Russia Invades Ukraine

[Uninformed]

The Wikipedia entry on the Azov “Battalion “:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Azov_Battalion

[Mr brolin]

Just had a wander over at Freeperville/Freak Rethuglic (Free Republic) to see what the view on "Evil Commie thugs Invade" as one would expect the barely continent muppets to spew...... (Don't worry I took the prophylactic ant-rabies shots)

Not so much, pretty low general engagement in the number of threads, the threads there are mostly trying to say ..

"Well there are Fascists in Ukraine so they all deserve it, "
"Ooooooh gun porn"
"Meh.....A country I don't care about, far away but it's all Biden's fault"
"It's all Biden's fault"
"It's all Killary's fault"
"The news is coming from the Lame Street Media, so I don't think I should believe it"
" (actual quote) The people in charge of Ukraine are Pedophile Nazi-supporters who paid millions to the Biden Crime Family in bribes"
" (actual quote") Putin helped stop the Obama-funded ISIS genocide of Christians in Syria, but Never-Trump neo-cons still hate Putin for that"

[Suranis]

Sorry for my last post. I think we are all a bit on edge.

Seagal.jpg (107.66 KiB) Viewed 1494 times

[Uninformed]

Sorry for my last post. I think we are all a bit on edge.

As is often the case politicians and ‘the media ”try to paint a case of “white v black”. Ukraine is a country that seems to have been fighting to create a better nation against all the baggage its history has left it with. Almost without exception everything the Russians claim as reasons for their “special operation” is crap; we know it, they know it.

[neonzx]

[raison de arizona]

"These are not warriors of a superpower. These are confused children who have been used. Take them home."

“Our soldiers, our border guards, even simple farmers are capturing Russian soldiers, and all of them are saying the same thing. They don’t know why they are here. These are not warriors of a superpower. These are confused children who have been used.”

[raison de arizona]

Ukraine Forces Reportedly Kill Russia General Andrei Sukhovetsky in Blow to Invading Army

Atop Russian military figure has been killed in the war in Ukraine according to local news outlets citing a social media post by his colleague.

Ukrainian news outlets were reporting that Andrei Sukhovetsky, deputy commander of the 41st Combined Arms Army of the Central Military District, had been killed on Wednesday.

Media outlets cited a post on VKontakte announcing the death, written by Sergei Chipilev, a deputy of the Russian veterans group, Combat Brotherhood.

"It is with great sorrow that we learned of the tragic news about the death of our friend, Major General Andrei Aleksandrovich Sukhovetsky, on the territory of Ukraine during a special operation," his post said, without specifying the circumstances.

Christo Grozev, executive director of fact-checking website Bellingcat, tweeted news of the death, adding that if confirmed it would be a "major demotivator" for Russian forces.

https://www.newsweek.com/russia-ukraine ... ct-1684441

[raison de arizona]

Huh. I guess that would be one way to try and drum up support.

BREAKING: Russian false flag operation may be happening, with Russians in Ukraine aiming rockets at Russian soil, according to Ukraine’s foreign minister.

Putin may be about to kill his own people and then blame Ukraine for it.

Ukraine fears Russia is preparing 'false flag' attack near border, says foreign minister
Thu, March 3, 2022, 5:49 AM·1 min read
LVIV, March 3 (Reuters) - Ukraine fears Russia may be preparing to stage a so-called false flag operation near the Ukraine-Russia border to suggest Ukraine has attacked a Russian village, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said on Twitter on Thursday.

"Worrying reports: Russians might have pointed multiple rocket-launching systems in the Russian border village of Popovka towards their own territory. Knowing the barbaric nature of Russian actions we fear a false flag operation," he said.

Reuters was unable to independently verify his statement. (Reporting by Natalia Zinets; Editing by Jon Boyle Writing by Alessandra Prentice)

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/ukraine- ... 16798.html

[Slim Cognito]

How would that change the narrative, considering how many Ukrainians have been killed by Russian missiles? I mean, I'd hate for any (more) innocent people to die by Putin's orders, but wouldn't Ukraine be expected to fire back? And I don't give a rat's ass about Tucker Carlson's moronic viewers.

[tek]

It is all about creating a propaganda pretext.

"Those Nazi mobsters have attacked Mother Russia!"

[raison de arizona]

It's a lot harder for Russians to protest the invasion of the peaceful Ukrainian people if Ukraine is killing Russian civilians in Russia. It's just for internal propaganda to drum up Russian support for the invasion.

[Phoenix520]

It’s not for the world, it’s to turn Russian public opinion against Ukraine.

[Notaperson]

After call with Putin, Macron convinced that ‘the worst is yet to come’ and Russia wants to take all of Ukraine

PARIS — Russian President Vladimir Putin called French President Emmanuel Macron on Thursday, in what appeared to have been a markedly more tense exchange than previous conversations between the two leaders.

The 90-minute call failed to deliver a diplomatic breakthrough, and a senior French official said it left Macron convinced that “the worst is yet to come” and that Putin aims to take control of all of Ukraine.

“Your country will pay dearly because it will end up as an isolated country, weakened and under sanctions for a very long time,” Macron told Putin, according to a French official, who added that Macron “called on Vladimir Putin to not lie to himself.”

The conversation, which the French presidency said was initiated by Putin, came as Ukrainian officials were set to hold talks with a Russian delegation, according to Russian and Ukrainian officials. But based on the two leaders’ exchange, there was no indication Thursday that a diplomatic solution could be in sight, according to French officials.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/20 ... l-ukraine/

[raison de arizona]

A Thursday background briefing at the Pentagon about the war in Ukraine has concluded.

Pentagon acknowledges "heavy bombardment" by Russia of numerous cities. Kyiv, Kharkiv, Chernihiv and Mariupol, etc.

Mariupol is still in Ukrainian government control.

Russians are now "just outside" Kharkiv.

There is a “clear willingness” to hit Ukrainian civilian targets, including government infrastructure in Kyiv and Kharkiv, senior defense official says.

That amid obvious verified of attacks circulating on social media.

A senior U.S. defense official says that 90 percent of Russia’s combat power pre-staged at the Ukrainian border is now in Ukraine.

That’s up from about 82 percent Wednesday, 80 percent Tuesday, and about 75 percent Monday.

Russia has now launched more than 480 missiles at Ukraine in the invasion, senior defense official says. That’s up from 450 Thursday.

The Pentagon, w/ limited visibility of the battlefield, is not confirming whether cluster or thermobaric munitions are being used by Russia.

No Russian cruise missiles launched in last few days, after a salvo early in the invasion. Other options available now, obviously.

Russian advances in south appear most pronounced. It’s possible they could move on Mykolaiv, a city of more than 470,000, senior defense official says.

Doing so could assist in positioning Russians to take the port city of Odessa (Watch for amphibious operations there, too).

Ukrainian officials said earlier today they were moving to "counter-offensive." Senior defense official says that in general, that would indicate an effort to go after the enemy's resources.

President Zelensky still has command of Ukrainian forces, the senior defense official says.

The Pentagon sees it as “incredibly noteworthy” and commends his bravery.

Ukrainian airspace remains contested, senior U.S. defense official says.

He attributes Russia's inability to take the skies over to both creative Ukrainian defenses and "Russian misapplication" of their resources and a risk aversion to losing Russian assets.

On nuclear issues, no major changes.

"It's still not completely clear to us what that direction meant," senior U.S. defense official says of Putin alerting nuke forces. "We continue to watch this very, very closely as you might imagine."

Dan - Been reading and appreciating these updates.

Can you give some indication of the briefer’s position? Military (general officer), civilian spox, etc?

Sorry -- ground rules are ground rules. Senior defense official is all I can say.

https://twitter.com/DanLamothe/status/1 ... 24832?s=20

[Volkonski]

[raison de arizona]

Estonian Cargo Ship Sinks Off The Coast Of Odessa
The "Helt," an Estonian-owned general cargo ship, is reported to have sunk after colliding with a sea mine off the coast of Odessa.

There is no evidence on who mined the region, but there are unconfirmed rumors that Ukrainian ships placed mines as a deterrent to the Russian Black Sea Fleet’s amphibious assault threat.

https://www.navalnews.com/naval-news/20 ... of-odessa/

[Chilidog]

I'm putting this one in spoiler tags because, quite frankly it is a difficult picture to look at from an emotional standpoint.

Military hospital in Mariupol

► Show Spoiler

557AC1D7-6C2F-4CF1-B77E-05F5C21BA617.jpeg (182.42 KiB) Viewed 1150 times

[raison de arizona]

It says, "Somewhere near Nikolaev ." Apparently each one of those tanks costs around $15M.

“A lot of my colleagues have been speaking to people in Russia, to family members of soldiers who were sent away and were not told what they were going to be doing."
New York Times correspondent @valerieinNYT describes the billboards addressed to Russian soldiers in Kyiv.

[raison de arizona]

Evil.

NEW: Russia's intelligence agency, the Federal Security Service, has drafted plans for public executions in #Ukraine after cities are captured, per a European intelligence official

The agency is also planning violent crowd control and repressive detention of protest organisers in order to break Ukrainian morale

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles ... ine-update

Russia Seeks to Weaken Ukraine Morale: Intelligence Report (2:26 p.m.)

Moscow has drawn up plans for ways to break morale in order to discourage Ukrainian from fighting back as and when cities fall under the Kremlin’s control, a European intelligence official said.

That strategy includes crackdowns on protests, detention of opponents, and potentially carrying out public executions, the official said on the condition of anonymity. So far civilians in Ukraine as well as its military have put up strong resistance, including arming themselves as volunteer forces.

[John Thomas8]

[raison de arizona]

► Show Spoiler

[Uninformed]

“Ukraine conflict: Who's in Putin's inner circle and running the war?”:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-60573261

“Vladimir Putin cuts a solitary figure, leading Russia's military into a high-risk war that threatens to tear apart his country's economy.
He has rarely looked more isolated than in two recent, choreographed appearances with his inner circle, where he sits at a resolute distance from his closest advisers.
As commander in chief, ultimate responsibility for the invasion rests with him, but he has always relied on a deeply loyal entourage, many of whom also began their careers in Russia's security services. The question is who has his ear, during this most fateful moment in his presidency?”

Followed by very brief sketches of the main players.

[pipistrelle]

Thread about Belarus:

[raison de arizona]

Russia is using military ambulances to transport ammunition in Ukraine

Geneva convention: The obligation to respect medical means of transport does not ease unless they are used to commit acts harmful to the enemy (such as transporting ammunition).

https://ihl-databases.icrc.org/customar ... rul_rule29

[raison de arizona]

Well this seems bad.
Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine

Russian army is firing from all sides upon Zaporizhzhia NPP, the largest nuclear power plant in Europe. Fire has already broke out. If it blows up, it will be 10 times larger than Chornobyl! Russians must IMMEDIATELY cease the fire, allow firefighters, establish a security zone!