Ukraine 2

[Kamaji]

Elon Musk’s Starlink ‘destroyed Putin’s information campaign’ in Ukraine, US general says

By Thomas Barrabi
June 10, 2022

Elon Musk’s deployment of thousands of “Starlink” satellite internet terminals to Ukraine has been a major boon for soldiers resisting the brutal Russian invasion – with one top US general stating that the service has helped Ukrainians stay connected to the West.

Ukrainian soldiers have reportedly used the SpaceX-operated internet system to coordinate military action as well as to stay in touch with their families – despite Russia’s efforts to sever communications.

Starlink has also helped Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to communicate directly with his countrymen despite heavy Russian bombardments targeting infrastructure.

“The strategic impact is, it totally destroyed [Vladimir] Putin’s information campaign,” Brig. Gen. Steve Butow, director of the space portfolio at the Defense Innovation Unit, told Politico. “He never, to this day, has been able to silence Zelenskyy.”

Musk has touted Starlink, which has more than 400,000 global subscribers, as a source of high-speed, low-cost broadband internet in areas that previously lacked reliable service.

But the billionaire began shipping Starlink terminals to Ukraine in late February and the request of Ukrainian government officials who feared Russia would cut off traditional internet access.

*  *  *

Source:  https://nypost.com/2022/06/10/elon-musks-starlink-destroyed-putins-information-campaign-in-ukraine-us-general-says/

[Hoodat]

In Kherson, misery under Russian occupation, hope over Ukrainian gains

Isabelle Khurshudyan and David L. Stern  |  June 12, 2022 at 2:00 a.m. EDT

KYIV, Ukraine — More than three months of occupation by Russian soldiers has left much of Ukraine’s southern Kherson region isolated, without access to basic medicines and cut off from Ukrainian cellphone and internet service.

The Russian tricolor flag is displayed at most of the main government buildings. There are whispers of a coming referendum that would formally make Kherson part of Russia, at least in the Kremlin’s eyes. The armed occupying forces patrol the streets, while the blasts of artillery shells crashing in the distance can be heard daily — signs of the ongoing fight between the Russian and Ukrainian militaries for control of the area.

Interviews by The Washington Post with people who live in Kherson, evacuated recently or are in regular contact with residents there painted a grim picture of prolonged life under occupation, in an area that marked Russia’s first major land grab of this war. More than 100 days have passed since Russian tanks rolled into the region from the neighboring Crimean Peninsula, which Moscow invaded and illegally annexed in 2014.

Stores and pharmacies have been closed during that time, and people don’t have access to money while their local Ukrainian banks and ATMs are not operating. There are markets with goods sold out of the trunks of cars — a scene one woman likened to the days after the fall of the Soviet Union. Supplies of medicines such as insulin and saline solution, which is used in everything from cleaning wounds to storing contact lenses, are critically low, she and others said.

“Very many people are in deep depression or suffering from nervous breakdowns,” said the woman, who asked to be identified as “Tatyana”  .  .  .



https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2022/06/12/ukraine-kherson-counteroffensive-russian-occupation/


Putin, the "liberator" [sic].  Not sure what Kherson Oblast has to do with Donbas.

[libertybele]

Heavy exchange of fire in eastern Ukrainian city of Lysychansk

There has been a heavy exchange of fire in Ukraine's eastern city of Lysychansk, in the Luhansk region.

Russian forces want to take control of Luhansk by trying to capture Lysychansk and nearby Severodonetsk.

https://www.bbc.com/news/av/world-europe-61774948

[Smokin Joe]

In Kherson, misery under Russian occupation, hope over Ukrainian gains

Isabelle Khurshudyan and David L. Stern  |  June 12, 2022 at 2:00 a.m. EDT

KYIV, Ukraine — More than three months of occupation by Russian soldiers has left much of Ukraine’s southern Kherson region isolated, without access to basic medicines and cut off from Ukrainian cellphone and internet service.

The Russian tricolor flag is displayed at most of the main government buildings. There are whispers of a coming referendum that would formally make Kherson part of Russia, at least in the Kremlin’s eyes. The armed occupying forces patrol the streets, while the blasts of artillery shells crashing in the distance can be heard daily — signs of the ongoing fight between the Russian and Ukrainian militaries for control of the area.

Interviews by The Washington Post with people who live in Kherson, evacuated recently or are in regular contact with residents there painted a grim picture of prolonged life under occupation, in an area that marked Russia’s first major land grab of this war. More than 100 days have passed since Russian tanks rolled into the region from the neighboring Crimean Peninsula, which Moscow invaded and illegally annexed in 2014.

Stores and pharmacies have been closed during that time, and people don’t have access to money while their local Ukrainian banks and ATMs are not operating. There are markets with goods sold out of the trunks of cars — a scene one woman likened to the days after the fall of the Soviet Union. Supplies of medicines such as insulin and saline solution, which is used in everything from cleaning wounds to storing contact lenses, are critically low, she and others said.

“Very many people are in deep depression or suffering from nervous breakdowns,” said the woman, who asked to be identified as “Tatyana”  .  .  .



https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2022/06/12/ukraine-kherson-counteroffensive-russian-occupation/


Putin, the "liberator" [sic].  Not sure what Kherson Oblast has to do with Donbas.

Kherson Oblast is pat of the general strategy to landlock Ukraine by seizing the Black Sea ports. All Ukrainian shipping would have to go through Russia, which would permit Russia to effectively control the prices of the commodities shipped. In short, Russia would be able to use that impoverishment of Ukraine as economic leverage to crush any opposition to seizure of the entire country by promising better treatment as part of the new Greater Russia (not that they'd get it).

[Hoodat]

Ukraine is running out of ammunition as prospects dim on the battlefield

Hopes that Ukraine will be able to reverse Russian gains are fading in the face of superior firepower

Siobhán O'Grady, Liz Sly and Ievgeniia Sivorka  |  June 10, 2022 at 6:37 p.m. EDT

SLOVYANSK, Ukraine — The euphoria that accompanied Ukraine’s unforeseen early victories against bumbling Russian troops is fading as Moscow adapts its tactics, recovers its stride and asserts its overwhelming firepower against heavily outgunned Ukrainian forces.

Newly promised Western weapons systems are arriving, but too slowly and in insufficient quantities to prevent incremental but inexorable Russian gains in the eastern Donbas region of Ukraine, which is now the focus of the fight.

The Ukrainians are still fighting back, but they are running out of ammunition and suffering casualties at a far higher rate than in the initial stages of the war. Around 200 Ukrainian soldiers are now being killed every day, up from 100 late last month, an aide to President Volodymyr Zelensky told the BBC on Friday — meaning that as many as 1,000 Ukrainians are being taken out of the fight every day, including those who are injured.

The Russians are still making mistakes and are also losing men and equipment, albeit at a lesser rate than in the first months of the conflict. In one sign that they are suffering equipment shortages, they have been seen on videos posted on social media hauling hundreds of mothballed, Soviet-era T-62 tanks out of storage to be sent to Ukraine.

But the overall trajectory of the war has unmistakably shifted away from one of unexpectedly dismal Russian failures and tilted in favor of Russia as the demonstrably stronger force.

Ukrainian and U.S. hopes that the new supplies of Western weaponry would enable Ukraine to regain the initiative and eventually retake the estimated 20 percent of Ukrainian territory captured by Russia since its Feb. 24 invasion are starting to look premature, said Oleksandr V. Danylyuk, an adviser to the Ukrainian government on defense and intelligence issues.

“The strategies and tactics of the Russians are completely different right now. They are being much more successful,” he said. “They have more resources than us and they are not in a rush.”

“There’s much less space for optimism right now,” he added.  .  .  .

https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2022/06/10/ukraine-ammunition-donbas-russia/



$40 billion in so-called 'aid for Ukraine'.  Yet no one thought to include more ammunition.

[Kamaji]

Russia fires five-and-a-half ton Cold War-era missiles designed to destroy aircraft carriers at Ukrainian forces in the Donbas after running out of precision rockets, MoD says

By ADAM SOLOMONS FOR MAILONLINE
12 June 2022

Russia is relying on Cold War-era missiles with 'severe' risks to civilians as Putin's forces have run out of modern weapons, the UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) claimed.

The government's daily intelligence update on Saturday also offered new details of 'intense street fighting' in eastern Ukraine as Russian soldiers were pushed back.

Antiquated Kh-22 missiles from the 1960s are extra dangerous as they 'are highly inaccurate and therefore can cause severe collateral damage and causalities', the ministry wrote.

Russia is likely using the heavy anti-ship missiles because it is running low on more precise modern missiles, it stated.

*  *  *

Source:  https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-10908917/Russia-fires-Cold-War-era-missiles-Ukraine-running-precision-rockets-MoD-says.html

[Kamaji]

Twenty woman aged between 18 and 27 were stripped and ordered to perform squats in front of Russian police cameras after being dragged away from anti-war protests, lawyer claims

By WILL STEWART FOR MAILONLINE
13 June 2022

Russian police detained 20 women under suspicion of protesting against Vladimir Putin's war in Ukraine and forced them to strip naked and squat five times 'in front of police cameras,' the group has claimed.

The 'suspects' aged 18 to 27 were rounded up at or near a rally in the city of Nizhny Novgorod and subjected to 'humiliating and degrading' treatment, says their lawyer.

Women police officers ordered them to strip, but in some cases cell doors were open and male officers passed by.

In all cases, cell cameras fitted with video recorders spied on the alleged abuse.

Men detained at the same time were not subjected to the strip-and-squat orders.

*  *  *

Source:  https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-10911245/Twenty-woman-aged-18-27-stripped-ordered-perform-squats-Russian-police-cameras.html

[Cyber Liberty]

Russia fires five-and-a-half ton Cold War-era missiles designed to destroy aircraft carriers at Ukrainian forces in the Donbas after running out of precision rockets, MoD says

It's a pity they used up their precision munitions bombing civilians.

[txradioguy]

It's a pity they used up their precision munitions bombing civilians.

Either they didn't have a very large stockpile to begin with or they expended wayyyyyy more of their precision munitions than they expected to.

[Cyber Liberty]

Either they didn't have a very large stockpile to begin with or they expended wayyyyyy more of their precision munitions than they expected to.

Could be both.  The political leadership, such as it is, was probably mislead about the current materiel inventory.  They certainly were lied to about the condition of the rolling stock, which was evident by how many vehicles with tires failed because they were subject to dry rot and a lack of PM.  They never even took them out for the occasional drive.

[txradioguy]

Could be both.  The political leadership, such as it is, was probably mislead about the current materiel inventory.  They certainly were lied to about the condition of the rolling stock, which was evident by how many vehicles with tires failed because they were subject to dry rot and a lack of PM.  They never even took them out for the occasional drive.

Old habits die hard. Russian Generals overselling their readiness so as not to get in trouble with the Central Committee.

[Cyber Liberty]

Old habits die hard. Russian Generals overselling their readiness so as not to get in trouble with the Central Committee.

I think we have that problem with our Pentagon...

[txradioguy]

I think we have that problem with our Pentagon...

Yeah we've been wayyyyy too political starting around 1994.

[Hoodat]

Old habits die hard. Russian Generals overselling their readiness so as not to get in trouble with the Central Committee.

Also, Russian Generals skimming defense funds off the books and selling equipment on the black market.  Like all that night vision equipment the soldiers were supposed to have.  The money to purchase that equipment went to dummy companies that the generals owned and that never delivered the equipment.

[mystery-ak]

Ukraine is running out of ammo and taking heavy casualties
Allahpundit Jun 13, 2022 1:31 PM ET

The war increasingly looks like a straightforward contest to see which side will collapse first. The horrendous casualties taken by the Russian in close-quarters fighting around Kiev combined with promises of massive western military aid for Ukraine seemed unsustainable for Putin’s army, making them a likely loser.

But now that the war has shifted to the east and become a long-range slugfest in open terrain, the forecast has shifted. Unable to match the range of Putin’s artillery, it’s the Ukrainians who are taking horrendous casualties while Russian soldiers remain out of reach. One advisor to Zelensky told reporters this week that around 150 Ukrainian troops are dying each day and another 800 are being wounded. That’s a thousand men off the battlefield every 24 hours among a total force of maybe 500,000. And not just any men: Their troops in the east have combat experience. Replacing those soldiers with new conscripts isn’t a one-to-one substitution.

As for those promises of western weapons:

https://twitter.com/yarotrof/status/1536272971177902082

more
https://hotair.com/allahpundit/2022/06/13/ukraine-is-running-out-of-ammo-and-taking-heavy-casualties-n475852

[catfish1957]

Seems like Bad Vlad's tactic of outlasting the resolve of the west is starting to payoff. 

I hope Zellensky has success with what will appear to be dwindling resources.

[Smokin Joe]

I think we have that problem with our Pentagon...

The LCS class might have stopped with the prototypes otherwise.

[Hoodat]

Evidence shows widespread use of cluster munitions in Kharkiv

Joel Gunter - Kharkiv  |  1 day ago


Distinctive marks from a cluster munition in the roof of a car next to a playground in Kharkiv (Joel Gunter/BBC)

Russia has killed hundreds of civilians in the north-eastern Ukrainian city of Kharkiv using indiscriminate shelling and widely-banned cluster munitions, according to new research by Amnesty International.

Amnesty said it had found evidence of Russian forces repeatedly using 9N210/9N235 cluster bombs, as well as "scatterable" munitions - rockets that eject smaller mines that explode later at timed intervals.

The BBC visited five separate impact sites in residential neighbourhoods in Kharkiv and saw evidence of a distinctive, symmetrical spalling effect associated with cluster munitions. We showed images from the sites to three weapons experts, who all said the impacts were consistent with the controversial weapons.

"Those impacts are from cluster munitions, it's a classic signature," said Mark Hizney, a senior researcher in the arms division of Human Rights Watch, a campaign group. "And in one image you can see a remnant of a stabiliser fin from one of the submunitions," he said.

CCTV footage passed to the BBC by a resident at one of the sites showed successive clustered detonations - "a very strong indicator of submunitions from a cluster weapon  .  .  .

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-61778433

[Kamaji]

Ukraine strikes back: Kyiv blasts military base 40 miles inside Russian border in early morning rocket attack

By WILL STEWART FOR MAILONLINE
14 June 2022

Ukraine is thought to have struck a military base 40 miles inside Russia in an early-morning missile attack.

Footage showed what appeared to be a missile trail in the sky over the town of Klintsy early Tuesday, accompanied by a plume of smoke rising from a nearby base.

Troops and helicopters then arrived to inspect what appeared to be a bomb crater, as local Telegram channels reported a fire spreading to a nearby apartment block.

*  *  *

Source:  https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-10914343/Ukrainian-missile-hits-military-base-40-miles-inside-Russia.html

[bilo]

Ukraine strikes back: Kyiv blasts military base 40 miles inside Russian border in early morning rocket attack

By WILL STEWART FOR MAILONLINE
14 June 2022

Ukraine is thought to have struck a military base 40 miles inside Russia in an early-morning missile attack.

Footage showed what appeared to be a missile trail in the sky over the town of Klintsy early Tuesday, accompanied by a plume of smoke rising from a nearby base.

Troops and helicopters then arrived to inspect what appeared to be a bomb crater, as local Telegram channels reported a fire spreading to a nearby apartment block.

*  *  *

Source:  https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-10914343/Ukrainian-missile-hits-military-base-40-miles-inside-Russia.html

Good!

The only chance Ukraine has is to destroy Russia's supply lines.

[Right_in_Virginia]

Glenn Greenwald
@ggreenwald

Three months into this war, Ukraine is ravaged. Russia controls major parts of E. Ukraine. Russia's oil profits are higher than ever. Ruble is strong. Much of the world rejected US/NATO policy. Billions in US funds: gone, who knows where. Untraced weapons are flooding the region.

The problem from the start was the obligatory moralism narrative didn't help decipher what policies would and wouldn't work. And that was as intended: there was so much to debate and question about US policy, but it was barred. Anyone who tried was maligned as a Russian stooge.


7:27 PM · Jun 14, 2022·Twitter Web App

[Smokin Joe]

Glenn Greenwald
@ggreenwald

Three months into this war, Ukraine is ravaged. Russia controls major parts of E. Ukraine. Russia's oil profits are higher than ever. Ruble is strong. Much of the world rejected US/NATO policy. Billions in US funds: gone, who knows where. Untraced weapons are flooding the region.

The problem from the start was the obligatory moralism narrative didn't help decipher what policies would and wouldn't work. And that was as intended: there was so much to debate and question about US policy, but it was barred. Anyone who tried was maligned as a Russian stooge.


7:27 PM · Jun 14, 2022·Twitter Web App

If Biden hadn't been on a crusade to destroy the American petroleum industry, Russia would not be making money on oil and our domestic gasoline and diesel prices (and all that transports) would not be so high. As for the billions going God knows where, ask 'the big guy', no doubt there are lots of fingers in that pie, and likely he knows just where they are.

[catfish1957]

If Biden hadn't been on a crusade to destroy the American petroleum industry, Russia would not be making money on oil and our domestic gasoline and diesel prices (and all that transports) would not be so high. As for the billions going God knows where, ask 'the big guy', no doubt there are lots of fingers in that pie, and likely he knows just where they are.

Dang right.  And just think how much the Ruskies have made of confiscated Uke grain, at present grain prices.

[Smokin Joe]

Dang right.  And just think how much the Ruskies have made of confiscated Uke grain, at present grain prices.

Yep, they are stealing it just like the Holodomor, as if that doesn't resonate among Ukrainians.

[mystery-ak]

First two US fighters are captured by Russian soldiers in battle for Kharkiv amid fears they will be handed death sentences like two British soldiers caught by Putin's army

    Robert Drueke, 39, and Andy Huynh, 27, were captured while fighting for the Ukrainian army last week
    The pair were part of a ten-men squad which encountered Russian forces in Kharkiv
    They disabled a Russian tank but then were lost in the fog of return fire then disappeared, comrades say
    Drueke served in Iraq in the US Army but Huynh, a former Marine, has never been in active combat before
    He gave an interview before he ventured to the region in which he said he was prepared to die 
    Now, there are fears they may be given the same death sentences as Brits Shaun Pinner and Aiden Aslin
    The two British men were captured in April and were last week sentenced to death by firing squad
    The Biden administration has not yet commented on the capture of the two American servicemen captured

By Jennifer Smith, Chief Reporter For Dailymail.Com

Published: 11:37 EDT, 15 June 2022 | Updated: 12:59 EDT, 15 June 2022

Two American fighters have been taken as prisoners of war in Ukraine, the first since the conflict began.

Robert Drueke and Andy Huynh were taken prisoner by Russian forces last week on the outskirts of Kharkiv, according to sources cited by The Daily Telegraph on Tuesday.

Drueke, 39, and Huynh, 27, are both from Alabama. One of their comrades described losing sight of the pair in a battle last week.

more
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-10920217/Two-American-volunteers-captured-Russian-soldiers-Ukraine.html