Russia Invades Ukraine

[Notaperson]

[raison de arizona]

If they are admitting 500, it makes the numbers Ukraine is claiming more believable.

[Chilidog]

Given the Russian logistical nightmare going towards the front lines with food and fuel, I can only imagine the horrors that wounded Russian troops are going through being evacuated to the rear.

[New Turtle]

Given the Russian logistical nightmare going towards the front lines with food and fuel, I can only imagine the horrors that wounded Russian troops are going through being evacuated to the rear.

One of the captured soldiers said the wounded in his unit were being killed rather than evacuating them.

[raison de arizona]

Michael Schwirtz
@mschwirtz
·
1h
Kherson has fallen to the Russian military, becoming the first major Ukrainian city to come under Russian control since the invasion last week. The mayor, Igor Kolykhaev, told me he met today with the Russian commander who plans to set up a military administration.



Richard Engel
@RichardEngel
·
57m
Around 6000 Russians killed in Ukraine so far. “two Western officials tell @NBCNews
that about 5,800 Russians have been killed, a number in line with Ukraine’s estimates.” @JoshNBCNews



It would appear some Russian soldiers are growing weary of peaceful resistance.

[Chilidog]

The ghost of Kiev has been officially declared dead. Ukrainian forces say the pilot was killed during fighting between Russia and Ukraine. Oleksandr Oksanchenko was one of the best fighter pilots in the world.

[Lani]

The ghost of Kiev has been officially declared dead. Ukrainian forces say the pilot was killed during fighting between Russia and Ukraine. Oleksandr Oksanchenko was one of the best fighter pilots in the world.

Ukraine Mourns Death Of Former Su-27 Flanker Display Pilot Col. Oksanchenko Shot Down Near Kyiv
https://theaviationist.com/2022/03/01/c ... shot-down/

[bob]

CBS: International Criminal Court prosecutor plans to investigate potential war crimes in Ukraine:

The chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court said Monday he plans to open an investigation "as rapidly as possible" into possible war crimes and crimes against humanity in Ukraine.

Prosecutor Karim Khan said in a statement that the investigation will look at alleged crimes committed before the Russian invasion, but added that "given the expansion of the conflict in recent days, it is my intention that this investigation will also encompass any new alleged crimes falling within the jurisdiction of my office that are committed by any party to the conflict on any part of the territory of Ukraine."

The court already has conducted a preliminary probe into crimes linked to the violent suppression of pro-European protests in Kyiv in 2013-2014 by a pro-Russian Ukrainian administration and allegations of crimes in Crimea, which Russia annexed in 2014, and eastern Ukraine, where Russia has backed rebels since 2014.

In December 2020, then-ICC Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda said the probe uncovered indications that "a broad range of conduct constituting war crimes and crimes against humanity within the jurisdiction of the Court have been committed" in Ukraine. However, the court's prosecutors had not yet sought permission from judges to open a full-scale investigation.

Khan says he now wants to open the investigation envisaged by his predecessor and broaden it to include crimes committed in fighting since the Russian invasion of Ukraine last week.

* * *

Neither Russia nor Ukraine is among the court's 123 member states, but Ukraine has accepted the court's jurisdiction, which empowers Khan to investigate.

Khan has told his team to explore how to preserve evidence of crimes and said that the next step is to seek authorization from the court's judges to open an investigation. However, he added that the process would be speeded up if a member nation of the court were to ask for an investigation in what is known as a referral.

Because Russia isn't a member state, the investigation will have no legal teeth. But likely will have moral and historical value.

[RVInit]

This is going to be a bloodbath. There is no way a country as small as Ukraine is going to stop Russia. All Russia has to do is start pounding them with long range missiles and start a serious air fight and it's over. I hate to say it.

[Frater I*I]

This is going to be a bloodbath. There is no way a country as small as Ukraine is going to stop Russia. All Russia has to do is start pounding them with long range missiles and start a serious air fight and it's over. I hate to say it.

Think back how that worked out for the US in Iraq....

Sure, we crushed the army, but the insurgency beat us in the end...

[raison de arizona]

This is going to be a bloodbath. There is no way a country as small as Ukraine is going to stop Russia. All Russia has to do is start pounding them with long range missiles and start a serious air fight and it's over. I hate to say it.

Think back how that worked out for the US in Iraq....

Sure, we crushed the army, but the insurgency beat us in the end...

I heard on the news (forget which one, it was MSNBC or Fox though) that an unnamed Pentagon source said that one factor in the problems Russia is having with their convoy(s) is the "creative" Ukrainian resistance.

[Uninformed]

One of the differences between the current conflict in Ukraine and a lot of recent “wars” is that one of the sides truly cares about the civilian population, and I don’t mean the Russians. This will make a big difference to what the Ukrainians are willing to do, albeit that the same will apply to some of the Russian forces.

[Slim Cognito]

This is going to be a bloodbath. There is no way a country as small as Ukraine is going to stop Russia. All Russia has to do is start pounding them with long range missiles and start a serious air fight and it's over. I hate to say it.

From what i read today, sounds like Putin's getting impatient and the pounding has begun. I'm so sad about this.

[raison de arizona]

This is going to be a bloodbath. There is no way a country as small as Ukraine is going to stop Russia. All Russia has to do is start pounding them with long range missiles and start a serious air fight and it's over. I hate to say it.

From what i read today, sounds like Putin's getting impatient and the pounding has begun. I'm so sad about this.

Yup.

[Dave from down under]

Unfortunately peaceful resistance is likely to become suicidal soon - if you were a Russian* who saw those in your unit wounded/killed by people not in uniform - you will start killing anyone who you think might be a threat.. even those that aren't.

*cf every other soldier of every nationality throughout history.

[W. Kevin Vicklund]

A friend of mine (career military) wrote the following on FB:

For those of you wanting the US to do more, you may not know how much we have done.
1) Russian troops don't know who the enemy is, they were told they were fighting the West, but the only people in Ukraine are family, friends, and neighbors. Putting troops there would change that and give the Russians a target and purpose they currently lack. A lack of purpose is demoralizing in the cold winter of doubt.
2) We are aiding in Cyber countermeasures, Putin's first attack was to try to corrupt the entire Ukrainian government websites and lock them out. This would prevent coordination and communication with the people, and Putin would be the source of all information. That was halted within three hours of detection.
3) Freezing and seizing assets turns the ruling class against Putin
4) Suspending banking transactions dry up his war chest and prevent him from resupplying things like fuel and food to his invading troops.
5) Putting troops in NATO countries with permission frees them up to support where possible (see #1).
6) Working with other nations to uniformly freeze airspace locks him into his country and prevents quick resupply.
7) Working with other countries to free up fuel reserves removes Russia's hold on other nations and frees them up to act without risking their energy supply.
8) Publicising all his secret plans removes the element of surprise in Putin's war plans and allows Ukrainians the ability to plan and reduces fear and panic. Those twin allies he was counting on for a successful invasion.
9) Uniting world leaders to cooperate as a unit to push back on him in a united front so that it is not simply 'their old enemy' disapproving is a HUGE blow he was hoping to avoid.
10) Major companies pulling out of development deals with Russia tanks the Russian stock market, and those companies withdrawing from Ukraine make it less of a prize for Putin and reduce large corporations to penny stocks.
11) In part because we made a big public deal about it, and made sure the comms stayed up, and news of the atrocities got out, there are groups like Anonyomous that doing things like taking down the communication with military satellites forcing the Russians to use back up waki-talkies to try to communicate with ground troops which are not secure. Now the Ukrainians know every move they make, plan, and where to pick up the abandoned vehicles.
12) US based companies like Apple, Google, Meta, and many more just stopped working in Russia overnight, no warning just stopped accepting Apple Pay and social media services (or severely limiting them), causing chaos in the streets, literally.
None of this is happening by accident, it is all hard work behind the scenes, and represents what the US is doing. Warfare is no longer 'boots on the ground.'
This conflict is not a surprise. It has been planned for years. It probably would have kicked off two years ago when we would not have done any of the above, but COVID got in the way.
Don't doubt for an instant that we are doing all we can, and doing it in a smart way so that we don't give them ammunition to use against us. International Politics is a Gordian Knot and the first angry reaction may not be the best one. The face of war has changed and we are keeping up, Putin has not and it is costing him. Look for the articles about the Russian Economy, Russian people's reaction, the distribution of first-hand accounts targeted at the Russian soldiers, ask yourself how those things just 'happened' and how you are able to see it. Then, you will see the new face of war.

[MN-Skeptic]

Interesting thread from a military person who understands what’s required to keep big equipment running. He points out that lack of maintenance is forcing some large vehicles to keep on roads, not go off-road -

[pipistrelle]

So the Russians have decided to claim that they're fighting Nazis in the Ukraine.

Did you see the statement from the Russian embassy in Canada?

Nazi this, Nazi that, it's freakin' Godwin's law on steroids and crack, is what it is. You'd think we were back 80 years ago, before I was born.

'Course, it'd be a lot easier to paint the Ukrainians as Nazis IF ZELENSKY WASN'T JEWISH.

Some days I just can't turn my brainbone OFF.

[Chilidog]

I noticed that about the tires.

But if you look closely at the Pantsir, it wasn't just a tire failure, the entire wheel sheared off the hub.

I suspect that the problem is more fundamental.

I'm thinking what the vehicle's suspension system was designed to operate at higher speeds on paved roads.

Maybe through snow, but not thick mid like that.

Someone who grew up in the city designed that without understanding Rasputitsa, the deep mud of that region

[Suranis]

So the Russians have decided to claim that they're fighting Nazis in the Ukraine.

I don't know where youv'e been but they have not "Decided" to do it. They have been claiming that since a few months before the invasion.

And no its not that battalion. they have been claiming that Nazis have been attacking poor russians in Ukraine and that the Nazi government has been oppressing the people and so on.

[MN-Skeptic]

I love this analogy -

[RVInit]

Kherson is completely controlled by Russia. And Russia has done exactly as expected, adjusted their tactics, bombing and killing indiscriminately. And now concentrating on taking out all communication towers.

[Lani]

In the run-up to Vladimir Putin’s assault on Ukraine, Moscow notified Turkey of its intention to send one of its most imposing warships, laden with cruise missiles, through the heart of Istanbul to join the impending onslaught.

But the Admiral Flota Kasatonov — and three other vessels that had been expected to traverse the Dardanelles and Bosphorus straits — did not make the journey over the weekend, as Russia had planned, two western officials told the Financial Times.

On Monday, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan indicated that he would invoke a clause in the 1936 Montreux Convention that allows Ankara to curb the passage of naval vessels belonging to warring parties. “We have the authority and we have decided to use it in a way that will prevent the crisis from escalating,” he said.

I hope this article is accurate.
https://www.ft.com/content/433eb7e7-0c3 ... 1f9f294e9b

[Suranis]

Kherson is completely controlled by Russia. And Russia has done exactly as expected, adjusted their tactics, bombing and killing indiscriminately. And now concentrating on taking out all communication towers.

Its one city when they expected to control the entire country in 3 days. Good god man.

And they haven't adjusted their tactics at all. I know you are probably going by the media that was saying "Kyiv's Last stand" 5 days ago, and acres of Russia propaganda pretending they are pleased with what is going on, but all that's happening is that they are slowly pushing north through sheer weight of raw numbers. Pretending this is tactical genius of Russians is nuts. This is an extremely slow grind against an enemy they outnumber and outgun massively. And they cant afford to buy petrerl for the tanks and material to make bullets anymore.

This can change fast in a situation like this. The map is largely as it was 5 days ago when the Russians were claiming they had taken 3 or 4 Ukrainian cities and had suffered little casualties. Adjusting their tactics my ass.

[Volkonski]