployed to the forefront of fighting around eastern Ukraine's war-torn city of Bakhmut, which has become the epicenter of hostilities between Moscow and Kyiv.
These recruits have been forced to "take the brunt" of Ukrainian firepower in the area before they are replaced by "better trained forces" who move in behind them to try and claim territory, a senior US military official told reporters on Monday.
The official added that Moscow's current tactic of "trading individuals for bullets" has been used on the battlefield throughout Russian history. Russia, for example, did this with conscripts who were sent into the Chechnya region during the First Chechen War of the mid-1990s.
EXCERPT
Dead Russians:
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Fl4G_5jWYAE487L?format=jpg&name=small)
One would have thought/hoped that Russians would, eventually, learn from their own history. Apparently not. Orc is back on the menu.
-
Putin has a 'squadron of liquidators' who publicly execute deserters and those who fail to advance among 'completely insane' ranks of prisoner conscripts, captured soldiers reveal
By JACK NEWMAN FOR MAILONLINE
11 January 2023
Vladimir Putin has a 'squadron of liquidators' to publicly execute deserters, former convicts who were drafted into the Ukraine war have claimed.
Inmates who were transferred from their prison cells to the war's front lines with the Wagner Group of private mercenaries say they have witnessed disobedient comrades being killed by commanders.
Former convict Yevgeny Novikov said in a report by Polygon Media and the independent Mozhem Obyasnit outlet: 'Those who disobey are eliminated — and it's done publicly.'
He said the 'squadrons of liquidators' deal with troops considered to be problematic.
* * *
Source: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11622765/Putin-squadron-liquidators-publicly-execute-deserters-captured-soldiers-reveal.html
-
Has Putin lost control of his power-hungry mercenary chief? Wagner boss brags that his men ALONE have taken strategic town of Soledar… prompting even the Kremlin to deny Russia have control of the area
By JACK NEWMAN and CHRIS JEWERS FOR MAILONLINE
11 January 2023
The boss of the feared Russian Wagner mercenary group has gloated to Ukraine by posing in a salt mine in a key battleground.
Yevgeny Prigozhin stood defiantly alongside Vladimir Putin's private paramilitary fighters in the Soledar pit as he claimed his mercenaries have single-handedly taken control of the eastern Ukraine town, which has been razed by brutal fighting.
However, the claim prompted the Russian army to issue a statement saying fighting for the town is still on-going, thus denying Prigozhin's brazen claim.
* * *
Source: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11622303/Putins-chef-mercenary-chief-stands-captured-salt-Russia-claims-Soledar.html
-
I hope that old salt mine is worth it for all the lives he threw away for his photo op.
-
Putin has a 'squadron of liquidators' who publicly execute deserters and those who fail to advance among 'completely insane' ranks of prisoner conscripts, captured soldiers reveal
The NKVD is back.
(https://imgs.search.brave.com/B9QADOcMTqYAoXUzmBreIm2nhT28TTAL95Jg406Guxo/rs:fit:602:339:1/g:ce/aHR0cHM6Ly9xcGgu/Y2YyLnF1b3JhY2Ru/Lm5ldC9tYWluLXFp/bWctNmYxMjg2YjVk/NDIzOTY1MTY0Y2Mx/NjE4OTkzMmU2M2Qt/bHE)
-
The NKVD is back.
(https://imgs.search.brave.com/B9QADOcMTqYAoXUzmBreIm2nhT28TTAL95Jg406Guxo/rs:fit:602:339:1/g:ce/aHR0cHM6Ly9xcGgu/Y2YyLnF1b3JhY2Ru/Lm5ldC9tYWluLXFp/bWctNmYxMjg2YjVk/NDIzOTY1MTY0Y2Mx/NjE4OTkzMmU2M2Qt/bHE)
I don't think they ever quite left.
-
Putin replaces commander of Russia’s war in Ukraine after just 3 months
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/putin-names-new-commander-russias-war-ukraine-gerasimov-surovikin-rcna65307
Russian President Vladimir Putin has appointed a new commander to lead his forces in Ukraine.
Gen. Valery Gerasimov will take over from Sergei Surovikin, the country’s Defense Ministry said on Telegram Wednesday, a change that comes as the Kremlin's forces appeared close to a breakthrough in bitter fighting on the eastern front lines.
The announcement came just three months after Surovikin became the first person to be handed sole charge of the campaign since Russia launched its invasion on Feb. 24.
The ministry said he would now serve as one of Gerasimov's three deputies, along with Army Gen. Oleg Salyukov and Col. Gen. Alexey Kim.
-
@Right_in_Virginia
I'd agree we used some degree of economic coercion -- threatened to withhold aid -- if Ukraine didn't take certain actions. If you want to call that "interference in their affairs", fine. But our threat to withhold our own financial aid doesn't constitute an act of war against Russia, which goes to your claim that we've been "orchestrating that war" for years.
@Maj. Bill Martin This is a long and detailed narrative on US involvement in Ukraine.
How the West Sowed the Seeds of War in Ukraine
Putin invaded Ukraine. But an alliance of bad actors, the U.S. foreign policy establishment, and NGOs paved the road that made the present crisis inevitable.
Mar 22, 2022
<Snip>
On Feb. 21, nine months after the TechCamp Kiev 2.0 was held in partnership with Microsoft Ukraine, mass protests to oust Yanukovych began in Kiev’s Maidan Nezalezhnosti (Independence Square). Victoria Nuland, Obama’s Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs, was seen handing out cookies to demonstrators after speaking with the soon-to-be deposed Yanukovych.
Due to protestors’ heavy social media usage, the movement has also been called the “Facebook Revolution.” The organizational aspects and tactics that defined it appeared conspicuously similar to Civil Society 2.0’s program. The European Journalism Observatory even remarked the movement had seemingly “sprung from several grass root civic initiatives.”
Amid the protests on Jan. 28, 2014, Nuland called the U.S. ambassador to Ukraine, Geoffrey Pyatt. Nuland notified Pyatt that Obama’s State Department had selected Arseniy Yatsenyuk for the post of prime minister of Ukraine. When the two discussed whether or not the EU would mediate, Nuland said, “bleep the EU.” The State Department dismissed it as “Russian tradecraft” when the call was leaked to the press.
Her role in shaping the country’s future has led to her being dubbed “the architect of American influence in Ukraine.”
On Feb. 18, 2014, the anti-Yanukovych protests burst into what appeared to be a revolution after a lull. In an unconstitutional takeover, Ukraine’s democratically elected president was swept out on Feb. 22 and replaced with a government selected by the Obama administration. Putin moved to annex Crimea around this time as the country plunged into chaos.
Yatsenyuk became prime minister on Feb. 27 and began distancing himself and his government from Russia. John Brennan, then the director of the CIA, visited Kiev that April as Yanukovych accused United States intelligence of being behind the color revolution that saw him out the door.
[...]
The Ukrainian coup she (Nuland) helped orchestrate in 2014 also triggered a civil war in Ukraine’s Donbas region between pro-Russian, anti-government separatists and Ukrainian government forces. The conflict, which has raged for nearly a decade now, had already killed more than 14,000 people by the time Putin invaded this year and flattened Ukraine’s economy, leaving it the poorest country in Europe. Here is “democracy,” as neoconservatives see it.
[...]
But why was Ukraine, a non-NATO country, receiving Uncle Sam’s finest equipment? Because in 2020, it became “one of just six so-called enhanced opportunity partners, a special status given to NATO’s closet allies, such as Australia,” according to the Council on Foreign Relations. “The U.S. military has provided Ukrainian forces with training and equipment, including sniper rifles, grenade launchers, night-vision gear, radars, Javelin anti-tank missiles, and patrol vessels.”
The presence of high-end military matériel in the Donbas and Ukraine’s cocksure intransigence suggested that it felt confident the United States and NATO would have their back in the event of a war. Why did they did make that bet? Because our leaders sold them a lie that they were eager to buy. As Asian Times columnist David P. Goldman wrote, “Putin proposed Minsk II, which kept Ukraine sovereignty. Berlin and Paris backed it, but they couldn’t persuade Washington to get on board.”
In late 2016, after the Minsk agreements had been signed, Sens. John McCain, Lindsey Graham, and Amy Klobuchar essentially told Ukraine that we were going to use them in a proxy war against Russia. “Your fight is our fight—2017 will be the year of offense,” Graham told a group of soldiers at a military base with former Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko. “All of us will go back to Washington and we will push the case against Russia.” Instead of trying to mediate peace, the establishment wanted war.
Today, the same people who helped topple Ukraine’s government and sparked the long Donbas war are back at it.
Nuland tweeted on Jan. 12: “Russia has created this crisis out of whole cloth and will have to justify to its people why it is stoking a potentially very bloody & costly conflict for Russia, rather than focusing on its own citizens’ health and on Russia’s own significant challenges in building back better.” One wonders if she will pause on beating the war drum to distribute cookies again. Even her old friend, former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, chimed in. On whether invading a sovereign country is a war crime, Rice said that it “is certainly against every principle of international law and international order.”
On March 3, Graham called for someone to “step up to the plate” and assassinate Putin.
More----- https://contra.substack.com/p/how-the-west-sowed-the-seeds-of-war
-
Russia’s armed forces under Gerasimov, the man without a doctrine
MICHAEL KOFMAN | APRIL 2, 2020
(https://russianmilitaryanalysis.files.wordpress.com/2020/04/dm5jmf5wwaattz7.jpg)
Valery Gerasimov, Chief of the Russian General Staff, turns 65 this year and is likely to stay on as long as Sergei Shoigu remains minister of defense. Gerasimov looms large over the current era of Russian military reform and modernization, though both processes were initiated by his predecessor, Nikolai Makarov. During his tenure, the Russian military has also been bloodied in two conflicts, Ukraine and Syria, with the lessons learned subsequently integrated into exercises at home. Gerasimov is more the representative of Russian military officialdom than the author of any of its key doctrinal tenets, but under him the Russian armed forces have undergone noticeable improvements in capability, mobility, readiness, force structure, and combat experience.
Ironically, of the things Gerasimov has done to leave an imprint on the Russian armed forces, he is uniquely famous for something that he never authored, and which does not exist — namely, the “Gerasimov Doctrine.” In 2014 an erroneous belief of almost mythic proportions emerged in the Western press some Russia watchers; it centered on the notion that in February 2013, Gerasimov authored an article laying out the Russian military blueprint for actions in Ukraine and war with the West.
The “Gerasimov Doctrine” was a clever name coined by Mark Galeotti on his blog, though he never meant it to be taken literally that Gerasimov had a doctrine. In 2018 Galeotti published a mea culpa rebuffing any notion that Gerasimov had a doctrine, given the extent to which this term “acquired a destructive life of its own.” Unfortunately like a creature in a horror film it escaped . . .
https://russianmilitaryanalysis.wordpress.com/2020/04/02/russias-armed-forces-under-gerasimov-the-man-without-a-doctrine/
-
Putin's ownership strategy mimics that of former Atlanta Falcons owner Rankin Smith back in the late 80s and 90s. In 1980, the Falcons miraculously made it to the NFC title game before falling to oblivion for the next two decades. During that time, every solution enacted by the Smith family involved someone associated with that 1980 team. Jerry Glanville was the defensive coordinator in 1980? Try him as head coach. June Jones was the third string QB? Make him head coach.
Anyway, Putin is doing the same thing. Gerasimov won a battle in Donbas in 2014. So he is Putin's pick to replicate that victory across an entire campaign.
It should also be pointed out that Gerasimov has been Army Chief of Staff for the past ten years, which means that he was responsible for preparing the Russian army that we see in action today. He was also heavily involved with the initial invasion plan which has been proven to be a dismal failure for the Russian Federation.
-
@Maj. Bill Martin This is a long and detailed narrative on US involvement in Ukraine.
On Feb. 21, nine months after the TechCamp Kiev 2.0 was held in partnership with Microsoft Ukraine, mass protests to oust Yanukovych began in Kiev’s Maidan Nezalezhnosti (Independence Square). Victoria Nuland, Obama’s Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs, was seen handing out cookies to demonstrators after speaking with the soon-to-be deposed Yanukovych. . .
LMAO !!! Are you really suggesting that someone handing out cookies in conjunction with a Microsoft tech camp is why the Ukrainian people suddenly decided to depose Russian puppet Viktor Yanukovych?
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA
-
@Right_in_Virginia
What is "poking the bear", anyway? Doing something that Russia doesn't like? Tough noogies. They don't get to impose their idiosyncratic view of Russia's right to hegemony over the rest of Eastern Europe just because of their national ego.
@Maj. Bill Martin
IMO, the information here https://contra.substack.com/p/how-the-west-sowed-the-seeds-of-war provides ample examples of "poking the Bear".
And since the invasion of Ukraine our government from the top down has repeatedly called for a regime change in Russia, even calling for the assassination of its head of state.
Our government has pledged unlimited support in time, money, more and more advanced military hardware and the opposition leader in the Senate has declared this war to be the most important issue in the United States today.
We have directly countered, not on behalf of NATO, Russian threats with our own specific to nuclear weapons.
We refuse to disavow using NATO as a threat on behalf of a non-member ---- turning NATO from a defensive alliance into an offensive one.
We support the expansion of NATO with the admission of Sweden and Finland -- further boxing in Russia (poke, poke, poke).
We have "advisors" on the ground in Ukraine and US troops placed around Ukraine's borders ----- ready and, apparently, willing to cross them.
We refuse any attempt at negotiations, choosing instead to give a hero's welcome to a man beating the drums of war in a public forum before the most powerful political body in the world.
Our government is pleased with this war and has made it quite clear we intend to continue it.
-
@Maj. Bill Martin
IMO, the information here https://contra.substack.com/p/how-the-west-sowed-the-seeds-of-war provides ample examples of "poking the Bear".
And since the invasion of Ukraine our government from the top down has repeatedly called for a regime change in Russia, even calling for the assassination of its head of state.
Our government has pledged unlimited support in time, money, more and more advanced military hardware and the opposition leader in the Senate has declared this war to be the most important issue in the United States today.
We have directly countered, not on behalf of NATO, Russian threats with our own specific to nuclear weapons.
We refuse to disavow using NATO as a threat on behalf of a non-member ---- turning NATO from a defensive alliance into an offensive one.
We support the expansion of NATO with the admission of Sweden and Finland -- further boxing in Russia (poke, poke, poke).
We have "advisors" on the ground in Ukraine and US troops placed around Ukraine's borders ----- ready and, apparently, willing to cross them.
We refuse any attempt at negotiations, choosing instead to give a hero's welcome to a man beating the drums of war in a public forum before the most powerful political body in the world.
Our government is pleased with this war and has made it quite clear we intend to continue it.
Wow. What a pack of - dare I say it - lies.
-
She's fully invested.
-
Sweden has exhibited no desire to be a Russian satellite, and the Finlanders made their position known during the Winter War, at Russia's (USSR) expense. IMHO, NATO membership doesn't take anything from Russia it ever had, especially after the USSR divested itself of the various Republics.
But Ukraine did surrender its nukes for the promise that it's borders would be honored, and Russia violated them by invading, first the Crimea, much like the forces invading the US now, then openly and militarily in this latest iteration after their puppet was deposed. Maybe they figured a comedian and entertainer would be an easy mark, but like with Ronald Reagan (also an entertainer with wit), it isn't turning out that way.
The war could end tomorrow, if the Russians would go home that fast.
-
One final question @Maj. Bill Martin --- if I may.
We are living through a time in our history when the lies from our government are being exposed on a near daily basis. Not only is the lie being exposed, but so, too, is the concerted effort by our government to coordinate a propaganda campaign with social and legacy media to transform the information we receive from lies to truth.
The control of information has become this regime's weapon of choice against its own citizens. ---- Whether it be the truth about the economy, COVID, our borders, Jan 6, election fraud, "Russia, Russia, Russia", impeachments, Burisma, China, the identity of the US puppet master ----- all truth is what our government ---- and only our government says it is. And, the penalties for any breach are swift and severe ---- just ask any J6 protestor rotting in the DC Gulag without benefit of trial.
So, here is my question: How is it possible that our government can provably lie about everything ---- except Ukraine?
How does one ignore the nexus of corruption and the suppression of free speech, thought and information and believe the history of how we arrived at the brink of another Great War in Europe the regime is rewriting, the stories it is telling about how the war is unfolding ----- and that all of this is in the best economic and security interests of the United States with such blind, unquestioning loyalty?
How does one do this?
-
Wow. What a pack of - dare I say it - lies.
You can say anything you want. But where's the lie?
-
Sweden has exhibited no desire to be a Russian satellite, and the Finlanders made their position known during the Winter War, at Russia's (USSR) expense. IMHO, NATO membership doesn't take anything from Russia it ever had, especially after the USSR divested itself of the various Republics.
But Ukraine did surrender its nukes for the promise that it's borders would be honored, and Russia violated them by invading, first the Crimea, much like the forces invading the US now, then openly and militarily in this latest iteration after their puppet was deposed. Maybe they figured a comedian and entertainer would be an easy mark, but like with Ronald Reagan (also an entertainer with wit), it isn't turning out that way.
The war could end tomorrow, if the Russians would go home that fast.
In addition, the U.S. committed itself at the time Ukraine gave up its nukes to protect Ukraine's borders from incursion. As such, (a) Russia is in violation of its agreements, and (b) the U.S. is obliged to assist Ukraine with its defense.
-
One final question @Maj. Bill Martin --- if I may.
We are living through a time in our history when the lies from our government are being exposed on a near daily basis. Not only is the lie being exposed, but so, too, is the concerted effort by our government to coordinate a propaganda campaign with social and legacy media to transform the information we receive from lies to truth.
The control of information has become this regime's weapon of choice against its own citizens. ---- Whether it be the truth about the economy, COVID, our borders, Jan 6, election fraud, "Russia, Russia, Russia", impeachments, Burisma, China, the identity of the US puppet master ----- all truth is what our government ---- and only our government says it is. And, the penalties for any breach are swift and severe ---- just ask any J6 protestor rotting in the DC Gulag without benefit of trial.
So, here is my question: How is it possible that our government can provably lie about everything ---- except Ukraine?
How does one ignore the nexus of corruption and the suppression of free speech, thought and information and believe the history of how we arrived at the brink of another Great War in Europe the regime is rewriting, the stories it is telling about how the war is unfolding ----- and that all of this is in the best economic and security interests of the United States with such blind, unquestioning loyalty?
How does one do this?
Oh, I have little doubt our government is still lying, not about the Russians invading Ukraine (that's pretty self-evident, Ukraine didn't drag the border under the Russians and point fingers, after all), but about the amount of aid that is going there. Huge dollar amounts are touted, but how much of that money reaches Ukraine in any form, be it arms, humanitarian aid (food, clothing, etc., not 'counseling'), or even cash, and how much is funneled off to contractors, delivery services, consultants and the like, while being included in the total (and we haven't even mentioned kickbacks, bribes, baksheesh, or skimming off the top)?
Every lie, to be plausible, has some element of truth, well perhaps except for some of the COVID whoppers, but there was no middle ground there.
-
@Maj. Bill Martin
IMO, the information here https://contra.substack.com/p/how-the-west-sowed-the-seeds-of-war provides ample examples of "poking the Bear".
Ah, Pedro Gonzalez, the humble magazine salesman and part time blogger. You've posted his bullshit here before.
And since the invasion of Ukraine our government from the top down has repeatedly called for a regime change in Russia, even calling for the assassination of its head of state.
This has ZERO connection with Russia's decision to invade Ukraine and their current refusal to withdraw.
@Maj. Bill Martin
Our government has pledged unlimited support in time, money, more and more advanced military hardware and the opposition leader in the Senate has declared this war to be the most important issue in the United States today.
There are clearly limits to our support. The current regime has made a point of denying Ukraine the offensive weaponry needed to take the war to the Russians. And the 'opposition' [sic] leader in the Senate provides no opposition, nor does any legislator speak for US foreign policy.
We have directly countered, not on behalf of NATO, Russian threats with our own specific to nuclear weapons.
This has been official US policy since August 29, 1949.
We refuse to disavow using NATO as a threat on behalf of a non-member ---- turning NATO from a defensive alliance into an offensive one.
Uh, no. The threat of NATO exists only in response to an attack on a NATO member. Nowhere has anyone threatened a NATO offensive attack on Russia for anything going on inside Ukraine.
We support the expansion of NATO with the admission of Sweden and Finland -- further boxing in Russia (poke, poke, poke).
The inroads for Swedish and Finnish requests were born out of Russian threats. It is Russia doing the poking, not the US. Without Russia's act of aggression combined with widespread war crimes, Finland and Sweden would still be neutral.
We have "advisors" on the ground in Ukraine and US troops placed around Ukraine's borders ----- ready and, apparently, willing to cross them.
Ukraine has Russian troop actually inside of Ukraine killing civilians and committing atrocities. How does that compare? And more importantly, how is that justification for an invasion that predates the placement of those advisors?
We refuse any attempt at negotiations, choosing instead to give a hero's welcome to a man beating the drums of war in a public forum before the most powerful political body in the world.
Why should be be negotiating? And for what? We have no authority to negotiate on behalf of Ukraine.
-
Ah, Pedro Gonzalez, the humble magazine salesman and part time blogger. You've posted his bullshit here before.
This has ZERO connection with Russia's decision to invade Ukraine and their current refusal to withdraw.
There are clearly limits to our support. The current regime has made a point of denying Ukraine the offensive weaponry needed to take the war to the Russians. And the 'opposition' [sic] leader in the Senate provides no opposition, nor does any legislator speak for US foreign policy.
This has been official US policy since August 29, 1949.
Uh, no. The threat of NATO exists only in response to an attack on a NATO member. Nowhere has anyone threatened a NATO offensive attack on Russia for anything going on inside Ukraine.
The inroads for Swedish and Finnish requests were born out of Russian threats. It is Russia doing the poking, not the US. Without Russia's act of aggression combined with widespread war crimes, Finland and Sweden would still be neutral.
Ukraine has Russian troop actually inside of Ukraine killing civilians and committing atrocities. How does that compare? And more importantly, how is that justification for an invasion that predates the placement of those advisors?
Why should be be negotiating? And for what? We have no authority to negotiate on behalf of Ukraine.
:thumbsup: :thumbsup:
-
@Right_in_Virginia
@Maj. Bill Martin
IMO, the information here https://contra.substack.com/p/how-the-west-sowed-the-seeds-of-war provides ample examples of "poking the Bear".
Okay, I was hoping you'd give me your thoughts instead of just link to someone else's (because I don't want to get sidetracked over what an article actually means), but I'll address the first point in that article, which is NATO refusing to discount the possibility of Ukraine or Georgia joining NATO at some point in the future. I assume that's the "biggie". The first and most obviously rebuke to that is that neither Ukraine nor Georgia were anywhere close to actually being admitted to NATO. There was no application for membership submitted, NATO was on record as saying Ukraine had a long way to go, and we know that the process takes months anyway. So how can the prospect of something that is years away, and may never happen at all, constitute a freaking "existential threat" sufficient to justify a war of conquest??
But even if you ignore that point, the argument regarding NATO being an "existential threat" is bogus anyway. Your article first says this:
First, it’s important to understand why Russia views Ukraine’s suing for NATO membership as an existential threat.
But the article, despite saying it is "important to understand why" Russia views NATO memberships as an existence threat, never actually explains that WHY at all.. All it does it quote Russians making completely conclusory statements like “Russian leaders have told their Western counterparts on many occasions that they consider NATO expansion into Georgia and Ukraine unacceptable." Okay, the Russians saying that something is "unacceptable" does not explain how it constitutes an "existential threat". And the reason the article never does explain how it is an "existential threat" is because it very clearly is not. The only "existential threat" is to the Russian/Putinist dream of reconstituting the Russian Empire/Soviet Union. NATO membership threatens that dream because Russia can't invade its neighbors once they have joined NATO. But there is no rational argument for how mere membership in NATO constitutes an existential threat to Russia itself.
And since the invasion of Ukraine our government from the top down has repeatedly called for a regime change in Russia, even calling for the assassination of its head of state.
You can't use something that by your own words only happened "since the invasion" to justify the invasion itself. And again, since this is supposed to relate to the claim that we've been "orchestrating a war" against Russia for years, this doesn't cut it.
The comments about Putin can't be looked at out of context, which is the belief that Putin himself will never stop the war. I'm sure if Putin woke up tomorrow and said "guys, we are ending our Special Military Operation and heading home", everyone would celebrate and you wouldn't hear a peep about offing him. But absent that, him going to meet his Maker is the best way for this to end. That's just a fact.
-
One final question @Maj. Bill Martin --- if I may.
Of course -- I admire your willingness to discuss this civilly with me and the rest of us jackals. Tough when you're outnumbered.
We are living through a time in our history when the lies from our government are being exposed on a near daily basis. Not only is the lie being exposed, but so, too, is the concerted effort by our government to coordinate a propaganda campaign with social and legacy media to transform the information we receive from lies to truth. The control of information has become this regime's weapon of choice against its own citizens. ---- Whether it be the truth about the economy, COVID, our borders, Jan 6, election fraud, "Russia, Russia, Russia", impeachments, Burisma, China, the identity of the US puppet master ----- all truth is what our government ---- and only our government says it is. And, the penalties for any breach are swift and severe ---- just ask any J6 protestor rotting in the DC Gulag without benefit of trial.
So, here is my question: How is it possible that our government can provably lie about everything ---- except Ukraine?
Of course our government can lie about Ukraine. It probably has. But the facts that justify our support for Ukraine have nothing to do with anything our government says. Those facts are: 1) Russia invaded Ukraine without legitimate justification in 2014, and did the same in 2022, and; 2) Ukrainians clearly are willing to fight and die to defend their own country. The reasons why I believe those invasions were unjustified I've explained elsewhere, and none of my reasoning is dependent upon a word our government has said. And if the Ukrainians are willing to fight to defend their country, I believe it is very strongly in the interests of the U.S. to give them the weapons necessary to defeat that invasion.
I couldn't care less about Burisma or claims of Ukrainian corruption. Doesn't factor into my reasons for supporting Ukraine in the slightest.
-
The lies of our own government regarding Ukraine don't have a damn thing to do with Russian aggression.
Russia invaded Ukraine. Period. We did not do it for them. They did it on their own.
-
The NKVD is back.
(https://imgs.search.brave.com/B9QADOcMTqYAoXUzmBreIm2nhT28TTAL95Jg406Guxo/rs:fit:602:339:1/g:ce/aHR0cHM6Ly9xcGgu/Y2YyLnF1b3JhY2Ru/Lm5ldC9tYWluLXFp/bWctNmYxMjg2YjVk/NDIzOTY1MTY0Y2Mx/NjE4OTkzMmU2M2Qt/bHE)
@Hoodat
This is supposed to be news? The Soviets have been doing this since they took power. Either the NKVD or the KGB,I forget which at the moment,used to follow in the rear of all Soviet assault,and shoot to death any soldier they saw that was trying to retreat instead of charging.
I don't even know why anyone,especially a reporter,would be surprised by this. In the USSR,the Politburo OWN the Soviet subjects and are free to do anything with them they wish,including a secret trial and immediate execution with no questions asked. The Chicoms do the same thing. Soldiers are nothing more than expendable "tools".
It is Communist doctrine.
Update!
I just remembered,it is the NKVD that does this,and these monsters populate what the Soviet Army calls "Blocking Squads". Their job is to block/shoot to death any soldier that tries to retreat.
THEY,of course,are ALWAYS in the rear,NEVER in the front lines.
-
To me, the timing of the current war in Ukraine is an explicit reaction to Sloe Joe's reckless abandonment of Afghanistan last August. They always wanted all of Ukraine (not just the eastern sections), ever since the collapse of the Soviet empire.
We could have had a more orderly exit, but the Democrats wanted it to be messy so they could blame us for it.
-
Of course -- I admire your willingness to discuss this civilly with me and the rest of us jackals. Tough when you're outnumbered.
Of course our government can lie about Ukraine. It probably has. But the facts that justify our support for Ukraine have nothing to do with anything our government says. Those facts are: 1) Russia invaded Ukraine without legitimate justification in 2014, and did the same in 2022, and; 2) Ukrainians clearly are willing to fight and die to defend their own country. The reasons why I believe those invasions were unjustified I've explained elsewhere, and none of my reasoning is dependent upon a word our government has said. And if the Ukrainians are willing to fight to defend their country, I believe it is very strongly in the interests of the U.S. to give them the weapons necessary to defeat that invasion.
I couldn't care less about Burisma or claims of Ukrainian corruption. Doesn't factor into my reasons for supporting Ukraine in the slightest.
:thumbsup:
-
To me, the timing of the current war in Ukraine is an explicit reaction to Sloe Joe's reckless abandonment of Afghanistan last August. They always wanted all of Ukraine (not just the eastern sections), ever since the collapse of the Soviet empire.
We could have had a more orderly exit, but the Democrats wanted it to be messy so they could blame us for it.
I agree that our demonstrated weakness in Afghanistan likely encourage Russia to believe it could get away with it. Weakness encirages aggression.
And China is watching very carefully to see whether the West is willing to stand up to Russia.
-
Of course -- I admire your willingness to discuss this civilly with me and the rest of us jackals. Tough when you're outnumbered.
Of course our government can lie about Ukraine. It probably has. But the facts that justify our support for Ukraine have nothing to do with anything our government says. Those facts are: 1) Russia invaded Ukraine without legitimate justification in 2014, and did the same in 2022, and; 2) Ukrainians clearly are willing to fight and die to defend their own country. The reasons why I believe those invasions were unjustified I've explained elsewhere, and none of my reasoning is dependent upon a word our government has said. And if the Ukrainians are willing to fight to defend their country, I believe it is very strongly in the interests of the U.S. to give them the weapons necessary to defeat that invasion.
I couldn't care less about Burisma or claims of Ukrainian corruption. Doesn't factor into my reasons for supporting Ukraine in the slightest.
I agree completely.
-
Of course -- I admire your willingness to discuss this civilly with me and the rest of us jackals. Tough when you're outnumbered.
Of course our government can lie about Ukraine. It probably has. But the facts that justify our support for Ukraine have nothing to do with anything our government says.
@Maj. Bill Martin
How is this possible when everything you think you know is from the government? When every independent report or opinion is summarily dismissed as fringe or fabrication? When anyone asking self-proclaimed intelligent people to question, to trust but verify, is greeted with a chorus of "Putin lover" and "liar"?
How can you claim, with I presume a straight face, that "support for Ukraine has nothing to do with what our government says"??
Those facts are: 1) Russia invaded Ukraine without legitimate justification in 2014, and did the same in 2022, and
According solely to the rewritten narrative from this regime.
2) Ukrainians clearly are willing to fight and die to defend their own country.
I mean no disrespect to the Ukrainian people who are clearly paying the most for this ill-considered shit show, but when did people willing to fight for their country become the criteria for our support? I've always thought a clear cut national interest is our top priority in all military decisions. And we have zero here.
I will leave this thread now and let all continue to promote a conflict we should never have instigated and a government openly propagandizing its intent to escalate it. Unfortunately, I take rational thinking with me.
But, the bubble is again secure.
-
@Right_in_Virginia
@Maj. Bill Martin
How is this possible when everything you think you know is from the government? When every independent report or opinion is summarily dismissed as fringe or fabrication? When anyone asking self-proclaimed intelligent people to question, to trust but verify, is greeted with a chorus of "Putin lover" and "liar"?
It isn't. I'm not sure how you can even claim that. Nobody, on either side, denies that there was a referendum in 1991 where every single oblast in Ukraine voted for independence. Nobody denies that Yeltsin and Gorbachev both recognized the validity of that election. Nobody denies that the parties agreed to the terms of the 1994 Budapest Memorandum, or what its terms are. I've read it myself, on public websites. Not even the Russians deny it. Those are foundational facts that don't come just from the U.S. government. So how can you claim that "everything I know is from the government"??
Nobody denies that the Ukrainian Parliament voted in February 2013 to execute an Agreement with the EU. Nobody denies (Putin himself eventually bragged about it after Russia denied it for months) that Russia sent troops secretly to Crimea in February 2014 to take over key infrastructure, etc..
These are all facts to which everyone agrees, and they are the most relevant facts in the entire dispute.
I will say I am very curious to actually have a discussion about how the prospect of Ukraine and Georgia perhaps one day joining NATO constituted an existential threat to Russia that justified invasion. I have never, since this entire war began, heard anyone willing to do that.
-
"I will say I am very curious to actually have a discussion about how the prospect of Ukraine and Georgia perhaps one day joining NATO constituted an existential threat to Russia that justified invasion. I have never, since this entire war began, heard anyone willing to do that."
And the fact that the "buffer" they demanded would be completely gone if they took over Ukraine. It also takes years to join NATO with many steps along the way. There was no immediate threat at all when they further invaded.
-
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FmB78-mX0AAhSqd?format=jpg&name=medium)
-
Furious Putin shows his rage at Russia's failing war effort as he demotes 'General Armageddon' overseeing invasion and publicly humiliates hapless deputy PM for 'fooling around'
By WILL STEWART and DAVID AVERRE FOR MAILONLINE
11 January 2023
Vladimir Putin ordered yet another shake-up of his war cabinet yesterday, demoting the head of his forces in Ukraine after only three months on the job.
General Sergei Surovikin, who earned the fearsome nickname 'General Armageddon' for employing brutal tactics during Russia's intervention in Syria, was named as Russia's overall military commander on October 8.
Putin yesterday replaced Surovikin with General Valery Gerasimov, Russia's chief of the general staff who was seen by many as the top architect of the invasion. But critics have already blamed him for Moscow's military setbacks.
He also humiliated one of his deputy prime ministers on a video conference call, blasting the official for failing to procure civilian and military planes and accusing him of 'fooling around'.
* * *
Source: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11624411/Furious-Putin-shows-rage-publicly-humiliates-hapless-deputy-PM.html
-
Those facts are: 1) Russia invaded Ukraine without legitimate justification in 2014, and did the same in 2022, and
According solely to the rewritten narrative from this regime.
Russia's invasions of Ukraine are well documented historical facts. How do you expect to explain away your denial of those facts?
Russia's sole justification was that it wanted Ukrainian land.
-
Sweden has exhibited no desire to be a Russian satellite, and the Finlanders made their position known during the Winter War, at Russia's (USSR) expense. IMHO, NATO membership doesn't take anything from Russia it ever had, especially after the USSR divested itself of the various Republics.
But Ukraine did surrender its nukes for the promise that it's borders would be honored, and Russia violated them by invading, first the Crimea, much like the forces invading the US now, then openly and militarily in this latest iteration after their puppet was deposed. Maybe they figured a comedian and entertainer would be an easy mark, but like with Ronald Reagan (also an entertainer with wit), it isn't turning out that way.
The war could end tomorrow, if the Russians would go home that fast.
It really is that simple and straight forward.
As the war has progressed I find I have less and less respect for the Ukrainian politicians, but my desire to see us support the Ukrainian people and our commitment to them when they surrendered their nuclear weapons has not wavered.
-
Russian Mercenaries’ Human Wave Tactics Push Back Ukrainian Troops In Soledar
David Axe | Jan 12, 2023 | 05:19pm EST
(https://imageio.forbes.com/specials-images/imageserve/63c085d4e380a7b575c92cf4/Wagner-fighters--purportedly-in-Soledar-s-salt-mines-/0x0.jpg?format=jpg&crop=960,640,x0,y410,safe&width=960)
Wagner fighters, purportedly in Soledar's salt mines.VIA SOCIAL MEDIA
When the Ukrainian army began rotating fresh units into eastern Ukraine in mid-December, the 46th Air Mobile Brigade drew the short straw.
It rotated into the sector around Bakhmut, a town in eastern Ukraine’s Donbas region, 30 miles north of Donetsk, the seat of the separatist Donetsk People’s Republic.
Bakhmut, a town with a pre-war population of 72,000, is the unlucky object of Russian obsession. The Wagner Group, the shadowy mercenary company financed by Yevgeny Prigozhin—who earlier in life was Russian president Vladimir Putin’s favorite sausage vendor—last spring chose Bakhmut as its main target.
For months, Wagner has hurled battalion after battalion of under-trained troops—ex-convicts, mostly—at Ukrainian defenses in Bakhmut. “Their tactic is to send people to die,” . .
https://www.forbes.com/sites/davidaxe/2023/01/12/russian-mercenaries-human-wave-tactics-push-back-ukrainian-troops-in-soledar/?sh=2960be7b7701
-
Russian Mercenaries’ Human Wave Tactics Push Back Ukrainian Troops In Soledar
David Axe | Jan 12, 2023 | 05:19pm EST
(https://imageio.forbes.com/specials-images/imageserve/63c085d4e380a7b575c92cf4/Wagner-fighters--purportedly-in-Soledar-s-salt-mines-/0x0.jpg?format=jpg&crop=960,640,x0,y410,safe&width=960)
Wagner fighters, purportedly in Soledar's salt mines.VIA SOCIAL MEDIA
When the Ukrainian army began rotating fresh units into eastern Ukraine in mid-December, the 46th Air Mobile Brigade drew the short straw.
It rotated into the sector around Bakhmut, a town in eastern Ukraine’s Donbas region, 30 miles north of Donetsk, the seat of the separatist Donetsk People’s Republic.
Bakhmut, a town with a pre-war population of 72,000, is the unlucky object of Russian obsession. The Wagner Group, the shadowy mercenary company financed by Yevgeny Prigozhin—who earlier in life was Russian president Vladimir Putin’s favorite sausage vendor—last spring chose Bakhmut as its main target.
For months, Wagner has hurled battalion after battalion of under-trained troops—ex-convicts, mostly—at Ukrainian defenses in Bakhmut. “Their tactic is to send people to die,” . .
https://www.forbes.com/sites/davidaxe/2023/01/12/russian-mercenaries-human-wave-tactics-push-back-ukrainian-troops-in-soledar/?sh=2960be7b7701
Basically just throw bodies at them, truly like orcs, heh. Amazing. This is 2023 right?
-
Basically just throw bodies at them, truly like orcs, heh. Amazing. This is 2023 right?
Yup.
-
From the article:
Wagner has thrown an estimated 40,000 fighters at Bakhmut and Soledar. As many as 4,100 have died, according to The Guardian. Another 10,000 were wounded. No ground-combat force can sustain offensive operations after losing a third of its strength.
Whether and how quickly Wagner can recruit new fighters—likely from Russia’s prison population—could shape what happens next. No one expects Wagner to give up on Bakhmut. Indeed, the mercenary firm might read its capture of Soledar as evidence its human-wave tactics work and are worth the cost in blood—and it should push even harder.
Ukraine will need more ammo.
-
From the article:
Ukraine will need more ammo.
Yup.
-
Ukraine 46th Airmobile Brigade is counterattacking in Soledar. This unit was trained in the UK.
-
At some point it may be prudent to withdraw some so the enemy cannot use the frozen corpses of their comrades for cover.
-
Russia claims it has captured salt-mine town Soledar as Putin desperately presses for first victory in months but Ukraine insists 'severe' fighting is ongoing
By CHRIS JEWERS FOR MAILONLINE and AFP
13 January 2023
Ukraine has denied Moscow's claim that Russian forces have captured the salt-mining town of Soledar, a key focal point of Vladimir Putin 's invasion as he desperately presses for his first victory in months.
Russia's Defense Ministry said Friday that Soledar was captured on Thursday night, after a Ukrainian official earlier admitted their forces had faced 'high intensity' battles for the town. Kyiv officials denied this, saying 'severe' fighting is on-going.
Despite Moscow focusing vast resources on capturing Soledar, analysts have said it offers little tactical benefit to the invaders for their overall goal of taking Bakhmut.
And in an on-the-ground report, two Ukrainian soldiers claimed 50 Russians were being killed for every 100 yards they try to advance in the battle-torn region.
Meanwhile, President Volodymyr Zelensky vowed in an overnight address that defenders in the region would be armed with everything they need to keep Russian troops at bay in some of the bloodiest battles of the war.
* * *
Source: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11631099/Ukraine-forces-hold-hot-night-high-intensity-battles-Soledar.html
-
Putin 'will nominate his chosen heir this year rather than risk being toppled' as Russia's military disaster sees his popularity plummet, former ally says
By WILL STEWART FOR MAILONLINE
13 January 2023
Vladimir Putin will nominate his chosen successor this year rather than risk being toppled as the Russian President's popularity continues to plummet amid a series of military defeats in Ukraine, his former ally has claimed.
Putin will seek to hand over power to a chosen heir and retire to his £1billion Black Sea 'palace' rather than risk the ignominious fate of toppled tyrants like Muammar Gaddafi, said Abbas Gallyamov, Putin's former speechwriter.
The Russian leader will seek to give up power to a technocrat successor who could negotiate an end to the war with Ukraine and the West, and probably not fight the 2024 election, he told Khodorkovsky Live YouTube channel.
* * *
Source: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11631171/Putin-nominate-chosen-heir-year-risk-toppled-former-ally-says.html
-
Putin 'will nominate his chosen heir this year rather than risk being toppled' as Russia's military disaster sees his popularity plummet, former ally says
By WILL STEWART FOR MAILONLINE
13 January 2023
Vladimir Putin will nominate his chosen successor this year rather than risk being toppled as the Russian President's popularity continues to plummet amid a series of military defeats in Ukraine, his former ally has claimed.
@Kamaji
Younger bureaucrats are now running all over the Kremlin,screaming "Pick him,not me!" as they point to colleagues they don't like.
Just HOW freaking stoopid would you have to be to take THAT job?
-
Putin's looking for a fall guy.
-
Soledar, Donetsk
Aug 1, 2022
(https://dynaimage.cdn.cnn.com/cnn/digital-images/org/e4a03b48-4908-41f4-a6b5-de215ce5e076.JPG)
Jan 10, 2023
(https://dynaimage.cdn.cnn.com/cnn/digital-images/org/27c56392-4e43-4bcf-9421-75b4300d2530.JPG)
-
Soledar, Donetsk
Aug 1, 2022
(https://dynaimage.cdn.cnn.com/cnn/digital-images/org/e4a03b48-4908-41f4-a6b5-de215ce5e076.JPG)
Jan 10, 2023
(https://dynaimage.cdn.cnn.com/cnn/digital-images/org/27c56392-4e43-4bcf-9421-75b4300d2530.JPG)
Wow.
-
Ukraine says "fierce fighting" is ongoing in Soledar as of Friday afternoon
Yulia Kesaieva - Kyiv | 1 hr 14 min ago
Various units of the Ukrainian military on Friday insisted that the battle for the eastern town of Soledar is ongoing, refuting claims of capture by the Russian Ministry of Defense and Wagner private military company.
“Local battles continue in the city,” the 46th Airmobile Brigade said on Telegram Friday. “Orcs [Russians] are pressing from the outskirts to the center." . . .
. . . Troops from the Armed Forces of Ukraine “are holding a dense and solid defense line,” he says. “Yes, the assault units of Wagner attack non-stop, because apparently this is a defining showcase for them, when they have to show some results to their employer. But we don't give a [expletive] about their plans. We are doing our job. We do it well. And we'll do it till the end. . .
https://www.cnn.com/europe/live-news/russia-ukraine-war-news-1-13-23/index.html
-
Russia Says Belarus May Enter Ukraine Conflict if 'Invaded'
https://www.usnews.com/news/world/articles/2023-01-13/russia-says-military-drills-with-belarus-designed-to-deter-escalation
A Russian foreign ministry official said on Friday that Belarus may enter the conflict in Ukraine if Kyiv decides to "invade" either country.
Russia used Belarus as a springboard to invade Ukraine in February 2022, and since October has deployed troops in Belarus for joint military drills.
Both countries have since agreed to intensify their military co-operation, raising fears Moscow could use its close ally to launch a new offensive on Ukraine from the north.
In an interview with state media, foreign ministry official Aleksey Polishchuk said that Russia's joint drills with Belarus were designed to prevent escalation, but warned that Belarus may join the Ukraine conflict if it or Russia were invaded.
"From a legal point of view, the use of military force by the Kyiv regime or the invasion of the territory of Belarus or Russia by the armed forces of Ukraine are sufficient grounds for a collective response," Polishchuk told the TASS news agency.
EXCERPT
-
Russia Says Belarus May Enter Ukraine Conflict if 'Invaded'
https://www.usnews.com/news/world/articles/2023-01-13/russia-says-military-drills-with-belarus-designed-to-deter-escalation
A Russian foreign ministry official said on Friday that Belarus may enter the conflict in Ukraine if Kyiv decides to "invade" either country.
Russia used Belarus as a springboard to invade Ukraine in February 2022, and since October has deployed troops in Belarus for joint military drills.
Both countries have since agreed to intensify their military co-operation, raising fears Moscow could use its close ally to launch a new offensive on Ukraine from the north.
In an interview with state media, foreign ministry official Aleksey Polishchuk said that Russia's joint drills with Belarus were designed to prevent escalation, but warned that Belarus may join the Ukraine conflict if it or Russia were invaded.
"From a legal point of view, the use of military force by the Kyiv regime or the invasion of the territory of Belarus or Russia by the armed forces of Ukraine are sufficient grounds for a collective response," Polishchuk told the TASS news agency.
EXCERPT
False flag in 3...2...1...
-
Russia Says Belarus May Enter Ukraine Conflict if 'Invaded'
What does Belarus say?
btw, Belarus has already been invaded by Russian troops, aircraft, and missile launchers.
-
Russia's war against Ukrainian civilians continues. Apartment block in Dnipro targeted.
(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9wBNto_IhEQ)
-
Dnipro
(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MZDA6tUtf8w)
-
Moscow is allegedly preparing to deport some 100,000 Ukrainians to Russia
https://www.euronews.com/2023/01/15/moscow-is-allegedly-preparing-to-deport-some-100000-ukrainians-to-russia (https://www.euronews.com/2023/01/15/moscow-is-allegedly-preparing-to-deport-some-100000-ukrainians-to-russia)
Russian officials and occupation authorities may be preparing for a mass deportation of Ukrainian citizens from occupied territories to the Russian Federation.
The US media giant Bloomberg reported that the Russian Prime Minister, Mikhail Mishustin, issued a government order in mid-December on “revenue mobilisation” that allocated up to €2.5 billion in extra spending for what Moscow calls ‘the potential resettlement’ of residents from the Kherson region to Russia.
Ukraine's Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk responded to the Russian government’s order, stating that Russian officials and occupation authorities may be planning to deport more than 100,000 residents from the Kherson region to Russia under fears that Moscow's forces may lose further territory in war-torn Ukraine.
Vereshchuk also said that Russian officials have forcibly resettled an unspecified number of Ukrainian citizens to 57 regions in Russia, including the Far East and Siberia.
More at link.
-
Three dead, 16 hurt in ammo blast in Russian region near Ukraine
January 15, 2023 | 11:11 AM EST
An ammunition explosion caused by "careless" handling of a grenade in Russia's Belgorod region on the border with Ukraine killed three soldiers and injured 16, Russian news agencies reported on Sunday.
The blast occurred in a cultural centre repurposed for Russia's armed forces to store ammunition, state news agencies reported, citing local emergency services for the toll.
Another eight service personnel were still reported missing as of Sunday evening, the Interfax news agency reported. . .
https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/ten-russian-soldiers-injured-blast-belgorod-tass-cites-emergency-services-2023-01-15/
Other sources have described this as an intentional act of fratricide. Either way, yet another example of Russian lack of military discipline.
-
How Ukraine became a testbed for Western weapons and battlefield innovation
Katie Bo Lillis and Oren Liebermann | Updated 9:33 PM EST, Sun January 15, 2023
(CNN) — Last fall, as Ukraine won back large swaths of territory in a series of counterattacks, it pounded Russian forces with American-made artillery and rockets. Guiding some of that artillery was a homemade targeting system that Ukraine developed on the battlefield.
A piece of Ukrainian-made software has turned readily available tablet computers and smartphones into sophisticated targeting tools that are now used widely across the Ukrainian military.
The result is a mobile app that feeds satellite and other intelligence imagery into a real-time targeting algorithm that helps units near the front direct fire onto specific targets. And because it’s an app, not a piece of hardware, it’s easy to quickly update and upgrade, and available to a wide range of personnel.
US officials familiar with the tool say it has been highly effective . . .
https://edition.cnn.com/2023/01/15/politics/ukraine-russia-war-weapons-lab/index.html
-
Andrey Medvedev: How Russian mercenary made an icy escape to Norway
Matt Murphy - BBC | 50 minutes ago
As Andrey Medvedev dashed towards the remote Russia-Norway border, he could hear the sound of attack dogs snarling behind him.
Their arrival meant the men hunting him were closing in. But the border - and the Western world - were in reach.
Two months earlier, the 26-year-old had deserted from the Russian mercenaries, the Wagner Group. He was about to become the first of their troops to defect to the West. . .
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-64303652
-
Andrey Medvedev: How Russian mercenary made an icy escape to Norway
Matt Murphy - BBC | 50 minutes ago
As Andrey Medvedev dashed towards the remote Russia-Norway border, he could hear the sound of attack dogs snarling behind him.
Their arrival meant the men hunting him were closing in. But the border - and the Western world - were in reach.
Two months earlier, the 26-year-old had deserted from the Russian mercenaries, the Wagner Group. He was about to become the first of their troops to defect to the West. . .
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-64303652
It says he was the first to defect; have there been others after him?
-
It says he was the first to defect; have there been others after him?
This just happened, so no. Not that we know of. His story is interesting.
Medvedev's lawyer in Norway, Brynjulf Risnes, told the BBC that Medvedev witnessed a host of war crimes - including seeing "deserters being executed" by the Wagner Group's internal security service.
And Mr Osechkin said Medvedev decided to leave Wagner after witnessing the group's "terroristic methods". . .
. . . In November 2022, Medvedev was told that, despite completing his four-month contract, the group had decided unilaterally to extend his service. It was unclear for how long.
This seems to have been the final straw for Medvedev. . .
. . . After fleeing Ukraine and returning to Russia, Medvedev entered a Wagner recruiting centre in the Russian city of St Petersburg where he returned his dog tags. This appears to have attracted the group's attention.
"When he left Wagner Group, the security office of Wagner did a lot of things to find him and he was at risk of dying," Mr Osechkin said.
With security agents searching for him, Medvedev was forced to go into hiding to avoid the brutal kind of retribution he had seen the group impose upon deserters in Ukraine.
It was at this point that he approached Gulagu.net - an exiled human rights organisation - for help. . .
. . . After attempting to cross twice into Finland, Medvedev travelled to Russia's far north and made the passage across the Norwegian border.
-
This just happened, so no. Not that we know of. His story is interesting.
Thanks!
-
Putin is set to make 'important statement' about Ukraine war tomorrow according to Moscow-appointed official in Russian-held region
By CHRIS JEWERS FOR MAILONLINE
17 January 2023
Vladimir Putin is set to make an 'important statement' about his invasion, according to a Moscow-appointed official in a Russian-occupied region of Ukraine.
Vladimir Rogov, a member of the Administration Council of the Zaporizhzhia region, announced the Russian president would be delivering the speech on Wednesday.
The address will be part of events marking the 80th anniversary of when Russians broke the siege of Leningrad by the forces of Nazi Germany, when Soviet forces managed to open a narrow land corridor to the city on 18 January 1943.
* * *
Source: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11645039/Putin-set-make-important-statement-Ukraine-war-tomorrow.html
-
Probably the long rumored second mobilization.
-
Putin says victory in Ukraine 'is assured' and claims Russia is trying to END war that has continued in Donbas since 2014... when HIS forces invaded
By CHRIS JEWERS FOR MAILONLINE
18 January 2023
Vladimir Putin has said Russia's victory in Ukraine 'is assured' and claimed he is trying to end the war that has continued in the Donbas, where Moscow-backed separatists have been battling Ukrainian forces since 2014.
In televised remarks to workers during a visit to a weapons factory in his home town of St. Petersburg, the Russian President told workers and reporters: 'Victory is assured, I have no doubt about it.'
He also claimed that Moscow's invasion was intended to stop a 'war' that has been raging in eastern Ukraine for many years.
He claimed Russia has long sought to negotiate a settlement to the conflict in Ukraine's eastern industrial heartland of Donbas.
* * *
Source: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11648933/Putin-says-victory-Ukraine-assured-claims-Russia-trying-END-war.html
-
Putin says victory in Ukraine 'is assured' and claims Russia is trying to END war that has continued in Donbas since 2014... when HIS forces invaded
By CHRIS JEWERS FOR MAILONLINE
18 January 2023
Vladimir Putin has said Russia's victory in Ukraine 'is assured' and claimed he is trying to end the war that has continued in the Donbas, where Moscow-backed separatists have been battling Ukrainian forces since 2014.
In televised remarks to workers during a visit to a weapons factory in his home town of St. Petersburg, the Russian President told workers and reporters: 'Victory is assured, I have no doubt about it.'
He also claimed that Moscow's invasion was intended to stop a 'war' that has been raging in eastern Ukraine for many years.
He claimed Russia has long sought to negotiate a settlement to the conflict in Ukraine's eastern industrial heartland of Donbas.
* * *
Source: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11648933/Putin-says-victory-Ukraine-assured-claims-Russia-trying-END-war.html
:mauslaff:
-
Putin deploys air defense systems around Moscow amid fears of Ukrainian strikes on the capital
By MAILONLINE REPORTER
18 January 2023
Russia has deployed its lethal anti-aircraft systems around Moscow in a sign that Vladimir Putin is taking precautions against a potential strikes from Ukraine. Putin has now deployed Russia's fearsome S-400 defense missiles to two locations in the capital amid fears Kyiv could launch attacks on the city.
The S-400 'Triumf' air defense system is designed to destroy aircraft, cruise and ballistic missiles, including medium-range missiles. It can also be used against ground objectives. Its deployment to Moscow comes after two suspected Ukrainian drone strikes hit two air bases deep inside Russia in December, damaging two nuclear-capable bombers that were thought to be preparing for an attack on Ukraine.
One S-400 air defense system, which has a range of 248 miles, has been deployed in fields belonging to the Russian State Agricultural University in the northwest of Moscow. Another has been deployed to the Losiny Ostrov National Park near Sokolniki district in the northeast of the city. The S-400 is capable of shooting down up to 80 targets simultaneously and is said to be able to travel at a speed of more than 10,000mph.
* * *
Source: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/galleries/article-11648475/Putin-deploys-air-defense-systems-Moscow-amid-Ukraine-strike-fears.html
-
Putin deploys air defense systems around Moscow amid fears of Ukrainian strikes on the capital
By MAILONLINE REPORTER
18 January 2023
Russia has deployed its lethal anti-aircraft systems around Moscow in a sign that Vladimir Putin is taking precautions against a potential strikes from Ukraine. Putin has now deployed Russia's fearsome S-400 defense missiles to two locations in the capital amid fears Kyiv could launch attacks on the city.
The S-400 'Triumf' air defense system is designed to destroy aircraft, cruise and ballistic missiles, including medium-range missiles. It can also be used against ground objectives. Its deployment to Moscow comes after two suspected Ukrainian drone strikes hit two air bases deep inside Russia in December, damaging two nuclear-capable bombers that were thought to be preparing for an attack on Ukraine.
One S-400 air defense system, which has a range of 248 miles, has been deployed in fields belonging to the Russian State Agricultural University in the northwest of Moscow. Another has been deployed to the Losiny Ostrov National Park near Sokolniki district in the northeast of the city. The S-400 is capable of shooting down up to 80 targets simultaneously and is said to be able to travel at a speed of more than 10,000mph.
* * *
Source: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/galleries/article-11648475/Putin-deploys-air-defense-systems-Moscow-amid-Ukraine-strike-fears.html
@Kamaji
So now Pooty Poot thinks Ukraine is going to treat fire with fire?
Gee,hooda thunk that another nation would fight back and reject the slavery of the Communists?
-
Will they end up shooting down
one more of their own aircraft?
-
Will they end up shooting down one of their own aircraft?
That has already happened.
https://www.aerotime.aero/articles/31629-russian-military-shoots-down-newest-su-34m-over-ukraine
-
That has already happened.
https://www.aerotime.aero/articles/31629-russian-military-shoots-down-newest-su-34m-over-ukraine
Fixed it...
-
Ukraine's interior ministry leadership killed in helicopter crash
James Waterhouse and Paul Kirby | 2 hours ago
The three main figures in Ukraine's interior ministry have been killed in a helicopter crash beside a nursery in an eastern suburb of the capital Kyiv.
Interior Minister Denys Monastyrsky, 42, died alongside his first deputy minister and state secretary.
Fourteen people died when the helicopter came down in Brovary around 08:30 local time (06:30 GMT), including one child, authorities said.
There is no indication the crash was anything other than an accident.
But the SBU state security service said it was following several possible causes for the crash, which included sabotage as well as a technical malfunction or breach of flight rules. . .
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-64315594
-
'Tallinn Pledge' - nine countries promise 'unprecedented' aid package for Ukraine
6h ago | 10:53
A group of nine countries pledged a raft of new military aid for Ukraine on Thursday ahead of a crunch meeting on arms for Kyiv scheduled to take place in Germany on Friday.
The aid from countries including Estonia, Latvia, the UK and Poland will include tens of stinger air defence systems, s-60 anti-aircraft guns, machine guns and training, according to a statement.
Signing up to what was dubbed the "Tallinn Pledge", the group said: "We condemn Russia's attacks designed to terrorise Ukraine's people, including intentional attacks against the civilian population and civilian infrastructure which may constitute war crimes.
"We reject Russia's ongoing violation of Ukraine's sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity, and its illegal claims to have annexed Ukrainian territory." . .
https://news.sky.com/story/ukraine-war-latest-putin-could-make-final-push-on-invasion-anniversary-as-belarus-president-warned-over-joining-war-12541713?postid=5260165#liveblog-body
-
Ukraine condemns Lavrov's 'final solution' comments
5h ago | 11:43
Ukraine has condemned Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov's statement comparing Russians with Jews killed by the Nazis and the West with Adolf Hitler.
Ukraine's Foreign Ministry's spokesman Oleh Nikolenko urged Israeli authorities and Jewish organisations to condemn Lavrov's words too.
According to Russian state news outlet TASS, Mr Lavrov said yesterday that the US had formed a coalition of European countries "for the final solution of 'the Russian question'" just as Hitler "wanted to solve 'the Jewish question'." . . .
https://news.sky.com/story/ukraine-war-latest-putin-could-make-final-push-on-invasion-anniversary-as-belarus-president-warned-over-joining-war-12541713?postid=5260445#liveblog-body
I don't recall Ukrainian troops invading Russia to solve the Russian question. But I do recall Russia doing that to Ukraine.
-
Someone today was trying to convince me that the right wing headspace was anti-Ukraine. I didn't agree, but I did see a lot of comments on the usual news sites (Breitbart, DW, etc...).
I will say this: I am glad that it seems the person trying to convince me was incorrect. The left keeps claiming the right is crawling with Putin supporters, but none of my extensive circle of friends on the right supports Putin. I will also add that more than half of the volunteers I worked with in Ukraine last year were generally conservative, and there were no "woke" people. The one woke person that I encountered was working for another org, and they were kicked out in a week because they couldn't handle that most of the people volunteering voted for Trump, at least outside the medical field.
Russia is seriously trying to push a big information op to convince people that the right is "pro Putin."
-
Someone today was trying to convince me that the right wing headspace was anti-Ukraine. I didn't agree, but I did see a lot of comments on the usual news sites (Breitbart, DW, etc...).
I will say this: I am glad that it seems the person trying to convince me was incorrect. The left keeps claiming the right is crawling with Putin supporters, but none of my extensive circle of friends on the right supports Putin. I will also add that more than half of the volunteers I worked with in Ukraine last year were generally conservative, and there were no "woke" people. The one woke person that I encountered was working for another org, and they were kicked out in a week because they couldn't handle that most of the people volunteering voted for Trump, at least outside the medical field.
Russia is seriously trying to push a big information op to convince people that the right is "pro Putin."
: goopo
-
Russia is seriously trying to push a big information op to convince people that the right is "pro Putin."
@starbuck_archer
That sort of thing is the "prop" in the word "Propoganda".
Is there even ONE single day where there isn't some talking head on radio or tv whining about Trump and predicting doom and misery if he is allowed to run?
The mere FACT that the left hates and fears him THAT much is reason enough for me to support him.
-
I believe that many opinions on Ukraine and Russia are driven by a belief (whether true or not) that Trump and Putin are best friends. #AlwaysTrumpers tend to side with Russia, while ardent #NeverTrumpers tend to side against Russia. And the Biden regime's (fake) support of Ukraine also factors in for more anti-Ukraine opinions. I personally have been accused of being in bed with Biden because of my support for Ukraine.
I support Ukraine because they are the victim here, they are the underdog, and they want their country back. I oppose Russia because they invaded their neighbor, they are bullies, they have committed war crimes, and they continue to push forward with zero moral authority. My belief is not based on where Biden or Trump stand on this issue.
-
I know a number of conservatives who believe Putin is the good guy. That he's just protecting his people from biolabs, NAZIs and the Great Reset. And nothing anyone says will change their mind. They are certain Putin will win this war. Some people just have to learn the hard way.
-
I believe that many opinions on Ukraine and Russia are driven by a belief (whether true or not) that Trump and Putin are best friends. #AlwaysTrumpers tend to side with Russia, while ardent #NeverTrumpers tend to side against Russia. And the Biden regime's (fake) support of Ukraine also factors in for more anti-Ukraine opinions. I personally have been accused of being in bed with Biden because of my support for Ukraine.
@Hoodat
Have you lost your freaking mind?
Serious question.
I have made it no secret that I am an ardent supporter of Trump,maybe even one of the most vocal. I want you to find ONE post of mine supporting the Neo-Soviet invasion of Ukraine and/or support for Putin.
-
You're a refreshing exception, @sneakypete . I have never mistook you for a Putin lover.
-
I know a number of conservatives who believe Putin is the good guy. That he's just protecting his people from biolabs, NAZIs and the Great Reset. And nothing anyone says will change their mind. They are certain Putin will win this war. Some people just have to learn the hard way.
@DB
In that case,you must think conservatives are neo-Soviets.
I personally do not know of a single ONE that supports the neo-Soviets.
I am beginning to think that the word "conservative" means something different to some folks here than it does to me.
Do you and your friends support RINO's?
-
@DB
In that case,you must think conservatives are neo-Soviets.
I personally do not know of a single ONE that supports the neo-Soviets.
I am beginning to think that the word "conservative" means something different to some folks here than it does to me.
Do you and your friends support RINO's?
The ones I know are big Trump supporters.
-
The ones I know are big Trump supporters.
@DB
And,of course the media tells you that Trump is evil in every way on every day,so you believe it.
MUCH betta to have another Bush in the WH,huh?
-
@DB
And,of course the media tells you that Trump is evil in every way on every day,so you believe it.
MUCH betta to have another Bush in the WH,huh?
Why are you attacking me?
Just more strawman arguments.
-
Why are you attacking me?
@DB
Because you are more full of Bush than a Christmas Goose.
-
@DB
Because you are more full of Bush than a Christmas Goose.
What I said was the truth. Period.
-
I believe that many opinions on Ukraine and Russia are driven by a belief (whether true or not) that Trump and Putin are best friends. #AlwaysTrumpers tend to side with Russia, while ardent #NeverTrumpers tend to side against Russia. And the Biden regime's (fake) support of Ukraine also factors in for more anti-Ukraine opinions. I personally have been accused of being in bed with Biden because of my support for Ukraine.
I support Ukraine because they are the victim here, they are the underdog, and they want their country back. I oppose Russia because they invaded their neighbor, they are bullies, they have committed war crimes, and they continue to push forward with zero moral authority. My belief is not based on where Biden or Trump stand on this issue.
Perceptions are funny things in the false dichotomies of partisan politics. That's all I have to say about the first paragraph, except to note that Democrats and Media expect the Right to follow like their drones, when we do not, necessarily.
The part in bold I agree with completely.
-
I believe that many opinions on Ukraine and Russia are driven by a belief (whether true or not) that Trump and Putin are best friends. #AlwaysTrumpers tend to side with Russia, while ardent #NeverTrumpers tend to side against Russia. And the Biden regime's (fake) support of Ukraine also factors in for more anti-Ukraine opinions. I personally have been accused of being in bed with Biden because of my support for Ukraine.
I support Ukraine because they are the victim here, they are the underdog, and they want their country back. I oppose Russia because they invaded their neighbor, they are bullies, they have committed war crimes, and they continue to push forward with zero moral authority. My belief is not based on where Biden or Trump stand on this issue.
goopo
Yup. And plus Putin has been quite open about his desire to rebuild the Russian Empire in general (including Alaska), and the Soviet Union in particular. It's frustrating that so many people, who should know better, won't take him at his word.
Putin approves new foreign policy doctrine based on 'Russian World'
https://www.reuters.com/world/putin-approves-new-foreign-policy-doctrine-based-russian-world-2022-09-05/
His "Russian World" policy is not that different than Hitler's "Ein Volk" policy.
And the pro-Kremlin crowd have also deluded themselves into believing that Putin and Trump are allies, and that Russia is some mighty Christian crusader nation that is exacting vengeance on Ukraine over the Democrats, the Clintons, the Bidens, and the 2020 election. They just refuse to see Putin's invasion for what it is...a land and resource grab coupled with empire (re)building. If he had gotten away with (re)conquering Ukraine, then Moldova and the Baltic states were next on his target list. He was not going to stop at Lvov.
They also see it as some kind of cultural war, with the Christian, virtuous, Godly Russians striking back against Western decadence and corruption, as symbolized by Ukraine and its oligarchs.
Never mind the fact, that in truth, Russia is far worse than Ukraine or anywhere else in Europe in its decadence, corruption, and debacuhery.
-
goopo
Yup. And plus Putin has been quite open about his desire to rebuild the Russian Empire in general (including Alaska), and the Soviet Union in particular. It's frustrating that so many people, who should know better, won't take him at his word.
Putin approves new foreign policy doctrine based on 'Russian World'
https://www.reuters.com/world/putin-approves-new-foreign-policy-doctrine-based-russian-world-2022-09-05/
His "Russian World" policy is not that different than Hitler's "Ein Volk" policy.
And the pro-Kremlin crowd have also deluded themselves into believing that Putin and Trump are allies, and that Russia is some mighty Christian crusader nation that is exacting vengeance on Ukraine over the Democrats, the Clintons, the Bidens, and the 2020 election. They just refuse to see Putin's invasion for what it is...a land and resource grab coupled with empire (re)building. If he had gotten away with (re)conquering Ukraine, then Moldova and the Baltic states were next on his target list. He was not going to stop at Lvov.
They also see it as some kind of cultural war, with the Christian, virtuous, Godly Russians striking back against Western decadence and corruption, as symbolized by Ukraine and its oligarchs.
Never mind the fact, that in truth, Russia is far worse than Ukraine or anywhere else in Europe in its decadence, corruption, and debacuhery.
:thumbsup:
-
There's a channel on Youtube, which does man on the street interviews in Russia, to see what their thoughts are. It's amazing how many of the "pro-Z" say they hate America but love our Fox News.
https://www.youtube.com/@1420channel
Tucker really went off a rail with this Russia stuff IMO. What an ass, if he isn't on Putin's payroll that is.
-
There's a channel on Youtube, which does man on the street interviews in Russia, to see what their thoughts are. It's amazing how many of the "pro-Z" say they hate America but love our Fox News.
https://www.youtube.com/@1420channel
Tucker really went off a rail with this Russia stuff IMO. What an ass, if he isn't on Putin's payroll that is.
I get it... You are all in sending (toilet flushing) $50-$100B of our tax dollars, while we are $31T in debt. I see you are additionally fully aligned with Chucky Schumer, and the world class RINO's who prefer the blank check approach to line Zelllinskyyyy's coffers. All that's missing is your teal and yellow loyalty pin. Check Ebay or Amazon, if you are interested.
I also see little or no advocacy on your behalf around who really needs to be footing the bill for this war.... The Europeans. Geographically, I'd say its really more in their best interest than ours. In fact, some of their (Germany) companies are now just divesting of their Russian holdngs. Where is your outrage with that?
Carlson brings much to the table calling out the left wing hypocricy on an almost consitent daily basis. Instead of parroting the false flags that MSNBC plants on his show, focus on what really is important to this country...... Like how nice it would have been sending $50-100B protecting our southern border instead.
-
This very weird siding with Russia among some conservatives is something I will never fully understand. If you try to discuss it with them, they talk in complete circles and refuse to challenge any of their own assumptions while accusing the rest of us of being naive fools. It's very strange.
Russia had no right to invade and attempt to conquer Ukraine. Simple as that, and I hope we do everything in our power short of committing troops to defeat that invasion. Too bad we basically dismantled our surplus M60A1's and A3's, because those would still be more than a match for the T-64/72 series being used by Russia, and we had a lot of them.
-
This very weird siding with Russia among some conservatives is something I will never fully understand. If you try to discuss it with them, they talk in complete circles and refuse to challenge any of their own assumptions while accusing the rest of us of being naive fools. It's very strange.
Russia had no right to invade and attempt to conquer Ukraine. Simple as that, and I hope we do everything in our power short of committing troops to defeat that invasion. Too bad we basically dismantled our surplus M60A1's and A3's, because those would still be more than a match for the T-64/72 series being used by Russia, and we had a lot of them.
:thumbsup:
-
:thumbsup:
I think what is misunderstood is the left has gaslighted and transversed the anti-Zellinskyyyy and tax dollar grift sentiment into some kind of pro-Putin rhetoric.
Me? I'd open a bottle of Bubbly if either one of them were offed.
-
I think what is misunderstood is the left has gaslighted and transversed the anti-Zellinskyyyy and tax dollar grift sentiment into some kind of pro-Putin rhetoric.
Me? I'd open a bottle of Bubbly if either one of them were offed.
Eh, there are plenty of folks at TOS who are openly pro-Russia, based on the idea that Russia is the only hope for civilization resisting the WEF and Globalization. To them, Russia and the CCP are now the "good guys" because they aren't Davos.
That's not leftist gaslighting. That's certain conservatives reaching those conclusions on their own, with help from Carlson and the like-minded.
-
What I said was the truth. Period.
@DB You are so delusional you wouldn't recognize the truth if it bit you on the ass.
There is "Wrong",and then there are people like you that take it to a whole new level.
-
I don't need to sell my soul to Putin to oppose Globalism and WEF.
Many conservatives have embraced Putin and a imperial, nationalist Russia because they seek strong, firm leadership which is lacking in the 2023 GOP.
-
I don't need to sell my soul to Putin to oppose Globalism and WEF.
Many conservatives have embraced Putin and a imperial, nationalist Russia because they seek strong, firm leadership which is lacking in the 2023 GOP.
@DefiantMassRINO
@DefiantMassRINO
I don't know of a single one in "real life".
-
goopo
Yup. And plus Putin has been quite open about his desire to rebuild the Russian Empire in general (including Alaska), and the Soviet Union in particular. It's frustrating that so many people, who should know better, won't take him at his word.
Putin approves new foreign policy doctrine based on 'Russian World'
https://www.reuters.com/world/putin-approves-new-foreign-policy-doctrine-based-russian-world-2022-09-05/
His "Russian World" policy is not that different than Hitler's "Ein Volk" policy.
And the pro-Kremlin crowd have also deluded themselves into believing that Putin and Trump are allies, and that Russia is some mighty Christian crusader nation that is exacting vengeance on Ukraine over the Democrats, the Clintons, the Bidens, and the 2020 election. They just refuse to see Putin's invasion for what it is...a land and resource grab coupled with empire (re)building. If he had gotten away with (re)conquering Ukraine, then Moldova and the Baltic states were next on his target list. He was not going to stop at Lvov.
They also see it as some kind of cultural war, with the Christian, virtuous, Godly Russians striking back against Western decadence and corruption, as symbolized by Ukraine and its oligarchs.
Never mind the fact, that in truth, Russia is far worse than Ukraine or anywhere else in Europe in its decadence, corruption, and debacuhery.
No arguments here.
The affected areas of Ukraine would have given Russia 87% of Ukraine's proven oil and gas reserves, World class steel mill, nuclear power stations, and Black Sea Ports, but also, drilling rights to any Oil and Gas offshore in the Black Sea.
This is (another) resource/land/transportation control grab.
Own the ports, own the shipping, own the shipping, control trade, and control resources indirectly that you don't directly control.
-
I don't need to sell my soul to Putin to oppose Globalism and WEF.
Many conservatives have embraced Putin and a imperial, nationalist Russia because they seek strong, firm leadership which is lacking in the 2023 GOP.
Do they realize that Putin is leading Russia, not the United States? And that "strong, firm" Russian leadership doesn't mean squat about life or leadership here?
Stalin was "strong" and "firm". So too are/were Lenin, Mao, Brezhnev, Xi, etc.. it's an odd definition of "conservative" that roots for your leftist enemies to have "strong, firm" leadership.
-
@DB You are so delusional you wouldn't recognize the truth if it bit you on the ass.
There is "Wrong",and then there are people like you that take it to a whole new level.
Why do you go off the rails like this?
All I said was I know people who are conservatives that think Putin is the good guy for the reasons I stated and that they are big Trump supporters. That is a fact. I do know them and that is what they claim. Yet you are essentially calling me a liar for stating that. WTF.
Go back read what I wrote instead of just throwing more crap around.
-
Do they realize that Putin is leading Russia, not the United States? And that "strong, firm" Russian leadership doesn't mean squat about life or leadership here?
Stalin was "strong" and "firm". So too are/were Lenin, Mao, Brezhnev, Xi, etc.. it's an odd definition of "conservative" that roots for your leftist enemies to have "strong, firm" leadership.
@Maj. Bill Martin
Seems like it should be as obvious to anyone as the sun shining in your eyes,doesn't it?
-
Why do you go off the rails like this?
All I said was I know people who are conservatives that think Putin is the good guy for the reasons I stated and that they are big Trump supporters. That is a fact. I do know them and that is what they claim. Yet you are essentially calling me a liar for stating that. WTF.
Go back read what I wrote instead of just throwing more crap around.
@DB
Those people are "conservatives" like I am a "Space Shuttle".
Anyone can make any claim they want,but making a claim doesn't make it true.
Chances are they are Dim activists posing as Trump supporters to try to harm his support.
-
@DB
Those people are "conservatives" like I am a "Space Shuttle".
Anyone can make any claim they want,but making a claim doesn't make it true.
Chances are they are Dim activists posing as Trump supporters to try to harm his support.
It wouldn't be the first false flag operation, and won't be the last. Just sayin'
-
@DB
Those people are "conservatives" like I am a "Space Shuttle".
Anyone can make any claim they want,but making a claim doesn't make it true.
Chances are they are Dim activists posing as Trump supporters to try to harm his support.
You don't know what you're talking about.
They're hardcore Trump supporters and they've never voted for a Dim in their lives (the specific people I was talking about).
They're just misguided on this particular issue. There's at least one examples here of the same beliefs.
-
You don't know what you're talking about.
They're hardcore Trump supporters and they've never voted for a Dim in their lives (the specific people I was talking about).
They're just misguided on this particular issue. There's at least one examples here of the same beliefs.
Yes, some members of my family are like this. They would never vote for a Democrat, in fact they think the Democrats and socialists (but I repeat myself) are destroying the country. But they also think that Putin is literally "defending the faith" against the evil WEF globalists. I think this idea is being spread by video preachers and conspiracy types on Rumble and other places online. The same kind of people who believed the Q-Anon conspiracies and were just waiting for the military to return Trump to the presidency two years ago. :shrug:
-
But they also think that Putin is literally "defending the faith" against the evil WEF globalists.
In fact, he's getting his ass kicked.
-
I don't need to sell my soul to Putin to oppose Globalism and WEF.
Many conservatives have embraced Putin and a imperial, nationalist Russia because they seek strong, firm leadership which is lacking in the 2023 GOP.
Strong firm leadership... like getting your butt royally smacked by a much smaller army? Putin and the Russian are a bunch of incompetents.
-
Strong firm leadership... like getting your butt royally smacked by a much smaller army? Putin and the Russian are a bunch of incompetents.
But yet they refuse to accept this obvious truth, always citing it as propaganda and invoking conspiracy theory nonsense, based on dubious "alternative" news blogs, Youtube v-blogs, and pro-Kremlin hacks like Macgregor, Mercouris, and Johnson.
-
In fact, he's getting his ass kicked.
@Weird Tolkienish Figure
And has been,since the Neo-Soviet invasion started.
Truth to tell,if more than one generation of Soviet worker bee had any experience at all with actual freedom,Putin would have been hanged a long time ago.
Another important truth that people need to be made aware of is that even though Russia is now ALLEGEDLY a "free nation",the truth is that nobody there believes it. I went to Russia the first time right after what was declared to have been "the collapse of communism",and while every Russian I met but one celebrated it,not a single one I talked to believed it was real.
Seems like their suspicions were based more on facts than declarations, doesn't it?
Neither Russia or any other Communist nation is going to be free of communist control until more than one generation has "lived free".
Much like the US of today. We were a genuine free nation of free people until the property theft know as "The Great Depression" created the conditions that turned us into a socialist nation that at times borders on Communism.
As with today,it was the globalist money managers that created the conditions that lead to the financial collapse because they had piles of cash stacked away with nothing to spend it on,so why not destroy the economy so they could buy up real property at bankruptcy sales and then create more profits by selling it for a profit after writing their purchases losses off their taxes for more than a decade?
"The Great Depression" was created by a cabal of NYC bankers and their investor friends. It started because the big farms in the south were starting to ship their cotton to Europe themselves and bypass the NY banks in order to increase their profits.
THAT was the "beginning of the end" for personal freedoms in America because once people/a political party gains strength and power,they will NEVER give it up. They will only expand it.
-
I don't need to sell my soul to Putin to oppose Globalism and WEF.
Exactly. And at the same time, one does not need to sell their soul to the WEF to oppose Putin.
-
But yet they refuse to accept this obvious truth, .....
@Timber Rattler
They can't,because what happens in a police state when the "police" lose power and authority is that the officals who have been abusing their authority and powers for generations end up being hanged from street lamps.
Ain't no such critter as "retreating to your country home to enjoy retirement after leaving public office" for dictators.
Of course,this doesn't really apply to Pooty Poot. He owns what has been reported to be the "biggest yacht in the world",and given all the money he has "diverted' from the Soviet coffers over
the years,has enough money to sail the "7 seas for the rest of his life".
Providing,of course,that he can get out of Russia in one piece.
-
Yes, some members of my family are like this. They would never vote for a Democrat, in fact they think the Democrats and socialists (but I repeat myself) are destroying the country. But they also think that Putin is literally "defending the faith" against the evil WEF globalists. I think this idea is being spread by video preachers and conspiracy types on Rumble and other places online. The same kind of people who believed the Q-Anon conspiracies and were just waiting for the military to return Trump to the presidency two years ago. :shrug:
Yes to all of the above.
-
Putin uses conservative Russian religious and values as a wedge issue to unite a sizable political constituency in opposition to smaller, fratcured poltical opposition.
Putin bears the mantle of traditional Russian Orthodx values because its to his political advantage to do so. The Soviets taught Putin that religion is the opiate of the masses. So, Putin deals religion to the masses like a drug.
Putin doesn't give a damn about the words of Jesus Christ in the Gospels. Traditional Christian values are a convenient means to a desired poltical end - more power for Putin.
Would a person of true Christian Faith intentionally murder men, women, and children in a war of military agression?
-
Gen. Mark Milley: ‘Very, Very Difficult’ to Eject Russian Forces from Ukraine This Year
Gen. Mark Milley acknowledged on Friday that it would be “very, very difficult” for Ukrainian forces to “eject” Russian forces from all of Ukraine this year.
https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2023/01/21/gen-mark-milley-very-very-difficult-to-eject-russian-forces-ukraine-this-year/
-
Gen. Mark Milley: ‘Very, Very Difficult’ to Eject Russian Forces from Ukraine This Year
This coming from someone who is intentionally dragging this war out as long as possible, and who has already actively stood in the way of Ukraine receiving weaponry that could end this conflict sooner rather than later. Think of the losses that Russia would have suffered had not Milley and Austin blocked MiG-29 transfers to Ukraine last summer.
-
Milley's been a "half-empty/land for peace" kind of guy from the start, in terms of Ukraine's ability to defend itself, so I take what he says with a grain of salt. The U.S. EURCOM commander General Chris Cavoli is on the scene and his opinion carries more weight in my opinion.
https://www.defense.gov/About/Biographies/Biography/Article/1896733/general-christopher-g-cavoli/
https://www.stripes.com/theaters/europe/2023-01-19/tanks-nato-germany-cavoli-8818134.html
https://www.stripes.com/branches/army/2023-01-10/nato-eucom-russia-cavoli-8711246.html
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/09/29/us/politics/pentagon-command-ukraine.html
-
Milley's been a "half-empty/land for peace" kind of guy from the start, in terms of Ukraine's ability to defend itself, so I take what he says with a grain of salt. The U.S. EURCOM commander General Chris Cavoli is on the scene and his opinion carries more weight in my opinion.
https://www.defense.gov/About/Biographies/Biography/Article/1896733/general-christopher-g-cavoli/
https://www.stripes.com/theaters/europe/2023-01-19/tanks-nato-germany-cavoli-8818134.html
https://www.stripes.com/branches/army/2023-01-10/nato-eucom-russia-cavoli-8711246.html
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/09/29/us/politics/pentagon-command-ukraine.html
Milley is a treasonous bastard who, by all rights, should be facing a firing squad.
-
Milley is a treasonous bastard who, by all rights, should be facing a firing squad.
True. Between America with Trump or Communist China, Milley joined up with China.
Just from all the Taliban 2.0 crap (new American allies) coming from Milley and Austin, they are both either liars or incredibly naïve and stupid. Either way, they are not to be taken seriously.
-
Milley is a treasonous bastard who, by all rights, should be facing a firing squad.
I prefer hanging. Firing squads should be reserved for those exhibiting courage in the face of danger.
-
Exactly. And at the same time, one does not need to sell their soul to the WEF to oppose Putin.
There you go, now. Don't you know our wannabe overlords just love false dichotomies?
Heads they win, tails you lose...
-
Milley is a treasonous bastard who, by all rights, should be facing a firing squad.
@Bigun
Yeah.
-
You don't know what you're talking about.
They're hardcore Trump supporters and they've never voted for a Dim in their lives (the specific people I was talking about).
They're just misguided on this particular issue. There's at least one examples here of the same beliefs.
I don't doubt it. As I said, there are quite a few folks at TOS who fit that description. They don't see left/right at all - they divide everyone into "nationalist" or "globalist", which I think is a very wacky way to view things, but that's what some of them do. So if there is a strong nationalist leader, that's who they root for. Regardless of nationality.
-
I don't doubt it. As I said, there are quite a few folks at TOS who fit that description. They don't see left/right at all - they divide everyone into "nationalist" or "globalist", which I think is a very wacky way to view things, but that's what some of them do. So if there is a strong nationalist leader, that's who they root for. Regardless of nationality.
@Maj. Bill Martin
"Nationalism" is a very good thing IF there are limits put on it. Extreme Nationalism is also known as Nazism,which is really just a different version of communism.
Seems like there are an awful lot of people running around these days who have never heard of "moderation",or for some odd reason seem to think it is a dirty word.
-
@sneakypete
@Maj. Bill Martin
"Nationalism" is a very good thing IF there are limits put on it. Extreme Nationalism is also known as Nazism,which is really just a different version of communism.
Seems like there are an awful lot of people running around these days who have never heard of "moderation",or for some odd reason seem to think it is a dirty word.
I think nationalism is more or less neutral -- it's pretty much dependent on what values that nation stands for. And that's where "progressivism v. conservatism" comes in.
-
@sneakypete
I think nationalism is more or less neutral -- it's pretty much dependent on what values that nation stands for. And that's where "progressivism v. conservatism" comes in.
@Maj. Bill Martin
Ok,I can't argue with that,but I was writing more about the basic nature of selfish people to screw up pretty much anything if you don't keep them in check.
-
@Maj. Bill Martin
Ok,I can't argue with that,but I was writing more about the basic nature of selfish people to screw up pretty much anything if you don't keep them in check.
Good point!
-
Germany won’t block Poland from giving Ukraine tanks
The German government will not object if Poland decides to send Leopard 2 battle tanks to Ukraine, Germany’s top diplomat said Sunday, indicating movement on supplying weapons that Kyiv has described as essential to its ability to fend off an intensified Russian offensive.
German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock told French TV channel LCI that Poland has not formally asked for Berlin’s approval to share some of its German-made Leopards but added “if we were asked, we would not stand in the way.”
German officials “know how important these tanks are” and “this is why we are discussing this now with our partners,” Baerbock said in interview clips posted by LCI.
More: https://www.latimes.com/world-nation/story/2023-01-22/minister-germany-wont-block-poland-giving-ukraine-tanks (https://www.latimes.com/world-nation/story/2023-01-22/minister-germany-wont-block-poland-giving-ukraine-tanks)
-
Russia warns of retaliation against West over providing Ukraine with powerful weapons
https://www.nydailynews.com/news/world/ny-russia-warns-retaliation-west-over-ukraine-20230123-ge3jhzrc4rblha2kwwteeiewna-story.html (https://www.nydailynews.com/news/world/ny-russia-warns-retaliation-west-over-ukraine-20230123-ge3jhzrc4rblha2kwwteeiewna-story.html)
Russia threatened to retaliate against the U.S. and other Western nations if they provide more powerful weapons to Ukraine, warning on Sunday that stepped-up military aid from allies would trigger a “global catastrophe.”
Supporters of Ukraine made new pledges worth billions of dollars in armored vehicles, air defense systems and other arms to the embattled European nation late last week, although their promises stopped short of sending German-made battle tanks that Kyiv specifically requested.
“Supplies of offensive weapons to the Kyiv regime would lead to a global catastrophe,” said State Duma Chairman Vyacheslav Volodin, the speaker of Russia’s parliament.
“If Washington and NATO supply weapons that would be used for striking peaceful cities and making attempts to seize our territory as they threaten to do, it would trigger a retaliation with more powerful weapons,” he said.
-
Russia warns of retaliation against West over providing Ukraine with powerful weapons
https://www.nydailynews.com/news/world/ny-russia-warns-retaliation-west-over-ukraine-20230123-ge3jhzrc4rblha2kwwteeiewna-story.html (https://www.nydailynews.com/news/world/ny-russia-warns-retaliation-west-over-ukraine-20230123-ge3jhzrc4rblha2kwwteeiewna-story.html)
Russia threatened to retaliate against the U.S. and other Western nations if they provide more powerful weapons to Ukraine, warning on Sunday that stepped-up military aid from allies would trigger a “global catastrophe.”
What a load of crap. The Russians aren't nuking anyone just because we give modern tanks to Ukraine.
-
I think that every country in the area, would celebrate to see Moscow on fire.
"Moscow on Fire" is trending. Burn it down. Burn it all down.
-
What a load of crap. The Russians aren't nuking anyone just because we give modern tanks to Ukraine.
I'm sick and tired of Russia's hollow nuclear threats. They haven't conducted a nuclear test since October 1990, and judging by how poorly maintained the Russian Armed Forced have proven to be over the past year, I doubt if any of their bombs and warheads still work. They do have a shelf life if not properly maintained.
-
I think that every country in the area, would celebrate to see Moscow on fire.
"Moscow on Fire" is trending. Burn it down. Burn it all down.
@240B
There is nothing wrong with Moscow. It is a beautiful city,full of good people.
Burning it to the ground would only strengthen the death grip the neo-Soviets have on Russia.
Make NO mistake about it,as much as the typical Russian serf hates Communism,they love "Holy Mother Russia" even more.
What the WORLD needs is to see the senior Politiburo members hanging from the walls of the Kremlin,and the message to go out that "Russia is under new management".
AND......for lasting change,the Russians need to do this themselves.
-
Russia warns of retaliation against West over providing Ukraine with powerful weapons
https://www.nydailynews.com/news/world/ny-russia-warns-retaliation-west-over-ukraine-20230123-ge3jhzrc4rblha2kwwteeiewna-story.html (https://www.nydailynews.com/news/world/ny-russia-warns-retaliation-west-over-ukraine-20230123-ge3jhzrc4rblha2kwwteeiewna-story.html)
Russia threatened to retaliate against the U.S. and other Western nations if they provide more powerful weapons to Ukraine, warning on Sunday that stepped-up military aid from allies would trigger a “global catastrophe.”
Supporters of Ukraine made new pledges worth billions of dollars in armored vehicles, air defense systems and other arms to the embattled European nation late last week, although their promises stopped short of sending German-made battle tanks that Kyiv specifically requested.
“Supplies of offensive weapons to the Kyiv regime would lead to a global catastrophe,” said State Duma Chairman Vyacheslav Volodin, the speaker of Russia’s parliament.
“If Washington and NATO supply weapons that would be used for striking peaceful cities and making attempts to seize our territory as they threaten to do, it would trigger a retaliation with more powerful weapons,” he said.
:mauslaff:
-
Russia orders Estonia's ambassador to leave, accuses country of 'total Russophobia'
https://www.wionews.com/world/russia-orders-estonias-ambassador-to-leave-accuses-the-country-of-total-russophobia-555125
The diplomatic relations between Russia and Estonia were downgraded on Monday after the latter's ambassador was ordered to leave Russia, as the country was accused of "total Russophobia".
As the Estonian ambassador was expelled, the Russian foreign ministry announced on Monday that the charge d’affaires will head the diplomatic mission of the country.
"The ambassador of the Estonian Republic will have to leave the Russian Federation on February 7," the foreign ministry said in a statement, adding that the diplomatic representation of Estonia will also be downgraded from now.
According to the statement, the measure was adopted after the staff levels were reduced by Estonia at the Russian embassy in Tallinn.
The ministry added that the step was taken in retaliation for Estonia’s “new unfriendly step to radically reduce the size of the Russian Embassy in Tallinn.”
“In recent years, the Estonian leadership has purposefully destroyed the entire range of relations with Russia. Total Russophobia, the cultivation of hostility towards our country have been elevated by Tallinn to the rank of state policy,” read the statement issued by the Russian foreign ministry on Monday.
Earlier this month, the Estonian foreign ministry asked Russia to cut down the number of staff present in the embassy to eight diplomats and 15 technical, service and administrative staff members to “reach parity in embassy staff” by February 1.
EXCERPT.
-
The diplomatic relations between Russia and Estonia were downgraded on Monday after the latter's ambassador was ordered to leave Russia, as the country was accused of "total Russophobia".
With good reason.
-
Air defences are set up near Putin's forest palace days after missiles were deployed near his official residence in latest sign the Russian leader fears a direct strike from Ukraine
By WILL STEWART and RACHAEL BUNYAN FOR MAILONLINE
23 January 2023
Air defences have been set up near Vladimir Putin's forest palace days after missiles were deployed by his official residence near Moscow in the latest sign that the Russian leader fears a direct strike from Ukraine.
A Pantsir-S1 defence system has been established near the Valdai presidential palace in Yascherovo, a village halfway between Moscow and St Petersburg.
Similar systems have been set up close to Putin's official residence in Novo-Ogarevo in the past week, evidently to protect him from Ukrainian drones or missiles.
* * *
Source: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11665923/Air-defences-set-near-Putins-palace-latest-sign-leader-fears-direct-strike-Ukraine.html
-
Air defences are set up near Putin's forest palace days after missiles were deployed near his official residence in latest sign the Russian leader fears a direct strike from Ukraine
False flag go gin up support from the angry war weary Russian populus?
The Ukes have mostly and smartly stayed in defensive posture. I don't see that changing, at least from my POV.
-
Ukraine 'downs three Russian helicopters in half an hour' as top spy chief warns Putin faces 'ruin' if his planned new military offensive fails
By JACK NEWMAN FOR MAILONLINE
24 January 2023
Ukraine has destroyed three Russian helicopters in just half an hour, its air force has claimed.
Last night three Ka-52 choppers became the latest casualties of Vladimir Putin's botched invasion, with an estimated 281 of the Kremlin's helicopters downed since the outbreak of war 11 months ago.
The £12million single-seat aircraft is nicknamed the Black Shark and has been described as Russia's 'deadliest helicopter'.
* * *
Source: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11669991/Ukraine-downs-three-Russian-helicopters-half-hour.html
-
Wagner mercenary chief risks further angering Putin as he dismisses Moscow generals as 'a bunch of clowns' and boasts his troops are superior to Russia's… as Vladimir fires ANOTHER military leader
By WILL STEWART and CHRIS JEWERS FOR MAILONLINE
24 January 2023
Wagner warlord Yevgeny Prigozhin has risked further angering Vladimir Putin by dismissing Moscow's generals as 'a bunch of clowns' while boasting that his mercenary army is superior to the Russian Armed Forces.
Ambitious henchman Yevgeny Prigozhin - who runs the 50,000-strong Wagner private army - is increasingly seen as posing a rising threat to the Kremlin leader with his daily grandstanding and outspoken boasts.
His relations with Putin are increasingly strained, say reports, but Prigozhin continues to taunt the Kremlin president and his army top brass as his Wagner mercenaries and Ukrainian forces remain locked in battle over the city of Bakhmut.
* * *
Source: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11670461/Wagner-chief-risks-angering-Putin-dismisses-Moscow-generals-bunch-clowns.html
-
In reversal, US poised to approve Abrams tanks for Ukraine
by LOLITA C. BALDOR and MATTHEW LEE, Associated Press - 01/24/23 1:20 PM ET
WASHINGTON (AP) — In what would be a reversal, the Biden administration is poised to approve sending M1 Abrams tanks to Ukraine, U.S. officials said Tuesday, as international reluctance toward sending tanks to the battlefront against the Russians begins to erode. The decision could be announced as soon as Wednesday, though it could take months or years for the tanks to be delivered.
U.S. officials said details are still being worked out. One official said the tanks would be bought under an upcoming Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative package, which provides longer-range funding for weapons and equipment to be purchased from commercial vendors.
The U.S. announcement is expected to come on Wednesday in coordination with an announcement by Germany that it will approve Poland’s request to transfer German-made Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine, according to one official. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because the decision has not yet been made public.
Weapons provided through USAI can take many months to several years to reach the battlefield. Much of the aid sent so far has been through a separate program drawing on Pentagon stocks to get weapons more quickly to Ukraine. But even under that program, it would take months to get tanks to Ukraine and to get Ukrainian forces trained on them.
It’s also unknown how many tanks would be approved.
____ Associated Press writers Tara Copp and Kevin Freking contributed to this report.
https://thehill.com/homenews/ap/ap-politics/ap-in-reversal-us-poised-to-approve-abrams-tanks-for-ukraine/
-
the Biden administration is poised to approve sending M1 Abrams tanks to Ukraine, U.S. officials said Tuesday
In other words, we can guarantee that no US M1s will turn up in Ukraine for 2023.
-
In other words, we can guarantee that no US M1s will turn up in Ukraine for 2023.
Or beyond, quite possibly.
-
In reversal, US poised to approve Abrams tanks for Ukraine
https://apnews.com/article/us-m1-abrams-tanks-ukraine-russia-249de5c301a9bf83b5f3ac2182076a02?taid=63d01f513243920001282383&utm_campaign=TrueAnthem&utm_medium=AP&utm_source=Twitter
In what would be a reversal, the Biden administration is poised to approve sending M1 Abrams tanks to Ukraine, U.S. officials said Tuesday, as international reluctance to send tanks to the battlefront against the Russians begins to erode. The decision could be announced as soon as Wednesday, though it could take months or years for the tanks to be delivered.
U.S. officials said details are still being worked out. One official said the tanks would be bought under an upcoming Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative package, which provides longer-range funding for weapons and equipment to be purchased from commercial vendors.
The U.S. announcement is expected to come on Wednesday in coordination with an announcement by Germany that it will approve Poland’s request to transfer German-made Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine, according to one official. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because the decision has not yet been made public.
By agreeing to send the Abrams at an as-yet unspecified time under the assistance initiative, the administration is able to meet German Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s demand for an American commitment without having to send the tanks immediately.
EXCERPT
-
It'll take awhile to get enough Abrams there to make a difference, but they differently are a difference maker.
-
Air defences are set up near Putin's forest palace days after missiles were deployed near his official residence in latest sign the Russian leader fears a direct strike from Ukraine
* * *
Source: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11665923/Air-defences-set-near-Putins-palace-latest-sign-leader-fears-direct-strike-Ukraine.html (https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11665923/Air-defences-set-near-Putins-palace-latest-sign-leader-fears-direct-strike-Ukraine.html)
SCALP-EG
500 km range. 500kg warhead.
Moscow on Fire is more than just a slogan. You reap what you sow.
-
Ukraine corruption scandal claims several top officials
ANDREW MELDRUM | yesterday
KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Several senior Ukrainian officials, including front-line governors, lost their jobs Tuesday in a corruption scandal plaguing President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s government as it grapples with the nearly 11-month-old Russian invasion.
Ukraine’s biggest government shake-up since the war began came as U.S. officials said Washington was poised to approve supplying Kyiv with M1 Abrams tanks, with international reluctance eroding toward sending tanks to the battlefront against the Russians.
Zelenskyy was elected in 2019 on an anti-establishment and anti-corruption platform in a country long gripped by graft, and the new allegations come as Western allies are channeling billions of dollars to help Kyiv fight against Moscow. . .
https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-zelenskyy-government-30e547e614babcacff2e68cecd62b551
-
In other words, we can guarantee that no US M1s will turn up in Ukraine for 2023.
@Hoodat
Not true!
It all depends of who deposits the most cash Biden's offshore accounts,the Russians who will be trying to stop the tranks from coming,and the Ukrainians who desperately need those tanks.
It's ALL about da benjamins,period!
-
Ukraine corruption scandal claims several top officials
ANDREW MELDRUM | yesterday
KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Several senior Ukrainian officials, including front-line governors, lost their jobs Tuesday in a corruption scandal plaguing President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s government as it grapples with the nearly 11-month-old Russian invasion.
Ukraine’s biggest government shake-up since the war began came as U.S. officials said Washington was poised to approve supplying Kyiv with M1 Abrams tanks, with international reluctance eroding toward sending tanks to the battlefront against the Russians.
Zelenskyy was elected in 2019 on an anti-establishment and anti-corruption platform in a country long gripped by graft, and the new allegations come as Western allies are channeling billions of dollars to help Kyiv fight against Moscow. . .
https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-zelenskyy-government-30e547e614babcacff2e68cecd62b551
Further from the article:
In all, four deputy ministers and five governors of front-line provinces were set to leave their posts, the country’s cabinet secretary said on the Telegram messaging app.
Takes courage to tackle internal corruption issues while one is in the midst of an existential battle for one's very existence.
-
Zelensky is getting beat up about this, but it seems like he's doing exactly what we're demanding...holding corrupt Ukrainian officials accountable and cleaning house after he catches them red-handed.
Damned if he does and damned if he doesn't?
-
This initial approval is for 31, which isn't many but is enough to outfit a Ukrainian tank battalion. They will absolutely chew to shreds the Russian armor they encounter. Hopefully, they'll save them for Zaporizhzhia and more open tank country then wasting them as infantry support in the Donbass.
Trick is going to be ensuring they have enough supporting anti-air assets, because the Russians undoubtedly will focus on taking them out when they can.
-
This initial approval is for 31, which isn't many but is enough to outfit a Ukrainian tank battalion. They will absolutely chew to shreds the Russian armor they encounter. Hopefully, they'll save them for Zaporizhzhia and more open tank country then wasting them as infantry support in the Donbass.
Trick is going to be ensuring they have enough supporting anti-air assets, because the Russians undoubtedly will focus on taking them out when they can.
Release the (formerly) Polish MiGs!
-
Zelensky is getting beat up about this, but it seems like he's doing exactly what we're demanding...holding corrupt Ukrainian officials accountable and cleaning house after he catches them red-handed.
Damned if he does and damned if he doesn't?
Exactly.
-
Zelensky is getting beat up about this, but it seems like he's doing exactly what we're demanding...holding corrupt Ukrainian officials accountable and cleaning house after he catches them red-handed.
Damned if he does and damned if he doesn't?
:thumbsup:
-
Ukraine arms race: West sends Kyiv 200 heavy tanks, after all. 1,000 Iranian missiles for Moscow
DEBKA file 1/25/2023
The US and Germany have dropped their longstanding denial of tanks for Ukraine. On Jan. 25, the Biden administration announced the consignment of two M-1 Abrams tanks brigades and a unit of “recovery vehicles” for repairing tanks. In Berlin, Chancellor Olaf Scholz said he was now ready to make available to the Ukraine forces the same number of hitherto withheld Leopard 2 tanks. Germany also lifted its veto on those tanks being released to Ukraine by the allied armies using them – Spain, Sweden, Norway and Holland.
Furthermore the British government assigned a supply of its heavy Challenger 2 tanks to Kyiv, alongside France’s offer of light AMX 10-RC tanks to the same recipient.
In response, Andriy Yermak, head of the Ukrainian presidential bureau said: “A few hundred tanks for our tank crews… That is going to become a real punching fist of democracy.”
Russia is meanwhile running its own arms buildup. This week, Moscow cut a deal with Tehran for the substantial supply of Iranian ballistic missiles to the Russian army. Informed sources estimate the deal as covering 1,000 Fatteh 110 Zolfaghar ballistic missiles.
More: https://www.debka.com/ukraine-arms-race-west-sends-kyiv-200-heavy-tanks-after-all-1000-iranian-missiles-for-moscow/ (https://www.debka.com/ukraine-arms-race-west-sends-kyiv-200-heavy-tanks-after-all-1000-iranian-missiles-for-moscow/)
-
Zelensky is getting beat up about this, but it seems like he's doing exactly what we're demanding...holding corrupt Ukrainian officials accountable and cleaning house after he catches them red-handed.
Damned if he does and damned if he doesn't?
It's good that he is pursuing corruption, but why didn't he do this earlier?
We need to be a lot smarter about the aid we provide. We should get weapons over there and make sure they are being put to good use.
-
Ukraine arms race: West sends Kyiv 200 heavy tanks, after all. 1,000 Iranian missiles for Moscow
DEBKA file 1/25/2023
The US and Germany have dropped their longstanding denial of tanks for Ukraine. On Jan. 25, the Biden administration announced the consignment of two M-1 Abrams tanks brigades and a unit of “recovery vehicles” for repairing tanks. In Berlin, Chancellor Olaf Scholz said he was now ready to make available to the Ukraine forces the same number of hitherto withheld Leopard 2 tanks. Germany also lifted its veto on those tanks being released to Ukraine by the allied armies using them – Spain, Sweden, Norway and Holland.
Furthermore the British government assigned a supply of its heavy Challenger 2 tanks to Kyiv, alongside France’s offer of light AMX 10-RC tanks to the same recipient.
In response, Andriy Yermak, head of the Ukrainian presidential bureau said: “A few hundred tanks for our tank crews… That is going to become a real punching fist of democracy.”
Russia is meanwhile running its own arms buildup. This week, Moscow cut a deal with Tehran for the substantial supply of Iranian ballistic missiles to the Russian army. Informed sources estimate the deal as covering 1,000 Fatteh 110 Zolfaghar ballistic missiles.
More: https://www.debka.com/ukraine-arms-race-west-sends-kyiv-200-heavy-tanks-after-all-1000-iranian-missiles-for-moscow/ (https://www.debka.com/ukraine-arms-race-west-sends-kyiv-200-heavy-tanks-after-all-1000-iranian-missiles-for-moscow/)
Sending the M-1 Abrams tanks may be a mistake. They require special crews for maintenance and run on jet fuel. The other tanks run on diesel and I believe are easier to maintain. If the Germans weren't so difficult it would be better to send more Leopard tanks. The Ukrainians could probably get them in the field quicker.
-
Ukraine arms race: West sends Kyiv 200 heavy tanks, after all. 1,000 Iranian missiles for Moscow
DEBKA file 1/25/2023
The US and Germany have dropped their longstanding denial of tanks for Ukraine. On Jan. 25, the Biden administration announced the consignment of two M-1 Abrams tanks brigades and a unit of “recovery vehicles” for repairing tanks. In Berlin, Chancellor Olaf Scholz said he was now ready to make available to the Ukraine forces the same number of hitherto withheld Leopard 2 tanks. Germany also lifted its veto on those tanks being released to Ukraine by the allied armies using them – Spain, Sweden, Norway and Holland.
Furthermore the British government assigned a supply of its heavy Challenger 2 tanks to Kyiv, alongside France’s offer of light AMX 10-RC tanks to the same recipient.
In response, Andriy Yermak, head of the Ukrainian presidential bureau said: “A few hundred tanks for our tank crews… That is going to become a real punching fist of democracy.”
Russia is meanwhile running its own arms buildup. This week, Moscow cut a deal with Tehran for the substantial supply of Iranian ballistic missiles to the Russian army. Informed sources estimate the deal as covering 1,000 Fatteh 110 Zolfaghar ballistic missiles.
More: https://www.debka.com/ukraine-arms-race-west-sends-kyiv-200-heavy-tanks-after-all-1000-iranian-missiles-for-moscow/ (https://www.debka.com/ukraine-arms-race-west-sends-kyiv-200-heavy-tanks-after-all-1000-iranian-missiles-for-moscow/)
That would be a boat worth sinking...
-
It's good that he is pursuing corruption, but why didn't he do this earlier?
We need to be a lot smarter about the aid we provide. We should get weapons over there and make sure they are being put to good use.
Maybe because he didn’t have sufficient evidence earlier? Geez.
-
Ukraine Celebrates Tanksgiving
https://www.battleswarmblog.com/?p=53940 (https://www.battleswarmblog.com/?p=53940)
After almost a year of dithering, Germany has finally relented and is sending Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine.
After weeks of reluctance, Germany has agreed to send Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine, in what Kyiv hopes will be a game-changer on the battlefield.
Chancellor Olaf Scholz announced the decision to send 14 tanks – and allow other countries to send theirs too – at a cabinet meeting on Wednesday.
But that’s not the only big tank news.
US President Joe Biden’s administration is also expected to announce plans to send at least 30 M1 Abrams tanks.
Biden just announced while I was writing this that the U.S. will provide 31 Abrams tanks to Ukraine.
It could take months to deliver the tanks because the U.S. has to purchase them through a procurement process.
The move marks a reversal for the Biden administration, which had resisted sending the tanks, and comes as German Chancellor Olaf Scholz announced his country would provide 14 Leopard 2 A6 tanks for Ukraine’s military. Britain said earlier this month it will provide 14 of its Challenger 2 tanks. France plans to contribute 10 armed fighting vehicles.
They’re also sending parts and equipment and eight recovery vehicles.
For the Abrams, the M1A1 and M1A2 are both armed with the L/44, and National Review is reporting that the Biden administration is sending M1A1s. (The original M1 uses the older 105mm rifled M68 gun. That’s thought to be able to penetrate any Soviet armor up to and including the early T-72 models, and possibly some later export models, but not later T-72s and more modern domestic Soviet/Russian tanks. In Desert Storm, even M60 Patton tanks with the 105mm gun were regularly reporting kills on T72s.) Thus Abrams and Leopard 2 120mm rounds of various sorts are fully interchangeable.
The Challenger 2 uses the Royal Ordnance L30 rifled 120mm gun, which uses different ammo.
They’re getting enough Abrams for two plus tank companies (three tank platoons of four tanks each, plus two command tanks), but not enough for a full armor brigade. But add the 14 German Leopard 2s, and presumably you have a force that can rip a hole in any Russian line. Add the already announced Bradleys and other IFVs, and you have a mobile infantry force behind them that can then exploit those holes.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KwkvSpZEzlk&t=1s (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KwkvSpZEzlk&t=1s)
-
Russia fires wave of missiles at Ukraine after Kyiv secures tanks
By Reuters
January 26, 2023
Russia launched a rush-hour barrage of missiles towards Ukraine on Thursday, killing at least one person, the day after Kyiv secured Western pledges of dozens of modern battlefield tanks to try to push back the Russian invasion.
Moscow reacted with fury to the German and American announcements, and has in the past responded to apparent Ukrainian successes with air strikes that have left millions without light, heat or water.
The Ukrainian military said it had shot down all 24 drones sent overnight by Russia, including 15 around the capital, with no damage reported.
But soon afterward, air raid alarms sounded across Ukraine as people were heading to work, and senior officials said air defenses were shooting down incoming missiles.
The Kremlin said on Thursday it saw the promised delivery of Western tanks to Ukraine as “direct involvement” of the United States and Europe in the 11-month-old conflict, something both deny.
* * *
Source: https://nypost.com/2023/01/26/russia-launches-attack-on-kyiv-at-least-one-dead/
-
Maybe because he didn’t have sufficient evidence earlier? Geez.
Geez, the Zelensky is perfect group is as bad as the Russia is the good guys group in defending "their guys" no matter what.
-
Geez, the Zelensky is perfect group is as bad as the Russia is the good guys group in defending "their guys" no matter what.
Why? I posited a simple state of affairs that fully answered your question, if true.
Removing someone from office for corruption should only be done when there is clear direct evidence of that, not simply when you get aspersions and speculation from the American right wing, no?
-
Human wave attacks, criminals used as cannon fodder and tens of thousands dead: How Putin 'won' the Battle of Soledar in Ukraine at a massive cost in human lives
By MAILONLINE REPORTER
26 January 2023
After months of stalemate in the battle for Ukraine’s eastern Donbas region, Russia has a victory to celebrate.
The town of Soledar has fallen to the Kremlin’s forces - but the win has been brutal, bloody, caused in-fighting in the Kremlin, and is far from the breakthrough that Moscow claims.
Chris Pleasance's video guide explains how tens of thousands of soldiers died after being used as canon fodder in pointless human wave attacks, froze to death in their trenches or were slaughtered in hellish artillery barrages.
* * *
Source: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11676075/How-Putin-won-Battle-Soledar.html
-
It's a Pyrrhic victory at best, and the cost is not worth that old salt mine.
-
It's a Pyrrhic victory at best, and the cost is not worth that old salt mine.
True enough.
-
It's a Pyrrhic victory at best, and the cost is not worth that old salt mine.
@Timber Rattler
Doesn't matte to the leadership of a police state HOW MANY "peons/serfs" have to die,the leadership MUST appear to be infallible in a
dictatorship or they lose power.
And of course,if they lose power,THEY end up hanging from lampposts.
-
Concerning the M1A1 tanks, like I said in another thread, they're likely junkers or decommissioned USMC tanks from the Army's Sierra boneyard.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sierra_Army_Depot
The depot and Anniston Army Depot will be the storage sites of the US Marine Corps' inventory of M1 Abrams tanks as well as other armored equipment as part of USMC Commandant Gen. David H. Berger's planning guidance "Force Design 2030". The last tanks left for the depot from the U.S. Marine Corps' base at 29 Palms in California in July 2020.
See also:
https://www.marinecorpstimes.com/news/your-marine-corps/2021/03/22/goodbye-tanks-how-the-marine-corps-will-change-and-what-it-will-lose-by-ditching-its-armor/
https://www.2ndmardiv.marines.mil/News/Press-Releases/Article/2406045/last-of-2d-tanks-m1a1-abrams-tanks-depart-camp-lejeune/
https://www.stripes.com/branches/marine_corps/a-farewell-to-armor-marine-corps-shuts-down-tank-units-hauls-away-m1a1s-1.639355
-
Ukraine hit by Russian missiles day after West's offer of tanks
James Waterhouse and Marita Moloney | 1 day ago
Russia launched a wave of missiles at Ukraine on Thursday, a day after Germany and the US pledged tanks to aid Kyiv's fight against the invasion.
Eleven people died and 11 others were injured after 35 buildings were struck across several regions, the state's emergency service said.
It added the worst damage to residential buildings was in the Kyiv region.
Officials also reported strikes on two energy facilities in the Odesa region.
The barrage came as Russia said it perceived the new offer of military support, which followed a UK pledge to send Challenger 2 battle tanks, as "direct" Western involvement in the conflict.
In what was a sustained and wide-ranging attack, the head of the Ukrainian army said Moscow launched 55 air and sea-based missiles on Thursday.
Valery Zaluzhny added that 47 of them were shot down, including 20 around Kyiv. . .
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-64411259
Such quick retaliation against civilians for a decision they had nothing to do with. Russia is a bully that needs to be stopped. Perhaps the US should consider delivering AA weaponry to Ukraine instead of merely talking about delivering AA weaponry to Ukraine.
-
Human wave attacks, criminals used as cannon fodder and tens of thousands dead: How Putin 'won' the Battle of Soledar in Ukraine at a massive cost in human lives
By MAILONLINE REPORTER
26 January 2023
After months of stalemate in the battle for Ukraine’s eastern Donbas region, Russia has a victory to celebrate.
The town of Soledar has fallen to the Kremlin’s forces - but the win has been brutal, bloody, caused in-fighting in the Kremlin, and is far from the breakthrough that Moscow claims.
Chris Pleasance's video guide explains how tens of thousands of soldiers died after being used as canon fodder in pointless human wave attacks, froze to death in their trenches or were slaughtered in hellish artillery barrages.
* * *
Source: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11676075/How-Putin-won-Battle-Soledar.html
Using criminals as cannon fodder ain't a bad idea, I do have to say.
-
Swiss army provides gloves and blankets to Ukraine
Switzerland has sent military-issue gloves, socks and blankets to Ukraine to help its population cope with the winter as Russia bombards its energy infrastructure.
January 26, 2023 - 13:59
The latest consignment of a CHF180 million ($195 million) humanitarian aid package will be delivered in Kyiv in three days’ time.
Switzerland has previously sent heaters and generators to the war-torn country.
The 170,000 pairs of gloves, 40,000 socks and 2,000 blankets have been drawn from Swiss military supplies, the government said on Thursday. . .
https://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/politics/swiss-army-provides-gloves-and-blankets-to-ukraine/48235140
-
(https://img-9gag-fun.9cache.com/photo/anzgBK5_460s.jpg)
-
(https://img-9gag-fun.9cache.com/photo/aYVrLQ7_460s.jpg)
-
Ukrainian troops are calling the US military in the middle of shootouts with Russia for help fixing their artillery
Jake Epstein
Jan 30, 2023, 9:37 AM
(https://i.insider.com/63d7cde14589790018e5b10a?width=2000&format=jpeg&auto=webp)
Ukrainian soldiers fire at Russian positions from a U.S.-supplied M777 howitzer in Kherson region, Ukraine, Jan. 9, 2023. AP Photo/Libkos
The US military is leading a team that is helping to repair Ukraine's military hardware over the phone.
These virtual exchanges often take place during battle, the Associated Press reported.
Ukrainian troops, meanwhile, are pushing artillery systems to the limits to keep Russia at bay.
more
https://www.businessinsider.com/us-helps-ukraine-fix-busted-artillery-over-phone-often-battle-2023-1
-
(https://img-9gag-fun.9cache.com/photo/anzgBK5_460s.jpg)
Who is Abram Tanks, and where does he work?
-
Yep, war with Russia. Ever since the first 2016 debate, where each GOP candidate except Trump (and maybe Cruz) basically outright called for it.
-
Poland to send 60 more tanks to Ukraine in addition to the 14 it previously announced
The decision comes after Germany agreed to allow countries that have stocks of its Leopard 2 tanks to hand them over to Ukraine - meaning Kyiv will recieve the battle vehicles from the US, Poland and Norway.
Friday 27 January 2023 | 16:29, UK
Poland will send 60 more tanks to Ukraine, on top of the 14 it has already pledged to the war effort, the Polish prime minister has said.
The country has angled itself as one of Ukraine's key allies in its war with Russia, and had already pledged to hand over 14 German-made Leopard 2 tanks, after lobbying Berlin to allow other countries to do so.
Speaking to Canadian television, Mateusz Morawiecki, Poland's prime minister said: "Poland sent 250 tanks as the first country half a year ago or even more than that.
"Right now, we are ready to send 60 of our modernised tanks, 30 of them PT-91. And on top of those tanks, 14 tanks, Leopard 2 tanks, from in our possession." . .
https://news.sky.com/story/poland-to-send-60-more-tanks-to-ukraine-in-addition-to-the-14-it-previously-announced-12796770
-
Poland to send 60 more tanks to Ukraine in addition to the 14 it previously announced
The decision comes after Germany agreed to allow countries that have stocks of its Leopard 2 tanks to hand them over to Ukraine - meaning Kyiv will recieve the battle vehicles from the US, Poland and Norway.
Friday 27 January 2023 | 16:29, UK
Poland will send 60 more tanks to Ukraine, on top of the 14 it has already pledged to the war effort, the Polish prime minister has said.
The country has angled itself as one of Ukraine's key allies in its war with Russia, and had already pledged to hand over 14 German-made Leopard 2 tanks, after lobbying Berlin to allow other countries to do so.
Speaking to Canadian television, Mateusz Morawiecki, Poland's prime minister said: "Poland sent 250 tanks as the first country half a year ago or even more than that.
"Right now, we are ready to send 60 of our modernised tanks, 30 of them PT-91. And on top of those tanks, 14 tanks, Leopard 2 tanks, from in our possession." . .
https://news.sky.com/story/poland-to-send-60-more-tanks-to-ukraine-in-addition-to-the-14-it-previously-announced-12796770
The PT-91's are nice, but they're not Leopard II's or Abrams, which outclass every Russian tank.
-
Am I the only one wondering how much longer Putin can remain in power while bankrupting the Neo-Soviet Union?
There HAS to come a time when the more junior members of the Politburo begin to worry about their own security and future,not to mention the typical Russian subject,and this nonsense will be brought to an end.
-
Am I the only one wondering how much longer Putin can remain in power while bankrupting the Neo-Soviet Union?
There HAS to come a time when the more junior members of the Politburo begin to worry about their own security and future,not to mention the typical Russian subject,and this nonsense will be brought to an end.
We'll see that before Zelenskyy allows Russia to keep the captured territory...including Crimea.
-
Fighting Wagner is like a ‘zombie movie’ says Ukrainian soldier
https://www.cnn.com/2023/02/01/europe/ukraine-soldiers-fighting-wagner-intl-cmd/index.html
Southwest of the city of Bakhmut, Ukrainian soldiers Andriy and Borisych live in a candle-lit bunker cut into the frozen earth. For several weeks they have been confronting hundreds of fighters belonging to the Russian private military contractor Wagner throwing themselves against Ukrainian defenses.
Disguised in a balaclava, Andriy recounts one seemingly endless firefight when they came under attack by a flood of Wagner fighters.
“We were fighting for about 10 hours in a row. And it wasn’t like just waves, it was uninterrupted. So it was just like they didn’t stop coming.”
Their AK-47 rifles became so hot from constant firing, Andriy says, that they had to keep changing them.
“It was about 20 soldiers on our side. And let’s say 200 from their side,” he says.
The Wagner way of war is to send a first wave of attackers that mainly comprises raw recruits straight out of Russian prisons. They know little of military tactics and are poorly equipped. Most just hope that if they survive their six-month contract they can go home rather than back to a cell
“They make the group – let’s say from 10 soldiers – reach 30 meters, then they start digging in to keep the position,” Andriy says of Wagner.
Another group follows, he says, to claim another 30 meters. “That’s how, step by step, (Wagner) is trying to move forward, while they lose a lot of people in the meantime.”
Only when the first wave is exhausted or cut down do Wagner send in more experienced combatants, often from the flanks, in an effort to overrun Ukrainian positions.
Andriy says facing the assault was a frightening and surreal experience.
“Our machine gunner was almost getting crazy, because he was shooting at them. And he said, I know I shot him, but he doesn’t fall. And then after some time, when he maybe bleeds out, so he just falls down.”
Andriy compares the battle to a scene out of a zombie movie. “They’re climbing above the corpse of their friends, stepping on them,” he says.
“It looks like it’s very, very likely that they are getting some drugs before attack,” he says, a claim that CNN has not been able independently to verify.
EXCERPT
-
Most senior Russian officer yet reveals horrific details of torture carried out in Ukraine: Prisoners were shot in the limbs, deafened with gunshots next to both ears and sexually assaulted with mop handle
By JACK NEWMAN FOR MAILONLINE
2 February 2023
The most senior Russian officer yet to reveal the horrors of the Ukraine war has described brutal torture, rape and executions carried out by Kremlin forces.
Konstantin Yefremov, an ex-military officer who has since fled the war and Russia, said he witnessed Moscow's sadistic tactics against the defending forces twice a day during Vladimir Putin's murderous campaign.
The former senior lieutenant, who tried to resign from the army multiple times before being dismissed for refusing to return to Ukraine, is now considered a traitor and a defector by Moscow after serving his country in the Zaporizhzhia region.
He told the BBC how prisoners were shot in their limbs, stripped naked and humiliated as part of Putin's dehumanising crusade against Kyiv's troops.
* * *
Source: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11705275/Most-senior-Russian-officer-reveals-horrific-details-torture-carried-Ukraine.html
-
The Flying Yeet of Death
https://www.battleswarmblog.com/?p=54003 (https://www.battleswarmblog.com/?p=54003)
I’ve previously covered suicide drones and drones dropping RPGs. Now Ukraine is evidently cutting out the middleman and passing the savings on to Ivan by just strapping RPGs to light drones and guiding them in.
The is a great application of one of Murphy’s Military Laws: “If it’s stupid but it works, it ain’t stupid.” For the Russians, it must be quit embarrassing to get yeeted into the afterlife by Doogie Howser’s science fair project.
I’m somewhat surprised that drones that small can carry the RPG rounds effectively, but presumably they’re replacing camera gear or something close to the same weight.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3KhfcVyNTBs&t=75s (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3KhfcVyNTBs&t=75s)
-
Putin has 'mobilised half a MILLION troops for major new offensive on anniversary of Ukraine invasion': Sergei Lavrov warns Russia will 'gain the world's attention' on February 24
By CHRIS JEWERS FOR MAILONLINE
2 February 2023
Russia has mobilised 500,000 troops for a major new offensive in Ukraine on the anniversary of Vladimir Putin's invasion, Kyiv's defence minister warned last night, before the Kremlin said it planned 'gain the world's attention' on February 24.
Speaking on French television, Oleksiy Reznikov said the Russian military is planning to call on the huge number of soldiers to mount another assault on his country.
February 24 will mark 365 days since Moscow's troops first rolled into parts of Ukraine not already under Russian occupation. But what the Kremlin hoped would be a swift overthrow of Ukraine's government has dragged into a painful war of attrition, with Kyiv's forces driving the invaders back in the east.
* * *
Source: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11704753/Russia-mobilised-half-MILLION-troops-major-new-offensive-Kyiv-defence-minister-warns.html
-
Putin has 'mobilised half a MILLION troops for major new offensive on anniversary of Ukraine invasion': Sergei Lavrov warns Russia will 'gain the world's attention' on February 24
By CHRIS JEWERS FOR MAILONLINE
2 February 2023
Russia has mobilised 500,000 troops for a major new offensive in Ukraine on the anniversary of Vladimir Putin's invasion, Kyiv's defence minister warned last night, before the Kremlin said it planned 'gain the world's attention' on February 24.
Speaking on French television, Oleksiy Reznikov said the Russian military is planning to call on the huge number of soldiers to mount another assault on his country.
February 24 will mark 365 days since Moscow's troops first rolled into parts of Ukraine not already under Russian occupation. But what the Kremlin hoped would be a swift overthrow of Ukraine's government has dragged into a painful war of attrition, with Kyiv's forces driving the invaders back in the east.
* * *
Source: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11704753/Russia-mobilised-half-MILLION-troops-major-new-offensive-Kyiv-defence-minister-warns.html
@Kamaji
The Neo-Soviets are not getting desperate. They have been desperate ever since their "walk over Ukraine and take over "Master Plan" failed after the first assault.
This latest plan is their "Hail Mary to save "face"",and is pure desperation.
"Free Europe" needs to "step up to the line" NOW to stop this madness before it gets any worse. As it is,Ukraine has been fighting Europe's war for them,and it is time now for them to start carrying a little of the weight themselves.
I am not a betting man,but if a United Europe started sending troops as well as weapons to defend Ukrainian borders that the mad man known as Putin would be flying out of Russia on his private jet or private yacht,never to return.
IF he is still sane enough to realize what is happening.
If he isn't,it's "back against the wall,redneck motherhumper!" because the neo-Soviet Union will collapse due to revolution. as well as invasion.
Russians really ARE a Patriotic People,and "Holy Mother Russia" isn't just a slogan to them. It MEANS something,even to the most hard-core Soviet ever born. They might or might not love communism,but they ALL love Russia and there is a limit to how much they,as a people,are going to tolerate before a massive leadership change.
My most sincere hope is that IF Europe sends troops to Ukraine to help her defend herself against invasion is that the younger and less indoctrinated members of the Politburo see what is happening and remove Putin and his supporters from power.
-
Yesterday, Russia lost over 900 soldiers KIA. If they are preparing for a massive counter-attack, then why are they sacrificing so many troops now?
-
Exactly. And left unsaid is how Putin exactly plans to get those 500,000 new troops into Ukraine and support them. There are few roads leading into the country from points north and east, and they will be mined and watched very carefully. And will T-62 tanks be leading the charge toward Kyiv this time?
-
Yesterday, Russia lost over 900 soldiers KIA. If they are preparing for a massive counter-attack, then why are they sacrificing so many troops now?
Russia also already had some of the worst sustainable demographics in the world.
Socialogical suicide unfolding before our eyes? Killing 100's of K's of your 18-25 young men is supposed to be a benefit to the country in the big picture? Problem is, I think its going to take something like losing Crimea, before the Russians wake up an hoist Putin up a light pole.
-
Yesterday, Russia lost over 900 soldiers KIA. If they are preparing for a massive counter-attack, then why are they sacrificing so many troops now?
@Hoodat
Because that is all they know how to do,and they don't give a rabid rats ass about how many of their soldiers have to die or be maimed for life. After all,the leadership NEVER gets close to the front lines,
-
Exactly. And left unsaid is how Putin exactly plans to get those 500,000 new troops into Ukraine and support them. There are few roads leading into the country from points north and east, and they will be mined and watched very carefully. And will T-62 tanks be leading the charge toward Kyiv this time?
@Timber Rattler
AKA: "Flaming Road Blocks".
-
Russia also already had some of the worst sustainable demographics in the world.
Socialogical suicide unfolding before our eyes? Killing 100's of K's of your 18-25 young men is supposed to be a benefit to the country in the big picture? Problem is, I think its going to take something like losing Crimea, before the Russians wake up an hoist Putin up a light pole.
@catfish1957
Should have happened a long time ago,but the Neo-Soviet Union is still a dictatorship.
I think the only thing that scares Soviet Dictators is losing a war in such a way they can't fool the public about a loss.
Historically,losing dictators don't fare very well unless they can fly away before the public gets their hands on them,and I am not so sure the Politburo Members of today would be willing to let him go.
As noted previously,he does have his own private jet,as well as his own private yacht,which I have heard described as "the largest yacht in the world". If he can get to either before the peasants (anyone who is not a Politburo member),he is gone.
Provided of course that the Russian Navy don't sink the yacht and the Russian AF doesn't turn his private jet into a flaming mass of aluminum.
-
The Flying Yeet of Death
https://www.battleswarmblog.com/?p=54003 (https://www.battleswarmblog.com/?p=54003)
I’ve previously covered suicide drones and drones dropping RPGs. Now Ukraine is evidently cutting out the middleman and passing the savings on to Ivan by just strapping RPGs to light drones and guiding them in.
The is a great application of one of Murphy’s Military Laws: “If it’s stupid but it works, it ain’t stupid.” For the Russians, it must be quit embarrassing to get yeeted into the afterlife by Doogie Howser’s science fair project.
I’m somewhat surprised that drones that small can carry the RPG rounds effectively, but presumably they’re replacing camera gear or something close to the same weight.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3KhfcVyNTBs&t=75s (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3KhfcVyNTBs&t=75s)
That picture of the drones strapped to an RPG at the end of the video is BS. There is no way those little drones could pick up that much weight. Not even close.
-
This drone-mounted RPG is terrifying
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fg6_k6nBn70 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fg6_k6nBn70)
-
Joe Biden Offered Vladimir Putin 20 Percent of Ukraine to End War: Report
https://www.newsweek.com/joe-biden-vladimir-putin-ukraine-territory-end-war-nzz-report-1778526
The White House and the CIA have responded to a report that CIA Director, William Burns, offered Russian President Vladimir Putin a fifth of Ukraine's territory to end the ongoing war as part of a peace plan drawn up on behalf of President Joe Biden.
A CIA official told Newsweek that claims in the report from Swiss-German newspaper Neue Zürcher Zeitung (NZZ) that Burns took a secret trip to Moscow in January and that there was a peace proposal put forward by the director on behalf of the White House were "completely false."
Last month, Burns traveled in secret to meet and brief Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Kyiv, The Washington Post reported.
Burns is said to have submitted the plan in mid-January to put an end to the war, which began on February 24, 2022. The story was reported by NZZ on Thursday, citing high-ranking German foreign politicians.
Both Kyiv and Moscow reportedly rejected the proposal.
According to the newspaper, the proposal offered "around 20 percent of Ukraine's territory"—approximately the size of Ukraine's eastern Donbas region.
Kyiv reportedly shut down the proposal "because they are not willing to have their territory divided" while Russian officials said they "will win the war in the long run anyway," reported NZZ, which has been described as the Swiss newspaper of record.
(snip)
And when Ukraine and Russia both rejected the proposal, the Biden administration pledged to provide Kyiv with Abrams tanks, NZZ reported.
-
'Threatening rhetoric': Lavrov calls tiny Moldova 'the next Ukraine'
https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/policy/defense-national-security/lavrov-moldova-next-ukraine
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov referred to Moldova as “the next Ukraine" in a criticism of the Black Sea state that stokes Moldovan anxiety about the prospect of an attack from Russia.
"We categorically reject the statement by the head of Russian diplomacy, which does not correspond to reality, and is part of the already well-known threatening rhetoric of Russian diplomacy,” the Moldovan Foreign Ministry said Thursday.
Lavrov drew the analogy as Moscow renews its attempt to characterize its invasion of Ukraine as a defensive struggle against fascist ideology. Russia has maintained a military presence in Moldova over the objections of the Moldovan government, a dispute that could provide kindling for another crisis, spurring Moldova to seek deeper ties with U.S. and European governments.
"The West has already set its sights on the Republic of Moldova,” Lavrov told state media, saying that Moldova has “a president who wants to join NATO, has Romanian citizenship, is ready to unite with Romania and, in general, she is ready for almost anything.”
The territory of modern Moldova was annexed by the Soviet Union in 1940, but Moldova and Romania, a member of NATO, have long-standing social and cultural ties stemming in part from their common background as part of the former Kingdom of Romania. Moldova has a neutrality clause in its constitution, but Moldovan President Maia Sandu has accused Russia of trying to use “corrupt groups and some political groups to destabilize” her country.
“There is a serious discussion in the society, about our capacity to defend ourselves — whether we can do it ourselves, or whether we should be part of a larger alliance,” Sandu told Politico’s EU Confidential podcast. “It’s not Moldova which started a war against its neighbors ... Now that we see the Russian aggression against Ukraine, we understand how serious this is, and we understand that we need to make the defense sector a priority.”
Moldovan intelligence officials have suggested that the Kremlin might try to seize the entire Ukrainian coastline on the Black Sea in order to create a corridor that links mainland Russia with the disputed territories of Moldova.
“The question is not whether the Russian Federation will launch a new offensive in the direction of Moldovan territory, but when it will happen: either at the beginning of the year, in January, February, or later, in March, (or) April,” Moldovan spy chief Alexandru Musteata said in December. “What will follow — their intentions towards Chisinau — we can discuss. But this is a real and very high risk.”
Lavrov’s comments come a week after Putin’s allies in the Russian parliament issued their own warnings.
"If Moldova wants to destroy its own state, this is the best way,” Russian lawmaker Leonid Kalashnikov said, referring to the idea of Moldova’s membership in NATO. “If they think that, like Finland or Sweden, secretly, quickly, taking advantage of the situation, they can join NATO and that nothing will happen to them for this in their own country, they should remember something else. The fact that Finland has two official languages and respects its people.”
Moldova has applied to join the European Union, which is an economic and political bloc, not the military alliance that is NATO.
“Joining the EU is our only option to survive as a democracy, so it's a must for us,” Sandu said.
“We do believe in democracy. We want to stay part of the free world.”
Her government struck a similar note in its response to Lavrov. "We would like to remind the Russian side that the path Moldova is following is the path of accession to the EU,” the Moldovan Foreign Ministry said. “Moldova has clearly chosen its future, and this future is part of the free world.”
-
MORE proof that you have to be as stupid as a stick to be a Russian official.
-
Joe Biden Offered Vladimir Putin 20 Percent of Ukraine to End War: Report
Ukraine is not Biden's to give.
-
Ukraine is not Biden's to give.
@Hoodat
Neither are any of the secrets and favors he is selling,but that doesn't stop him.
He thought he saw a way to scam a few billion in under the table kickbacks,so he went for it.
Or his handlers did,anyhow. The biggest decision Slow Joe makes these days is what flavor of ice cream he is going to eat.
-
Russian casualties in Ukraine are nearing 200,000, with losses from the assault on Bakhmut far out-weighing the city's strategic value, US officials say
By DAVID AVERRE
3 February 2023
U.S. officials have estimated the number of Russian troops killed and wounded in Ukraine is nearing 200,000 as bitter World War One style warfare continues to rage on the front lines.
The officials, who spoke to the New York Times on condition of anonymity, warned the number of casualties is extremely hard to measure.
But they added that continued trench warfare, close-quarter fighting and heavy use of artillery in and around the city of Bakhmut in Ukraine's eastern Donetsk region has dramatically increased the death toll in recent weeks.
* * *
Source: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11709517/Russian-casualties-Ukraine-nearing-200-000-officials-say.html
-
U.S. officials have estimated the number of Russian troops killed and wounded in Ukraine is nearing 200,000
And now you understand how 25 million Soviets lost their lives in WWII.
-
(https://i.imgflip.com/79svhv.jpg)
-
And now you understand how 25 million Soviets lost their lives in WWII.
@Hoodat
The deaths of peons doesn't matter. EVERYBODY knows that!
The important thing is that the leadership,that only got close enough to the front lines to hear an artillery burst before turning around and fleeing back to Moscow,never to return.
Fighting and dying are for the Proletariat,not the Nobility.
-
And now you understand how 25 million Soviets lost their lives in WWII.
Seems eventually ordinary Russians would rise up and say “enough!”
-
Exactly. And left unsaid is how Putin exactly plans to get those 500,000 new troops into Ukraine and support them. There are few roads leading into the country from points north and east, and they will be mined and watched very carefully. And will T-62 tanks be leading the charge toward Kyiv this time?
Greetings TR! Nice to see you in the upscale suburbs, away from the chaotic mess that is that “other” site!
-
Seems eventually ordinary Russians would rise up and say “enough!”
You are talking about a country that was still practicing serfdom 162 years ago.
-
Greetings TR! Nice to see you in the upscale suburbs, away from the chaotic mess that is that “other” site!
There are a lot of people here that left that wet mess...
-
RE#1775
Exactly. And left unsaid is how Putin exactly plans to get those 500,000 new troops into Ukraine and support them...
Its not possible. So Russia is following its playbook. First, scream escalation and World War Three. Then announce a bigger response on their own, such as two to four times as many soliders as they can deploy. When the new aid arrives to Ukraine, claim won't matter and it is all going to get destroyed - or say it is getting destroyed before it arrived.
One of the results of Russia's threats and inability to back them up, is the US, NATO and Europe are calling the bluff and moving ahead regardless of what Russia says.
-
Another Russian Su-24 shot down over Kherson yesterday.
-
@Widget Jr
Welcome to TBR.
-
Another Russian Su-24 shot down over Kherson yesterday.
Oops
-
RE#1775
Its not possible. So Russia is following its playbook. First, scream escalation and World War Three. Then announce a bigger response on their own, such as two to four times as many soliders as they can deploy. When the new aid arrives to Ukraine, claim won't matter and it is all going to get destroyed - or say it is getting destroyed before it arrived.
One of the results of Russia's threats and inability to back them up, is the US, NATO and Europe are calling the bluff and moving ahead regardless of what Russia says.
Welcome to TBR. @Widget Jr! We look forward to your insights!
-
@Widget Jr is the best!
:patriot:
-
Seems eventually ordinary Russians would rise up and say “enough!”
@ScottinVA
Other than for that VERY brief period when Yeltsin was the President of Russia,nobody born in Russia has EVER been born free. It was either the Czars or the Communists that were the rulers,and rule with a heavy hammer is what they did.
Normal citizens got promotions at work or permission to buy a new tv if they reported one of their neighbors or relatives for "Anti-Soviet Activity/thinking." If your info lead to an arrest,you could even get a nicer apartment closer to work.
THIS is why there hasn't been a revolution in the USSR since the Soviets took over. They either jailed,sent people to labor camps for expressing "Anti-Soviet Ideas", or executed anyone that stood in their way.
All this tended to repress opposition to the leadership.
-
Pro-Putin mercenary who waved the 'skull of a dead Ukrainian' in front of crowd and called for the killing of civilians is shot in the head and 'in grave condition' following possible 'warning hit' to Wagner group
By STEWART CARR and ADAM SOLOMONS
5 February 2023
A Russian propogandist turned fighter-for-hire has been shot in the head in an attack which analysts have hinted may be a warning to the leader of Russia’s mercenary Wagner group – which is growing in power.
Igor Mangushev, 36, was famed as one of Russia’s most recognisable TV spin doctors before going into the army using the call name of Bereg.
In the early hours of Saturday, Mangushev was taken to hospital in Stakhanov in Russia’s eastern Donetsk region with a gunshot wound to the head, The Telegraph reports.
* * *
Source: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11715259/Pro-Putin-mercenary-waved-skull-dead-Ukrainian-shot-possible-warning-hit.html
-
Youth football coach 'is unmasked as Putin spy who passed Germany's secrets to Moscow that could help them win Ukraine war'
By JAMES CALLERY FOR MAILONLINE
4 February 2023
A volunteer youth football coach has been unmasked as the Putin spy who passed German's secrets to Moscow that could help them win the war in Ukraine, according to a report.
The Telegraph revealed that Carsten Linke, 52, is the alleged double agent in Germany's foreign intelligence service (BND) arrested for treason last December, the largest European intelligence scandal in decades.
The father of two had gained respect within the BND, where he oversaw units for spying on foreign communications and internal security.
* * *
Source: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11712829/Youth-football-coach-unmasked-Putin-spy-passed-Germanys-secrets-Moscow.html
-
Russia ‘eradicating’ towns in Donbas as battle for eastern Ukraine heats up
By Snejana Farberov
February 6, 2023
Russian forces bolstered by fresh troops are said to be “eradicating” towns and villages in Ukraine’s hotly contested Donbas region ahead of an anticipated offensive, according to Ukrainian officials.
Donetsk Gov. Pavlo Kyrylenko said in televised remarks Monday the fight for the eastern province is “heating up,” with Moscow “throwing new units into the battle.”
Intense fighting that has been raging for weeks continued around the key city of Bakhmut and the nearby towns of Soledar and Vuhledar, Ukraine’s presidential office said.
Ukrainian forces are bracing for a Russian onslaught in the coming weeks, which would coincide with the first anniversary of the war.
In his nightly address Sunday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky acknowledged that the Kremlin’s forces could carry out “something symbolic to try to avenge their last year’s defeats.”
* * *
Source: https://nypost.com/2023/02/06/russian-troops-destroy-towns-in-plan-to-take-over-donbas-region/
-
Russia ‘eradicating’ towns in Donbas as battle for eastern Ukraine heats up
Russian forces bolstered by fresh troops are said to be “eradicating” towns and villages in Ukraine’s hotly contested Donbas region ahead of an anticipated offensive, according to Ukrainian officials.
Impossible. According to one poster here, the Russians are "protectors" and "liberators" of Donbas.
-
Another Russian general is killed in Ukraine in latest blow to Putin: Elite paratrooper commander who came out of retirement to aid the invasion is killed by Kyiv sabotage team
By WILL STEWART
7 February 2023
Vladimir Putin has lost yet another general in the war in Ukraine, according to reports.
Major-General Dmitry Ulyanov, 44, had returned to active service after retirement as a commander in Russia's illegal Ukrainian invasion.
He died in a firefight when he was attacked by a Ukrainian sabotage group this week, say reports.
Previously Ulyanov was a top paratrooper, commander of the elite 98th Guards Airborne Division.
He went to the current war commanding a regiment of mobilised motorised infantrymen from Tatarstan.
The death means Putin has lost at least ten such senior commanders.
* * *
Source: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11721601/Russian-general-Dmitry-Ulyanov-killed-Ukraine-latest-blow-Putin.html
-
Follow-Up on Ukraine’s Kamikaze Drones
https://www.battleswarmblog.com/?p=54044 (https://www.battleswarmblog.com/?p=54044)
Given that the original video generated doubts as to its veracity, I thought I would post this followup that goes into more detail about Ukraine’s low-cost suicide drone/loitering munition.
• These look considerably less jury-rigged than the previous drones.
• “These are publicly funded…Ukraine’s Ministry of Defense made a public appeal for donations to buy 1,000 of these.”
• There seem to be different types with different warhead sizes. “The technical details are a bit vague. I’ve seen mentioned ranges of just two kilometers to over 10 kilometers.”
• We see the successful attacks, but not the failures.
• “These cost around 200 to manufacture, so they’re also extremely cost effective.” Indeed, even more cost-effective than my original estimates.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5VmfjBrwEow (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5VmfjBrwEow)
-
Follow-Up on Ukraine’s Kamikaze Drones
https://www.battleswarmblog.com/?p=54044 (https://www.battleswarmblog.com/?p=54044)
Given that the original video generated doubts as to its veracity, I thought I would post this followup that goes into more detail about Ukraine’s low-cost suicide drone/loitering munition.
• These look considerably less jury-rigged than the previous drones.
• “These are publicly funded…Ukraine’s Ministry of Defense made a public appeal for donations to buy 1,000 of these.”
• There seem to be different types with different warhead sizes. “The technical details are a bit vague. I’ve seen mentioned ranges of just two kilometers to over 10 kilometers.”
• We see the successful attacks, but not the failures.
• “These cost around 200 to manufacture, so they’re also extremely cost effective.” Indeed, even more cost-effective than my original estimates.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5VmfjBrwEow (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5VmfjBrwEow)
Nothing like necessity being the mother of invention.
The Ukrainians have been so effective in using low cost weapons systems to destroy high cost weapons systems it should generate a rethinking of how our military expenditures are used.
-
Another Russian general is killed in Ukraine in latest blow to Putin: Elite paratrooper commander who came out of retirement to aid the invasion is killed by Kyiv sabotage team
By WILL STEWART
7 February 2023
Vladimir Putin has lost yet another general in the war in Ukraine, according to reports.
Major-General Dmitry Ulyanov, 44, had returned to active service after retirement as a commander in Russia's illegal Ukrainian invasion.
He died in a firefight when he was attacked by a Ukrainian sabotage group this week, say reports.
Previously Ulyanov was a top paratrooper, commander of the elite 98th Guards Airborne Division.
He went to the current war commanding a regiment of mobilised motorised infantrymen from Tatarstan.
The death means Putin has lost at least ten such senior commanders.
* * *
Source: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11721601/Russian-general-Dmitry-Ulyanov-killed-Ukraine-latest-blow-Putin.html
@Kamaji "RETIRED" Major General being ALLOWED to retire at 44 BEFORE being brought back on regular duty to go to war?
Is Pooty Poot starting to hear "Doan wanna go" from the senior Generals in the Neo Soviet Army?
Something VERY odd is going on in the Neo-Soviet military!
-
Putin mercenary who 'waved the skull of a dead Ukrainian' and called for civilians to be murdered DIES after he was shot in the head in mystery attack
By WILL STEWART
8 February 2023
A pro-Putin spin doctor who notoriously waved the skull of a 'dead Ukrainian' fighter on stage in a sickening stunt died today after he was shot in the head.
Igor Mangushev, 36, had been gravely wounded in hospital for several days after what his wife alleged was an act of 'attempted murder' on Russian-held territory.
He died around 6am from wounds sustained in the so-far unexplained shooting on 4 February.
* * *
Source: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11726479/Putin-mercenary-waved-skull-dead-Ukrainian-dies-shot-head.html
-
Switzerland may ABANDON centuries of neutrality over Ukraine war – after accusations that sitting on the fence was effectively siding with Russia
By CHLOE LOUISE
7 February 2023
Switzerland is close to breaking a centuries old tradition as a neutral state after they are accused of sitting on the fence with the war on Ukraine and in turn siding with Russia.
A pro-Ukraine shift in the public and political mood has put pressure on the Swiss government to end the ban on exports of Swiss weapons to war zones.
Buyers of Swiss arms are legally prevented from re-exporting them, a restriction that some representing the country's large weapons industry say is now hurting trade.
* * *
Source: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11723065/Switzerland-ABANDON-centuries-neutrality-Ukraine-wa.html
-
Switzerland may ABANDON centuries of neutrality over Ukraine war – after accusations that sitting on the fence was effectively siding with Russia
By CHLOE LOUISE
7 February 2023
Switzerland is close to breaking a centuries old tradition as a neutral state after they are accused of sitting on the fence with the war on Ukraine and in turn siding with Russia.
A pro-Ukraine shift in the public and political mood has put pressure on the Swiss government to end the ban on exports of Swiss weapons to war zones.
Buyers of Swiss arms are legally prevented from re-exporting them, a restriction that some representing the country's large weapons industry say is now hurting trade.
* * *
Source: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11723065/Switzerland-ABANDON-centuries-neutrality-Ukraine-wa.html
Swiss nuetraility through history has mostly been because of their being a benchmark for finance and financial havens and stability. Odd that'd change after 400-500 years.
-
Swiss nuetraility through history has mostly been because of their being a benchmark for finance and financial havens and stability. Odd that'd change after 400-500 years.
A lot of the Swiss banking secrecy has been eroded of late, particularly through the U.S. FATCA regime, so perhaps it's no longer as strong a domestic selling point for neutrality.
-
Ukraine Has Exactly One T-80UK Command Tank. It Just Fought A Dangerous Solo Battle Near Bakhmut.
David Axe | Feb 8, 2023 | 07:06pm EST
(https://imageio.forbes.com/specials-images/imageserve/63e437f882590b43e136e6d9/The-30th-Mechanized-Brigade-s-T-80UK-in-action-/0x0.jpg?format=jpg&crop=612,408,x0,y16,safe&width=960)
The 30th Mechanized Brigade's T-80UK in action.VIA SOCIAL MEDIA
The Ukrainian army has captured exactly one Russian T-80UK command tank that independent analysts have been able to confirm.
That sole command tank, perhaps the rarest in Russia’s wider war on Ukraine, just made a dramatic reappearance.
Speeding along the E40 highway just north of Bakhmut on or around Tuesday, the tank’s three-man crew intercepted a Russian infantry force trying to make a daytime end-run around the Ukrainian garrison in Bakhmut.
But the T-80UK’s impressive-seeming mission isn’t actually good news for Ukraine. A tank shouldn’t be operating all alone on a battlefield teeming with drones, attack helicopters and precision artillery. . . .
https://www.forbes.com/sites/davidaxe/2023/02/08/ukraine-has-exactly-one-t-80uk-command-tank-it-just-fought-a-dangerous-solo-battle-near-bakhmut
-
SpaceX curbed Ukraine's use of Starlink internet for drones -company president
https://www.reuters.com/business/aerospace-defense/spacex-curbed-ukraines-use-starlink-internet-drones-company-president-2023-02-09/
SpaceX has taken steps to prevent Ukraine's military from using the company's Starlink satellite internet service for controlling drones in the region during the country's war with Russia, SpaceX's president said Wednesday.
SpaceX's Starlink satellite internet service, which has provided Ukraine's military with broadband communications in its defense against Russia's military, was "never never meant to be weaponized," Gwynne Shotwell, SpaceX's president and chief operating officer, said during a conference in Washington, D.C.
"However, Ukrainians have leveraged it in ways that were unintentional and not part of any agreement," she said.
Speaking later with reporters, Shotwell referred to reports that the Ukrainian military had used the Starlink service to control drones.
Ukraine has made effective use of unmanned aircraft for spotting enemy positions, targeting long-range fires and dropping bombs.
"There are things that we can do to limit their ability to do that," she said, referring to Starlink's use with drones. "There are things that we can do, and have done."
(snip)
Using Starlink with drones went beyond the scope of an agreement SpaceX has with the Ukrainian government, Shotwell said, adding the contract was intended for humanitarian purposes such as providing broadband internet to hospitals, banks and families affected by Russia's invasion.
"We know the military is using them for comms, and that's ok," she said. "But our intent was never to have them use it for offensive purposes."
EXCERPT
-
https://www.theepochtimes.com/the-coming-dismemberment-of-ukraine_5042872.html
The Coming Dismemberment of Ukraine
by Patricia Adams & Lawrence Solomon
February 9, 2023
The West’s wishful thinking that it could win a war against Russia using Ukraine as its proxy is coming to a close.
Western sanctions against Russia—initially predicted to bring the Russian economy to its knees—have backfired. Absent Russian resources, European economies are reeling while Russia’s economy, according to the IMF, has rebounded and is now growing faster than those of Germany or the UK.
The military end game is also in sight, the Rand Corporation concluded in a recent report, despite the “extent of NATO allies’ indirect involvement in the war [which] is breathtaking in scope. Support includes tens of billions of dollars’ worth of weapons and … billions of dollars monthly in direct budgetary support to Kyiv.”
Yet it may all come to naught, since Russia has “a high level of resolve,” Rand notes. Russia “rectified the manpower deficit that enabled Ukraine’s success in the Kharkiv counteroffensive” and Ukraine’s “cities have been flattened; their economy has been decimated.”
Rand concludes that the United States should prepare its departure, since the war harms U.S. interests: “Avoiding a long war is also a higher priority for the United States than facilitating significantly more Ukrainian territorial control.”
Without the West’s military aid, which the new Republican House of Representatives may soon cut back, Ukraine’s military efforts would collapse. It can provide little to its own defense but personnel, and even that is running low—so many Ukrainians have died opposing Russia’s relentless military that Ukraine is now reportedly sending men over 60 to the front.
Ukraine’s economy, which was burdened with an external pre-war debt of $135 billion and has since lost $5 billion a month, would also collapse. Ukraine would be a spent force and utterly bankrupt, with Wall Street lenders such as BlackRock and vulture capitalists circling to claim whatever assets remain. Having lost at least one-third of its GDP in 2022 and as much as one-quarter of its pre-war 40 million population, its destitute government would be unable to provide pensions and welfare, let alone employment.
More at URL above...
-
https://www.theepochtimes.com/the-coming-dismemberment-of-ukraine_5042872.html
The Coming Dismemberment of Ukraine
by Patricia Adams & Lawrence Solomon
February 9, 2023
The West’s wishful thinking that it could win a war against Russia using Ukraine as its proxy is coming to a close.
Western sanctions against Russia—initially predicted to bring the Russian economy to its knees—have backfired. Absent Russian resources, European economies are reeling while Russia’s economy, according to the IMF, has rebounded and is now growing faster than those of Germany or the UK.
The military end game is also in sight, the Rand Corporation concluded in a recent report, despite the “extent of NATO allies’ indirect involvement in the war [which] is breathtaking in scope. Support includes tens of billions of dollars’ worth of weapons and … billions of dollars monthly in direct budgetary support to Kyiv.”
Yet it may all come to naught, since Russia has “a high level of resolve,” Rand notes. Russia “rectified the manpower deficit that enabled Ukraine’s success in the Kharkiv counteroffensive” and Ukraine’s “cities have been flattened; their economy has been decimated.”
Rand concludes that the United States should prepare its departure, since the war harms U.S. interests: “Avoiding a long war is also a higher priority for the United States than facilitating significantly more Ukrainian territorial control.”
Without the West’s military aid, which the new Republican House of Representatives may soon cut back, Ukraine’s military efforts would collapse. It can provide little to its own defense but personnel, and even that is running low—so many Ukrainians have died opposing Russia’s relentless military that Ukraine is now reportedly sending men over 60 to the front.
Ukraine’s economy, which was burdened with an external pre-war debt of $135 billion and has since lost $5 billion a month, would also collapse. Ukraine would be a spent force and utterly bankrupt, with Wall Street lenders such as BlackRock and vulture capitalists circling to claim whatever assets remain. Having lost at least one-third of its GDP in 2022 and as much as one-quarter of its pre-war 40 million population, its destitute government would be unable to provide pensions and welfare, let alone employment.
More at URL above...
:mauslaff:
-
The authors of that appeasement piece...
Patricia Adams is an economist and the President of the Energy Probe Research Foundation and Probe International, an independent think tank in Canada and around the world. She is the publisher of internet news services Three Gorges Probe and Odious Debts Online and the author or editor of numerous books. Her books and articles have been translated into Chinese, Spanish, Bengali, Japanese, and Bahasa Indonesia. She can be reached at patriciaadams@probeinternational.org.
Lawrence Solomon is an Epoch Times columnist, a former National Post and Globe and Mail columnist, and the executive director of Toronto-based Energy Probe and Consumer Policy Institute. He is the author of 7 books, including “The Deniers,” a #1 environmental best-seller in both the United States and Canada.
-
:mauslaff:
In a manner of 2 hours you've dispared the Epoch Times and Substack.
What's next? WSJ are communist hacks?
Not. a good look for you.
-
The authors of that appeasement piece...
And they have had some pretty thoughtful conservative pieces through the years too. Make sure to add those.
-
In a manner of 2 hours you've dispared the Epoch Times and Substack.
What's next? WSJ are communist hacks?
Not. a good look for you.
If they write shit that deserves disparagement, they'll get the same treatment.
For example, don't try to feed me this sort of manure:
rectified the manpower deficit that enabled Ukraine’s success
and expect me to treat it like filet mignon just because the authors have written decent stuff in the past.
Russia has rounded up a bunch of civilians, given them little or no training, and little or no eqiupment, and sent them out to be cannon fodder for their fascist mercenary group. That is hardly "rectifying" a manpower problem.
-
Ukraine’s rocket campaign reliant on U.S. precision targeting, officials say
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/ukraine-s-rocket-campaign-reliant-on-us-precision-targeting-officials-say/ar-AA17j6Ng
Ukrainian officials said they require coordinates provided or confirmed by the United States and its allies for the vast majority of strikes using its advanced U.S.-provided rocket systems, a previously undisclosed practice that reveals a deeper and more operationally active role for the Pentagon in the war.
The disclosure, confirmed by three senior Ukrainian officials and a senior U.S. official, comes after months of Kyiv’s forces pounding Russian targets — including headquarters, ammunition depots and barracks — on Ukrainian soil with the U.S.-provided High Mobility Artillery Rocket System, or HIMARS, and other similar precision-guided weapons such as the M270 multiple-launch rocket system.
One senior Ukrainian official said Ukrainian forces almost never launch the advanced weapons without specific coordinates provided by U.S. military personnel from a base elsewhere in Europe. Ukrainian officials say this process should give Washington confidence about providing Kyiv with longer-range weapons.
A senior U.S. official — who, like others, spoke on the condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the issue — acknowledged the key American role in the campaign and said the targeting assistance served to ensure accuracy and conserve limited stores of ammunition for maximum effectiveness. The official said Ukraine does not seek approval from the United States on what to strike and routinely targets Russian forces on their own with other weapons. The United States provides coordinates and precise targeting information solely in an advisory role, the official said.
Excerpt.
-
Russian Missiles Crossed Romania On Way To Ukraine: Kyiv
https://www.barrons.com/news/kyiv-says-two-russian-missiles-crossed-romania-on-way-to-ukraine-9795312a
Ukraine's armed forces chief said Friday two Russian missiles crossed the airspace of Moldova and NATO-member Romania on their way to Ukraine.
"At 10:18 am (0818 GMT), two Russian Kalibr cruise missiles crossed the border of Ukraine with the Republic of Moldova," Valery Zaluzhny said on social media.
"At approximately 10:33, these missiles crossed the airspace of Romania. After that, they re-entered the airspace of Ukraine."
Romania's defence ministry said a report about a Russian missile flying into Romanian airspace was unconfirmed.
If confirmed, it would be the first violation of NATO member Romania's airspace since the beginning of the war.
Excerpt.
-
US, French troops in Romania hold NATO military drills
https://apnews.com/article/nato-politics-romania-government-e2d0466e727284f8b89f0d1e44eebc3d
U.S. and French troops that are part of a NATO battlegroup in Romania held a military exercise on Thursday to test the 30-nation alliance’s eastern flank defenses, as Russia’s full-scale invasion of neighboring Ukraine nears its one-year anniversary.
The joint combat drills at the Black Sea training range in Capu Midia, dubbed Eagle Royal 23, involved some 350 multinational battlegroup troops who practiced firing live ammunition from a U.S.-made HIMARS, a mobile, truck-mounted missile system. The HIMARS have been successfully used by Ukraine’s military against Russia.
Romania’s defense ministry said that the goal of the drills — held between Feb. 2 to Feb. 10. — is to test NATO’s “interoperability of artillery systems” in a fictitious Article 5 collective defense scenario on the alliance’s southeastern territory.
Excerpt.
-
Gaetz introduces resolution to end military and financial aid to Ukraine, urge peace deal
FIRST ON FOX: Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., is introducing a resolution in the House on Thursday that calls on the Biden administration to end U.S. military and financial aid to Ukraine -- while also urging all involved to secure a peace agreement after nearly a year of war in the region.
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/gaetz-introduces-resolution-end-military-financial-aid-ukraine-urge-peace-deal
This is a big enough issue for me personally that I will not vote for anyone who advocates abandoning Ukraine to Russia. Not for Representative, Senator, or President.
-
Gaetz introduces resolution to end military and financial aid to Ukraine, urge peace deal
FIRST ON FOX: Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., is introducing a resolution in the House on Thursday that calls on the Biden administration to end U.S. military and financial aid to Ukraine -- while also urging all involved to secure a peace agreement after nearly a year of war in the region.
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/gaetz-introduces-resolution-end-military-financial-aid-ukraine-urge-peace-deal
This is a big enough issue for me personally that I will not vote for anyone who advocates abandoning Ukraine to Russia. Not for Representative, Senator, or President.
:thumbsup:
-
This is a big enough issue for me personally that I will not vote for anyone who advocates abandoning Ukraine to Russia. Not for Representative, Senator, or President.
Same. Gaetz is a moron.
-
Belarus calls Poland's closing of border crossing point 'catastrophic'
https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/belarus-says-poland-closing-border-crossing-point-is-catastrophic-decision-2023-02-10/
Belarus on Friday condemned as "catastrophic" a decision by Poland to close a border checkpoint between the two countries, saying it could lead to a collapse on both sides of the border.
Poland said on Thursday, citing security concerns, it would close a key border crossing into Belarus at Bobrowniki, starting at 12 p.m. (1100 GMT) on Friday, driving already hostile relations between the two countries to a new low.
The Belarus government criticised the border decision on Thursday, but went further in a statement on Friday, calling the move irrational and dangerous.
"The actions of the Polish authorities could lead to a collapse on both sides of the border," the country's border committee said in a statement shared on social media.
Excerpt.
That'll give Lukashenko something to think about before he does whatever Putin wants him to do soon.
-
Very smart move on Poland's part. Not aggressive but sends a strong message.
Can't blame the Poles at all. Considering the sentiments of Gaetz and those who share his views here in the U.S., they may not be entirely confident of US support in the event of a Russian attack. So for them to lose Ukraine as a buffer state would be potentially catastrophic. Anything they can do short of actual hostilities to help Ukraine makes complete sense for them.
-
Russia Loses 25 Tanks in Two Days As Video Shows Deadly Strike: Ukraine
ELLIE COOK | 2/7/23 AT 6:25 AM EST
Russian forces have lost 25 tanks in the past two days, according to the Ukrainian military.
Writing on Facebook on Tuesday morning, the General Staff of Ukraine's Armed Forces attached a video of what appears to be Russian tanks being targeted by Ukrainian weapons systems, with the footage showing smoke and fire. The operational update then said 1,900 Russian soldiers had been killed in the past two days.
In a further update, the General Staff reported Russia's total tank losses since the beginning of its full-scale invasion in 2022 to be 3,245 tanks.
This is an increase of 14 compared with Monday's report by the General Staff. A further Russian 11 tanks had been taken out of action the previous day, the General Staff said in its daily update. . . .
https://www.newsweek.com/russia-loses-25-tanks-two-days-video-deadly-strike-ukraine-general-staff-new-offensive-1779400
Oryx puts Russian losses at about 50% of what Ukraine claims, but they also have a significantly lower number of Russia's total armor numbers.
-
Russia may have lost up to half of its operational tank fleet in Ukraine, monitoring group says
Brad Lendon | Updated 4:26 AM EST, Thu February 9, 2023
Russia has potentially lost up to half of all its operational tank fleet since the start of the Ukraine war, according to information collected by a monitoring group, as its military struggles to meet the goals of Vladimir Putin’s invasion.
Oryx, an open source intelligence website, has been collecting visual evidence of military equipment losses in Ukraine since Russia’s invasion began on February 24, 2022.
The group said this week it has verified 1,000 distinct Russian tank losses in the war. It said a further 544 Russian tanks had been captured by Ukrainian forces, 79 damaged and 65 abandoned. . . .
https://www.cnn.com/2023/02/09/europe/1000-russian-tanks-destroyed-ukraine-war-intl-hnk-ml/index.html
Recent armored assaults in Zaporizhia have let to a substantial loss of Russian armor.
-
Moldova PM, government resign amid intense Russian pressure
https://www.upi.com/Top_News/World-News/2023/02/10/Moldova-Prime-Minister-Gavrilita-resigns/5461676039967/
Moldovan Prime Minister Natalia Gavrilita resigned along with her pro-European Union government Friday following intense Russian economic and political pressure.
Moldova President Maia Sandu said in a Facebook post she will consult with parliamentary factions about a new government and will nominate a candidate to replace Gavrilita as Prime Minister.
"I took note of the resignation of Prime Minister Natalia Gavrilita," Sandu wrote. "Thank you so much for your enormous sacrifice and efforts to lead the country in a time of so many crises. In spite of unprecedented challenges, the country was governed responsibly, with a lot of attention and dedicated work. We have stability, peace and development -- where others wanted war and bankruptcy. Thank you so much, Natalia!"
Gavrilita said in her live video announcement that Moldova was "entering a new phase, one in which security is our priority."
Excerpt.
-
Flashback to last week:
'Threatening rhetoric': Lavrov calls tiny Moldova 'the next Ukraine'
https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/policy/defense-national-security/lavrov-moldova-next-ukraine
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov referred to Moldova as “the next Ukraine" in a criticism of the Black Sea state that stokes Moldovan anxiety about the prospect of an attack from Russia.
"We categorically reject the statement by the head of Russian diplomacy, which does not correspond to reality, and is part of the already well-known threatening rhetoric of Russian diplomacy,” the Moldovan Foreign Ministry said Thursday.
Lavrov drew the analogy as Moscow renews its attempt to characterize its invasion of Ukraine as a defensive struggle against fascist ideology. Russia has maintained a military presence in Moldova over the objections of the Moldovan government, a dispute that could provide kindling for another crisis, spurring Moldova to seek deeper ties with U.S. and European governments.
"The West has already set its sights on the Republic of Moldova,” Lavrov told state media, saying that Moldova has “a president who wants to join NATO, has Romanian citizenship, is ready to unite with Romania and, in general, she is ready for almost anything.”
-
Moldova PM, government resign amid intense Russian pressure
https://www.upi.com/Top_News/World-News/2023/02/10/Moldova-Prime-Minister-Gavrilita-resigns/5461676039967/
Excerpt.
The next domino. This is why the West should continue to supply Ukraine with the weapons it needs to beat back the Russian orc.
-
Flashback to last week:
'Threatening rhetoric': Lavrov calls tiny Moldova 'the next Ukraine'
Sounds just like something a bully would say. Good luck supporting an invasion force in a landlocked country you don't share a border with.
-
Moldova PM, government resign amid intense Russian pressure
https://www.upi.com/Top_News/World-News/2023/02/10/Moldova-Prime-Minister-Gavrilita-resigns/5461676039967/
Excerpt.
Wow. I thought our leaders were spineless!
-
Gaetz introduces resolution to end military and financial aid to Ukraine, urge peace deal
FIRST ON FOX: Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., is introducing a resolution in the House on Thursday that calls on the Biden administration to end U.S. military and financial aid to Ukraine -- while also urging all involved to secure a peace agreement after nearly a year of war in the region.
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/gaetz-introduces-resolution-end-military-financial-aid-ukraine-urge-peace-deal
This is a big enough issue for me personally that I will not vote for anyone who advocates abandoning Ukraine to Russia. Not for Representative, Senator, or President.
Is it wrong for Congress to expect the President to explain what the purpose is for huge sums of money and military equipment being given to a country that is fighting one of our principal enemies and that also happens to have the largest nuclear arsenal in the world? I'm not opposed to helping Ukraine with military weaponry, but what are the expectations and limitations.
We now have the 101st Airborne division in Romania. I do not want to see any American troops involved in this war. We should be getting our troops out of Europe it's way past time for the European nations to spend the money necessary to develop their own militaries.
-
Is it wrong for Congress to expect the President to explain what the purpose is for huge sums of money and military equipment being given to a country that is fighting one of our principal enemies and that also happens to have the largest nuclear arsenal in the world? I'm not opposed to helping Ukraine with military weaponry, but what are the expectations and limitations.
We now have the 101st Airborne division in Romania. I do not want to see any American troops involved in this war. We should be getting our troops out of Europe it's way past time for the European nations to spend the money necessary to develop their own militaries.
The purpose is to prevent the Russians from profiting from their invasion. As long as the Ukrainians are using the weapons we give them to kill invading Russian troops and destroy Russian war material, it's as good a use of our weaponry as we can ask.
And the Poles, Brits and other are making major contributions as well.
Also, Gaetz isn't asking for an accounting. He's asking for all military aide to Ukraine to stop, which would obvious be a huge boost to Russian morale, and likely lead to the complete conquest of Ukraine.
The repercussions for us internationally from that kind of Russian success would be a disaster.
-
Gaetz introduces resolution to end military and financial aid to Ukraine, urge peace deal
Foreign policy is the purvey of the Executive Branch, not the Legislative Branch. This is no different than when Edward Boland tied the hands of the Reagan Administration in regards to policy regarding Nicaragua.
-
The value of military history in modern conflict....history may not exactly repeat itself but it certainly rhymes.
Each day, President Zelenskiy reads my book on military history. I hope he heeds these warnings
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2023/feb/10/president-zelenskiy-book-military-history-ukraine-war-putin
The Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskiy’s speech to parliament on Wednesday was filled with references to the second world war and Winston Churchill. Just as evil was defeated before, he said, so evil will be defeated today. Comparisons with that momentous conflict have been a common theme throughout Russia’s invasion of Ukraine – but at least we can rest assured that Zelenskiy knows what he’s talking about.
I was flattered when the Economist reported a few weeks ago that Zelenskiy gets up early each morning and reads from my book, Hitler and Stalin: The Tyrants and the Second World War, recently published in Ukrainian translation. I was also impressed that, while trying to win a bloody war against the Russians, he found time to read anything other than official documents.
The only other statesman I could think of who had turned to a history book in a similar situation was John F Kennedy, who was hugely influenced by Barbara Tuchman’s The Guns of August at the time of the Cuban missile crisis. Having read Tuchman’s book, which argued that miscommunications led to the first world war, JFK redoubled his efforts to reach a peaceful solution with Nikita Khrushchev.
My book, alas, can’t play a similar role in the current Ukrainian conflict – not least because during the Cuban missile crisis both sides were open to a deal. But, nonetheless, there are still useful things Zelenskiy can learn from the story of Hitler and Stalin during the second world war.
What surprised me when I started listing the potential parallels was that, consciously or unconsciously, Zelenskiy has already learned much of what this history has to offer, whereas Vladimir Putin has demonstrably not. This is all the more extraordinary because Putin fancies himself as something of an expert on the war.
There are three broad areas of this history that are especially relevant to the conflict in Ukraine. These aren’t lessons that can be applied precisely to the present situation. History doesn’t work like that – the past never repeats itself exactly. But I do think that history can offer us warnings.
(snip)
The first of the warnings is straightforward: leave strategy to your most talented generals. This is a warning Joseph Stalin did not heed. At the start of 1942, and despite having no military training, he ordered a major offensive against the German army around Kharkiv in Ukraine (then known as Kharkov). More gifted military minds – including Marshal Zhukov – saw the idea as needlessly risky and were against it. Nonetheless, Stalin dismissed these concerns and ordered the general staff “not to interfere” with his decision. Stalin, it would transpire, had made a terrible mistake.
(snip)
The next warning is this: overpromising in war can have catastrophic consequences. In September 1942, Adolf Hitler made a speech in which he “assured” the German people that “no one can take us away” from Stalingrad. But within months the Red Army had encircled and destroyed the German sixth army, and liberated the city. The loss of Stalingrad was not just a decisive military defeat for the Wehrmacht, but a turning point in the Germans’ perception of their leader. Hitler had promised that the city would not fall. He had lied. So how could they trust him next time?
(snip)
The final warning is simple: make sure you are clear just what constitutes victory. Hitler failed to do this. He never said how much territory his army had to conquer in the Soviet Union before “victory” was won. The result was that German soldiers were always unsure what goal they had to achieve in order to bring the war to an end.
Excerpt.
-
The purpose is to prevent the Russians from profiting from their invasion. As long as the Ukrainians are using the weapons we give them to kill invading Russian troops and destroy Russian war material, it's as good a use of our weaponry as we can ask.
And the Poles, Brits and other are making major contributions as well.
Also, Gaetz isn't asking for an accounting. He's asking for all military aide to Ukraine to stop, which would obvious be a huge boost to Russian morale, and likely lead to the complete conquest of Ukraine.
The repercussions for us internationally from that kind of Russian success would be a disaster.
I have no problem with sending military aid to Ukraine, but the President should be expected to make his case for it and to clarify what exactly the end goal is. If threatening to cut off all aid is the only way to force the President to make his case I'm all for it.
As far as our European "allies" are concerned the countries with the largest economies have done the least. You're right the UK and Poland have really stepped up, but Germany and France have done more talking than actually doing.
Seeing Russia destroy itself doesn't bother me in the least, but my concern is I don't want to see the USA continue to carry the greatest burden especially without any oversight of what is being given and how it is being used. We can easily forget Ukraine has an issue with corruption because of the evil perpetrated by Russia.
-
Foreign policy is the purvey of the Executive Branch, not the Legislative Branch. This is no different than when Edward Boland tied the hands of the Reagan Administration in regards to policy regarding Nicaragua.
You're right that the Executive Branch is in charge of foreign policy, but the Legislative Branch allocates funding. We should have some oversight on what's going on with our money and equipment.
-
You're right that the Executive Branch is in charge of foreign policy, but the Legislative Branch allocates funding. We should have some oversight on what's going on with our money and equipment.
The power to declare a war belongs solely in the purview of the Legislative Branch, so there's that. :shrug: Sloe Joe appears to be maneuvering Congress to do that by making it a fait accompli.
-
Same. Gaetz is a moron.
@Timber Rattler
A male whore "on the stroll" for votes and contributions.
-
The next domino. This is why the West should continue to supply Ukraine with the weapons it needs to beat back the Russian orc.
@Kamaji
True.
If the neo-Soviets get away with invading and taking over control of European nations,it is only a matter of time before they come after us.
-
The power to declare a war belongs solely in the purview of the Legislative Branch, so there's that. :shrug: Sloe Joe appears to be maneuvering Congress to do that by making it a fait accompli.
Congress is to willing to go along with it as well and is not demanding a clear plan from the POTUS. If the goal is to help the Ukrainians expel the invaders why aren't we doing more?
The Ukrainian need for better fighter aircraft goes hand in hand with the new package of aid involving tanks. If offensive operations are going to be pursued in a big way Ukraine needs to control the air space. If the aircraft and tanks are American made will they require American personnel to maintain them? If so will American personnel be working in Ukraine? I think these are legitimate issues we need to confront, before we end up with "advisors" in a war zone. I remember we got involved in the Vietnam "conflict" bit by bit.
-
@Timber Rattler
A male whore "on the stroll" for votes and contributions.
@Timber Rattler
Matt Gaetz is one of the conservative superstars in the House. He will stand up to anybody and fight. He's smart, quick on his feet and insightful.
We should not be so quick to condemn someone who wants some Congressional oversight into what we are sending to Ukraine and why.
-
@Timber Rattler
Matt Gaetz is one of the conservative superstars in the House. He will stand up to anybody and fight. He's smart, quick on his feet and insightful.
We should not be so quick to condemn someone who wants some Congressional oversight into what we are sending to Ukraine and why.
But that isn't what Gaetz demanded. He wants peace through capitulation to the aggressor.
-
@Timber Rattler
Matt Gaetz is one of the conservative superstars in the House. He will stand up to anybody and fight. He's smart, quick on his feet and insightful.
We should not be so quick to condemn someone who wants some Congressional oversight into what we are sending to Ukraine and why.
@bilo
Are you kidding? Those clowns need adult babysitters.
AND.....we either help the Europeans stop the Neo-Soviet Union from invading and taking over Europe,or they will be more powerful than ever,and coming after us in just a few years.
The irony here is that Slow Joe and the whores in Congress have sold out America to the Chinese to the point where China may come to our defense in order to keep full-employment making and selling American goods to Americans.
-
But that isn't what Gaetz demanded. He wants peace through capitulation to the aggressor.
He won't get support for that, but he will move the demands from Congress more to his position demanding better oversight.
If our goal in supporting Ukraine is to help them push the invaders out why haven't we given them the missiles that can take out the bridge and train line that connects Crimea to Russia? Increasingly it looks like we give them just enough to keep fighting, but not enough to win. If that's the case a negotiated settlement, no matter how distasteful, seems the better way to go.
-
He won't get support for that, but he will move the demands from Congress more to his position demanding better oversight.
If our goal in supporting Ukraine is to help them push the invaders out why haven't we given them the missiles that can take out the bridge and train line that connects Crimea to Russia? Increasingly it looks like we give them just enough to keep fighting, but not enough to win. If that's the case a negotiated settlement, no matter how distasteful, seems the better way to go.
The whores in the DNC and some of their RINO butt-buddies want to keep the war going so their kickbacks keep flowing in. A vicgtory by either side of a peace settlement would be ruination for them.
-
@bilo
Are you kidding? Those clowns need adult babysitters.
AND.....we either help the Europeans stop the Neo-Soviet Union from invading and taking over Europe,or they will be more powerful than ever,and coming after us in just a few years.
The irony here is that Slow Joe and the whores in Congress have sold out America to the Chinese to the point where China may come to our defense in order to keep full-employment making and selling American goods to Americans.
The America First movement has done more open peoples eyes and to prioritize America than the Neo-Con Rino's ever did. We should not allow the military industrial complex and their Neo-Con allies get us involved in endless wars. If we are going to come to the aid of a nation that has been invaded then the path to what we intend to accomplish should be clearly articulated and the necessary force/equipment should be provided.
-
The whores in the DNC and some of their RINO butt-buddies want to keep the war going so their kickbacks keep flowing in. A vicgtory by either side of a peace settlement would be ruination for them.
Now you're starting to see the point I'm getting at. The worst thing we do in getting involved in these fights is just letting them drag on. If that's all we are going to do than just negotiate a peace deal. If the goal is to actually force the invaders out then give the country we support the tools to do it. This is why I want the POTUS to publicly declare to Congress just what the goal in Ukraine is and I want the Congress to oversee what is sent to accomplish that goal and to publicly question why other resources aren't being sent.
-
If the invasion of Ukraine by the Russians is such a threat to Europe, why is the USA bearing the brunt of the costs instead of the Europeans? We should be the resource of LAST resort to Europe, not FIRST resort. I don't know for certain whether we would be in this war if Trump was in office, but I am certain that Trump would be getting more from the Europeans in exchange for our involvement.
-
If the invasion of Ukraine by the Russians is such a threat to Europe, why is the USA bearing the brunt of the costs instead of the Europeans? We should be the resource of LAST resort to Europe, not FIRST resort. I don't know for certain whether we would be in this war if Trump was in office, but I am certain that Trump would be getting more from the Europeans in exchange for our involvement.
Not all of the Europeans care. The German government generally is annoyed by the more independently-minded Poles, Baltics, etc., and probably wouldn't mind letting them get torched as well. They value their own economy over the lives of non-Germans.
But the Poles, British, Norwegians, and Baltics all are provided a higher level of GDP per capita support than we are. Czechs and Slovaks are right behind us.
I think the Russians would have been less likely to have invaded if Trump had been President. But I also think he would have been much more likely to have abandoned the Ukrainians once an invasion did happen.
-
If the invasion of Ukraine by the Russians is such a threat to Europe, why is the USA bearing the brunt of the costs instead of the Europeans? We should be the resource of LAST resort to Europe, not FIRST resort. I don't know for certain whether we would be in this war if Trump was in office, but I am certain that Trump would be getting more from the Europeans in exchange for our involvement.
:yowsa: pointing-up
I'm pretty sure I said something similar on this thread many pages back.
-
I don't know for certain whether we would be in this war if Trump was in office, but I am certain that Trump would be getting more from the Europeans in exchange for our involvement.
Trump would also be getting more bang for the buck. Instead of funneling off tens of billions to the State Dept and DoD, Trump would have used a fraction of that amount to arm Ukraine better and sooner than Biden has done. Trump also would not have blocked weapons transfers from Poland and Slovenia to Ukraine.
Biden is using this war as an excuse to send huge payoffs to political allies. But he is not about bringing a rapid end to this war, and has no intention of securing a Ukrainian victory. His only goal is regime change in Russia, but he is going about it all wrong.
-
If the invasion of Ukraine by the Russians is such a threat to Europe, why is the USA bearing the brunt of the costs instead of the Europeans? We should be the resource of LAST resort to Europe, not FIRST resort. I don't know for certain whether we would be in this war if Trump was in office, but I am certain that Trump would be getting more from the Europeans in exchange for our involvement.
FWIW, after the war in Ukraine is resolved the USA should pull our troops out of Europe.
-
Now you're starting to see the point I'm getting at. The worst thing we do in getting involved in these fights is just letting them drag on. If that's all we are going to do than just negotiate a peace deal. If the goal is to actually force the invaders out then give the country we support the tools to do it. This is why I want the POTUS to publicly declare to Congress just what the goal in Ukraine is and I want the Congress to oversee what is sent to accomplish that goal and to publicly question why other resources aren't being sent.
@bilo
Pissing in the wind. That senile old SOB,who was a borderline retard even BEFORE he went senile,makes no decisions. He just TRIES to repeat what his coaches have been trying to drill into his head for a week before he gives a speech.
The fact that the RNC hasn't declared that the current President is senile and needs to be removed from office is shame laid at THEIR doorsteps. Granted,they have no desire to see a lucid replacement,but that is playing politics with the safety of the nation,as well as our bank balance,which the Dims are draining as fast as they can.
-
If the invasion of Ukraine by the Russians is such a threat to Europe, why is the USA bearing the brunt of the costs instead of the Europeans?
The US has been bearing the brunt of financing not only the rebuilding of the Western European armies,but even rebuilding their cities since since the end of WW-2.
We did this because no one else was in a position to do so,given that we did not have to rebuild America,but we had a standing army that would/did force the Soviets to stop their military attempt to take over all of Europe.
THIS was/is because if all of Europe became Communist,our own economy would fail. Which,of course,would lead to our government failing. Guess what THAT would lead to.
We should be the resource of LAST resort to Europe, not FIRST resort.
Oh,Horse Hillary! Did you NOT take any history courses in publik skools,or collige? We are the ONLY nation in the world in a position to do this in order to prevent the collapse of freedom in Europe due to a massive Soviet invasion,which,once again,means the US would be left standing alone with no allies to help us.
I don't know for certain whether we would be in this war if Trump was in office, but I am certain that Trump would be getting more from the Europeans in exchange for our involvement.
I will give you a "probably" on that one.
-
Now you're starting to see the point I'm getting at. The worst thing we do in getting involved in these fights is just letting them drag on.
Letting this fight drag on IS the current US policy. We give Ukraine just enough to hold back Russian advances, but never enough to defend cities from missile attacks or penetrate Russian defense lines.
-
Letting this fight drag on IS the current US policy. We give Ukraine just enough to hold back Russian advances, but never enough to defend cities from missile attacks or penetrate Russian defense lines.
@Hoodat
That's how the politicians make their under the table money. If the war were to end tomorrow,they would have to go back to only getting kickbacks from manufacturers and other pols.
They get paid by both sides as long as the war keeps going. They pass bills to send equipment and money,and the equipment and money always seems to get held up until,for some "magic reason" it is set free to fly away. A major problem with that is a lot of it is "flying away" to offshore bank accounts owned by close family relatives of the politicians voting to spend the money.
-
Letting this fight drag on IS the current US policy. We give Ukraine just enough to hold back Russian advances, but never enough to defend cities from missile attacks or penetrate Russian defense lines.
Exactly!
A policy I totally disagree with.
-
Russian military death toll in past week at nearly 6,500
https://www.ukrinform.net/rubric-ato/3669076-russian-military-death-toll-in-past-week-at-nearly-6500.html (https://www.ukrinform.net/rubric-ato/3669076-russian-military-death-toll-in-past-week-at-nearly-6500.html)
According to Pavliuk, the Russians also suffered major losses in terms of weaponry and military equipment. In particular, 60 tanks were destroyed, as well as 83 armored combat vehicles, 61 artillery systems, five MLR systems, seven air defense systems, 57 tricks, and 12 specialized vehicles.
In addition, Ukrainian defenders shot down two warplanes, two helicopters, 61 cruise missiles, as well as 49 UAVs.
As reported by Ukrinform, the Armed Forces of Ukraine eliminated 137,780 Russian soldiers from February 24, 2022, to February 12, 2023, including 900 in the past day alone.
-
‘Just to survive’: Wagner fighters recount the horrors of battle in eastern Ukraine
https://www.cnn.com/2023/02/12/europe/wagner-convicts-eastern-ukraine-pleitgen-intl/index.html
Two former fighters of the Russian private military company Wagner have told CNN of their horrific experiences on the battlefield in eastern Ukraine, and how anyone who faltered was immediately shot by their own commanders.
(snip)
The two fighters told of hideous losses in “first wave” assaults reminiscent of World War I charges.
“There were 90 of us. Sixty died in that first assault, killed by mortar fire. A handful remained wounded,” said one, recalling his first assault near the village of Bilohorivka. “If one group is unsuccessful, another is sent right away. If the second one is unsuccessful, they send another group.”
(snip)
There was no evacuation of the wounded, he added. “If you’re wounded, you roll away on your own at first, any way you can, somewhere neutral where there’s no fire, and if there’s no one around, you administer first aid to yourself,” he said.
Casualties piled up by the dozen, the men said. “When the casualties arrive, you get orders to load them, and you don’t really think who’s dead and who’s wounded,” one of the fighters said.
(snip)
“We couldn’t retreat without orders because if we don’t comply with the order, we will be killed,” said one of the prisoners.
“One man stayed at a position, he was really scared, it was his first assault. We received an order to run forward. But the man hid under a tree and refused. This was reported to the command and that was it. He was taken 50 meters away from the base. He was digging his own grave and then was shot.”
The other fighter reported a similar situation: “Our commander was told that if anyone gets cold feet, he would have to be eliminated. And if we failed to eliminate him, we would be eliminated for failing to eliminate him.”
(snip)
“We thought we’d be fighting Poles and various mercenaries. Germans. We didn’t think anyone was left in the Ukrainian army there. We thought they’d left the country,” said one.
“So it became clear they were just spinning lies to get us to enter into battle with the Ukrainians. No one really thought that the AFU [Armed Forces of Ukraine] would actually fight for their own country, for their loved ones. We only learned this after going in there.”
EXCERPT.
Confirms Ukrainian accounts of fighting hordes of Russian "zombies."
-
Hilltop Coal-Mining Town a Tactical Prize in Ukraine War
https://www.voanews.com/a/hilltop-coal-mining-town-a-tactical-prize-in-ukraine-war-/6959267.html (https://www.voanews.com/a/hilltop-coal-mining-town-a-tactical-prize-in-ukraine-war-/6959267.html)
In a small coal-mining town on Ukraine's eastern front line, a fight for strategic superiority is being waged in a battlefield steeped with symbolism as the one-year anniversary of Russia's invasion nears.
The town of Vuhledar, meaning "gift of coal," has emerged as a critical hot spot in the fight for the Donetsk province that would give both sides — the Ukrainian forces who hold the urban center, and the Russians positioned in the suburbs — a tactical upper hand in the greater battle for the Donbas region.
Located on an elevated plane that is one of the few high-terrain spots in the area, its capture would be an important step in Russia’s plans to disrupt Ukrainian supply lines. Securing Vuhledar would give Ukraine a potential launching pad for future counter-offensives south.
Then there is the symbolic weight: Vuhledar is close to the administrative border of the Donetsk province, and winning it would play into Russia's greater aim of controlling the region as a whole.
"The center of gravity of the Russian military effort is in Donetsk, and Vuhledar is basically the southern flank of that," said Gustav Gressel, a senior policy fellow with the European Council on Foreign Relation's Berlin office.
Population drops from 14,000 to about 300
The grinding fight to win the area has cost Russia manpower and weapons, as Ukrainians continue to hold up defensive lines. Russia sends battalion-sized scout groups to probe Ukrainian lines and shoot artillery toward their positions with an eye to pushing north toward the critical N15 highway, a key supply route.
In remarks this week, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said Russian troops were advancing "with success" in Vuhledar. Meanwhile, a British defense intelligence briefing said Russia's aim was to capture unoccupied areas of Ukrainian-held Donetsk, but it was unlikely to build up the forces required to change the outcome of the war.
-
Russian soldier death rate highest since first week of war - Ukraine
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-64616099 (https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-64616099)
Russian soldiers are dying in greater numbers in Ukraine this month than at any time since the first week of the invasion, according to Ukrainian data.
The Ukrainian data shows 824 Russian soldiers dying per day in February.
The figures were highlighted by the UK's Ministry of Defence. The figures cannot be verified - but the UK says the trends are "likely accurate".
The increase comes amid talk of a spring offensive by Russian forces in the east of the country.
Last week, Ukraine's outgoing defence minister, Oleksiy Reznikov, said they were anticipating a new Russian offensive around 24 February - the anniversary of the full-scale invasion.
But some local politicians, including the governors of Luhansk and Donetsk, claimed the offensive had already begun.
Some of the fiercest fighting has been around Bakhmut in the east of the country.
-
Hilltop Coal-Mining Town a Tactical Prize in Ukraine War
https://www.voanews.com/a/hilltop-coal-mining-town-a-tactical-prize-in-ukraine-war-/6959267.html (https://www.voanews.com/a/hilltop-coal-mining-town-a-tactical-prize-in-ukraine-war-/6959267.html)
In a small coal-mining town on Ukraine's eastern front line, a fight for strategic superiority is being waged in a battlefield steeped with symbolism as the one-year anniversary of Russia's invasion nears. . . .
The Russian Army is losing several hundred troops every day in Vulhedar.
Total Russian losses yesterday:
1,140 troops
9 main battle tanks
3 APVs
19 artillery pieces
27 drones
1 AA missile system
-
He won't get support for that, but he will move the demands from Congress more to his position demanding better oversight.
If our goal in supporting Ukraine is to help them push the invaders out why haven't we given them the missiles that can take out the bridge and train line that connects Crimea to Russia? Increasingly it looks like we give them just enough to keep fighting, but not enough to win. If that's the case a negotiated settlement, no matter how distasteful, seems the better way to go.
I think the answer to that is that we are reluctant to give them weapons that have the potential to strike deep into Russia itself. Concern about expanding the war, although I think that's overblown. And I don't buy the argument that our goal is to have the war last as long as possible. I think the preferred goal is a rapid Ukrainian victory with minimal risk of escalation, but that is likely viewed as a very difficult combination of events to pull off. I do think that the mindset is changing a bit, and there is a now a greater recognition that defeating the invasion requires giving Ukraine more offensive capability. Especially tanks.
-
I think the answer to that is that we are reluctant to give them weapons that have the potential to strike deep into Russia itself. Concern about expanding the war, although I think that's overblown. And I don't buy the argument that our goal is to have the war last as long as possible. I think the preferred goal is a rapid Ukrainian victory with minimal risk of escalation, but that is likely viewed as a very difficult combination of events to pull off. I do think that the mindset is changing a bit, and there is a now a greater recognition that defeating the invasion requires giving Ukraine more offensive capability. Especially tanks.
As you allude to in your second sentence the excuse is a canard. We can give them the weaponry they need with the condition that if it is used to strike deep into Russia all aid will stop. Yet we don't do that. The military industrial complex is making a fortune off of new orders for weapons. It is very similar to how the drug companies made a fortune off of mandating people take experimental vaccines. I think the lobbyists have a much greater say in policy than we like to admit.
I'm tired of being played for the fool. It's why I won't vote for anyone who is not a well established America First politician, not a convert.
-
I think the answer to that is that we are reluctant to give them weapons that have the potential to strike deep into Russia itself. Concern about expanding the war, although I think that's overblown. And I don't buy the argument that our goal is to have the war last as long as possible. I think the preferred goal is a rapid Ukrainian victory with minimal risk of escalation, but that is likely viewed as a very difficult combination of events to pull off. I do think that the mindset is changing a bit, and there is a now a greater recognition that defeating the invasion requires giving Ukraine more offensive capability. Especially tanks.
I think you may be right, but at the same time, that puts the same sort of constraints on the Ukrainians that our government imposed on our troops during Vietnam. The entire logistics and forward bases of the enemy were just established out of bounds, just as the Russians will keep sufficient distance to stay out of range. If the Russians start marshalling troop strength and stockpiling materiel just out of range from Ukraine, it's for the big putsch, not for of any benevolent or even benign purpose.
-
Targeting the Kerch bridge is not 'striking deep into Russia itself'. Ukraine should be given the ability to make this happen. It would spell the end of Russian occupation of the Ukrainian Oblast of Crimea.
-
I think you may be right, but at the same time, that puts the same sort of constraints on the Ukrainians that our government imposed on our troops during Vietnam. The entire logistics and forward bases of the enemy were just established out of bounds, just as the Russians will keep sufficient distance to stay out of range. If the Russians start marshalling troop strength and stockpiling materiel just out of range from Ukraine, it's for the big putsch, not for of any benevolent or even benign purpose.
@Smokin Joe
I know that has been sold as the popular conception,but it just isn't true.
Look up MACV-SOG and you will gain a new understanding. Basically,while the Communists were claiming they had no troops or supply lines in Cambodia or Laos,MACV-SOG Recon Teams and "Hatchet Force Platoons" were raiding NVA supply depots in Laos and Cambodia to plant booby traps to explode and kill any NVA that went into them to draw supplies,thus killing the NVA troops AND exploding all the ordinance in that depot.
We were also doing other little tricks I will NOT speak about to cause injury,death,and loss of morale to the NVA troops moving south to join the fight in VN.
You would be surprised how much chaos a 6 man Recon Team can inflict on a company of NVA in a well-planned and executed ambush.
This was all top secret until a few years ago,but now it is public information,so I am free to expose a little of what we were doing,which included doing things like going in on a mission wearing NVA uniforms and carrying AK's and RPD's to make the rookie soldiers entering the battle in SVN wonder if their own people were trying to kill them.
Even when we wore US uniforms,there was no insignia on them,and we didn't carry dog tags or US ID of any type. If captured,we could legally be shot as criminals.
This is all I ever intend to say about any of this. If you want more information,now that it is no longer classifed as Top Secret,there are plenty of books for sale at places like Amazon selling books written by SOG vets.
One that I can recommend is titled "Reflections of a Warrior" by a good friend of mine named Franklin D..Miller. He spent around 6 years running recon missions in VN,Cambodia,and Laos,and was awarded a Medal of Honor. He is dead now. Finally killed by a blood infection received on his last combat mission when he was shot all to hell.
His children will receive any royalties from the book sales,though.
-
Targeting the Kerch bridge is not 'striking deep into Russia itself'. Ukraine should be given the ability to make this happen. It would spell the end of Russian occupation of the Ukrainian Oblast of Crimea.
I agree, but weapons that could reach the Kerch bridge could also reach deep into Russia.
-
I agree, but weapons that could reach the Kerch bridge could also reach deep into Russia.
@Maj. Bill Martin
"Could" is NOT the same as "WILL".
This is one of the reasons we have American observers on the ground monitoring what is going on.
-
@Smokin Joe
I know that has been sold as the popular conception,but it just isn't true.
Look up MACV-SOG and you will gain a new understanding. Basically,while the Communists were claiming they had no troops or supply lines in Cambodia or Laos,MACV-SOG Recon Teams and "Hatchet Force Platoons" were raiding NVA supply depots in Laos and Cambodia to plant booby traps to explode and kill any NVA that went into them to draw supplies,thus killing the NVA troops AND exploding all the ordinance in that depot.
We were also doing other little tricks I will NOT speak about to cause injury,death,and loss of morale to the NVA troops moving south to join the fight in VN.
You would be surprised how much chaos a 6 man Recon Team can inflict on a company of NVA in a well-planned and executed ambush.
This was all top secret until a few years ago,but now it is public information,so I am free to expose a little of what we were doing,which included doing things like going in on a mission wearing NVA uniforms and carrying AK's and RPD's to make the rookie soldiers entering the battle in SVN wonder if their own people were trying to kill them.
Even when we wore US uniforms,there was no insignia on them,and we didn't carry dog tags or US ID of any type. If captured,we could legally be shot as criminals.
This is all I ever intend to say about any of this. If you want more information,now that it is no longer classifed as Top Secret,there are plenty of books for sale at places like Amazon selling books written by SOG vets.
One that I can recommend is titled "Reflections of a Warrior" by a good friend of mine named Franklin D..Miller. He spent around 6 years running recon missions in VN,Cambodia,and Laos,and was awarded a Medal of Honor. He is dead now. Finally killed by a blood infection received on his last combat mission when he was shot all to hell.
His children will receive any royalties from the book sales, though.
I worked in another department in SOG known as PRU (Provencial Reconnaissance Unit) I'm sure you've heard of that @sneakypete
-
I worked in another department in SOG known as PRU (Provencial Reconnaissance Unit) I'm sure you've heard of that @sneakypete
@Bigun
You bet your bippy I have heard of PRU units. Were you in the 1st on Okie? Almost all the guys I knew in PRU units were TDY from Okie on 6 month tours. My knowledge of this is pretty vague,but it seems like that program was running from around 62 or so,right up to the end of the war.
Remember the "Batta Boots"?
-
@Bigun
You bet your bippy I have heard of PRU units. Were you in the 1st on Okie? Almost all the guys I knew in PRU units were TDY from Okie on 6 month tours. My knowledge of this is pretty vague,but it seems like that program was running from around 62 or so,right up to the end of the war.
Remember the "Batta Boots"?
I was not TDY @sneakypete My post to you earlier was the first time I ever mentioned PRU to anyone outside people who worked within who were primarily CIA or the SVN equivalent IIRC. The only reason I mentioned it in public was I recently saw it talked about in Mark Moyar's new book "Triumph Regained" (https://www.amazon.com/Triumph-Regained-Vietnam-War-1965-1968/dp/1641772972/ref=sr_1_1?crid=27B0PPBXGXBPU&keywords=triumph+regained&qid=1676259632&sprefix=Triumph+Reg%2Caps%2C122&sr=8-1) which is a VERY good read.
-
I was not TDY @sneakypete My post to you earlier was the first time I ever mentioned PRU to anyone outbigside people who worked within who were primarily CIA or the SVN equivalent IIRC. The only reason I mentioned it in public was I recently saw it talked about in Mark Moyar's new book "Triumph Regained" (https://www.amazon.com/Triumph-Regained-Vietnam-War-1965-1968/dp/1641772972/ref=sr_1_1?crid=27B0PPBXGXBPU&keywords=triumph+regained&qid=1676259632&sprefix=Triumph+Reg%2Caps%2C122&sr=8-1) which is a VERY good read.
@Bigun
LOL!
LOTS of people were running around with so many cover stories it was hard to keep up with them.
I first met Charlie Clark when he was medi-evaced from VN in 65. The story was he was a conventional soldier in a conventional unit who was wounded in combat,and sent to the 1st SFG on Okie because it was the only airborne unit in Asia at the time, and he could keep drawing his jump pay. Hell of a nice guy. Quiet and friendly. Should have mistrusted him because he had blonde hair,bright blue eyes,and was "movie start handsome",but he was just such a friendly guy you had to like him.
Next time I saw him I was waiting to be treated at the Army field hospital in Nha Trang,and when I look up,here comes Charlie Clark walking my way,looking pale and limping a little. He was also wearing odd-looking cammie bush clothes, a black beret with a silver Trojan Horse on it,and Captain's bars. Last time I had seen him,maybe 18 months before,he was wearing E-6 stripes.
I was so happy to see him,I jumped up and screamed,"Charlie,you sweet mofo,come here and gimme a hug! " Something most E-4's didn't say or do with Captains.
Charlie called out my name,and ran over to give me a hug. Which kinda freaked out pretty much everybody in hearing and vision range because E-4's and 0-3's generally don't call each other by first names and hug each other.
Anyhow,when I asked him where he had been and what he had been doing,he got kinda nervous and said something like "This,that,and the other thing",which caused me to immediately stop asking that kind of question,so I asked him about his family back on Okie. We talked for a while about people we both knew for a while,said our "farewells until next times",and went out about our business. It was the last time I ever saw or talked with him.
I have been told that Charlie got shot up once again a year or so later,and was assigned to a leg unit on Hawaii to heal,and I THINK it was a reserve unit. Anyhow,I was told they were at the rifle range qualifying,and a M-60 got hot,"ran away" and was jammed with a twisted ammo belt,so Charlie took that opportunity to go downrange and replace some shot-up targets.
While he was doing that,some idiot took the M-60 off the sandbag,took out the belt twist,and pointed it downrange for some damnfool reason,and another round cooked off and gut shot him as he was walking back to the firing range.
Yeah,he should have never gone down range with a hot M-60 left laying on sandbags,but then again,he had no reason to expect some idiot to pick it up and point it downrage while he was downrange.
You just get so used to handling these weapons and being around people who understand then and handle them properly, that you sometimes forget that not everybody is experienced enough and mature enough to be trusted to just leave them on the sandbags when anyone is downrange.
Really hurt to find out we had lost Charlie,though. He was one of the genuine nice guys. Always smiling,and always happy. Maybe one of the most upbeat guys I ever knew.
-
@Maj. Bill Martin
"Could" is NOT the same as "WILL".
This is one of the reasons we have American observers on the ground monitoring what is going on.
Right -- but their thinking is that you can't get toothpaste back in the tube. If a Ukrainian attack ends up widening the war, then it is small consolation to say "well, we're not going to give you any more weapons", because it's already too late. Again, I personally don't agree with that, but I can see the logic/fear.
-
@Smokin Joe
I know that has been sold as the popular conception,but it just isn't true.
Look up MACV-SOG and you will gain a new understanding. Basically,while the Communists were claiming they had no troops or supply lines in Cambodia or Laos,MACV-SOG Recon Teams and "Hatchet Force Platoons" were raiding NVA supply depots in Laos and Cambodia to plant booby traps to explode and kill any NVA that went into them to draw supplies,thus killing the NVA troops AND exploding all the ordinance in that depot.
We were also doing other little tricks I will NOT speak about to cause injury,death,and loss of morale to the NVA troops moving south to join the fight in VN.
You would be surprised how much chaos a 6 man Recon Team can inflict on a company of NVA in a well-planned and executed ambush.
This was all top secret until a few years ago,but now it is public information,so I am free to expose a little of what we were doing,which included doing things like going in on a mission wearing NVA uniforms and carrying AK's and RPD's to make the rookie soldiers entering the battle in SVN wonder if their own people were trying to kill them.
Even when we wore US uniforms,there was no insignia on them,and we didn't carry dog tags or US ID of any type. If captured,we could legally be shot as criminals.
This is all I ever intend to say about any of this. If you want more information,now that it is no longer classifed as Top Secret,there are plenty of books for sale at places like Amazon selling books written by SOG vets.
One that I can recommend is titled "Reflections of a Warrior" by a good friend of mine named Franklin D..Miller. He spent around 6 years running recon missions in VN,Cambodia,and Laos,and was awarded a Medal of Honor. He is dead now. Finally killed by a blood infection received on his last combat mission when he was shot all to hell.
His children will receive any royalties from the book sales,though.
@sneakypete I have read a few of those accounts, including that one, but there were proscriptions which still got in the way, I am sure, unless you know of Arc-light missions flown over the Trail across those borders (maybe there were that have yet to be disclosed).
I have no doubt you guys gave them as much considerable Hell as you could dish out, including leaving them 'presents' along the way to get the next batch coming in, and though none of that was supposedly happening, there were still things that could not be done because it would be too obvious.
Official deniability was part and parcel of your operations, which limited what large scale overt action could be taken. But for those who were not aware and for the folks back home listening to the likes of Walter Cronkite, even just the perception of "they won't let us fight to win" puts morale in the half-barrel to be burned with the rest.
And that erodes popular support among noncombatants and even patriotic folks on the home front as well.
Every armchair general was listening to the official version of the War at home, and getting discouraged because the official pronouncements sure made it sound like the politicians were not letting the troops get the job done. Sadly, while the hippies were protesting the war because they didn't want to go and they had been infiltrated by some serious communists, there were others who got the attitude that "If they won't let our guys fight to win, why are we there? Bring our boys home."
The other problem with a difference in announced vs actual ROE, is that if someone thinks what is being said is what is actually being done (and it is effective), you will see that set of rules again, even though it was the actions that went outside the ROE that made things work.
-
Russian tank is blown up by a landmine… before another suffers the exact same fate moments later while driving past in latest display of incompetence by Putin's military
By CHRIS JEWERS FOR MAILONLINE
13 February 2023
A Russian tank was blown up by a landmine on a battlefield in Ukraine, moments before another suffered the exact same fate, in the latest display of incompetence by Vladimir Putin's military captured on camera.
The clip emerged as Russian forces inched closer to Bakhmut over the weekend, with the Wagner private military company claiming to have captured a village on the outskirts of the Ukrainian city.
The PMC said its 'assault units' seized Krasna Gora on Sunday, posting footage of its soldiers at what appeared to be the entrance to the settlement found four miles to the north of the city which has been at the centre of a fierce months-long battle.
But Russia's slow progress has been made at a huge cost. Britain's Ministry of Defence said on Sunday the Russian Armed Forces have likely suffered their highest casualties in the last seven days since the first week of the invasion.
Ukrainian and Western officials have repeatedly warned that Russia could launch a new, broad offensive in the country's east to try to turn the tide of the conflict as the war approaches the one-year mark. Ukrainian officials say it has already begun, but that Moscow is having trouble mounting such an assault.
* * *
Source: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11744255/Russian-tank-blown-landmine-suffers-exact-fate.html
-
@Bigun
LOL!
LOTS of people were running around with so many cover stories it was hard to keep up with them.
This is true. The few Americans I knew in PRU had names, but I have no idea if they were real or not. Most likely they were not. Many of the SVN guys I saw only once or twice then never again. I'm told that if they are buried at all, only God knows where.
I first met Charlie Clark when he was medi-evaced from VN in 65. The story was he was a conventional soldier in a conventional unit who was wounded in combat,and sent to the 1st SFG on Okie because it was the only airborne unit in Asia at the time, and he could keep drawing his jump pay. Hell of a nice guy. Quiet and friendly. Should have mistrusted him because he had blonde hair,bright blue eyes,and was "movie start handsome",but he was just such a friendly guy you had to like him.
Next time I saw him I was waiting to be treated at the Army field hospital in Nha Trang,and when I look up,here comes Charlie Clark walking my way,looking pale and limping a little. He was also wearing odd-looking cammie bush clothes, a black beret with a silver Trojan Horse on it,and Captain's bars. Last time I had seen him,maybe 18 months before,he was wearing E-6 stripes.
I was so happy to see him,I jumped up and screamed,"Charlie,you sweet mofo,come here and gimme a hug! " Something most E-4's didn't say or do with Captains.
Charlie called out my name,and ran over to give me a hug. Which kinda freaked out pretty much everybody in hearing and vision range because E-4's and 0-3's generally don't call each other by first names and hug each other.
Anyhow,when I asked him where he had been and what he had been doing,he got kinda nervous and said something like "This,that,and the other thing",which caused me to immediately stop asking that kind of question,so I asked him about his family back on Okie. We talked for a while about people we both knew for a while,said our "farewells until next times",and went out about our business. It was the last time I ever saw or talked with him.
I have been told that Charlie got shot up once again a year or so later,and was assigned to a leg unit on Hawaii to heal,and I THINK it was a reserve unit. Anyhow,I was told they were at the rifle range qualifying,and a M-60 got hot,"ran away" and was jammed with a twisted ammo belt,so Charlie took that opportunity to go downrange and replace some shot-up targets.
While he was doing that,some idiot took the M-60 off the sandbag,took out the belt twist,and pointed it downrange for some damnfool reason,and another round cooked off and gut shot him as he was walking back to the firing range.
Yeah,he should have never gone down range with a hot M-60 left laying on sandbags,but then again,he had no reason to expect some idiot to pick it up and point it downrage while he was downrange.
You just get so used to handling these weapons and being around people who understand then and handle them properly, that you sometimes forget that not everybody is experienced enough and mature enough to be trusted to just leave them on the sandbags when anyone is downrange.
Really hurt to find out we had lost Charlie,though. He was one of the genuine nice guys. Always smiling,and always happy. Maybe one of the most upbeat guys I ever knew.
Sorry to hear about Clark @sneakypete . It sucks that he had to go out that way. Now I'm going to let this thread get back on its subject.
-
Travel Advisory: Russia – Do Not Travel
https://ru.usembassy.gov/travel-advisory-russia-do-not-travel-february-12-2023/
Do not travel to Russia due to the unpredictable consequences of the unprovoked full-scale invasion of Ukraine by Russian military forces, the potential for harassment and the singling out of U.S. citizens for detention by Russian government security officials, the arbitrary enforcement of local law, limited flights into and out of Russia, the Embassy’s limited ability to assist U.S. citizens in Russia, and the possibility of terrorism. U.S. citizens residing or travelling in Russia should depart immediately. Exercise increased caution due to the risk of wrongful detentions.
The U.S. government’s ability to provide routine or emergency services to U.S. citizens in Russia is severely limited, particularly in areas far from the U.S. Embassy in Moscow, due to Russian government limitations on travel for embassy personnel and staffing, and the ongoing suspension of operations, including consular services, at U.S. consulates.
In September, the Russian government mobilized citizens to the armed forces in support of its invasion of Ukraine. Russia may refuse to acknowledge dual nationals’ U.S. citizenship, deny their access to U.S. consular assistance, subject them to mobilization, prevent their departure from Russia, and/or conscript them.
U.S. citizens should note that U.S. credit and debit cards no longer work in Russia, and options to electronically transfer funds from the United States are extremely limited due to sanctions imposed on Russian banks. There are reports of cash shortages within Russia.
Commercial flight options are extremely limited and are often unavailable on short notice. If you wish to depart Russia, you should make independent arrangements as soon as possible. The U.S. Embassy has severe limitations on its ability to assist U.S. citizens to depart the country and transportation options may suddenly become even more limited. Click here for Information for U.S. Citizens Seeking to Depart Russia.
U.S. Embassy personnel are generally not permitted to travel on Russian air carriers due to safety concerns. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) downgraded the air safety rating for Russia from Category 1 to Category 2 on April 21, 2022, due to Russia’s Federal Agency for Air Transport noncompliance with International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) safety standards. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has issued a Notice to Air Missions (NOTAM) prohibiting U.S. aviation operations into, out of, within, or over those areas of the Moscow Flight Information Region (FIR), the Samara FIR (UWWW) and the Rostov-na-Donu (URRV) FIR within 160NM of the boundaries of the Dnipro (UKDV) Flight Information Regions. For more information, U.S. citizens should consult the Federal Aviation Administration’s Prohibitions, Restrictions, and Notices.
The right of peaceful assembly and freedom of expression are not consistently protected in Russia. U.S. citizens should avoid all political or social protests and not photograph security personnel at these events. Russian authorities have arrested U.S. citizens who have participated in demonstrations.
Country Summary:
U.S. citizens, including former and current U.S. government and military personnel and private citizens engaged in business who are visiting or residing in Russia, have been interrogated without cause and threatened by Russian officials, and may become victims of harassment, mistreatment, and extortion.
Russian security services may fail to notify the U.S. Embassy of the detention of a U.S. citizen and unreasonably delay U.S. consular assistance. Russian security services are increasing the arbitrary enforcement of local laws to target foreign and international organizations they consider “undesirable.”
Russian security services have arrested U.S. citizens on spurious charges, singled out U.S. citizens in Russia for detention and harassment, denied them fair and transparent treatment, and convicted them in secret trials or without presenting credible evidence. Furthermore, Russian authorities arbitrarily enforce local laws against U.S. citizen religious workers and have opened questionable criminal investigations against U.S. citizens engaged in religious activity. U.S. citizens should avoid travel to Russia to perform work for or volunteer with non-governmental organizations or religious organizations.
There have been multiple security incidents in southwestern Russia related to Russia’s unprovoked and unjustified invasion of Ukraine. The Russian government declared martial law in Russia’s regions bordering Ukraine (Bryansk, Kursk, Belgorod, Voronezh, Rostov, Krasnodar) on October 20, 2022. The martial law regime allows the rapid introduction of restrictive measures such as curfew, seizure of private property, restriction of entry/exit and freedom of movement, internment of foreigners, forced relocation of local residents, and restrictions on public gatherings. U.S. citizens should avoid all travel to these areas.
Recent legislation has expanded the ability of Russian authorities to detain, question, and arrest individuals suspected of acting against Russia’s interests, including engaging with foreign and international entities, discrediting the Russian state or military, as well as advocating for the rights of LGBTQI+ persons.
Terrorist groups, both transnational and local terrorist organizations, and individuals inspired by extremist ideology continue plotting possible attacks in Russia. Terrorists may attack with little or no warning, targeting tourist locations, transportation hubs and systems, markets/shopping malls, local government facilities, hotels, clubs, restaurants, places of worship, parks, major sporting and cultural events, educational institutions, airports, and other public areas. Travel to the North Caucasus (including Chechnya and Mt. Elbrus) is prohibited for U.S. government employees and strongly discouraged for U.S. citizens.
The international community, including the United States and Ukraine, does not recognize Russia’s purported annexation of Crimea as well as four other Ukrainian oblasts – Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson, and Zaporizhzhya – that Russia has purported to annex more recently. There is extensive Russian Federation military presence in these areas. Russia staged its further invasion of Ukraine, in part, from occupied Crimea, and Russia is likely to take further military actions in Crimea, and the four other Ukrainian oblasts are the subject of intensive fighting. There are continuing abuses against foreigners and the local population by the occupation authorities in these regions, particularly against those who are seen as challenging Russia’s authority.
The U.S. Embassy in Kyiv continues to provide consular services to U.S. citizens in Crimea as well as four other Ukrainian oblasts partially occupied by Russia – Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson, and Zaporizhzhya, although the ongoing conflict severely restricts the Embassy’s ability to provide services in these areas.
Read the country information page for additional information on travel to Russia.
If you decide to travel to Russia:
* Read the Department of State’s COVID-19 page before planning any international travel, and read the Embassy COVID-19 page for country-specific COVID-19 information.
* Familiarize yourself with the information on what the U.S. government can and cannot do to assist you in a crisis overseas.
* Have a contingency plan in place that does not rely on U.S. government assistance. Review the Traveler’s Checklist.
* Monitor local and international media for breaking events and adjust your contingency plans based on the new information.
* Ensure travel documents are valid and easily accessible.
* Visit our website for Travel to High-Risk Areas.
* Enroll in the Smart Traveler Enrollment Program (STEP) to receive Alerts and make it easier to locate you in an emergency.
* Follow the Department of State on Facebook and Twitter.
* Review the Country Security Report for Russia.
* Visit the CDC page for the latest Travel Health Information related to your travel.
* Get a COVID vaccine to facilitate your travel.
* Understand the COVID testing and vaccine requirements for all countries that you will transit through to your destination.
This was just issued...something's changed behind the scenes.
-
Travel Advisory: Russia – Do Not Travel
https://ru.usembassy.gov/travel-advisory-russia-do-not-travel-february-12-2023/
This was just issued...something's changed behind the scenes.
Probably a combination of an uptick in U.S. citizens/nationals complaining to the Embassy about abuse at the hands of the Russians, and the glacial bureaucratic pace of the State Department, particularly staff in the embassies and consulates (a phenomenon that is not just limited to Russia).
-
@Timber Rattler
Interesting choice of words by the Russians:
Russia staged its further invasion of Ukraine, in part, from occupied Crimea, and Russia is likely to take further military actions in Crimea, and the four other Ukrainian oblasts are the subject of intensive fighting.
Which negates all the BS about "Liberation".
The Nordstream Pipeline story breaking in the press and Biden supposedly saying 'we did it' just might have changed the climate in Moscow a bit.
-
@Timber Rattler
Interesting choice of words by the Russians:
Which negates all the BS about "Liberation".
The Nordstream Pipeline story breaking in the press and Biden supposedly saying 'we did it' just might have changed the climate in Moscow a bit.
Did Biden say "we did it" recently?
-
Did Biden say "we did it" recently?
Then there should be ample proof of that fact, just as there is ample proof of the fact that Russia invaded Ukraine.
-
Videos show Russians losing dozens of armored vehicles in Ukrainian ambush
By Snejana Farberov
February 13, 2023
Graphic drone footage appears to show dozens of Russian armored vehicles getting ambushed and destroyed during a single botched attack near the coal-mining town of Vuhledar in eastern Ukraine, which Moscow’s forces have been trying to capture for months.
Vuhledar, a Ukrainian stronghold at the strategic intersection between the eastern and southern front lines, has seen some of the bloodiest fighting of the war as the Kremlin is gearing up for a decisive offensive on the eastern front.
Based on the newly released video evidence, a column of dozens of tanks and armored vehicles was lost or damaged last week, with a large number of troops apparently killed.
Russian soldiers are seen in aerial footage fleeing for their lives under sustained aerial bombardment by the Ukrainians.
In the chaos, Russian tanks are seen mowing down their own men.
* * *
Source: https://nypost.com/2023/02/13/russian-lose-31-armored-vehicles-in-ukrainian-ambush/
-
The videos and photos are brutal, with the groups of Russian soldiers, obviously poorly trained, huddling and trying to hide behind their tanks. Putin's new offensive is not going to work out that well for him, if this is the quality of his troops and replacement armor.
-
Did Biden say "we did it" recently?
Here's where that comes from:
https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/blinken-calls-sabotage-attacks-nord-stream-pipelines-tremendous-opportunity
-
The videos and photos are brutal, with the groups of Russian soldiers, obviously poorly trained, huddling and trying to hide behind their tanks. Putin's new offensive is not going to work out that well for him, if this is the quality of his troops and replacement armor.
Did you see the clips of the two Russian tanks running over and dragging their own infantry soldiers?
-
Here's where that comes from:
https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/blinken-calls-sabotage-attacks-nord-stream-pipelines-tremendous-opportunity
I still don't see that as a direct admission that "we did it".
-
I still don't see that as a direct admission that "we did it".
:thumbsup:
-
Did you see the clips of the two Russian tanks running over and dragging their own infantry soldiers?
No, do you have the links?
-
I still don't see that as a direct admission that "we did it".
No, but that is where the claim originated from. Not saying I agree. But that's where it started.
-
No, do you have the links?
Searching for it now. Will ping you when I find it again.
-
Ukraine downs another Russian Su-25
https://www.txtreport.com/news/2023-02-12-the-russian-su-25-was-shot-down-by-an-individual-anti-aircraft-missile-international.Hy0_w0Sao.html
-
This is true. The few Americans I knew in PRU had names, but I have no idea if they were real or not. Most likely they were not. Many of the SVN guys I saw only once or twice then never again. I'm told that if they are buried at all, only God knows where.
Sorry to hear about Clark @sneakypete . It sucks that he had to go out that way. Now I'm going to let this thread get back on its subject.
@Bigun
They all had names. I am guessing 90+ percent of them were SF. Depending on the ops they were running,they were still on active duty with the US army,but "detached for special duty". Like Charlie,for instance. He was wearing the assimilated rank of Captain,but was actually a USASF SSG. The army pretty much had to do this so that if he was KIA or MIA,his dependents would receive the benefits they were due.
There was also the FACT that he was training and leading non-US troops into combat,so he needed the rank of Captain to get their respect so they would listen to him and learn as he tried to train them and lead them against the enemy.
Not that it mattered. If you were SF,you would know most of them if you bumped in to them somewhere,regardless of what ID they were carrying or what ops they were assigned to. If they pretended they didn't know you,you just apologized to them for your mistake,and moved on. No big deal.
The IMPORTANT thing to know about this is that NOBODY was in those units that didn't volunteer to serve in them when asked to volunteer. If,for whatever reason you said "No",it was "No harm-No foul." No "blackmarks went into your record,and you didn't have to make excuses to anyone.
Just like those of us running SOG recon and HF missions. All you had to say to get out was "I don't want to do this anymore". ZERO negative results. They would even ask you where you would like to serve and what you would like to be doing next in SF in VN. The only exception was once your team or platoon got a mission alert,you WERE going to go on THAT mission.
The mirror image of this is a lot of the guys that got wounded and were supposed to be medivaced back to Okie or the US would decide they weren't ready to give it up yet,and would call the FOB and say "come get me",so we would send a couple of guys in the cab and a medic or two under the canvas in the rear,and "steal" them from whatever army hospital they were in,and bring them back to the camp for our medics to treat them so they could become operational again. Frankly,I was surprised at how often that happened when I first got there,but it was just a routine thing. Guys didn't want to leave their teammates in danger by forcing them to go into the bush with someone they didn't know,or even worse,someone who had never ran a mission and was untested under fire.
.Some people discover they were born to do that type of thing,and others discovered they were not. If you weren't,you weren't. There was nothing to be ashamed of.
-
Japanese volunteers fighting for Ukraine.
(https://preview.redd.it/svgt6jr5gnha1.jpg?width=640&crop=smart&auto=webp&v=enabled&s=7f7fc8b2dcb9df35f325b9f66ef2116e0d8e3940)
-
Ukraine eliminates 5,000 Russian soldiers from battle, including elite brigade members: report
By Allie Griffin
February 13, 2023
Ukraine took out more than 5,000 Russian soldiers from battle — killing, wounding or imprisoning the troops — after Russian forces attempted to collect intel on Ukrainian defense capabilities in Vuhledar, according to a report.
A Ukrainian official told Politico the Ukrainians eliminated the thousands of soldiers, including members of an elite Russian brigade, when the 155th naval infantry troops stormed the coal-mining town in the Donetsk region in late January.
Ukrainian soldiers also killed the brigade’s command staff and destroyed 130 pieces of equipment, including 36 tanks, said Oleksiy Dmytrashkivskyi, head of the united press center of the Tavriskiy District of Ukrainian defense forces.
He added that Russian forces were typically losing 150 to 300 marines a day near Vuhledar.
However, some estimates are even higher. UK officials said a stunning 824 Russian troops are dying each day, citing Ukrainian General Staff updates.
* * *
Ukrainian marines posted a video of Russian troops piling up on a battlefield near Vuhledar.
“Go make a cemetery! Gosh, the first column went there and blew up, and then the second one went exactly the same route,” Ukrainian artillerymen said on the video, according to the outlet.
Russian nationalists fretted over the defeat, with some Russian military bloggers calling for public trials against high-ranking commanders who they say have been repeating the same mistakes. They questioned commanders for sending out elite troops as the first line of defense, the Institute for the Study of War reported in its most recent update.
* * *
Source: https://nypost.com/2023/02/13/ukraine-eliminates-5000-russian-soldiers-from-battle-report/
-
Moldovan leader outlines Russian ‘plan’ to topple government
https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-zelenskyy-politics-government-maia-sandu-152d2353f4c18bb84348f5d1656edb98
Moldova’s president outlined Monday what she described as a plot by Moscow to overthrow her country’s government using external saboteurs, put the nation “at the disposal of Russia” and derail its aspirations to one day join the European Union.
President Maia Sandu’s briefing comes a week after neighboring Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said his country had intercepted plans by Russian secret services to destroy Moldova, claims that were later confirmed by Moldovan intelligence officials.
“The plan for the next period involves actions with the involvement of diversionists with military training, camouflaged in civilian clothes, who will undertake violent actions, attack some state buildings, and even take hostages,” Sandu told reporters at a briefing.
-
Moldovan leader outlines Russian ‘plan’ to topple government
https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-zelenskyy-politics-government-maia-sandu-152d2353f4c18bb84348f5d1656edb98
Exactly the same way that Russia started agitating in Eastern Ukraine and Crimea.
-
Transnistria is the location of a large Soviet-era Russian military installation. Moldova would be a great place from which to open a new front against Ukraine.
Russia would have the greatest advantage if forces attack from Belarus, Russia, Crimea, and Moldova simultaneously.
The lackluster Western support effort gives Putin time to overrun Ukraine before NATO and EU materiel arrives in sufficient volume to defeat Russia.
There is no reason to hold back jets, tanks, and missiles now that Russia appears to be expanding the war to Moldova, in addition to Belarus, Crimea, and Donbas.
-
So, Russia is now preparing to commit an act of war against Moldova. So neighborly of the orcs.
-
So, Russia is now preparing to commit an act of war against Moldova. So neighborly of the orcs.
They're already spread pretty thin, man and fire power. I'd be suprised if Mad Vlad would spread his mayhem at this point. But intiitally I didn' t think he'd invade Ukraine either.
Dilution is not his friend at this point.
-
They're already spread pretty thin, man and fire power. I'd be suprised if Mad Vlad would spread his mayhem at this point. But intiitally I didn' t think he'd invade Ukraine either.
Dilution is not his friend at this point.
Maybe so, but sending in specialists to engineer, if not directly stage, a coup amounts to an act of war against a neighboring sovereign.
-
Maybe so, but sending in specialists to engineer, if not directly stage, a coup amounts to an act of war against a neighboring sovereign.
Agree, but the truth be known is that vlad and Xi have been on a non-stop world wide government destabilization spree for some time now.
In fact, if you could peel the onion back enough, we'd probably see some Klaus NWO-climate scam- connections too with at least Xi.
-
Japanese volunteers fighting for Ukraine.
(https://preview.redd.it/svgt6jr5gnha1.jpg?width=640&crop=smart&auto=webp&v=enabled&s=7f7fc8b2dcb9df35f325b9f66ef2116e0d8e3940)
Good for them. Russia doesn't really have a lot of true friends, and it shows.
-
Agree, but the truth be known is that vlad and Xi have been on a non-stop world wide government destabilization spree for some time now.
In fact, if you could peel the onion back enough, we'd probably see some Klaus NWO-climate scam- connections too with at least Xi.
I doubt if Xi, or most other Chinese, would bother with someone like the NWO conspiracy, for the simple reason that the Chinese culturally see themselves as superior to everyone else. Why would they feel the need to get into bed with a Western European conspiracy?
-
Good for them. Russia doesn't really have a lot of true friends, and it shows.
The Japanese kicked their butts in 1906, and they have learned a few things since then.
-
I doubt if Xi, or most other Chinese, would bother with someone like the NWO conspiracy, for the simple reason that the Chinese culturally see themselves as superior to everyone else. Why would they feel the need to get into bed with a Western European conspiracy?
It is far more to Xi's benefit to get the US and Russia into a war to wear each other down while conserving his own forces.
-
I doubt if Xi, or most other Chinese, would bother with someone like the NWO conspiracy, for the simple reason that the Chinese culturally see themselves as superior to everyone else. Why would they feel the need to get into bed with a Western European conspiracy?
You really think the NWO / Global Climate Scam is a conspiracy theory?
Interesting......
But to your point, it helps weaken the west. And that is the end intent of the Chicoms.
-
So, Russia is now preparing to commit an act of war against Moldova. So neighborly of the orcs.
@Kamaji
This reeks of pure desperation for a victory somewhere,anywhere.
And since they have had zero luck defeating Ukraine after months of losing thousands of Russian soldiers,it is NOT going to go well for them.
I SUSPECT this MIGHT be a desperation play by the Neo-Soviets,hoping the UN will step in and order the west to quit suppyling the Neo-Soviets with weapons and food and demanding a cease fire with all troops from all antagonists to hold in place wherever they are by using the excuse that they are trying to stop the beginning of another world war by allowing the Neo-Soviets to "save face".
-
NATO to increase targets for ammunition stockpiles as war depletes reserves
https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/natos-stoltenberg-we-plan-increase-targets-ammunition-stockpiles-2023-02-13/
NATO said on Monday it will increase targets for stockpiling ammunition as Kyiv is burning through shells much faster than Western countries can produce them and after a year of conflict in Ukraine has left allied stocks badly depleted.
"The current rate of Ukraine's ammunition expenditure is many times higher than our current rate of production," NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg told reporters ahead of a two-day meeting of the alliance's defence ministers in Brussels.
NATO planned to increase its targets for munitions stockpiles, Stoltenberg said, adding that the alliance had completed a survey of remaining stocks.
Reuters, citing a NATO source, reported earlier that the alliance was expected to raise stockpiling targets.
The West needed to ramp up production as the waiting time for large-calibre ammunition has increased to 28 months from 12 months, Stoltenberg said.
Even before Russia's invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24 last year, many NATO countries fell short of meeting the alliance's stockpiling targets, as officials considered wars of attrition with large-scale artillery battles a thing of the past.
But the pace of deliveries to Ukraine, where Kyiv's troops are firing up to 10,000 artillery shells daily, has drained Western inventories and exposed holes in the efficiency, speed and manpower of supply chains.
"If Europe were to fight Russia, some countries would run out of ammunition in days," a European diplomat told Reuters.
EXCERPT
-
NATO to increase targets for ammunition stockpiles as war depletes reserves
https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/natos-stoltenberg-we-plan-increase-targets-ammunition-stockpiles-2023-02-13/
EXCERPT
Nothing like baring your tender bits for the opposition's frank review.
You can't bluff at poker if you hold the front of your cards toward the table.
-
Nothing like baring your tender bits for the opposition's frank review.
You can't bluff at poker if you hold the front of your cards toward the table.
Who knows if it even true. It could be political.
But on the other hand, anything of value that is "free" tends to be over consumed.
-
Nothing like baring your tender bits for the opposition's frank review.
You can't bluff at poker if you hold the front of your cards toward the table.
@Smokin Jo
How do you know that THIS isn't a sucker play,to get the Neo-Soviets to expose themselves too much in order to be able to wipe them out?
ALL things are possible when it comes to war propaganda.
-
After Losing An Eighth Of Their Helicopters, Russian Attack Regiments Are Switching Up Their Tactics
David Axe | Feb 14, 2023 | 09:20pm EST
After taking a brutal beating in the first year of Russia’s wider war on Ukraine, the Russian air force’s attack helicopter regiments—what’s left of them—are adopting new tactics.
They’re digging in at their front-line bases to protect against Ukrainian drone strikes, artillery barrages and sabotage. And they purportedly are combining different helicopter models in the same flights—banking on the ’copters countermeasures to provide overlapping defenses against Ukrainian surface-to-air missiles.
The Russian air force’s 11 attack helicopter brigades and regiments—together operating around 100 Kamov Ka-52s, 80 Mil Mi-28s and 150 Mil Mi-24s—have had a hard war. Those 330 helicopters in the current inventory are what’s left after the Ukrainians shot down at least 30 Ka-52s, 11 Mi-28s and 11 Mi-24s starting last February. An eighth of the pre-war force.
The Ka-52s have proved particularly vulnerable. In the war’s first few weeks, . . .
https://www.forbes.com/sites/davidaxe/2023/02/14/after-losing-an-eighth-of-their-helicopters-russian-attack-regiments-are-switching-up-their-tactics/
-
(https://img-9gag-fun.9cache.com/photo/aoKKKxA_460s.jpg)
Detained without cause, no access to consulate or legal assistance.
-
@Smokin Jo
How do you know that THIS isn't a sucker play,to get the Neo-Soviets to expose themselves too much in order to be able to wipe them out?
ALL things are possible when it comes to war propaganda.
We don't know that except for the people running the JCS include Milley who was talking with the Chinese and saying he'd call them. Somehow, I do not have faith in their understanding of OPSEC, even if it is behind a 'paywall'.
-
(https://img-9gag-fun.9cache.com/photo/aKEEA5W_460s.jpg)
-
(https://img-9gag-fun.9cache.com/photo/aQEEQ0W_460s.jpg)
-
Moldovan leader outlines Russian ‘plan’ to topple government
https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-zelenskyy-politics-government-maia-sandu-152d2353f4c18bb84348f5d1656edb98
Russia is the greatest scourge to humanity since the black plague. Hitler would be green with envy at the record of murder and mayhem coming from there.
-
Moment a Russian thermobaric missile launcher is destroyed in huge fireball explosions amid brutal trench warfare as Kremlin claims frontline advances - while cremating their dead 'around the clock'
By RACHAEL BUNYAN FOR MAILONLINE
15 February 2023
Extraordinary footage shows the moment a Russian thermobaric rocket launcher was destroyed in a series of fireball explosions on the front line in Ukraine.
Video shows the TOS-1A Buratino, which is equipped with thermobaric warheads, erupting into flames following a Ukrainian strike near Vuhledar in eastern Ukraine.
The Russian weapons system is seen engulfed in a series of fireball explosions and the video shows artillery rockets shooting out of from the burning wreckage.
The Buratino is equipped with thermobaric warheads which spread a flammable liquid around a target and then ignite it. It can destroy several city blocks in one strike and cause indiscriminate damage.
The destruction of the heavy flamethrower system comes as further video shows Ukrainian soldiers from the Azov Battalion storming a Russian trench full of mercenaries from the Wagner private military near Bakhmut and forcing them to retreat during brutal trench warfare.
* * *
Source: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11753701/Russia-Ukraine-war-Moment-Russian-thermobaric-missile-launcher-destroyed-huge-fireball.html
-
We don't know that except for the people running the JCS include Milley who was talking with the Chinese and saying he'd call them. Somehow, I do not have faith in their understanding of OPSEC, even if it is behind a 'paywall'.
@Smokin Joe
I don't trust anything Miss Miley says,does,or plans to do. She is under the total control of the international left.
Truth to tell,I think she has been an agent of the international left since before she even entered the army.Does anyone know who her "rabbi" was that got her into West Point,and then managed her career?
BTW,thank you for reminding me about her because it reminds me of a question I keep forgetting to ask.
Since WHEN do Generals in the US Army make policy?
Generals do NOT have that authority according to OUR system of government. They TAKE orders and then send them down the chain of command to the appropriate units. They do NOT make policy or discuss policy in public.
SOB ought to be shot or hanged for treason,and the pols that allowed it should be removed from office and serve time in prison for breaking their oath of office.
-
@Smokin Joe
I don't trust anything Miss Miley says,does,or plans to do. She is under the total control of the international left.
Truth to tell,I think she has been an agent of the international left since before she even entered the army.Does anyone know who her "rabbi" was that got her into West Point,and then managed her career?
BTW,thank you for reminding me about her because it reminds me of a question I keep forgetting to ask.
Since WHEN do Generals in the US Army make policy?
Generals do NOT have that authority according to OUR system of government. They TAKE orders and then send them down the chain of command to the appropriate units. They do NOT make policy or discuss policy in public.
SOB ought to be shot or hanged for treason,and the pols that allowed it should be removed from office and serve time in prison for breaking their oath of office.
Well, that's something that should have happened the moment it was announced that Milley had intent to subvert the chain of command and NOT obey any orders given by the CinC.
Not to mention giving the Chinese at least a half hour warning--the critical time needed to launch an effective first strike. There was a pic of a silo blast door with the Domino's Logo on it: "Delivery worldwide in 30 minutes or less, or your next one is free."
-
Well, that's something that should have happened the moment it was announced that Milley had intent to subvert the chain of command and NOT obey any orders given by the CinC.
Not to mention giving the Chinese at least a half hour warning--the critical time needed to launch an effective first strike. There was a pic of a silo blast door with the Domino's Logo on it: "Delivery worldwide in 30 minutes or less, or your next one is free."
@Smokin Joe
Somehow,we need to find out WHO is pulling the strings in the background and letter her get away with it,and bring them up on federal charges. THEN we need to have Miss Miley arrested and held in solitary confinement until trial and try to discover the chain of traitors that arranged for her to be put in the positions of authority she was given.
I am old enough I can remember when treason was a serious crime.
-
@Smokin Joe
Somehow,we need to find out WHO is pulling the strings in the background and letter her get away with it,and bring them up on federal charges. THEN we need to have Miss Miley arrested and held in solitary confinement until trial and try to discover the chain of traitors that arranged for her to be put in the positions of authority she was given.
I am old enough I can remember when treason was a serious crime.
Well, I agree, but the DOJ is too busy going after people who go to the Latin Mass and Fathers who complain at school board meetings because their daughter got raped in the locker room by some predator playing dress-up.
You know we aren't gone full blown Soviet yet, because some people aren't having "tragic accidents" or suffering from "botched robberies", but it's coming.
-
(https://img-9gag-fun.9cache.com/photo/aL11GBg_460s.jpg)
Now Russia is talking about East Germany? That actually is World War 3 stuff.
-
(https://img-9gag-fun.9cache.com/photo/aL11GBg_460s.jpg)
Now Russia is talking about East Germany? That actually is World War 3 stuff.
Pooty's partying like its 1956. Except in 1956, the USSR had the #2 World GDP. Now they are 11th.
-
Mad Vlad,
Germany has a greater historical claim to Russia's Kaliningrad Oblast (formerly Konisberg, East Prussia, Germany) than Russia has to any inch of territory within the modern borders of Germany.
#FreeKonisberg, #LiberateEastPrussia
-
Pooty's partying like its 1956. Except in 1956, the USSR had the #2 World GDP. Now they are 11th.
East Germany, Moldova, Croatia, Poland, bomb the UK ... Putin and his supporters think it is 1939 and they are the new Nazi Party.
Putin cannot finish what is on his plate now. And yet he is ordering another bucket of chicken, which he cannot afford.
People around the world are questioning Putin's fitness, both mental and physical. Something is certainly askew with his rational. He is wrecking his country in every way with all of this nonsense. If he is ill, as some say, maybe he has nothing to live for and simply does not care?
-
Pooty's partying like its 1956. Except in 1956, the USSR had the #2 World GDP. Now they are 11th.
The difference is that if any American says anything, it is instantly taken as the position of the U.S. government and confirmation of a an imminent threat to Russia's survival.
But if an active duty Russian general officer openly threatens to invade NATO allies, it is dismissed as something we should ignore.
I think that's how it works, anyway.
-
(https://img-9gag-fun.9cache.com/photo/aL11GBg_460s.jpg)
Now Russia is talking about East Germany? That actually is World War 3 stuff.
Such a nice gentleman, a true saviour and anti-fascist!
The President of the Russian Republic of Chechnya, Ramzan Kadyrov, caused a sensation with provocative statements in an interview with Russian state television. For example, “Putin’s Bloodhound” suggested that the Russian army should invade East Germany (territory of the former GDR). “This is our territory”. He also threatened German Chancellor Olaf Scholz with a beating.
Kadyrov said on TV channel Rossiya-1 that the withdrawal of Russian troops from what is now East Germany (former East Germany) in the 1990s was a mistake. And added: “Gorbachev or whoever has withdrawn our troops from there. The Germans should have been punished as traitors to understand their place. We must return there, it is our territory.”
Source: https://todaytimeslive.com/world/217465.html
-
Kadyrov was promoted to Colonel General (3*, equivalent to a Lt. Gen.) in October. And Putin has never said a word to disavow anything Kadyrov has said.
-
78 pages in, I am guessing a "IV" thread should be in the cards........
(https://www.weareclassicrockers.com/sites/classicrockers.rock.tools/files/styles/site_width_image/public/2019-11/100_6069.jpg?itok=dUgQDe3_)
-
78 pages in, I am guessing a "IV" thread should be in the cards........
(https://www.weareclassicrockers.com/sites/classicrockers.rock.tools/files/styles/site_width_image/public/2019-11/100_6069.jpg?itok=dUgQDe3_)
How about starting the Ukraine 4 thread on February 24, the 1-year anniversary of the orcish invasion?
-
(https://img-9gag-fun.9cache.com/photo/aL114gx_460s.jpg)
-
Well, I agree, but the DOJ is too busy going after people who go to the Latin Mass and Fathers who complain at school board meetings because their daughter got raped in the locker room by some predator playing dress-up.
You know we aren't gone full blown Soviet yet, because some people aren't having "tragic accidents" or suffering from "botched robberies", but it's coming.
@Smokin Joe
I really wish I could argue with that,but I can't.
-
(https://img-9gag-fun.9cache.com/photo/aL114gx_460s.jpg)
:mauslaff:
-
Putin has limited options to sustain his war on Ukraine: UK statement to the OSCE
GOV.UK From: Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office and Ian Stubbs, Senior Military Advisor at the UK Delegation to the OSCE 2/15/2023
https://www.gov.uk/government/speeches/putin-has-limited-options-to-sustain-his-war-on-ukraine-uk-statement-to-the-osce (https://www.gov.uk/government/speeches/putin-has-limited-options-to-sustain-his-war-on-ukraine-uk-statement-to-the-osce)
Ian Stubbs says Russia is suffering its highest casualty rate since the invasion began, but Putin could stop his needless sacrifice of thousands more Russians.
Thank you, Mr Chair. A year ago, we reported to this Forum that Russia’s military build-up had amassed approximately 130,000 troops positioned along Ukraine’s borders and in illegally annexed Crimea.
Russia had deployed: the Iskander-K offensive ballistic missile systems in range of key Ukrainian cities and infrastructure; extensive air defence assets including the S-400 and Pantsir missile systems; and large numbers of air assets including the Su-25, Su-35S, Ka-52 and Mi-8 on a scale not normally seen as part of exercises.
Russia had also imposed unprecedented access restrictions over large areas of the Black Sea and was further bolstering its Black Sea Fleet with reinforcements from other Fleets; including increasing the number of landing ships by more than double.
In the face of this massive military build-up and Russia’s escalating rhetoric, Ukraine had demonstrated remarkable restraint. We had seen commendable attempts by Ukraine, and others, to reduce the risk of miscalculation and de-escalate tensions through two initiations of the Vienna Document Risk Reduction mechanism. But Russia refused to engage, insisting that it saw “no grounds for applying the procedures of the Vienna Document Paragraph 16”. Russia’s argument that the risk reduction mechanism did not apply whilst at the same time presiding over the biggest military build-up in Europe since the Cold War, was a clear indication that Putin had already taken the decision that Russia would invade its sovereign neighbour.
Mr Chair, we also know that the lies, deception and disruptive activity from our Russian colleagues aimed to deliberately undermine efforts by participating States to find a diplomatic resolution to the crisis. The Russian delegation’s duplicitous behaviour endures nearly a year later.
Last week, in an interview with Russian State media, our Russian colleague lamented that other delegations were “scrutinising” Russia’s “previous statements, looking for contradictions” – we do not have to look far. In this Forum exactly a year ago, he stated that Ukraine was “stubbornly continuing to impose…an unsubstantiated idea about some kind of Russian aggression”. Russia then invaded Ukraine. Last week, he said that Russia had “made every effort to ensure military-political stability in Europe”, but Russia refused to engage in the very mechanisms designed by this organisation to reduce risk, de-escalate tension and restore stability. When our Russian colleague persists in using this Forum to peddle the Kremlin’s disinformation and propaganda, the contradictions are clear for all to see.
Mr Chair, over the past two weeks, Russia has reportedly suffered its highest rate of casualties since the first week of the invasion of Ukraine. Russian military leaders have now likely deployed the vast majority of the reservists called up under the so-called “partial mobilisation” and Wagner announced on 09 February that it had halted its prisoner recruitment scheme. The options for Putin and his military leaders to sustain their war of choice appear to be limited: continue to deplete their forces; scale back their objectives; or conduct a further form of mobilisation. But there is another option: Putin could end this war now, withdraw all Russian forces from Ukrainian sovereign territory, and in doing so, stop his needless sacrifice of thousands more ordinary Russian people.
Mr Chair, in the face of Russia’s barbaric invasion and brutal actions, we must all recognise that giving Ukraine the support it needs to defend itself and push Russia out of its sovereign territory is the swiftest and only path to a just and lasting peace. In the UK-Ukraine Joint Declaration we signed with Ukraine on 8 February, we reaffirmed our countries’ commitment to stand side by side in the face of Russia’s aggression.
The UK is working with Ukraine to help develop their longer-term force structures and capabilities, to reverse Russian gains and build towards a deterrence force of the future. We will support our Ukrainian friends as they fight to liberate their homeland. Ukraine’s sovereignty, territorial integrity, and independence will be fully restored. Thank you.
-
Russia pounds Ukraine in overnight attack: Critical infrastructure hit in missile strikes as it's revealed Putin 'is losing 2,000 men for every 100 yards gained and has lost half his best battle tanks'
By CHRIS JEWERS FOR MAILONLINE
16 February 2023
Russia again pummelled Ukraine with a barrage of cruise and other missiles on Thursday, hitting targets from east to west, including 'critical infrastructure'.
Ukrainian authorities said a 79-year-old woman was killed and at least seven other people injured in the widespread attacks.
Russian forces used a variety of missile types, firing 36 in a two-hour overnight burst, said Ukraine's military chief, Valery Zaluzhnyy, He said air defence batteries shot down 16 of them, a lower rate of success than against some previous Russian waves.
The strikes come as questions continue to be raised over Russia's capability to prosecute a new offensive that Western officials have been issuing warnings over for weeks, amid reports suggesting Moscow's forces are severely depleted, with NATO intelligence saying Russia is losing 2,000 men for every 100 yards gained.
Britain's defence secretary Ben Wallace said Wednesday estimates suggest '97 percent of the whole Russian army is in Ukraine', while the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) said Russia has lost around half of its best battle tanks since Vladimir Putin launched his invasion almost one year ago.
* * *
Source: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11757777/Ukraine-war-Russia-launches-overnight-missiles-Putins-military-struggles-continue.html
-
Putin will deliver major speech within days amid fears Russia is amassing fighter jets on Ukraine's border for major new offensive
* Russia is expected to launch new offensive to mark anniversary of invasion
* Putin will deliver his annual State of the Nation speech on February 21
By CHRIS JEWERS FOR MAILONLINE
16 February 2023
Vladimir Putin will deliver his annual State of the Nation speech within days, amid warnings that Russia is amassing fighter jets on Ukraine's borders.
Oleksiy Danilov, Ukraine's chief of intelligence, said Moscow was gearing up towards a 'massive new attack' in just seven days time - to mark the anniversary of the Russian president's invasion, which was launched on February 24, 2022.
Ukrainian defenders are preparing to defend against a force that could consist of 400 fighter jets, 300 helicopters, 1,800 new tanks and 3,950 armoured vehicles, while it was reported this month that 500,000 Russian troops have been mobilised.
* * *
Source: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11758335/Putin-deliver-major-speech-days.html
-
Norway Approves $7 Bn Aid Package For Ukraine
https://www.barrons.com/news/norway-approves-7-bn-aid-package-for-ukraine-363696c6 (https://www.barrons.com/news/norway-approves-7-bn-aid-package-for-ukraine-363696c6)
Norwegian parties on Thursday backed an aid package worth 75 billion Norwegian kroner ($7.4 billion) for Ukraine to be spread out over five years.
All parties in the Storting, Norway's parliament, backed the plan that the centre-left government first presented on February 6 apart from Rodt (The Red Party), a small far-left grouping.
The plan pledges 15 billion kroner annually in civilian and military aid between 2023 and 2027.
More at link.
-
Ukraine at D+357: Combined arms failure.
https://thecyberwire.com/stories/9e9d93e18cfa409383f13935912c445e/ukraine-at-d357 (https://thecyberwire.com/stories/9e9d93e18cfa409383f13935912c445e/ukraine-at-d357)
Fighting continues in Ukraine's eastern provinces, and Russian forces have launched a further wave of Kalibr cruise missiles against Ukrainian targets, Al Jazeera reports. A number of these were shot down by Ukrainian air defenses, but some found their targets.
The first year of the war has been tough on Russian armor. The International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) estimates that Russia has lost about half of its first-line tanks, and isn't able to produce them fast enough to keep the forces supplied. Russia’s tank losses are running at roughly three times Ukraine's: between 2000 and 2300 Russian tanks have been lost compared to 700 Ukrainian tanks. “They’re producing and reactivating nowhere near enough to compensate for those loss rates. Their current armoured fleet at the front is about half the size it was at the start of the war,” an IISS research fellow told Reuters.
The Russian attempt to take Vuhledar, widely regarded as the opening move in a more general Russian spring offensive, is now perceived as a costly failure, one which, as the New York Times puts it, puts Russian combat capability into question.
Russian combat aviation may not be preparing for an offensive after all.
The UK's Ministry of Defence doubts recent reports that Russian Aerospace Forces are preparing for a larger combat role in Ukraine. "The Russian Aerospace Forces (VKS) continue to deploy a similar number of aircraft in support of the Ukraine operation as they have for many months. Russian sortie rates have increased over the last week, following several weeks of quieter activity. Air activity is now roughly in line with the average daily rate seen since summer 2022. Overall, Russian air power continues to significantly underperform in the war, constrained by a continued high threat from Ukrainian air defences and dispersed basing due to the threat of strikes against Russian airfields. Russian combat jets operate almost exclusively over Russian-held territory, preventing them from carrying out their key strike role effectively. Across Russia, the VKS likely maintains a largely intact fleet of approximately 1,500 crewed military aircraft, despite losing over 130 since the start of the invasion. However, it is unlikely that the VKS is currently preparing for a dramatically expanded air campaign as under the current battlefield circumstances it would likely suffer unsustainable aircraft losses."
More at link.
-
Top Putin war official plunges 160 feet to her death from high-rise building
https://nypost.com/2023/02/16/top-putin-war-official-marine-yankina-plunges-to-her-death/
A high-ranking Russian defense official in the war against Ukraine was found dead Wednesday after falling from a 16th-floor window in an apartment building.
Marina Yankina, 58, was discovered by a passerby at the entrance of a high-rise on Zamshina Street in St. Petersburg, Russian news Telegram channel Mash reported.
She is believed to have fallen 160 feet to her death. Her personal belongings and documents were found on a 16th-floor balcony in the building.
According to a preliminary investigation, it is believed Yankina committed suicide.
Mash reported that a few minutes before allegedly taking her own life, Yankina called her ex-husband and told him what she was about to do.
She also asked the man to summon police to the high-rise on Zamshina Street where he lived.
-
Top Putin war official plunges 160 feet to her death from high-rise building
https://nypost.com/2023/02/16/top-putin-war-official-marine-yankina-plunges-to-her-death/
I've seen some pro-Putin posters elsewhere claiming that these suicides are all faked, and that Putin is graciously helping these people fake their deaths so they can go live under new identities without being burdened by the sanctions the Western countries have imposed on them.
-
I've seen some pro-Putin posters elsewhere claiming that these suicides are all faked, and that Putin is graciously helping these people fake their deaths so they can go live under new identities without being burdened by the sanctions the Western countries have imposed on them.
Agree.... I suspect Brietbarting is a pretty serious medical problem in modern post- Ukraine Russia.
And even here. Remeber that scary creepy tweet from Musk saying that any reported suicide by him would not be the case?
-
(https://img-9gag-fun.9cache.com/photo/aMEEOVM_460s.jpg)
-
What is happening in Moldova, Ukraine’s tiny European neighbor with a pro-Russian movement?
https://www.cnbc.com/2023/02/17/what-is-happening-in-moldova-is-it-putins-next-target-after-ukraine.html
Moldova, a small European nation to Ukraine’s western border, has found itself increasingly caught in the crosshairs of Russia’s war, following the collapse of its government last week.
President Maia Sandu on Monday accused Russia of plotting a coup to overthrow her pro-European Union government using “foreign saboteurs.”
Sandu said authorities had confirmed allegations first voiced by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy last week, who warned his intelligence agencies have uncovered “a detailed Russian plan to undermine the political situation in Moldova.”
Analysts said it is entirely possible that Moscow is using Moldova — and separatist groups in its pro-Russian breakaway state of Transnistria — to sow discord and disarm Ukraine from a new front, ahead of the war’s one-year anniversary.
“Russians have created an inverse of what they did last year in Belarus, bringing Moldova and Transnistria into the mix from the south,” Clinton Watts, a former fellow at the Foreign Policy Research Institute, told CNBC, referring to the amassing of tanks along Ukraine’s northern border ahead of its invasion.
Until now, Ukraine’s defense forces and Western allies have estimated that Russia’s renewed offensive would be concentrated in the east of the country.
“From the Kremlin’s perspective, it’s a pretty smart strategy. Every time I start to underestimate Russia’s ability to create unrest, you see things like this,” added Watts, who now leads Microsoft’s Digital Threat Analysis Center.
-
Tank plant in small Ohio city plays big role in Ukraine war
https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-military-technology-business-55e3f4ef1696ca381e069883d5836399
Thousands of miles from the front lines, a sprawling manufacturing plant in the small midwestern city of Lima, Ohio, is playing a critical role in the effort to arm Ukraine as it fends off the Russian invasion.
Owned by the Army and operated by General Dynamics, the plant is expected to refurbish Abrams tanks for the U.S. to send to Ukraine, and is already preparing to build an updated version of the vehicle for Poland, U.S. Army officials said Thursday as they toured the facility.
Army Secretary Christine Wormuth, who walked through the plant with a number of other Army leaders and senior officers, said it’s highly likely the plant will provide the tanks for Ukraine.
“We’re still looking at options for exactly what variant of tanks will be provided to the Ukrainians. I think there’s still a little bit to be worked out, but certainly, the tanks being built here in Lima are central,” she said.
An Associated Press reporter was allowed to accompany Wormuth on the tour, the first journalist to walk the production lines since the U.S. pledged Abrams tanks to Ukraine.
U.S. officials have declined to provide details about the Abrams that will eventually go to Ukraine, saying they have to decide whether to send refurbished older Army tanks, Marine tanks or some other version. But in most cases, the tanks would need upgrades at the Lima plant before being shipped to Ukraine’s battlefront.
Not "upgrades" but downgrades, i.e. turn them into stripped down "monkey models."
-
Russia put 6,000 Ukrainian kids in re-education camps, Yale study finds
https://americanmilitarynews.com/2023/02/russia-put-6000-ukrainian-kids-in-re-education-camps-yale-study-finds/ (https://americanmilitarynews.com/2023/02/russia-put-6000-ukrainian-kids-in-re-education-camps-yale-study-finds/)
Russia has placed thousands of Ukrainian children in camps where they’re subjected to Russian propaganda and forcible adoption by Russian families, with some even undergoing military training, a U.S. government-backed report from Yale University found.
The campaign violates the Geneva Conventions and could constitute war crimes, crimes against humanity and possibly genocide, researchers from the Yale School of Public Health’s Humanitarian Research Lab said. It has involved children from 4 months old to 17 years.
The research was supported by the State Department’s bureau of conflict stabilization operations.
While at least 6,000 children could be confirmed to have participated in the camps, the researchers “think the number is probably significantly higher,” Nathaniel Raymond, a Yale researcher who worked on the report, told reporters in a phone briefing on Tuesday. “The primary purpose of the camps appears to be political reeducation.”
More at link.
-
New blow for Putin as military intelligence colonel, 37, is killed in Ukraine as Britain reveals Russian casualties are as high as 200,000
By CHRIS JEWERS and WILL STEWART FOR MAILONLINE
17 February 2023
Vladimir Putin has suffered a double blow to his war effort in Ukraine, losing a military intelligence colonel and a decorated paratrooper in a matter of days, as Britain estimates Russia has suffered as many as 200,000 casualties.
Lt-Col Viktor Fursov, 37, was killed on a combat mission, although the exact circumstances of his death have not been disclosed.
He has since been posthumously awarded the Russian Order of Courage, and his funeral is due to take place on Friday.
The army intelligence officer had trained in the Novosibirsk Higher Military Command School at the Faculty of Intelligence.
In a second setback, a Russian paratrooper honoured by Putin in his New Year address has also been killed in Ukraine.
* * *
Source: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11763021/New-blow-Putin-colonel-killed-Ukraine-UK-says-200-000-Russian-casualties.html
-
Bodies of Putin's fallen troops are 'piling up' in trenches as Wagner chief slams Moscow's 'monstrous bureaucracy' for slowing military gains in embattled Ukrainian city
By ALASTAIR LOCKHART
16 February 2023
The head of Russia's mercenary outfit Wagner has slammed Moscow's 'monstrous bureaucracy' for slowing military gains, saying it could take months to capture the embattled Ukraine city of Bakhmut.
Russia has been trying to encircle and capture the city ahead of February 24, the first anniversary of its invasion, but the bodies of Vladimir Putin's forces are said to be 'piled up' in trenches as his army continues to struggle.
Yevgeny Prigozhin, the head of the infamous Wagner mercenary group, has attacked the Russian military for slowing efforts to retake Bakhmut, arguing the city could have already been captured from Ukraine.
He said in a series of messages online: 'I think it's [going to be in] March or in April.
'To take Bakhmut you have to cut all supply routes. It's a significant task.
'Progress is not going as fast as we would like.
'Bakhmut would have been taken before the New Year, if not for our monstrous military bureaucracy.'
He added: 'Because there are a huge number of problems that need to be solved. Naturally it will also depend on whether we continue to be bled,' in a reference to the end of prisoner recruits.
* * *
Source: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11760451/Bodies-Putin-troops-piling-trenches-Wagner-boss-slams-Moscows-monstrous-bureaucracy.html
-
That "suicide" thing seems to happen quite often in RuZZia.
-
Russia put 6,000 Ukrainian kids in re-education camps, Yale study finds
https://americanmilitarynews.com/2023/02/russia-put-6000-ukrainian-kids-in-re-education-camps-yale-study-finds/ (https://americanmilitarynews.com/2023/02/russia-put-6000-ukrainian-kids-in-re-education-camps-yale-study-finds/)
Russia has placed thousands of Ukrainian children in camps where they’re subjected to Russian propaganda and forcible adoption by Russian families, with some even undergoing military training, a U.S. government-backed report from Yale University found.
The campaign violates the Geneva Conventions and could constitute war crimes, crimes against humanity and possibly genocide, researchers from the Yale School of Public Health’s Humanitarian Research Lab said. It has involved children from 4 months old to 17 years.
The research was supported by the State Department’s bureau of conflict stabilization operations.
While at least 6,000 children could be confirmed to have participated in the camps, the researchers “think the number is probably significantly higher,” Nathaniel Raymond, a Yale researcher who worked on the report, told reporters in a phone briefing on Tuesday. “The primary purpose of the camps appears to be political reeducation.”
More at link.
Nothing...NOTHING RuZZia touches is the better for it. RuZZia is one of the most destructive forces of evil this world has ever seen.
-
New blow for Putin as military intelligence colonel, 37, is killed in Ukraine as Britain reveals Russian casualties are as high as 200,000
By CHRIS JEWERS and WILL STEWART FOR MAILONLINE
17 February 2023
Vladimir Putin has suffered a double blow to his war effort in Ukraine, losing a military intelligence colonel and a decorated paratrooper in a matter of days, as Britain estimates Russia has suffered as many as 200,000 casualties.
Lt-Col Viktor Fursov, 37, was killed on a combat mission, although the exact circumstances of his death have not been disclosed.
He has since been posthumously awarded the Russian Order of Courage, and his funeral is due to take place on Friday.
The army intelligence officer had trained in the Novosibirsk Higher Military Command School at the Faculty of Intelligence.
In a second setback, a Russian paratrooper honoured by Putin in his New Year address has also been killed in Ukraine.
* * *
Source: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11763021/New-blow-Putin-colonel-killed-Ukraine-UK-says-200-000-Russian-casualties.html
@Kamaji
What the hell does Pooty-Poot or any of his accomplices in the Kremin care? None of THEM or their familes are dying in his war.
-
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
Well,I would call it a tie between Russia and their commie bosum-brothers,the freaking Chinese.
We just don't hear much about what the Chinese are up to in the 'murikan press.
Other than coming here to steal our tech and learn from us how to manufacture items that don't self-destruct within a week of purchase,that is.
ANY US company/corporation that does business with the Chinese should have their taxes raised by double the amount of the additional profits they are making from using slave labor.
-
(https://img-9gag-fun.9cache.com/photo/aA00ORZ_460s.jpg)
-
(https://img-9gag-fun.9cache.com/photo/aA00ORZ_460s.jpg)
@240B
Chances are she got caught stealing part of "his cut" from a more poweful Kremlin figure,and ended up paying the price.
-
@240B
Chances are she got caught stealing part of "his cut" from a more poweful Kremlin figure,and ended up paying the price.
Every Russian checking in to any Hotel worldwide is demanding 'ground floor' or nothing.
This 'falling out of a window' schtick is more prolific than Hillary's business partners and suicide.
-
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
-
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.
If just a third of that money was diverted to weapons instead, this war would be over. Been saying that since Day One. All the money that Biden claims have been going to Ukraine are instead going to agencies like USAID and Dept of State.
-
Thomas Massie
@RepThomasMassie
Biden bragged about paying pensions for Ukrainians, but we hit the debt limit and his Treasury Secretary is taking “extraordinary measures,” which means Biden is now literally selling investments of US pensions to fund Ukrainian pensions.
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FpRFM1oXoAAb-xU?format=jpg&name=small)(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FpRFM1XXsAAF_IY?format=jpg&name=small)
12:45 PM · Feb 18, 2023
-
If just a third of that money was diverted to weapons instead, this war would be over. Been saying that since Day One. All the money that Biden claims have been going to Ukraine are instead going to agencies like USAID and Dept of State.
:thumbsup:
-
If just a third of that money was diverted to weapons instead, this war would be over. Been saying that since Day One. All the money that Biden claims have been going to Ukraine are instead going to agencies like USAID and Dept of State.
Yep. I, too, have questioned just how much of the announced amounts is actually getting to Ukraine.
Arm them and let them handle the rest.
-
The Golden Rule for the Dims is "First of all,help yourself!"
The end result is the pols and their relatives/associates get the majority of the cash after it has been laundered,and the "good deed" that was the announced target of all that money get the remains.
Just enough to keep them from complaining because they can maintain the hope that some of the money approved to help them will eventually find it's way to them.
-
Joe Biden's surprise trip to Ukraine
https://hotair.com/jazz-shaw/2023/02/20/joe-bidens-surprise-trip-to-ukraine-n531865
Just as people were waking up on the east coast, the news broke out that President Joe Biden had arrived in Kyiv on a secret trip to visit Volodymyr Zelensky and his wife. The meeting was fairly brief, and in only a couple of hours (by 7:00 am eastern) Biden had flown out of the Ukrainian capital again. The expected speeches were given, with Biden reaffirming America’s solidarity with Ukraine and promising our continued support of the war effort there. But was this a good idea? Possibly. But it’s complicated.
https://twitter.com/i/status/1627624363171147776 (https://twitter.com/i/status/1627624363171147776)
-
Biden Visits Kyiv, Ukraine’s Embattled Capital, as Air-Raid Siren Sounds
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/02/20/us/politics/biden-ukraine-visit.html
President Biden made a surprise trip to the embattled capital of Ukraine on Monday, traveling under a cloak of secrecy into a war zone to demonstrate what he called America’s “unwavering support” of the effort to beat back Russian forces nearly a year after they invaded the country.
Mr. Biden arrived unannounced early Monday morning to meet with President Volodymyr Zelensky, and the two stepped out into the streets of Kyiv even as an air-raid siren sounded, a dramatic moment captured on video that underscored the investment the United States has made in Ukraine’s independence.
“One year later, Kyiv stands,” Mr. Biden declared at Mr. Zelensky’s side in Mariinsky Palace, the gilded ceremonial home of the Ukrainian president. “And Ukraine stands. Democracy stands.”
“Thank you so much for coming, Mr. President, at a huge moment for Ukraine,” Mr. Zelensky said.
Mr. Biden promised to release another $500 million in military aid in coming days, mentioning artillery ammunition, Javelin missiles and Howitzers, but he did not talk about the advanced arms that Ukraine has sought. Mr. Zelensky told reporters that he and the president spoke about “long range weapons and the weapons that may still be supplied to Ukraine even though it wasn’t supplied before.”
Mr. Biden joined Mr. Zelensky for a visit to St. Michael’s monastery in downtown Kyiv, where the sun glittered off the golden domes as the air-raid alarm wailed. Trailing two soldiers bearing a wreath, the two leaders walked along the Wall of Remembrance, where portraits are on display of more than 4,500 soldiers who have died since Russia illegally annexed Crimea in 2014 and first fomented a rebellion in eastern Ukraine.
-
Revealed: Leaked document shows how Russia plans to take over Belarus
https://news.yahoo.com/russia-belarus-strategy-document-230035184.html?guccounter=1&guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly9mcmVlcmVwdWJsaWMuY29tLw&guce_referrer_sig=AQAAADZAWNGYEGA5FEie3Skhhg8K53ykCMP2frW1CJWebEXMk9KM7fxGzI_N6V7EbYwpaBqAsIvaCEaT6GHSqTIVTIv1QnTDzle8XS39l0ccVCtX-PDf-O5s_ksabo8iFKKuhqXXJ4dJbtiT_LNCoBsoQhtlRaFM3vZrjnhRMtrrnM9Z
A leaked internal strategy document from Vladimir Putin’s executive office and obtained by Yahoo News lays out a detailed plan on how Russia plans to take full control over neighboring Belarus in the next decade under the pretext of a merger between the two countries. The document outlines in granular detail a creeping annexation by political, economic and military means of an independent but illiberal European nation by Russia, which is an active state of war in its bid to conquer Ukraine through overwhelming force.
“Russia’s goals with regards to Belarus are the same as with Ukraine,” Michael Carpenter, the U.S. ambassador to the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, told Yahoo News. “Only in Belarus, it relies on coercion rather than war. Its end goal is still wholesale incorporation.”
According to the document, issued in fall 2021, the end goal is the formation of a so-called Union State of Russia and Belarus by no later than 2030. Everything involved in the merger of the two countries has been considered, including the “harmonization” of Belarusian laws with those of the Russian Federation; a “coordinated foreign and defense policy” and “trade and economic cooperation … on the basis of the priority” of Russian interests; and “ensuring the predominant influence of the Russian Federation in the socio-political, trade-economic, scientific-educational and cultural-information spheres.”
In practice, this would eliminate whatever remains of Belarus’s sovereignty and reduce a country about the size of Kansas, with 9.3 million people, to the status of a Moscow satellite. It would put Belarusians at the mercy of the Kremlin’s priorities, whether in agriculture, industry, espionage or war. And it would pose a security threat to Belarus’s European neighbors, three of which — Latvia, Lithuania and Poland — are members of NATO and the European Union.
Excerpt.
Par for the course...it's exactly what Putin tried to do with Ukraine in 2013-2014 before the Maidan protests and Yanukovych's flight from office put a stop to it.
-
Thomas Massie
@RepThomasMassie
Biden bragged about paying pensions for Ukrainians, but we hit the debt limit and his Treasury Secretary is taking “extraordinary measures,” which means Biden is now literally selling investments of US pensions to fund Ukrainian pensions.
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FpRFM1oXoAAb-xU?format=jpg&name=small)(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FpRFM1XXsAAF_IY?format=jpg&name=small)
12:45 PM · Feb 18, 2023
We’re not only facing insolvency with Medicare and Social Security, but many state public employee pensions are also facing insolvency and this will make the much needed cuts a harder sell
-
'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
-
Putin: Russia Suspends Participation in Last Remaining Nuclear Treaty With U.S
https://www.usnews.com/news/world/articles/2023-02-21/putin-russia-suspends-participation-in-last-remaining-nuclear-treaty-with-u-s
President Vladimir Putin said on Tuesday that Russia was suspending its participation in the New START treaty with the United States that limits the two sides' strategic nuclear arsenals.
Putin stressed that Russia was not withdrawing from the treaty but the suspension further imperils the last remaining pillar of arms control between the United States and Russia, which between them hold nearly 90% of the world's nuclear warheads - enough to destroy the planet many times over.
"In this regard, I am forced to announce today that Russia is suspending its participation in the strategic offensive arms treaty," Putin told lawmakers towards the end of a major speech to parliament, nearly one year into the war in Ukraine.
Putin said Russia's nuclear energy company Rosatom must also ensure the country's readiness to test a nuclear weapon, if needed.
"Of course, we will not be the first to do this. But if the United States tests, then we will," he said. "No one must be under any dangerous illusions that global strategic parity can be destroyed."
Excerpt.
-
'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.
-
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
-
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.
-
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:
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Fpgddf4XsAk7vth?format=jpg&name=small)
The USAF is watching the Moldovan border today:
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Fpk9hXdWYAAmgf-?format=jpg&name=medium)
-
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
-
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.
-
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.
-
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?
-
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
-
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.
-
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.
-
Growing Wagner cemetery.
(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zsHF5Or3z4o)
-
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
-
Ukraine's Zelenskyy to Meet China's Xi (https://www.newsmax.com/world/globaltalk/zelenskyy-xi-meet/2023/02/24/id/1110045/)
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. ...
-
US Commits $2 Billion in Drones, Ammunition, Aid to Ukraine (https://www.newsmax.com/politics/russia-ukraine-united-states/2023/02/24/id/1109980/)
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. ...
-
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Fpe7GVjXgAEsdP7?format=jpg&name=medium)
-
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
-
‘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.
-
‘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.
-
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?
-
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.
-
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.
-
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.
-
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.
-
@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...
-
Yeah, there's a 'Hold my Tsing Tao' moment coming up...
I'm not as concerned about China as I am about Russia. Putin has so degraded the military in his war on Ukraine that about all he as left is strategic tactical nuclear weapons. Ukraine now has longer range missiles and with the upgrade in tanks as well as the armor they captured last year once the ground gets firmer they may be able to make a strong push to take back Crimea. Is that going to be the point that Putin uses nuclear weapons?
-
I do not understand the 'rules'? or even where the 'rules' come from?
If you start sending missiles in an apartment block which I own? man there are no 'rules' after that.
Why is nobody dropping ordinance on Moscow? I would be blowing the shit out of that city.
I would f*uck them up. Why? Why is nobody doing this. F*uck them. Blow them up.
We know we can ... just do it!
-
I do not understand the 'rules'? or even where the 'rules' come from?
If you start sending missiles in an apartment block which I own? man there are no 'rules' after that.
Why is nobody dropping ordinance on Moscow? I would be blowing the shit out of that city.
I would f*uck them up. Why? Why is nobody doing this. F*uck them. Blow them up.
We know we can ... just do it!
As much as I agree with you, the one thing that stops that is the threat of a nuclear response.
I think Putin could justify in his mind using tactical nuclear weapons in Ukraine because they are low level radiation and the radiation dissipates quickly. Putin is like Brandon he has made one misstep after another. Like Brandon he is surrounded by corrupt people with their own agendas and none of them are patriots. Really the only difference between the two is Putin doesn't have dementia.
-
I do not understand the 'rules'? or even where the 'rules' come from?
If you start sending missiles in an apartment block which I own? man there are no 'rules' after that.
Why is nobody dropping ordinance on Moscow? I would be blowing the shit out of that city.
I would f*uck them up. Why? Why is nobody doing this. F*uck them. Blow them up.
We know we can ... just do it!
@240B
Yup! There is NOTHING that compare to blowing up Moscow when it comes to "World Class Stoopid"!
The typical Russian is probably as disgusted by this crap as everyone else is,but unlike us they are powerless to do public protests because their families will lose their jobs and housing,and they will go off to the labor camps.
BUT......,start attacking "Holy Mother Russia",and it is "GAME ON!" for the typical Russian.
Do NOT mistake the neo-Soviet leadership (?) with the typical Russian. Most probably hate their leadership more than we do,but attack Russia herself,and everything changes.
Hell,this might even be a part of Putin's "personal survival plan". He knows if he can get the west to attack Russia that he will suddenly become a national hero.
-
He knows if he can get the west to attack Russia that he will suddenly become a national hero.
That only works if you WIN.
NATO would Crush Russia. We can erase them from the planet.
But not me, per se, Why is nobody bombing Moscow? What the hell man?
What does it take to make you angry? Jesus dude. They have done all they can to spit in your face.
What does it take?
-
If I understand the "rules" correctly, it is perfectly OK for Russia to bomb Keiv, but it is NOT OK for Keiv to bomb Moscow?
Those are some shady rules. Imagine a boxing match, where he is allowed to hit me but I am not allowed to strike him back.
-
Top 5 Tanks | What's going to Ukraine?
The Tank Museum Feb 24, 2023 #tankmuseum #Ukraine #top5tanks
David Willey is back with another Top 5 Tanks. With the Tank dominating news in recent months, David looks at the history, capabilities, and characteristics of the tanks that NATO has announced it will be sending to Ukraine.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0vvG64vqLrw (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0vvG64vqLrw)
-
You won't see any M-1s showing up in Ukraine any time this year. "Announcing" tanks going to Ukraine, and actually sending tanks to Ukraine are two totally different things. Just because money is being spent doesn't mean that Ukraine is receiving weapons.
-
To Win With Their Leopard 1 Tanks, Ukrainian Crews Need To Think Like Snipers
David Axe | Feb 25, 2023 | 08:52pm EST
(https://imageio.forbes.com/specials-images/imageserve/63fab972604d8149b3093b48/Brazilian-army-Leopard-1A5s-/0x0.jpg?format=jpg&crop=1024,577,x0,y37,safe&width=960)
Brazilian army Leopard 1A5s.WIKIMEDIA COMMONS
Ukraine is getting at least 100, and as many as 237, surplus Leopard 1A5 tanks from Germany, The Netherlands, Denmark and potentially Belgium.
The Leopard 1 isn’t a great tank. It’s not a terrible tank. It’s a tank with particular strengths and weaknesses—and one that, with the right handling, can survive and win.
Fortunately for the Ukrainian army, the Brazilian army still uses the Leopard 1A5. And one Brazilian officer has strong ideas about the best ways to deploy the tank.
“Seize the high ground,” Capt. Adriano Santiago Garcia wrote in a 2020 issue of Armor, the U.S. Army’s official tank journal. “Use camouflage.” “Proper terrain-use.”
The 42-ton, four-person Leopard 1A5 combines a hull and turret from the 1960s with optics and fire-controls from the 1980s and a modern, 105-millimeter main gun.
The classic tank’s biggest weakness is its armor. Its steel armor is just 2.75 inches thick on the front of the turret and less than half an inch thick on the sides and back of the hull. . . .
https://www.forbes.com/sites/davidaxe/2023/02/25/to-win-with-their-leopard-1-tanks-ukrainian-crews-need-to-think-like-snipers/
-
Opposition group: Explosion at Belarusian military airfield damaged Russian aircraft in reported partisan attack
https://kyivindependent.com/news-feed/opposition-group-explosion-at-belarusian-military-airfield-damages-russian-aircraft-in-reported-partisan-attack
A Russian A-50 early warning and control aircraft in Belarus was damaged as a result of the Feb. 26 explosion at the Machulishchy airfield near Minsk, Belarusian opposition media Nasha Niva reported on Feb. 26 citing Aliaksandr Azarov, leader of Belarusian anti-government organization BYPOL.
According to Azarov, the attack was carried out by Belarusian partisans in the area using two drones as part of BYPOL's so-called "Victory Plan". Thpse involved are now safe, he said.
Belarusian Hajun, a group that monitors the movement of Russian weapons, reported that local residents had heard several explosions in the area at around 8:30-9 a.m. on Feb. 26.
The radar system of the Soviet-built A-50 can simultaneously track up to 150 targets at a distance of up to 230 kilometers or large targets such as ships at a distance of up to 400 kilometers.
Russia reportedly operates nine of the planes, which, according to Nasha Niva, are used to guide Russian missiles at targets in Ukraine.
Since the launch of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, partisans have been active in Ukraine's northern neighbor, sabotaging military, transport, and cyber infrastructure.
Although Belarus has not officially declared war on Ukraine, Russian forces have been given access to Belarusian territory to launch attacks on Ukraine, including the failed assault on Kyiv in February 2022.
I'm trying to decide if this was actually a special forces raid, a drone attack, or the Russian false flag operation that's been telegraphed for weeks.
(https://api.kyivindependent.com/storage/beriev-a-50-vladivostok-1677442246rRhxP-1080x1080.jpg)
-
Tough call...
-
Opposition group: Explosion at Belarusian military airfield damaged Russian aircraft in reported partisan attack
https://kyivindependent.com/news-feed/opposition-group-explosion-at-belarusian-military-airfield-damages-russian-aircraft-in-reported-partisan-attack
I'm trying to decide if this was actually a special forces raid, a drone attack, or the Russian false flag operation that's been telegraphed for weeks.
(https://api.kyivindependent.com/storage/beriev-a-50-vladivostok-1677442246rRhxP-1080x1080.jpg)
You left out option D: an accident with live ammunition. These are Russians, so that's always a possibility.
-
You left out option D: an accident with live ammunition. These are Russians, so that's always a possibility.
:thumbsup:
-
You left out option D: an accident with live ammunition. These are Russians, so that's always a possibility.
Well there's also an option E: Russian troops taking out their own equipment and/or commanders...
-
Well there's also an option E: Russian troops taking out their own equipment and/or commanders...
Very true, that is also a possibility.
-
You left out option D: an accident with live ammunition. These are Russians, so that's always a possibility.
VODKA!
-
Well there's also an option E: Russian troops taking out their own equipment and/or commanders...
also vodka!
-
Whatever the leanings of their government, there must be a lot of ordinary people in Belarus who are worried that they are very close to being swallowed by Russia themselves, one way or the other. Completely understandable that some of them would take out some Russian equipment if they see the opportunity.
-
Whatever the leanings of their government, there must be a lot of ordinary people in Belarus who are worried that they are very close to being swallowed by Russia themselves, one way or the other. Completely understandable that some of them would take out some Russian equipment if they see the opportunity.
:thumbsup:
-
Whatever the leanings of their government, there must be a lot of ordinary people in Belarus who are worried that they are very close to being swallowed by Russia themselves, one way or the other. Completely understandable that some of them would take out some Russian equipment if they see the opportunity.
It's one thing to be run by puppets, quite another to be occupied.
-
Whatever the leanings of their government, there must be a lot of ordinary people in Belarus who are worried that they are very close to being swallowed by Russia themselves, one way or the other. Completely understandable that some of them would take out some Russian equipment if they see the opportunity.
Yes, anti-Russian Belarussians is another possibility.
-
Yes, anti-Russian Belarussians is another possibility.
The Belorussian people are at a crossroads themselves. Their current market for agricultural equipment in the US could evaporate if they side with the Russians, (there's a contingent of farmers here who are descended from Ukrainian immigrants--they aren't just German and Norwegian families, here). Belarus makes a reasonable medium duty tractor, and sales of those could plummet overnight. (https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/8e/Belarus_1220.4.jpg/220px-Belarus_1220.4.jpg) Belarus tractors are now being sold under the MTZ brand in the US. While that market share is only a small part of the US market, that market is worth about 100 billion dollars.
The claim, too, is that the tractor works in Minsk make one in ten of the tractors in the world. Something to consider, as the global ag equipment market is is estimated at 160 Billion dollars, and the US would not be the only market segment affected by Belorussia siding with Russia.
How much of that market goes to Russia? Will that economic consideration not be enough to keep the Belorussians from becoming a satellite (soviet) state?
Tune in next week...
-
Mr. KnowItAll speaks. Old clip emerges of Bill Gates saying Ukraine is a big, fat, corrupt sink hole. Yeah, it's corrupt, I'll grant you that.
https://twitter.com/ChuckCallesto/status/1630312332944392193
-
Mr. KnowItAll speaks. Old clip emerges of Bill Gates saying Ukraine is a big, fat, corrupt sink hole. Yeah, it's corrupt, I'll grant you that.
https://twitter.com/ChuckCallesto/status/1630312332944392193
He's right about the quality of their farmland (with a few possible exceptions in the Red River Valley (Red River of the North) which is a glacial lake plain) and a few other areas. Considering he's been buying up US farmland at an incredible rate, it is no surprise he's done his homework there.
Under Poroshenko, yes, it was undoubtedly corrupt.
Maybe under Zelensky, too, but Zelensky has to play ball with our most corrupt president ever to get what he needs for defense, and his ass is against the wall, there. What choice is there? (Be overrun?)
-
He's right about the quality of their farmland (with a few possible exceptions in the Red River Valley (Red River of the North) which is a glacial lake plain) and a few other areas. Considering he's been buying up US farmland at an incredible rate, it is no surprise he's done his homework there.
Under Poroshenko, yes, it was undoubtedly corrupt.
Maybe under Zelensky, too, but Zelensky has to play ball with our most corrupt president ever to get what he needs for defense, and his ass is against the wall, there. What choice is there? (Be overrun?)
Excellent post!
-
Putin's spokesman admits the 70-year-old is 'definitely not up to it now' when asked if Vladimir is ready to decide if he will run for president next year
By WILL STEWART FOR MAILONLINE
28 February 2023
Vladimir Putin's spokesman has admitted the 70-year-old is 'definitely not up to' deciding whether he will run for a new presidential term next year. The Kremlin leader has been dogged by rumors of ill health, including cancer, and is embroiled in a brutal war he unleashed in Ukraine which is not going according to plan.
His spokesman Dmitry Peskov said today that elections would go ahead despite the military conflict, even though they had been 'called into question.' But Putin, 70, has failed to indicate if he will stand. 'So far, there are no pre-election or electoral moods — Putin has a lot to do. He's definitely not up to it now,' Peskov said. Several elections are due in Russia, including the presidential poll — the first round of which should be in March 2024, little over one year away.
Peskov (pictured left) told Izvestia: 'There is a decision that there will be elections. Under the conditions of the SVO [Putin's 'special military operation'], the prospects for holding elections — both in September and then presidential ones — were called into question. But we heard in the message that these and other elections should happen. That it is an integral part of the development of our society and political system.' Peskov added: 'We have not heard from him so far any statements where he would speak about nominating or not nominating his candidacy. That is, it is still a little premature. We just need to be patient.' Peskov did not elaborate further on what he meant by saying Putin was 'not up to it now.' If he stands, it would be his fifth term as president. Additionally he was acting president for several months in early 2000.
* * *
Source: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/galleries/article-11802075/Putins-aide-says-leader-isnt-running-president-again.html
-
Putin's spokesman admits the 70-year-old is 'definitely not up to it now' when asked if Vladimir is ready to decide if he will run for president next year
By WILL STEWART FOR MAILONLINE
28 February 2023
Vladimir Putin's spokesman has admitted the 70-year-old is 'definitely not up to' deciding whether he will run for a new presidential term next year. The Kremlin leader has been dogged by rumors of ill health, including cancer, and is embroiled in a brutal war he unleashed in Ukraine which is not going according to plan.
His spokesman Dmitry Peskov said today that elections would go ahead despite the military conflict, even though they had been 'called into question.' But Putin, 70, has failed to indicate if he will stand. 'So far, there are no pre-election or electoral moods — Putin has a lot to do. He's definitely not up to it now,' Peskov said. Several elections are due in Russia, including the presidential poll — the first round of which should be in March 2024, little over one year away.
Peskov (pictured left) told Izvestia: 'There is a decision that there will be elections. Under the conditions of the SVO [Putin's 'special military operation'], the prospects for holding elections — both in September and then presidential ones — were called into question. But we heard in the message that these and other elections should happen. That it is an integral part of the development of our society and political system.' Peskov added: 'We have not heard from him so far any statements where he would speak about nominating or not nominating his candidacy. That is, it is still a little premature. We just need to be patient.' Peskov did not elaborate further on what he meant by saying Putin was 'not up to it now.' If he stands, it would be his fifth term as president. Additionally he was acting president for several months in early 2000.
* * *
Source: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/galleries/article-11802075/Putins-aide-says-leader-isnt-running-president-again.html
And there you have the timeline for the end of the Orcs' invasion of Ukraine - March 2024. Putin will carry on his misbegotten thuggery until then, will announce his retirement, and will then fade away with his stolen billions, leaving a catastrophic mess for his successor to try and clean up.
-
All flights are suspended at Russian airport 'as fighter jets are sent to investigate unidentified flying object'
City government said it had halted all flights at the airport until 1200 local time
Unconfirmed reports said an unidentified object, such as a drone, was in the air
By CHRIS JEWERS FOR MAILONLINE and REUTERS
28 February 2023
Russia's Pulkovo Airport in St. Petersburg temporarily suspended all flights on Tuesday, the city government said, amid unconfirmed Russian media reports of an unidentified object such as a drone above the city.
The government of Russia's second city and birthplace of Vladimir Putin said on its official Telegram channel that it had halted all flights at the airport until 1200 local time (0900 GMT), at which point the suspension was lifted.
The state-run TASS news agency said that airspace within a 124-mile radius of Pulkovo had been closed until 1320 local time, citing an unnamed source.
* * *
Source: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11801843/All-flights-suspended-Russian-airport-fighter-jets-sent-investigate.html
-
Putin's spokesman admits the 70-year-old is 'definitely not up to it now' when asked if Vladimir is ready to decide if he will run for president next year
By WILL STEWART FOR MAILONLINE
28 February 2023
Vladimir Putin's spokesman has admitted the 70-year-old is 'definitely not up to' deciding whether he will run for a new presidential term next year. The Kremlin leader has been dogged by rumors of ill health, including cancer, and is embroiled in a brutal war he unleashed in Ukraine which is not going according to plan.
His spokesman Dmitry Peskov said today that elections would go ahead despite the military conflict, even though they had been 'called into question.' But Putin, 70, has failed to indicate if he will stand. 'So far, there are no pre-election or electoral moods — Putin has a lot to do. He's definitely not up to it now,' Peskov said. Several elections are due in Russia, including the presidential poll — the first round of which should be in March 2024, little over one year away.
Peskov (pictured left) told Izvestia: 'There is a decision that there will be elections. Under the conditions of the SVO [Putin's 'special military operation'], the prospects for holding elections — both in September and then presidential ones — were called into question. But we heard in the message that these and other elections should happen. That it is an integral part of the development of our society and political system.' Peskov added: 'We have not heard from him so far any statements where he would speak about nominating or not nominating his candidacy. That is, it is still a little premature. We just need to be patient.' Peskov did not elaborate further on what he meant by saying Putin was 'not up to it now.' If he stands, it would be his fifth term as president. Additionally he was acting president for several months in early 2000.
* * *
Source: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/galleries/article-11802075/Putins-aide-says-leader-isnt-running-president-again.html
@Kamaji
If he does step down,it will be to be replaced by some flunkie who will follow his orders. Putin will still be in charge,but not officially.
Dictators do NOT give up their power.
They can't afford to.
-
@Kamaji
If he does step down,it will be to be replaced by some flunkie who will follow his orders. Putin will still be in charge,but not officially.
Dictators do NOT give up their power.
They can't afford to.
They do if they engineer their departure correctly. Putin has the money to do so, and there are plenty of places he could move to.
-
They do if they engineer their departure correctly. Putin has the money to do so, and there are plenty of places he could move to.
@Kamaji
He has spent his entire life focusing on gaining power. Do you really think he is ready to give it up?
Or even emotionally able to give it up?
-
@Kamaji
He has spent his entire life focusing on gaining power. Do you really think he is ready to give it up?
Or even emotionally able to give it up?
All I know is what's published, and what's published definitely points to an end-game by March of 2024.
-
All I know is what's published, and what's published definitely points to an end-game by March of 2024.
It won't be over until Sevastopol is in Ukrainian hands.
-
It won't be over until Sevastopol is in Ukrainian hands.
We shall see; that all depends on the Russians and the Ukrainians.
-
'Ukrainian kamikaze drone' crashes down near gas plant just 68 miles from the Kremlin as Putin demands tighter security
Images appear to depict a UJ-31 'loitering munitions' kamikaze flying bomb
The drone came down near the village of Kolomna
By JAMES CALLERY FOR MAILONLINE
28 February 2023
A drone crashed just 68 miles from the Kremlin today in a suspected 'failed attack' by Ukraine.
Russian president Vladimir Putin has ordered officials to tighten control of the border with Ukraine after a spate of drone attacks delivered a new challenge to Moscow more than a year after the invasion of its neighbour.
While Putin did not refer to any specific attacks in a speech in Moscow, his comments came hours after drones targeted several areas in southern and western Russia and authorities closed the airspace over St Petersburg in response to what some reports said was a drone.
* * *
Source: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11803571/Ukrainian-kamikaze-drone-crashes-near-gas-plant-just-68-miles-Kremlin.html
-
(https://img-9gag-fun.9cache.com/photo/aMEVXvM_460s.jpg)
-
Moldova: Anti-government protest stirs fears of more unrest
https://apnews.com/article/moldova-protest-0ba8c2e7f4c681d077598e7713110fab
A new anti-government protest in Moldova’s capital Tuesday stirred fears of more unrest after thousands of demonstrators took to the streets to demand that the country’s new pro-Western government fully subsidize citizens’ winter energy bills and to “not involve the country in war.”
The protest in Chisinau was organized by a group calling itself Movement for the People and supported by members of Moldova’s Russia-friendly Shor Party, which holds six seats in the country’s 101-seat legislature.
Demonstrators waved Moldovan flags and honked horns, with many calling for the country’s president to step down. “Down with Maia Sandu!” they chanted, “Down with the dictatorship!”
Dozens of coaches had bussed in protesters from around the country, temporarily causing traffic jams as hundreds of police deployed to bolster security checked vehicles entering the capital. Shor Party leader, the exiled Moldovan oligarch Ilan Shor, accused police of trying to “thwart the peaceful rally.”
“Fighting one’s own people is the last refuge of tyrants and the beginning of their downfall,” Shor, who is named on a U.S. State Department sanctions list as working for Russian interests, said in a statement Tuesday.
Putin's fingerprints are all over this.
-
Moldova: Anti-government protest stirs fears of more unrest
https://apnews.com/article/moldova-protest-0ba8c2e7f4c681d077598e7713110fab
Putin's fingerprints are all over this.
Yup.
-
Russia tries to close ring on Bakhmut as Ukrainians mount 'furious resistance'
https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/russians-intensify-assault-bakhmut-ukrainian-forces-try-dig-2023-03-01/
Russian forces carried out relentless attacks on Bakhmut on Wednesday, trying to encircle the small eastern Ukrainian city and claim their first major prize for more than half a year after some of the bloodiest fighting of the war.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy accused Moscow of throwing waves of men into battle in Bakhmut with no regard for their lives. The leader of Russia's Wagner mercenary group said the Ukrainians were putting up "furious resistance" trying to hold the city at all costs.
Russia also said it had repelled a massive drone attack on Crimea, the peninsula its forces seized and claimed to annex in 2014. That came a day after Moscow accused Kyiv of launching a series of drone strikes on targets in Russia itself.
Reuters was able to reach Bakhmut from the west on Monday, proof that the city was not yet surrounded despite Russian forces pressing from north and south to close the last routes in.
The Mobiki are now being used in the Wagner-style human wave attacks.
-
Ukraine 'hits major Russian air base in fresh strike' a day after kamikaze drone crashed down just 68 miles from the Kremlin
By WILL STEWART and CHRIS JEWERS FOR MAILONLINE
1 March 2023
Ukraine is suspected to have struck a major Russian air base in Yeysk after massive explosions at the site, in yet another attack deep behind Moscow's frontlines. Russian war channel Rybar admitted a hit on Telegram, claiming it was by a Ukrainian long range Tu-141 Strizh drone.
Ukrainian sources also claimed the strike at the military airfield in Krasnodar region, and a picture appeared to show an explosion. 'Residents assume that it could even be missiles hitting the airfield,' said one account. Russian officials have denied a strike but locals reported two loud explosions. Then black smoke (pictured here) was seen billowing from the airfield which is a base for strike aircraft used against Ukraine in Vladimir Putin's war.
One local news group carried a message saying: 'Something exploded twice, and there was fire. There was an explosion at the airfield,' stated Rybar channel, admitting a Ukrainian attempt on the Yeysk base. 'According to preliminary data, a Tu-141 Swift UAV was struck down. There was a strike on the territory of the base but none of the aircraft were hit. However, this attack is unlikely to be the only one. With a high degree of probability, attempts will continue.' Pictured: A Ukrainian combat drone that crashed near Moscow, close to the the Voskresensk gas compressor station in the Kolomensky district.
* * *
Source: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/galleries/article-11807057/Ukraine-reportedly-strikes-major-Russian-air-base-fresh-strike.html
-
How did Russia lose HALF of its 45,000 elite paratroopers in just seven months?
CHRIS PLEASANCE explains how Putin's generals' blunders saw thousands of crack VDV soldiers slaughtered... and what that means for the Ukraine war
By CHRIS PLEASANCE FOR MAILONLINE
PUBLISHED: 02:21 EST, 1 March 2023
Russia’s paratroopers – the VDV – are supposed to be the best of the best.
The 45,000-strong elite and experienced force has a reputation for ingenuity, toughness, and violence. What's more, its soldiers are among Moscow’s best equipped and best trained fighters.
This makes it all the more shocking that, seven months after Vladimir Putin ordered his armies to invade Ukraine in February 2022, half of them were dead.
Here, Chris Pleasance examines how 50 percent of Putin’s elite fighting force were wiped out as Ukraine put up a fierce defence of its country, and what that means for the Kremlin’s remaining army.
Watch the video here:
* * *
Source: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11803095/Ukraine-did-Russia-lose-HALF-45-000-elite-paratroopers-just-seven-months.html
-
Breakaway Transnistria to hold 3-month military exercise amid military provocation claims
https://www.aa.com.tr/en/europe/breakaway-transnistria-to-hold-3-month-military-exercise-amid-military-provocation-claims/2833725
The Defense Ministry of the breakaway Transnistria region of Moldova said on Tuesday that the next military exercise by the “peacekeeping contingent” in the region will begin on March 1.
"The peacekeeping contingent of the Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic continues to accept applications for participation in the next three-month training camp from March 1," the ministry said in a statement.
The statement came a day after the head of the breakaway Transnistria region, Vadim Krasnoselsky, said there is “no real danger” in the region, amid claims by Russia that Ukraine is preparing an "armed provocation" in the region.
The Russian Defense Ministry on Thursday claimed that Ukraine is preparing an "armed provocation" against Transnistria, an unrecognized breakaway region internationally recognized as part of Moldova but currently controlled by pro-Russian separatists.
The statement claimed that an offensive against Russian troops in the breakaway region is planned to be staged, with Ukrainian forces allegedly being dressed in the uniform of the Russian Armed Forces.
In response, the Moldovan government said in a statement that authorities do not confirm the claims made by the Russian Defense Ministry.
-
Breakaway Transnistria to hold 3-month military exercise amid military provocation claims
https://www.aa.com.tr/en/europe/breakaway-transnistria-to-hold-3-month-military-exercise-amid-military-provocation-claims/2833725
Russia is clearly trying to foment a violent military coup in Moldova.
-
Russia is clearly trying to foment a violent military coup in Moldova.
Yeah, pretty obvious what they are trying to do...outflank Ukraine by toppling the current government and installing a new pro-Russian government backed by whatever troops are in Transnistria, with reinforcements flown in from Crimea. At the same time, Putin also wants Lukashenko to hit Ukraine from the north, but Lukashenko knows his military would revolt, but Putin doesn't care.
Putin's also been trying to stir up trouble for NATO in the Balkans but few are paying attention:
West gains advantage as it vies with Russia for influence in Serbia
https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/west-gains-advantage-it-vies-with-russia-influence-serbia-2023-03-01/
-
Russia is clearly trying to foment a violent military coup in Moldova.
This would be the point where an American President with even a modicum of leadership ability would throw their backing to the current government and helping prevent such a coup. Unfortunately, the United States does not have such a President.
-
This would be the point where an American President with even a modicum of leadership ability would throw their backing to the current government and helping prevent such a coup. Unfortunately, the United States does not have such a President.
:thumbsup:
-
Partisans at work in Crimea.
(https://i.redd.it/2587botcg5ka1.jpg)
-
This would be the point where an American President with even a modicum of leadership ability would throw their backing to the current government and helping prevent such a coup. Unfortunately, the United States does not have such a President.
Absolutely right.
-
(https://img-9gag-fun.9cache.com/photo/a9qyVbD_460s.jpg)
-
(https://img-9gag-fun.9cache.com/photo/ap9Rd3D_460s.jpg)
-
(https://img-9gag-fun.9cache.com/photo/ap9Rd3D_460s.jpg)
We went from #2 straight to #10.
-
(https://img-9gag-fun.9cache.com/photo/a9qyVbD_460s.jpg)
Suspending the treaty was a dumb move on Putin's part. The current treaty negotiated under Obama allowed Russia to increase their nuclear arsenal while the US was forced to cut back on theirs, thus giving Russia an advantage on total warheads.
-
Hero Ukrainian soldier keeps battling Russian tank despite constant barrage of shells and machinegun fire
The brave soldier fought against a savage onslaught of Russian fire near Marinka
He ducked, dodged and weaved through trenches as shells exploded around him
But he was later worn down and made the ultimate sacrifice on the battlefield
By DAVID AVERRE
2 March 2023
Brutal footage has emerged of the moment one brave Ukrainian soldier waged a bitter fight against an entire platoon of Russian troops and their armoured personnel carrier (APC) before making the ultimate sacrifice for his country.
The unnamed soldier was dug into a trench just south of Marinka, a town close to the city of Donetsk in Ukraine's eastern Donbas region where fierce fighting has raged for months.
Drone cameras captured the harrowing footage which saw the soldier fighting desperately against a horde of Russian troops storming his position.
* * *
Source: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11813495/Hero-Ukrainian-soldier-keeps-battling-Russian-tank-despite-constant-barrage-fire.html
-
Here is what Putin the "liberator" and "protector" (according to one poster here) has done to Marinka:
(https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2023/03/02/19/68272387-11813495-image-a-5_1677783885072.jpg)
-
Ukraine Steps Up Drone Strikes
Lawrence Person's BattleSwarm Blog
Ukraine has stepped up its drone attacks against a wide spectrum of Russian military infrastructure targets.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Fk3qAvhcWU (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Fk3qAvhcWU)
• “Ukrainians are reportedly attacking objects from St. Petersburg to Krasnodar, which is a 2,000-kilometer front line in the air.”
• “Ukrainians have also reportedly accompanied the drone attack with a cyberattack on the Russian regional missile detection system.”
• They also hit an oil depot in Tuapse, for which Suchomimus has a video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hyo0aqEq8EE (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hyo0aqEq8EE)
• That’s way beyond the Kerch Strait Bridge. Back to the first video.
• “The Russians have also closed the sky near St. Petersburg. After Russian detection systems were set off, Russians reportedly used interceptor jets to eliminate the threat.” That’s more than 1,000km from Kiev, which must have Russian air defense planners freaking out. (Or drinking even more heavily than usual.)
• The hit a number of targets in Crimea, though many of the drones launched there were shot down, and some were hijacked by Russian electronic warfare countermeasures. (Cue a Cory Doctorow-esque rant about the need for strong encryption.)
• “Some analysts are saying that Ukrainians are just testing Russian air and electronic defense systems, and are creating an elaborate map for building more sophisticated trajectories. After they finish, these analysts are predicting a much larger scale attack, which would cause a lot of destruction of the airfields, as well as oil refineries and factories producing military equipment.”
• “The second camp of analysts is saying that the goal of these attacks is to disperse Russian air defense that has been greatly concentrated on the fronts.”
Reporting from Ukraine is usually pretty solid and seems to have sources inside Ukraine’s defense ministry.
More: https://www.battleswarmblog.com/?p=54269 (https://www.battleswarmblog.com/?p=54269)
-
Video shows Kerch rail bridge out:
https://www.reddit.com/r/UkraineWarVideoReport/comments/11f787s/reportedly_this_video_is_from_last_night_it_shows/
-
• The hit a number of targets in Crimea, though many of the drones launched there were shot down, and some were hijacked by Russian electronic warfare countermeasures. (Cue a Cory Doctorow-esque rant about the need for strong encryption.)
Which just underscores the importance of NOT having Chinese "corn milling" facilities only a dozen miles for an Air Force base where drone research is being carried out
-
Rosneft oil depot in Tuapse, Russia:
https://www.reddit.com/r/UkraineWarVideoReport/comments/11g7b8h/video_of_extensive_damage_at_the_rosneft_oil/
-
West fails to deliver tanks to Ukraine due to resurgent reluctance and logistics
Ben Aris | 3 MAR 2023 | 7:36 pm
European countries are struggling to fulfil their promises to send hundreds of tanks to Ukraine quickly. So far only two have arrived and the total number pledged is shrinking slowly.
European leaders say they are facing unexpected resistance from coalition partners or their defence ministries. The call for tanks has also highlighted in what bad shape the equipment of many European conventional forces is in after years of neglect and under-investment, as bne IntelliNews lately highlighted in a feature “running out of ammunition”. . .
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/west-fails-to-deliver-tanks-to-ukraine-due-to-resurgent-reluctance-and-logistics/ar-AA18ciFl
Did I call it, or what? Sending tanks to Ukraine is not the same thing as announcing you are sending tanks to Ukraine. Same goes for every other piece of equipment they have announced will be sent.
-
West fails to deliver tanks to Ukraine due to resurgent reluctance and logistics
Ben Aris | 3 MAR 2023 | 7:36 pm
European countries are struggling to fulfil their promises to send hundreds of tanks to Ukraine quickly. So far only two have arrived and the total number pledged is shrinking slowly.
European leaders say they are facing unexpected resistance from coalition partners or their defence ministries. The call for tanks has also highlighted in what bad shape the equipment of many European conventional forces is in after years of neglect and under-investment, as bne IntelliNews lately highlighted in a feature “running out of ammunition”. . .
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/west-fails-to-deliver-tanks-to-ukraine-due-to-resurgent-reluctance-and-logistics/ar-AA18ciFl
Did I call it, or what? Sending tanks to Ukraine is not the same thing as announcing you are sending tanks to Ukraine. Same goes for every other piece of equipment they have announced will be sent.
:facepalm2:
-
Ukrainian commander says there are more Russians attacking the city of Bakhmut than there is ammo to kill them
Chris Panella | Mar 3, 2023 | 12:58 PM
A Ukrainian commander said the situation in Bakhmut, a city in eastern Ukraine, is "critical" and that there are more Russian troops surrounding the city than there is ammunition to kill them all.
Volodymyr Nazarenko, a deputy commander in the National Guard of Ukraine, told Ukrainian NV Radio that the fighting is currently going on "round the clock" as Russians relentlessly push to capture the city, according to a translation from Reuters.
"They take no account of their losses in trying to take the city by assault," Nazarenko said, adding that Ukrainian troops are trying to "inflict as many losses on the enemy as possible."
But it may not be enough. . .
https://www.businessinsider.com/ukraine-commander-calls-bakhmut-critical-more-russians-attacking-than-ammo-2023-3
-
West fails to deliver tanks to Ukraine due to resurgent reluctance and logistics
Ben Aris | 3 MAR 2023 | 7:36 pm
European countries are struggling to fulfil their promises to send hundreds of tanks to Ukraine quickly. So far only two have arrived and the total number pledged is shrinking slowly.
European leaders say they are facing unexpected resistance from coalition partners or their defence ministries. The call for tanks has also highlighted in what bad shape the equipment of many European conventional forces is in after years of neglect and under-investment, as bne IntelliNews lately highlighted in a feature “running out of ammunition”. . .
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/west-fails-to-deliver-tanks-to-ukraine-due-to-resurgent-reluctance-and-logistics/ar-AA18ciFl
Did I call it, or what? Sending tanks to Ukraine is not the same thing as announcing you are sending tanks to Ukraine. Same goes for every other piece of equipment they have announced will be sent.
This just one more example of why the USA needs to get out of NATO after Ukraine pushes Russia out of Ukraine.
-
https://www.reddit.com/r/UkraineWarVideoReport/comments/11hcp67/the_norwegian_ketil_crane_found_out_where_the/
(https://preview.redd.it/3ndsg3zvukla1.jpg?width=864&format=pjpg&auto=webp&v=enabled&s=a8a1ce31791632605cffe18eae8beab64df9ac4d)
-
Ukrainian commander says there are more Russians attacking the city of Bakhmut than there is ammo to kill them
Chris Panella | Mar 3, 2023 | 12:58 PM
A Ukrainian commander said the situation in Bakhmut, a city in eastern Ukraine, is "critical" and that there are more Russian troops surrounding the city than there is ammunition to kill them all.
Volodymyr Nazarenko, a deputy commander in the National Guard of Ukraine, told Ukrainian NV Radio that the fighting is currently going on "round the clock" as Russians relentlessly push to capture the city, according to a translation from Reuters.
"They take no account of their losses in trying to take the city by assault," Nazarenko said, adding that Ukrainian troops are trying to "inflict as many losses on the enemy as possible."
But it may not be enough. . .
https://www.businessinsider.com/ukraine-commander-calls-bakhmut-critical-more-russians-attacking-than-ammo-2023-3
Wait until their heads line up....Use AP.
-
Russian State Duma Defense Committee Head Andrey Kartapalov stated that Russian companies should purchase their own air defense systems to defend against drones.
A Russian state-owned news source reported that Kartapalov claimed on March 1 that Russian Ministry of Defense (MoD) resources are focused on protecting critical state and military facilities. He argued that every “self-respecting corporation” should be able to purchase and install such systems for themselves. This bizarre proposal would likely create further security issues for Russia, not resolve them, as the prospect of numerous companies fielding and presumably using their own air defense systems independent of the Russian military should alarm any sane Russian official. Kartapalov’s statements are almost certainly an extension of the domestic panic inflamed by reports of the March 2 incursion into Bryansk Oblast and accusations of recent Ukrainian drones in Russian airspace. Kartapalov may have additionally hoped to place the onus of defense on individual enterprises to frame Ukrainian activity as a direct threat to domestic Russian affairs.
https://www.understandingwar.org/backgrounder/russian-offensive-campaign-assessment-march-4-2023
-
Chechen warlord, Putin ally Ramzan Kadyrov seriously ill — feared poisoned
By Jacob Geanous
March 4, 2023
The warlord leader of Chechnya, one of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s main cronies, is reportedly gravely ill with kidney problems, sparking fears that he was poisoned.
Ramzan Kadyrov brought the United Arab Emirate’s chief nephrologist, or kidney specialist, to Grozny, Chechnya’s capital, for treatment, Kazakh journalist Azamat Maytanov reported.
Kadyrov, the leader of the Chechen Republic since 2007, opted for a doctor from outside of the region over concerns that he was poisoned and therefore does not trust Moscow doctors.
“Kadrov is allegedly very bad and has serious kidney problems,” Maytanov wrote.
“Kadyrov is ill and has already become a drug addict,” he continued, citing Akhmed Zakayev, the now-exiled former prime minister of the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria . “He claims that some kind of energy pills previously supported the overactivity of the head of Chechnya.”
* * *
Source: https://nypost.com/2023/03/04/chechen-warlord-ramzan-kadyrov-seriously-ill-feared-poisoned/
-
Russian troops are forced to use SHOVELS during hand-to-hand combat in Ukraine due to a shortage of ammunition as Putin continues to lose his grip on the war
By MIRIAM KUEPPER
5 March 2023
Russian troops have been forced to use shovels during hand-to-hand combat in Ukraine due to a shortage of ammunition as Vladimir Putin continues to lose his grip on the war.
In the latest update from Britain's Ministry of Defence on the situation in Ukraine, it revealed that Russian mobilised reservists have said they were ordered to assault a Ukrainian concrete strong point armed with only 'firearms and shovels'.
The MoD said the shovels like the MPL 50 were likely also the tools used for hand-to-hand combat.
A standard-issue MPL 50 shovel has the mythologised reputation in Russia of being particularly lethal.
The shovel design hasn't changed much since its first introduction back in 1869. It is small and just 50cm (20in) in length.
* * *
Source: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11824349/Russian-troops-forced-use-SHOVELS-hand-hand-combat-Ukraine.html
-
Wagner mercenary chief warns the entire Russian frontline is at risk of COLLAPSING if his troops fail to take Bakhmut and are forced to retreat
By DAVID AVERRE
6 March 2023
The founder of Russia's Wagner group of mercenaries has warned the entire frontline will collapse if his troops in the Ukrainian city of Bakhmut do not receive more ammunition.
Yevgeny Prigozhin, whose organisation has played a significant part in Russian military successes in recent months, said his ammo-starved forces were the 'cement' holding the frontline together and the last line of defence to win the war.
'Today, Wagner is the cement that, as I've said previously, is holding the Ukrainian army in place – grinding it down, destroying it and preventing it from deploying to other regions and occupying other fronts.
'We're also moving forward and the [Russian] army is forced to follow behind us to save face and prop up their reputation... If the Wagner group pulls back, then the following situation will unfold.
'It is clear that the front will crumble, the front will crumble for the Russian borders, perhaps it crumbles even further.'
* * *
Source: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11825261/Wagner-chief-warns-entire-Russian-frontline-COLLAPSE-troops-not-ammunition.html
-
The Ukrainian generals aren't stupid. If the casualty ratio in Bakhmut was not favorable, they'd have withdrawn already. They must be stacking up Russians like cordwood.
-
Ukraine war live updates: Ukraine likely staging ‘tactical withdrawal’ in Bakhmut; Russian mercenary chief’s rift with officials deepens
Holly Ellyatt
March 6, 2023
The status of the besieged city of Bakhmut in eastern Ukraine is unclear after conflicting reports at the weekend over how much of the city was controlled by Russian forces, and whether Ukrainian forces were starting to withdraw from parts of the city.
A Ukrainian commander of troops in Bakhmut said on Telegram Sunday that there were “no decisions or orders regarding retreat” and that “the defense is holding” in the city but also characterized the situation in Bakhmut and its outskirts as “very much like hell.”
Analysts at the Institute for the Study of War think tank said Sunday that Ukrainian forces appear to be conducting a “limited tactical withdrawal” in Bakhmut, however, although they noted that “it is still too early to assess Ukrainian intentions concerning a complete withdrawal from the city.”
The ISW noted that “Ukrainian forces are unlikely to withdraw from Bakhmut all at once and may pursue a gradual fighting withdrawal to exhaust Russian forces through continued urban warfare.”
* * *
Source: https://www.cnbc.com/2023/03/06/ukraine-war-live-updates-latest-news-on-russia-and-the-war-in-ukraine.html
-
War News coverage sure does take two sides of a story.
-
War News coverage sure does take two sides of a story.
Spot on. And in my experience and opinion, neither side can be believed.
-
Elite Russian tank brigade suffers 'catastrophic' losses and is refusing to carry out orders after they were repeatedly told to drive to their deaths through infamous Ukrainian mine-filled crossroads
By JAMES REYNOLDS FOR MAILONLINE
6 March 2023
Russia's elite 155th Brigade is reportedly refusing to advance on the Ukrainian town of Vuhledar after suffering 'catastrophic losses' at the settlement's mine-laden crossing point. The armored division appears to have mutinied following orders to drive straight into a heavily fortified minefield dubbed the 'corridor of death' for advancing tanks. Vuhledar has resisted Putin's tactics for months and nearly wiped out the brigade towards the end of January, now reinforced with American anti-vehicle mines.
Putin's elite marine infantry tank brigade - which served in Syria and has been in Ukraine since the start of the war - is a shell of its former self having lost 130 tanks in three weeks of repeated advances around the town, and is today made up mostly of inexperienced recruits. A spokesperson for the Ukrainian military told the Kyiv Post: 'The leaders of the brigade and senior officers are refusing to proceed with a new senseless attack as demanded by their unskilled commanders - to storm well-defended Ukrainian positions with little protection or preparation.' Ukrainian forces around the town of Vuhledar have been locked in 'fierce' battles with Russia in the east for months.
The battered mining town is a hellscape of burned out buildings and artillery bombardment. But Ukraine's use of mines has exacerbated the Russian difficulty through the winter making a sustained advance. Video footage at the end of February showed the moment a Russian BMP infantry fighting vehicle of the 144 Brigade was destroyed after hitting two mines and being hit by an anti-tank weapon.
* * *
Source: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/galleries/article-11827097/Elite-Russian-tank-brigade-suffers-catastrophic-losses.html
-
Horrific video shows Ukrainian POW taking one last drag from a cigarette and saying 'glory to Ukraine' before being 'executed by Russian troops' as Kyiv slams 'heinous war crime'
By MIRIAM KUEPPER
6 March 2023
A horrific video showed a Ukrainian prisoner of war taking one last drag from a cigarette and saying 'glory to Ukraine' before being 'executed by Russian troops' as Kyiv slammed the 'heinous war crime'.
Ukraine's foreign minister urged the International Criminal Court on Monday to probe footage circulating on social media that he said showed Russian forces killing a Ukrainian prisoner of war.
'Horrific video of an unarmed Ukrainian POW executed by Russian forces merely for saying 'Glory to Ukraine'. Another (piece of) proof this war is genocidal,' Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba wrote on social media.
* * *
Source: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11827481/Horrific-video-shows-Ukrainian-POW-taking-one-drag-cigarette-executed.html
-
Horrific video shows Ukrainian POW taking one last drag from a cigarette and saying 'glory to Ukraine' before being 'executed by Russian troops' as Kyiv slams 'heinous war crime'
By MIRIAM KUEPPER
6 March 2023
A horrific video showed a Ukrainian prisoner of war taking one last drag from a cigarette and saying 'glory to Ukraine' before being 'executed by Russian troops' as Kyiv slammed the 'heinous war crime'.
Ukraine's foreign minister urged the International Criminal Court on Monday to probe footage circulating on social media that he said showed Russian forces killing a Ukrainian prisoner of war.
'Horrific video of an unarmed Ukrainian POW executed by Russian forces merely for saying 'Glory to Ukraine'. Another (piece of) proof this war is genocidal,' Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba wrote on social media.
* * *
Source: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11827481/Horrific-video-shows-Ukrainian-POW-taking-one-drag-cigarette-executed.html
He was a brave soldier who died with honor and defiance!
-
At U.S. Base in Germany, Ukraine’s Military Conducts War Games
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/03/02/world/europe/ukraine-us-wargames-germany.html
With winter almost behind them, senior American generals hosted Ukrainian military officials this week for a set of “tabletop” exercises designed to help Kyiv map out the next stage of its battle to reclaim territory from dug-in Russian troops.
During a war-game session at the headquarters of U.S. Army Europe and Africa, the military officials rehearsed a range of options for an offensive that Ukraine’s leader, President Volodymyr Zelensky, has been telegraphing for some time.
The sessions, attended on Thursday by President Biden’s most senior generals responsible for American efforts to help Ukraine, were meant to strategize, officials said, mapping out the risks and benefits of a variety of moves that Ukraine might make against Russian positions in the coming months.
Ukrainian officials will ultimately decide which course to follow, with the American military officials described as serving like a sounding board.
After one session on Thursday, Gen. Christopher G. Cavoli, the supreme allied commander for Europe, praised the Ukrainian military’s “phenomenal” adaptability and said, “We’re going to help them adapt more.”
The United States and NATO, he said, “can keep going as long as necessary.”
The war games come as Ukraine is emerging from a winter that was expected to provide a lull in fighting. But both sides continue to take heavy casualties in the Russian onslaught against the eastern city of Bakhmut.
Earlier this week, Mr. Zelensky appeared to signal that Ukraine was preparing for a major offensive. He said in a speech that he had met with top officers in the military about preparations, as well as about shortages in weaponry and ammunition.
-
He was a brave soldier who died with honor and defiance!
:thumbsup:
-
This is what Russian "liberation" looks like:
Inside Russia’s harrowing ‘re-education’ camps — where they send kidnapped Ukrainian kids
By Snejana Farberov
March 6, 2023
Kidnapped Ukrainian children are being sent to Russian “re-education” camps — where they are kept in prison-like conditions, forced to watch Russian propaganda, beaten and subjected to sexual violence, according to parents and activists.
Inessa Vertash, 43, hasn’t seen her 15-year-old son, Vitaliy, in five months — ever since he left on what was supposed to be a two-week trip to a camp at the urging of his school teacher.
It was billed as a retreat to escape the fighting.
“I told her I wanted to think about it but she said there’s nothing to think about, they were leaving the next day and would get food five times a day and why would you keep him here where there are bombs and missiles?,” the distressed mother told the Sunday Times.
After the two weeks were up, the teen was moved to another camp, which he likened to a prison.
Vertash told the Times that her son called her crying and described his harrowing living conditions.
“There were no sheets on the beds, they were made to wear clothes of old people, given food only fit for pigs and beaten if they didn’t sing the Russian anthem,” the mom recounted.
Even more alarmingly, Vitaliy told his mother that Russian camp workers were forcing 13-year-old Ukrainian girls to have sex with them.
* * *
Source: https://nypost.com/2023/03/06/ukrainian-kids-kidnapped-by-russia-sent-to-re-education-camps/
People who support Russia disgust me.
-
Russian forces resort to welding war relics onto ‘tankenstein’ vehicles
https://12ft.io/proxy?ref=&q=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2023/03/06/russian-forces-resort-welding-war-relics-tankenstein-vehicles// (https://12ft.io/proxy?ref=&q=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2023/03/06/russian-forces-resort-welding-war-relics-tankenstein-vehicles//)
Military expert says ‘a supposed first-world army’ cobbling together old parts reveals the ‘perilous state of the Russian army’
Russia is welding ageing naval turrets on to old armoured vehicles to make crude tanks as Vladimir Putin’s forces face worsening arms shortages.
The crudely engineered vehicles are being deployed in a likely attempt to shoot down Ukrainian drones as the armed forces grapple with crippling shortages of fighting machines and ammunition.
New footage from an undisclosed location appears to show a 25mm 2M-3 twin-barrelled naval anti-aircraft turret fitted to a Soviet-era MT-LB amphibious fighting vehicle to form a new hybrid weapon.
The amalgamation, which was constructed with parts manufactured as early as 1945, could be seen being transported by rail, potentially to Ukraine.
Its 25mm guns were likely procured from a naval patrol boat, an area where Russia has a rare surplus, while its tracks could date back to the 1950s.
Military experts said Russia is likely being forced to improvise from dwindling stockpiles to backfill for destroyed or lost hardware in Ukraine.
(https://www.telegraph.co.uk/content/dam/world-news/2023/03/06/TELEMMGLPICT000327946714_trans_NvBQzQNjv4BqwV-8WoS_tWKjVWeS7sRIj3GTJFJS74MYhNY6w3GNbO8.jpeg)
-
Delusions of a megalomaniac
(https://img-9gag-fun.9cache.com/photo/aVbgOgM_460s.jpg)
-
Delusions of a megalomaniac
(https://img-9gag-fun.9cache.com/photo/aVbgOgM_460s.jpg)
But, but, I was told with great intensity that this was just a border dispute to take out some Nazis...
When will the Russian people wake up and remove their tormentor?
-
(https://img-9gag-fun.9cache.com/photo/aGELRE6_460s.jpg)
-
Delusions of a megalomaniac
(https://img-9gag-fun.9cache.com/photo/aVbgOgM_460s.jpg)
That is almost word for world what Col. Douglas MacGregor said a year ago -- that it would be over in days, and that NATO would fall apart.
Sometimes, telling dictators exactly what they want to hear to earn brownie points doesn't work out. For anyone.
-
That is almost word for world what Col. Douglas MacGregor said a year ago -- that it would be over in days, and that NATO would fall apart.
Sometimes, telling dictators exactly what they want to hear to earn brownie points doesn't work out. For anyone.
But what this does, if true, is it exposes that Ukraine was intended to be a side mission. The real mission was much bigger and broader than just Ukraine. The primary goals were Poland, and disrupting NATO.
-
He was a brave soldier who died with honor and defiance!
Heart breaking.
-
But what this does, if true, is it exposes that Ukraine was intended to be a side mission. The real mission was much bigger and broader than just Ukraine. The primary goals were Poland, and disrupting NATO.
Of course.
-
The T-80B Was A Great Tank—In 1978. Now It’s The Latest Obsolete Vehicle To Join The Russian War Effort.
David Axe | Mar 6, 2023 | 06:52pm EST
(https://imageio.forbes.com/specials-images/imageserve/64067a170f4ce2810d8619bf/A-T-80B-in-its-heyday-/0x0.jpg?format=jpg&crop=640,359,x0,y0,safe&width=960)
A T-80B in its heyday. WIKIMEDIA COMMONS
In 1978, Soviet tank-maker Omsktransmash took the basic T-80 tank, which had appeared just two years earlier, and added a new turret with a better autoloader and fire-controls plus tougher composite armor.
The Soviets called this tank the T-80B. And for seven years until the T-80BV appeared, it was the Soviet army’s best tank. A few years later, it began disappearing from front-line service.
Now the T-80B is back. Desperate to make good some of the 1,800 tanks it has lost in the first year of its wider war on Ukraine, Russia has been pulling 40-year-old T-80Bs from long-term storage. . .
. . . Without new optics, a T-80B crew is at a serious disadvantage in a direct fight with a Ukrainian tank crew in an upgraded T-64BV. . . .
https://www.forbes.com/sites/davidaxe/2023/03/06/the-t-80b-was-a-great-tank-in-1978-now-its-the-latest-obsolete-vehicle-to-join-the-russian-war-effort/
-
Mysterious deaths related to Russian gas giant Gazprom may have been linked to 'money-laundering scheme' benefiting top exec's family and his cronies from Putin's security services, report claims
Suspicious deaths of Gazprom execs may be linked to money laundering scheme
The scheme benefited a top gas executive's family and his close friends at FSB
By WILL STEWART FOR MAILONLINE
8 March 2023
Mysterious deaths among business executives at Russian energy giant Gazprom are allegedly linked to a complex 'money-laundering scheme' benefiting a top gas executive's family and his cronies at Vladimir Putin's security services.
Novaya Gazeta Europe, a leading investigative news outlet, and Transparency International Russia, claimed that the high-profile Russian businessmen who have died in suspicious circumstances were linked to a multi-million dollar money-laundering scheme.
The day after the war in Ukraine started, Alexander Tyulyakov, deputy head of corporate security at Gazprom's United Settlement Centre, the energy giant's 'treasury' allegedly committed suicide.
* * *
Source: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11835369/Mysterious-deaths-related-Russian-gas-giant-Gazprom-linked-money-laundering-scheme.html?ico=topics_pagination_desktop
-
Footage of a conversation between the mobilized of the 1004th regiment from Kaliningrad and their battalion commander. The mobilized talk about their conflicts with local "L/DPR" militias who don't consider them worthy of staying in the same positions. We will all die ----
https://www.reddit.com/r/UkraineWarVideoReport/comments/11m2m7n/footage_of_a_conversation_between_the_mobilized/
-
Update:
https://twitter.com/visegrad24/status/1633548068774715392
The Ukrainian Army now confirms that the name of the Ukrainian POW brutally murdered on film by Russian troops after saying “Glory to Ukraine” is not Timofey Shadura after all.
The victim is Oleksandr Matsievsky of the 119th separate brigade, murdered in Soledar.
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FquHTojXwAEjOh0?format=jpg&name=900x900)
-
Here we go again, with Russian LGM:
Russian false-flag fears as pro-Putin separatists in Moldova claim they have foiled Ukrainian 'terror attack' in breakaway region
The comments from security officials were published by Russian state-run news
Comes as Moldova adopted a declaration condemning Russia's war in Ukraine
By DAVID AVERRE
9 March 2023
Pro-Moscow authorities in Moldova's separatist region of Transdniestria, which borders Ukraine, have claimed they prevented a terror attack organised by Kyiv against separatist officials.
Security officials said in a statement they had halted 'a terror attack... directed by Ukrainian security services, being prepared against a number of officials,' including Transdniestria's leader Vadim Krasnoselsky.
'The suspects have been detained. They have given confessions,' the report claimed, providing no further information.
The comments were published by Russian state-run news agency RIA Novosti and come on the same day that the Moldovan parliament adopted a declaration condemning Russia's invasion of Ukraine, prompting suspicions Moscow was orchestrating a false-flag operation as a pretext to increase its 1,700-strong troop presence in Transdniestria and justify further attacks on Ukraine.
Moldova, a pro-European republic of 2.6 million people located between Romania and Ukraine, has feared that it could be Putin's next target ever since the Kremlin launched its offensive on Kyiv a year ago.
* * *
Source: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11839207/Pro-Putin-separatists-Moldova-claim-foiled-Ukrainian-terror-attack.html?ico=topics_pagination_desktop
-
Interesting idea, but that essentially conflates, for example, 60 y.o. tanks that have been in mothballs for decades with anti-tank weapons like HIMARS. I rather doubt that much of the reserved weapons would really be a serious threat, other than, perhaps, just blowing up and leaving craters in the ground.
Russia has enough weaponry to keep the Ukraine war going for another TWO YEARS – even without support from another nation
Russia's amount of weaponry stored in reserves to 'cause enormous damage'
Could last longer as China, Iran and North Korea rumoured to supply weapons
READ MORE: Russian missiles caused 'significant' risk of Chernobyl-like disaster
By MIRIAM KUEPPER
9 March 2023
Russia has enough weaponry to keep the Ukraine war going for another two years - even without support from another nation, Lithuania's military intelligence service said today.
'Russia had been accumulating weapons and equipment over the long years of the Cold War,' military intelligence chief Elegijus Paulavicius said and added: 'We estimate that (its) resources would last for another two years of a war of the same intensity as today.'
Russia has a large amount of weaponry stored in its reserves, which would allow them to 'cause enormous damage and increase the costs of restoration,' he said.
Mr Paulavicius noted that the assessment depended on the perspective that no foreign country would provide military aid to Moscow.
However, Russia's weaponry could last even longer than the estimated two years, as there have already been fears that China was supplying drones to Russia after the German magazine Der Spiegel reported in February that Russia was in talks with a Chinese manufacturer to buy 100 prototype ZT-180 drones, delivered by April.
* * *
Source: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11841115/Russia-weaponry-Ukraine-war-going-TWO-YEARS.html
-
:mauslaff:
Wagner Group boss moans he’s been ‘cut off’ by Putin for demanding ammo
By Snejana Farberov
March 10, 2023
The outspoken founder of the Wagner mercenary group complained that Vladimir Putin has cut off all contact with him following his constant demands for more ammunition for his fighters in Ukraine.
Yevgeny Prigozhin, a catering mogul and Putin’s long-time ally, said in a message on his Telegram channel Thursday that he has been unable to get through to anyone at the Kremlin.
The apparent silent treatment came after Prigozhin publicly called on the Russian Ministry of Defense to supply ammunition to his mercenaries fighting to capture the key city of Bakhmut in eastern Ukraine, which has seen some of the bloodiest battles since the start of the invasion.
“In order to stop me from asking for ammunition, they turned off all special [government] phone lines in all of the offices and [Wagner] units … and blocked all [my] passes to the agencies responsible for making decisions,” Prigozhin moaned.
* * *
Source: https://nypost.com/2023/03/10/wagners-yevgeny-prigozhin-says-hes-been-cut-off-by-putin/
-
:mauslaff:
Wagner Group boss moans he’s been ‘cut off’ by Putin for demanding ammo
By Snejana Farberov
March 10, 2023
The outspoken founder of the Wagner mercenary group complained that Vladimir Putin has cut off all contact with him following his constant demands for more ammunition for his fighters in Ukraine.
Yevgeny Prigozhin, a catering mogul and Putin’s long-time ally, said in a message on his Telegram channel Thursday that he has been unable to get through to anyone at the Kremlin.
The apparent silent treatment came after Prigozhin publicly called on the Russian Ministry of Defense to supply ammunition to his mercenaries fighting to capture the key city of Bakhmut in eastern Ukraine, which has seen some of the bloodiest battles since the start of the invasion.
“In order to stop me from asking for ammunition, they turned off all special [government] phone lines in all of the offices and [Wagner] units … and blocked all [my] passes to the agencies responsible for making decisions,” Prigozhin moaned.
* * *
Source: https://nypost.com/2023/03/10/wagners-yevgeny-prigozhin-says-hes-been-cut-off-by-putin/
Is Putin setting up a 'fall guy' for the failure of his little invasion?
-
Is Putin setting up a 'fall guy' for the failure of his little invasion?
Quite possibly. The Wagner guy has already complained about being set up to take the blame.
-
Quite possibly. The Wagner guy has already complained about being set up to take the blame.
Considering the ruthless nature (as described) of that group, that could eventually backfire.
-
(https://img-9gag-fun.9cache.com/photo/aYVGMY7_460s.jpg)
-
Moldova police say they foiled Russia-backed unrest plot
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/moldova-police-say-foiled-russia-backed-unrest-plot-rcna74617
Police in Moldova said they foiled a plot by groups of Russia-backed actors who were trained to cause mass unrest during a Sunday protest against the country’s new pro-Western government.
The head of Moldova’s police, Viorel Cernauteanu, said in a news conference that an undercover agent had infiltrated groups of “diversionists,” some Russian citizens, who allegedly were promised $10,000 to organize “mass disorder” during the protest in the capital, Chisinau. Seven people were detained, he said.
Separately, police said they arrested 54 protesters, including 21 minors, who exhibited “questionable behavior” or were found to be carrying prohibited items, including at least one knife.
The protest Sunday is one of several held in recent weeks organized by a group calling itself Movement for the People, which is backed by Moldova’s Russia-friendly Shor Party, which holds six seats in the country’s 101-seat legislature.
The demonstrators are demanding that the government fully cover the costs of winter energy bills and to “not involve the country in war.” They have repeatedly called on President Maia Sandu to step down.
Police said that four bomb threats on Sunday, including one at the capital’s international airport, had been registered, which they called “an ongoing part of the destabilization measures” against Moldova, a former Soviet republic with a population of about 2.6 million.
Moldova’s border police also said Sunday that 182 foreign nationals in the last week have been denied entry into Moldova, including a “possible representative” of Russia’s Wagner Group, the private military company that is fighting in Ukraine, Moldova’s war-torn neighbor.
Excerpt
-
Moldova police say they foiled Russia-backed unrest plot
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/moldova-police-say-foiled-russia-backed-unrest-plot-rcna74617
Excerpt
Russian LGM.
-
Moment Ukrainian troops storm across no man's land firing assault rifles as Kyiv inflicts 'significant losses' on Russian forces with hundreds more killed in battle of Bakhmut
Russia and Ukraine remain locked in a battle for the city of Bakhmut in Donetsk
Wagner Group mercenaries struggling to break tide of Ukrainian resistance
By JAMES REYNOLDS FOR MAILONLINE and AFP
13 March 2023
Body camera footage shows the moment Ukrainian soldiers burst forward in a charge across no man's land, pinning down enemies before breaching a position near Bakhmut.
Gunfire is heard as members of the 24th Assault Battalion Aidar move across open ground, suppressing opposing forces with a spray of automatic fire as they push towards cover.
The men take brief respite, stacking up against a wall as another soldier looks to breach one of the buildings.
The Battalion is on the frontline of the city, fighting for control of the region which has been the longest-running and bloodiest battle of Moscow's invasion.
Ukraine said today that Russia's Wagner mercenary group, which has claimed to be leading Moscow's charge for the industrial city, was pushing forward into the industrial city.
'Wagner assault units are advancing from several directions, trying to break through our troops' defensive positions and move to the centre of the city,' the Ukrainian military said in a morning briefing. 'In fierce battles, our defenders are inflicting significant losses on the enemy.'
Russia suffered its deadliest day of the war over the weekend with 1,090 claimed to have died on Saturday amid the desperate push for control of the city.
* * *
Source: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11853481/Moment-Ukrainian-troops-storm-no-mans-land-Kyiv-inflicts-losses-Russian-forces-Bakhmut.html
-
At U.S. Base in Germany, Ukraine’s Military Conducts War Games
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/03/02/world/europe/ukraine-us-wargames-germany.html
The Ukrainians have a more professional officer and NCO corps than does Russia, which is a huge advantage in any kind of mobile warfare.
-
The Ukrainians have a more professional officer and NCO corps than does Russia, which is a huge advantage in any kind of mobile warfare.
@Maj. Bill Martin
The Soviet Union has ALWAYS had horrible officer and NCO corps because they were always selected by their "political purity",not their tactical knowledge and ability.
Yes,on rare occasions,they have sometimes gotten lucky and found a blend of the two in the same officer,but it is rare. Their typical tactic is to use green troops to lead the combat assualts,with a NKVD "following force" going in right behind them and executing anyone that tries to retreat or even take cover.
"Political purity" in the USSR is EVERYTHING. Tactical ability isn't even considered.
-
Russia 'sends WOMEN prisoners to Ukraine war zone for first time as Putin looks to make up for heavy losses'
By WILL STEWART FOR MAILONLINE
14 March 2023
Russia is believed to be sending women prisoners to the Ukraine war zone for the first time in a bid to make up for the heavy losses of Russian troops on the front lines. Due to 'heavy losses' in the war, Vladimir Putin has sought 'alternative sources of replenishment of manpower,' the Ukrainian armed forces general staff said. 'Last week there was a movement towards the Donetsk region of a train with reserved seats for transporting prisoners. One of the carriages [was for] convicted women,' the Ukrainian armed forces said.
Earlier there was credible information that Russia had moved women convicts to Kuschevka in Krasnodar region, close to the war zone. Here some female prisoners – released under a special scheme linked to the war effort – were put to work as farm laborers in field as well as 'greenhouses and cowsheds,' possibly deployed in supplying the military.
* * *
Source: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/galleries/article-11857645/Putin-reportedly-sends-female-inmates-war-zone-amid-heavy-losses.html
-
The heart-stopping moment a Ukrainian suicide drone hunts down a Russian tank
By Snejana Farberov
March 13, 2023
Dramatic new video set to the tune featured in “Pulp Fiction” shows the moment a Kyiv kamikaze-style drone stalks a Russian tank as it struggles in vain to outrun the unmanned aircraft.
Aerial footage shot from the suicide drone’s point-of-view, and released by Ukraine’s Security Service, shows the armed aircraft zeroing in on a Russian tank, identified as T-80BV, racing along a desolate road in the Kharkiv region.
The remotely operated drone pivots in the air and begins pursuing its target in the recording set to the jaunty tune of Dick Dale and The Del Tones’ 1963 hit “Misirlou,” made popular by Quentin Tarantino’s cult classic “Pulp Fiction.”
As the chase heats up, the drone descends to an altitude of just a few dozen feet above the ground, flying almost directly above the fleeing tank.
* * *
Source: https://nypost.com/2023/03/13/moment-ukrainian-suicide-drone-hunts-down-russian-tank/
-
@Maj. Bill Martin
The Soviet Union has ALWAYS had horrible officer and NCO corps because they were always selected by their "political purity",not their tactical knowledge and ability.
Yes,on rare occasions,they have sometimes gotten lucky and found a blend of the two in the same officer,but it is rare. Their typical tactic is to use green troops to lead the combat assualts,with a NKVD "following force" going in right behind them and executing anyone that tries to retreat or even take cover.
"Political purity" in the USSR is EVERYTHING. Tactical ability isn't even considered.
Yeah, they're pretty terrible. They don't really even have a professional NCO corps at all. It took a lot of crappy officers losing some horrendous battles in WW2 before they found some of the few that were both dedicated commies and capable.
I think I may have posted something awhile back from LG Hertling about the remarkable transformation the Ukrainian Army made post-2014, including finally establishing formal NCO training and building some professionalism. We were training Ukrainian officers and NCO's in Ukraine, in Europe, and even in the U.S. between than fighting and the Russian invasion. And it apparently "took", which is how they've managed to hold on for this long against a much larger country.
Here's the article. Long, but good stuff.
https://www.thebulwark.com/i-commanded-u-s-army-europe-heres-what-i-saw-in-the-russian-and-ukrainian-armies/
-
Russian jets force down U.S. drone over Black Sea, Pentagon says
https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2023/03/14/russia-forces-down-us-reaper-drone-black-sea/
Russian fighter jets intercepted and forced down an American surveillance drone over the Black Sea on Tuesday, U.S. military officials said, with one of the warplanes colliding with the unmanned aircraft’s propeller after both jets dumped fuel on it.
The incident, occurring around 7 a.m. local time, prompted Air Force personnel remotely operating the MQ-9 Reaper to bring it down in international waters. U.S. officials characterized the encounter as being part of a “pattern of dangerous actions by Russian pilots” while interacting with American and allied aircraft in international airspace. The high-risk maneuvers, carried about by Russian Su-27s, were “reckless and environmentally unsound,” the officials said, warning that such provocations could lead to “miscalculation and unintended escalation” between the two powers.
The confrontation, believed to be the first direct U.S.-Russia clash in the year since the Ukraine war began, highlights the high-stake risks of the conflict. While arming Kyiv and providing its battlefield efforts with regular overhead intelligence, the United States and NATO say they have no direct involvement in what Moscow has characterized as a Western attempt to destroy Russia.
In addition to drone surveillance and satellites, NATO flies combat air patrols and early-warning radar planes just outside Ukrainian territory in NATO and international airspace. Russian war planes generally stay out of the air over Ukraine, but are regularly flying over the Black Sea, where U.S. officials say non-contact “interceptions” with Western aircraft are common.
-
So they were dumping fuel on it, trying to destroy it in flight...
Gee, a little turbulence near one of those drones might just cause the loss of the Russian aircraft in the process...
-
The drones are controlled in "real time" by drone operators who can see and hear everything the drones see and hear.
What we should do is start loading some HE in the drones with remote detonation by the drone operators. Let them get close enough to strike a propeller again,and a drone operator gets to "shoot down" a MIG.
I am more than willing to trade a drone for a MIG and it's pilot or pilots any day of the week. Hell,I would even be happy about it.
-
The drones are controlled in "real time" by drone operators who can see and hear everything the drones see and hear.
What we should do is start loading some HE in the drones with remote detonation by the drone operators. Let them get close enough to strike a propeller again,and a drone operator gets to "shoot down" a MIG.
I am more than willing to trade a drone for a MIG and it's pilot or pilots any day of the week. Hell,I would even be happy about it.
:thumbsup:
-
https://twitter.com/Maks_NAFO_FELLA/status/1635712791326650368
-
Russia's terror war against Ukraine civilians continues.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3loWoE_-PZ4
-
Now the Orcs are attacking Poland.
Russian plot to sabotage Poland's train lines in bid to stop the country delivering arms to Ukraine is uncovered, with six 'foreign agents' arrested
* 'Foreigners from across our eastern border' were detained, Polish reports said
* They are suspected of 'working on behalf of the Russian special services'
By Ed Wight In Poland For Mailonline
15 March 2023
A Russian plot to sabotage Poland's train lines in a bid to stop the country delivering arms to Ukraine has been uncovered, with six suspected foreign agents arrested.
According to news outlet RMF FM, the 'foreigners from across our eastern border' were detained by Poland's Internal Security Agency 'on suspicion of working on behalf of the Russian special services'.
The six agents - who are thought to be from Belarus - were seized after intelligence officers from Poland’s ABW found hidden cameras recording important railway routes for transferring weapons and ammo to Ukraine.
* * *
Source: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11863857/Russian-plot-sabotage-Polands-train-lines-uncovered.html
-
Now the Orcs are attacking Poland.
Russian plot to sabotage Poland's train lines in bid to stop the country delivering arms to Ukraine is uncovered, with six 'foreign agents' arrested
* 'Foreigners from across our eastern border' were detained, Polish reports said
* They are suspected of 'working on behalf of the Russian special services'
By Ed Wight In Poland For Mailonline
15 March 2023
A Russian plot to sabotage Poland's train lines in a bid to stop the country delivering arms to Ukraine has been uncovered, with six suspected foreign agents arrested.
According to news outlet RMF FM, the 'foreigners from across our eastern border' were detained by Poland's Internal Security Agency 'on suspicion of working on behalf of the Russian special services'.
The six agents - who are thought to be from Belarus - were seized after intelligence officers from Poland’s ABW found hidden cameras recording important railway routes for transferring weapons and ammo to Ukraine.
* * *
Source: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11863857/Russian-plot-sabotage-Polands-train-lines-uncovered.html
Man do the rules change if Poland gets attacked. Putin must be suicidal.
-
Man do the rules change if Poland gets attacked. Putin must be suicidal.
That would be an extraordinarily stupid move on his part.
-
No doubt.
"One woman saw a drone from her balcony and shot it down with a jar of tomatoes."
https://twitter.com/ThePollLady/status/1636043115688759296
-
That would be an extraordinarily stupid move on his part.
@Maj. Bill Martin
No surprise he acts and thinks that way. After all,his whole life has been spent in a police state where whatever your superiors tell you is the absolute truth,and if you question it you will be shot or sent to a labor camp for life.
-
Donbass Devushka
@PeImeniPusha
The United States opposes the ceasefire in Ukraine and rejects the proposals put forward by China to resolve the crisis. This was announced on Thursday at an online briefing by the coordinator for strategic communications at the National Security Council (NSC) of the White House, John Kirby.
"We would, of course, be concerned about any Chinese proposals that would be unilateral and reflect only the point of view of Russia," the White House spokesman said. "For example, you guys have seen the 12-point plan [previously unveiled by Beijing] with fanfare," Kirby continued. "It calls for a cease-fire." "And although it sounds reasonable enough, it sounds like a good idea, the ceasefire currently, in fact, ratifies Russia's conquests, it would actually recognize Russia's [territorial] acquisitions," the NSC official claimed.
"The cease-fire now, in our view, represents yet another violation of the UN Charter," Kirby said.
1:53 PM · Mar 16, 2023
-
Poland to transfer MiG jets to Ukraine, becoming first NATO member to supply warplanes
By Snejana Farberov
March 16, 2023
Poland will hand over four MiG-29 fighter jets to Ukraine in the coming days, making the Eastern European country the first member of the NATO bloc to supply warplanes to Kyiv after months of pleading.
Polish President Andrzej Duda, one of Ukraine’s staunchest supporters, made the announcement Thursday.
“We can say confidently that we are sending MiGs to Ukraine,” Duda said at a press conference in Warsaw.
“We have a dozen or so MiGs that we got in the ’90s handed down from the German Democratic Republic [East Germany] and they are functional and play a part in the defense of our airspace.
“They are at the end of their operational life but are still functional.”
* * *
Source: https://nypost.com/2023/03/16/poland-to-transfer-mig-29-fighter-jets-to-ukraine/
-
Poland to transfer MiG jets to Ukraine, becoming first NATO member to supply warplanes
By Snejana Farberov
March 16, 2023
Poland will hand over four MiG-29 fighter jets to Ukraine in the coming days, making the Eastern European country the first member of the NATO bloc to supply warplanes to Kyiv after months of pleading.
Polish President Andrzej Duda, one of Ukraine’s staunchest supporters, made the announcement Thursday.
“We can say confidently that we are sending MiGs to Ukraine,” Duda said at a press conference in Warsaw.
“We have a dozen or so MiGs that we got in the ’90s handed down from the German Democratic Republic [East Germany] and they are functional and play a part in the defense of our airspace.
“They are at the end of their operational life but are still functional.”
* * *
Source: https://nypost.com/2023/03/16/poland-to-transfer-mig-29-fighter-jets-to-ukraine/
Looks like Russia's interference in Poland didn't exactly get the desired result.
-
Donbass Devushka
@PeImeniPusha
The United States opposes the ceasefire in Ukraine and rejects the proposals put forward by China to resolve the crisis. This was announced on Thursday at an online briefing by the coordinator for strategic communications at the National Security Council (NSC) of the White House, John Kirby.
"We would, of course, be concerned about any Chinese proposals that would be unilateral and reflect only the point of view of Russia," the White House spokesman said. "For example, you guys have seen the 12-point plan [previously unveiled by Beijing] with fanfare," Kirby continued. "It calls for a cease-fire." "And although it sounds reasonable enough, it sounds like a good idea, the ceasefire currently, in fact, ratifies Russia's conquests, it would actually recognize Russia's [territorial] acquisitions," the NSC official claimed.
"The cease-fire now, in our view, represents yet another violation of the UN Charter," Kirby said.
1:53 PM · Mar 16, 2023
They need to get past Point 1 of the ChiCom proposal first before talking about any ceasefire---respecting national sovereignty, which Russia ain't.
-
Looks like Russia's interference in Poland didn't exactly get the desired result.
Not a lot of love in Poland for Russians.
-
Not a lot of love in Poland for Russians.
@Maj. Bill Martin
Yeah,that's ONE way of putting it.
-
@Maj. Bill Martin
Yeah,that's ONE way of putting it.
I get that this is a divisive issue, and I get why. I'm just worried that if we let Ukraine get swallowed, we may look back on this and realize that giving up on an ally who was actually willing to fight may have been a really big mistake. We may find ourselves with a Europe that looks much different, and much worse.
-
I get that this is a divisive issue, and I get why. I'm just worried that if we let Ukraine get swallowed, we may look back on this and realize that giving up on an ally who was actually willing to fight may have been a really big mistake. We may find ourselves with a Europe that looks much different, and much worse.
Yep. Unfortunately, I believe most of that corruption is driven from this side of the pond, with Zelensky doing what he must to save his country from the Orcs.
-
Yep. Unfortunately, I believe most of that corruption is driven from this side of the pond, with Zelensky doing what he must to save his country from the Orcs.
I think it's possible that Ukraine has lost the opportunity to expel the Russian invaders because Biden and NATO were so slow in providing the offensive weaponry needed. I've seen regular updates on Russian casualties but Ukraine has been losing soldiers as well. April is supposed to be the month the big counteroffensive begins so we should find out in a month or two if Ukraine has enough left to push the Russians back.
-
I think it's possible that Ukraine has lost the opportunity to expel the Russian invaders because Biden and NATO were so slow in providing the offensive weaponry needed. I've seen regular updates on Russian casualties but Ukraine has been losing soldiers as well. April is supposed to be the month the big counteroffensive begins so we should find out in a month or two if Ukraine has enough left to push the Russians back.
It's also a question of who blinks first. Putin himself isn't going to order a pullback as long as he is in power, but if he decides to give it up or something, I can see a successor just wanting to end it. Probably some agreed-upon referendums in Crimea and the Donbass. Though I think if they're legit, the Ukrainians likely would win both. A post-war future in a country tied closely to the rest of Europe likely looks better than one tied to Russia/China.
-
It's also a question of who blinks first. Putin himself isn't going to order a pullback as long as he is in power, but if he decides to give it up or something, I can see a successor just wanting to end it. Probably some agreed-upon referendums in Crimea and the Donbass. Though I think if they're legit, the Ukrainians likely would win both. A post-war future in a country tied closely to the rest of Europe likely looks better than one tied to Russia/China.
I agree with your points, except I think Russia has changed the demographics in Crimea to the point they might win an honest referendum. Russia is truly evil for a variety of reasons among them being forcefully removing Ukrainians from conquered territory and relocating them in Russia as well as indoctrinating the youth in school.
-
I agree with your points, except I think Russia has changed the demographics in Crimea to the point they might win an honest referendum. Russia is truly evil for a variety of reasons among them being forcefully removing Ukrainians from conquered territory and relocating them in Russia as well as indoctrinating the youth in school.
Right. I mean, I understand that the demographics are not the same as when Crimea freely voted to become part of an independent Ukraine back in 1991. I'm just thinking that regardless of whether they are ethnically Russian or ethnically Ukrainian, a lot of people might rather put their eggs in the basket of Europe rather than Asia.
-
I get that this is a divisive issue, and I get why. I'm just worried that if we let Ukraine get swallowed, we may look back on this and realize that giving up on an ally who was actually willing to fight may have been a really big mistake. We may find ourselves with a Europe that looks much different, and much worse.
@Maj. Bill Martin
I couldn't agree more.
The ONLY way to keep a bully (Russia) from threatening you on a regular basis is standing up to him.
Even mo betta is having someone ELSE stand up to him,with you not supplying any of the blood that will be shed. Equipment such as armaments ends up either being used or declared obsolete and scrapped,so why not allow someone else who IS NOW standing up to the bully,and let them use it to the benefit of both themselves and everybody else on the planet but China?
-
It's also a question of who blinks first. Putin himself isn't going to order a pullback as long as he is in power, but if he decides to give it up or something, I can see a successor just wanting to end it. Probably some agreed-upon referendums in Crimea and the Donbass. Though I think if they're legit, the Ukrainians likely would win both. A post-war future in a country tied closely to the rest of Europe likely looks better than one tied to Russia/China.
@Maj. Bill Martin
Agreed,but Putin is NOT going to blink first. He would rather see the entire Neo-Soviet armed forces destroyed first.
He is not only a dictator,he is a megalomaniac. It will take a bullet in the head for him to step down.
-
@Maj. Bill Martin
Agreed,but Putin is NOT going to blink first. He would rather see the entire Neo-Soviet armed forces destroyed first.
He is not only a dictator,he is a megalomaniac. It will take a bullet in the head for him to step down.
Not sure about his health. The election is next year, and its possible he won't run.
-
Not sure about his health. The election is next year, and its possible he won't run.
@Maj. Bill Martin
Ahhh,for the good old days,when a Soviet official was reported to have "health problems",and that meant he was being executed in the basement of the Lubyanka prison.
-
Secret document reveals Russia’s 10-year plan to destabilize Moldova
https://www.cnn.com/2023/03/16/europe/russia-moldova-secret-document-intl-cmd/index.html
A secret plan drawn up by Russia’s security service, the FSB, lays out detailed options to destabilize Moldova – including supporting pro-Russian groups, utilizing the Orthodox Church and threatening to cut off supplies of natural gas.
The document appears to have been drawn up to thwart Moldova’s tilt to the West, which includes closer relations with NATO and an application to join the European Union. It repeatedly refers to the importance of preventing Moldova from joining NATO.
(snip)
The document sets out a 10-year strategy for bringing Moldova, a former Soviet republic sandwiched between Ukraine and Romania, within Russia’s sphere of influence.
The plan includes making Moldova dependent on imports of Russian gas and stirring up social conflict, as well as trying to block Moldova’s efforts to gain influence in the pro-Russian breakaway region of Transnistria, where some 1,500 Russian soldiers are stationed.
The five-page document is separated into multiple headings with short-, medium- and long-term aims. Among the immediate objectives are “support for Moldovan political forces advocating constructive relations with the Russian Federation,” and “neutralization of the initiatives of the Republic of Moldova aimed at eliminating the Russian military presence in Transnistria.”
Medium-term goals include “opposition to the expansionist policy of Romania in the Republic of Moldova” and “opposition to cooperation between the Republic of Moldova and NATO.”
The FSB document lays out long term goals including the “creation of stable pro-Russian groups of influence in the Moldovan political and economic elites” and “the formation of a negative attitude towards NATO.”
Excerpt.
-
Secret document reveals Russia’s 10-year plan to destabilize Moldova
https://www.cnn.com/2023/03/16/europe/russia-moldova-secret-document-intl-cmd/index.html
Excerpt.
And we kept getting told that it’s just a little border dispute between Russia and Ukraine.
:rolleyes:
-
Donbass Devushka
@PeImeniPusha
The United States opposes the ceasefire in Ukraine and rejects the proposals put forward by China to resolve the crisis. This was announced on Thursday at an online briefing by the coordinator for strategic communications at the National Security Council (NSC) of the White House, John Kirby.
https://twitter.com/simonateba/status/1636697822786379782
-
A secret plan drawn up by Russia’s security service, the FSB, lays out detailed options to destabilize Moldova – including supporting pro-Russian groups, utilizing the Orthodox Church and threatening to cut off supplies of natural gas.
https://www.cnn.com/2023/03/16/europe/russia-moldova-secret-document-intl-cmd/index.html
Excerpt.
I was in Moscow during the 1st election after the fall of Communism. The head of the Russian Orthodox Church,as well as a flock of Priests and a gaggle of Nuns were in Red Square,supporting the Communist candidate for President against Yeltsin.
When I asked the Russian businessmen in the lobby of the hotel about it,they told me that the Communists had promised the head of the RO Church that they would keep all other religions out of Russia if the RO Church would support them publicly.
The end result was there were a hoard of Nuns and Priests there,as well as the CMMFIC,supporting the Communist cause.
In FACT, "Priest in the RO Church" was a KGB career field.
Remember,priests hear confessions about crimes planned and committed.
-
Well,we know know where some of the money sent to Ukraine went.
It will probably be some of the best-spent money,too.
-
https://twitter.com/simonateba/status/1636697822786379782
The US opposes the Chinese proposal for ceasefire, which is intended to cement in place the current Russian occupation of sovereign Ukraine territory.
Seems to me the only people in favor of such a ceasefire are those who support the orcs and their attempt to recreate the Soviet Union by force of arms.
Do you support the violent reintegration of Ukraine, Moldova, and the other former SSRs into a newly reconstituted Soviet Union?
-
The only prediction I've made so far in this war was saying back in June (on TOS) that the Russians would end up pulling out of Kherson because it was indefensible. Some other guys, mostly former officers or NCO's themselves, agreed despite the ridicule from the pro-Russia club. We could read maps and draw inferences, and we were right. So now, I'm making a second.
I think the Russians are in trouble.
The Ukrainian generals aren't stupid. Quite the contrary - they've outgeneraled the Russians this entire war. And one key thing they've done is always shown a willingness to trade space to inflict disproportionate casualties on the Russians. Bleed the attackers, then counterattack.
Those same generals would have withdrawn from Bakhmut if the loss ratio was unfavorable, or if they though there was a real risk of getting cut off. But they haven't. Instead, they've deliberately stayed in that meat grinder and not traded space, of which they have plenty.
That tells me 1) the loss ratio is heavily in favor of the Ukrainians favor, 2) they don't believe the Russians can complete an encirclement of Ukrainian forces defending Bakhmut, which has been the Russian goal for more nearly 9 months now, and 3) the Ukrainians have the forces available for a devastating counterattack if 2) did happen to occur. That last point is key.
They are staying in Bakhmut to bleed the Russians deliberately, and make those exposed attack formations ripe for a counterattack.
On the Russian side, the continued attacks on a relatively minor objective like Bakhmut - and no attacks of substance anywhere else - shriek of a lack of mobile offensive combat power. Normally, If you had an overall force advantage, you'd engage in some other areas to force the Ukrainians to pull troops away from Bakhmut. But they haven't. The Russians have put all their offensive eggs into that one basket because it is the only basket they've got. They don't have the strength to push anywhere else, and they are bleeding themselves white trying to achieve success in the only sector where they have any offensive combat power remaining.
A tipping point is going to be reached, when the Russians finally are sufficiently exhausted that they have to stop, that's when the Ukrainians will counterattack. Hard. And that's when the depths of the Russian problem will become apparent. Regimental (depleted as they are) level collapses along the front. Minimum.
-
The only prediction I've made so far in this war was saying back in June (on TOS) that the Russians would end up pulling out of Kherson because it was indefensible. Some other guys, mostly former officers or NCO's themselves, agreed despite the ridicule from the pro-Russia club. We could read maps and draw inferences, and we were right. So now, I'm making a second.
I think the Russians are in trouble.
The Ukrainian generals aren't stupid. Quite the contrary - they've outgeneraled the Russians this entire war. They've always shown a willingness to trade space to inflict disproportionate casualties on the Russians.
They'd have withdrawn from Bakhmut if the loss ratio was unfavorable, or if they though there was a real risk of getting cut off. But they haven't. Instead, they've deliberately stayed in that meat grinder and not traded space, of which they have plenty.
That tells me 1) the loss ratio is in their favor, 2) they don't believe the Russians can complete an encirclement of Ukrainian forces defending Bakhmut, and 3) the Ukrainians have the forces available for a devastating counterattack if 2) did happen to occur.
They are deliberately bleeding the Russians.
On the Russian side, the continued attacks on a relatively minor objective like Bakhmut - and no attacks of substance anywhere else - shriek of a lack of mobile offensive combat power. Normally, If you had an overall force advantage, you'd engage in some other areas to force the Ukrainians to pull troops away from Bakhmut. But they haven't. The Russians have put all their offensive eggs into that one basket because it is the only basket they've got.
A tipping point is going to be reached, and then the Ukrainians will counterattack. Hard. And that's when the depths of the Russian problem will become apparent. Regimental (depleted as they are ) level collapses along the front. Minimum.
:thumbsup:
-
The only prediction I've made so far in this war was saying back in June (on TOS) that the Russians would end up pulling out of Kherson because it was indefensible. Some other guys, mostly former officers or NCO's themselves, agreed despite the ridicule from the pro-Russia club. We could read maps and draw inferences, and we were right. So now, I'm making a second.
I think the Russians are in trouble.
The Ukrainian generals aren't stupid. Quite the contrary - they've outgeneraled the Russians this entire war. And one key thing they've done is always shown a willingness to trade space to inflict disproportionate casualties on the Russians. Bleed the attackers, then counterattack.
Those same generals would have withdrawn from Bakhmut if the loss ratio was unfavorable, or if they though there was a real risk of getting cut off. But they haven't. Instead, they've deliberately stayed in that meat grinder and not traded space, of which they have plenty.
That tells me 1) the loss ratio is heavily in favor of the Ukrainians favor, 2) they don't believe the Russians can complete an encirclement of Ukrainian forces defending Bakhmut, which has been the Russian goal for more nearly 9 months now, and 3) the Ukrainians have the forces available for a devastating counterattack if 2) did happen to occur. That last point is key.
They are deliberately bleeding the Russians.
On the Russian side, the continued attacks on a relatively minor objective like Bakhmut - and no attacks of substance anywhere else - shriek of a lack of mobile offensive combat power. Normally, If you had an overall force advantage, you'd engage in some other areas to force the Ukrainians to pull troops away from Bakhmut. But they haven't. The Russians have put all their offensive eggs into that one basket because it is the only basket they've got. They don't have the strength to push anywhere else, and they are bleeding themselves white trying to achieve success in the only sector where they have any offensive combat power remaining.
A tipping point is going to be reached, when the Russians finally are sufficiently exhausted that they have to stop, that's when the Ukrainians will counterattack. Hard. And that's when the depths of the Russian problem will become apparent. Regimental (depleted as they are) level collapses along the front. Minimum.
While I like your analysis, I think the Russians are paying dearly for a delaying action at Bakhmut, trying to consolidate a force capable of the sort of offensive you outline if they had the present combat power to do it. That force, however, will be composed mostly of reconstituted older armor that would be most effective against third-world forces, not ones equipped with much more modern equipment. Only literally running the Ukrainians out of ammo and shooting their gun barrels smooth will defeat them, and it is a costly proposition for Russia, as they will lose a generation in that meat grinder.
But then, old school Russian tactics seem more aimed at drowning those they attack in the blood of Russian troops.
-
Right. I mean, I understand that the demographics are not the same as when Crimea freely voted to become part of an independent Ukraine back in 1991. I'm just thinking that regardless of whether they are ethnically Russian or ethnically Ukrainian, a lot of people might rather put their eggs in the basket of Europe rather than Asia.
You would thinks so.
-
The only prediction I've made so far in this war was saying back in June (on TOS) that the Russians would end up pulling out of Kherson because it was indefensible. Some other guys, mostly former officers or NCO's themselves, agreed despite the ridicule from the pro-Russia club. We could read maps and draw inferences, and we were right. So now, I'm making a second.
I think the Russians are in trouble.
The Ukrainian generals aren't stupid. Quite the contrary - they've outgeneraled the Russians this entire war. And one key thing they've done is always shown a willingness to trade space to inflict disproportionate casualties on the Russians. Bleed the attackers, then counterattack.
Those same generals would have withdrawn from Bakhmut if the loss ratio was unfavorable, or if they though there was a real risk of getting cut off. But they haven't. Instead, they've deliberately stayed in that meat grinder and not traded space, of which they have plenty.
That tells me 1) the loss ratio is heavily in favor of the Ukrainians favor, 2) they don't believe the Russians can complete an encirclement of Ukrainian forces defending Bakhmut, which has been the Russian goal for more nearly 9 months now, and 3) the Ukrainians have the forces available for a devastating counterattack if 2) did happen to occur. That last point is key.
They are deliberately bleeding the Russians.
On the Russian side, the continued attacks on a relatively minor objective like Bakhmut - and no attacks of substance anywhere else - shriek of a lack of mobile offensive combat power. Normally, If you had an overall force advantage, you'd engage in some other areas to force the Ukrainians to pull troops away from Bakhmut. But they haven't. The Russians have put all their offensive eggs into that one basket because it is the only basket they've got. They don't have the strength to push anywhere else, and they are bleeding themselves white trying to achieve success in the only sector where they have any offensive combat power remaining.
A tipping point is going to be reached, when the Russians finally are sufficiently exhausted that they have to stop, that's when the Ukrainians will counterattack. Hard. And that's when the depths of the Russian problem will become apparent. Regimental (depleted as they are) level collapses along the front. Minimum.
@Maj. Bill Martin
Agree 100 percent.
The Russians will lose BECAUSE THEY ARE SOVIETS. Being Soviets,all operations are conceived,written,and approved by both the General Officers in the Kremlin instead of the senior officer in the field,and even after the Neo-Soviet staff officers come up with a plan,it has to be approved by the politicians.
The Neo-Soviets have the same battle order as the original Soviets. Damn the causalities,charge straight ahead and let the KBG "Blocking Guards" who are in the rear of every Neo-Soviet attack gun down anyone that tried to retreat.
I know dissent has been brutally crushed by the Soviets since the early 1900's,but back then the conscripts they drafted to lead charges were pretty ignorant of the world outside their borders,and believed everything the officials told them.
That is NOT the case today,and if this keeps up,it wouldn't surprise me to see a Second Soviet Revolution.
-
While I like your analysis, I think the Russians are paying dearly for a delaying action at Bakhmut, trying to consolidate a force capable of the sort of offensive you outline if they had the present combat power to do it. That force, however, will be composed mostly of reconstituted older armor that would be most effective against third-world forces, not ones equipped with much more modern equipment. Only literally running the Ukrainians out of ammo and shooting their gun barrels smooth will defeat them, and it is a costly proposition for Russia, as they will lose a generation in that meat grinder.
But then, old school Russian tactics seem more aimed at drowning those they attack in the blood of Russian troops.
Ther're definitely in trouble.
Since the big gains of the initial assault early last year, the Russians have lost at Kyiv, in Chernihiv, at Kharkiv, and then at Kherson. The pressure on their generals to show Putin a victory somewhere in the last 6 months must have been incredible, especially since there have been so many predictions from Putin allies that the Ukrainians were about to fall apart. But...nothing. Those Russian generals haven't been able to give him or the Russian people a single victory of significance despite throwing troops into a meatgrinder and losing literally thousands of first line armored vehicles. The only logical explanation for their failure to get one victory of note since last spring is that they just can't. And to keep plugging away on that single axis, against an enemy dug-in at Bakhmut, with no spoiling attacks elsewhere to drain off Ukrainian strength so they can get a breakthrough...that just looks like desperation at this point. Clubber Lang in the third round against Rocky -- punched out, and still going ahead because there isn't an alternative.
As you mentioned, they're literally rolling T-62's out of museums and using them to try to re-equip some of their Guards tanks units. And the Guards units have always had the absolute best equipment in the Russian army, so if the best they're getting is 40-50 year old T-62's, there must be nothing left for the rest of the Russian Army. They never took proper care of their reserve stocks, and it you let that stuff just sit around for decades in bare warehouses or even outside, wires and batteries corrode, rubber dry rots, and rust takes over.
When those old T-62's are being faced by Leopard II's from Germany and Challengers from the U.K., it's going to get ugly.
-
Ther're definitely in trouble.
Since the big gains of the initial assault early last year, the Russians have lost at Kyiv, in Chernihiv, at Kharkiv, and then at Kherson. The pressure on their generals to show Putin a victory somewhere in the last 6 months must have been incredible, especially since there have been so many predictions from Putin allies that the Ukrainians were about to fall apart. But...nothing. Those Russian generals haven't been able to give him or the Russian people a single victory of significance despite throwing troops into a meatgrinder and losing literally thousands of first line armored vehicles. The only logical explanation for their failure to get one victory of note since last spring is that they just can't. And to keep plugging away on that single axis, against an enemy dug-in at Bakhmut, with no spoiling attacks elsewhere to drain off Ukrainian strength so they can get a breakthrough...that just looks like desperation at this point. Clubber Lang in the third round against Rocky -- punched out, and still going ahead because there isn't an alternative.
As you mentioned, they're literally rolling T-62's out of museums and using them to try to re-equip some of their Guards tanks units. And the Guards units have always had the absolute best equipment in the Russian army, so if the best they're getting is 40-50 year old T-62's, there must be nothing left for the rest of the Russian Army. They never took proper care of their reserve stocks, and it you let that stuff just sit around for decades in bare warehouses or even outside, wires and batteries corrode, rubber dry rots, and rust takes over.
When those old T-62's are being faced by Leopard II's from Germany and Challengers from the U.K., it's going to get ugly.
The only hope they have is to literally run the Ukrainians out of Ammo, but to add insult to injury, the Ukrainians are as or more adept than the current crop of conscripts at using scrounged/captured/rehabilitated Russian equipment.
Unless Putin has something up his sleeve (like the Chinese lurking across the Yalu in Korea) he's in a bind.
Even if that's the case, Praise the Lord and Pass the Ammunition could be back on the charts, so long as we (and other European Countries who know what the stakes are eventually if Ukraine is overrun) continue to keep them supplied while maintaining sufficient reserves for ourselves in case another front opens up.
Maybe this is analogous to 1916 or 1940, but all things considered, ramping up war production has potential to put more people back to work, if we can get the Environonsense out of the way for the war effort..
Granted, economically, it's like feeding a slot machine (you only get back a percentage of what you put in and eventually go broke unless there's a big payoff) but ceding the territory and resources which would enable Putin to build back better with us still being in an economic mess looks like an even worse path.
-
The only hope they have is to literally run the Ukrainians out of Ammo, but to add insult to injury, the Ukrainians are as or more adept than the current crop of conscripts at using scrounged/captured/rehabilitated Russian equipment.
Unless Putin has something up his sleeve (like the Chinese lurking across the Yalu in Korea) he's in a bind.
Even if that's the case, Praise the Lord and Pass the Ammunition could be back on the charts, so long as we (and other European Countries who know what the stakes are eventually if Ukraine is overrun) continue to keep them supplied while maintaining sufficient reserves for ourselves in case another front opens up.
Maybe this is analogous to 1916 or 1940, but all things considered, ramping up war production has potential to put more people back to work, if we can get the Environonsense out of the way for the war effort..
Granted, economically, it's like feeding a slot machine (you only get back a percentage of what you put in and eventually go broke unless there's a big payoff) but ceding the territory and resources which would enable Putin to build back better with us still being in an economic mess looks like an even worse path.
It's helped highlight some real weaknesses in our procurement and ability to ramp up production in the event of war, so hopefully we can square that away for the future.
Strategically, a win in Ukraine leaves NATO much stronger, Russia much weaker, and China much less likely to try anything.
-
but all things considered, ramping up war production has potential to put more people back to work, if we can get the Environonsense out of the way for the war effort..
Yeah, good luck with all that.
-
It's helped highlight some real weaknesses in our procurement and ability to ramp up production in the event of war, so hopefully we can square that away for the future.
Strategically, a win in Ukraine leaves NATO much stronger, Russia much weaker, and China much less likely to try anything.
I like the idea of revitalizing our 'smokestack' industry. We have the resources, if we use them. It's also time to put a halt to some of the Environonsense. There is a point where clean is clean enough, and those thresholds were well defined but have been ramped up even more as if those minute increments are a significant improvement. Often, they are just doubling down on previous standards which were entirely adequate needlessly, and it was done in increments not to improve health (otherwise the standards would have been set at a singe point they actually needed to be at to be nonhazardous). Instead, the goal was the death of a thousand cuts, where today's refit would be deemed insufficient tomorrow, and another expensive refit demanded. No better strategy to drive industry offshore because it is a tax that is not a tax.
If the environmental standard was nPPB, then that should be sufficient. If what is needed is 0.n, then that should have been the standard to begin with. Not successive increments of .8n, .6n , etc. to bleed the operation to death in a series of refits made necessary by edict.
And at this point, I'm not sure that the people demanding all that were not on a foreign payroll to begin with.
-
It's helped highlight some real weaknesses in our procurement and ability to ramp up production in the event of war, so hopefully we can square that away for the future.
Strategically, a win in Ukraine leaves NATO much stronger, Russia much weaker, and China much less likely to try anything.
@Maj. Bill Martin
And THAT,my friend,is a win-win in the book of anyone who isn't a dedicated socialist/communist.
With any luck at all,those who are may even become suicidal. Win/win.
-
And at this point, I'm not sure that the people demanding all that were not on a foreign payroll to begin with.
@Smokin Joe
"We iz da wurld.......
We iz da peep-pulls......"
-
@Maj. Bill Martin
And THAT,my friend,is a win-win in the book of anyone who isn't a dedicated socialist/communist.
With any luck at all,those who are may even become suicidal. Win/win.
Some people have lost the ability to distinguish between domestic and international politics. They've got this weird idea in their heads that because more nationalism and less globalism is good for the United States, more nationalism in Russia is somehow good for the United States as well. Because that makes the Russians "anti-globalist" as well, and therefore the natural allies of anti-globalist Americans as well.
But that's not how it works at all. Different countries have different national interests, so just because two countries are both nationalistic doesn't mean their interests actually align. That's particularly true in the case of Russia and China, who actually favor globalization as long as they're the ones running things. And whereas our version of nationalism means greater independence and less involvement in the affairs of other nations, their version of nationalism is expansionistic/hegemonistic.
But to a weird subset - not all - of Trump supporters, Russia is actually the good guy in all this because they're anti-Klaus Schwaub/anti-WEF. But the Russian position isn't based on a belief in greater national sovereignty for every nation - it's based upon their belief that they should be the ones in charge.
-
Some people have lost the ability to distinguish between domestic and international politics. They've got this weird idea in their heads that because more nationalism and less globalism is good for the United States, more nationalism in Russia is somehow good for the United States as well. Because that makes the Russians "anti-globalist" as well, and therefore the natural allies of anti-globalist Americans as well.
But that's not how it works at all. Different countries have different national interests, so just because two countries are both nationalistic doesn't mean their interests actually align. That's particularly true in the case of Russia and China, who actually favor globalization as long as they're the ones running things. And whereas our version of nationalism means greater independence and less involvement in the affairs of other nations, their version of nationalism is expansionistic/hegemonistic.
But to a weird subset - not all - of Trump supporters, Russia is actually the good guy in all this because they're anti-Klaus Schwaub/anti-WEF. But the Russian position isn't based on a belief in greater national sovereignty for every nation - it's based upon their belief that they should be the ones in charge.
@Maj. Bill Martin
NOT trying to start an argument, but that accusation is new to me.
-
@Maj. Bill Martin
NOT trying to start an argument, but that accusation is new to me.
yeah, Bill's right. TOS is eat up with that weird idea.
-
Some people have lost the ability to distinguish between domestic and international politics. They've got this weird idea in their heads that because more nationalism and less globalism is good for the United States, more nationalism in Russia is somehow good for the United States as well. Because that makes the Russians "anti-globalist" as well, and therefore the natural allies of anti-globalist Americans as well.
But that's not how it works at all. Different countries have different national interests, so just because two countries are both nationalistic doesn't mean their interests actually align. That's particularly true in the case of Russia and China, who actually favor globalization as long as they're the ones running things. And whereas our version of nationalism means greater independence and less involvement in the affairs of other nations, their version of nationalism is expansionistic/hegemonistic.
But to a weird subset - not all - of Trump supporters, Russia is actually the good guy in all this because they're anti-Klaus Schwaub/anti-WEF. But the Russian position isn't based on a belief in greater national sovereignty for every nation - it's based upon their belief that they should be the ones in charge.
I think you have nailed it.
Russia and China, either one, will oppose globalization if they thought for a second they would not be the ones on top of the heap on the top of the heap and running it.
I agree that their nationalism is motivated by them no more wanting to be run by the WEF than the average American who is paying attention.
The only advantage for them of globalization is that it has so far weakened the other sovereign powers on the planet who are buying in, enhancing the Russian position because Russia refuses to join in, at least until they have an advantage.
Yes, we've seen people, even here, who have perhaps mistaken Putin's anti WEF/Globalist stance for upholding all national sovereignty against the globalists, but Putin's actions in Ukraine belie that concept. While he wants Russia to remain sovereign, he does not respect the sovereignty of Ukraine, and given the chance would expand that even beyond the Moldovan problems or the puppets in Belarus.
The enemy of my enemy is sometimes just the enemy of my enemy, and not a friend.
-
@Maj. Bill Martin
NOT trying to start an argument, but that accusation is new to me.
Absolutely not implying it is true of anyone here. But there most definitely are a fair group of those.over at TOS.
-
Absolutely not implying it is true of anyone here. But there most definitely are a fair group of those.over at TOS.
Maj.Bill Martin
Makes me even happier I am no longer there.
-
Maj.Bill Martin
Makes me even happier I am no longer there.
Same...
-
Who WERE the yacht-sailing Nord Stream saboteurs? A 'Ukrainian commando' and 'government-trained divers' are suspected of blowing up Putin's gas pipeline in secret mission from tiny boat, says CHRIS PLEASANCE
By MAIL ONLINE REPORTER
20 March 2023
On September 26 last year, one of the most brazen and sophisticated attacks of the entire Ukraine war took place with the destruction of the Nord Stream gas pipeline.
New intelligence leaks from the US and Germany reveal that suspicions have now fallen on a pro-Ukraine sabotage group - allegedly including a 'Ukrainian Commando' and 'government-trained divers.
A flurry of reports last week said investigators have identified six saboteurs - five men and a woman - who could have planted explosives on the pipelines sometime in early September.
* * *
Source: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11872667/Who-Nord-Stream-saboteurs.html
-
Is Putin planning to NEUTRALISE Wagner mercenary group and its leader? Murky claims emerge that Yevgeny Prigozhin has exposed Kremlin plot
Prigozhin claims he was told of plot spearheaded by Putin to 'neutralise' Wagner
But experts have cast doubt on Prigozhin's claims and say they are fabricated
By RACHAEL BUNYAN FOR MAILONLINE
17 March 2023
Wagner warlord Vevgeny Prigozhin has claimed he has been told of a plot spearheaded by Vladimir Putin to undermine and 'neutralise' the feared Russian mercenary group.
Prigozhin claimed he received a series of questions from Russian newspaper Nezivisimaya Gazeta that apparently exposed the plot to 'neutralise' Wagner and the warlord in particular.
Nikolai Patrushev, the head of Russia's Security Council, is said to have told Putin that he believes after the Ukraine war, Prigozhin will try to unite his mercenaries and send them to Russia to 'seize power' in the regions bordering Ukraine before potentially advancing inland.
* * *
Source: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11871509/Russia-Ukraine-war-Putin-planning-NEUTRALISE-Wagner-mercenary-group-leader.html
-
Who WERE the yacht-sailing Nord Stream saboteurs? A 'Ukrainian commando' and 'government-trained divers' are suspected of blowing up Putin's gas pipeline in secret mission from tiny boat, says CHRIS PLEASANCE
By MAIL ONLINE REPORTER
20 March 2023
On September 26 last year, one of the most brazen and sophisticated attacks of the entire Ukraine war took place with the destruction of the Nord Stream gas pipeline.
New intelligence leaks from the US and Germany reveal that suspicions have now fallen on a pro-Ukraine sabotage group - allegedly including a 'Ukrainian Commando' and 'government-trained divers.
A flurry of reports last week said investigators have identified six saboteurs - five men and a woman - who could have planted explosives on the pipelines sometime in early September.
* * *
Source: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11872667/Who-Nord-Stream-saboteurs.html
This is always been the kind of explanation that makes the most logical sense. And I would not be the least bit shocked if there was some cooperation by certain elements in Poland or some of the Baltic states. Not government sanctioned, but then, it wouldn't need to be.
Oh, and go to them for doing it, too.
-
This is always been the kind of explanation that makes the most logical sense. And I would not be the least bit shocked if there was some cooperation by certain elements in Poland or some of the Baltic states. Not government sanctioned, but then, it wouldn't need to be.
Oh, and go to them for doing it, too.
:thumbsup:
-
This is always been the kind of explanation that makes the most logical sense. And I would not be the least bit shocked if there was some cooperation by certain elements in Poland or some of the Baltic states. Not government sanctioned, but then, it wouldn't need to be.
Oh, and go to them for doing it, too.
The depth of the water where the explosions took place is easily within the envelope of technical rebreather equipment, (record 290+ meters), so a small team dropped off could operate for 6 hours or so without leaving so much a a bubble. If the drop was accurate, that's plenty of time.
-
EU gives Ukraine €2bn of ammunition after shell plea
By James Gregory
BBC
March 20, 2023
More than a dozen European Union member states have agreed to supply Ukraine with at least one million artillery shells over the next year.
The plan, worth €2bn in total, was agreed in Brussels on Monday.
Ukraine had told the EU it needed 350,000 shells a month to hold back advancing Russian troops and launch a counter-offensive this year.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba hailed the "game-changing decision" from the EU.
"Exactly what is needed," he wrote on Twitter. "Urgent delivery and sustainable joint procurement."
* * *
Source: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-65018434
-
EU gives Ukraine €2bn of ammunition after shell plea
By James Gregory
BBC
March 20, 2023
More than a dozen European Union member states have agreed to supply Ukraine with at least one million artillery shells over the next year.
The plan, worth €2bn in total, was agreed in Brussels on Monday.
Ukraine had told the EU it needed 350,000 shells a month to hold back advancing Russian troops and launch a counter-offensive this year.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba hailed the "game-changing decision" from the EU.
"Exactly what is needed," he wrote on Twitter. "Urgent delivery and sustainable joint procurement."
* * *
Source: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-65018434
Ivan is not happy.
-
Wagner warns Russia military chief of imminent Ukraine attack
Prigozhin says ‘large-scale’ offensive aims to cut off his fighters from regular Russian forces in an unusual open letter to Russian Defence Minister Shoigu.
21 Mar 2023
The owner of the Russian mercenary Wagner Group has warned Defence Minister Sergey Shoigu that the Ukrainian army is planning an imminent offensive aimed at cutting off his forces from the main body of Russian troops in eastern Ukraine.
Yevgeny Prigozhin said the “large-scale attack” was planned for late March or the start of April in a letter published by his press service on Monday.
“I ask you to take all necessary measures to prevent the Wagner private military company being cut off from the main forces of the Russian army, which will lead to negative consequences for the special military operation,” Prigozhin said, employing the term that Moscow uses for its invasion of Ukraine.
It was the first time Prigozhin published such correspondence with the defence minister, whom he has frequently criticised over the conduct of the war.
The unusual move appeared to have two possible aims: to wrongfoot Ukraine commanders and to seek to pin blame on Shoigu, not Prigozhin, if the purported Ukrainian manoeuvre proved successful.
* * *
Source: https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/3/21/wagner-boss-warns-russia-military-of-imminent-ukraine-attack
-
Absolutely not implying it is true of anyone here. But there most definitely are a fair group of those.over at TOS.
Wish I could find the web site, but I do know a few years ago, that when you checked nationality of web traffic, the largest non-U.S visitor to TOS was Russia. Could be a coincidence, or randomness, but......
-
Wish I could find the web site, but I do know a few years ago, that when you checked nationality of web traffic, the largest non-U.S visitor to TOS was Russia. Could be a coincidence, or randomness, but......
The only thing I could find on a quick search: https://www.similarweb.com/website/freerepublic.com/#geography
For comparison, TBR: https://www.similarweb.com/website/gopbriefingroom.com/#geography
-
The only thing I could find on a quick search: https://www.similarweb.com/website/freerepublic.com/#geography
For comparison, TBR: https://www.similarweb.com/website/gopbriefingroom.com/#geography
Good find. Got to remember now that apparently Russians are blocked to any kind of external web use. I like to play online play money poker, and back before the Ukraine war, I'd bet Russians made up at least 5% of the players. I've haven't seen a Russian player there since the start of the war.
lol... Didn't know @mystery-ak had 11-50 employees and $10-$50M in revenues. I bet she goes to Olive Garden all the time. :silly:
-
Good find. Got to remember now that apparently Russians are blocked to any kind of external web use. I like to play online play money poker, and back before the Ukraine war, I'd bet Russians made up at least 5% of the players. I've haven't seen a Russian player there since the start of the war.
lol... Didn't know @mystery-ak had 11-50 employees and $10-$50M in revenues. I bet she goes to Olive Garden all the time. :silly:
:silly:
-
I think you have nailed it.
Russia and China, either one, will oppose globalization if they thought for a second they would not be the ones on top of the heap on the top of the heap and running it.
I agree that their nationalism is motivated by them no more wanting to be run by the WEF than the average American who is paying attention.
The only advantage for them of globalization is that it has so far weakened the other sovereign powers on the planet who are buying in, enhancing the Russian position because Russia refuses to join in, at least until they have an advantage.
Yes, we've seen people, even here, who have perhaps mistaken Putin's anti WEF/Globalist stance for upholding all national sovereignty against the globalists, but Putin's actions in Ukraine belie that concept. While he wants Russia to remain sovereign, he does not respect the sovereignty of Ukraine, and given the chance would expand that even beyond the Moldovan problems or the puppets in Belarus.
The enemy of my enemy is sometimes just the enemy of my enemy, and not a friend.
:amen:
-
There has been a decided lack of recent articles regarding the impending Russian encirclement and capture of Bakhmut. Even from those in Western media who have been pro-Russian. The predictions that the Ukrainian army is being smashed and about to disintegrate are more or less gone. Now, the narrative coming from those same sources seems to be that the Ukrainians are being unfairly and temporarily boosted by western support.
It's important to remember that the Russians, and their western supporters such as Colonel MacGregor, were predicting the imminent and circlement and destruction of the Bakhmut defenders back in July. Actually, MacGregor predicted on March 4 that it would be encircled and annihilated by March 14. Of last year. This has literally been the Russians main objective for the last 9 months, and they seem to have failed despite throwing huge amounts of bodies into that sector.
When the usual bluster stops coming from the Russians, they know that things might be about to get a lot worse for them.
-
There has been a decided lack of recent articles regarding the impending Russian encirclement and capture of Bakhmut. Even from those in Western media who have been pro-Russian. The predictions that the Ukrainian army is being smashed and about to disintegrate are more or less gone. Now, the narrative coming from those same sources seems to be that the Ukrainians are being unfairly and temporarily boosted by western support.
It's important to remember that the Russians, and their western supporters such as Colonel MacGregor, or predicting the imminent and circlement and destruction of the Bakhmut defenders back in July. This has literally been their main objective for the last 9 months, and they seem to have failed despite throwing huge amounts of bodies into that sector.
When the usual bluster stops coming from the Russians, they know that things might be about to get a lot worse for them.
Add to that the very public noises coming from the Wagner group that (a) the Bakhmut offensive would be in trouble if Russia ceases to provide armaments to Wagner, and (b) Ukraine is planning an imminent offensive.
Whether either point is completely true, the noise coming from Wagner indicates a significant rift in the Russian forces trying to take Bakhmut.
-
Pretty big differences in expectations from "Bakhmut will fall any day" to "you're trying to kill us by sending us into Bakhmut without arms and ammo."
The Russian attack pretty clearly has stalled.
-
Russian cruise missiles destroyed in Crimea blast, Ukraine says
By Isabel Keane
March 21, 2023
Russian “Kalibr” cruise missiles were destroyed in an explosion as they were being transported by train to Russia’s Black Sea fleet in annexed Crimea, Ukraine’s Defense Ministry said Monday evening.
Ukrainian authorities stopped short of taking responsibility for the attack but said the strike should prompt Russia to leave the Black Sea peninsula it illegally stole from Ukraine in 2014.
“Right now, the way ahead (for Russian forces in Crimea) is clear — they need to make their way out by rail already,” said Natalia Humeniuk, spokesperson for Ukraine’s southern operational command.
Missiles carried by rail were destroyed by an explosion in Dzhankoi, a key railroad junction in the Crimea peninsula, Ukraine’s Defense Ministry said late Monday.
The agency implied that Kyiv was behind the attack, saying the action furthers “the process of Russia’s demilitarization, and prepares the Ukrainian peninsula of Crimea for de-occupation.”
* * *
Source: https://nypost.com/2023/03/21/russian-cruise-missiles-destroyed-in-crimea-blast-ukraine/
-
There has been a decided lack of recent articles regarding the impending Russian encirclement and capture of Bakhmut. Even from those in Western media who have been pro-Russian. The predictions that the Ukrainian army is being smashed and about to disintegrate are more or less gone. Now, the narrative coming from those same sources seems to be that the Ukrainians are being unfairly and temporarily boosted by western support.
It's important to remember that the Russians, and their western supporters such as Colonel MacGregor, or predicting the imminent and circlement and destruction of the Bakhmut defenders back in July. This has literally been their main objective for the last 9 months, and they seem to have failed despite throwing huge amounts of bodies into that sector.
When the usual bluster stops coming from the Russians, they know that things might be about to get a lot worse for them.
Yeah, the tune of the TOS appeaseniks has suddenly changed too over the past few days. Now they're claiming that the Russians have stopped advancing or completing the encirclement because they want the Ukrainians to supposedly keep feeding their troops into the cul de sac, which doesn't make much sense. I think that the Russians in general, and Wagner in particular, have run out of steam there and just can't do it, or else they got word of a trap.
-
Yeah, the tune of the TOS appeaseniks has suddenly changed too over the past few days. Now they're claiming that the Russians have stopped advancing or completing the encirclement because they want the Ukrainians to supposedly keep feeding their troops into the cul de sac, which doesn't make much sense. I think that the Russians in general, and Wagner in particular, have run out of steam there and just can't do it, or else they got word of a trap.
The pro-Russian article I saw actually said that "nobody knows" why the Russian advance has stopped. And it made some ridiculous point about Sun Tzu saying to leave a gap in encirclement...which was a valid strategy 1500 years when you had more cavalry than your enemy and could run them down as they fled through the gap.
Doesn't work and hasn't been doctrine for hundreds of years, especially in the era of modern artillery.
-
Faster, Traxxas! Kill! Kill!
During World War II, the Wehrmacht developed the remote-controlled Goliath tracked mine to take out tanks, fortifications, and other targets. Despite some models packing a whopping 220 pounds of explosive, they sort of looked like a toy a child could ride on, and would almost be adorable if it weren’t for the fact that they were Nazi death bombs.
(https://www.battleswarmblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/P1000403-768x576.jpg)
Who’s an adorable little Nazi death bomb? You are! You are!
As in so many things, Ukrainians have rediscovered and deployed (kinda) another lost weapon/tactic from World War II. Namely, they’re using remote control vehicles as suicide antitank bombs.
I’ve long thought you could use even smaller, slightly modified off-the-shelf RC cars in mass to take out softer targets like trucks. Or drive into a enemy barracks with just a couple of pounds of plastique studded with roofing nails.
More: https://www.battleswarmblog.com/?p=54431 (https://www.battleswarmblog.com/?p=54431)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_8oDuvGnsnw (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_8oDuvGnsnw)
-
Russian offensive on Bakhmut could be losing momentum, UK says
CNBC
March 22, 2023
Russia’s bid to seize Bakhmut in Donetsk, eastern Ukraine, could be losing momentum, according to the U.K.’s Ministry of Defence.
“There is a realistic possibility that the Russian assault on the town is losing the limited momentum it had obtained, partially because some Russian MoD [Ministry of Defense] units have been reallocated to other sectors,” the British defense ministry said in an intelligence update Wednesday.
It noted that Ukrainian forces had been able to initiate a local counterattack to the west of Bakhmut in recent days, a move that was likely to relieve pressure on the threatened H-32 supply route, one of the last main roads into the city that its Ukrainian defenders can use.
* * *
Source: https://www.cnbc.com/2023/03/22/ukraine-war-live-updates-latest-news-on-russia-and-the-war-in-ukraine.html
-
A shrinking reservoir signals Ukraine and Russia are waging a dangerous water war
March 22, 20235:00 AM ET
By Geoff Brumfiel, Connie Hanzhang Jin
At the massive Kakhovka Reservoir in southern Ukraine, water levels should be rapidly rising. As winter snowmelt and rain flow into the Dnipro River, the reservoir fills so it can be used later in the year by farmers in the region's hot, dry summer.
But this spring, water levels at Kakhovka remain far below normal. The cause is a Russian-controlled hydroelectric power plant at the lower end of the reservoir. Since November, sluice gates at the plant have been left open, and water levels at Kakhovka have plunged to lows not seen in decades.
The reservoir is critical to southern Ukraine. It supplies water for villages and towns in the region and irrigates around half-a-million acres of farmland that's used to grow grains and vegetables. The Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant also relies on it for cooling water.
The Ukrainian government has tried to stem the flow by releasing water from other Ukrainian-controlled reservoirs along the Dnipro River to refill Kakhovka, but it's at best a temporary solution.
Experts say that the situation at the reservoir highlights the growing impact of Russia's war on Ukraine's water supply.
* * *
Source: https://www.npr.org/2023/03/22/1164838051/ukraine-russia-war-kakhovka-reservoir
-
Desperate Putin, 70, brings Soviet-era T-55 tanks as old as he is out of retirement to bolster his faltering war efforts – having already raided museums for T-62 models
Video showing Soviet-era T-54B and T-55A tanks on a train has emerged
Models have long been obsolete in Russian army, but could be used in Ukraine
By WILL STEWART and CHRIS JEWERS FOR MAILONLINE
22 March 2023
Russia's president Vladimir Putin, 70, is taking tanks as old as he is out of storage in his desperate bid to crush Ukraine on the battlefield.
A video showing long obsolete Soviet-era T-54B and T-55A tanks - designed to be used in the armies of Soviet tyrant Josef Stalin - on a train carried across Russia, presumably destined for the frontlines of the war, has emerged.
It comes with Putin having already raided museums and storage depots for retired T-62 battle tanks, which halted production 12 years ago.
* * *
Source: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11890123/Desperate-Putin-70-brings-Soviet-era-T-55-tanks-old-retirement.html
-
Desperate Putin, 70, brings Soviet-era T-55 tanks as old as he is out of retirement to bolster his faltering war efforts – having already raided museums for T-62 models
Video showing Soviet-era T-54B and T-55A tanks on a train has emerged
Models have long been obsolete in Russian army, but could be used in Ukraine
By WILL STEWART and CHRIS JEWERS FOR MAILONLINE
22 March 2023
Russia's president Vladimir Putin, 70, is taking tanks as old as he is out of storage in his desperate bid to crush Ukraine on the battlefield.
A video showing long obsolete Soviet-era T-54B and T-55A tanks - designed to be used in the armies of Soviet tyrant Josef Stalin - on a train carried across Russia, presumably destined for the frontlines of the war, has emerged.
It comes with Putin having already raided museums and storage depots for retired T-62 battle tanks, which halted production 12 years ago.
* * *
Source: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11890123/Desperate-Putin-70-brings-Soviet-era-T-55-tanks-old-retirement.html
@Kamaji
Does anyone else suspect that the Chinese are having multiple orgasms at the thought of the Russian military becoming too weak to stop a Chinese landing on western Russian soil in order to take possession of the untapped oil fields and other assets there?
I can see a scenario developing where the Chinese publicly agree to pay a sum of money to Russia for "allowing" them to take possession, and I can see the neo-Soviets agreeing because they no longer have the ability to do it, and because it would save them face because they could announce they agreed to it, instead of whining because it was taken away from them.
Face it, by the time the neo-Soviets are forced to back down due to both finances and a shortage of new draftees to be sent to slaughtered, there really isn't going to be anything they can do about it other than pretend they made a deal to the benefit of Russia.
-
Desperate Putin, 70, brings Soviet-era T-55 tanks as old as he is out of retirement to bolster his faltering war efforts – having already raided museums for T-62 models
Video showing Soviet-era T-54B and T-55A tanks on a train has emerged
Models have long been obsolete in Russian army, but could be used in Ukraine
By WILL STEWART and CHRIS JEWERS FOR MAILONLINE
22 March 2023
Russia's president Vladimir Putin, 70, is taking tanks as old as he is out of storage in his desperate bid to crush Ukraine on the battlefield.
A video showing long obsolete Soviet-era T-54B and T-55A tanks - designed to be used in the armies of Soviet tyrant Josef Stalin - on a train carried across Russia, presumably destined for the frontlines of the war, has emerged.
It comes with Putin having already raided museums and storage depots for retired T-62 battle tanks, which halted production 12 years ago.
* * *
Source: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11890123/Desperate-Putin-70-brings-Soviet-era-T-55-tanks-old-retirement.html
Was just about to post this. From Twitter:
https://twitter.com/PaulJawin/status/1638489171017752576
This is getting awfully close to sending in the same tanks that fought Hitler's army.
-
Was just about to post this. From Twitter:
https://twitter.com/PaulJawin/status/1638489171017752576
This is getting awfully close to sending in the same tanks that fought Hitler's army.
If true, it would appear that the Russians have simply decided to start funding target practice for the Ukraine military.
-
Was just about to post this. From Twitter:
https://twitter.com/PaulJawin/status/1638489171017752576
This is getting awfully close to sending in the same tanks that fought Hitler's army.
@Weird Tolkienish Figure
Serious question. I do not know diddly squat about tanks,but they basically seem to be vehicles covered with armor that have cannons and machine guns.
Is there some reason I am unaware of they couldn't be a match for modern tanks if they had their electronics updated?
-
@Weird Tolkienish Figure
Serious question. I do not know diddly squat about tanks,but they basically seem to be vehicles covered with armor that have cannons and machine guns.
Is there some reason I am unaware of they couldn't be a match for modern tanks if they had their electronics updated?
I used to play a tank game (M1 Tank PLatoon) and my friend and I would talk tanks all the time.
Newer soviet tanks had (at the time):
laser rangefinder
much thicker armor
reactive armor (explosives that deflect certain shells)
self-leveling cannon so the tank could fire while driving.
improved engine etc.
And American tanks had things like composite and DU armor that was much harder to penetrate.
From the game the older tanks were basically trivial to defeat in battle, they couldn't stand up to modern armaments armor-wise.
Of course, I'm not an expert at all.
-
@Weird Tolkienish Figure
Serious question. I do not know diddly squat about tanks,but they basically seem to be vehicles covered with armor that have cannons and machine guns.
Is there some reason I am unaware of they couldn't be a match for modern tanks if they had their electronics updated?
Modern anti-tank munitions would almost certainly make quick work of the old Soviet-style tank armor. Tank armor has evolved substantially in the last 60 years, mainly to keep up with the evolution of the anti-tank munitions and their ability to punch through old-style steel plate armor.
-
@Kamaji
Does anyone else suspect that the Chinese are having multiple orgasms at the thought of the Russian military becoming too weak to stop a Chinese landing on western Russian soil in order to take possession of the untapped oil fields and other assets there?
No.
I think any nuclear armed nation that actually had its home territory invaded by an expansionist enemy might actually follow through on a threat to use nuclear weapons in defense of itself. So I think all the scenarios about a Chinese plan to literally invade Russia are wrong. And that's the exact same reason Russian claims that NATO expansion presented a "threat" to Russia were bogus from the start. Everybody knows that is a potential trigger for nuclear war, and there's no invasion whose fruits outweigh that.
-
@Weird Tolkienish Figure
Serious question. I do not know diddly squat about tanks,but they basically seem to be vehicles covered with armor that have cannons and machine guns.
Is there some reason I am unaware of they couldn't be a match for modern tanks if they had their electronics updated?
The short answer is no, and many of those older tanks would be impossible to upgrade fully electronically anyway. The Russians previously got critical high-end components for their sights from the Germans, and that obviously isn't happening. But there are tons of other differences that really matter -- engine, drivetrain, weight, suspension, gun, armor (including thickness, slope, etc..) Many of those things are limited by basic framework of the tank -- internal space available, what components would fit, etc.. Russian tanks had -- and actually still do have -- a critical design flaw in the way their gun autoloaders access the ammunition storage. Essentially, their ammo isn't sealed from the troop compartment, so penetrations results often result in turrets being blown clean off tanks -- catastrophic kills that kill the crews.
The kind of improvements you can do account for all the different models of T-64's, T-72's, T-80, T-90's, etc.. But there are just frame limits that means some tanks will always be limited, and that's particularly true when you get to T-62's and T-55's, which are significantly older and on different basic frames. The T-64's and T-80's are sort of in the same family, the T-90 being an improved version of the T-72. But actually, a T-80 is probably a better tank than a T-90, just as a T-64 is a better tank than the T-72. The T-64/T-80 family is really more high-tech/complicated/more expensive than the T-72'/T-90 family. But also more expensive and harder to maintain.
-
@Weird Tolkienish Figure
Serious question. I do not know diddly squat about tanks,but they basically seem to be vehicles covered with armor that have cannons and machine guns.
Is there some reason I am unaware of they couldn't be a match for modern tanks if they had their electronics updated?
RPG
-
Modern anti-tank munitions would almost certainly make quick work of the old Soviet-style tank armor. Tank armor has evolved substantially in the last 60 years, mainly to keep up with the evolution of the anti-tank munitions and their ability to punch through old-style steel plate armor.
@Kamaji
Thanks!
I am just an old grunt that used to work in the wilderness,and never even saw a tank,although there were rumors the NVA ran some up the Ho Chi Mihn Trail.
-
Modern anti-tank munitions would almost certainly make quick work of the old Soviet-style tank armor. Tank armor has evolved substantially in the last 60 years, mainly to keep up with the evolution of the anti-tank munitions and their ability to punch through old-style steel plate armor.
@Kamaji
Thanks,as I noted,I am totally ignorant when it comes to armor. They always struck me as nothing more than moving targets for aircraft.
-
No.
I think any nuclear armed nation that actually had its home territory invaded by an expansionist enemy might actually follow through on a threat to use nuclear weapons in defense of itself. So I think all the scenarios about a Chinese plan to literally invade Russia are wrong. And that's the exact same reason Russian claims that NATO expansion presented a "threat" to Russia were bogus from the start. Everybody knows that is a potential trigger for nuclear war, and there's no invasion whose fruits outweigh that.
@Maj. Bill Martin
Ok,but keep in mind that the Chinese care even less about casualites,other than leadership casualities,that is,than the Soviets,there is an awful lot of wealth and natural resources there that the Chinese need. Plus it is virtually unoccupied by the neo-Soviets,so it would basically be a walk-in by the Chinese.
Face it,the Soviets look like Mother Teresa compared to the Chinese,and by the time this current war ends,the Russians will for all practical purposes be out of soldiers and out of weapons other than nuclear.
So,I guess the question to be asked is "Are the Neo-Soviets so desperate they would be willing to go nuclear with China to maintain control over a vast wilderness with assets they are unable to exploit?
I ask this because by the time their war with Ukraine ends,win or lose,they will have lost so many men and so much military equipment they will be incapable of forcing the Chinese out of Russia.
Sure,they can go nuclear,but so can the Chinese,and the Neo-Soviets will still lose.
MY best guess is the Chinese MIGHT offer a purchase plan to the Neo-Soviets that gives them a percentage of the take from the mining and timber operations. That way both could avoid war,and the Neo-Soviets can replenish some of the money they lost in Ukrainie.
Don't forget,the Neo-Soviets control their media even more than the left controls ours,so what they want reported inside the USSR is what WILL be reported.
-
The short answer is no, and many of those older tanks would be impossible to upgrade fully electronically anyway. The Russians previously got critical high-end components for their sights from the Germans, and that obviously isn't happening. But there are tons of other differences that really matter -- engine, drivetrain, weight, suspension, gun, armor (including thickness, slope, etc..) Many of those things are limited by basic framework of the tank -- internal space available, what components would fit, etc.. Russian tanks had -- and actually still do have -- a critical design flaw in the way their gun autoloaders access the ammunition storage. Essentially, their ammo isn't sealed from the troop compartment, so penetrations results often result in turrets being blown clean off tanks -- catastrophic kills that kill the crews.
The kind of improvements you can do account for all the different models of T-64's, T-72's, T-80, T-90's, etc.. But there are just frame limits that means some tanks will always be limited, and that's particularly true when you get to T-62's and T-55's, which are significantly older and on different basic frames. The T-64's and T-80's are sort of in the same family, the T-90 being an improved version of the T-72. But actually, a T-80 is probably a better tank than a T-90, just as a T-64 is a better tank than the T-72. The T-64/T-80 family is really more high-tech/complicated/more expensive than the T-72'/T-90 family. But also more expensive and harder to maintain.
@Maj. Bill Martin
Thanks! As I wrote earlier,I know next to nothing about tanks.
-
RPG
@DBlack15NC
That I DO understand,but I also understand you have to get "danger close" to a tank to use one effectively,and if the tank crew spots you before you are in position,you are dead.
-
@Maj. Bill Martin
Ok,but keep in mind that the Chinese care even less about casualites,other than leadership casualities,that is,than the Soviets,there is an awful lot of wealth and natural resources there that the Chinese need. Plus it is virtually unoccupied by the neo-Soviets,so it would basically be a walk-in by the Chinese.
Face it,the Soviets look like Mother Teresa compared to the Chinese,and by the time this current war ends,the Russians will for all practical purposes be out of soldiers and out of weapons other than nuclear.
So,I guess the question to be asked is "Are the Neo-Soviets so desperate they would be willing to go nuclear with China to maintain control over a vast wilderness with assets they are unable to exploit?
I'd say "yes", because once you start surrendering chunks of your home territory, your deterrent no longer exists. And the real question is "do the Chinese want to take the gamble that the Russians won't react?" My guess is "no".
Sure,they can go nuclear,but so can the Chinese,and the Neo-Soviets will still lose.
. Yes, but I think the risk/reward is different. The Russians could reasonably look at it and say "if we don't stop this, there is nothing stopping anyone from thinking they can grab are whole country." So for them, a Chinese attempt to grab parts of Russia is literally an existential event. That makes it more logical to pull out all the stops. For the Chinese, not taking those parts of Russia isn't an existential threat.
It's basically the flip side of Ukraine. If Ukraine gives up any significant territory, they know the Russians will just come back and finish the job. So for them, it is an existential war. But that isn't the case for Russia, which could choose to go right back to the status quo ante without threatening their survival as a nation.
-
Just one comment on tanks. Sometimes quantity has a quality all its own.
-
Just one comment on tanks. Sometimes quantity has a quality all its own.
@Smokin Joe
That is definitely true from the infantryman's POV.
-
@Maj. Bill Martin
Thanks! As I wrote earlier,I know next to nothing about tanks.
I have a good friend who was an Army tank officer in Iraq, and is a huge miltary buff still. He's all.over the tank stuff. I had always assumed the t90 was a better tank than the t80, but he sent me straight on that. The only reason the Russians went to the T-90 is that it was cheaper and easier to produce than the T80.
-
@Smokin Joe
That is definitely true from the infantryman's POV.
@Smokin Joe @sneakypete
Yes, but....
Man portable anti-tank weapons, and light vehicles mounted with anti-tank weapons, are far more effective than they were in your day. Still, if enough tanks can reach the infantry quickly enough before they get whittled down, that quantity can be devastating.
The problem the Russians have is that they have poor coordination between their artillery and their tanks, which means the artillery isn't effectively suppressing the anti-tank defenses. The anti-tank weapons we have provided to the Ukrainians also outrange the Russian tanks. And the Russians rather foolishly have been dispersing their armor rather than concentrating it and moving quickly.
What all that means is that even when they begin and attack with a quantitative superiority, it gets whittled down quickly by those anti-tank weapons.
On the flip side, the Western tanks with which the Ukrainians are now being provided are much faster, much better integrated with command control, and outrange both the Russian tanks and their antitank missiles. So even though the Western tanks will begin an attack In smaller quantities than a comparable Russian assault, it is far more likely that a greater number of tanks will actually reach the defending infantry. The Ukrainians also are much better trained at coordinating their artillery with their maneuver elements.
And if we're talking tank to tank battles, it's not even close. The greater range, accuracy, ability to fire while on the move, and armor of the Western tanks is just a massive advantage - even if outnumbered. Google the Battle of 93 Easting, where - with each side using equipment remarkably similar to what we'd see when the Western tanks arrive - we knocked out 160 tanks and 180 APC's to the loss of just one Bradley. Granted, the Ukrainians won't have all the advantages that we did, but they'll have a lot of them.
-
I have a good friend who was an Army tank officer in Iraq, and is a huge miltary buff still. He's all.over the tank stuff. I had always assumed the t90 was a better tank than the t80, but he sent me straight on that. The only reason the Russians went to the T-90 is that it was cheaper and easier to produce than the T80.
@Maj. Bill Martin
Isn't building things to the minimum specifications pretty much Communist dogma?
-
The internet says some BIG announcement coming tomorrow. Increased mobilizations is my guess.
"March 23 starting point" In Moscow, there was such an advertisement calling for people tomorrow to follow the news. Prepare yourself for the most delusional bullshit that has ever been presented, or more mobilizations.
(https://img-9gag-fun.9cache.com/photo/aDY6YKG_460s.jpg)
-
@Maj. Bill Martin
Isn't building things to the minimum specifications pretty much Communist dogma?
Well, the exteriors they they build to at least minimum specifications. The interiors they sometimes don't do even that.
It's like in construction where you have a great looking home from the outside, but the materials and construction are poor because some of the workers are stealing time or materials.
This was less of a problem in the past where tanks were simpler, and there were fewer components on which to cut corners. Also, the Russian army is far smaller than the older Soviet army, so there just aren't as many people to do the maintenance on all the equipment that was kept in reserved.
-
The internet says some BIG announcement coming tomorrow. Increased mobilizations is my guess.
"March 23 starting point" In Moscow, there was such an advertisement calling for people tomorrow to follow the news. Prepare yourself for the most delusional bullshit that has ever been presented, or more mobilizations.
(https://img-9gag-fun.9cache.com/photo/aDY6YKG_460s.jpg)
(https://m.media-amazon.com/images/W/IMAGERENDERING_521856-T1/images/I/61t9lyvpPzL._AC_SL1200_.jpg)
-
Freed - the kidnapped kids Putin 'tried to beat the Ukrainian out of': Overjoyed children embrace family as they finally get back home after MONTHS in brutal Kremlin 'camps' - but thousands remain missing as war crimes warrant awaits Russian President
Officials in Kyiv say the children had been placed in institutions in Crimea
Russian President Vladimir Putin is accused of overseeing the deportations
By DARREN BOYLE FOR MAILONLINE and AFP
23 March 2023
A group of Ukrainian children kidnapped by Russian authorities and held in Kremlin-backed camps for months have been freed and returned home to emotional reunions.
The 17 youngsters were taken to Russian-occupied Crimea when their towns were overrun by Moscow's forces, and were told their families had abandoned them.
A charity yesterday returned the first of the snatched children to their homes, where they told how Russians beat them with iron rods if they voiced support for Kyiv.
* * *
Source: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11897141/Freed-Ukrainian-children-kidnapped-Russia-tell-year-long-ordeal.html
-
Ukraine trolls Russia for tapping Steven Seagal to train recruits
By Snejana Farberov
March 24, 2023
Steven Seagal is a running joke in Ukraine.
Kyiv’s military mercilessly mocked the aging action star — and staunch supporter of Russian President Vladimir Putin — after it was reported that he will help train military recruits at a new martial arts center in Moscow.
“Rumor has it that the Seagal-style running technique will be included in the training,” Ukraine’s Ministry of Defense tweeted Thursday.
“[R]ussian soldiers will now be able to run away from their positions with weird hand motions.”
The Russian state-run news agency TASS reported Saturday that the 70-year-old Seagal, who became a Russian citizen in 2016, appeared as a guest of honor at the ribbon-cutting ceremony unveiling the new Typhoon All-Russian Aikido Center.
* * *
Source: https://nypost.com/2023/03/24/ukraine-trolls-russia-over-steven-seagal/
-
Russia has Steven Seagal, Ukraine has Sean Penn and Ben Stiller.
-
Russia has Steven Seagal, Ukraine has Sean Penn and Ben Stiller.
Are Sean Penn and Ben Stiller training recruits?
-
Are Sean Penn and Ben Stiller training recruits?
Good grief. It was a joke.
Penn was there to give fashion advice.
(https://nypost.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/11/penn-zelensky-07.jpg?quality=75&strip=all&w=878)
-
Good grief. It was a joke.
Penn was there to give fashion advice.
(https://nypost.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/11/penn-zelensky-07.jpg?quality=75&strip=all&w=878)
No worries!
It's good for a laugh. Certainly Segal shouldn't be given any more weight than Penn or Stiller would be given.
-
Freed - the kidnapped kids Putin 'tried to beat the Ukrainian out of': Overjoyed children embrace family as they finally get back home after MONTHS in brutal Kremlin 'camps' - but thousands remain missing as war crimes warrant awaits Russian President
Officials in Kyiv say the children had been placed in institutions in Crimea
Russian President Vladimir Putin is accused of overseeing the deportations
By DARREN BOYLE FOR MAILONLINE and AFP
23 March 2023
A group of Ukrainian children kidnapped by Russian authorities and held in Kremlin-backed camps for months have been freed and returned home to emotional reunions.
The 17 youngsters were taken to Russian-occupied Crimea when their towns were overrun by Moscow's forces, and were told their families had abandoned them.
A charity yesterday returned the first of the snatched children to their homes, where they told how Russians beat them with iron rods if they voiced support for Kyiv.
* * *
Source: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11897141/Freed-Ukrainian-children-kidnapped-Russia-tell-year-long-ordeal.html
@Kamaji
Anyone have any idea what brought their release about? Doesn't sound to me like anything Pooty Poot would want to do.
After all,the replacement troops for all the teen Russians he is getting killled in Ukraine have to come from somewhere,and the Soviets have had strict restrictions on how many children you can have.
-
Ukraine trolls Russia for tapping Steven Seagal to train recruits
By Snejana Farberov
March 24, 2023
Steven Seagal is a running joke in Ukraine.
Kyiv’s military mercilessly mocked the aging action star — and staunch supporter of Russian President Vladimir Putin — after it was reported that he will help train military recruits at a new martial arts center in Moscow.
“Rumor has it that the Seagal-style running technique will be included in the training,” Ukraine’s Ministry of Defense tweeted Thursday.
“[R]ussian soldiers will now be able to run away from their positions with weird hand motions.”
The Russian state-run news agency TASS reported Saturday that the 70-year-old Seagal, who became a Russian citizen in 2016, appeared as a guest of honor at the ribbon-cutting ceremony unveiling the new Typhoon All-Russian Aikido Center.
* * *
Source: https://nypost.com/2023/03/24/ukraine-trolls-russia-over-steven-seagal/
@Kamaji
WTF???
This is the first I heard of this. What was he doing,trying to be more popular in Hollywood so he could get a job?
-
Russia has Steven Seagal, Ukraine has Sean Penn and Ben Stiller.
Neither side wins!
-
Starlink is key to Ukrainian operations, but the Russians 'will find you' if you use it too long, soldier says
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/starlink-is-key-to-ukrainian-operations-but-the-russians-will-find-you-if-you-use-it-too-long-soldier-says/ar-AA192xJG?ocid=winp2fptaskbarhover&cvid=2d620af464314c8298c571e12198343b&ei=14
Starlink has been key to Ukrainian operations and has played a role in their successes on the battlefield, allowing troops to coordinate attacks and communicate with each other, but one soldier told Defense One that if you use the service for too long, there's a chance the Russians "will find you."
The soldier, who goes by the call sign "Boris," said that his team only uses the internet and communications service when it's absolutely necessary. And when they're conducting action behind enemy lines, they have limited time to set up the portable Starlink internet dish, complete their operation, and disperse before they're located by Russian forces.
The Russians "will find you," Boris told Defense One. "You need to do it fast, then get out of there."
Part of the reason the soldiers tend to find themselves in this race against time is the Russians' advanced tracking equipment, but the Starlink terminals are also vulnerable to tracking and jamming. The latter is happening more often, thanks to either more investment from the Russians or more advanced equipment.
Troops say that there are some ways to prevent Russians from interfering with the service, such as placing a Starlink device behind a dirt or concrete barrier to prevent jamming signals. Some soldiers have figured out that putting it in a hole can help too.
-
Vladimir Putin forces his cannon-fodder conscripts to remain at frontline with threat of a bullet in the head from his 'retreat-blocking detachment' if they flee to save their lives in Ukraine
By OLIVER PRICE
25 March 2023
Vladimir Putin's commanders are forcing his conscript soldiers at gunpoint to remain at the frontline.
They are using a brutal Stalin tactic to prevent Russian reservist troops leaving their positions, say men who have seen the horror of the cannon-fodder killing fields.
'People are abandoned in the trenches as if homeless and littered with corpses,' complained Russian reservist draftees in a new video appealing directly to Vladimir Putin.
'Retreat-blocking detachments were set up against us and they did not let us out of positions.'
They are forced at gunpoint to remain in position, a tactic used by Stalin's cruel SMERSH secret police in World War Two.
* * *
Source: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11901473/Putin-forces-Russian-conscripts-remain-frontline-death-threats-flee-Ukraine.html
-
Vladimir Putin forces his cannon-fodder conscripts to remain at frontline with threat of a bullet in the head from his 'retreat-blocking detachment' if they flee to save their lives in Ukraine
@Kamaji
This is,and has always been Soviet doctrine. Look up "NKVD Blocking Squads".
-
Ukraine war: Battle for Bakhmut 'stabilising', says commander
By Kathryn Armstrong
BBC News
March 25, 2023
The battle for Bakhmut, the Ukrainian city which Russia has spent months trying to capture, is "stabilising", says Ukraine's commander-in-chief.
Valerii Zaluzhnyi said Ukrainian troops' "tremendous efforts" were holding back Russia.
Earlier this month, Western officials estimated between 20,000 and 30,000 Russian troops had been killed or injured in Bakhmut since last summer.
Moscow is eager for a victory after failing to make major recent gains.
Despite this, military analysts believe Bakhmut has little strategic value, with the city's importance now symbolic.
The high number of Russian casualties may be the main reason Ukraine has not withdrawn from the city, analysts say.
On Facebook, Lt Gen Zaluzhnyi said that while the situation on Ukraine's frontlines "is the toughest in the Bakhmut direction... due to the tremendous efforts of the defence forces, we are managing to stabilise the situation".
Lt Gen Zaluzhnyi posted after speaking to the UK's Chief of Defence Staff, Admiral Sir Tony Radakin, about the situation in Ukraine.
His comments are the latest positive signal from Ukrainian officials about the long battle for Bakhmut.
* * *
Source: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-65072173
-
Vladimir Putin forces his cannon-fodder conscripts to remain at frontline with threat of a bullet in the head from his 'retreat-blocking detachment' if they flee to save their lives in Ukraine
By OLIVER PRICE
25 March 2023
Vladimir Putin's commanders are forcing his conscript soldiers at gunpoint to remain at the frontline.
They are using a brutal Stalin tactic to prevent Russian reservist troops leaving their positions, say men who have seen the horror of the cannon-fodder killing fields.
'People are abandoned in the trenches as if homeless and littered with corpses,' complained Russian reservist draftees in a new video appealing directly to Vladimir Putin.
'Retreat-blocking detachments were set up against us and they did not let us out of positions.'
They are forced at gunpoint to remain in position, a tactic used by Stalin's cruel SMERSH secret police in World War Two.
* * *
Source: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11901473/Putin-forces-Russian-conscripts-remain-frontline-death-threats-flee-Ukraine.html
8888crybaby **nononono*
-
8888crybaby **nononono*
@libertybele
That has )ALWAYS been standard Soviet doctrine. They have NKVD "blocking squads" following up the infantry attacks in the rear that are armed with machine guns,and their job is to execute anyone they see stalling or retreating.
During WW-2 many of the "second line troops" (the ones right in front of the NKVD troops) weren't even armed. They were expected to pick up the dropped weapons of the dead assault troops and continue the assault.
Not that Pooty Poot ever had to worry about this. Not only was he never an infantry soldier,he was an officer in Military Intelligence.
-
@libertybele
Not that Pooty Poot ever had to worry about this. Not only was he never an infantry soldier,he was an officer in Military Intelligence.
Putin was a Lieutenant Colonel in the KGB actually, and the liaison to the Red Army Faction terrorist group in West Germany before seemingly getting out in 1991 (but in truth was re-assigned to spy on students at Leningrad State University). His father served in a NKVD "Destruction Battalion" during World War II.
-
Putin was a Lieutenant Colonel in the KGB actually, and the liaison to the Red Army Faction terrorist group in West Germany before seemingly getting out in 1991 (but in truth was re-assigned to spy on students at Leningrad State University). His father served in a NKVD "Destruction Battalion" during World War II.
@Timber Rattler
Correct me if I am wrong but wasn't that the same thing?
-
@Timber Rattler
Correct me if I am wrong but wasn't that the same thing?
Yeah, more or less. A "scorched earth" and "motivational" unit to keep frontline Soviet troops from fleeing the fight, or else to mow them down, a la "Stalingrad."
(https://media.tenor.com/Ct4PfOJuVU0AAAAd/soviet-communism.gif)
-
Six Russian naval vessels 'were detected near site of Nord Stream pipeline five days before it was sabotaged'
By ELIZABETH HAIGH
26 March 2023
A convoy of six Russian naval vessels was spotted near the Nord Stream pipeline just five days before it was sabotaged, it was reported yesterday.
Three of the four pipelines carrying Russian gas to Germany were seriously damaged by explosions near the Danish island of Bornholm on September 26 last year, disrupting global supply.
Russia has always denied any responsibility for the attack, and blamed western powers or Ukrainian groups, but new information now suggests its ships were in the area in the days before the massive blasts.
It is thought that hundreds of kilograms of explosives and equipment would have been required to pull off the scale of the damage seen last September, which occurred 80m below sea level.
But it has now been claimed that a Swedish warship may have spotted the Russian convoy and tracked it, possibly being aware of it for as long as three days, The Times reports.
The Nord Stream 1 and 2 pipelines connecting Russia and Germany under the Baltic Sea were hit by a series of unexplained explosions last September, in what Moscow called an act of 'international terrorism'.
A report by open-source intelligence researchers now claims to have identified abnormal activity by a Danish patrol vessel and a Swedish warship, which may suggest they had spotted suspicious activity.
The researchers say the ships appeared to have seen something unusual on September 22 or 23, when they were allegedly tracking a contingent of Russian naval ships which had broken away from a larger exercise three days before.
These claims, first revealed in the German news site T-Online, originated from sources in the security services and detailed the convoy including two Russian tugs, a surveillance ship and a submarine rescue ship SS-750, built in 1990.
The SS-750 has its own mini-submarine, called the AS-26, which can reach depths of 80m and carry loads of up to 50kg.
'It would make absolute sense to use something like the AS-26 for such an attack,' Danish corvette captain and military analyst Johannes Riber told T-Online.
* * *
Source: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11904987/Six-Russian-naval-vessels-detected-near-site-Nord-Stream-pipeline-five-days-sabotage.html
-
So not so "far fetched" after all...
-
So not so "far fetched" after all...
Exactly.
-
The Russian reaction to the destruction of the pipeline was remarkably restrained.
As to why the Russians might have done it...when Cortes came to the New World, he burned his ships to signify to his men that there was no going back. It could have been for Putin to quash any thought among other Russians that they could go back to a normal relationship with the West.
I've always thought the most likely scenarios was either that, or some non-national, anti-Russian group.
But the muted Russian reaction was really, really odd.
-
The Russian reaction to the destruction of the pipeline was remarkably restrained.
As to why the Russians might have done it...when Cortes came to the New World, he burned his ships to signify to his men that there was no going back. It could have been for Putin to quash any thought among other Russians that they could go back to a normal relationship with the West.
I've always thought the most likely scenarios was either that, or some non-national, anti-Russian group.
But the muted Russian reaction was really, really odd.
:thumbsup:
-
The Russian reaction to the destruction of the pipeline was remarkably restrained.
As to why the Russians might have done it...when Cortes came to the New World, he burned his ships to signify to his men that there was no going back. It could have been for Putin to quash any thought among other Russians that they could go back to a normal relationship with the West.
I've always thought the most likely scenarios was either that, or some non-national, anti-Russian group.
But the muted Russian reaction was really, really odd.
Or he simply thought he could get western Europe to buckle under the pressure of a major energy shortage going into winter. That he had them under his thumb. He miscalculated on virtually every front.
-
The Russian reaction to the destruction of the pipeline was remarkably restrained.
As to why the Russians might have done it...when Cortes came to the New World, he burned his ships to signify to his men that there was no going back. It could have been for Putin to quash any thought among other Russians that they could go back to a normal relationship with the West.
I've always thought the most likely scenarios was either that, or some non-national, anti-Russian group.
But the muted Russian reaction was really, really odd.
:silly:
Are you really this much of a stooge? Or are you (as I suspect) just trolling here for fun?
-
:silly:
Are you really this much of a stooge? Or are you (as I suspect) just trolling here for fun?
:mauslaff:
Right out the gate with a personal insult - how intellectually and morally bankrupt.
-
:silly:
Are you really this much of a stooge? Or are you (as I suspect) just trolling here for fun?
You know what trolling is? Coming off the Freeper Mother Ship, and insulting solid Briefers, with your exaltation of a former POTUS who added more deficit (even inflation adjusted) than any other in modern history And the same one that is coming across as a modern FDR with his "Trump Cities" that under my estimate will have a $10-15T price tag.
You sporting a Coolidge theme is pretty damned funny if you ask me
-
:silly:
Are you really this much of a stooge? Or are you (as I suspect) just trolling here for fun?
I have no idea who you are, but I have yet to see you engage substantively with anyone, on any issue. It's just ad hominems.
So just to save you future effort in my direction, you're the first one on my ignore list. AMF!
-
New footage shows huge scale of Russia's death toll in Ukraine: Graveyard for troops 'that is so large it's impossible to walk across' is revealed as Putin's inner circle begin to distance themselves from his disastrous war
Graves of Russian volunteers, mercenaries and convicts appear in south Russia
Krasnodar connected to Crimea by the Kerch Bridge, which reopened Thursday
By WILL STEWART and JAMES REYNOLDS
28 March 2023
Startling new footage of war graves highlights the scale of the death toll Vladimir Putin has inflicted on his fighters in Ukraine.
The Goryachiy Klyuch graveyard in Krasnodar region is set aside for troops in the Wagner private army backing the Russian invasion.
This force comprising volunteers, mercenaries and jail convicts has seen tens of thousands of deaths, roped into suicidal 'human wave' death squads and thrown at the front line without hope of return.
The graves 'so large it's impossible to walk across' are revealed as a veteran Russian political analyst Dmitry Oreshkin believes there are now clear signs key players in the dictator's circle are distancing themselves from him, not wanting to drown in his 'bloody swamp' as he leads his people to a 'dead end'.
* * *
Source: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11911477/Huge-graveyard-Russian-troops-revealed-Putins-inner-circle-distance-war.html
-
Scandal rocks Moscow elite after prominent Putin cronies are heard calling the Russian leader 'Satan' and 'dwarf' in 'leaked phone recording'
Russian oligarch and former senator Farkhad Akhmedov and high-profile Moscow music producer Iosif Prigozhin are allegedly heard speaking in the clip
Voices are heard tearing in to Putin, his war in Ukraine and even his height
By CHRIS JEWERS and WILL STEWART FOR MAILONLINE
28 March 2023
Moscow's high society has been rocked by a scandal after a pair of prominent Vladimir Putin cronies were allegedly heard insulting the Russian despot.
Oligarch and former Russian senator Farkhad Akhmedov and high-profile Moscow music producer Iosif Prigozhin, both supposedly supporters of Putin, have been accused of calling him a 'Satan' and a 'dwarf'.
An audio recording of what is reportedly a 35-minute phone call between the wealthy pair was shared by Ukraine's Channel Five and quickly jumped on by other outlets - as well as Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB).
* * *
Source: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11911439/Scandal-rocks-Moscow-elite-prominent-Putin-cronies-heard-calling-Russian-leader-Satan.html
-
Russia fires cruise missiles during training exercise in waters off Japan's coast
Russia’s Pacific Fleet fired a pair of supersonic missiles at a mock target in waters off Japan’s coast on Tuesday morning, the Russian Ministry of Defense said.
“A team of two missile boats carried out a joint missile strike against a sea shield simulating a simulated enemy warship,” the ministry said in a Telegram post. “The target was successfully engaged at a distance of 100 km (62 miles) by a direct hit from two Moskit cruise missiles.”
The maneuver on Tuesday comes after Russia conducted drills earlier this month in the Sea of Japan, also known as the East Sea, with a submarine hitting a land target over 1,000 kilometers (621 miles) away with a Kalibr cruise missile – the same type of missile Moscow regularly uses in its war in Ukraine............
https://www.cnn.com/europe/live-news/russia-ukraine-war-news-03-28-23/h_f603b28e48d324edbe1a486a458c552b
-
Ukraine war: Germany sends much-awaited Leopard tanks
By Adam Durbin
BBC News
March 28, 2023
The first shipment of Leopard 2 tanks from Germany has been sent to Ukraine, the German defence ministry says.
Eighteen cutting-edge main battle tanks were delivered after Ukrainian crews were trained to use them.
Defence Minister Boris Pistorius said he was sure the tanks could "make a decisive contribution" on the frontlines of the war.
Challenger 2 tanks from the UK have also arrived, according to reports from Ukraine.
Ukraine has been calling for more modern vehicles and weapon systems for months to help fight Russia's invasion.
The Ukrainian government is yet to comment on the arrival of the Leopard 2s, but they have confirmed the arrival of the first UK-made Challenger 2 tanks.
* * *
Source: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-65095126
-
Russia fires cruise missiles during training exercise in waters off Japan's coast
Russia’s Pacific Fleet fired a pair of supersonic missiles at a mock target in waters off Japan’s coast on Tuesday morning, the Russian Ministry of Defense said.
“A team of two missile boats carried out a joint missile strike against a sea shield simulating a simulated enemy warship,” the ministry said in a Telegram post. “The target was successfully engaged at a distance of 100 km (62 miles) by a direct hit from two Moskit cruise missiles.”
The maneuver on Tuesday comes after Russia conducted drills earlier this month in the Sea of Japan, also known as the East Sea, with a submarine hitting a land target over 1,000 kilometers (621 miles) away with a Kalibr cruise missile – the same type of missile Moscow regularly uses in its war in Ukraine............
https://www.cnn.com/europe/live-news/russia-ukraine-war-news-03-28-23/h_f603b28e48d324edbe1a486a458c552b
So they hit what they aim at.
Al the more damning hitting residential blocks, then.
-
New footage shows huge scale of Russia's death toll in Ukraine: Graveyard for troops 'that is so large it's impossible to walk across' is revealed as Putin's inner circle begin to distance themselves from his disastrous war
Graves of Russian volunteers,
@Kamaji
That right there is funny if you not a Russian of conscription age,or have one in your family.
Nothing funny about being sent off to war at either gunpoint,or due to being given a choice between that and a labor camp in Siberia.
-
Ukraine strikes Russian-held city as talk of counterattack grows
By Isabel Keane
March 29, 2023
Ukraine struck the Russian-occupied city of Melitopol on Wednesday, damaging its railroad station and reducing power supplies as talk of a counterattack against depleted Russian forces gains traction.
Ukrainian shelling damaged the power system and knocked out electricity in the city and some nearby villages, Russia’s state news agency TASS reported, citing Moscow-installed leaders in the area.
Ivan Fedorov, the exiled Ukrainian mayor of Melitopol, confirmed that several explosions had taken place in the city.
Melitopol, located south of the Zaporizhzhia region and about 60 miles from the war’s front lines, is one of five Ukrainian provinces that Russia claims it has seized.
Russian officials said the railway depot in the city was also damaged in the strike. Melitopol is a railway logistics hub for Russian forces in southern Ukraine, linking Russia to the occupied Crimean peninsula.
* * *
Source: https://nypost.com/2023/03/29/ukraine-strikes-russian-held-city-amid-talks-of-counter-move/
-
Female Russian veteran claims medics used as sex slaves by officers in Ukraine
By Snejana Farberov
March 28, 2023
Female Russian combat medics serving in Ukraine are allegedly being pressed into becoming so-called “field wives” — or sex slaves, a report said.
The independent news outlet Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty published an interview Tuesday with a service member who said male officers force women into sex slavery — and those who refuse face horrible mistreatment.
The woman, who calls her Margarita, said in the interview that she has spent the past two months undergoing rehabilitation and is taking antidepressants for the severe trauma she endured in Ukraine.
Margarita said the harrowing experiences have left her suffering from constant nightmares and panic attacks.
“Even when I’m not alone and I’m doing something, I still see before my eyes all that horror,” Margarita said, referring to the brutality and abuse allegedly committed by Vladimir Putin’s officers against their own subordinates.
* * *
Source: https://nypost.com/2023/03/28/female-russian-medics-used-as-sex-slaves-by-officers
-
Female Russian veteran claims medics used as sex slaves by officers in Ukraine
By Snejana Farberov
March 28, 2023
Female Russian combat medics serving in Ukraine are allegedly being pressed into becoming so-called “field wives” — or sex slaves, a report said.
The independent news outlet Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty published an interview Tuesday with a service member who said male officers force women into sex slavery — and those who refuse face horrible mistreatment.
The woman, who calls her Margarita, said in the interview that she has spent the past two months undergoing rehabilitation and is taking antidepressants for the severe trauma she endured in Ukraine.
Margarita said the harrowing experiences have left her suffering from constant nightmares and panic attacks.
“Even when I’m not alone and I’m doing something, I still see before my eyes all that horror,” Margarita said, referring to the brutality and abuse allegedly committed by Vladimir Putin’s officers against their own subordinates.
* * *
Source: https://nypost.com/2023/03/28/female-russian-medics-used-as-sex-slaves-by-officers
@Kamaji
Communism is all about the Masters dominating the slaves because ONLY the master know what is good for the serfs.
Growing up in the USSR,she should have already known and accepted this. After all,these are the same people that can execute you without question for not following their orders,so WHY would you be surprised at being forced to service their sexual needs? They ARE your masters.
-
I have no idea who you are, but I have yet to see you engage substantively with anyone, on any issue. It's just ad hominems.
So just to save you future effort in my direction, you're the first one on my ignore list. AMF!
@Maj. Bill Martin
Sorry pal. Not sure if you will click through to see this or not. You and I may disagree on a lot of these issues, and that is fair. However it is all on me for being a drive-by poster that just takes cheap shots. I should refrain from that. And will try to, unless I get booted on my ass.
You have a well crafted point of view, and defend it well. Kudos on that front.
My only advice (for what it is worth): never become married to your own thoughts, when they are (by definition) born from an imperfect womb. (Things are most always never what them seem to be on the surface.)
-
@Maj. Bill Martin
Sorry pal. Not sure if you will click through to see this or not. You and I may disagree on a lot of these issues, and that is fair. However it is all on me for being a drive-by poster that just takes cheap shots. I should refrain from that. And will try to, unless I get booted on my ass.
You have a well crafted point of view, and defend it well. Kudos on that front.
My only advice (for what it is worth): never become married to your own thoughts, when they are (by definition) born from an imperfect womb. (Things are most always never what them seem to be on the surface.)
@art.prout
@Maj. Bill Martin
Ok,it is now official. I have seen everything.
-
@art.prout
@Maj. Bill Martin
Ok,it is now official. I have seen everything.
Not sure what you see in that "SP" but you are a national treasure in my book.
-
:silly:
Are you really this much of a stooge? Or are you (as I suspect) just trolling here for fun?
You sound offended that someone would criticize your beloved Mother Russia. Will you somehow make it through the day?
-
You sound offended that someone would criticize your beloved Mother Russia. The real question is.. are YOU trolling here for fun.. or $$$?
Try to keep up, one-note.
-
Try to keep up, one-note.
Try to get through the day, son. You'll be OK.
-
OK, dolt. Believe what you must.
We know, son.. your struggle is real. You do know that eventually your beloved Mother Russia is going to fail in its unwarranted and criminal invasion of Ukraine, no? Time is not on the orcs' side.
-
Please stop the personal insults. We have good people on both sides of this issue.
-
Please stop the personal insults. We have good people on both sides of this issue.
I thought saying "good people" was Rayciss....
:happyhappy:
-
Try to keep up, one-note.
Is that you, Comrade Cranked?
-
Russian wives tricked into exposing pilot husbands behind Ukraine civilian attack
By Jesse O’Neill
March 30, 2023
Ukraine hacktivists tricked a group of Russian military wives into posing for a photo shoot that outed the identities of their husbands — who were purportedly responsible for bombing a Mariupol theater-turned-shelter last March, killing hundreds of civilians.
The virtual false-flag operation exposed 12 elite Kremlin combat pilots to potential war crime charges in connection with both the brutal theatre massacre and hundreds of other airstrikes on Ukrainian homes and businesses, the Kyiv Post reported.
It was spearheaded by Cyber Resistance, a Ukrainian hacker group that engages in guerrilla warfare, and InformNapalm, a Ukraine volunteer journalism outfit that investigates Russian war efforts, according to the latter group.
Cyber Resistance was able to hack into the email of Col. Sergey Atroshchenko, commander of the 960th Assault Aviation Regiment, stationed in occupied Crimea, according to InformNapalm.
Posing as a Russian officer in the regiment, the hackers contacted Antroshchenko’s wife and convinced her to organize a photo shoot with the wives and girlfriends of the other pilots, supposedly to boost morale, the organization said.
* * *
Source: https://nypost.com/2023/03/30/russian-army-wives-tricked-into-exposing-identities-of-pilots-behind-civilian-attacks/
-
Russian women are beautiful though...
-
Russian women are beautiful though...
The wife of the colonel:
(https://nypost.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/NYPICHPDPICT000008984831.jpg?resize=1024,627&quality=75&strip=all)
-
The wife of the colonel:
(https://nypost.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/NYPICHPDPICT000008984831.jpg?resize=1024,627&quality=75&strip=all)
Man no wonder they suck at war...
-
Russian women are beautiful though...
Their contributions to women's tennis have proven that.
Sharipova? Kournikova? You bet.....
-
Man no wonder they suck at war...
:silly:
-
Their contributions to women's tennis have proven that.
Sharipova? Kournikova? You bet.....
Yeah, also like Dasha Perova in "World of Warships."
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DgoOOY3W0AAkoPU.jpg)
-
Russia to offer food for North Korean weapons - US
By Antoinette Radford
BBC News
March 31, 2023
Russia is sending a delegation to North Korea to offer food in exchange for weapons, US national security spokesperson John Kirby has said.
Mr Kirby said any arms deal between North Korea and Russia would violate UN Security Council resolutions.
The US has previously accused North Korea of supplying arms to the Russian military in Ukraine and the Wagner group of Russia mercenaries.
Pyongyang earlier denied the claims.
Mr Kirby told a news conference the US had new information about a deal.
"We also understand that Russia is seeking to send a delegation in North Korea and that Russia is offering North Korea food in exchange for munitions," he said.
The security spokesperson said the US was monitoring the situation, and the alleged deal, closely.
* * *
Source: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-65131117
-
I remember this commercial:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FpypTXccG2I
-
I remember this commercial:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FpypTXccG2I
:mauslaff:
-
The wife of the colonel:
(https://nypost.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/NYPICHPDPICT000008984831.jpg?resize=1024,627&quality=75&strip=all)
:yowsa: :yowsa: :yowsa: :yowsa: :yowsa: :yowsa: :yowsa: :yowsa: :yowsa: :yowsa: :yowsa: :yowsa: :yowsa: :yowsa: :yowsa: :yowsa: :yowsa: :yowsa: :yowsa: :yowsa: :yowsa: :yowsa: :yowsa: :yowsa: :yowsa: :yowsa: :yowsa: :yowsa: :yowsa: :yowsa: :yowsa: :yowsa: :yowsa: :yowsa: :yowsa: :yowsa: :yowsa: :yowsa: :yowsa: :yowsa: :yowsa: 888high58888 888high58888 888high58888 888high58888 888high58888 888high58888 888high58888 888high58888 888high58888 888high58888 888high58888
-
Russian women are beautiful though...
As are Ukrainian women
-
As are Ukrainian women
@LMAO
Well,there HAS been an awful lot of "social sharing" between Soviet soldiers and Ukrainian women over the decades.
-
There seems to be some preparatory activity going on in Melitopol lately, similar to what took place in Kherson:
Ukrainian forces shell Russian-occupied Melitopol - Russian media
https://www.jpost.com/breaking-news/article-735757
Russian Official Says Ukraine Counteroffensive Will Target These Areas
https://www.newsweek.com/russian-official-ukraine-counteroffensive-target-areas-denis-pushilin-zaporizhzhia-1791415
-
Yeah, also like Dasha Perova in "World of Warships."
Have you played 'World of Warships'? I've played 'World of Tanks', but I lack the patience to be an effective tanker. Prefer playing SPGs.
-
Have you played 'World of Warships'? I've played 'World of Tanks', but I lack the patience to be an effective tanker. Prefer playing SPGs.
Yeah, it's slower moving and more user friendly, and good for stress relief. I generally play the German battleships and the USS Massachusetts, "Big Mamie"!
-
I guess this is good news:
https://twitter.com/KyivIndependent/status/1642493855680307202
-
https://twitter.com/KyivIndependent/status/1642574083123564545
-
So Sad..... Not!!!!
https://www.jpost.com/breaking-news/article-736145
-
https://twitter.com/KyivIndependent/status/1642574083123564545
Good riddance. That guy openly supported genocide.
"We'll defeat everyone, we'll kill everyone, we'll rob everyone we need to. Everything will be as we like it," he was shown saying in a video last September.
https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/russian-military-blogger-killed-explosion-st-petersburg-agencies-2023-04-02/
-
Good riddance. That guy openly supported genocide.
"We'll defeat everyone, we'll kill everyone, we'll rob everyone we need to. Everything will be as we like it," he was shown saying in a video last September.
https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/russian-military-blogger-killed-explosion-st-petersburg-agencies-2023-04-02/ (https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/russian-military-blogger-killed-explosion-st-petersburg-agencies-2023-04-02/)
I feel for the innocent bystanders
-
⚡️High-profile Russian propagandist killed in explosion in St Petersburg cafe.
An explosion in a cafe in the center of St. Petersburg killed Russian propagandist and war correspondent Vladlen Tatarsky and injured 15 others on April 2, Russian media reported.
He had it coming.
-
I feel for the innocent bystanders
Yeah, I know what you mean.
(https://imgs.search.brave.com/mWol2Dik1Jgi-Sm03Qnki2tdBurOzFDUhlRxgncy3f0/rs:fit:474:266:1/g:ce/aHR0cHM6Ly9tZWRp/YS5jbm4uY29tL2Fw/aS92MS9pbWFnZXMv/c3RlbGxhci9wcm9k/LzIyMDUyNjE4Mzcz/Mi1tYXJpdXBvbC1i/ZWxsLXBrZy12cHgu/anBnP2M9MTZ4OSZx/PXdfODUwLGNfZmls/bA)
-
Good riddance. That guy openly supported genocide.
"We'll defeat everyone, we'll kill everyone, we'll rob everyone we need to. Everything will be as we like it," he was shown saying in a video last September.
https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/russian-military-blogger-killed-explosion-st-petersburg-agencies-2023-04-02/
The world is rid of one nasty stinking piece of subhuman trash. May he roast in pieces.
-
Weird Guns Used in the Russo-Ukrainian War
Lawrence Person's BattleSwarm Blog
https://www.battleswarmblog.com/?p=54559 (https://www.battleswarmblog.com/?p=54559)
“AK Guy” Brandon just dropped the fourth installment of his “Weird Guns Being Used in Ukraine Right Now” on YouTube, showing some of the funky, modified, and just plain ancient weapons be used in active combat there. The first installment is age limited and non-embeddable, but the other three are below.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YYMgYpavdB4 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YYMgYpavdB4)
Highlights:
• Both sides are using he original Maxim belt-fed machine guns, a World War I mainstay “patented in 1883. Timeline-wise this weapon was designed closer to the beginning of the American revolution in 1776 than it was to the current Ukrainian conflict.”
• PKM machine guns taken off armored vehicles and converted for individual use. Which is more difficult than it sounds, since the firing mechanism is triggered by an electric solenoid.
“They had to rig up an entirely new firing system to rig up to these things, and quickly, and frankly I’m impressed. Ghetto gunsmith to ghetto gunsmith, crisp internet high five.”
• Chechen soldiers (assuming there are any of them still around) are better equipped than Russian soldiers.
• “You’re seeing all sorts of modern munitions, anti-armor stuff, aircraft drones. But then in the exact same confrontation, you’re also having guys that are carrying around weapons that are so old that their great grandfathers could have easily carried in the Great War to end all wars. And while the reality of war is obviously very tragic, the significance of some of the stuff being used in the field is extremely interesting.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dJoAam1m9cE&t=1s (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dJoAam1m9cE&t=1s)
Highlights:
• “Modified mortar RPG rounds…in guerrilla warfare, it’s always useful to have a couple of rednecks around.”
• That ridiculous “six antipersonnel grenades attached to an RPG” thing.
• “Some poor Ivan got handed a squirrel killer (a Chinese QB-57 single shot air rifle) and was thrown into the middle of 21st century combat with drones and tanks and was told good luck, have fun. It’s no wonder a lot of young Russian men are leaving the country rather than being conscripted…nothing says the government cares about your well-being quite like being tossed into bleep combat with a Red Ryder from A Christmas Story.”
• Russia is also using World War II era DPM or DP-28 Degtyarev machine guns. “It’s basically like a PKM, if a PKM wasn’t belt fed and was instead fed by a pizza dish. It’s the closest thing to a full dinner plate most Soviets ever got to see.”
• Other World War II era machine guns seeing combat: MP40s, Sturmgewehr (STG) 44s and MG 42s.
------
More at link.
-
Yeah, I know what you mean.
(https://imgs.search.brave.com/mWol2Dik1Jgi-Sm03Qnki2tdBurOzFDUhlRxgncy3f0/rs:fit:474:266:1/g:ce/aHR0cHM6Ly9tZWRp/YS5jbm4uY29tL2Fw/aS92MS9pbWFnZXMv/c3RlbGxhci9wcm9k/LzIyMDUyNjE4Mzcz/Mi1tYXJpdXBvbC1i/ZWxsLXBrZy12cHgu/anBnP2M9MTZ4OSZx/PXdfODUwLGNfZmls/bA)
@Hoodat
If that is a photo of the building that where the bomb exploded,I am amazed that anyone survived.
-
Weird Guns Used in the Russo-Ukrainian War
Lawrence Person's BattleSwarm Blog
https://www.battleswarmblog.com/?p=54559 (https://www.battleswarmblog.com/?p=54559)
“AK Guy” Brandon just dropped the fourth installment of his “Weird Guns Being Used in Ukraine Right Now” on YouTube, showing some of the funky, modified, and just plain ancient weapons be used in active combat there. The first installment is age limited and non-embeddable, but the other three are below.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YYMgYpavdB4 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YYMgYpavdB4)
Highlights:
• Both sides are using he original Maxim belt-fed machine guns, a World War I mainstay “patented in 1883. Timeline-wise this weapon was designed closer to the beginning of the American revolution in 1776 than it was to the current Ukrainian conflict.”
• PKM machine guns taken off armored vehicles and converted for individual use. Which is more difficult than it sounds, since the firing mechanism is triggered by an electric solenoid.
“They had to rig up an entirely new firing system to rig up to these things, and quickly, and frankly I’m impressed. Ghetto gunsmith to ghetto gunsmith, crisp internet high five.”
• Chechen soldiers (assuming there are any of them still around) are better equipped than Russian soldiers.
• “You’re seeing all sorts of modern munitions, anti-armor stuff, aircraft drones. But then in the exact same confrontation, you’re also having guys that are carrying around weapons that are so old that their great grandfathers could have easily carried in the Great War to end all wars. And while the reality of war is obviously very tragic, the significance of some of the stuff being used in the field is extremely interesting.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dJoAam1m9cE&t=1s (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dJoAam1m9cE&t=1s)
Highlights:
• “Modified mortar RPG rounds…in guerrilla warfare, it’s always useful to have a couple of rednecks around.”
• That ridiculous “six antipersonnel grenades attached to an RPG” thing.
• “Some poor Ivan got handed a squirrel killer (a Chinese QB-57 single shot air rifle) and was thrown into the middle of 21st century combat with drones and tanks and was told good luck, have fun. It’s no wonder a lot of young Russian men are leaving the country rather than being conscripted…nothing says the government cares about your well-being quite like being tossed into bleep combat with a Red Ryder from A Christmas Story.”
• Russia is also using World War II era DPM or DP-28 Degtyarev machine guns. “It’s basically like a PKM, if a PKM wasn’t belt fed and was instead fed by a pizza dish. It’s the closest thing to a full dinner plate most Soviets ever got to see.”
• Other World War II era machine guns seeing combat: MP40s, Sturmgewehr (STG) 44s and MG 42s.
------
More at link.
That’s crazy.
-
@Hoodat
If that is a photo of the building that where the bomb exploded, I am amazed that anyone survived.
That is a residential building in Mariupol that was targeted by Russian missiles, artillery, and tank rounds. There are thousands of examples just like this throughout Ukraine. So I'm not really giving a damn about a handful of "innocent bystanders" in Petrograd considering the tens of thousands of Ukrainian innocents who have been intentionally slaughtered by the Russian military.
-
That is a residential building in Mariupol that was targeted by Russian missiles, artillery, and tank rounds. There are thousands of examples just like this throughout Ukraine. So I'm not really giving a damn about a handful of "innocent bystanders" in Petrograd considering the tens of thousands of Ukrainian innocents who have been intentionally slaughtered by the Russian military.
Point taken, I'm the Russian sympathizers at the TOS are sad.
-
That’s crazy.
@Kamaji
I have no idea who that guy is,but judging from the firepower he has on the wall behind him,he has some serious cash to spend.
-
Point taken, I'm the Russian sympathizers at the TOS are sad.
@kevindavis007
I don't think they are Russian sympathizers as much as they are "better red than dead" people.
-
Chilling moment 'anti-war female assassin carries explosive-laden statue' into St Petersburg cafe before 'handing it to Putin blogger' who was then killed in blast - as Russia arrests her and blames Ukraine and 'Navalny agents' for attack
Pro-Putin war blogger Vladlen Tatarsky, 40, was killed in the blast on Sunday
Daria Trepova, 26, said to have carried out the attack, has been arrested today
By RACHAEL BUNYAN and WILL STEWART FOR MAILONLINE
3 April 2023
The female anti-war activist suspected of assassinating one of Vladimir Putin's propagandists by carrying a statue laden with explosives into a cafe has today been arrested.
Vladlen Tatarsky, whose real name is Maxim Fomin, was blown to pieces yesterday after Daria Trepova, 26, reportedly entered the cafe in St Petersburg and handed him a small statue of himself that was said to be laden with explosives.
Tatarsky, 40, a staunch supporter of Putin and his invasion of Ukraine, had been speaking at a political event at the Street Food No 1 cafe when the bomb exploded next to him, killing the propagandist and injuring 32 others in what the Kremlin claimed was a 'terrorist attack'.
* * *
Source: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11932295/Vladlen-Tatarsky-video-Chillinig-moment-Daria-Trepova-hands-explosives-pro-Putin-blogger.html
-
Chilling moment 'anti-war female assassin carries explosive-laden statue' into St Petersburg cafe before 'handing it to Putin blogger' who was then killed in blast - as Russia arrests her and blames Ukraine and 'Navalny agents' for attack
Pro-Putin war blogger Vladlen Tatarsky, 40, was killed in the blast on Sunday
Daria Trepova, 26, said to have carried out the attack, has been arrested today
By RACHAEL BUNYAN and WILL STEWART FOR MAILONLINE
3 April 2023
The female anti-war activist suspected of assassinating one of Vladimir Putin's propagandists by carrying a statue laden with explosives into a cafe has today been arrested.
Vladlen Tatarsky, whose real name is Maxim Fomin, was blown to pieces yesterday after Daria Trepova, 26, reportedly entered the cafe in St Petersburg and handed him a small statue of himself that was said to be laden with explosives.
Tatarsky, 40, a staunch supporter of Putin and his invasion of Ukraine, had been speaking at a political event at the Street Food No 1 cafe when the bomb exploded next to him, killing the propagandist and injuring 32 others in what the Kremlin claimed was a 'terrorist attack'.
* * *
Source: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11932295/Vladlen-Tatarsky-video-Chillinig-moment-Daria-Trepova-hands-explosives-pro-Putin-blogger.html (https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11932295/Vladlen-Tatarsky-video-Chillinig-moment-Daria-Trepova-hands-explosives-pro-Putin-blogger.html)
That was fast. I don't believe them.
-
That was fast. I don't believe them.
Why? Because she isn't Ukrainian?
-
'Statue assassin' at the mercy of Putin's thugs: Russian woman who 'killed military blogger Vladlen Tatarsky by giving him booby trapped sculpture' pleads her innocence as she is filmed being interrogated while chained to a radiator
Pro-Putin war blogger Vladlen Tatarsky, 40, was killed in the blast on Sunday
Daria Trepova, 26, said to have carried out the attack, has been arrested today
By RACHAEL BUNYAN FOR MAILONLINE
3 April 2023
The Russian woman arrested on suspicion of assassinating one of Vladimir Putin's propagandists in a bomb attack has today admitted she carried the statue laden with explosives into a cafe in St Petersburg - but insisted she had been 'set up'.
Daria Trepova, 26, was filmed with her hands chained to a radiator while being interrogated by Russian investigators over the assassination of Kremlin propagandist Vladlen Tatarsky, 40.
In the video, where Trepova kept looking away from the camera as she spoke, the anti-war activist admitted taking the statue to Tatarsky at the Street Food Bar No. 1 cafe before he was blown to pieces in Sunday's blast.
Trepova told the Russian investigators she would tell them who gave her the explosive-laded statuette 'later'. It is not clear why Trepova was not in a cell when being questioned.
But Trepova, who had appeared in a video said to show her carrying the explosive-laden statuette into the cafe, had earlier insisted that she had been 'set up' and 'was being used' after she was arrested on suspicion of Tatarksy's murder.
* * *
Source: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11933071/Daria-Trepova-handed-explosives-pro-Putin-blogger-insists-no-assassin.html
-
@kevindavis007
I don't think they are Russian sympathizers as much as they are "better red than dead" people.
Several, like BobL, have admitted to me that they are Ron Paul Libertarians, who are total isolationists (to the point of appeasement and throwing friendly countries to the Russian wolves) and don't believe in any kind of proactive National Defense, despite the lessons of Pearl Harbor and 9/11.
-
Defecting Putin protection officer reveals how paranoid Russian leader 'stays in his bunker' to avoid assassination attempts, never uses a mobile phone or the internet and is 'mortally afraid' of Covid
Gleb Karakulov is a captain in the Federal Guard Service who escaped to Turkey
He revealed Putin is 'mortally afraid' of Covid and is isolating for fourth year
By WILL STEWART
4 April 2023
A protection officer who worked directly for Vladimir Putin has defected from Russia, labelling the Kremlin despot a 'war criminal' for his invasion of Ukraine.
Gleb Karakulov, 35, is a captain in the Federal Guard Service, known as the FGS or FSO, who escaped Russia to the safety via Istanbul.
Now, he has revealed in an interview that Putin is so paranoid about his personal security, assassination attempts and health and that he opts to stay 'in his bunker' rather than make regular trips across the country like he used to.
Karakulov added that the Russian despot is 'mortally afraid' of Covid and is isolating for the fourth year, and that he never uses a mobile phone out of fear of being bugged by the West - instead taking a special communications box with him.
Dossier independent media - which revealed Karakulov's testimony - claims he is the highest ranking defector so far from Putin's immediate security circle.
* * *
Source: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11936739/Putin-protection-officer-DEFECTS-labels-Kremlin-despot-war-criminal.html
-
Several, like BobL, have admitted to me that they are Ron Paul Libertarians, who are total isolationists (to the point of appeasement and throwing friendly countries to the Russian wolves) and don't believe in any kind of proactive National Defense, despite the lessons of Pearl Harbor and 9/11.
Also, a lot of them like Putin cause of his anti-gay policies.
-
Defecting Putin protection officer reveals how paranoid Russian leader 'stays in his bunker' to avoid assassination attempts, never uses a mobile phone or the internet and is 'mortally afraid' of Covid
Gleb Karakulov is a captain in the Federal Guard Service who escaped to Turkey
He revealed Putin is 'mortally afraid' of Covid and is isolating for fourth year
By WILL STEWART
4 April 2023
A protection officer who worked directly for Vladimir Putin has defected from Russia, labelling the Kremlin despot a 'war criminal' for his invasion of Ukraine.
Gleb Karakulov, 35, is a captain in the Federal Guard Service, known as the FGS or FSO, who escaped Russia to the safety via Istanbul.
Now, he has revealed in an interview that Putin is so paranoid about his personal security, assassination attempts and health and that he opts to stay 'in his bunker' rather than make regular trips across the country like he used to.
Karakulov added that the Russian despot is 'mortally afraid' of Covid and is isolating for the fourth year, and that he never uses a mobile phone out of fear of being bugged by the West - instead taking a special communications box with him.
Dossier independent media - which revealed Karakulov's testimony - claims he is the highest ranking defector so far from Putin's immediate security circle.
* * *
Source: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11936739/Putin-protection-officer-DEFECTS-labels-Kremlin-despot-war-criminal.html (https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11936739/Putin-protection-officer-DEFECTS-labels-Kremlin-despot-war-criminal.html)
I'm not sure if this is true or not, but if true something tells me he isn't all up there in his head.
-
Also, a lot of them like Putin cause of his anti-gay policies.
Correct...they have somehow deluded themselves into believing that Putin launched a Conservative "culture war" when he made his move against Ukraine. And oh yeah, he's supposedly pals with Trump.
-
Correct...they have somehow deluded themselves into believing that Putin launched a Conservative "culture war" when he made his move against Ukraine. And oh yeah, he's supposedly pals with Trump.
That is correct. Never mind that Russia is a dying country.
-
Video shows pro-Putin blogger being blown up with suspected assassin nearby
By Lee Brown and Snejana Farberov
April 4, 2023
Shocking video shows the moment a prominent pro-Putin blogger was blown up in a packed St. Petersburg café — with his accused female assassin sitting just feet away.
Clips shared by Russian news site 112 show the suspect, Daria Trepova, initially trying to back out of the room after handing a box containing a small statuette to Maxim Fomim, a military propagandist better known as Vladlen Tatarsky.
“Nastya, Nastya, come sit here,” Tatarsky, 40, called out to Trepova, 26, using the pseudonym the assassin allegedly used to hide her identity as a Ukraine-linked anti-war activist.
Trepova — who is due in court Tuesday for her first hearing, accused of terrorism — is seen nervously turning back as the blogger urges her to sit right near him.
She compromises by agreeing to stay for the political discussion, but in a different chair several feet to the left of Tatarsky, who has been one of the most enthusiastic cheerleaders for Russia’s war on Ukraine.
* * *
Source: https://nypost.com/2023/04/04/video-shows-moment-pro-putin-blogger-is-blown-up/
-
The U.S. has deep pockets ... what's another billion dollars? *****rollingeyes*****
US announces new $2.6 billion military aid package to Ukraine
US President Joe Biden's administration announced an additional package of military aid to Ukraine totaling $2.6 billion on Tuesday.
The package includes $500 million in drawdown equipment, such as ammunition for High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS) and additional munitions for the Patriot missile system, artillery and mortar rounds, heavy fuel tankers, and tactical recovery vehicles. It is the 35th drawdown of US equipment for Ukraine since August 2021.
The administration is also allocating $2.1 billion in Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative funds, which intend to produce a “significant package of air defense capabilities” including air surveillance radars and counter-unmanned aerial system 30mm gun trucks, as well as Javelin anti-armor systems and 23 million rounds of small arms munition...............
https://www.cnn.com/europe/live-news/russia-ukraine-war-news-04-04-23/index.html
-
The package includes $500 million in drawdown equipment, . . .
. . It is the 35th drawdown of US equipment for Ukraine since August 2021.
Translation: The Defense Dept gets $500 million in cash, and Ukraine gets $80 million worth of old used overpriced equipment.
-
The U.S. has deep pockets ... what's another billion dollars? *****rollingeyes*****
US announces new $2.6 billion military aid package to Ukraine
US President Joe Biden's administration announced an additional package of military aid to Ukraine totaling $2.6 billion on Tuesday.
The package includes $500 million in drawdown equipment, such as ammunition for High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS) and additional munitions for the Patriot missile system, artillery and mortar rounds, heavy fuel tankers, and tactical recovery vehicles. It is the 35th drawdown of US equipment for Ukraine since August 2021.
Libertybele
I CAN'T be the the only wonder wondering how much of that the Biden Crime Family will get in cash kickbacks.
-
Libertybele
I CAN'T be the the only wonder wondering how much of that the Biden Crime Family will get in cash kickbacks.
Don't worry, You aren't.
-
Poland Says Supplied Some Of Pledged MiG-29s To Ukraine
https://www.barrons.com/news/poland-says-supplied-some-of-pledged-mig-29s-to-ukraine-c817dc37 (https://www.barrons.com/news/poland-says-supplied-some-of-pledged-mig-29s-to-ukraine-c817dc37)
By AFP - Agence France Presse April 3, 2023
Poland on Monday said it had already transferred some of its promised MiG-29 fighter jets to Ukraine, after fellow NATO member Slovakia announced it had shipped an initial batch of its own.
"A few MiG-29s have already been sent. They are indeed helpful to Ukraine in its defence of our collective security," Polish presidential aide Marcin Przydacz told local radio station RMF FM.
Last month, Poland became the first NATO member to pledge the fighter jets when President Andrzej Duda said it would deliver an initial batch of four.
He said at the time that Poland currently has a dozen or so MiG planes that it inherited from the former German Democratic Republic and which they were "on the verge" of sending to Ukraine.
-
r/UkraineWarVideoReport • Posted by u/Blakplague
2 days ago
A Russian volunteer ordered $25,000 worth of sex toys instead of drones for Russian troops — InformNapalm. Ukrainian hackers
from "Kyberopor" managed to hack the AliExpress account of Mykhailo Luchin and adjust the order for the funds collected by the
volunteer. He is not able to cancel.
(https://i.redd.it/stg1t8sy6qra1.jpg)
https://www.reddit.com/r/UkraineWarVideoReport/comments/12an5ea/a_russian_volunteer_ordered_25000_worth_of_sex/ (https://www.reddit.com/r/UkraineWarVideoReport/comments/12an5ea/a_russian_volunteer_ordered_25000_worth_of_sex/)
-
r/UkraineWarVideoReport • Posted by u/Blakplague
2 days ago
A Russian volunteer ordered $25,000 worth of sex toys instead of drones for Russian troops — InformNapalm. Ukrainian hackers
from "Kyberopor" managed to hack the AliExpress account of Mykhailo Luchin and adjust the order for the funds collected by the
volunteer. He is not able to cancel.
(https://i.redd.it/stg1t8sy6qra1.jpg)
https://www.reddit.com/r/UkraineWarVideoReport/comments/12an5ea/a_russian_volunteer_ordered_25000_worth_of_sex/ (https://www.reddit.com/r/UkraineWarVideoReport/comments/12an5ea/a_russian_volunteer_ordered_25000_worth_of_sex/)
:mauslaff:
-
r/UkraineWarVideoReport • Posted by u/Blakplague
2 days ago
A Russian volunteer ordered $25,000 worth of sex toys instead of drones for Russian troops — InformNapalm. Ukrainian hackers
from "Kyberopor" managed to hack the AliExpress account of Mykhailo Luchin and adjust the order for the funds collected by the
volunteer. He is not able to cancel.
(https://i.redd.it/stg1t8sy6qra1.jpg)
https://www.reddit.com/r/UkraineWarVideoReport/comments/12an5ea/a_russian_volunteer_ordered_25000_worth_of_sex/ (https://www.reddit.com/r/UkraineWarVideoReport/comments/12an5ea/a_russian_volunteer_ordered_25000_worth_of_sex/)
If I wasn't zotted at the TOS, I would post this to annoy the Putin Bots over there.
-
Check this out;
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P5hlYzwYiJE
-
Seems odd to fly colors on a tank designed to be made to blend into the landscape. (???)
-
Seems odd to fly colors on a tank designed to be made to blend into the landscape. (???)
@catfish1957 e
Well,they pretty much don't have much choice when most of the tanks being used are being used by both sides.
Plus,I am GUESSING that most of the conscripts can't even tell from looking if there are any differences.
I don't know when it will happen,but the day WILL come when Putin has to pay a painful and fatal price for all the deaths he has caused to happen.
-
@catfish1957 e
Well,they pretty much don't have much choice when most of the tanks being used are being used by both sides.
Good point that explains that.
-
Vladimir Putin fires top Russian general behind massacre in Vuhledar: Commander leading Ukraine assault becomes 'most senior military dismissal of this year' amid catastrophic losses
General Rustam Muradov led Russia's Eastern Group of Forces for almost a year
But he was dismissed after presiding over two disastrous assaults near Vuhledar
Thousands of men and hundreds of armoured vehicles were lost in the attacks
By DAVID AVERRE
6 April 2023
A Russian commander who presided over attacks in Ukraine that led thousands of men to slaughter has been dismissed from his post, Western officials have claimed.
General Rustam Muradov had led Russia's Eastern Group of Forces (EGF) for almost a year, having taken up the role after his predecessor's attempt to assault Kyiv in the first weeks of the war.
Muradov, a close ally of Russia's military chief Valery Gerasimov, earlier this year launched an attack on the mining town of Vuhledar in the eastern Donetsk region.
* * *
Source: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11945085/Vladimir-Putin-fires-Russian-general-massacre-Vuhledar.html
-
How paranoid Vladimir Putin has identical offices to try to foil assassins: Russian President claims to be in one mansion when he is actually thousands of miles away - and sends out fake motorcades to fool foreign spies
Putin designed identical offices in St Petersburg, Sochi and Novo-Ogaryovo
Official reports sometimes say Putin is in one place when he's actually in another
By RACHAEL BUNYAN FOR MAILONLINE and AP
5 April 2023
Vladimir Putin has set up identical offices across Russia to confuse assassins in another sign the despot is paranoid about his safety, a Russian intelligence officer who fled the country over the Ukraine war said.
The Russian president designed offices in his luxury mansions in St Petersburg, Sochi and Novo-Ogaryovo to look the same, according to Gleb Karakulov, an officer in the Kremlin leader's secretive elite personal security service.
The rooms are identical, with matching details such as desk and wall hangings, and official reports sometimes say he's in one place when he's actually in another.
* * *
Source: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11941317/How-paranoid-Vladimir-Putin-identical-offices-try-foil-assassins.html
-
Ukrainian tank storms Russian trenches near Bakhmut in another terrifying drone video from the frontlines
Battle took place south of the town of Ivanivske, that lies to the west of Bakhmut
The region has experienced brutal fighting in Putin's 14-month-long war
By CHRIS JEWERS FOR MAILONLINE
6 April 2023
This is the terrifying moment a Ukrainian tank fired on a Russian trench from point-blank range, before soldiers moved in to finish the job.
The battle took place south of the town of Ivanivske that lies to the west of besieged city Bakhmut - which has been the focus of the war's bloodiest fighting since Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered the invasion of Ukraine last year.
Brutal fighting for the city and the surrounding region has seen the return of trench warfare to Europe, in scenes reminiscent of the First and Second World Wars.
* * *
Source: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11945555/Ukrainian-tank-storms-Russian-trenches-near-Bakhmut-terrifying-drone.html
-
I remember the 1991 Gulf war was called the video game war because the footage we got from it was unprecedented, but they're basically streaming this war live at this point. The footage is amazing, but in a horrible way.
-
Seems odd to fly colors on a tank designed to be made to blend into the landscape. (???)
Many tanks and armored carriers used by Ukraine are captured from Russia. If you or I were driving around Ukraine in an obviously Russian tank, I suppose we would be flying a very large Ukrainian flag too. More than that, the Russian forces are running out of anti-tank weapons. So the biggest threat to any tank are the Ukrainians themselves.
This is how the tanks are able to drive right up point blank to the Russian trenches and blow them up.
-
Worth seeing...https://www.forbes.com/sites/davidaxe/2023/04/05/russia-launches-thermobaric-rockets-ukraine-flings-line-charges-and-bakhmut-explodes/?sh=390e6cea49e6 (https://www.forbes.com/sites/davidaxe/2023/04/05/russia-launches-thermobaric-rockets-ukraine-flings-line-charges-and-bakhmut-explodes/?sh=390e6cea49e6)
-
Many tanks and armored carriers used by Ukraine are captured from Russia. If you or I were driving around Ukraine in an obviously Russian tank, I suppose we would be flying a very large Ukrainian flag too. More than that, the Russian forces are running out of anti-tank weapons. So the biggest threat to any tank are the Ukrainians themselves.
This is how the tanks are able to drive right up point blank to the Russian trenches and blow them up.
Either captured from Russia, or else inherited from the Soviet Union when it broke up.
-
https://twitter.com/visegrad24/status/1644313978951155712
-
Check this out;
It looked to me like at least one Russian was trying to surrender. Maybe the gunner didn't see him.
-
It looked to me like at least one Russian was trying to surrender. Maybe the gunner didn't see him.
That's what thought I saw too... There was a white sheet/flag waving from behind a tree before the tree was taken out.
-
Moment a Russian warplane explodes in huge fireball after being 'shot down by Ukrainian troops' over Donetsk
The Su-25 jet was reportedly hit by Ukraine's airborne assault troops in Donetsk
Russian Telegram channels claimed the pilot ejected into Russian-held territory
By WILL STEWART
7 April 2023
This is the shocking moment a downed Russian warplane exploded in a huge fireball today over the embattled Donetsk region of Ukraine.
The Su-25 Grach jet was reportedly hit by Ukraine's airborne assault troops who targeted the low-flying close air support aircraft with a man-portable air defence weapon (MANPAD).
The clip misses the moment the plane is hit by the missile, but the white smoke of the stricken aircraft can be seen trailing through the air towards the crash site as another warplane flies past.
Moments later, the wreckage ignites and erupts in a huge fireball.
* * *
Source: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11949819/Moment-Russian-warplane-explodes-huge-fireball-Donetsk.html
-
Just because he ejected does not mean he lived through it.
He could have ejected missing both his legs and with a punctured lung.
-
Ukraine could negotiate on Crimea, top Zelenskyy adviser suggests
American Military News by Justin Cooper April 07, 2023
A top adviser to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has indicated potential willingness to negotiate over the future of Crimea, an occupied peninsula Zelenskyy previously vowed to reclaim amid the Russian invasion.
The Financial Times reported that the deputy head of Zelenskyy’s office, Andriy Sybiha, told the outlet Ukraine would consider discussions about Crimea if its forces reached the peninsula’s border during a counter-offensive expected this spring.
“If we will succeed in achieving our strategic goals on the battlefield and when we will be on the administrative border with Crimea, we are ready to open [a] diplomatic page to discuss this issue,” Sybiha said, adding, “It doesn’t mean that we exclude the way of liberation [of Crimea] by our army.”
More: https://americanmilitarynews.com/2023/04/ukraine-could-negotiate-on-crimea-top-zelenskyy-adviser-suggests/ (https://americanmilitarynews.com/2023/04/ukraine-could-negotiate-on-crimea-top-zelenskyy-adviser-suggests/)
-
The annihilation of Putin's tanks by Ukraine: Thousands of have been killed in Russia's steel death traps - thanks to a fatal design flaw and inept tactics, says CHRIS PLEASANCE
MAILONLINE
By CHRIS PLEASANCE
8 April 2023
No country in the world had more of tanks than Russia.
But after a year of all-out war in Ukraine, analysts believe Putin may have lost up to two thirds of his tanks in the largest obliteration of Russian armour since World War Two.
This is the story of how the world’s largest tank army was decimated on the killing fields of Ukraine, and what it means for the future of the war.
Watch the video here: (at link)
(more)
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11951973/The-annihilation-Putins-tanks.html
-
Ukraine has/had the same tanks, although they are better at employing them than are the Russians so they haven't lost nearly as many.
-
Ukraine has/had the same tanks, although they are better at employing them than are the Russians so they haven't lost nearly as many.
@Maj. Bill Martin
That's because Communists don't give a damn about how many troops they lose in combat,as long as they win the battle.
Also,consider the fact that one of the USSR's leaders EVERY got close to the front lines. Stalin took a ride to the front lines in a limo once,and when he got close enough to hear the explosions,he ordered the limo to make a U-Turn and take him back to Moscow. The limo got stuck in the mud while trying this,so Stalin commandeered a Soviet truck to take him back to safety after ordering all the re-enforcements off the truck.
If Pooty Poot ever heard a shot fired,it was at a prisoner that was being executed.
-
Ukraine has/had the same tanks, although they are better at employing them than are the Russians so they haven't lost nearly as many.
The reporter says Ukraine has more now than they started with because of abandonment and captures.
-
The reporter says Ukraine has more now than they started with because of abandonment and captures.
I'm guessing that's b.s. - at least if we're talking about operational tanks.
-
I'm guessing that's b.s. - at least if we're talking about operational tanks.
True. But even nonoperational equipment have parts and supplies which may be useful.
-
BREAKING: Russia has struck its own submarine with an underwater torpedo in the Black Sea, killing all 350 aboard
Whoops, wrong sub
-
BREAKING: Russia has struck its own submarine with an underwater torpedo in the Black Sea, killing all 350 aboard
Whoops, wrong sub
Yikes. This business will get out of hand ...
-
BREAKING: Russia has struck its own submarine with an underwater torpedo in the Black Sea, killing all 350 aboard
Whoops, wrong sub
Do you have a link for that?
-
Yikes. This business will get out of hand ...
Or was this another Russians struck the Nordstrom pipeline and destroyed their own infrastructure event? /s
-
I'm guessing that's b.s. - at least if we're talking about operational tanks.
@Maj. Bill Martin
I agree.
-
BREAKING: Russia has struck its own submarine with an underwater torpedo in the Black Sea, killing all 350 aboard
Whoops, wrong sub
@kevindavis007
A sunken sub is NOT something that can be covered-up by the brass enough to be kept away from the rest of the sub fleet. Soviet naval morale has to be hitting rock bottom by now,and the crew of the sub that fired the shot has to be feeling both guilty and persecuted. Somehow,I just don't see the crews of the rest of the Soviet fleet slapping them on the back and telling them to not worry about it because "mistakes happen".
-
Or was this another Russians struck the Nordstrom pipeline and destroyed their own infrastructure event? /s
@catfish1957
This has happened before?
-
Sorry, it was a bad joke.
-
Sorry, it was a bad joke.
@kevindavis007
You really had me going there,for a minute. Thanks for clearing this up.
-
BREAKING: Russia has struck its own submarine with an underwater torpedo in the Black Sea, killing all 350 aboard
Whoops, wrong sub
:mauslaff:
-
Putin prepares for an invasion of Crimea: Beaches are covered with trenches and tank traps to repel an amphibious landing as Zelensky 'prepares spring offensive'
Daily Mail by Will Stewart and Milo Pope 4/8/2023
• Beaches have been rendered virtually unusable wiping out the summer season
Barricades and trenches have been built on beaches and close to key access routes in Crimea on a massive scale as Vladimir Putin is scared of losing the peninsula he annexed in 2014.
The level of fear is clear from the abundance of defences to stop a sea or land assault.
Dragon's teeth tank traps have been placed at strategic Ak-Monai beside the Taurida highway by occupying Russians to stop a Ukrainian bid to grab back the peninsula Putin took in 2014.
Putin has accepted he must decimate the region's huge tourism industry this summer to hold it against a possible Ukrainian advance as part of an expected Kyiv counteroffensive.
The scale of the operation is seen on both satellite images and ground level pictures.
Beaches - one popular with both Russian and Ukrainian tourists as a favourite and glamorous summer playground - have been rendered virtually unusable, wiping out the Summer 2023 season.
Many will be totally empty.
The northern coastlines of Crimea are being defended most acutely amid the clearest signs Putin's military commanders see the peninsula as vulnerable.
More: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11951857/Crimeas-beaches-covered-trenches-tank-traps.html (https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11951857/Crimeas-beaches-covered-trenches-tank-traps.html)
-
Sooner or later it HAS to occur to the Politburo that Putin is not only bankrupting Russia,he is destroying communism FOR THEM,and "steps" will have to be taken.
I just don't see him lasting through the summer. He either flies out of Russia on his private jet,or he gets a bullet in his head in the Lubyanka basement and it is reported as a "fatal heart attack".
-
Sooner or later it HAS to occur to the Politburo that Putin is not only bankrupting Russia,he is destroying communism FOR THEM,and "steps" will have to be taken.
I just don't see him lasting through the summer. He either flies out of Russia on his private jet,or he gets a bullet in his head in the Lubyanka basement and it is reported as a "fatal heart attack".
@sneakypete
Well if he files out of Russia, I think he will either go to China or Iran. Most likely Iran though. If he goes to China, China will be under the gun and they can't afford any sanctions so I'm thinking Iran is where he goes to.
The longer that Putin is in power and this war is still going, I wonder when will the troops either revolt or the people will revolt. However, my fear is that his replacement could be worse.
-
@sneakypete
Well if he files out of Russia, I think he will either go to China or Iran. Most likely Iran though. If he goes to China, China will be under the gun and they can't afford any sanctions so I'm thinking Iran is where he goes to.
The longer that Putin is in power and this war is still going, I wonder when will the troops either revolt or the people will revolt. However, my fear is that his replacement could be worse.
@kevindavis007
I could easily be wrong,but I THINK that whoever replaces him will have no choice but to withdraw from Ukraine and other "adventures" and focus on saving both Communism in Russia,as well as his own ass.
I STRONGLY suspect the typical Russian of today,especially the people in Moscow and St.Petersburg that have more knowlege of the west,are starting to get VERY tired of being subjects instead of free citizens,and if THAT tiger ever gets loose in places like Moscow or St.Pete,there just ain't goin to be any putting it "back in the box".
There is NOTHING dictators fear more than a restless citizenry.
-
@kevindavis007
I could easily be wrong,but I THINK that whoever replaces him will have no choice but to withdraw from Ukraine and other "adventures" and focus on saving both Communism in Russia,as well as his own ass.
I STRONGLY suspect the typical Russian of today,especially the people in Moscow and St.Petersburg that have more knowlege of the west,are starting to get VERY tired of being subjects instead of free citizens,and if THAT tiger ever gets loose in places like Moscow or St.Pete,there just ain't goin to be any putting it "back in the box".
There is NOTHING dictators fear more than a restless citizenry.
@sneakypete
I think the people in the countryside are restless since they are the ones mostly being sent to fight the 'Nazis'. But once the people in Moscow and St Petersburg get restless lookout and I think it is a matter of time.
You might be right about whoever replaces Putin for "Health Reasons" will have to change the direction. The bigger question is this, his successor be allies with China.
-
@sneakypete
I think the people in the countryside are restless since they are the ones mostly being sent to fight the 'Nazis'. But once the people in Moscow and St Petersburg get restless lookout and I think it is a matter of time.
You might be right about whoever replaces Putin for "Health Reasons" will have to change the direction. The bigger question is this, will his successor be allies with China?
@kevindavis007
Once again,I think that depends on who it is that is defining the word "Allies".
Theirs has always been more of a "marriage of convenience" than a "Communist Brotherhood". China needed Russia for her ability to design or steal designs from the west,as well as her ability to supply China with oil and other natural resources.
Russia needed China to protect her borders in Asia,as well as any cash they could supply. I am still VERY unclear about WHERE China gets her cash because the only nation in the world I can think of that is less free is North Korea. China really has nothing to offer but slave labor and border protection.
Howsumever,China wants and seriously NEEDS the oil fields in the Asian (sorry,I can't remembe what it is called at the moment.) part of Russia , I am predicting that it is only a matter of time before they just move into Russia and take what they want from the Asian side. After all,what is Russia going to do about it,nuke them and get nuked in return? The Russian army damn sure isn't a match for the Chinese Army,and most likely don't even have enough bullets to kill every soldier the Chinese can send there.
AND.....,IF they do send an army big enough to have any hope of chasing the Chinese out,that will leave their western borders open. Not that *I* think there is any danger of western nations invading Russia,but there is nobody more paranoid,or with better reasons,than the Russians.
All in all,I see the USSR in SERIOUS military and political decline over the next few years,and the Chinese on the March. I don't personally think the Chinese will REALLY be stupid enough to invade Taiwan,but who really knows what a "Leader for life" will or will not do?
I PERSONALLY THINK that the Chinese will just wait until they have infiltrated enough Chi-com "new citzens into China for the new "citizens" to gain enough political control to formally invite the Chinese in,but could easily be wrong because it is very hard to guess what a lunatic with unquestioned control over a nation will,or won't,do.
-
Soldiers Make Secret Pact to ‘Destroy’ Putin’s Empire From Within
DNYUZ 4/8/2023
KRAMATORSK, Ukraine—The horrors of Ukraine are an eerily familiar sight for Maga, a 30-year-old Chechen fighter who spoke with The Daily Beast using his codename.
“The same torture, the same mass graves…the things the Russians are doing in Ukraine, they were doing back in Chechnya,” Maga told The Daily Beast from his unit’s hideout in eastern Ukraine last month. “They just come and destroy everyone who could be against their power.”
Having fought first to defend Kyiv—and then in the battles for the liberation of the Kharkiv region—Maga said the atrocities he has seen in Putin’s invasion match stories told by his relatives, who fought in the wars for Chechen independence from the Russian Federation in the 1990s.
While much of the world was shocked by the bloody atrocities committed by Putin’s forces in cities like Mariupol and Bucha, for many Chechens, none of this came as a surprise.
Now, this shared trauma appears to have formed a bond between Chechens who have flocked to Ukraine to fight against Putin’s invasion and their new Ukrainian comrades, who have agreed that once the war is finished here, they will travel to fight for a free Chechnya.
“If I am alive, I will participate in the liberation of Chechnya,” said Alexander, a 43-year-old Ukrainian fighting with the Dzhokhar Dudayev battalion, who told The Daily Beast he was named after the first President of the independent Chechen Republic that was bombed into submission by Putin. “Why? Because for me they are brotherly people. I adopted a lot from them: the way they relate to life and death, the way they relate to the elders.” His beard, hair and clothing are cut in the local style—while he retains his Christian faith, he looks Chechen in all but name.Alexander and Maga’s battalion contain some of the around 1,000 Chechens fighting for Ukraine, seeing a direct line between Ukraine’s fight to liberate its territory and Chechnya’s struggle for independence. They invited The Daily Beast to visit their modest barracks in a small townhouse in the eastern Ukrainian city of Kramatorsk to tell their stories.
Members of the battalion spoke with The Daily Beast on the condition their last names are omitted and their faces are not photographed. They have recently been fighting on the frontlines in Bakhmut, where they say that Russian tactics are just like those of the Soviets during the Second World War: “They throw and cover everything in meat and capture [territory] because they have a lot of this meat,” while caring nothing for the lives of their soldiers or Ukrainian civilians caught in the crossfire, one member said.
More: https://dnyuz.com/2023/04/08/soldiers-make-secret-pact-to-destroy-putins-empire-from-within/ (https://dnyuz.com/2023/04/08/soldiers-make-secret-pact-to-destroy-putins-empire-from-within/)
-
Russian forces step up strikes on two key Ukrainian cities
By Reuters
April 10, 2023
Russia’s forces kept up a barrage of attacks along the front concentrated in two Ukrainian cities in the eastern Donetsk region, Ukraine’s military reported, as Kyiv said it repelled more than 40 enemy strikes over the past 24 hours.
Fighting was heaviest along the western approaches to Bakhmut, the general staff of Ukraine’s armed forces said on Sunday, one of the two cities in the east, along with Avdiivka, that Russia’s military has been targeting.
Russian forces have been besieging Bakhmut for months in the longest battle in more than a year of war.
In a nightly weekend video address, Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky denounced Russian air strikes coinciding with the observance of Orthodox Palm Sunday, saying Moscow was further isolating itself from the world.
Ukraine’s State Emergencies Service said a 50-year-old man and his daughter, 11, were killed after Russian forces struck a residential building in Zaporizhzhia, in the southeast.
* * *
Source: https://nypost.com/2023/04/10/russian-forces-step-up-strikes-on-two-key-ukrainian-cities/
-
Putin's 45-mile-long 'mega trench': Russian troops dig huge defensive fortification visible from space as they prepare for Ukrainian counterattack
The trench carves through Ukraine's southern Zaporizhzhia region
It is almost 50 miles behind Russian frontlines, indicating Russia's fear
By WILL STEWART FOR MAILONLINE
10 April 2023
Vladimir Putin's forces are building a huge trench across Ukraine's invaded region Zaporizhzhia as he prepares for a counteroffensive from Kyiv's armies.
The scar across the countryside - seen from space - is some 45 miles in length so far, as Russia fears a repeat of last year when Ukraine won back swathes of territory.
Having invaded this part of Ukraine last year, Putin appears acutely worried about holding this strategic region despite illegally annexing it into the Russian Federation.
* * *
Source: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11956187/Putins-45-mile-long-mega-trench-Russian-troops-dig-huge-defensive-fortification.html
-
Russia Running Out Of Soldiers And Shells?
Lawrence Person's BattleSwarm Blog 4/9/2023
As Russia enters the 14th month of its 72 hour campaign to take Kiev, there are signs that its meat-grinder approach to combat is depleting the exact resources it needs to win.
First up: Anders Puck Nielsen on Russia’s likely manpower shortage:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s8mTWexL8bs (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s8mTWexL8bs)
• He looks at various how and low counts for determining Russian casualty rates, then builds his arguments around one in the middle.
• There is a rule of thumb that is often mentioned, that for every dead soldier there are three wounded. So if we take some round numbers, and remember it’s not actually important if they are a little bit off. It doesn’t change the point that I am getting to if you think real the number is a little lower. But say that on average about 500 Russian soldiers have been killed every day since the mobilization in September, when Russia also really started to have very big attrition numbers. And if we then make a conservative estimate and say that for every dead soldier, there have been two wounded, then we get that the Russian fighting force has been decreased by about 1500 soldiers every day. Then we can divide 300,000 by 1500, and we get that they have soldiers for about 200 days, until the Russian army will have consumed all those mobilized soldiers. This is not exact science. It’s just a rough estimate to illustrate Russia’s manpower problem. Putin announced the mobilization on 21 September, and incidentally 200 days after that is about now. It’s on 9 April 2023.
• “Putin probably should have announced the second wave of mobilization months ago, but he didn’t. So that is why military analysts are talking about a Russian manpower shortage.”
• “Those 300,000 soldiers that Russia mobilized in the fall are probably not there anymore.”
Second up is a report that both sides are rationing artillery shells in advance of Ukraine’s anticipated counteroffensive.
Artillery units on both sides of the line, despite the continued duels, are reportedly dialing back fire missions to save up ammunition for the long-awaited Ukrainian counteroffensive.
Russian milblogger Alexander Khodakovsky claims that those Russian units not involved in ongoing offensives have had ammunition supplies seriously curtailed. Khodakovsky attributed the rationing to concerns about the potential offensive.
At the same time, a frontline account from the Washington Post highlighted Ukrainian artillery crews similarly conserving shells. While embedded with an artillery platoon in Ukraine’s 56th Motorized Brigade, Isabelle Khurshudyan and Kamila Hrabchuk reported the unit’s 152mm howitzers used to fire more than 20-30 shells a day. That number has dwindled to fewer than three.
More: https://www.battleswarmblog.com/?p=54621 (https://www.battleswarmblog.com/?p=54621)
-
Ukraine says it has been forced to alter its counter-attack plans after US intelligence leak revealed top secret military details - as Russia starts 'scorched earth' bombing of Bakhmut
Documents appear to contain highly classified US Pentagon secrets
Ukrainian sources have said Kyiv has been forced to alter its military plans
By CHRIS JEWERS FOR MAILONLINE
10 April 2023
Ukraine says it has been forced to alter its plans for a spring counteroffensive after a leak of classified US intelligence documents revealed top secret military details, according to a report.
The documents, which emerged online, included details ranging from the war in Ukraine to China, the Middle East and Africa - and have US officials scrambling to identify the leak's source, with some experts saying it could be an American.
Now, citing a source close to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, CNN has reported that Ukraine has been forced to amend some of its military plans ahead of a much-vaunted counter-offensive because of the information revealed in the leaks.
Meanwhile, Russian forces are continuing to press attacks in Ukraine's eastern Donetsk region, focusing on two cities and pounding Ukrainian positions with air strikes and artillery barrages, Kyiv said on Monday.
The commander of Ukraine's ground forces said the Russians were destroying buildings in besieged Bakhmut in what he called 'scorched earth' tactics.
Elsewhere a missile strike killed a father and his 11-year-old daughter.
* * *
Source: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11956647/Ukraine-says-forced-alter-counter-attack-plans-intelligence-leak.html
-
Ukraine says it has been forced to alter its counter-attack plans after US intelligence leak revealed top secret military details - as Russia starts 'scorched earth' bombing of Bakhmut
Documents appear to contain highly classified US Pentagon secrets
Ukrainian sources have said Kyiv has been forced to alter its military plans
Israel learned years ago to NEVER trust America with 'real' information. The only military information that should go to 'very leaky' America, is decoy plans meant to catch the enemy off-guard. America simply cannot be trusted because they cannot keep any secret. There are too many embedded special interests, Russian/Muslim/Chinese and others, all throughout the pentagon and intelligence agencies.
-
Ukraine says it has been forced to alter its counter-attack plans after US intelligence leak revealed top secret military details - as Russia starts 'scorched earth' bombing of Bakhmut
Documents appear to contain highly classified US Pentagon secrets
Ukrainian sources have said Kyiv has been forced to alter its military plans
By CHRIS JEWERS FOR MAILONLINE
10 April 2023
Ukraine says it has been forced to alter its plans for a spring counteroffensive after a leak of classified US intelligence documents revealed top secret military details, according to a report.
The documents, which emerged online, included details ranging from the war in Ukraine to China, the Middle East and Africa - and have US officials scrambling to identify the leak's source, with some experts saying it could be an American.
Now, citing a source close to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, CNN has reported that Ukraine has been forced to amend some of its military plans ahead of a much-vaunted counter-offensive because of the information revealed in the leaks.
Meanwhile, Russian forces are continuing to press attacks in Ukraine's eastern Donetsk region, focusing on two cities and pounding Ukrainian positions with air strikes and artillery barrages, Kyiv said on Monday.
The commander of Ukraine's ground forces said the Russians were destroying buildings in besieged Bakhmut in what he called 'scorched earth' tactics.
Elsewhere a missile strike killed a father and his 11-year-old daughter.
* * *
Source: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11956647/Ukraine-says-forced-alter-counter-attack-plans-intelligence-leak.html
@Kamaji
Anybody know what Miss Miley was doing at that time,and where she was?
-
Russian forces in Crimea brace for upcoming attack from Ukraine
By Isabel Keane
April 11, 2023
The Russian-installed head of Crimea warned on Tuesday that Moscow has assembled “more than enough” troops ahead of an anticipated Ukrainian counteroffensive.
Sergei Aksyonov said Russian forces in Crimea had built “modern, in-depth defenses” and were prepared for a spring counteroffensive as Ukraine teases the assault — taking up weapons from Western allies as the war enters its thirteenth month.
“We cannot underestimate the enemy, but we can definitely say that we are ready [for an attack] and that there will be no catastrophe,” the head of Crimea, Sergei Aksyonov, said.
Russian forces have fortified the Crimean peninsula through a network of trenches stretching along border villages, satellite images show.
The images reveal trenches have been constructed in Medvedivka, a small town located near a crossing between Ukraine and Crimea, a move that seems to suggest Russia is concerned about a potential attack in the region.
* * *
Source: https://nypost.com/2023/04/11/russian-forces-in-crimea-brace-for-ukraine-counter-attack/
-
What's funny is that talking about all the defenses they've prepared in the Crimean peninsula means they think they're going to lose Kherson and Zaporizhzhia oblasts.
The problem with that for the Russians is twofold. First, Crimea has no rivers and is essentially dependent on a water canal from the Dnipro. If Ukraine takes Kherson/Zaporizhzhia, they can cut that off. The second problem is that taking Zaporizhzhia puts the Kerch bridge within range of Iraqi artillery/missiles. If they take that out, Crimea is cut off completely except for whatever they can supply by sea.
That is really the path for potential peace. It would force Russia to agree to a peace in which they get to keep Crimea, but otherwise lose the other land they took.
-
What's funny is that talking about all the defenses they've prepared in the Crimean peninsula means they think they're going to lose Kherson and Zaporizhzhia oblasts.
The problem with that for the Russians is twofold. First, Crimea has no rivers and is essentially dependent on a water canal from the Dnipro. If Ukraine takes Kherson/Zaporizhzhia, they can cut that off. The second problem is that taking Zaporizhzhia puts the Kerch bridge within range of Iraqi artillery/missiles. If they take that out, Crimea is cut off completely except for whatever they can supply by sea.
That is really the path for potential peace. It would force Russia to agree to a peace in which they get to keep Crimea, but otherwise lose the other land they took.
Iraqis?
-
That is really the path for potential peace. It would force Russia to agree to a peace in which they get to keep Crimea, but otherwise lose the other land they took.
Screw that. Crimea is not Russia. The only thing to negotiate is whether Russia be allowed to renew its lease on Sevastopol.
-
Ukraine says it has been forced to alter its plans for a spring counteroffensive after a leak of classified US intelligence documents revealed top secret military details, according to a report.
The incompetence on display from this regime is reminiscent of the Italian campaigns in Greece and Libya in 1941.
-
The incompetence on display from this regime is reminiscent of the Italian campaigns in Greece and Libya in 1941.
Graziani definitely in the conversation for the worst general of WW2
-
What's funny is that talking about all the defenses they've prepared in the Crimean peninsula means they think they're going to lose Kherson and Zaporizhzhia oblasts.
The problem with that for the Russians is twofold. First, Crimea has no rivers and is essentially dependent on a water canal from the Dnipro. If Ukraine takes Kherson/Zaporizhzhia, they can cut that off. The second problem is that taking Zaporizhzhia puts the Kerch bridge within range of Iraqi artillery/missiles. If they take that out, Crimea is cut off completely except for whatever they can supply by sea.
That is really the path for potential peace. It would force Russia to agree to a peace in which they get to keep Crimea, but otherwise lose the other land they took.
@Maj. Bill Martin
I am not so sure of that. ALL the dedicated Soviets live in a fantasy world where everybody is wrong and evil but them.
Kinda like the DNC.
-
Ukraine war: Leak shows Western special forces on the ground
BBC By Paul Adams & George Wright 4/11/2023
The UK is among a number of countries with military special forces operating inside Ukraine, according to one of dozens of documents leaked online.
It confirms what has been the subject of quiet speculation for over a year.
The leaked files, some marked "top secret", paint a detailed picture of the war in Ukraine, including sensitive details of Ukraine's preparations for a spring counter-offensive.
The US government says it is investigating the source of the leak.
According to the document, dated 23 March, the UK has the largest contingent of special forces in Ukraine (50), followed by fellow Nato states Latvia (17), France (15), the US (14) and the Netherlands (1).
The document does not say where the forces are located or what they are doing.
The numbers of personnel may be small, and will doubtless fluctuate. But special forces are by their very nature highly effective. Their presence in Ukraine is likely to be seized upon by Moscow, which has in recent months argued that it is not just confronting Ukraine, but Nato as well.
More: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-65245065 (https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-65245065)
-
The founder of a fintech company in Ukraine is offering a $500,000 prize for the first to land a drone in Moscow's Red Square
A Ukrainian fintech founder and drone developer is offering about $540,000 in prize money to the winner of a race to land a drone on Moscow's Red Square.
Volodymyr Yatsenko, the co-founder of Monobank, a Ukrainian online banking service, announced the competition in a Facebook post last week. The competition is open to any Ukrainian drone developers and will take place on May 9, according to the Ukrainian Military Center, a Ukrainian news outlet covering defense.
May 9 in Russia is Victory Day, a time when the country celebrates the Soviet victory over Nazi Germany.
More: https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/the-founder-of-a-fintech-company-in-ukraine-is-offering-a-500000-prize-for-the-first-to-land-a-drone-in-moscows-red-square/ar-AA19GQiX
Hope it hits Lenins tomb.....
-
Horrifying video appears to show Russian soldier beheading Ukrainian POW
By Snejana Farberov
April 12, 2023
An appalling video emerged Tuesday showing what appears to be a Russian soldier savagely beheading a Ukrainian prisoner of war with a knife, leading Kyiv to compare Vladimir Putin’s regime to ISIS.
The footage, which has been circulating on pro-Russian Telegram channels, shows an apparent Russian serviceman slicing into the neck of a captive wearing a yellow armband associated with Ukrainian forces.
The unidentified victim is still alive at the start of the decapitation and is heard begging: “It hurts, stop.”
The executioner’s comrades cheer him on in the background, urging him to “f—ing cut it, break the spine! What, have you never cut off heads before?”
Another person speaking in Russian off-camera suggests placing the POW’s severed head in a bag and “sending it to the commander.”
* * *
Source: https://nypost.com/2023/04/12/video-appears-to-show-russian-troop-beheading-ukrainian-pow/
-
@Maj. Bill Martin
I am not so sure of that. ALL the dedicated Soviets live in a fantasy world where everybody is wrong and evil but them.
Kinda like the DNC.
@sneakypete
I'm not sure of it either. Just pointing out that it is a possible path to peace. The Ukrainians aren't going to just give up, but Russia won't accept complete defeat either.
Ukraine restoring the status quo that existed prior to the war in the south, and then some haggling over the Donbass, is at least a potential framework for a possible settlement. Russia obviously wouldn't have accomplished the conquest they intended, but could at least try to spin it as "we denazified Ukraine and got them to recognize Crimea."
-
What about the massive damage and death Russia did to Ukraine? There has to be consequences.
-
@sneakypete
I'm not sure of it either. Just pointing out that it is a possible path to peace. The Ukrainians aren't going to just give up, but Russia won't accept complete defeat either.
Ukraine restoring the status quo that existed prior to the war in the south, and then some haggling over the Donbass, is at least a potential framework for a possible settlement. Russia obviously wouldn't have accomplished the conquest they intended, but could at least try to spin it as "we denazified Ukraine and got them to recognize Crimea."
If you believe Carlson's interview with Trump last night, it appears sales of weapons left in Afghanistan are feeding the Russian war effort. We basically have our own tax dollars fighting each other. 9999hair out0000
-
If you believe Carlson's interview with Trump last night....
I'd believe anything said in Carlson's interviews with Trump to the same degree I believe anything said in Carlson's interviews with MacGregor.
-
Russia has suffered devastating losses to its elite Spetsnaz commando units that could take a decade to replenish after bungling commanders sent them to help failing frontline infantry, leaked US documents reveal
Assessment says it will take Moscow years to replenish its special forces units
This is after Russian commanders sent Spetsnaz troops into direct combat
By CHRIS JEWERS FOR MAILONLINE
14 April 2023
Vladimir Putin's war in Ukraine has devastated Russia's clandestine special (Spetsnaz) forces, classified American documents that were leaked online reported.
According to the assessment, it will take Moscow years to rebuild its Spetsnaz units back to their former strength after they were sent to the frontlines in Ukraine by Putin's bungling commanders to prop up their failing frontline infantry.
The leak first became widely known about a week ago, setting Washington on edge about the damage they may have caused to Ukraine's war effort. The episode embarrassed the US by revealing its spying on allies and Kyiv's vulnerabilities.
* * *
Source: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11972411/Russia-suffered-devastating-losses-elite-Spetsnaz-units-leaked-documents-reveal.html
-
What about the massive damage and death Russia did to Ukraine? There has to be consequences.
Sure -- if you're talking about continuing economic pressure, etc.. But the odds of getting any kind of compensation/reconstruction for Ukraine are nonexistent. It just isn't possible because there is no means of forcing them to pay absent invading and conquering Russia, and that rightly is not on the table.
-
I'd believe anything said in Carlson's interviews with Trump to the same degree I believe anything said in Carlson's interviews with MacGregor.
Fair enough... but is there any credence to the supposed leak that had Ukraine was pretty much a lost cause? That's 2 dots.
-
Fair enough... but is there any credence to the supposed leak that had Ukraine was pretty much a lost cause? That's 2 dots.
From my understanding of the documents, the overall assessment is that both the Ukrainian and the Russians are in worse shape than was publicly believed. Not sure it's really a change in the overall balance of forces from what was understood previously.
-
From my understanding of the documents, the overall assessment is that both the Ukrainian and the Russians are in worse shape than was publicly believed. Not sure it's really a change in the overall balance of forces from what was understood previously.
:thumbsup:
-
From my understanding of the documents, the overall assessment is that both the Ukrainian and the Russians are in worse shape than was publicly believed. Not sure it's really a change in the overall balance of forces from what was understood previously.
True. I think I heard Carlson last night use words akin to perpetual stalemate.
How much is that gonna cost?
-
Any potential stalemate in Ukraine will last only so long as Putin, the Chief Orc, is in power.
-
Ukraine pulls back as Russia mounts ‘re-energized’ Bakhmut assault
By Olivia Land
April 14, 2023
Ukrainian troops pulled back from some territory in Bakhmut this week as Russia launched a “re-energized” assault on the Donetsk Oblast battlefield city, British intelligence said Friday.
“Russia has re-energized its assault on the Donetsk Oblast town of Bakhmut as forces of the Russian [Ministry of Defense] and Wagner Group have improved cooperation,” the update read.
“Ukrainian forces face significant resupply issues but have made orderly withdrawals from the positions they have been forced to concede,” it continued.
“The Ukrainian defense still holds the western districts of the town but has been subjected to particularly intense Russian artillery fire over the previous 48 hours.”
* * *
Source: https://nypost.com/2023/04/14/ukraine-pulls-back-as-russia-mounts-renewed-bakhmut-assault/
-
Ukraine pulls back as Russia mounts ‘re-energized’ Bakhmut assault
By Olivia Land
April 14, 2023
Ukrainian troops pulled back from some territory in Bakhmut this week as Russia launched a “re-energized” assault on the Donetsk Oblast battlefield city, British intelligence said Friday.
“Russia has re-energized its assault on the Donetsk Oblast town of Bakhmut as forces of the Russian [Ministry of Defense] and Wagner Group have improved cooperation,” the update read.
“Ukrainian forces face significant resupply issues but have made orderly withdrawals from the positions they have been forced to concede,” it continued.
“The Ukrainian defense still holds the western districts of the town but has been subjected to particularly intense Russian artillery fire over the previous 48 hours.”
* * *
Source: https://nypost.com/2023/04/14/ukraine-pulls-back-as-russia-mounts-renewed-bakhmut-assault/
The Russians always have the capability to strip ammo and assets from other locations and concentrate them in Bakhmut if they choose to do so, just as Ukraine could choose to pour a bunch of reserve units if they so choose. Hard to tell from the outside whether or not this is good for Russia, or just them doubling down on stupid. I suspect the latter but we'll have to wait and see.
-
The Russians always have the capability to strip ammo and assets from other locations and concentrate them in Bakhmut if they choose to do so, just as Ukraine could choose to pour a bunch of reserve units if they so choose. Hard to tell from the outside whether or not this is good for Russia, or just them doubling down on stupid. I suspect the latter but we'll have to wait and see.
I agree. Well known military strategy when the enemy is conducting a 're-energized assault' to fall back and let them. Then they get thin and overextended on the frontlines and are vulnerable to a flanking attack. Welcome to my parlor, said the spider to the fly.
You can come in all you want. But you cannot leave. I would be careful if I was Russia when something is too easy. But then, Russia is not known for 'caution'.
-
Russia has suffered devastating losses to its elite Spetsnaz commando units that could take a decade to replenish after bungling commanders sent them to help failing frontline infantry, leaked US documents reveal
Assessment says it will take Moscow years to replenish its special forces units
This is after Russian commanders sent Spetsnaz troops into direct combat
By CHRIS JEWERS FOR MAILONLINE
14 April 2023
Vladimir Putin's war in Ukraine has devastated Russia's clandestine special (Spetsnaz) forces, classified American documents that were leaked online reported.
According to the assessment, it will take Moscow years to rebuild its Spetsnaz units back to their former strength after they were sent to the frontlines in Ukraine by Putin's bungling commanders to prop up their failing frontline infantry.
The leak first became widely known about a week ago, setting Washington on edge about the damage they may have caused to Ukraine's war effort. The episode embarrassed the US by revealing its spying on allies and Kyiv's vulnerabilities.
* * *
Source: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11972411/Russia-suffered-devastating-losses-elite-Spetsnaz-units-leaked-documents-reveal.html
@Kamaji
Oh,it's going to take a LOT more than a decade to replace them because for all practical purposes,there is no one left with any experience to do the training because all the experienced Spetnaz NCO's that are still alive will be busy running actual missions.
AND......these are NOT people you can replace overnight by calling for volunteers
Also,I SUSPECT it's going to hard to find volunteers for Spetnaz duty. Don't kid yourself,the rest of the Soviet infantry knows what went on,and knows those people were sacrificed for political expedience in order to shore up an insane leadership.
Nobody that wants to keep living is going to talk about how Putin is batshit crazy in public,but Russians are no different than anyone else. Amongst trusted friends, they will say what they are really thinking.
-
Sure -- if you're talking about continuing economic pressure, etc.. But the odds of getting any kind of compensation/reconstruction for Ukraine are nonexistent. It just isn't possible because there is no means of forcing them to pay absent invading and conqu
ering Russia, and that rightly is not on the table.
@Maj. Bill Martin
There is also the question "Does Russia even have enough money to pay for any compensation/reconstruction?
After all,the whole point of the invasion was to gain access to territories and assets that would enrich Russia. Putin has pretty much set fire to any chance of Ukraine entering any sort of economic partnership with them.
Remember,Communism ONLY "works" if other nations supply them with the things they want and need for free.
THAT duck has already flown away.
-
Any potential stalemate in Ukraine will last only so long as Putin, the Chief Orc, is in power.
@Kamaji
Sooner or later some of the older powerbrokers in the Kremlin are going to forced to grow a pair,and back Putin against a wall.
The thing is even if this happens,Russia will still be a communist country,and NO communist country can survive without the support of another communist country,and I just don't see the geezers in power giving up their pet dictatorship.
This MIGHT happen after all the politiburo geezers have died off and a new generation takes over,but don't hold your breath waiting for it to happen.
-
@Maj. Bill Martin
There is also the question "Does Russia even have enough money to pay for any compensation/reconstruction?
After all,the whole point of the invasion was to gain access to territories and assets that would enrich Russia. Putin has pretty much set fire to any chance of Ukraine entering any sort of economic partnership with them.
Remember,Communism ONLY "works" if other nations supply them with the things they want and need for free.
THAT duck has already flown away.
@sneakypete
Exactly. And I'm not a war-monger trying to back Russia into a corner in which it's survival is literally at stake. Reparations just aren't going to happen. I just want the war to end with Ukraine still standing, and Russia not profiting from its choice to bringing systemic, organized murder back to Europe out of greed.
-
@sneakypete
Exactly. And I'm not a war-monger trying to back Russia into a corner in which it's survival is literally at stake. Reparations just aren't going to happen. I just want the war to end with Ukraine still standing, and Russia not profiting from its choice to bringing systemic, organized murder back to Europe out of greed.
@Maj. Bill Martin
I'm with ya 100 percent on that one!
The WORSE thing Ukraine of any of her allies could do would be to invade Russia. That would make Putin suddenly look like a hero,and practically everybody in Russia would stand behind him.
*I* THINK the best possible result would be a cessation of all hostilites,with Russia drawing back inside Russian borders.
There is no way in HELL that Putin or the other hard-line "communism for everybody but me" geezers could ever survive the "Great and Mighty USSR" being fought to a draw by a tiny (by comparison) country like Ukraine.
After all the war was supposed to be over in just a couple of week,resulting in a might victory for Putin,right?
-
I agree. Well known military strategy when the enemy is conducting a 're-energized assault' to fall back and let them. Then they get thin and overextended on the frontlines and are vulnerable to a flanking attack. Welcome to my parlor, said the spider to the fly.
You can come in all you want. But you cannot leave. I would be careful if I was Russia when something is too easy. But then, Russia is not known for 'caution'.
Hopefully the Ukrainian play is similar to the battle of Cowpens...
But disdain for the 'special' nature of Special Forces is nothing new, and if the commanders used their Spetsnaz as line infantry, there is a good chance they pissed away force multipliers as cannon fodder. That would be a screw up of immense proportions, but possibly of benefit to Ukraine.
-
@sneakypete
Exactly. And I'm not a war-monger trying to back Russia into a corner in which it's survival is literally at stake. Reparations just aren't going to happen. I just want the war to end with Ukraine still standing, and Russia not profiting from its choice to bringing systemic, organized murder back to Europe out of greed.
Personally, I want Russia weakened even more so it could force China to prop up what is left of Russia and quite possibly destroy Brics.
-
Personally, I want Russia weakened even more so it could force China to prop up what is left of Russia and quite possibly destroy Brics.
@kevindavis007
I have mixed feelings about that. The Chinese,although alleged to be "Socialist Allies" of Russia have been lusting after the mineral,gas,coal,and uranium in the coastal part of Russia that is accessible to the Chinese. The Chinese are WHY the Soviets have the "Northern Fleet"
Weaken Russia too much,and the even more evil bastards know as the Chinese will be giving the whole word problems for longer than any of us will remain alive. Hell,they might even use it as a launch pad to invade Europe.
After all,the more Chinese Troops they get killed,the fewer they have to find food,water,clothing,shelter,and jobs for.
BTW,how the HELL can any of the western airheads take a look at China,North Korean,and Russia,and STILL claim that communism is the ideal life style?
-
@kevindavis007
I have mixed feelings about that. The Chinese,although alleged to be "Socialist Allies" of Russia have been lusting after the mineral,gas,coal,and uranium in the coastal part of Russia that is accessible to the Chinese. The Chinese are WHY the Soviets have the "Northern Fleet"
Weaken Russia too much,and the even more evil bastards know as the Chinese will be giving the whole word problems for longer than any of us will remain alive. Hell,they might even use it as a launch pad to invade Europe.
After all,the more Chinese Troops they get killed,the fewer they have to find food,water,clothing,shelter,and jobs for.
BTW,how the HELL can any of the western airheads take a look at China,North Korean,and Russia,and STILL claim that communism is the ideal life style?
@sneakypete
I have seen videos on how life is horrible in China and yet the Wumaos (people who defend China) or members of the 50-cent army (paid trolls from China since the average person from China can't get on Twitter), said life is wonderful, yet it is a dystopian hell hole like in Blade Runner.
-
https://twitter.com/KyivIndependent/status/1647255083178967044
-
Casualty ratios in positional warfare have always favored the defense, which can remain in cover on favorable ground while the attacker has to cross in the open to advance. It's only when the offense achieves a breakthrough that destroys the defenders' positional advantage that the casualty ratio advantage flips over to favor the attacker.
One of the major problems the Russian military has is the political pressure to achieve battlefield successes quickly. So rather than conserving strength to build up a significant, concentrated force (the military principle of "mass") capable of achieving a breakthrough, they commit any newly arriving forces piecemeal. While that does enable them to maintain pressure over time, it also means they never get the advantage
that comes with a breakthrough. They just bleed men and equipment, and at a higher rate than the defender.
In contrast, the Ukrainians adhere to "economy of force", which means putting just enough troops in the defensive position to prevent a breakthrough. All forces in excess of that minimal force are conserved, and used to build up a reserve force of sufficient in mass to achieve a breakthrough in a counterattack.
That's why Ukraine has had multiple successful counterattacks while Russia is just stuck grinding away.
-
Hopefully the Ukrainian play is similar to the battle of Cowpens...
But disdain for the 'special' nature of Special Forces is nothing new, and if the commanders used their Spetsnaz as line infantry, there is a good chance they pissed away force multipliers as cannon fodder. That would be a screw up of immense proportions, but possibly of benefit to Ukraine.
Russia lost up to 90% of their elite "Spetsnaz" units because they used them as regular infantry, the Washington Post writes. It will take years to rebuild.
(https://img-9gag-fun.9cache.com/photo/aBdVw1N_460s.jpg)
You called it. And so it is.
-
@sneakypete
I have seen videos on how life is horrible in China and yet the Wumaos (people who defend China) or members of the 50-cent army (paid trolls from China since the average person from China can't get on Twitter), said life is wonderful, yet it is a dystopian hell hole like in Blade Runner.
@kevindavis007
Never heard of the "Wumaos" before. Is this an actual name they go by as a people?
BTW,for anyone wondering,I don't have a single ill will towards anyone of Asian heritage,including the Chinese.
I just hate Communists with a blinding passion,regardless of race,creed,color,or how many times they are registered to vote as Dims.
-
Personally, I want Russia weakened even more so it could force China to prop up what is left of Russia and quite possibly destroy Brics.
They have a stranglehold on the world's manufacturing sector, and now have OPEC in their pocket. Don't see the BRICS scenario going away. But you do have a point in a way if the Chicoms can weaken their fidicuary base by propping up Russia, and the Yuan floats lightly for awhile, it might slow it down.
-
They have a stranglehold on the world's manufacturing sector, and now have OPEC in their pocket. Don't see the BRICS scenario going away. But you do have a point in a way if the Chicoms can weaken their fidicuary base by propping up Russia, and the Yuan floats lightly for awhile, it might slow it down.
Plus China is in horrible financial shape. Much worse than we are.
-
Casualty ratios in positional warfare have always favored the defense, which can remain in cover on favorable ground while the attacker has to cross in the open to advance. It's only when the offense achieves a breakthrough that destroys the defenders' positional advantage that the casualty ratio advantage flips over to favor the attacker.
One of the major problems the Russian military has is the political pressure to achieve battlefield successes quickly. So rather than conserving strength to build up a significant, concentrated force (the military principle of "mass") capable of achieving a breakthrough, they commit any newly arriving forces piecemeal. While that does enable them to maintain pressure over time, it also means they never get the advantage
that comes with a breakthrough. They just bleed men and equipment, and at a higher rate than the defender.
In contrast, the Ukrainians adhere to "economy of force", which means putting just enough troops in the defensive position to prevent a breakthrough. All forces in excess of that minimal force are conserved, and used to build up a reserve force of sufficient in mass to achieve a breakthrough in a counterattack.
That's why Ukraine has had multiple successful counterattacks while Russia is just stuck grinding away.
@Maj. Bill Martin
That works for the Soviet leadership,too. They don't have to find employment,housing,or paychecks for dead soldiers. Communism ALWAYS works better when there are fewer promises that have to be fulfilled.
And despite the horrors of Communism,the typical Russian is insanely patriotic. Maybe not to communism or their asshat leaders,but you are skating on thin ice if you badmouth "Holy Mother Russia". They can put up with the crap communism brings forth,as long as they have Holy Mother Russia to fall back onto.
BTW,how many of you were like me,and flat-out knowingly lied to about the Communists closing all the churches in Russia? I know I was told this as a kid in the early 50's.
Not only was it a flat-out lie,but "Russian Orthodox Priest" was a KGB career field. A MASTER play by the Communists,regardless of your politics. They no longer had to send out or recruit spies to spy on their subject because the subjects were standing in line to tell their most shameless secrets to the KGB!
-
@Maj. Bill Martin
That works for the Soviet leadership,too. They don't have to find employment,housing,or paychecks to dead soldiers. Communism ALWAYS works better when there are fewer promises that have to be fulfilled.
And despite the horrors of Communism,the typical Russian is insanely patriotic. Maybe not to communism or their asshat leaders,but you are skating on thin ice if you badmouth "Holy Mother Russia". They can put up with the crap communism brings forth,as long as they have Holy Mother Russia to fall back onto.
BTW,how many of you were like me,and flat-out knowingly lied to about the Communists closing all the churches in Russia? I know I was told this as a kid in the early 50's.
Not only was it a flat-out lie,but "Russian Orthodox Priest" was a KGB career field. A MASTER play by the Communists,regardless of your politics. They no longer had to send out or recruit spies to spy on their subject because the subjects were standing in line to tell their most shameless secrets to the KGB!
:thumbsup:
-
Plus China is in horrible financial shape. Much worse than we are.
But, we are a service economy, and they are a juggenaunt industrial powerhouse in the making. Their satelitte manufacturing base in Africa and South America, was well planned, since they do not have the demographic work base to sustain They have 50X the upside of us, so I got to kind of disagree, at least in the long term. When that economic engine starts humming, BRICS as reference currency is inevitable. Will that be 2 years? 5?, 10? Not totally certain. But again it is inevitable.
-
Russia lost up to 90% of their elite "Spetsnaz" units because they used them as regular infantry, the Washington Post writes. It will take years to rebuild.
[/b]
I know this had happened before in other places,but the asshat USMC General in "I Corps" in VN just decided one day that since HE was the CMMFIC of US troops in I Corps,he was going to close all the SF camps and use those experienced NCO's to run recon missions for him.
I MAY be confusing him with some other USMC asshat General,because there were so many of them,but I THINK he was the same USMC General that refused to send a relief force to a SF camp that was being overran by the NVA. Thanks to chemo brain I get names confused,but this SF camp was famous for being under attack by Soviet tanks,and there was actual film footage of one of them on top of the command bunker,spinning it treads to try to break into it.
The next morning,shortly after dawn,an aircraft from Saigon landed at the big USMC base in Da Nang ,and General William Westmorland stepped off and was taken to the USMC headquarters building. When he left,the Marines there had a new commander,and the one that had been in command the day before was on his way into retirement after being relieved of his command.
You kinda expect stupid Biden like that from teenage Marines. After all they ARE teenagers,and they ARE Marines.
But from a freaking Corps Commanding General that thinks he can ignore direct orders from THE Commanding General of all US forces in VN????
BTW,I heard that a relief column filled with APC's and Marines was enroute to that SF camp before Westmorelands aircraft took off to take him back to Saigon.
-
Plus China is in horrible financial shape. Much worse than we are.
@kevindavis007
Where did you get that from?
China now manufactures a LARGE percentage of the goods that America needs,not to mention other countries.
For example,I bought an antique truck a guy was advertising nationally,and when I went to pick it up,I asked the guy why he was selling it because it was in such good condition (I drove it home from several hundred miles away),he told me had been a maintenance supervisor at the local Hormel meat packing plant,but the Chinese had bought the plant out,and sent workers there to dissemble it and ship it back to China. Since it would need to put back in working order again ASAP,the Chinese had hired him to move to China for 3 years to reassemble the plant and train the Chinese workers on how to work it and how to repair it.
The stupid SOB was actually bragging about being hired to take away jobs from his friends and neighbors. He got a little steamed when I told him how freaking stupid he was,not only to brag about going to work for the people that put him and lot of his neighbors out of work,but also helping to destroy America's economy in the bagain. What seemed to upset him the most was when I asked him how it felt to sell his son and future grandsons to the freaking Chinese. We damn near came to blows.
To this very day I am still stunned at the total freaking ignorance about reality of some people.
I have also been told,but didn't verify,that GM actually built a new plant in China for the Chinese to manufacture GM automatic transmissions,and sent a whole crew there to live so they could teach the Chinese the proper way to do things.
BTW,the Chinese also put these people up in new apartment blocks rent-free with maids,free transportation,no taxes,etc,etc,etc.
I HAVE to wonder if ANY of those cretins has ever stopped to wonder what will happen if the Chinese just decide one day to stop shipping automatic transmissions,or packaged meat,to America.
How may OTHER American businesses will go bankrupt because of it?
-
@kevindavis007
Where did you get that from?
China now manufactures a LARGE percentage of the goods that America needs,not to mention other countries.
For example,I bought an antique truck a guy was advertising nationally,and when I went to pick it up,I asked the guy why he was selling it because it was in such good condition (I drove it home from several hundred miles away),he told me had been a maintenance supervisor at the local Hormel meat packing plant,but the Chinese had bought the plant out,and sent workers there to dissemble it and ship it back to China. Since it would need to put back in working order again ASAP,the Chinese had hired him to move to China for 3 years to reassemble the plant and train the Chinese workers on how to work it and how to repair it.
The stupid SOB was actually bragging about being hired to take away jobs from his friends and neighbors. He got a little steamed when I told him how freaking stupid he was,not only to brag about going to work for the people that put him and lot of his neighbors out of work,but also helping to destroy America's economy in the bagain. What seemed to upset him the most was when I asked him how it felt to sell his son and future grandsons to the freaking Chinese. We damn near came to blows.
To this very day I am still stunned at the total freaking ignorance about reality of some people.
I have also been told,but didn't verify,that GM actually built a new plant in China for the Chinese to manufacture GM automatic transmissions,and sent a whole crew there to live so they could teach the Chinese the proper way to do things.
BTW,the Chinese also put these people up in new apartment blocks rent-free with maids,free transportation,no taxes,etc,etc,etc.
I HAVE to wonder if ANY of those cretins has ever stopped to wonder what will happen if the Chinese just decide one day to stop shipping automatic transmissions,or packaged meat,to America.
How may OTHER American businesses will go bankrupt because of it?
@sneakypete
A lot of factories are starting to leave in China
They are about to have a housing bubble and they have a lot Ghost towns.
Case in point:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6wN5WfWRyck&t=60s
-
@kevindavis007
Where did you get that from?
China now manufactures a LARGE percentage of the goods that America needs,not to mention other countries.
For example,I bought an antique truck a guy was advertising nationally,and when I went to pick it up,I asked the guy why he was selling it because it was in such good condition (I drove it home from several hundred miles away),he told me had been a maintenance supervisor at the local Hormel meat packing plant,but the Chinese had bought the plant out,and sent workers there to dissemble it and ship it back to China. Since it would need to put back in working order again ASAP,the Chinese had hired him to move to China for 3 years to reassemble the plant and train the Chinese workers on how to work it and how to repair it.
The stupid SOB was actually bragging about being hired to take away jobs from his friends and neighbors. He got a little steamed when I told him how freaking stupid he was,not only to brag about going to work for the people that put him and lot of his neighbors out of work,but also helping to destroy America's economy in the bagain. What seemed to upset him the most was when I asked him how it felt to sell his son and future grandsons to the freaking Chinese. We damn near came to blows.
To this very day I am still stunned at the total freaking ignorance about reality of some people.
I have also been told,but didn't verify,that GM actually built a new plant in China for the Chinese to manufacture GM automatic transmissions,and sent a whole crew there to live so they could teach the Chinese the proper way to do things.
BTW,the Chinese also put these people up in new apartment blocks rent-free with maids,free transportation,no taxes,etc,etc,etc.
I HAVE to wonder if ANY of those cretins has ever stopped to wonder what will happen if the Chinese just decide one day to stop shipping automatic transmissions,or packaged meat,to America.
How may OTHER American businesses will go bankrupt because of it?
China's biggest problem are: (1) that they don't have financial accumen and experience needed yet to thrive in a pure captialistic system. They've bastardized the old with the new, and it is giving them serious growing pains. (2) Their demographic profiles suck, in that they lack a young society, even worse than us. That is why you see such massive ramping up of South America and Africa by the Chicoms. These have become the surrogate work force for fueling their industrial sector. (3) Poor monetary policy- Why you hear so much about a BRICS composite currency is because the world does not trust the Yuan to be the reference currency. When you look at all the knee jerk movement in currency conversion rates of the past 10-15 years you can see why.
But no doubt about it, The Chicoms have a bright economic future, much like our country had after World War 2. Bumping off the $USD will just be one aspect of it.
-
Plus China is in horrible financial shape. Much worse than we are.
I've heard it go both ways. Some people say it's better, some worse. I don't know.
I do know that the fact that we're reliant on Taiwan for chips is pretty outrageous and dangerous for national security.
-
Personally, I want Russia weakened even more so it could force China to prop up what is left of Russia and quite possibly destroy Brics.
It's a little bit off topic, but BRICS could be a very good thing for the USA long term. If the dollar is no longer the primary reserve currency it will force our cowards in DC to actually start managing the govt and the budget.
-
China's biggest problem are: (1) that they don't have financial accumen and experience needed yet to thrive in a pure captialistic system. They've bastardized the old with the new, and it is giving them serious growing pains. (2) Their demographic profiles suck, in that they lack a young society, even worse than us. That is why you see such massive ramping up of South America and Africa by the Chicoms. These have become the surrogate work force for fueling their industrial sector. (3) Poor monetary policy- Why you hear so much about a BRICS composite currency is because the world does not trust the Yuan to be the reference currency. When you look at all the knee jerk movement in currency conversion rates of the past 10-15 years you can see why.
But no doubt about it, The Chicoms have a bright economic future, much like our country had after World War 2. Bumping off the $USD will just be one aspect of it.
No they don't. China needs to import 85% of heir energy needs. China doesn't have the capacity to feed their people. China does not have the chip manufacturing acumen found in Taiwan. China has a lot of ships but they don't have a capable deep sea navy. On top of these problems industry has realized it's not safe, or smart, to build anything in China and manufacturing is moving out.
-
No they don't. China needs to import 85% of heir energy needs.
See recent OPEC interactions, and watch for favorable pricing considerations for trade/defense agreements.
China doesn't have the capacity to feed their people.
Russia is just next door. What do you think the R in BRICS is. Again, more equitable trade. The Chicoms techological advantages and sharing will more than be equitable to Russia, who especially love being able to sell China farm and livestock
China does not have the chip manufacturing acumen found in Taiwan.
Have you been watching the news? Taiwan will be part of China, probably sooner than later And just think what that will do to the Chinese P and L Statements.
China has a lot of ships but they don't have a capable deep sea navy. On top of these problems industry has realized it's not safe, or smart, to build anything in China and manufacturing is moving out.
China's navy is growing exponentially. They lied cheated, stolen and reversed engineered much to probably put the close to us on a technolocial basis. If we do have an advantage, it is shrinking rapidly.
And on the matter of manufacturing. It's moving to South America and africa, but is owned and subsided by the Chicoms. Not as much quality wise, but because the Chicom demographics are not supporting a manufacturing workforce base. And one thing not to forget .... this country is $32T in debt and a rate of 150% GDP/Debt. It is just a matter of time, that the $USD is decoupled worldwide at reference currency. We sink as an economic world power as the the Chicoms fill the void.
I know it is downer news, but our government has destroyed our economc capital the past 50 years, and the chikens are soon coming home to roost.
-
You have it all wrong.
The OPEC interactions and BRICS promotion are directly tied to Biden pushing the EV revolution in the USA. OPEC is just increasing ties with customers.
Russia selling oil to China doesn't change the collapse both countries are facing.
The only reason the threats to Taiwan keep increasing is because things are getting worse in China. The dictators in China are afraid of push back from the populous and creating a nationalistic fervor is a great distraction.
China's economy is based on exporting goods. The demand for goods being made in China is decreasing and the number of manufacturers wanting to make goods there is decreasing.
China's navy is not a deep water navy. Look into the size of Japan's navy you might be surprised at what you find.
The fear of China's great technological prowess is overrated. The high end chips are made in Taiwan. China is not going to walk in and take over those plants and get the highly skilled workers continue working there as well.
The two best places to manufacturer goods now are Mexico and the USA. Our biggest trading partner is Mexico. We have the energy resources to sustain ourselves and help our friends. We have the food production to feed our selves and our friends. We have the high end manufacturing and our neighbor to the south has the value add manufacturing capabilities to supply our needs and our friends.
I would submit that the run up on China being the biggest threat of our lifetimes is a product of our defense industries and globalists wanting to retain a dying post WWII order. Globalization is dying. In the future we will look out for our interests.
-
You have it all wrong.
The OPEC interactions and BRICS promotion are directly tied to Biden pushing the EV revolution in the USA. OPEC is just increasing ties with customers.
Russia selling oil to China doesn't change the collapse both countries are facing.
The only reason the threats to Taiwan keep increasing is because things are getting worse in China. The dictators in China are afraid of push back from the populous and creating a nationalistic fervor is a great distraction.
China's economy is based on exporting goods. The demand for goods being made in China is decreasing and the number of manufacturers wanting to make goods there is decreasing.
China's navy is not a deep water navy. Look into the size of Japan's navy you might be surprised at what you find.
The fear of China's great technological prowess is overrated. The high end chips are made in Taiwan. China is not going to walk in and take over those plants and get the highly skilled workers continue working there as well.
The two best places to manufacturer goods now are Mexico and the USA. Our biggest trading partner is Mexico. We have the energy resources to sustain ourselves and help our friends. We have the food production to feed our selves and our friends. We have the high end manufacturing and our neighbor to the south has the value add manufacturing capabilities to supply our needs and our friends.
I would submit that the run up on China being the biggest threat of our lifetimes is a product of our defense industries and globalists wanting to retain a dying post WWII order. Globalization is dying. In the future we will look out for our interests.
We are 180 on our level of optimistic. You still think a 150% GDP on debt, and $32T is sustainable? A lot of what you are countering is based on static data, and not trending of geo-political-economic realites. That energy resources you tout, are at the mercy of 50%+ of the electorate who have bought into the enviro-scam, lock stock and barrell. Add the fact these same are entitlement junkies, the chance of dislodging their dim leaders are basically zero.
OPEC and customer base via our EV push? There is always a rule of thumb in commerce and capitalism. Economic alliances are always among the strongest and friendliest. Don't forget that OPEC has had a record and history since the 1970's to fight back to those who threaten their interests. Our GND slant, and untapped energy puts us at odds no matter what.
Taiwan and high end chips? You really don't believe that Taiwan will be a Chicom province likely in the next few years? That just adds to the power.
And to the comment around their manufacturing.... Didn;t you read my comment last time? This is being well planned and executed via proxy through the workforces in South America and Aftrica. Well funded, underwritten, and subsidized.
I am glad that you do finally realize that the NWO scenario is unflolding, and was wondering why you brought it up, as it contracdicts your earlier contention of continued U.S. Superiority. Again, "our interests" are out of control of the conservative agenda probably the rest of our lives. Thus....
I understand you wanting to be bullish, but you might start to want to infuse a little reality in how the world is changing.
-
We are 180 on our level of optimistic. You still think a 150% GDP on debt, and $32T is sustainable? A lot of what you are countering is based on static data, and not trending of geo-political-economic realites. That energy resources you tout, are at the mercy of 50%+ of the electorate who have bought into the enviro-scam, lock stock and barrell. Add the fact these same are entitlement junkies, the chance of dislodging their dim leaders are basically zero.
OPEC and customer base via our EV push? There is always a rule of thumb in commerce and capitalism. Economic alliances are always among the strongest and friendliest. Don't forget that OPEC has had a record and history since the 1970's to fight back to those who threaten their interests. Our GND slant, and untapped energy puts us at odds no matter what.
Taiwan and high end chips? You really don't believe that Taiwan will be a Chicom province likely in the next few years? That just adds to the power.
And to the comment around their manufacturing.... Didn;t you read my comment last time? This is being well planned and executed via proxy through the workforces in South America and Aftrica. Well funded, underwritten, and subsidized.
I am glad that you do finally realize that the NWO scenario is unflolding, and was wondering why you brought it up, as it contracdicts your earlier contention of continued U.S. Superiority. Again, "our interests" are out of control of the conservative agenda probably the rest of our lives. Thus....
I understand you wanting to be bullish, but you might start to want to infuse a little reality in how the world is changing.
I am at a loss how you come to the conclusion that because I state a fact that our military is the best in the world that I somehow support globalism.
Also, the idea that China supporting manufacturing in South America and Africa helps them doesn't take into account the unemployment problem they have internally.
I do not believe Taiwan will be conquered by China before we have increased our capability to manufacture high end chips in the USA.
As far as the govt debt goes and the looney left crazy green religion I think one of two things will happen. One, the left is so defeated at the election box that all their idiocy is dismantled, or two, we continue down the same path and a national divorce becomes inevitable. I'm hoping it's number one, but if it's number two we should still be okay because it's the red states where most of the work gets done.
-
EU rejects Ukraine grain bans by Poland and Hungary
The European Commission has rejected bans introduced by Poland and Hungary on Ukrainian grain imports.
The two countries said the measures were necessary to protect their farming sectors from cheap imports.
The ban applies to grains, dairy products, sugar, fruit, vegetables and meats and will be in force until the end of June.
The Commission said it was not up to individual member states to make trade policy.
While the Commission has said that unilateral moves will not be tolerated, it has not yet specified what measures it would take against Poland and Hungary.
"In such challenging times, it is crucial to coordinate and align all decisions within the EU," its spokesperson said in a statement.
Most Ukrainian grain is exported via the Black Sea, but Russia's invasion last year disrupted export routes and resulted in large quantities of the grain ending up in central Europe.
A deal with Russia, brokered by the UN and Turkey, allows Ukraine to continue exporting by sea - but Ukraine accuses Russia of slowing the process with over-zealous inspections....................
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-65292698
-
Check this out:
https://www.reddit.com/r/ADVChina/comments/12omgvr/russian_state_tv_now_shows_advertising_for/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=android_app&utm_name=androidcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button
-
Two Russian power stations explode in huge fireballs after 'Ukrainian drone strikes' near border as Kyiv steps up plans for counteroffensive
Shocking footage showed a pair of infernos raging overnight at power stations
Belgorod's regional governor confirmed the attack late last night on social media
By WILL STEWART and JAMES REYNOLDS
17 April 2023
Two key electricity supply stations in Russia have been destroyed amid a suspected Ukrainian drone attack behind enemy lines.
Stunning footage taken overnight showed how the bombing of the power stations had created a huge inferno which spiralled high into the night sky.
The destruction of the sites in Igumenka and Dragunskoe - a pair of villages a few miles from Belgorod city - left thousands without power across the Belgorod region of Russia which borders eastern Ukraine, according to Baza media outlet which has close links to law enforcement.
* * *
Source: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11980355/Power-stations-explode-Russias-Belgorod-region-strikes-Ukrainian-drones.html
-
Ukraine could lose control of its skies within weeks leaving cities and nuclear power stations at risk of Russian bombardment and jeopardising a planned spring offensive, country's air force warns
Airforce warns VKS could break through Ukrainian lines if air defences dry up
Comments follow damning leaks of confidential Pentagon documents last week
By JAMES REYNOLDS
16 April 2023
Ukraine's air force has warned the country could lose air superiority by May amid concerns over its ability to mount an effective spring counteroffensive.
Russia has so far struggled to gain the upper hand in the skies, with Ukraine's anti-air systems and fighter jets keeping Russian gunships at bay since the initial invasion.
It comes after the leak of secret Pentagon documents last week, a damning development which revealed Ukraine could run out of S-300 AA missiles by 2 May.
* * *
Source: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11979779/Ukraine-lose-control-skies-weeks-countrys-air-force-warns.html
-
'I carried out the order and killed the children': 'Wagner ex-convict mercenaries' confess to killing women, pensioners and kids as young as FIVE
Two Wagner mercenaries are seen confessing to several murders in Ukraine
They say they were carrying out orders from Wagner warlord Yevgeny Prigozhin
By WILL STEWART and CHRIS JEWERS FOR MAILONLINE
18 April 2023
Two men claiming to be Russian unit commanders from the Wagner mercenary group have confessed to killing children, women and pensioners in Vladimir Putin's war with Ukraine.
The chilling videos see the pair recounting the alleged executions of more than 20 Ukrainian children and teenagers, and the blowing up a pit in which more than 50 wounded Ukrainian prisoners had been dumped.
Others killed included those who refused to fight in Putin's war, they said.
* * *
Source: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11986027/Wagner-ex-convict-mercenaries-confess-killing-women-pensioners-children-young-FIVE.html
-
Two men claiming to be Russian unit commanders from the Wagner mercenary group have confessed to killing children, women and pensioners in Vladimir Putin's war with Ukraine.
The chilling videos see the pair recounting the alleged executions of more than 20 Ukrainian children and teenagers, and the blowing up a pit in which more than 50 wounded Ukrainian prisoners had been dumped.
"Liberators" and "protectors", according to one poster here.
-
@catfish1957
I would REALLY love to argue with you about our economic future versus that of China,but I can't. I even think you may be a little too optimistic.
-
https://www.reddit.com/r/ADVChina/comments/12s9qh3/new_leak_reveals_china_wanted_to_provide_lethal/
-
https://www.reddit.com/r/ADVChina/comments/12s9qh3/new_leak_reveals_china_wanted_to_provide_lethal/
China needs someone else to test their weapons on the battle field before they do on Taiwan. They don't want to do on the world stage what Russia did in Ukraine.
-
Has The Ukrainian Counteroffensive Already Begun?
https://www.battleswarmblog.com/?p=54712 (https://www.battleswarmblog.com/?p=54712)
That’s the assertion of Reporting from Ukraine, who says that the counterattack is happening in Zaporizhzhia:
https://youtu.be/vcIhH1Vmz8I (https://youtu.be/vcIhH1Vmz8I)
Reporting from Ukraine is pretty rah-rah for Ukraine, always putting a positive spin on things (“Ukrainian troops successfully withdrew from northern Bakhmut”), but he’s good on reporting the nitty gritty details of tactical movement and seems to have direct sources in the Ukrainian military.
Takeaways:
• He’s seeing Ukrainian forces advance all across the Zaporizhzhia front.
• “The freshest reports suggest that Ukrainians breached the Russian defense in the trenches in front of Novodanylivka and got closer to Nesterianka and Kopani from the east.”
• “Ukrainian presence was also noted in the southern part of Kamianske, which means that Russians highly likely abandoned Piatykhatky as well.”
• “Ukrainian Head of Melitopol reported that Russians announced an urgent evacuation from all settlements between Vasylivka and Tokmak, in fear that this may very soon become the most active battleground.”
• “In order to prevent the accumulation of a critical amount of heavy equipment in the region, Russian forces started to actively use guided air bombs. These bombs weigh from 500 to 1500 kilograms and have a range of up to 40 kilometers, which poses a significant threat to Ukrainian plans. The craters from the explosions are enormous and can reach up to 50 meters in diameter.” I’m guessing these might be KAB-1500Ls.
• “Ukrainians are trying to reciprocate the damage and are also identifying and destroying Russian warehouses with ammunition and equipment.”
More at link.
-
Just wow...
https://twitter.com/KyivPost/status/1649150412744716311
-
Has The Ukrainian Counteroffensive Already Begun?
https://www.battleswarmblog.com/?p=54712 (https://www.battleswarmblog.com/?p=54712)
That’s the assertion of Reporting from Ukraine, who says that the counterattack is happening in Zaporizhzhia:
https://youtu.be/vcIhH1Vmz8I (https://youtu.be/vcIhH1Vmz8I)
Reporting from Ukraine is pretty rah-rah for Ukraine, always putting a positive spin on things (“Ukrainian troops successfully withdrew from northern Bakhmut”), but he’s good on reporting the nitty gritty details of tactical movement and seems to have direct sources in the Ukrainian military.
Takeaways:
• He’s seeing Ukrainian forces advance all across the Zaporizhzhia front.
• “The freshest reports suggest that Ukrainians breached the Russian defense in the trenches in front of Novodanylivka and got closer to Nesterianka and Kopani from the east.”
• “Ukrainian presence was also noted in the southern part of Kamianske, which means that Russians highly likely abandoned Piatykhatky as well.”
• “Ukrainian Head of Melitopol reported that Russians announced an urgent evacuation from all settlements between Vasylivka and Tokmak, in fear that this may very soon become the most active battleground.”
• “In order to prevent the accumulation of a critical amount of heavy equipment in the region, Russian forces started to actively use guided air bombs. These bombs weigh from 500 to 1500 kilograms and have a range of up to 40 kilometers, which poses a significant threat to Ukrainian plans. The craters from the explosions are enormous and can reach up to 50 meters in diameter.” I’m guessing these might be KAB-1500Ls.
• “Ukrainians are trying to reciprocate the damage and are also identifying and destroying Russian warehouses with ammunition and equipment.”
More at link.
I was hearing the same thing earlier today. If they've started this attack, it is the major strategic counterattack, and illustrates why they kept defending Bakhmut. If it is successful, I think it could lead to a negotiated settlement because it could lead to the complete isolation of Crimea except by naval transport, which would be risky.
-
Car bomb:
https://twitter.com/igorsushko/status/1649138302203883523
-
I was hearing the same thing earlier today. If they've started this attack, it is the major strategic counterattack, and illustrates why they kept defending Bakhmut. If it is successful, I think it could lead to a negotiated settlement because it could lead to the complete isolation of Crimea except by naval transport, which would be risky.
I think that is the goal. If they go down that area, Crimea is boxed in and Putin is f*ked even more. Russia can't afford to lose more ships.
-
I think that is the goal. If they go down that area, Crimea is boxed in and Putin is f*ked even more. Russia can't afford to lose more ships.
Yup. Crimea is dependent upon water from a canal from the Dnipro. If the Ukes get close to Melitopol, the Russians will lose their last land route into the west, and will have to pull back from the south bank of the Dnipro. That gives control of the canal back to the Ukrainians, and Crimea is suddenly in a really bad spot because the Kerch bridge will then be in range of Uke rocket artillery as well.
That would be a massive defeat for Russia -- disaster-level stuff.
-
Been reading some of the pro-Russian people talking up the ability of the T-55's to be used as fixed emplacements in trenches even if they're too old to be used as actual tanks. The problem is that Zaporizhzhia is the freaking steppe -- completely wide open and as flat as Shelley Duval. Any static defense can be bypassed, and all of those T-55 emplacements become useless the moment they are outflanked. In that kind of terrain, penetrations and the subsequent outflanking is inevitable. Mobile defense is the only thing that works.
You can supplement mobile defensive units with advanced triangular strongpoint systems, but I haven't seen the Russians doing any of that, anywhere. They're all just linear trenches, probably because they're just not trained or experienced enough at the small unit level to pull that off.
-
This Bolograd blast is an interesting development. 3 biggest questions in mind:
(1) Do the Uke's lose the high road, and court of popular opinion by taking the fight across the border?
(2) Does it galvanize the Russian people war resolve and create goodwill toward Putin. support.
(3) Does this make the Russians more war weary, and hurt the war effort and Putin.
In any case, this is an escalation, that is not helpful for the region.
-
Yup. Crimea is dependent upon water from a canal from the Dnipro. If the Ukes get close to Melitopol, the Russians will lose their last land route into the west, and will have to pull back from the south bank of the Dnipro. That gives control of the canal back to the Ukrainians, and Crimea is suddenly in a really bad spot because the Kerch bridge will then be in range of Uke rocket artillery as well.
That would be a massive defeat for Russia -- disaster-level stuff.
I'm pretty sure Ukraine will destroy that bridge if that happens.
-
This Bolograd blast is an interesting development. 3 biggest questions in mind:
(1) Do the Uke's lose the high road, and court of popular opinion by taking the fight across the border?
(2) Does it galvanize the Russian people war resolve and create goodwill toward Putin. support.
(3) Does this make the Russians more war weary, and hurt the war effort and Putin.
In any case, this is an escalation, that is not helpful for the region.
I think the third option. From what I'm seeing it was a car bomb so I wonder if anti-Putin forces are doing it.
We shall see about the escalation.
-
This Bolograd blast is an interesting development. 3 biggest questions in mind:
(1) Do the Uke's lose the high road, and court of popular opinion by taking the fight across the border?
(2) Does it galvanize the Russian people war resolve and create goodwill toward Putin. support.
(3) Does this make the Russians more war weary, and hurt the war effort and Putin.
In any case, this is an escalation, that is not helpful for the region.
I clicked on the tweet, and there seems to be some suggestion this wasn't the Ukrainians. Explosion apparently happened immediately after Russian military planes flew overhead, so it could have been an accident.
The bomb seems to have gone off at night, in the street. Not a building, and not during daytime when it might have caused a lot of casualties. Not really any kind of actual targeting that makes an sense.
-
I'm pretty sure Ukraine will destroy that bridge if that happens.
That's certainly the threat, isn't it? But that's also a nice little dagger to have at Russia's throat as a threat to negotiate.
-
https://twitter.com/TheresaAFallon/status/1649028612841000960
-
That's certainly the threat, isn't it? But that's also a nice little dagger to have at Russia's throat as a threat to negotiate.
I don't think the first explosion on the bridge was done by Ukraine. They would have destroyed it the first time around.
-
I clicked on the tweet, and there seems to be some suggestion this wasn't the Ukrainians. Explosion apparently happened immediately after Russian military planes flew overhead, so it could have been an accident.
The bomb seems to have gone off at night, in the street. Not a building, and not during daytime when it might have caused a lot of casualties. Not really any kind of actual targeting that makes an sense.
That makes sense.
-
I clicked on the tweet, and there seems to be some suggestion this wasn't the Ukrainians. Explosion apparently happened immediately after Russian military planes flew overhead, so it could have been an accident.
The bomb seems to have gone off at night, in the street. Not a building, and not during daytime when it might have caused a lot of casualties. Not really any kind of actual targeting that makes an sense.
It's pretty clear that the bomb went off under the surface causing the large displacement of dirt. There's video of the explosion and there is a large amount of dirt thrown up in the air but not a large fireball or flash. Had the explosion that large been on the surface the nearby buildings would have been heavily damaged.
The suggestion is something fell off a Russian plane and penetrated the earth before detonating.
So just more Russian incompetence.
-
It's pretty clear that the bomb went off under the surface causing the large displacement of dirt. There's video of the explosion and there is a large amount of dirt thrown up in the air but not a large fireball or flash. Had the explosion that large been on the surface the nearby buildings would have been heavily damaged.
The suggestion is something fell off a Russian plane and penetrated the earth before detonating.
So just more Russian incompetence.
:thumbsup:
-
I clicked on the tweet, and there seems to be some suggestion this wasn't the Ukrainians. Explosion apparently happened immediately after Russian military planes flew overhead, so it could have been an accident.
Russians accidentally dropped bomb on their own city.
(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kVWERU_xY6I)
-
It's pretty clear that the bomb went off under the surface causing the large displacement of dirt. There's video of the explosion and there is a large amount of dirt thrown up in the air but not a large fireball or flash. Had the explosion that large been on the surface the nearby buildings would have been heavily damaged.
The suggestion is something fell off a Russian plane and penetrated the earth before detonating.
So just more Russian incompetence.
The Russians appear to have confirmed that it was a bomb from a Russian aircraft.
-
Russians accidentally dropped bomb on their own city.
(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kVWERU_xY6I)
I don't have sympathy for Russians anymore. Their military is a mess and they treat their soldiers like cannon fodder. And a lot of them still support Putin.
They get what they deserve.
-
NY Post article on the Russian bomb-drop: https://nypost.com/2023/04/21/russian-warplane-accidentally-bombs-own-city-injures-3/
-
I don't have sympathy for Russians anymore. Their military is a mess and they treat their soldiers like cannon fodder. And a lot of them still support Putin.
They get what they deserve.
That is my general attitude as well
-
When and how will Ukraine start counteroffensive against Russia?
Western weapons pour into Ukraine as officials in Kyiv promise new attacks will start soon.
By Mansur Mirovalev
Published On 21 Apr 2023
21 Apr 2023
Kyiv, Ukraine – As spring get under way in Ukraine, an ominous lull in hostilities has fallen over the battlefields in the war Russia began last year.
Moscow’s winter offensive never quite materialised despite the mobilisation of hundreds of thousands of mostly untrained men. Many were shipped straight to the front line only to be killed in what survivors called “cannon fodder storms”.
With the jailing of critics and an American journalist, the Kremlin seems to have scored more victories against dissent and the fractured domestic opposition than in Ukraine as Russian forces barely inched forward in the besieged eastern city of Bakhmut.
At the same time, Ukraine has not regained any ground in the southern region of Kherson or the eastern region of Kharkiv in the months after Russia retreated from key areas there.
As spring rains turn soil into mud impassable for troops and heavy weaponry, Ukraine is amassing fresh forces trained to use new Western arms, and its long promised counteroffensive seems imminent.
“We are confident the counteroffensive is taking place in the nearest future,” Prime Minister Denys Shmygal said last week. “The US absolutely supports us.”
* * *
Source: https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/4/21/when-and-how-will-ukraine-start-counteroffensive-against-russia
-
Ukraine knows the terrain better than anyone. They will wait until the ground is dry enough that a rainstorm won't get their armor bogged down somewhere.
-
Ukraine knows the terrain better than anyone. They will wait until the ground is dry enough that a rainstorm won't get their armor bogged down somewhere.
That would probably depend on whether the ground conditions would disfavor the Russians more than they, or not. Obviously, they aren't going to run armor out on sodden soil, but they may initiate a fast counterattack, at least against Russian armored units, in an effort to goad the Russians into committing to sodden soil.
-
That would probably depend on whether the ground conditions would disfavor the Russians more than they, or not. Obviously, they aren't going to run armor out on sodden soil, but they may initiate a fast counterattack, at least against Russian armored units, in an effort to goad the Russians into committing to sodden soil.
I would expect they know the terrain well enough to have soil types, for example documented. There may be areas that will permit maneuvering heavy vehicles while others would not, and that may be part of their plan.
-
I would expect they know the terrain well enough to have soil types, for example documented. There may be areas that will permit maneuvering heavy vehicles while others would not, and that may be part of their plan.
I tend to agree, based on their past performance.
That being said, if the Russians have concentrations of armor, then it may be a good time to attack those concentrations with HIMARs-armed infantry and light armor - something that won't sink in the mud - to force the Russians to either lose it in-situ, or lose it in the mud.
-
That would probably depend on whether the ground conditions would disfavor the Russians more than they, or not. Obviously, they aren't going to run armor out on sodden soil, but they may initiate a fast counterattack, at least against Russian armored units, in an effort to goad the Russians into committing to sodden soil.
I think the Ukrainians may try to grab some forward Russian-occupied villages/towns that control some roads they deem important. Ideally, the way the Russians would want to defend the steppe areas of Zaporizhzhia are with mobile reserves kept well back from the front lines. Putting forces too far forward makes them vulnerable to being isolated and cutoff in the event of a rapid Ukrainian advance. So, by pressuring towns/villages in the more northern parts of Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia, The Ukrainians force the Russians to either reinforce those forward positions-- thereby moving more troops forward where they could be cutoff -- , abandon those positions, or simply letting the troops who are there hold on as best they can without reinforcement. I suspect they'll choose to do that third option, which should make it easy for the Ukrainians to gain local superiority wherever they wish because the Russians won't want to shift troops before the main attack comes.
Pressure the forward positions, grab those towns/villages, and take advantage of the Russians being unwilling to keep forces too far forward. The Ukes can likely gain some valuable ground that way without burning mobile assets.
-
I don't have sympathy for Russians anymore. Their military is a mess and they treat their soldiers like cannon fodder. And a lot of them still support Putin.
They get what they deserve.
@Weird Tolkienish Figure
Don't hate or blame the typical Russian for this. They are little more than slaves,and they obey the orders of their masters,or go into a labor camp. Sometimes their families may even be kicked out of the apartment the state ALLOWS them to live in,and then,as homeless people,they end up in a Siberian labor camp,also.
I do THINK the Soviet leadership has taken SEVERAL steps too far this time,and and their system just might blow up on them this time.
After all,most of their military is now getting their asses handed to them by Ukraine ,and I just don't see any way the Soviet leadership can survive a massive military defeat against a small country they expected to occupy in a week or so.
Not to mention that this is not 1940,and no matter how much the Soviets hate it,the FACT is their citizenry now has access to western news reports. The Soviet death grip over the Russian population is on it's way out. Maybe not this year,but most likely within the next 5.
Even if I am wrong,it should be REALLY interesting to see who the "Masters of Russia" pick to replace Pooty Poot when he has his sudden massive heart attack. I am positive they are going to try to find someone who can be "sold" to the masses as a "moderate",but whose strings only THEY pull.
Kinda like the DNC and Biden.
-
Video of Belgorod bomb.
https://www.reddit.com/r/UkraineWarVideoReport/comments/12tuijg/video_of_yesterdays_explosion_in_belgorod_a_car/
-
Video of Belgorod bomb.
https://www.reddit.com/r/UkraineWarVideoReport/comments/12tuijg/video_of_yesterdays_explosion_in_belgorod_a_car/
Apparently video has been removed. And supposedly no one died...
-
Apparently video has been removed. And supposedly no one died...
Sanitized for your protection, Comrade!
-
It's pretty clear that the bomb went off under the surface causing the large displacement of dirt. There's video of the explosion and there is a large amount of dirt thrown up in the air but not a large fireball or flash. Had the explosion that large been on the surface the nearby buildings would have been heavily damaged.
The suggestion is something fell off a Russian plane and penetrated the earth before detonating.
So just more Russian incompetence.
More spectacular news for our greatest ally and most vital partner in the cause of money laundering. Look out, Israel, there is a new kid on the block.
-
Apparently video has been removed. And supposedly no one died...
Video is still up.
-
Video is still up.
Clicking the link earlier literally said it had been removed. But is back now...
Whatever that was went pretty deep and took quite a while to detonate.
-
More spectacular news for our greatest ally and most vital partner in the cause of money laundering. Look out, Israel, there is a new kid on the block.
:rolleyes:
-
It happened again:
https://twitter.com/Gerashchenko_en/status/1649754125750489088
-
It happened again:
https://twitter.com/Gerashchenko_en/status/1649754125750489088
:silly: :silly: :silly:
-
Welp guess which side that China is on:
https://twitter.com/nexta_tv/status/1650067456646434817
I wonder if the Conservatives who support Russia will back China on this.
-
Welp guess which side that China is on:
https://twitter.com/nexta_tv/status/1650067456646434817
I wonder if the Conservatives who support Russia will back China on this.
:facepalm2:
-
China’s US ambassador says ‘the sovereignty and territorial integrity of all countries, including Ukraine, must be respected’ and insists Beijing is making ‘real efforts’ for peace in latest show of wavering support for Putin
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-10618781/Chinas-ambassador-insists-Beijing-making-real-efforts-peace.html?ns_mchannel=rss&ico=taboola_feed_article&ns_mchannel=rss&ico=taboola_feed
-
Welp guess which side that China is on:
https://twitter.com/nexta_tv/status/1650067456646434817
Translation: Taiwan does not have effective status to exist as a sovereign country.
-
China’s US ambassador says ‘the sovereignty and territorial integrity of all countries, including Ukraine, must be respected’ and insists Beijing is making ‘real efforts’ for peace in latest show of wavering support for Putin
Substitute the word 'Taiwan' for the word 'Ukraine' in that sentence, and see if China's ambassador agrees.
-
Translation: Taiwan does not have effective status to exist as a sovereign country.
Exactly.
-
China’s US ambassador says ‘the sovereignty and territorial integrity of all countries, including Ukraine, must be respected’ and insists Beijing is making ‘real efforts’ for peace in latest show of wavering support for Putin
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-10618781/Chinas-ambassador-insists-Beijing-making-real-efforts-peace.html?ns_mchannel=rss&ico=taboola_feed_article&ns_mchannel=rss&ico=taboola_feed
@kevindavis007
I think I must have fallen asleep,and awoke in an alternative universe.
Or is this a ploy by the Chinese to get the Russians to open their eastern borders for the Chinese to mine minerals and drill for oil?
-
Substitute the word 'Taiwan' for the word 'Ukraine' in that sentence, and see if China's ambassador agrees.
Say that on Twitter either Wumao's or member of the 50 cent army will come after you.
-
@kevindavis007
I think I must have fallen asleep,and awoke in an alternative universe.
Or is this a ploy by the Chinese to get the Russians to open their eastern borders for the Chinese to mine minerals and drill for oil?
@sneakypete
It's a ploy. But I think Russia has no choice, they are literally a vassal state to China now.
-
@sneakypete
It's a ploy. But I think Russia has no choice, they are literally a vassal state to China now.
@kevindavis007
Oh,Russia can not only survive,she can thrive if/when communism dies there. It would be CHINA that would be caught between a rock and a hard place because their ONLY "ally" then would be North Korea,and China has to support NK already.
What can NOT survive without Chinese funding is COMMUNISM in Russia.
Russia needs another revolution. One that results in the current leadership being executed and all their assets seized.
Ironically enough,it is Pooty Poot and his co-conspirators that are making this more likely to happen with every day that passes. They are and have for their entire lives been slaves of the Communist system,so all they know how to do is follow Communist doctrine,and THIS is what is eventually going to lead to their downfall.
Want a taste of REAL irony? I am predicting the US will fall to socialism/communism at about the same time as the Russians give it the boot. Look at what has already happened in the northwest for a preview of upcoming events.
-
https://twitter.com/Jay83214566/status/1649858595876421632
-
https://twitter.com/Jay83214566/status/1649858595876421632
Wonder how we will fare under this world alignment...
CCP, Russia, India, OPEC (and all Middle East), Socialist leaning Nations of Africa and Latin, and South America... (BRICS)
vs.
USA, EU (do we include France?), and Pac-Rim, minus NORKS
Klaus, better forget about the NWO, and just hope for just survival.
-
Vladimir Putin 'fires top admiral after he refused to send his sailors from his Pacific fleet to fight in Ukraine war'
Admiral Sergei Avakyants, 66, sought to protect his men from deployment
When forced to do so, the admiral allegedly dispatched his most ill-disciplined and unreliable men to the war zone
By Rohan Gupta
23 April 2023
Vladimir Putin has reportedly fired a top admiral because of his refusal to send his sailors to fight in the war against Ukraine.
Admiral Sergei Avakyants, 66, was suddenly stripped of the role of commander of the Russian Pacific Fleet last week during war games involving nuclear bombers ordered by the Kremlin.
Avakyants has been seeking to protect his men from deployment - to prevent them from being cannon fodder - according to Volya and Brief Telegram.
* * *
Source: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-12004245/Putin-fired-admiral-insubordination-opposed-sending-men-Pacific-Fleet.html
-
Vladimir Putin 'fires top admiral after he refused to send his sailors from his Pacific fleet to fight in Ukraine war'
Fire? Is that what they call it in Russia nowadays?
-
Fire? Is that what they call it in Russia nowadays?
I'm still wondering why sailors are really useful when the only sea is the Black Sea, which Turkey has bottled up? I admit I do not know much about the vaunted Russian Navy...
Rivers?
-
I'm still wondering why sailors are really useful when the only sea is the Black Sea, which Turkey has bottled up? I admit I do not know much about the vaunted Russian Navy...
Rivers?
Not a military expert, but I am guessing that from a security and import/export perspective, that Crimea is about the most valuable piece of real estate in Russia.
-
Wonder how we will fare under this world alignment...
CCP, Russia, India, OPEC (and all Middle East), Socialist leaning Nations of Africa and Latin, and South America... (BRICS)
vs.
USA, EU (do we include France?), and Pac-Rim, minus NORKS
Klaus, better forget about the NWO, and just hope for just survival.
@catfish1957
I see this as more of a "play" to get the Soviets to open their shores to the Chinese so they can go in and mine gold,silver,copper,etc,etc,etc,and drill for oil.
The Chinese will soon be in deep doo-doo if they can't lock up a big oil field somewhere. Yeah,they have a countless number of soldiers,plus the soldiers familes,etc,etc,etc,and they HAVE to come up with the money to feed them or face a revolution themselves.
BTW,thanks to hundreds of years as a slave state where the slaves are taught from birth to follow orders and not ask questions,the Chinese are the LEAST creative group of people on the planet. They either get technical help and advice from western nations,or they collapse into revolution. This is why so many of their young men are being sent to America and other western nations to learn the skills and gain the knowledge they MUST have for China to survive.
And WE must allow them to do this because they have already paid Hunter Biden,he has giving his Pop his cut of the money the Chinese paid to get this to happen.
Yes,this was happening before Biden too over,but it was just a few Chinese compared to the masses coming in today.
IMNSHO,passing a law making it illegal for ANY citizen from ANY communist country to come to America to go to school or take jobs SHOULD be a "Number 1 Priority" for Congress,but I doubt it will even get mentioned.
-
Vladimir Putin 'fires top admiral after he refused to send his sailors from his Pacific fleet to fight in Ukraine war'
Admiral Sergei Avakyants, 66, sought to protect his men from deployment
When forced to do so, the admiral allegedly dispatched his most ill-disciplined and unreliable men to the war zone
By Rohan Gupta
23 April 2023
Vladimir Putin has reportedly fired a top admiral because of his refusal to send his sailors to fight in the war against Ukraine.
Admiral Sergei Avakyants, 66, was suddenly stripped of the role of commander of the Russian Pacific Fleet last week during war games involving nuclear bombers ordered by the Kremlin.
Avakyants has been seeking to protect his men from deployment - to prevent them from being cannon fodder - according to Volya and Brief Telegram.
* * *
Source: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-12004245/Putin-fired-admiral-insubordination-opposed-sending-men-Pacific-Fleet.html
@Kamaji
Will someone please tell me whose Navy these sailors are supposed to fight? Damn sure isn't the US Navy because that would be the shortest "war at sea" in history.
-
@catfish1957
I see this as more of a "play" to get the Soviets to open their shores to the Chinese so they can go in and mine gold,silver,copper,etc,etc,etc,and drill for oil.
Absolutely, and why Russia will be likely the No. 2 Dog in BRICS.
The Chinese will soon be in deep doo-doo if they can't lock up a big oil field somewhere. Yeah,they have a countless number of soldiers,plus the soldiers familes,etc,etc,etc,and they HAVE to come up with the money to feed them or face a revolution themselves.
Those wheels are already in motion, even to the point of reversing OPEC's 50 year committment to trade oil in $USD. The Chicom's are calling the shots now, and will have a ready supply of Saudi Oil as needed. The pendulum has swung, and swung rather quickly.
BTW,thanks to hundreds of years as a slave state where the slaves are taught from birth to follow orders and not ask questions,the Chinese are the LEAST creative group of people on the planet. They either get technical help and advice from western nations,or they collapse into revolution. This is why so many of their young men are being sent to America and other western nations to learn the skills and gain the knowledge they MUST have for China to survive.
As long as you have abilty to re-engineer, steal technology and Intellectual Property, it doesn't matter. Everything the Chicoms want and need, can be done via proxy. Look at South America and Africa..... Even with the Chicom's demographic disadvantages, they've farmed out a work force..... Probably for 100's of years.
And WE must allow them to do this because they have already paid Hunter Biden,he has giving his Pop his cut of the money the Chinese paid to get this to happen.
I think the Biden Crime Family is the worst offender, but I think their is also plenty of other culpabiity around from DiFi, to Swallwell, Even Mitch, and countless other puke legislators who have sold us out to the Chicoms.
Yes,this was happening before Biden too over,but it was just a few Chinese compared to the masses coming in today.
IMNSHO,passing a law making it illegal for ANY citizen from ANY communist country to come to America to go to school or take jobs SHOULD be a "Number 1 Priority" for Congress,but I doubt it will even get mentioned.
We can't even stop them from buying farmland and military installations. Our government sold us out. And I think we sadly may be beyond the point of return.
-
I think the Biden Crime Family is the worst offender, but I think their is also plenty of other culpabiity around from DiFi, to Swallwell, Even Mitch, and countless other puke legislators who have sold us out to the Chicoms.
@catfish1957
There can be no real question about this happening. Our own government doesn't even try to pretend it isn't anymore.
And let's not forget the biggest "offenders" in this treasonous acts,large,major corporations. These are the people who bribe the politicians to get them to approve selling their goods and services to China.
There is a simple saying that I have forgotten that spells this out in a manner so simple nobody can question it,but I have forgotten it. Basically,it points out that Corporations aren't people,don't have citizenship,and are free to go anywhere they want to go in order to sell their products.
How ironic is it that the biggest Capitalists in the world are demanding pretty much unrestricted global trade?
As that wise philosopher "Pogo" once noted,"We haz met our enemy,and he is us!"
-
@catfish1957
There can be no real question about this happening. Our own government doesn't even try to pretend it isn't anymore.
And let's not forget the biggest "offenders" in this treasonous acts,large,major corporations. These are the people who bribe the politicians to get them to approve selling their goods and services to China.
There is a simple saying that I have forgotten that spells this out in a manner so simple nobody can question it,but I have forgotten it. Basically,it points out that Corporations aren't people,don't have citizenship,and are free to go anywhere they want to go in order to sell their products.
How ironic is it that the biggest Capitalists in the world are demanding pretty much unrestricted global trade?
As that wise philosopher "Pogo" once noted,"We haz met our enemy,and he is us!"
I honestly think, WEF, NWO, GND/ESG, and the Chicoms are all interconnected into one massive 3rd world wealth re-distribution scheme. From whacko Green initiative that makes no sense, and that are self destructive to the decoupling of the world from the $USD....
All the dots are appearing before our eyes, coalescing, and connecting.
-
Whoa:
https://twitter.com/KyivIndependent/status/1650207056614285312
-
Ukraine Crossed the Dnipro?
Lawrence Person's BattleSwarm Blog 4/23/2023
https://www.battleswarmblog.com/?p=54746 (https://www.battleswarmblog.com/?p=54746)
Back in November, I put up a post on Ukrainian forces crossing the Dnipro River for a probing raid. Since then I’ve noticed a persistent trickle of hits to the post, presumably off social media posts of further activity. Today came more concrete evidence that Ukrainian troops are landing and operating on the eastern/southern bank of the Dnipro.
Ukrainian soldiers have crossed the Dnipro River for the first time since the early days of the invasion and built positions that could be used to launch attacks deeper into Russian-occupied territory, analysts have said.
The crossing of the Dnipro River, which has marked the front line since Russian forces retreated from Kherson city in November, comes days after reports of a partial Russian retreat in the area.
It comes as Ukraine is widely expected to launch a counteroffensive, which analysts have said may be aimed at pushing 100 miles south of the Dnipro River at least as far as Crimea.
The US-based Institute for the Study of War said that video and photos have generated the first “reliable geolocated imagery of Ukrainian positions” south of the river.
“The extent and intent of these Ukrainian positions remain unclear, as does Ukraine’s ability and willingness to maintain sustained positions in this area,” it said.
Several Russian military bloggers used geolocation techniques to pinpoint Ukrainian military positions around the village of Oleshky, south of the Dnipro River.
Russian military blogger “Thirteenth”, who has more than 100,000 followers, posted a video that he said showed Ukrainian special forces using fast small boats to land on the river bank, where “they have been hanging out for a couple of weeks”.
More at link.
-
Ukrainian army 'crosses crucial Dnipro River for the first time and soldiers prepare positions to launch counter-offensive deep into Russian-occupied areas', analysts claim
Daily Mail by Arthur Parashar 4/23/2023
• Dnipro River has served as front line since Moscow retreated from Kherson
• If Ukrainian forces have breached river, it would be a major humiliation for Putin
• Russia bragged withdrawal from Kherson allowed them to use river in defence
Ukraine's army have crossed the Dnipro River for the first time since the start of the invasion as soldiers prepare positions to launch a counter-offensive deep into Russian-occupied areas, military analysts have claimed.
Claims of Ukrainian advances onto the eastern bank of the river come just days after reports of a partial Russian retreat in the Kherson region.
The Dnipro River has served as the front line since Vladimir Putin's soldiers retreated from Kherson city back in November, sparking scenes of jubilation from Ukrainian civilians.
The crossing comes as speculation continues to mount over Ukraine's long-awaited spring offensive, which analysts have suggested may be aimed at pushing 100 miles south of the river at least as far as annexed Crimea.
Analysts from the the US-based Institute for the Study of War said that footage from Russian military bloggers has offered the first 'reliable geolocated imagery of Ukrainian positions' south of the river.
'The extent and intent of these Ukrainian positions remain unclear, as does Ukraine's ability and willingness to maintain sustained positions in this area,' it said.
If Ukrainian forces have breached the river, it would be a major humiliation for Putin and Moscow considering Russian forces bragged about how their withdrawal from Kherson last year allowed them to use the Dnipro River as part of their defence.
More: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-12005761/Ukrainian-army-crosses-crucial-Dnipro-River-time.html (https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-12005761/Ukrainian-army-crosses-crucial-Dnipro-River-time.html)
-
MAD VLAD Ukraine news latest — Desperate Putin launches ‘MAJOR new pervasive campaign for recruits’ as Russian losses mount
The Sun by Louis Allwood 4/23/2023
VLADIMIR Putin has been forced to launch a "major new drive for volunteer recruits" as Russia's losses continue to mount in Ukraine.
The UK's ministry of defence claimed the Russian adverts are appealing to recruits that are "real men".
In their latest intelligence update for the war in Ukraine the Ministry said: "The Russian MoD has launched a major new drive for volunteer recruits. A pervasive campaign has seen advertising appear on Russian social media sites, on billboards, and on TV.
"The new adverts appeal to potential recruits’ masculine pride, appealing for ‘real men’, as well as highlighting the financial benefits of joining up."
It comes as Ukraine's armed forces claimed today that Russian losses had exceeded 185,000 after a further 680 troops were killed in Putin's bloody war.
More: https://www.the-sun.com/news/7673111/ukraine-news-latest-russia-war-putin/ (https://www.the-sun.com/news/7673111/ukraine-news-latest-russia-war-putin/)
-
Crime wave hits Russia as prisoners freed to fight in Ukraine return home: Wife 'knifed to death in front of her young sons' is one of a string of murders and sex attacks blamed on soldiers
Convicts and soldiers are returning to Russia and committing horrific crimes
Read more: Ukrainian army 'crosses crucial Dnipro River for the first time'
By WILL STEWART
24 April 2023
Russia is suffering a wave of murders from convicts freed to fight in Vladimir Putin's war who then return home to continue their life of crime.
Other fighters have become twisted by the brutality of the frontline and kill once they get back to their families.
Still more fighters have been detained for sexual violence against children.
Platoon commander Alexander Mameyev, 44, returned home from the war was detained on suspicion of stabbing his wife Ekaterina to death in front of their sons aged seven and eight.
His children had to be hospitalised suffering from shock.
* * *
Source: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-12006461/Crime-wave-hits-Russia-prisoners-freed-fight-Ukraine-return-home.html
-
Crime wave hits Russia as prisoners freed to fight in Ukraine return home: Wife 'knifed to death in front of her young sons' is one of a string of murders and sex attacks blamed on soldiers
Convicts and soldiers are returning to Russia and committing horrific crimes
Read more: Ukrainian army 'crosses crucial Dnipro River for the first time'
By WILL STEWART
24 April 2023
Russia is suffering a wave of murders from convicts freed to fight in Vladimir Putin's war who then return home to continue their life of crime.
Other fighters have become twisted by the brutality of the frontline and kill once they get back to their families.
Still more fighters have been detained for sexual violence against children.
Platoon commander Alexander Mameyev, 44, returned home from the war was detained on suspicion of stabbing his wife Ekaterina to death in front of their sons aged seven and eight.
His children had to be hospitalised suffering from shock.
* * *
Source: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-12006461/Crime-wave-hits-Russia-prisoners-freed-fight-Ukraine-return-home.html
@Kamaji
War is a bitch,especially for the non-career soldiers who are just jerked away from their normal life one day,given a few weeks of training,and then sent into a hot war against experienced enemy troops.
The career soldiers tend to fare a little better due to their experience,training,and temperment,but the ones drafted and sent to lead assaults against dug-in enemy positions suffer horribly in both the physical and the mental conditions.
-
@Kamaji
War is a bitch,especially for the non-career soldiers who are just jerked away from their normal life one day,given a few weeks of training,and then sent into a hot war against experienced enemy troops.
The career soldiers tend to fare a little better due to their experience,training,and temperment,but the ones drafted and sent to lead assaults against dug-in enemy positions suffer horribly in both the physical and the mental conditions.
Yes, but this isn't just about soldiers in general, it's about the fact that Russia released a lot of prisoners who had been convicted of some heinous crimes, and gave them pardons if they served in the Russian army in Ukraine and survived the ordeal. These prisoners are now beginning to return to Russian society, many of them most likely still unrepentant of the crimes for which they were locked up, and now further hardened by their experience in the fight in Ukraine.
-
I always thought that was a smear of Vietnam War Vets, personally. Many had PTSD, but I'm not sure they were any more violent than the general population.
-
Yes, but this isn't just about soldiers in general, it's about the fact that Russia released a lot of prisoners who had been convicted of some heinous crimes, and gave them pardons if they served in the Russian army in Ukraine and survived the ordeal. These prisoners are now beginning to return to Russian society, many of them most likely still unrepentant of the crimes for which they were locked up, and now further hardened by their experience in the fight in Ukraine.
@Kamaji
True.
The mere fact that the Soviets actually freed these prisoners and sent them to war shows us all how desperate the Soviet Army of today really is.
I have trouble believing the Soviet System can recover from this huge brain fart. Especially if/when China gets permission (or takes it over WITHOUT permission because there is nothing that Russia can do to stop them other than fire off nukes) to take over control of the northwestern part of Russia to mine and build housing for workers. Once that happens,ALL of that immense wealth is lost to Russia.
The problem I have is trying to figure out who and what is going to replace the current Soviet system,and will the world be a safer or a more dangerous place after this happens.
-
I always thought that was a smear of Vietnam War Vets, personally. Many had PTSD, but I'm not sure they were any more violent than the general population.
@Weird Tolkienish Figure
The truth is that at least 75 percent of the soldiers that went to VN never heard a shot fired the whole time they were there. I personally knew one reservist soldier that went there as a E-4 when his unit was activated,and was an E-7 when I met him. He never heard a shot fired the whole time he was there unless it was outgoing support fire for a platoon running a security search. We had what sounded like 3 mortar rounds hit waaaay off in the distance,and he got mad at me because I refused (I was the company armorer) to unlock the weapons racks and the ammo bunker to hand out ammo.
These people were so freaking stupid that their plan was to issue weapons and ammo to soldiers who had not fired or even held a weapon (they were communication guys) since basic training,and have them fall out behind the sandbags that surrounded the first floor of the barracks they live in,in order to fire on any attacking force.
The problem was these guys would be shooting their M-14's at the guys in the next barracks who were behind THEIR sandbag walls with THEIR M-14's,waiting to open fire themselves.
These barracks were so close the guys behind the sandbags at one barracks could talk in a normal voice to the guys behind the other sandbags.
What could possibly go wrong after the first 30 caliber round was fired,most likely by accident,by a soldier behind either sandbag barricade?
BTW,NOT being a fool,I had a M-3 and ammo vest like the one in the photo of me here in my locker,and a 1911A1 under my shirt. Then again,I wasn't ABOUT to shoot anyone that wasn't clearly an enemy attacker. I had them for personal reasons,as well as professional responsibility reasons. There was no way in hell that I was going to take a chance on being killed because I was unarmed,and letting the enemy or any panicked soldier getting into the ammo bunker.
BTW,who the HELL is so freaking ignorant they would put an ammo bunker between two barrack buildings? I understand it was already done before the signal guys moved in.
-
I always thought that was a smear of Vietnam War Vets, personally. Many had PTSD, but I'm not sure they were any more violent than the general population.
@Weird Tolkienish Figure
BTW,I served on both recon teams as well as a "Hatchet Force platoon" in VN and to this day I have not had one single nightmare about it,and truthfully,don't know anyone who did,and all of my army friends were career Special Forces soldiers,many of whom served multiple combat tours in VN as well as some other places.
Hell,one SGM that I was friends with was one of the Rangers seen climbing the walls at the beaches during the Normandy invasion to take out the guns firing on the ships. He (SGM George Odom,ret) was a 16 year old PFC at the time. He lied about his age so he could join the army. Needless to say he saw combat in Korea,as well as other places,also.
I am NOT claiming PTSD isn't real. It is VERY real and VERY dangerous for those who suffer from it,but I am claiming it is rare.
-
Occupiers put on military registration 14-year-olds in Zaporizhzhia
https://www.ukrinform.net/rubric-ato/3700112-occupiers-register-14yearolds-in-zaporizhzhia-for-military-service.html (https://www.ukrinform.net/rubric-ato/3700112-occupiers-register-14yearolds-in-zaporizhzhia-for-military-service.html)
In the temporarily occupied territories of Zaporizhzhia, Russian invaders are transferring the data of 14-year-old children to the unified military registration of the Russian Federation.
The Mayor of Melitopol Ivan Fedorov said this on Telegram, Ukrinform reports.
"At first, the occupiers took control of children who were about to turn fourteen: they wanted to hand them Russian passports. Now they are transferring data from the Kremlin's voter register, which includes 14-year-old children, to Russia's so-called unified military registration. In the future, they want to hand over electronic summonses to the military registration and enlistment office," noted Fedorov.
He emphasized that children in the occupation are under particular threat. The occupiers are zombifying them from an early age "to grow slaves and future cannon fodder."
More at link.
-
@Elderberry
The Mayor of Melitopol Ivan Fedorov....
Is in deep doo-doo now,and can't even buy any life insurance.
-
Pentagon rushes Ukraine tanks after claiming US didn’t have enough
By Caitlin Doornbos
April 24, 2023
WASHINGTON – The Defense Department has apparently found enough M1 Abrams tanks to refurbish and hand over to Ukraine after initially claiming the delivery would take a year or more due to a lack of inventory.
“We’ve expedited our M1 Abrams timelines to supply Ukraine with more armored capability in the coming months, and the M1s that the Ukrainians will use for training will arrive here in Germany in the next few weeks,” Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin told reporters late last week. “All of this is huge progress.”
The Pentagon on Jan. 25 announced it would send 31 of the US’ premier tanks to Ukraine after expressing reluctance about the idea less than a week earlier.
That announcement came the same day Germany said it would send its Leopard 2 battle tanks to Kyiv following reported pressure by the US and other allies.
At the time, the Biden Administration said it would take up to a year for Kyiv to receive American tanks because they would not come from US stocks, but be purchased new with congressionally approved funds as part of the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative.
* * *
Source: https://nypost.com/2023/04/24/pentagon-rushes-ukraine-tanks-after-claiming-us-didnt-have-enough/
-
https://twitter.com/visegrad24/status/1650052174678749184
-
Russian troops ‘forcibly evacuating’ key city of Kherson: Ukraine
By Isabel Keane
April 24, 2023
Russian troops are “forcibly evacuating” civilians from the key city of Kherson, Ukrainian authorities have claimed — seeming to suggest that Moscow may be pulling back its troops ahead of a highly anticipated Ukrainian counteroffensive.
“I have information that the evacuation starts today [Sunday] with an excuse of protecting civilians from the consequences of heavy fighting in the area,” said Oleksandr Samoylenko, the Ukrainian head of Kherson’s regional council.
According to Samoylenko, Russian troops were “trying to steal as much as they can” as they retreated from the region this weekend, the Guardian reported.
Russian forces drew back from Kherson in November, and have regularly launched attacks on the city from across the Dnipro River ever since.
Another Ukrainian official in Kherson, Serhiy Khlan, indicated that Russian forces were looking to gain control of civilians in the region.
* * *
Source: https://nypost.com/2023/04/24/russia-forcibly-evacuating-kherson-ukrainian-officials/
-
Ukrainian soldier returning home surprises daughter at her school.
https://www.reddit.com/r/UkraineWarVideoReport/comments/12wjese/after_long_absence_this_ukrainian_soldier_gets_to/
-
Ukrainian soldier returning home surprises daughter at her school.
https://www.reddit.com/r/UkraineWarVideoReport/comments/12wjese/after_long_absence_this_ukrainian_soldier_gets_to/
That's why I hate Putin.
War is a horrible, horrible thing, and he started one just to grab more land and build his own ego. Hope he burns for eternity.
-
That's why I hate Putin.
War is a horrible, horrible thing, and he started one just to grab more land and build his own ego. Hope he burns for eternity.
I hope he does, but I don't get why a lot of Americans, especially a lot of Conservatives think that Putin is a good guy.
-
I hope he does, but I don't get why a lot of Americans, especially a lot of Conservatives think that Putin is a good guy.
Neither do I.
-
Neither do I.
I see it this way, you can't call yourself a Patriot if you support a foreign dictator like Putin
-
That's why I hate Putin.
War is a horrible, horrible thing, and he started one just to grab more land and build his own ego. Hope he burns for eternity.
@Maj. Bill Martin
Isn't that pretty much why ever war ever fought was started?
-
I hope he does, but I don't get why a lot of Americans, especially a lot of Conservatives think that Putin is a good guy.
@kevindavis007
I honestly don't know of anyone who thinks Putin is a good guy.
-
@kevindavis007
I honestly don't know of anyone who thinks Putin is a good guy.
Then you haven't been loitering on some of the other so-called conservative discussion fora that are available online.
-
Then you haven't been loitering on some of the other so-called conservative discussion fora that are available online.
@Kamaji
True..
This is the only board I visit,and I spend too much time here to even think about checking somewhere else
-
Then you haven't been loitering on some of the other so-called conservative discussion fora that are available online.
@Kamaji
@sneakypete
Check out the TOS and if you like Twitter as well. Hell, the Libertarian Party has been spouting pro-Russia crap.
-
@Kamaji
@sneakypete
Check out the TOS and if you like Twitter as well. Hell, the Libertarian Party has been spouting pro-Russia crap.
@kevindavis007
Thanks,but no thanks. I get all the "pissed-off" that I need,right here.
I DO admit going to TOS occasionally when I am bored,though. Mostly because I am banned for life,so there is no danger of me wasting time arguing with those cretins. Even then it comes to maybe once a month.
-
I hope he does, but I don't get why a lot of Americans, especially a lot of Conservatives think that Putin is a good guy.
Name one conservative who thinks Putin is a good guy. Stop with the silly rhetoric.
-
Name one conservative who thinks Putin is a good guy. Stop with the silly rhetoric.
Nobody here; but on other fora, they exist.
-
Name one conservative who thinks Putin is a good guy. Stop with the silly rhetoric.
@catfish1957
They don't exist here, but elsewhere it's happening.
-
Nobody here; but on other fora, they exist.
TOS?, before the blackout, I think Russia was the biggest foreign traffic location of the site. I seldom visit that cesspool, so I wouldn't know.
I am hoping Kevin can come up with one known conservatve pundit who is pro-Putin. They might exist, but before making claims like that I want to hear who they are.
-
@catfish1957
They don't exist here, but elsewhere it's happening.
TOS? Kamaji kind of confirmed that. Just another reason why to stay away from that dumpster fire. And honestly, conservative by definition are a patriotic bunch. Are these truly conservatives, or Neo-cons in sheep's clothing? Otherwise why would we ally with who was our mortal enemy 1945-1989.
-
That's why I hate Putin.
War is a horrible, horrible thing, and he started one just to grab more land and build his own ego. Hope he burns for eternity.
I totally agree; the sooner that demon is removed from the ranks of the living, the better.
-
@Maj. Bill Martin
Isn't that pretty much why ever war ever fought was started?
@sneakypete
Generally, yes, and Europe was the epicenter of that for a couple thousand years. But it looks like the major powers of Europe had finally grown up. For more than 75 years after the end of World War II, they stayed at peace. We obviously complained about the growing pacifism in Europe, but at least it was admirable in the sense it showed those people were sick of war.
That's why I think so many of the European people are furious at Russia for invading Ukraine. I think they had come to believe that they had finally banished wars of conquest from Europe forever. But here comes Putin deciding to remount that horrible horse of the Apocalypse and bring war to Europe again.
That's why I think The Russian invasion has to be defeated. It has to be shown that at least that corner of the world will not allow anyone to profit from starting a war of aggression.
-
TOS?, before the blackout, I think Russia was the biggest foreign traffic location of the site. I seldom visit that cesspool, so I wouldn't know.
I am hoping Kevin can come up with one known conservatve pundit who is pro-Putin. They might exist, but before making claims like that I want to hear who they are.
Well, there was one very prominent conservative pundit who said he was rooting for Russia in its war against Ukraine...
-
Well, there was one very prominent conservative pundit who said he was rooting for Russia in its war against Ukraine...
Who? PM if needed.
-
Who? PM if needed.
https://twitter.com/NikkiMcR/status/1199135926955466753?s=20
Tucker said it on his own show.
After Twitter exploded, he then came back at the very end of his show and claimed to have been joking. Seemed pretty serious to me.
-
Tucker said it on his own show.
After Twitter exploded, he then came back at the very end of his show and claimed to have been joking. Seemed pretty serious to me.
I missed that, but do know that on several other shows he has said some unflattering things about Putin. So which Tucker do you beleive?
-
I missed that, but do know that on several other shows he has said some unflattering things about Putin. So which Tucker do you beleive?
You could believe both. That he roots for Russia but doesn't like Putin.
-
@Maj. Bill Martin
Isn't that pretty much why ever war ever fought was started?
Resources and economics are at the bottom of most.
This one the 'occupied' Ukraine includes 87% of the oil and gas production in the country, and there was a bid to control all the port areas (and any offshore oil and gas in the Black Sea). Control the ports, control the products that ship. It's economic. Ukraine is a major grain producer for the region.
-
TOS?, before the blackout, I think Russia was the biggest foreign traffic location of the site. I seldom visit that cesspool, so I wouldn't know.
I am hoping Kevin can come up with one known conservatve pundit who is pro-Putin. They might exist, but before making claims like that I want to hear who they are.
@catfish1957
There is no such critter,so that would be impossible.
-
That's why I hate Putin.
War is a horrible, horrible thing, and he started one just to grab more land and build his own ego. Hope he burns for eternity.
@Maj.Bill Martin
In other words,he started a war for the usual reasons.
-
@Kamaji
@sneakypete
Check out the TOS and if you like Twitter as well. Hell, the Libertarian Party has been spouting pro-Russia crap.
@kevindavis007
If they are doing that,they are NOT "Libertarians". Hell,I doubt they even understand what the word "Liberty" means.
-
@sneakypete
Generally, yes, and Europe was the epicenter of that for a couple thousand years. But it looks like the major powers of Europe had finally grown up. For more than 75 years after the end of World War II, they stayed at peace. We obviously complained about the growing pacifism in Europe, but at least it was admirable in the sense it showed those people were sick of war.
That's why I think so many of the European people are furious at Russia for invading Ukraine. I think they had come to believe that they had finally banished wars of conquest from Europe forever. But here comes Putin deciding to remount that horrible horse of the Apocalypse and bring war to Europe again.
That's why I think The Russian invasion has to be defeated. It has to be shown that at least that corner of the world will not allow anyone to profit from starting a war of aggression.
@Maj. Bill Martin
Can't argue with any of that. Not even a single word.
I can only add to it by stating the older people in Europe understand that if the Soviets are allowed to take over Ukraine,history tells them all they are next.
Putin in nothing less than a tyrant,just like Stalin. There is NO compromise with a tryant. You either become his master,or his slave,and nobody understands this better than the over-60 generation in Europe.
-
@sneakypete
Generally, yes, and Europe was the epicenter of that for a couple thousand years. But it looks like the major powers of Europe had finally grown up. For more than 75 years after the end of World War II, they stayed at peace. We obviously complained about the growing pacifism in Europe, but at least it was admirable in the sense it showed those people were sick of war.
That's why I think so many of the European people are furious at Russia for invading Ukraine. I think they had come to believe that they had finally banished wars of conquest from Europe forever. But here comes Putin deciding to remount that horrible horse of the Apocalypse and bring war to Europe again.
That's why I think The Russian invasion has to be defeated. It has to be shown that at least that corner of the world will not allow anyone to profit from starting a war of aggression.
I think the main reason why there hasn't been a war for 75 years was due to us via NATO.
Yes, they have grown up, but they have gotten soft as well.
-
@kevindavis007
If they are doing that,they are NOT "Libertarians". Hell,I doubt they even understand what the word "Liberty" means.
@sneakypete
That is correct. What happened the Mises Caucus took over that party.
They are not a serious party...
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mises_Caucus
-
I think the main reason why there hasn't been a war for 75 years was due to us via NATO.
Yes, they have grown up, but they have gotten soft as well.
@kevindavis007
I agree,but even IF we are both wrong,NATO WAS a prime factor in any invasion thinking by the USSR.
Not so sure this is true any longer,though. The left has virtually taken over control of so many western nations that I am no longer sure of any alliances being real.
THE "factor" that makes this current discussion about the USSR versus NATO relevant is that the western leftists can talk all the trash they want,but deep down most understand that THEY will be going into the labor camps just like everyone else.
Providing they aren't just backed against a wall and shot,of course. After all,if their OWN people couldn't trust them,why should the neo-Soviets?
-
@sneakypete
That is correct. What happened the Mises Caucus took over that party.
They are not a serious party...
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mises_Caucus
@kevindavis007
Thanks!
I had never even heard of the Mises Caucus.
-
US has shipped over 1.5 million rounds of 155 mm munition to Ukraine. Here's why the ammo is so crucial.
The 155 mm howitzer round is one of the most requested artillery munitions of the war in Ukraine. Already the U.S. has shipped more than 1.5 million rounds to Ukraine, but Kyiv is still seeking more.
A look at why this particular munition is so commonly used, and why it's been so critical to the war in Ukraine.
What is the 155 MM?
Essentially, the 155 mm round is a very big bullet, made up of four parts: the detonating fuse, projectile, propellant and primer.
Each round is about 2 feet long, weighs about 100 pounds, and is 155 mm, or 6.1 inches, in diameter. They are used in howitzer systems, which are towed large guns that are identified by the range of the angle of fire that their barrels can be set to.
The 155 mm shells can be configured in many ways: They can be packed with highly explosive material, use precision guided systems, pierce armor or produce high fragmentation.
Past variants have included smoke rounds to obscure troop movement and illumination rounds to expose an enemy’s position.
"The 155 mm round and the similar Soviet-era 152 mm rounds are so popular because they provide a good balance between range and warhead size," said Ryan Brobst, a research analyst at the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies. "If you have too small a shell, it won’t do enough damage and go as far. If you have a larger shell, you can’t necessarily fire it as far. This is the most common middle ground, and that’s why it’s so widely used."...............
https://www.foxnews.com/world/us-shipped-1-5-million-rounds-155-mm-munition-ukraine-heres-why-ammo-crucial
-
Ukrainian drone flies over Kremlin
https://twitter.com/sternenko/status/1650456635251339265
-
Badass Dutch YPR-765s sent to Ukraine
https://www.reddit.com/r/UkraineWarVideoReport/comments/12ylt8j/dutch_tv_reports_on_refurbishment_operation_of/
-
Actually, 155 rounds themselves do not contain propellant. The propellant/powder is contained in bags that are loaded into the tube separately after the round itself is rammed, with the number of bags used dependant upon the range at which you are firing.
Other than that, though, Fox described it well.
-
Ukrainian drone flies over Kremlin
https://twitter.com/sternenko/status/1650456635251339265 (https://twitter.com/sternenko/status/1650456635251339265)
Too bad it didn't bomb the Kremlin. Just a warning shot I think.
-
@amuse
@amuse
WAR UPDATE: Zelensky initiated a call to Xi to let him know Ukraine was sending a new ambassador to China (the last one was rejected). Xi pressured Zelensky to begin peace negotiations with Russia. Implying that if Ukraine refuses, China will openly begin to support Russia's war effort (the stick). Xi also made it clear China would be VERY helpful in the effort to rebuild Ukraine once the conflict ended (the carrot). Zelensky is under maximum pressure from the White House to NOT begin any sort of peace negotiations until Russia has left all Ukrainian territory including Crimea. Will Zelensky heed Xi's warning/offer or will he stick with the Bidens?
9:10 AM · Apr 26, 2023
AFP News Agency
@AFP
1h
#BREAKING China's Xi held call with Ukraine's Zelensky: state media
-
@amuse
@amuse
WAR UPDATE: Zelensky initiated a call to Xi to let him know Ukraine was sending a new ambassador to China (the last one was rejected). Xi pressured Zelensky to begin peace negotiations with Russia. Implying that if Ukraine refuses, China will openly begin to support Russia's war effort (the stick). Xi also made it clear China would be VERY helpful in the effort to rebuild Ukraine once the conflict ended (the carrot). Zelensky is under maximum pressure from the White House to NOT begin any sort of peace negotiations until Russia has left all Ukrainian territory including Crimea. Will Zelensky heed Xi's warning/offer or will he stick with the Bidens?
9:10 AM · Apr 26, 2023
AFP News Agency
@AFP
1h
#BREAKING China's Xi held call with Ukraine's Zelensky: state media
Simple translation: Chicoms have replaced us as geo-political power brokers in the world. Thanks Pedo Joe.
-
Too bad it didn't bomb the Kremlin. Just a warning shot I think.
Wish it shoved one right up Putin's ass.
-
Wish it shoved one right up Putin's ass.
Up his ass, then somehow still able to bomb Lenin's tomb.
-
@Maj.Bill Martin
In other words,he started a war for the usual reasons.
Sometimes there are ethnic/religious/ideological overtones as well. This was pretty much like Saddam in 1990 - I'm invading other country just because I want to make my country larger and wealthier.
-
Russian military plane bursts into flames and crashes into a lake in region bordering Finland
Law enforcement agencies reported the crash, according to Russian state news
The crash was reported to have happened in Murmansk in Russia's northwest
By CHRIS JEWERS
26 April 2023
A Russian military plane has burst into flames and crashed into a lake in a north-western region of Russia that borders Finland, according to state media.
The military plane crashed in the Murmansk region after catching fire, the TASS news agency said on Wednesday, citing law enforcement agencies.
The MIG-31 fighter jet, said to be on a training flight, 'crashed in an uninhabited area,' TASS quoted the ministry as saying. The pilots ejected, the agency added, and were found 'alive and well' after the drama.
* * *
Source: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-12016765/Russian-military-plane-bursts-flames-crashes-lake.html
-
Ukraine Flooded with NATO Military Hardware: Nine New Armoured Brigades Raised, Equipped
NATO allies and partners have sent Ukraine some 1,550 armoured vehicles and 230 tanks to form new heavy battlefield formations in a little over 12 months, NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg said Thursday, promising more to come as part of a “multi-year programme of support.”
https://www.breitbart.com/europe/2023/04/27/ukraine-flooded-with-nato-military-hardware-nine-new-armoured-brigades-raised-equipped/
-
US helping Ukraine craft war plan to surprise Russia in coming counteroffensive
by Jamie McIntyre, Senior Writer |
April 27, 2023 07:03 AM
‘THE UKRAINIANS ARE IN ARE IN A GOOD POSITION’: America’s top general in Europe, Gen. Christopher Cavoli — who is both the supreme NATO and U.S. European commander — has told Congress that the U.S. has been working closely with Ukraine on its plans for a counteroffensive against Russia, including ways to gain the element of surprise despite the fact the Russians and the whole world know the military operation is coming.
“Of course, we've worked on all that with them. And, of course, it wouldn't be a surprise if we talked about it in public,” Cavoli testified before the House Armed Services Committee yesterday. “Any force can always use more of everything. But according to the modeling that we [have] very carefully done with them, the Ukrainians are in a good position.”
more
https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/policy/defense-national-security/us-helping-ukraine-craft-war-plan-to-surprise-russia-in-coming-counteroffensive
-
We're still a bit early in the spring for a major counter-offensive in Ukraine. At least in WW2, this would still have been considered the wet season. I really couldn't find any evidence of major mechanized attacks being conducted at this time of year. The Germans main 1942 summer offensive didn't start until June 28. Their main offensive in 1943 started in July, and the Soviet response came after that. In 1944, the main Soviet offensive kicked off on June 22.
What might be happening now are smaller probing attacks and shaping the battlefield by grabbing some particular pieces of ground. But the Ukrainian main attack likely won't start until mid-May at the earliest.
-
We're still a bit early in the spring for a major counter-offensive in Ukraine. At least in WW2, this would still have been considered the wet season. I really couldn't find any evidence of major mechanized attacks being conducted at this time of year. The Germans main 1942 summer offensive didn't start until June 28. Their main offensive in 1943 started in July, and the Soviet response came after that. In 1944, the main Soviet offensive kicked off on June 22.
What might be happening now are smaller probing attacks and shaping the battlefield by grabbing some particular pieces of ground. But the Ukrainian main attack likely won't start until mid-May at the earliest.
Particularly with the news that Ukraine has crossed over the Dnieper, it sounds like that is exactly what's happening.
-
Ukraine 'tried to ASSASSINATE Putin using drone loaded with explosives that crashed just miles from industrial estate dictator was due to visit near Moscow', German media claims
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-12019935/Ukraine-tried-ASSASSINATE-Putin-using-drone-loaded-explosives-German-media-claims.html
Hopefully, it is true..
-
The problem I have is trying to figure out who and what is going to replace the current Soviet system, and will the world be a safer or a more dangerous place after this happens.
Stop worrying yourself. That's way above your pay grade, if you still get any pay, that is.
-
Particularly with the news that Ukraine has crossed over the Dnieper, it sounds like that is exactly what's happening.
Yeah, they do those little amphibious raids across the Dnipro to see how quickly the Russians react, how well it is defended, and perhaps as a feint or demonstration. I wouldn't expect the main Ukrainian attack to be across the Dnipro itself - the main attack is more likely to be in Zaporizhzhia driving south to Melitopol or Berdyansk. But if these little raids find out that the Russians are slow to react, or the sector is really poorly defended, it would be a really nice secondary attack to throw off balance the Russian troops to their east trying to stop that main drive.
-
Yeah, they do those little amphibious raids across the Dnipro to see how quickly the Russians react, how well it is defended, and perhaps as a feint or demonstration. I wouldn't expect the main Ukrainian attack to be across the Dnipro itself - the main attack is more likely to be in Zaporizhzhia driving south to Melitopol or Berdyansk. But if these little raids find out that the Russians are slow to react, or the sector is really poorly defended, it would be a really nice secondary attack to throw off balance the Russian troops to their east trying to stop that main drive.
That and preparing small "surprises" for the Russians to keep them second-guessing everything. Certainly it won't be the main thrust of the counter.
-
US helping Ukraine craft war plan to surprise Russia in coming counteroffensive
by Jamie McIntyre, Senior Writer |
April 27, 2023 07:03 AM
‘THE UKRAINIANS ARE IN ARE IN A GOOD POSITION’: America’s top general in Europe, :yowsa:— who is both the supreme NATO and U.S. European commander — has told Congress that the U.S. has been working closely with Ukraine on its plans for a counteroffensive against Russia,including ways to gain the element of surprise despite the fact the Russians and the whole world know the military operation is coming.
@mystery-ak
Uhhhhhh.........
-
@mystery-ak
Uhhhhhh.........
Tell me again why Jack Teixeira is in jail?
-
Tell me again why Jack Teixeira is in jail?
@bigheadfred
Because he is not a General Officer with political connections?
-
Tell me again why Jack Teixeira is in jail?
I know my opinion of Assange and Snowden is different than it was 10 years ago. Your government is not your friend.
-
@bigheadfred
Because he is not a General Officer with political connections?
Yep.
-
I know my opinion of Assange and Snowden is different than it was 10 years ago. Your government is not your friend.
I think what Teixeira did was stupid but is not a traitor.
In the case of the other two the traitors to our traitors is my friend.
-
I know my opinion of Assange and Snowden is different than it was 10 years ago. Your government is not your friend.
Yep.
-
Partisan attack kills police chief in Russian-occupied Melitopol
Robert Greenall | 5 hours ago
A police chief in the occupied Ukrainian city of Melitopol, who defected to Russia after they seized the city, has been killed in an apparent partisan bombing.
Oleksandr Mishchenko died when an improvised device exploded at the entrance to the block where he lived.
There have recently been reports of heightened Ukrainian partisan activity in the region.
Melitopol's exiled mayor said the dead officer was a traitor. . .
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-65414836
-
Wir werden für die Ukraine kämpfen.
Slawa Ukraine
-
Well well
https://twitter.com/TheInsiderPaper/status/1651928917807169537?t=Q1XPlQpD6AXRqqDM1XhQvw&s=19
-
Well well
https://twitter.com/TheInsiderPaper/status/1651928917807169537?t=Q1XPlQpD6AXRqqDM1XhQvw&s=19
https://twitter.com/TheInsiderPaper/status/1651928917807169537
Whaddya know!
-
https://twitter.com/TheInsiderPaper/status/1651928917807169537 (https://twitter.com/TheInsiderPaper/status/1651928917807169537)
Whaddya know!
So some moron (who shall remain nameless) blamed America but ended up being wrong. What a surprise
-
So some moron (who shall remain nameless) blamed America but ended up being wrong. What a surprise
I can't wait to see the song-and-dance routine on this one.
-
I can't wait to see the song-and-dance routine on this one.
Going to be more twisted than a Pretzel.
-
Partisan attack kills police chief in Russian-occupied Melitopol
Robert Greenall | 5 hours ago
A police chief in the occupied Ukrainian city of Melitopol, who defected to Russia after they seized the city, has been killed in an apparent partisan bombing.
Oleksandr Mishchenko died when an improvised device exploded at the entrance to the block where he lived.
There have recently been reports of heightened Ukrainian partisan activity in the region.
Melitopol's exiled mayor said the dead officer was a traitor. . .
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-65414836
He's right! Anyone who cooperates in any way with the Russians is complicit in the evil they are perpetuating.
-
He's right! Anyone who cooperates in any way with the Russians is complicit in the evil they are perpetuating.
@bilo
Yup,and it would be a safe bet to assume that names and addresses are being noted for future use.
-
Take a look at this:
https://twitter.com/BigBreakingWire/status/1652158886118588417
-
I wonder what is Putin thinking right now:
https://twitter.com/drigli_/status/1652167481400651776
-
This strike suggests that whatever the Ukrainains (and NATO/US) are planning, it's going to happen in the south, perhaps targeting Melitopol for liberation, and even Berdiansk, if there is a similar Kharkiv/Izium/Lyman collapse of the Russian lines.
Based on the Kherson model, shaping ops appear to be underway:
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-65414836
Reference:
https://www.defense.gov/News/News-Stories/Article/Article/3375218/dod-officials-detail-efforts-to-support-ukraine-defend-nato/
-
I wonder what is Putin thinking right now:
https://twitter.com/drigli_/status/1652167481400651776
Has AOC, Biden, and the rest of the dims and envirowhacko community commented about Ukraine's environmental crime? ./s. :cool:
-
I wonder what is Putin thinking right now:
https://twitter.com/drigli_/status/1652167481400651776
@kevindavis007
"MUST cover my ass by finding someone else to blame!"
The reality is,he is nothing more than a politician. Yeah,he "earned his spurs" in a VERY corrupt and paranoid system that rewards it's trolls by letting them lord it over lesser trolls,but he is still nothing more than a political opportunist.
You think some of the creatures that WE have for politicians are corrupt,consider that Putin is the CMMFIC of Communism outside of China,and he also OWNS the largest private yacht in the world.
In a state where private property is prohibited. Nobody even owns the house or apartment they live in.
Yet he manages to get away with it by using the power of the state to intimidate or even kill anyone that gets in his way.
Kinda makes the weasels that WE call "politicians" look like Santa by comparison,doesn't it?
-
This strike suggests that whatever the Ukrainains (and NATO/US) are planning, it's going to happen in the south, perhaps targeting Melitopol for liberation, and even Berdiansk, if there is a similar Kharkiv/Izium/Lyman collapse of the Russian lines.
Based on the Kherson model, shaping ops appear to be underway:
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-65414836 (https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-65414836)
Reference:
https://www.defense.gov/News/News-Stories/Article/Article/3375218/dod-officials-detail-efforts-to-support-ukraine-defend-nato/ (https://www.defense.gov/News/News-Stories/Article/Article/3375218/dod-officials-detail-efforts-to-support-ukraine-defend-nato/)
Well, the fact that they took out a Russian oil refinery is going to be a major setback for Russia. I know they have resources elsewhere, but this was closer to the front. I believe they are softening up the Russia front for an attack on that region and may go for Crimera.
-
@kevindavis007
"MUST cover my ass by finding someone else to blame!"
The reality is,he is nothing more than a politician. Yeah,he "earned his spurs" in a VERY corrupt and paranoid system that rewards it's trolls by letting them lord it over lesser trolls,but he is still nothing more than a political opportunist.
You think some of the creatures that WE have for politicians are corrupt,consider that Putin is the CMMFIC of Communism outside of China,and he also OWNS the largest private yacht in the world.
In a state where private property is prohibited. Nobody even owns the house or apartment they live in.
Yet he manages to get away with it by using the power of the state to intimidate or even kill anyone that gets in his way.
Kinda makes the weasels that WE call "politicians" look like Santa by comparison,doesn't it?
@sneakypete
He does, if I was a military advisor, to Putin, I would avoid being near windows at all costs and have someone taste their food.
-
Has AOC, Biden, and the rest of the dims and envirowhacko community commented about Ukraine's environmental crime? ./s. :cool:
In this case, it's worth it.
-
On the other hand, depending on timing, the attacks in Sevastopol may be a feint, an attempt to draw Russian attention one way while the preparations for an actual attack take place elsewhere.
Who knows?
-
On the other hand, depending on timing, the attacks in Sevastopol may be a feint, an attempt to draw Russian attention one way while the preparations for an actual attack take place elsewhere.
Who knows?
As I said, if I was a military advisor to Putin, I would stay away from the windows and get a food taster.
-
Hopefully, this is true:
Russia's Wagner group could soon cease to exist, founder tells blogger
https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/russias-wagner-group-could-soon-cease-exist-founder-tells-blogger-2023-04-28/
-
This strike suggests that whatever the Ukrainains (and NATO/US) are planning, it's going to happen in the south, perhaps targeting Melitopol for liberation, and even Berdiansk, if there is a similar Kharkiv/Izium/Lyman collapse of the Russian lines.
Based on the Kherson model, shaping ops appear to be underway:
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-65414836
Reference:
https://www.defense.gov/News/News-Stories/Article/Article/3375218/dod-officials-detail-efforts-to-support-ukraine-defend-nato/
That certainly would seem to make sense. I don't buy the idea that it is a strategic feint, as if the counterattack is going to come in the east rather than the south, simply because the Russians have their own satellites that can tell generally where Ukrainian units are.
The goal of striking towards Melitopol or Berdyansk would be to sever the land bridge between Ukraine and Russia. That would leave the Kerch bridge As the only route for bringing supplies to Crimea by land, and that could be taken out again as well.
So that would leave all the Russia forces in the west dependent upon whatever supplies are already present in Crimea, or could be brought in by sea. Destroying fuel stockpiles in Crimea obviously raises the specter of rushing units in the West suffering fuel shortages.
-
https://www.reddit.com/r/UkraineWarVideoReport/comments/131u8y0/the_russian_army_carried_out_a_missile_strike_on/
-
The body of another child was pulled out from under the rubble in Uman, reported by the Ministry of Internal Affairs. A total of 23 dead.
(https://preview.redd.it/the-body-of-another-child-was-pulled-out-from-under-the-v0-4ziyhha30pwa1.jpg?width=1080&crop=smart&auto=webp&v=enabled&s=e40954654928b97b784e42133b63af5c41ac93ba)
-
У російській Пермі горів військовий завод.
ЗА КОРДОНОМ | 29.04.23 22:21
29 квітня, у російській Пермі загорілось оборонне підприємство "Мотовіліхінські заводи". . .
(https://storage1.censor.net/images/d/d/6/f/dd6f413fa1ef0ea228ced926acb96994/780x731.jpg)
https://censor.net/ua/photo_news/3415304/u_rosiyiskiyi_permi_goriv_viyiskovyyi_zavod_foto
In Russian Perm, a military plant was burning.
April 29, in the Russian Perm, the defense enterprise "Motovilikhinsky plants" caught fire.
According to Censor.NET, with reference to Espresso TV, this is reported by local telegram channels.
The fire occurred around 20:00 local time. Upon arrival of the Russian Emergencies Ministry, it became known that the transformer substation caught fire.
Currently, the fire in Perm has been extinguished. The fire was extinguished by 37 Russian firefighters, 10 pieces of equipment. Source: https://censor.net/ua/p3415304
This same plant had a bad fire about a year ago.
-
Perm is like, way out in the middle of nowhere, about twice as far from Ukraine as Moscow. Is this even war related? Just curious.
-
Perm is like, way out in the middle of nowhere, about twice as far from Ukraine as Moscow. Is this even war related? Just curious.
Any event like this hampers Russia's ability to execute its war on Ukraine. The cause could be domestic sabotage, carelessness and fatigue brought on by increased quotas, or simply incompetence in general. Either way, it is a setback for Putin.
-
Any event like this hampers Russia's ability to execute its war on Ukraine. The cause could be domestic sabotage, carelessness and fatigue brought on by increased quotas, or simply incompetence in general. Either way, it is a setback for Putin.
We are seeing similar events in this country almost daily, and 99.9% of the population can't see past what is statistically implausible.
-
We are seeing similar events in this country almost daily, and 99.9% of the population can't see past what is statistically implausible.
@catfish1957
The sad,sad truth is that we in the west know more about what is going on in Russia and Ukraine than the typical Russian does. They don't get to see the burning Soviet tanks and oil tank explosions on tv that we do,and they don't even get to hear about it unless someone in their family was injured in Ukraine and returned home to heal.
Kinda like we get VERY little positive info about the Republican Party in the American media,but worse.
Worse for the time-being,anyhow.
-
Fire Breaks Out In Russia’s Only MLRS Factory
Lawrence Person's BattleSwarm Blog
https://www.battleswarmblog.com/?p=54798 (https://www.battleswarmblog.com/?p=54798)
I didn’t mean to do two big “Russian fire” stories back-to-back, but this seems like potentially big news:
A fire broke out on the territory of the Motovilikha Plant defence holding in Perm, Russia.
Source: Kommersant citing Ministry of Emergency Situations of the Russian Federation and Motovilikha Plant
Details: Photos of the fire were posted by Perm’s social networks. Smoke from the territory of the plant is visible from different locations in Perm.
The Ministry of Emergency Situations of the Russian Federation stated that a report of a fire on the territory of PJSC Motovilikha Plants was received at 20:08. After arriving on location, it was established that the transformer booth was on fire. 37 people and 10 pieces of equipment from the Ministry of Emergency Situations of Russia were involved in extinguishing the fire. The previous area of the fire was 10 square metres.
Quote: “Today, a fire broke out at the transformer substation on the territory of the enterprise. The fire was promptly contained by the specialists of the Ministry of Emergency Situations who went to the spot,” the press office of the PJSC Motovilikha Plant reported.
Frankly, those giant plums of smoke don’t look particularly contained.
The transformer station belongs to the VK-2 boiler house (MZ subsidiary – Teplo-M LLC). According to the media sources, the fire did not affect the power supply of the boiler house.
As Kommersant writes, PJSC Motovilikha Plant, Russia’s only manufacturer of multiple rocket launcher systems, has been in the tender process since 2018. At the time of its introduction, the company’s registered debt amounted to about RUB 17.6 billion. The production activity of mashholding is concentrated in its subsidiary structures: Special Design Bureau CJSC is engaged in the manufacture of weapons, and the rest of the production is carried out by Motovilikha – civil engineering, LLC. The PJSC property complex is put up for auction.
Could be shoddy Russian safety protocols. Could be sabotage from anti-war Russian partisans. Could be Ukraine action, though Perm is some 2,300 kilometers from Kiev. Could just be Uncle Ivan torching the place for some Goodfellas-esque debt erasure.
More at link.
-
"Uncle Ivan torching the place for some Goodfellas-esque debt erasure"
:silly:
I gotta remember that one.
-
Some kind of Russian counterstrike going on in the Dnipropetrovsk Region tonight, with massive primary and secondary explosions:
https://twitter.com/sentdefender/status/1652762412867616770
https://twitter.com/OAlexanderDK/status/1652770175756763137
https://rumble.com/v2lbowq-huge-explosion-in-pavlohrad-ukraine.html
https://twitter.com/IntelCrab/status/1652775611746623488
-
Russian soldiers are being thrown into holes in the ground and held captive as punishment for refusing to obey orders during Ukraine war
By STEWART CARR and RACHAEL BUNYAN
30 April 2023
Russian commanders are understood to be imprisoning their own troops in grilled holes underground as the struggling invasion resorts to extreme methods of discipline in Ukraine. Amid reports of drunkenness, soldiers are said to have been thrown in what has been called 'Zindans' - holes in the ground covered up with metal grilles. It is a stark shift in policy from the 'relatively light touch' which military commanders used in the early days of the war, even allowing dissenting troops to quietly go home if they wished.
* * *
Source: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/galleries/article-12031517/Russian-soldiers-allegedly-thrown-holes-punishment.html
-
https://twitter.com/RocketArchive/status/1652778856288337920
-
There were rumors a nuke was dropped last night, I'm guessing this explosion (conventional) is what they were referring to?
-
There were rumors a nuke was dropped last night, I'm guessing this explosion (conventional) is what they were referring to?
That was almost certainly it.
-
Russian soldiers are being thrown into holes in the ground and held captive as punishment for refusing to obey orders during Ukraine war
By STEWART CARR and RACHAEL BUNYAN
30 April 2023
***
Since Autumn 2022, there have been multiple increasingly draconian initiatives to improve discipline in the force, especially since Chief of the General Staff Valery Gerasimov assumed command of the operation in January 2023.'
More here: https://www.businessinsider.com/russian-commanders-troops-holes-ground-punishment-uk-intel-2023-4
-
***
Since Autumn 2022, there have been multiple increasingly draconian initiatives to improve discipline in the force, especially since Chief of the General Staff Valery Gerasimov assumed command of the operation in January 2023.'
More here: https://www.businessinsider.com/russian-commanders-troops-holes-ground-punishment-uk-intel-2023-4
@Hoodat
"Morale????
We don't need no sticking morale,we have a dictatorship and they WILL BOW TO OUR AUTHOR-ATAY!"
Well,at least until you push them too far and the "New Revolution" starts.
Just wait until enough crippled vets get back to their familes and start telling stories about how their injuries were caused by their own leadership.
Yeah,I know that there is no living Soviet citizen that has ever been anything other than a slave to the state,but it is also true that the Soviet citizen of today is MUCH more informed of life outside the USSR today than ever,and they ain't buying the lies their parents and grandparents accepted as facts.
When you put a pot of water over a stove that is lit,sooner or later the hot water is going to boil over.
It's just a matter of time before this happens in Russia,and the more Russia pushes their newest war,the sooner it will happen.
-
Stalin must be rolling over in his tomb ... Stalin would motivate Russians the options of being killed by the enemy or being killed by the Kommissars.
////00000////
Cannon fodder is useless in a pit. They need to be running towards the enemy to deplete the enemy's ammunition.
(https://i.imgflip.com/7g0vnp.jpg)
-
May 1, 2023
US Marine veteran volunteering in Ukraine killed outside of Bakhmut
His mother said he was killed on an access road leading into Bakhmut called the "Road of Life."
Joshua Young
The Post Millennial
26-year-old Cooper "Harris" Andrews, a veteran of the US Marines from Cleveland, Ohio, was killed on April 19 while fighting in Ukraine.
Fox News reports that the State Department said in a statement, "We can confirm the death of a US citizen in Ukraine. We are in touch with the family and providing all possible consular assistance. Out of respect for the family’s privacy during this difficult time, we have nothing further to add."
A US official told Fox that Andrews was in active service for the Marines from January 20, 2017, to January 16, 2022, and had been stationed in North Carolina....
The outlet reports Andrews also worked for the Ukrainian Foreign Legion, a group of foreign fighters aiding the Ukrainian military. His body has not been recovered from the country. ... Rest of story (https://thepostmillennial.com/us-marine-volunteering-in-ukraine-killed-outside-of-bakhmut?utm_campaign=64466)
(https://mr.cdn.ignitecdn.com/client_assets/thepostmillennial_com/media/picture/6450/28db/ccfc/9a0e/05a1/debc/original_MarineUkraine.jpg?1682974939)
-
May 1, 2023
US Marine veteran volunteering in Ukraine killed outside of Bakhmut
His mother said he was killed on an access road leading into Bakhmut called the "Road of Life."
Semper fi.
-
May 1, 2023
US Marine veteran volunteering in Ukraine killed outside of Bakhmut
His mother said he was killed on an access road leading into Bakhmut called the "Road of Life."
Joshua Young
The Post Millennial
26-year-old Cooper "Harris" Andrews, a veteran of the US Marines from Cleveland, Ohio, was killed on April 19 while fighting in Ukraine.
Fox News reports that the State Department said in a statement, "We can confirm the death of a US citizen in Ukraine. We are in touch with the family and providing all possible consular assistance. Out of respect for the family’s privacy during this difficult time, we have nothing further to add."
A US official told Fox that Andrews was in active service for the Marines from January 20, 2017, to January 16, 2022, and had been stationed in North Carolina....
The outlet reports Andrews also worked for the Ukrainian Foreign Legion, a group of foreign fighters aiding the Ukrainian military. His body has not been recovered from the country. ... Rest of story (https://thepostmillennial.com/us-marine-volunteering-in-ukraine-killed-outside-of-bakhmut?utm_campaign=64466)
(https://mr.cdn.ignitecdn.com/client_assets/thepostmillennial_com/media/picture/6450/28db/ccfc/9a0e/05a1/debc/original_MarineUkraine.jpg?1682974939)
@mountaineer
A crying damn shame.
I wonder if his death had anything to do with language difficulties? I suspect there are VERY few Americans who speak and understand Ukrainian,and being able to understand what the people around you are saying and the orders being given to you be someone in a language foreign to you is a VERY important survival tool.
Still,I salute this brave Marine for his courage as well as for his desire to help right a wrong,even if it put his life at risk. He is a hero in my mind.
-
BTW,if anyone finds out where and when his funeral will be,I would be grateful if you would start a thread to announce it. I would like to attend if it is close enough to me to be possible,and I can't be the only one.
Even if I can't personally attend the funeral,I hope there are enough "outsiders" there to help his family understand that we all appreciate his sacrifice,as well as the sacrifices they will now have to make.
This young man can NOT be allowed to go in the ground unnoticed and without the show of respect he deserves.
-
BTW,if anyone finds out where and when his funeral will be,I would be grateful if you would start a thread to announce it. I would like to attend if it is close enough to me to be possible,and I can't be the only one.
Even if I can't personally attend the funeral,I hope there are enough "outsiders" there to help his family understand that we all appreciate his sacrifice,as well as the sacrifices they will now have to make.
This young man can NOT be allowed to go in the ground unnoticed and without the show of respect he deserves.
The article states that his body has not been recovered; hopefully they'll be able to bring him home.
-
The article states that his body has not been recovered; hopefully they'll be able to bring him home.
@libertybele
Even if they can't find the body,there will be a formal funeral held for him,and the burial of an empty casket. The formal funeral is to try to help the family of the deceased to start healing. If/when his remains are found and returned to his family,they can have the casket opened,his remains put in it,and then put back into the ground.
The main focus now should be in honoring him and helping his family to try to heal and recover. I think that if a lot of strangers show up at the funeral ceremony and act respectful,that will help his family to heal a little because they will know that their son didn't die for no reason.
-
The main focus now should be in honoring him and helping his family to try to heal and recover. I think that if a lot of strangers show up at the funeral ceremony and act respectful,that will help his family to heal a little because they will know that their son didn't die for no reason.
Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends.
John 15:13
-
@libertybele
Even if they can't find the body,there will be a formal funeral held for him,and the burial of an empty casket. The formal funeral is to try to help the family of the deceased to start healing. If/when his remains are found and returned to his family,they can have the casket opened,his remains put in it,and then put back into the ground.
The main focus now should be in honoring him and helping his family to try to heal and recover. I think that if a lot of strangers show up at the funeral ceremony and act respectful,that will help his family to heal a little because they will know that their son didn't die for no reason.
:patriot:
-
Explosions derail freight train and blow up power line in Russia
18h ago 05:47
Explosions have derailed a freight train and blown up a power line in Russia, local governors said.
Dark grey smoke can be seen billowing from a fire spreading through several carriages laying on their side in footage on social media.
Russian authorities say the Bryansk region - which borders both Ukraine and Belarus - has been attacked multiple times, with the railway operator confirming the derailment at 10.17am local time. . .
https://news.sky.com/story/ukraine-russia-war-latest-kremlin-avoiding-overly-repressive-measures-out-of-fear-for-putins-future-12541713?postid=5852656#liveblog-body
-
Russian Offensive Campaign Assessment, May 1, 2023
Riley Bailey, Kateryna Stepanenko, Karolina Hird, Grace Mappes, Layne Philipson, and Frederick W. Kagan | May 1, 2023, 5pm ET
Russian forces conducted another large-scale missile strike against Ukraine on the night of April 30 to May 1. Ukrainian sources reported that nine Tu-95 and two Tu-160 strategic bombers took off from Murmansk Oblast and near the Caspian Sea and launched 18 Kh-101/555 cruise missiles at Ukraine. Ukrainian air defense shot down 15 of the missiles. Geolocated footage from Pavlohrad, Dnipropetrovsk Oblast, shows that one of the missiles struck the Pavlohrad Chemical Plant and caused a massive explosion on impact. The Russian Ministry of Defense (MoD) claimed on May 1 that the strikes targeted Ukrainian military-industrial objects and successfully disrupted the production of military resources. The Russian MoD has recently shifted its rhetoric and is actively describing strike campaigns, likely in an effort to portray a proactive approach to growing concerns in the Russian information space regarding a Ukrainian counteroffensive. Russian milbloggers claimed that the missiles struck Ukrainian air defense systems and a transportation hub in Pavlohrad. Ukrainian Air Force Spokesperson Yuriy Ihnat noted that the fact that both the Tu-95 and Tu-160s carried far fewer missiles than their maximum load suggests that Russia continues to struggle with adequate production of such munitions. . .
https://www.understandingwar.org/backgrounder/russian-offensive-campaign-assessment-may-1-2023
-
@mountaineer
A crying damn shame.
I wonder if his death had anything to do with language difficulties? I suspect there are VERY few Americans who speak and understand Ukrainian,and being able to understand what the people around you are saying and the orders being given to you be someone in a language foreign to you is a VERY important survival tool.
Still,I salute this brave Marine for his courage as well as for his desire to help right a wrong,even if it put his life at risk. He is a hero in my mind.
YEP! :patriot:
-
Explosions derail freight train and blow up power line in Russia
18h ago 05:47
Explosions have derailed a freight train and blown up a power line in Russia, local governors said.
Dark grey smoke can be seen billowing from a fire spreading through several carriages laying on their side in footage on social media.
Russian authorities say the Bryansk region - which borders both Ukraine and Belarus - has been attacked multiple times, with the railway operator confirming the derailment at 10.17am local time. . .
https://news.sky.com/story/ukraine-russia-war-latest-kremlin-avoiding-overly-repressive-measures-out-of-fear-for-putins-future-12541713?postid=5852656#liveblog-body (https://news.sky.com/story/ukraine-russia-war-latest-kremlin-avoiding-overly-repressive-measures-out-of-fear-for-putins-future-12541713?postid=5852656#liveblog-body)
I think there is some sabotage going on in Russia.
-
Conflict deepens Russia's demographic crisis
https://news.yahoo.com/conflict-deepens-russias-demographic-crisis-092624604.html
-
I think there is some sabotage going on in Russia.
Actually more over here in this country, if you'd watch domestic news.
-
May 1, 2023 3:15pm EDT
US says 20,000 Russians killed in Ukraine war since December
The White House estimates that since December Russia has suffered 100,000 casualties
Associated Press
The White House said Monday it now estimates that just since December Russia has suffered 100,000 casualties, including 20,000 killed, as Ukraine has rebuffed a heavy-assault by Russian forces in eastern Ukraine.
In what has become a grinding war of attrition, the fiercest battles have been in the eastern Donetsk region, where Russia is struggling to encircle the city of Bakhmut in the face of dogged Ukrainian defense.
White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said the U.S. estimate is based on newly declassified American intelligence. He did not detail how the intelligence community derived the number.
more
https://www.foxnews.com/world/us-says-20000-russians-killed-ukraine-war-since-december
-
I live in Cleveland. I'll see if I can find out, and I'll go. Former Marine myself, and I've been to a bunch of local funerals for Marines killed overseas.
ETA: Can't find anything. I looked up his mom's name and know where she lives, but couldn't find anything about a funeral. Where she lives is a comparatively poor area of the city.
I'll keep looking to see if anything pops up. Local media only seems to have the national stories.
-
Not sure if this is true or not:
https://twitter.com/igorsushko/status/1653432094046195712
-
Robert F. Kennedy Jr
@RobertKennedyJr
·
11h
In another reckless escalation, Britain has confirmed delivery of depleted uranium munitions to Ukraine. DU munitions should be banned. They partially vaporize on impact, poisoning the environment with uranium dust that causes cancer and horrific birth defects. #Kennedy24
-
Russia accuses Ukraine of attempted drone attack on Kremlin
Alleged assault in Moscow seen as an attempt on Putin’s life, state media reports.
3 May 2023
Russia has accused Ukraine of attempting an overnight drone attack on the Kremlin with the aim of killing President Vladimir Putin.
The allegation was made on Wednesday by the Russian government and reported by several state news agencies.
Putin was not injured and there was no material damage to the Kremlin buildings, Russian officials said.
The Kremlin warned that Russia reserves the right to retaliate and that it viewed the alleged assault as a “terrorist” attack.
“The Kremlin has assessed these actions as a planned terrorist act and an assassination attempt on the president on the eve of Victory Day, the May 9 Parade,” state news outlet RIA reported, adding Putin had not changed his schedule and was working as usual.
The president had not been in the Kremlin at the time, and was working on Wednesday at his Novo Ogaryovo residence outside Moscow, according to RIA.
* * *
Source: https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/5/3/russia-accuses-ukraine-of-attempted-drone-attack-on-kremlin
-
Russia accuses Ukraine of attempted drone attack on Kremlin
Alleged assault in Moscow seen as an attempt on Putin’s life, state media reports.
3 May 2023
Russia has accused Ukraine of attempting an overnight drone attack on the Kremlin with the aim of killing President Vladimir Putin.
The allegation was made on Wednesday by the Russian government and reported by several state news agencies.
Putin was not injured and there was no material damage to the Kremlin buildings, Russian officials said.
The Kremlin warned that Russia reserves the right to retaliate and that it viewed the alleged assault as a “terrorist” attack.
“The Kremlin has assessed these actions as a planned terrorist act and an assassination attempt on the president on the eve of Victory Day, the May 9 Parade,” state news outlet RIA reported, adding Putin had not changed his schedule and was working as usual.
The president had not been in the Kremlin at the time, and was working on Wednesday at his Novo Ogaryovo residence outside Moscow, according to RIA.
* * *
Source: https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/5/3/russia-accuses-ukraine-of-attempted-drone-attack-on-kremlin (https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/5/3/russia-accuses-ukraine-of-attempted-drone-attack-on-kremlin)
Is this the same guy that has bombing cities in Ukraine? I think that Ukraine should bomb Lenins to tomb.
-
Video:
https://rumble.com/v2lsw9a-eyewitnesses-footage-of-the-attack-on-the-kremlin.html
Flashback to March 2022:
Assassination plot against Zelensky foiled and unit sent to kill him ‘destroyed,’ Ukraine says
https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2022/03/02/zelensky-russia-ukraine-assassination-attempt-foiled/
A recent alleged assassination plot against Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky was foiled over the weekend and the Chechen servicemen sent from Russia were “destroyed,” a Ukrainian security leader said Tuesday.
-
Oopsie!!!
Nord Stream: Report puts Russian navy ships near pipeline blast site
By Gordon Corera
Security correspondent, BBC News
May 3, 2023
Russian ships able to perform underwater operations were present near to where explosions later took place on the Nord Stream pipelines, according to an investigative documentary.
The vessels were reportedly located using intercepted Russian navy communications.
Underwater explosions last September knocked the two Nord Stream pipelines - built to carry gas from Russia to Europe - out of action.
The cause of the blasts is unclear.
Formal investigations are still taking place in countries close to the blast site. So far, they have said only that they believe the explosions were the result of sabotage rather than any kind of accident.
But one possible lead pointing towards Russian involvement has emerged from details of suspicious Russian ship movements in the run-up to the Nord Stream blasts, reported by four Nordic public broadcasters and an accompanying English-language podcast Cold Front.
And Denmark's Defence Command has confirmed a separate report that a Danish patrol boat called Nymfen took 26 photos of a Russian submarine-rescue ship in the area days before the explosions. The Information website said the SS-750 had sailed from Kaliningrad and was close to Bornholm island on 22 September 2022.
* * *
Source: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-65461401
-
Oopsie!!!
Nord Stream: Report puts Russian navy ships near pipeline blast site
By Gordon Corera
Security correspondent, BBC News
May 3, 2023
Russian ships able to perform underwater operations were present near to where explosions later took place on the Nord Stream pipelines, according to an investigative documentary.
The vessels were reportedly located using intercepted Russian navy communications.
Underwater explosions last September knocked the two Nord Stream pipelines - built to carry gas from Russia to Europe - out of action.
The cause of the blasts is unclear.
Formal investigations are still taking place in countries close to the blast site. So far, they have said only that they believe the explosions were the result of sabotage rather than any kind of accident.
But one possible lead pointing towards Russian involvement has emerged from details of suspicious Russian ship movements in the run-up to the Nord Stream blasts, reported by four Nordic public broadcasters and an accompanying English-language podcast Cold Front.
And Denmark's Defence Command has confirmed a separate report that a Danish patrol boat called Nymfen took 26 photos of a Russian submarine-rescue ship in the area days before the explosions. The Information website said the SS-750 had sailed from Kaliningrad and was close to Bornholm island on 22 September 2022.
* * *
Source: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-65461401 (https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-65461401)
So the great Seymour was wrong?
-
So the great Seymour was wrong?
More and more, it would appear that that is the case.
-
Robert F. Kennedy Jr
@RobertKennedyJr
·
11h
In another reckless escalation, Britain has confirmed delivery of depleted uranium munitions to Ukraine. DU munitions should be banned. They partially vaporize on impact, poisoning the environment with uranium dust that causes cancer and horrific birth defects. #Kennedy24
U-238 has a half-life of 4 billion years. Not a cancer risk.
-
Robert F. Kennedy Jr
@RobertKennedyJr
·
11h
In another reckless escalation, Britain has confirmed delivery of depleted uranium munitions to Ukraine. DU munitions should be banned. They partially vaporize on impact, poisoning the environment with uranium dust that causes cancer and horrific birth defects. #Kennedy24
Depleted uranium is actually less radioactive than naturally occurring uranium because it has been depleted of its natural U235 content (the fissile isotope of uranium).
Wiki article: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Depleted_uranium
The main risk from depleted uranium projectiles is not radiation, but toxicity, since uranium is a toxic substance.
-
Depleted uranium is actually less radioactive than naturally occurring uranium because it has been depleted of its natural U235 content (the fissile isotope of uranium).
Wiki article: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Depleted_uranium
The main risk from depleted uranium projectiles is not radiation, but toxicity, since uranium is a toxic substance.
So what he says is more or less accurate still? He doesn't mention radioactivity does he?
-
So what he says is more or less accurate still? He doesn't mention radioactivity does he?
No, it isn't. Poisoning doesn't generally result in cancer or birth defects, although it can sometimes.
TBPH, I'm rather astounded that anyone would take this git seriously on anything other than, perhaps, his family tree.
-
No, it isn't. Poisoning doesn't generally result in cancer or birth defects, although it can sometimes.
TBPH, I'm rather astounded that anyone would take this git seriously on anything other than, perhaps, his family tree.
I was genuinely wondering. I had heard things on DU, wasn't sure how right/wrong they are.
The guy is a useful monkey wrench thrown into the media's message, he looks like a Kennedy, he's the spitting image frankly. I don't necessarily agree with his anti-vaccine stuff, although I myself am vaxxed.
-
I was genuinely wondering. I had heard things on DU, wasn't sure how right/wrong they are.
The guy is a useful monkey wrench thrown into the media's message, he looks like a Kennedy, he's the spitting image frankly. I don't necessarily agree with his anti-vaccine stuff, although I myself am vaxxed.
The stuff is not like snow; it's not innocuous, but neither is it the civilization-ending disaster people like Mr. Kennedy would like to make it out to be.
-
More and more, it would appear that that is the case.
Somehow I'm not surprised.
-
Looks like Putin is trying to find an excuse to nuke Kyiv. I hope I'm wrong.
https://twitter.com/spectatorindex/status/1654060439704317954
-
Looks like Putin is trying to find an excuse to nuke Kyiv. I hope I'm wrong.
https://twitter.com/spectatorindex/status/1654060439704317954
@kevindavis007
Of course they are going to claim that. It is MUCH less embarrassing to admit they are getting their asses handed to them by a superpower than it is a tiny nation they thought they could conquer in a week.
-
Looks like Putin is trying to find an excuse to nuke Kyiv. I hope I'm wrong.
https://twitter.com/spectatorindex/status/1654060439704317954
I suspect it's more an attempt to shore up flagging Russian support for the war by finding a new bogeyman - after all, Ukrainians are fellow slavs, whereas the U.S. is not.
-
Nah, they're just embarrassed that a drone got through the Moscow air defenses and over the Kremlin, and are blaming the U.S. because those "khokol" Ukrainians couldn't possibly carry out such a feat on their own. (And maybe they didn't).
-
Nah, they're just embarrassed that a drone got through the Moscow air defenses and over the Kremlin, and are blaming the U.S. because those "khokol" Ukrainians couldn't possibly carry out such a feat on their own. (And maybe they didn't).
I saw the video and it was a nothing burger.
-
I saw the video and it was a nothing burger.
Kinda like when Mathias Rust landed his flying club's 4-seat Cessna in Red Square after flying all the way from Helsinki, Finland.
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/air-space-magazine/the-notorious-flight-of-mathias-rust-7101888/
-
Kinda like when Mathias Rust landed his flying club's 4-seat Cessna in Red Square after flying all the way from Helsinki, Finland.
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/air-space-magazine/the-notorious-flight-of-mathias-rust-7101888/ (https://www.smithsonianmag.com/air-space-magazine/the-notorious-flight-of-mathias-rust-7101888/)
True
-
Nato fears Russia may have laid mines on critical European undersea infrastructure points
NATO's intelligence chief warned Russia may seek to sabotage western nations
Explosions devastated the Nord Stream gas pipelines in September last year
It comes as Russia today accused Ukraine of trying to assassinate Vladimir Putin
By ELIZABETH HAIGH
3 May 2023
Russia may have already mined Europe's critical underwater infrastructure, NATO representatives fear, as its intelligence chief warned on Wednesday Russia may sabotage them to punish Western nations for supporting Ukraine.
The alliance is seeking to boost efforts to protect undersea pipes and cables following attacks on the Nord Stream pipeline in September last year, which saw three of the four main lines which transports gas from Russia to Germany damaged.
Threats to undersea cables and pipelines have become a focus of public attention since the as-yet unexplained explosions crippled the Nord Stream pipelines in the Baltic Sea.
* * *
Source: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-12043535/Nato-fears-Russia-laid-mines-critical-European-undersea-infrastructure-points.html
-
Truth about the Ukraine invasion smuggled into Russia inside popular computer game
The Finnish newspaper created a devastated and war-torn Slavic city 'Vonya'
Russians have been prohibited from accessing media content produced abroad
READ MORE: Putin seen in the Kremlin for the first time since drone attack
By CHLOE LOUISE
4 May 2023
The truth about the Ukraine invasion was smuggled into Russia inside a very popular computer game.
Finland's largest daily newspaper, Helsingin Sanomat, fought against the county's intense media restrictions by hiding news about the war in Ukraine inside the shooter game Counter-Strike.
The publication's editor-in-chief, Antero Mukka, said the paper had to get creative in trying to breach the restrictions.
This was felt necessary after Russia cracked down on independent journalism and banned free reporting.
Since Moscow set their 'special military operation' in motion, Russians have been prohibited from accessing media content produced abroad.
* * *
Source: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-12049041/Truth-Ukraine-invasion-smuggled-Russia-inside-popular-computer-game.html
-
Video shows drone shot down above Kyiv in fourth attack against Ukrainian capital
By Ronny Reyes
May 4, 2023
At least one drone was shot down above the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv on Thursday as officials condemned Russia’s fourth attack on the city this week.
Shocking video from the streets near the city’s Independence Square show a drone flying over the capital as military personnel fired anti-aircraft ammunition during a raid that lasted about 20 minutes.
Spectators appeared to look on in concern and confusion until the drone was shot down, erupting into a fiery blaze that plummeted down toward the capital.
The violent sight was immediately followed by screams from the people on the streets, echoed by sounds of explosions from the drone before it crashed.
Serhiy Popko, the city military administration head, told Al Jazeera the drone was taken down by the air defense force, with the aftermath causing a fire in the city’s Solom’yans’kyi district.
* * *
Source: https://nypost.com/2023/05/04/drone-shot-down-above-kyiv-in-fourth-attack-against-ukrainian-capital/
-
Prizgozhin melting down. It sure doesn't smell like victory for Wagner and the Russians...
https://twitter.com/i/status/1654266075968684032
-
Prizgozhin melting down. It sure doesn't smell like victory for Wagner and the Russians...
https://twitter.com/i/status/1654266075968684032
I think this version will render in the forum itelf:
https://twitter.com/NatalkaKyiv/status/1654266075968684032
-
That's not a guy who believes his side is winning.
-
That's not a guy who believes his side is winning.
:thumbsup:
-
Check this out:
https://twitter.com/Roadster1978/status/1654512707469443072
-
Check this out:
https://twitter.com/Roadster1978/status/1654512707469443072
Reminds of the Hot Shots throwing bullets scene:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9aqopEQr7wI
-
Fired ‘Butcher of Mariupol’ Russian general joins Wagner mercenaries
By Snejana Farberov
May 5, 2023
A notoriously ruthless Russian general dubbed “the Butcher of Mariupol” has reportedly joined the Wagner mercenary group as a deputy commander, just days after being axed from a high-powered military post, according to a blogger.
Russian pro-war correspondent Alexander Simonov shared videos on his Telegram channel that purport to show Col. Gen. Mikhail Mizintsev — who until recently served as deputy defense minister for logistics — visiting a training camp and touring Russian positions in the city of Bakhmut in eastern Ukraine.
In the videos, the 60-year-old commander, whose brutal tactics in Ukraine have earned him the moniker “the Butcher of Mariupol,” is seen wearing fatigues bearing Wagner Group insignia.
One of the videos shows Mizintsev deep in conversation with a uniformed man believed to be a Wagner fighter discussing combat tactics and analysis of errors after battles.
News of Mizintsev’s new gig with the Wagner Group coincides with the release of two video statements by the paramilitary organization’s founder, Yevgeny Prigozhin, who vowed to withdraw his fighters from Bakhmut on May 10 after more than eight months of bloody fighting.
* * *
Source: https://nypost.com/2023/05/05/fired-butcher-of-mariupol-mizintsev-joins-wagner-group/
-
Russia is cancelling Victory Day celebrations to hide its military losses, and is using alleged Kremlin drone strike as an excuse, experts say
https://www.yahoo.com/news/russia-using-supposed-kremlin-drone-104733282.html
-
Russia is cancelling Victory Day celebrations to hide its military losses, and is using alleged Kremlin drone strike as an excuse, experts say
https://www.yahoo.com/news/russia-using-supposed-kremlin-drone-104733282.html
Cancellation of the May parade is huge! (And there was no drone 'strike' on the Kremlin.)
-
Cancellation of the May parade is huge! (And there was no drone 'strike' on the Kremlin.)
I was thinking if we did the drone strike the Kremlin would have been gone.
-
Russia using phosphorus bombs on Bakhmut
https://twitter.com/MarioNawfal/status/1654845224202502148
-
Ukraine war: 'Mad panic' as Russia evacuates town near Zaporizhzhia plant
Russia has sparked a "mad panic" as it evacuates a town near the contested Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, a Ukrainian official says.
Russia has told people to leave 18 settlements in the Zaporizhzhia region, including Enerhodar near the plant, ahead of Kyiv's anticipated offensive.
The Ukrainian mayor of Melitopol, Ivan Fedorov, said there were five-hour waits as thousands of cars left.
The UN's nuclear watchdog warned a "severe nuclear accident" could occur.
Speaking to the BBC's Newshour programme Rafael Grossi - the director of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) - said the evacuation of residents near the nuclear plant indicated the possibility of heavy fighting between Russian and Ukrainian forces around the plant.
Although the plant's reactors were not producing electricity they were still loaded with nuclear material, he said.
Mr Grossi added that he had had to travel through a minefield when he visited the plant a few weeks ago.
Earlier, the IAEA warned in a statement that situation at the Zaporizhzhia plant was "becoming increasingly unpredictable and potentially dangerous".................
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-65515443
-
Putin's tab of war crimes grows by the day. Blowing up a nuke power plant? He really is getting desperate.
-
Putin's tab of war crimes grows by the day. Blowing up a nuke power plant? He really is getting desperate.
Desperate and perhaps just plain crazed at this point.
-
Ukraine war: 'Mad panic' as Russia evacuates town near Zaporizhzhia plant
Russia has sparked a "mad panic" as it evacuates a town near the contested Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, a Ukrainian official says.
Russia has told people to leave 18 settlements in the Zaporizhzhia region, including Enerhodar near the plant, ahead of Kyiv's anticipated offensive.
The Ukrainian mayor of Melitopol, Ivan Fedorov, said there were five-hour waits as thousands of cars left.
The UN's nuclear watchdog warned a "severe nuclear accident" could occur.
Speaking to the BBC's Newshour programme Rafael Grossi - the director of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) - said the evacuation of residents near the nuclear plant indicated the possibility of heavy fighting between Russian and Ukrainian forces around the plant.
Although the plant's reactors were not producing electricity they were still loaded with nuclear material, he said.
Mr Grossi added that he had had to travel through a minefield when he visited the plant a few weeks ago.
Earlier, the IAEA warned in a statement that situation at the Zaporizhzhia plant was "becoming increasingly unpredictable and potentially dangerous".................
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-65515443
So, the Russians are now going to sabotage an active nuclear power plant, just to poison the surrounding area? It still astounds me that there are some Americans who think the Russians are (a) justified, and (b) doing the right thing.
-
So, the Russians are now going to sabotage an active nuclear power plant, just to poison the surrounding area? It still astounds me that there are some Americans who think the Russians are (a) justified, and (b) doing the right thing.
I think it has to do with the current occupant of the White House sadly. I'm not a fan of Biden, but, there is one area I agree with Biden on this issue.
Having said that I wonder if those Americans who support Russia would be ok if giving up Alaska if they demanded Alaska back.
-
I think it has to do with the current occupant of the White House sadly. I'm not a fan of Biden, but, there is one area I agree with Biden on this issue.
Having said that I wonder if those Americans who support Russia would be ok if giving up Alaska if they demanded Alaska back.
Alaska was bought, fair and square. Hell No!
Besides the untapped resource riches of Alaska would boggle the mind, and the Government is sitting on a lot of that like a dog in the manger.
-
I'm not a fan of Biden, but, there is one area I agree with Biden on this issue.
I don't. Biden wants to extend the length of this war for years. He does not support Ukraine's position (i.e. to drive all Russian troops out of Ukraine). Biden's only objective is to exploit this war for political and financial gain.
-
Meltdown panic grows as Putin evacuates towns near Ukrainian nuclear power plant which his troops have filled with EXPLOSIVES and artillery - with the UN warning of 'severe' threat of a deadly accident
Russia has evacuated 1,680 citizens from the surrounding region ahead of Ukraine's much-anticipated counteroffensive to take back Russian-occupied
UN watchdog has warned that clashes around the plant risk nuclear catastrophe
By CHRIS JEWERS and ROHAN GUPTA
8 May 2023
Fears of a nuclear meltdown are growing in Ukraine as Vladimir Putin evacuates towns near Europe's largest nuclear power plant, amid warnings that his troops have placed explosives and artillery at the site.
Moscow has evacuated 1,680 citizens, including 660 children, from areas around the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant ahead of Kyiv's much-anticipated counteroffensive to drive the Russian president's troops back.
More than a dozen towns and villages have been evacuated near the front line in southern Ukraine, including the town of Enerhodar, which is home to the plant's workers and their families. It was seized in the early days of Putin's invasion.
* * *
Source: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-12058671/Meltdown-panic-grows-Putin-evacuates-towns-near-Ukrainian-nuclear-power-plant.html
-
Meltdown panic grows as Putin evacuates towns near Ukrainian nuclear power plant which his troops have filled with EXPLOSIVES and artillery - with the UN warning of 'severe' threat of a deadly accident
Was there ever more proof that the UN is as worthless as tits on a boar hog (inaction), after 3-4 days of wathching this unfold...... Disband the sham.
-
Was there ever more proof that the UN is as worthless as tits on a boar hog (inaction), after 3-4 days of wathching this unfold...... Disband the sham.
@catfish1957
As cold-blooded and heartless as what I write may SEEM to be,the Soviets setting off that massive explosion and spreading nuclear waste all over the landscape JUST MIGHT BE the final nail in the coffin of Soviet Communism.
Maybe even non-Soviet Communism in some places and minds.
Face it,there is NO practical,military,OR stargetic reason for them to do this. IF they do it,it will only be done BECAUSE they are vindictive bitches that just can't face their failure,and they want to punish hundreds of thousands of innocent victims over a period of years for their own failure.
The ONLY place on the planet I can think of where Putin will be able to hide is in China,and even they might not want him,given the fact that they are pretending to be be turning capitalist and opening new markets.
The down-side for Russia is all the innocent Russians that will suffer from the results over the upcoming years. Putin may well get the blame he would deserve,but we all know that Russian citizens who had nothing to do with any of it will share in that blame because that is just the way these things work.
-
@catfish1957
As cold-blooded and heartless as what I write may SEEM to be,the Soviets setting off that massive explosion and spreading nuclear waste all over the landscape JUST MIGHT BE the final nail in the coffin of Soviet Communism.
Maybe even non-Soviet Communism in some places and minds.
Face it,there is NO practical,military,OR stargetic reason for them to do this. IF they do it,it will only be done BECAUSE they are vindictive bitches that just can't face their failure,and they want to punish hundreds of thousands of innocent victims over a period of years for their own failure.
The ONLY place on the planet I can think of where Putin will be able to hide is in China,and even they might not want him,given the fact that they are pretending to be be turning capitalist and opening new markets.
The down-side for Russia is all the innocent Russians that will suffer from the results over the upcoming years. Putin may well get the blame he would deserve,but we all know that Russian citizens who had nothing to do with any of it will share in that blame because that is just the way these things work.
You are right. This reeks of "If we can't have it, no one will".
Russia could change it's name to 'shit' if this is done, and be a global pariah.
-
As cold-blooded and heartless as what I write may SEEM to be,the Soviets setting off that massive explosion and spreading nuclear waste all over the landscape JUST MIGHT BE the final nail in the coffin of Soviet Communism.
The greatest threat to the world today is not Soviet Communism. The greatest threat is American Communism.
-
The greatest threat to the world today is not Soviet Communism. The greatest threat is American Communism.
That's a thought I never thought I'd have to contemplate.
-
That's a thought I never thought I'd have to contemplate.
Yeah! I was in a similar situation while serving in Vietnam but here I am.
-
This is similar to Iran constantly threatening to use nuclear weapons to "erase" Israel.
If they ever did that, the entire Middle East and the Mediterranean Sea, including Iran itself along with Lebanon, Egypt, Jordan, Syria, etc., would become radioactive for a century. Furthermore, they would kill many times more Muslims than Jews. They would gain nothing and lose everything.
-
This is similar to Iran constantly threatening to use nuclear weapons to "erase" Israel.
If they ever did that, the entire Middle East and the Mediterranean Sea, including Iran itself along with Lebanon, Egypt, Jordan, Syria, etc., would become radioactive for a century. Furthermore, they would kill many times more Muslims than Jews. They would gain nothing and lose everything.
I really wish they could understand that. They demonstrably do not.
-
This is similar to Iran constantly threatening to use nuclear weapons to "erase" Israel.
If they ever did that, the entire Middle East and the Mediterranean Sea, including Iran itself along with Lebanon, Egypt, Jordan, Syria, etc., would become radioactive for a century. Furthermore, they would kill many times more Muslims than Jews. They would gain nothing and lose everything.
There'd be a run on virgins in the afterlife.
Unfortunately, that's how some of them look at it.
:shrug:
-
Unit of Russian troops 'ran as fast as they could' from the frontline during recent battlefield defeat in Ukraine, Wagner boss claims in scathing new attack on Kremlin military chiefs
Yevgeny Prigozhin compared Moscow's forces with a fish rotting from the head
Wagner chief has been in bitter war of words with Kremlin over ammo supplies
By WILL STEWART and CHRISTIAN OLIVER
9 May 2023
Russian troops 'ran as fast as they could' as they fled their positions on the frontline in Ukraine, the head of the Wagner mercenary group has claimed in his latest rant targeting the Kremlin's military chiefs.
Yevgeny Prigozhin - until now a close ally of Vladimir Putin - savaged the tactics of Russia's war commanders and compared Moscow's forces with a fish that was rotting from the head.
Prigozhin threatened to defy Moscow's warning that he and his men would face treason charges if they abandoned their frontline positions as the Russian defence ministry has failed to supply them with ammunition.
* * *
Source: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-12063161/Unit-Russian-troops-ran-fast-frontline-Wagner-boss-claims.html
-
Unit of Russian troops 'ran as fast as they could' from the frontline during recent battlefield defeat in Ukraine, Wagner boss claims in scathing new attack on Kremlin military chiefs
Yevgeny Prigozhin compared Moscow's forces with a fish rotting from the head
Wagner chief has been in bitter war of words with Kremlin over ammo supplies
By WILL STEWART and CHRISTIAN OLIVER
9 May 2023
Russian troops 'ran as fast as they could' as they fled their positions on the frontline in Ukraine, the head of the Wagner mercenary group has claimed in his latest rant targeting the Kremlin's military chiefs.
Yevgeny Prigozhin - until now a close ally of Vladimir Putin - savaged the tactics of Russia's war commanders and compared Moscow's forces with a fish that was rotting from the head.
Prigozhin threatened to defy Moscow's warning that he and his men would face treason charges if they abandoned their frontline positions as the Russian defence ministry has failed to supply them with ammunition.
* * *
Source: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-12063161/Unit-Russian-troops-ran-fast-frontline-Wagner-boss-claims.html (https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-12063161/Unit-Russian-troops-ran-fast-frontline-Wagner-boss-claims.html)
Seriously, how long can the Russian Army or in this case, the Wagner group can keep on going and start to refuse Moscow orders and start a rebellion against Putin.
-
Seriously, how long can the Russian Army or in this case, the Wagner group can keep on going and start to refuse Moscow orders and start a rebellion against Putin.
Good question.
-
It appears targeting generals and colonels early on has had an effect.
-
Seriously, how long can the Russian Army or in this case, the Wagner group can keep on going and start to refuse Moscow orders and start a rebellion against Putin.
There is a theory that Putin is sending potential "troublemakers" (i.e., people who might lead or fight in a revolt against him) to the front in Ukraine to die for the glory of Greater Russia.
-
It appears targeting generals and colonels early on has had an effect.
That's a very good point. Those guys dropping like flies also was a great indicator of the lack of a professional NCO corps, and overall thinness of their officer corps. When generals and full colonels have to be at the tip of the spear to keep things moving, you have a real leadership void in the lower ranks.
The Russian army was very top-heavy not in the sense of rank, but in the sense of the ratio of professional soldiers to the number of one-year conscripts. When they lost so many of their elite troops in the first year, and basically replaced them with draftees, the performance of units dropped dramatically. And they - unlike the Ukrainians -- lack any semblance of an NCO corps to enforce standards and pass on knowledge.
-
(https://img-9gag-fun.9cache.com/photo/aYVPzyw_460s.jpg)
A Billion here, a Billion there ... what the hell? Why not another Billion for Ukraine?
We don't need it here at home. And we have plenty of money to spare.
-
(https://img-9gag-fun.9cache.com/photo/aYVPzyw_460s.jpg)
A Billion here, a Billion there ... what the hell? Why not another Billion for Ukraine?
We don't need it here at home. And we have plenty of money to spare.
I just read that we are sending quite a few bucks to the Palis for DEI. Given the choice of allocation...
-
(https://img-9gag-fun.9cache.com/photo/aBdE9vO_460s.jpg)
-
From 'Victory Day'... to running away! Footage shows humiliating Russian retreat in Bakhmut after Putin was forced to scale back annual military parade due to his army's devastating losses
Russian forces were overwhelmed by Ukraine's 3rd Assault Brigade, reports said
Footage showed them fleeing across an open field as Kyiv's troops advanced
By CHRIS JEWERS and WILL STEWART
PUBLISHED: 03:46 EDT, 10 May 2023
Russian forces made a humiliating retreat on Tuesday in the battle for Bakhmut, according to dramatic footage, on the same day Putin was forced to scale back his annual military parade due to his army's devastating losses.
The video appears to confirm reports that Vladimir Putin's regular forces 'turned and ran', with Ukraine claiming it is gaining ground around the fiercely contested city after months of incremental Russian advances.
Footage shows Russian forces fleeing the frontline around the eastern city after being overwhelmed by Ukraine's 3rd Assault Brigade.
* * *
Source: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-12066903/Footage-shows-humiliating-Russian-retreat-Bakhmut.html
-
(https://img-9gag-fun.9cache.com/photo/aYVPzyw_460s.jpg)
A Billion here, a Billion there ... what the hell? Why not another Billion for Ukraine?
We don't need it here at home. And we have plenty of money to spare.
Consider this a long-term investment to drain Russia (and China, Iran, NK) of their resources. Yes, it is expensive now, but it will be more expensive and far more difficult to face a strong Russia, especially with its alliance with China.
-
From 'Victory Day'... to running away! Footage shows humiliating Russian retreat in Bakhmut after Putin was forced to scale back annual military parade due to his army's devastating losses
Russian forces were overwhelmed by Ukraine's 3rd Assault Brigade, reports said
Footage showed them fleeing across an open field as Kyiv's troops advanced
By CHRIS JEWERS and WILL STEWART
PUBLISHED: 03:46 EDT, 10 May 2023
Russian forces made a humiliating retreat on Tuesday in the battle for Bakhmut, according to dramatic footage, on the same day Putin was forced to scale back his annual military parade due to his army's devastating losses.
The video appears to confirm reports that Vladimir Putin's regular forces 'turned and ran', with Ukraine claiming it is gaining ground around the fiercely contested city after months of incremental Russian advances.
Footage shows Russian forces fleeing the frontline around the eastern city after being overwhelmed by Ukraine's 3rd Assault Brigade.
* * *
Source: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-12066903/Footage-shows-humiliating-Russian-retreat-Bakhmut.html
@Kamaji
No real surprise when you consider the Russian troops don't want to be there to start with,and the Ukranians are fighting to keep their homeland.
I STILL think this is going to backfire "BIGLY" on the Neo-Soviet leadership. We in the west just aren't hearing much about dissent in Russia because Russia has returned to being a slave state after Putin took over,and they control the discussion.
For the time being,anyhow.
-
https://twitter.com/MarkWhittington/status/1656306553148829702
-
https://twitter.com/MarkWhittington/status/1656306553148829702
Generally agree.
-
https://twitter.com/MarkWhittington/status/1656306553148829702
Yep, on both counts.
-
Re the solo T-34 in the Moscow Victory Day parade, Putin probably decided to actually have something actually related to the celebrated event. With his current T-72s, T-80s, T-90s, and maybe his few T-14s off in another country, maybe he thought parading his refurb'ed T-62s and T-55s wasn't a good look.
The noises I'm hearing is that after fighting since August last year to take most of Bakhmut (a smallish town of little strategic value), the invader-orcs have suddenly been pushed back some. It's worth taking such reports with at least a small block of salt, though.
-
Welcome back, @PeteS in CA . Glad you're here.
-
Yep, on both counts.
:amen:
-
(https://img-9gag-fun.9cache.com/photo/aXn7Xbg_460s.jpg)
Putin would have been better off to have simply canceled the anemic embarrassing so called 'show of strength'.
-
Interesting news this morning from Bakhmut. Seems that that Ukrainians caught the Russian 72nd Brigade in the middle of a troop rotation, attacked, and routed it, blowing a hole through the southwestern lines, flanking Wagner, and threatening a cutoff at a canal bridgehead. Might be the start of another Izium-Lyman style skedaddle if what Prigozhin says is true and not panicky hyperbole.
https://www.nytimes.com/live/2023/05/10/world/russia-ukraine-news?smid=url-share#ukrainian-troops-break-through-a-russian-flank-near-bakhmut-officials-say
Ukrainian military commanders said on Wednesday that their troops had broken through Russian positions on the southern flank of the embattled eastern city of Bakhmut, forcing Russian units back from their positions at an important bridgehead of a canal.
Ukrainian officials and the head of Russia’s Wagner militia group said that Russian troops had lost an area of roughly three square miles southwest of the city. If confirmed, it would be the first significant gain for Ukraine in the fight for Bakhmut since pushing Russian forces off a key access road two months ago, although it was far from clear that Ukrainian forces could hold the ground or that it was a turning point in the monthslong battle.
The fighting around the city did not seem to be part of a broader counteroffensive that Kyiv has said will begin soon, but came amid an uptick in Ukrainian strikes behind Russian lines and reports of increased attacks in Russian regions bordering Ukraine. The Ukrainian operation near Bakhmut hit Russian Army troops as they were rotating into position and was an opportunistic strike on a weak link in the Russian front, Ukrainian military officers said.
Russia’s Defense Ministry has not commented on the reports.
The Ukrainians said they broke through Russian lines in an area of fields, ravines and thickets of trees to the southwest of Bakhmut. Ukrainian commanders said several units — including the Azov soldiers in the 3rd Separate Assault Brigade, a special forces unit; the Adam Tactical Group; and the Ukrainian Volunteer Army, a group that includes civilian volunteers — had carried out the attack.
Andriy Biletsky, a commander of the Ukrainian 3rd Separate Assault Brigade, said in a video statement released in the early hours of Wednesday morning that his troops had seized Russian positions and inflicted heavy losses on Russian troops. Two Russian companies, units typically with about 100 soldiers each, and a reconnaissance team had been “completely destroyed” in the fighting, he said.
EXCERPT
-
Interesting news this morning from Bakhmut. Seems that that Ukrainians caught the Russian 72nd Brigade in the middle of a troop rotation, attacked, and routed it, blowing a hole through the southwestern lines, flanking Wagner, and threatening a cutoff at a canal bridgehead. Might be the start of another Izium-Lyman style skedaddle if what Prigozhin says is true and not panicky hyperbole.
https://www.nytimes.com/live/2023/05/10/world/russia-ukraine-news?smid=url-share#ukrainian-troops-break-through-a-russian-flank-near-bakhmut-officials-say
EXCERPT
Very interesting.
-
Wagner boss fumes that Russian brigade 'fled' from Bakhmut area
https://www.kake.com/story/48887053/wagner-boss-fumes-that-russian-brigade-fled-from-bakhmut-area
Prigozhin said the 72nd brigade "just ran the hell out of there."
Responding to questions from a Russian media outlet, Prigozhin said: "There is a serious risk of encirclement of PMC Wagner in Bakhmut as a result of the failure of the flanks. The flanks are already cracking and falling through."
"At the moment, within the city of Bakhmut, there is only Wagner PMC, there are no other units. Outside Bakhmut [there is] only the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation. PMC Wagner is not there," he said.
-
Very interesting.
Seriously, if I was Prigozhin, I would withdraw his army and go to Moscow and shoot Putin. I'm pretty sure there are some units in what is left of the Russian Army that would love to do that.
Having said that I'm not sure that Putin is still in Moscow.
-
Russia's army took just 6.8 square miles of Ukrainian territory in April, less than a 0.02% increase, US think tank says, as military losses mount
https://news.yahoo.com/russias-army-took-just-6-153901085.html?soc_src=social-sh&soc_trk=tw&tsrc=twtr
-
(https://img-9gag-fun.9cache.com/photo/aXn7Xbg_460s.jpg)
Putin would have been better off to have simply canceled the anemic embarrassing so called 'show of strength'.
Is that for real or is that from the BabylonBee???
-
https://twitter.com/JustinWStapley/status/1656617367881891840
-
https://twitter.com/softwarnet/status/1656672020493656066
-
What if we have a civil war in Russia and get something worse than Putin? It has happened in Russia before.
-
Is that for real or is that from the BabylonBee???
The traditional flotilla of tanks in this year's Soviet Victory parade this year consisted of a lone T-34.
-
What if we have a civil war in Russia and get something worse than Putin? It has happened in Russia before.
Any kind of civil war would rip their economy to shreds and make it almost impossible to continue the war effort in Ukraine. If you want to use history as an example, the biggest immediate consequence of the 1917 November revolution was that Russia quickly signed the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk and ended WWI because they couldn't maintain an international war and a civil war at the same time.
If some kind of civil war were to happen, I suspect one of the first things we'd see is a Chechen declaration of Independence, as Russia likely lacks the strength to suppress it again.
-
A Bakhmut Reversal?
https://www.battleswarmblog.com/?p=54875 (https://www.battleswarmblog.com/?p=54875)
Over the last several months, Russia would grind out costly gains in the fighting around Bakhmut, only to see Ukraine reverse most or all of those gains a few days or weeks later. This pattern repeated for month after month, with Russia slowly grinding out costly net gains of territory in and around Bakhmut, without ever completely taking the city.
However, in the last 24 hours, Ukraine seems to have made significant gains around Bakhmut in the last 24 hours.
A Ukrainian military unit said on Wednesday it had routed a Russian infantry brigade from frontline territory near Bakhmut, claiming to confirm an account by the head of Russia’s Wagner private army that the Russian forces had fled.
Later in the day, Colonel General Oleksandr Syrskyi, who heads Ukraine’s ground forces, said Russian units in some parts of Bakhmut had retreated by up to 2 km (1.2 miles) as the result of counterattacks. He did not give details.
Wagner units have led a months-long Russian assault on the eastern city, but Ukrainian forces say the offensive is stalling.
Summarizing this micro-Hell in a sentence, the Russians have been trying to take this town of little strtegic consequence since August 2022, and Ukraine has taken advantage of this obsession by inflicting constant heavy losses on the Russians in a place of little strategic value. As of a week or two ago, the Russian orcs had taken most of Bakhmut, but it looks like they've lost some of their gain in the past few days.
-
Any kind of civil war would rip their economy to shreds and make it almost impossible to continue the war effort in Ukraine. If you want to use history as an example, the biggest immediate consequence of the 1917 November revolution was that Russia quickly signed the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk and ended WWI because they couldn't maintain an international war and a civil war at the same time.
If some kind of civil war were to happen, I suspect one of the first things we'd see is a Chechen declaration of Independence, as Russia likely lacks the strength to suppress it again.
Consider that was the reason Kaiser Wilhelm sent for and sent Lenin to Russia: to destabilize the Tsar's government and render Russia ineffective in the war so he could concentrate on the West.
Indirectly, that makes the Kaiser partly responsible for tens of millions of deaths that followed, from the Oktober Revolution to the Holodomor and beyond.
-
Warning
https://twitter.com/officejjsmart/status/1656753624570032151?t=4qeaAGpdE2WXLBXkuWCL7g&s=19
-
Warning
https://twitter.com/officejjsmart/status/1656753624570032151?t=4qeaAGpdE2WXLBXkuWCL7g&s=19
The reality of war there. Very graphic video. Guys missing heads and legs.
Actually looks like a tank ran them over. Yikes.
-
https://twitter.com/officejjsmart/status/1656728041597313025
-
https://twitter.com/officejjsmart/status/1656728041597313025
@kevindavis007
IF this is true,the next few news reports out of Russia should be VERY interesting.
-
@kevindavis007
IF this is true,the next few news reports out of Russia should be VERY interesting.
@sneakypete
As you said if true, Bakhmut could be the 21st Century version of Stalingrad.
-
The reality of war there. Very graphic video. Guys missing heads and legs.
Actually looks like a tank ran them over. Yikes.
I know we are laughing at the fact that Russia has failed to conquer Ukraine, but I kinda feel for the Russian troops. Note the word Kinda...
-
In Bakhmut, it took the Russians three months to advance one kilometer. Ukraine took that kilometer back yesterday.
-
I know we are laughing at the fact that Russia has failed to conquer Ukraine, but I kinda feel for the Russian troops. Note the word Kinda...
@kevindavis007
I feel sorry for them,and don't mind admitting it. They were thrown into this war they don't understand and didn't volunteer to fight in,with piss-poor leadership more concerned with political tactics than military tactics,and are shot to death by their "leadership" if they try to complain or dare to ask questions.
I know some here in the US will try to equate our previous "draft system" with what the Soviets are doing,but there is only the faintest similarity. For one thing,OUR draftees could and would complain without worrying about being shot by their leaders. Or even put in a labor camp,something else that didn't happen to US draft resistors. Yes,SOME,a rare few,MIGHT have been given short prison or jail terms for resisting,but there is no comparison between that and what Russian resisters would face.
-
@kevindavis007
I feel sorry for them,and don't mind admitting it. They were thrown into this war they don't understand and didn't volunteer to fight in,with piss-poor leadership more concerned with political tactics than military tactics,and are shot to death by their "leadership" if they try to complain or dare to ask questions.
I know some here in the US will try to equate our previous "draft system" with what the Soviets are doing,but there is only the faintest similarity. For one thing,OUR draftees could and would complain without worrying about being shot by their leaders. Or even put in a labor camp,something else that didn't happen to US draft resistors. Yes,SOME,a rare few,MIGHT have been given short prison or jail terms for resisting,but there is no comparison between that and what Russian resisters would face.
There are surely some Russian troops who have zero desire to be there, and just want to go home. I feel sorry for them. There are also some nasty, bloodthirsty ones, and I hope it gets much worse for them.
-
https://twitter.com/uamemesforces/status/1656665572749479937
-
https://twitter.com/EvaTrmx86qc7r/status/1656737514491609089
-
I'm not saying Putin is equal to Hitler, but in terms of civilian interference in military decisions, his impact is very similar. Russian generals have been so pressured to produce results that they keep attacking even when the loss ratios are horrible, and until they've expended every last shred of their reserves.
The far more flexible Ukrainian generals concentrate on inflicting disproportionate losses, giving ground as necessary. Then when they see that the Russians are spent from their attack, they counterattack. They recover ground far more cheaply than the Russians had to pay for it, and again inflict disproportionate casualties.
The Ukrainian advantage in having a real NCO corps also is huge on a small unit level.
https://www.businessinsider.com/russian-forces-cant-cope-with-ukrainian-ncos-enlisted-leader-says-2022-8
There are a bunch of pre-war articles going all the way back to 2014 about how the Ukrainians were breaking away from Soviet-era doctrine and building a modern NCO corps. They started sending troops to NATO NCO schools, and those years of doctrinal and training changes have really paid off.
-
HOLY S**t
https://twitter.com/officejjsmart/status/1657024300660957185
-
I'm not saying Putin is equal to Hitler, but in terms of civilian interference in military decisions, his impact is very similar. Russian generals have been so pressured to produce results that they keep attacking even when the loss ratios are horrible, and until they've expended every last shred of their reserves.
The far more flexible Ukrainian generals concentrate on inflicting disproportionate losses, giving ground as necessary. Then when they see that the Russians are spent from their attack, they counterattack. They recover ground far more cheaply than the Russians had to pay for it, and again inflict disproportionate casualties.
The Ukrainian advantage in having a real NCO corps also is huge on a small unit level.
https://www.businessinsider.com/russian-forces-cant-cope-with-ukrainian-ncos-enlisted-leader-says-2022-8
There are a bunch of pre-war articles going all the way back to 2014 about how the Ukrainians were breaking away from Soviet-era doctrine and building a modern NCO corps. They started sending troops to NATO NCO schools, and those years of doctrinal and training changes have really paid off.
:thumbsup:
-
HOLY S**t
https://twitter.com/officejjsmart/status/1657024300660957185 (https://twitter.com/officejjsmart/status/1657024300660957185)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MK6TXMsvgQg
-
Things seem to be falling apart for Russia:
https://twitter.com/officejjsmart/status/1657032769350819843
-
Fast moving action in Bakhmut apparently going on today...
https://twitter.com/nexta_tv/status/1656717206833487874
https://twitter.com/front_ukrainian/status/1657010670120972291
https://twitter.com/visegrad24/status/1656985383391973376?s=20
-
Fast moving action in Bakhmut apparently going on today...
https://twitter.com/nexta_tv/status/1656717206833487874
Worthwhile noting that this does not appear to be the main Ukrainian counteroffensive. The numbers being described are much too small, and there are no reports of western tanks/armor. This looks like just a counterattack of opportunity, likely based on intelligence that the Russian troops in that area are worn out, under-equipped and supplied, and with crappy morale.
They may be looking to see if the Russians pull troops out of Zaporizhzhia and Kherson to try to hold the line. If so, that will be the best opportunity for the Ukrainians to launch their counteroffensive. Still a little bit early weather wise, though.
-
@sneakypete
As you said if true, Bakhmut could be the 21st Century version of Stalingrad.
The big Soviet counterattack at Stalingrad in November 1942 was Code named Operation Uranus. And Uranus seems to be right where the Russians look to be taking it right about now.
-
The big Soviet counterattack at Stalingrad in November 1942 was Code named Operation Uranus. And Uranus seems to be right where the Russians look to be taking it right about now.
:mauslaff:
-
I take news from the Ukraine war with a block of salt, regardless of the source. But hopefully the Ukrainians are teaching the orcs what happens when they concentrate their forces in one area and ignore their flanks.
There are a bunch of pre-war articles going all the way back to 2014 about how the Ukrainians were breaking away from Soviet-era doctrine and building a modern NCO corps. They started sending troops to NATO NCO schools, and those years of doctrinal and training changes have really paid off.
IOW, Ukraine learned from Putin's successful invasion of Crimea. Putin has (had?) the bodies to use human wave tactics; Ukraine realized they have to fight smarter, and so far seem to have done so.
-
https://twitter.com/visegrad24/status/1657061700007526401
-
https://twitter.com/officejjsmart/status/1657086848789798930
-
Luhansk Oblast and the city of Luhansk are orc-occupied Ukrainian territory. Not that Russian territory being used to support the orc invasion are not valid targets.
-
(https://img-9gag-fun.9cache.com/photo/aoKx9y0_460s.jpg)
-
Russia acknowledges retreat north of Bakhmut, Wagner boss calls it a 'rout'
https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/ukrainian-tanks-join-attacks-along-60-mile-front-russia-says-2023-05-12/
Moscow acknowledged on Friday that its forces had fallen back north of Ukraine's battlefield city of Bakhmut after a new Ukrainian offensive, in a retreat that the head of Russia's Wagner private army called a rout.
The setback for Russia, which follows similar reports of Ukrainian advances south of the city, suggests a coordinated push by Kyiv to encircle Russian forces in Bakhmut, Moscow's main objective for months during the war's bloodiest fighting.
"In three days of counter-offensive activity, the Ukrainian Armed Forces in the Bakhmut sector have liberated 17.3 sq. km (6.6 sq. miles) of territory," Serhiy Cherevatyi, spokesman for the "east" group of Ukrainian forces, said on the Telegram messaging app.
Both sides are now reporting the biggest Ukrainian gains in six months, although Ukraine has given few details and played down suggestions a huge, long-planned counteroffensive has officially begun.
Russian Defence Ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov said Ukraine had launched an assault north of Bakhmut with more than 1,000 troops and up to 40 tanks, a scale that if confirmed would amount to the biggest Ukrainian offensive since November.
The Russians had repelled 26 attacks but troops in one area had fallen back to regroup in more favourable positions near the Berkhivka reservoir northwest of Bakhmut, Konashenkov said.
Yevgeny Prigozhin, head of the Wagner forces that have led the campaign in the city, said in an audio message: "What Konashenkov described, unfortunately, is called 'a rout' and not a regrouping".
EXCERPT
-
https://twitter.com/EvaTrmx86qc7r/status/1656737514491609089
@kevindavis007
That can't possibly be real. True,Putin seems to be losing power,but I just don't see the Politburo allowing a photo like that to "fly free".
-
@kevindavis007
That can't possibly be real. True,Putin seems to be losing power,but I just don't see the Politburo allowing a photo like that to "fly free".
It looks off to me. Surely he's not crawling helplessly on the floor, and his security detail is just standing around doing nothing.
-
Just a couple of months ago the orcs had salients north and south of Bakhmut that looked like a threat to encircle the city and trap Ukrainian forces in a pocket. Whether for lack of trying or inability to do the encirclement, it didn't happen. Instead, the orcs took bits and pieces of the city, block by block and even building by building. And now it looks like the orcish salients could become pockets. Whether this is the or a main Ukrainian effort remains to be seen.
For the orcs, Bakhmut didn't have great strategic value. OTOH, for the Ukrainians, it could be a gateway to Lysychansk/Severodonetsk or Luhansk. IOW, an actual breakthrough could lead to liberating much of Luhansk Oblast. Welcome to the land of IF.
-
https://twitter.com/officejjsmart/status/1657101391293304844
-
https://twitter.com/officejjsmart/status/1657351604943683587
-
https://twitter.com/officejjsmart/status/1657353209701363713
-
https://twitter.com/officejjsmart/status/1657353209701363713
@kevindavis007
I am confused. If they were Russian/Soviet aircraft that were shot down,WHY would the Russians be reporting it when their nature is to lie and deny that anything bad ever happens to them?
NOT denying this happened because I don't know if it did or not. It just doesn't make sense to me.
-
https://twitter.com/michaeleichert/status/1657385026680438786
-
https://twitter.com/michaeleichert/status/1657385026680438786
@kevindavis007
There can be NO question that China has now replaced Russia as the world's number one danger.
Since it is nothing less than a medieval police state that is somehow accepted as a modern state (shows you just how well the media is REALLY educated,doesn't it?) the ONLY way to spank their little hands and make them behave is to directly threaten their leaders and the leaders families.
This will,of course,lead to our own alleged "leaders" panicking and maybe even wanting to surrender,but all that would accomplish would be to hasten their own deaths. Not that THEY are smart enough to figure this out,but their aides,who would also be targeted would make sure they understood the basic truth that dictators NEVER leave any potential challengers to their positions living if they can help it.
Think "An Asian Mafia Police State with millions of "foot soldiers",and you have defined China.
The Costra Nostra must be eaten UP with envy.
-
Continued at Ukraine 4
https://www.gopbriefingroom.com/index.php/topic,499577.0.html