Russia Attacks Ukraine - 23 Feb 2022 #15

[PommyMommy]

MAR 24, 2025

Kremlin raises financial incentives to over $23,000 amid military recruitment shortages

Russia is increasing financial incentives for military recruits due to a severe shortage of new volunteers, Ukraine’s Military Intelligence (HUR) reported on March 23.

kyivindependent.com

Russia is increasing financial incentives for military recruits due to a severe shortage of new volunteers, Ukraine’s Military Intelligence (HUR) reported on March 23.

The Kremlin has raised payments for signing the first contract to over 2 million rubles ($23,800) in several regions, with recruits in the Samara region being offered nearly 4 million rubles ($47,600), according to HUR.

New recruitment primarily targets financially struggling individuals and radicalized youth who are easily influenced by propaganda.

 

[PommyMommy]

MAR 19, 2025

https://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2025/03/ukraine-enforced-disappearances-committed-russian-authorities-amount-crimes

Ukraine: Enforced disappearances committed by Russian authorities amount to crimes against humanity, says UN Commission of Inquiry​

Russian authorities often transferred the victims to detention facilities in Russian-occupied areas in Ukraine or deported them to the Russian Federation. There, they also subjected them to other grave violations and crimes, including torture and sexual violence. Many persons have been missing for months, or years. Some have died. The fate and whereabouts of many remain unknown, leaving their families in agonizing uncertainty.

A 56-year-old former detainee recounted that Federal Security Service officers ordered electric shocks to be administered to him and said, “Old man, do not think that you will be spared because of your age. Go back to your cell and think carefully about your answers. And if your brain doesn’t work, we will bring your granddaughters here and we will beat the truth out of you in front of them”.

Report

 

[Lilibet]

Ukraine is a very small independent country that has been invaded by a much larger country. And you can't mediate with evil despots JMO. Trump has sold out and is being used by Putin MOO

I discovered recently to my surprise that Ukraine’s land area is actually the largest in Europe (second to Russia, if you count it). But in population it is the eighth largest (including Russia). This is partly why I said earlier that the rest of Europe is in grave danger, especially countries of the former Soviet Union.

 

[Lilibet]

Russian authorities often transferred the victims to detention facilities in Russian-occupied areas in Ukraine or deported them to the Russian Federation.

Hmmmmm…did I already mention Venezuelans disappeared to El Salvador without due process? And other legal immigrants detained here? Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.

JMO MOO

 

[SouthAussie]

ETA - No matter how many times it’s said that President Trump is being used by Putin, doesn’t make it fact. Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence. imo

I think there is evidence out there ... but whether MAGA people believe it or not is another thing. I will suggest they won't believe it, no matter what. Nobody wants to think (or admit) that they have been fooled by a very smart former KGB agent.
And, of course, Putin will deny, deny, deny.


Vladimir Putin personally authorised a secret spy agency operation to support a “mentally unstable” Donald Trump in the 2016 US presidential election during a closed session of Russia’s national security council, according to what are assessed to be leaked Kremlin documents.

The Guardian has shown the documents to independent experts who say they appear to be genuine. Incidental details come across as accurate. The overall tone and thrust is said to be consistent with Kremlin security thinking.

There is a brief psychological assessment of Trump, who is described as an “impulsive, mentally unstable and unbalanced individual who suffers from an inferiority complex”.

There is also apparent confirmation that the Kremlin possesses kompromat, or potentially compromising material, on the future president, collected – the document says – from Trump’s earlier “non-official visits to Russian Federation territory”.

The paper refers to “certain events” that happened during Trump’s trips to Moscow. Security council members are invited to find details in appendix five, at paragraph five, the document states. It is unclear what the appendix contains.

The author appears to be Vladimir Symonenko, the senior official in charge of the Kremlin’s expert department – which provides Putin with analytical material and reports, some of them based on foreign intelligence.

Kremlin papers appear to show Putin’s plot to put Trump in White House

Exclusive: Documents suggest Russia launched secret multi-agency effort to interfere in US democracy

www.theguardian.com

imo

 

[Mo Thuairim]

Gulf in US and Russian expectations marks start of latest ceasefire talks​

As Washington signals hope for ‘real progress’, Moscow warns ‘difficult negotiations’ lie ahead

[...]

On Sunday, the US special envoy, Steve Witkoff, appeared upbeat about working with the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, to end Europe’s deadliest conflict since the second world war. “I feel that he wants peace,” Witkoff told Fox News.

[...]

“I think you’re going to see in Saudi Arabia on Monday some real progress, particularly as it affects a Black Sea ceasefire on ships between both countries,” said Witkoff. “And from that you’ll naturally gravitate to a full-on shooting ceasefire.”

[...]

The Kremlin, however, swiftly poured cold water on hopes for a rapid resolution, saying that “difficult negotiations” lie ahead. “We are only at the beginning of this path,” Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told Russian state TV on Sunday.

Peskov said the “main” focus in its talks with the US would be a possible resumption of a 2022 Black Sea grain deal, brokered by Turkey and the UN, that ensured safe navigation for Ukrainian farm exports via the Black Sea.

[...]

Speaking to Fox News on Sunday, Witkoff, a real estate developer who had no prior diplomatic experience before being tasked as Donald Trump’s special envoy, downplayed fears of Vladimir Putin launching a broader aggression.

[...]

When asked about the upcoming talks, however, Witkoff said the “central issue” was the Ukrainian regions that had been annexed or partially occupied by Russian forces. He stumbled, however, in trying to name them.

[...]

Earlier this month, Volodymyr Zelenskyy stressed that Ukraine would not recognise any occupied territories – where Russia was accused of holding sham polls in 2022 in a bid to provide cover for their illegal annexation – as Russian.

Witkoff appeared to side with the Kremlin as he cited the largely discredited polls as evidence of local sentiment on the ground and conflated the locally spoken language with support for Russia.

[...]

His comments were swiftly slammed by the journalist and historian Anne Applebaum. “If you ever wondered how the KGB manipulated foreigners and got them to repeat Soviet propaganda, spend some time listening to Steve Witkoff talk about his wonderful conversations with Vladimir Putin,” she wrote on social media.

[...]

Instead he envisioned a global stage where the US and Russia could build on the ceasefire to normalise relations and join forces in areas such as energy policies in the Arctic, sea lanes, LNG supplies to Europe and artificial intelligence. “Who doesn’t want to have a world where Russia and the United States are doing, collaboratively, good things together?” he asked.

Gulf in US and Russian expectations marks start of latest ceasefire talks

As Washington signals hope for ‘real progress’, Moscow warns ‘difficult negotiations’ lie ahead

www.theguardian.com

 

[Betty P]

Gulf in US and Russian expectations marks start of latest ceasefire talks​

As Washington signals hope for ‘real progress’, Moscow warns ‘difficult negotiations’ lie ahead

[...]

On Sunday, the US special envoy, Steve Witkoff, appeared upbeat about working with the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, to end Europe’s deadliest conflict since the second world war. “I feel that he wants peace,” Witkoff told Fox News.

[...]

“I think you’re going to see in Saudi Arabia on Monday some real progress, particularly as it affects a Black Sea ceasefire on ships between both countries,” said Witkoff. “And from that you’ll naturally gravitate to a full-on shooting ceasefire.”

[...]

The Kremlin, however, swiftly poured cold water on hopes for a rapid resolution, saying that “difficult negotiations” lie ahead. “We are only at the beginning of this path,” Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told Russian state TV on Sunday.

Peskov said the “main” focus in its talks with the US would be a possible resumption of a 2022 Black Sea grain deal, brokered by Turkey and the UN, that ensured safe navigation for Ukrainian farm exports via the Black Sea.

[...]

Speaking to Fox News on Sunday, Witkoff, a real estate developer who had no prior diplomatic experience before being tasked as Donald Trump’s special envoy, downplayed fears of Vladimir Putin launching a broader aggression.

[...]

When asked about the upcoming talks, however, Witkoff said the “central issue” was the Ukrainian regions that had been annexed or partially occupied by Russian forces. He stumbled, however, in trying to name them.

[...]

Earlier this month, Volodymyr Zelenskyy stressed that Ukraine would not recognise any occupied territories – where Russia was accused of holding sham polls in 2022 in a bid to provide cover for their illegal annexation – as Russian.

Witkoff appeared to side with the Kremlin as he cited the largely discredited polls as evidence of local sentiment on the ground and conflated the locally spoken language with support for Russia.

[...]

His comments were swiftly slammed by the journalist and historian Anne Applebaum. “If you ever wondered how the KGB manipulated foreigners and got them to repeat Soviet propaganda, spend some time listening to Steve Witkoff talk about his wonderful conversations with Vladimir Putin,” she wrote on social media.

[...]

Instead he envisioned a global stage where the US and Russia could build on the ceasefire to normalise relations and join forces in areas such as energy policies in the Arctic, sea lanes, LNG supplies to Europe and artificial intelligence. “Who doesn’t want to have a world where Russia and the United States are doing, collaboratively, good things together?” he asked.

Gulf in US and Russian expectations marks start of latest ceasefire talks

As Washington signals hope for ‘real progress’, Moscow warns ‘difficult negotiations’ lie ahead

www.theguardian.com

Typical Trump. Sending fools who know nothing about US diplomacy to negotiate with Putin. I suppose it makes it easier for Trump to dodge responsibility when talks fail.

Could this incompetence mean the US is at risk of having our government overtaken by Putin? Nothing would surprise me anymore.

Putin doesn’t have allies or normal relations with other countries. He only knows how to dominate and control them as enemies.

 

[RichardKimble]

Typical Trump. Sending fools who know nothing about US diplomacy to negotiate with Putin. I suppose it makes it easier for Trump to dodge responsibility when talks fail.

Could this incompetence mean the US is at risk of having our government overtaken by Putin? Nothing would surprise me anymore.

Putin doesn’t have allies or normal relations with other countries. He only knows how to dominate and control them as enemies.

No one has engaged in peace talks with Putin before, which benchmark should a negotiator reach before engaging?

 

[Betty P]

No one has engaged in peace talks with Putin before, which benchmark should a negotiator reach before engaging?

Good point. Might as well send a fool to do the negotiating, since they have no prior experience to guide them. A real estate agent. Yeah, that’s the ticket. What could possibly go wrong?

 

[RichardKimble]

Good point. Might as well send a fool to do the negotiating, since they have no prior experience to guide them. A real estate agent. Yeah, that’s the ticket. What could possibly go wrong?

Well Trump wants mineral rights!

 

[Betty P]

Well Trump wants mineral rights!

And what will he trade away to make a few bucks for himself? Whatever Trump gives up, it won’t result in a cease fire in Ukraine.

“Vyacheslav Nikonov, a deputy chairman of the foreign affairs committee of the lower house of the Russian Parliament, said that Mr. Trump and Mr. Putin were developing a “bilateral agenda” that was “not connected to Ukraine.”

“Meeting in Moscow with the White House envoy Steve Witkoff this month, Mr. Putin handed over a “beautiful portrait of President Trump” commissioned from a Russian artist, Mr. Witkoff said in an interview released on Saturday.”

For Russia, Trump Has a Lot to Offer, Even Without a Ukraine Deal

Moscow sees economic and geopolitical benefits in humoring President Trump’s push for a cease-fire in Ukraine. But the Kremlin’s war aims haven’t shifted.

www.nytimes.com

So the US will turn off its cyber defenses against Russia in exchange for a nice portrait of Trump.

 

[SouthAussie]

No one has engaged in peace talks with Putin before, which benchmark should a negotiator reach before engaging?

Plenty of people have engaged with Putin and the Russian govt in peace talks before.

I have no idea why people think this is some kind of first attempt. Unless maybe some people only sat up and took notice when Trump started saying "hey, we want our money back".

As well, many nations have been involved with trying to get peace started - China, South Africa, India, Germany, Belarus, Armenia, Turkey, the UN, and many more - including the US (eg US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin).

Read early negotiations (2022-2024). It is a long piece because so many have attempted to help resolve the situation.

Peace negotiations in the Russian invasion of Ukraine - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

[iamshadow21]

And what will he trade away to make a few bucks for himself? Whatever Trump gives up, it won’t result in a cease fire in Ukraine.

“Vyacheslav Nikonov, a deputy chairman of the foreign affairs committee of the lower house of the Russian Parliament, said that Mr. Trump and Mr. Putin were developing a “bilateral agenda” that was “not connected to Ukraine.”

“Meeting in Moscow with the White House envoy Steve Witkoff this month, Mr. Putin handed over a “beautiful portrait of President Trump” commissioned from a Russian artist, Mr. Witkoff said in an interview released on Saturday.”

For Russia, Trump Has a Lot to Offer, Even Without a Ukraine Deal

Moscow sees economic and geopolitical benefits in humoring President Trump’s push for a cease-fire in Ukraine. But the Kremlin’s war aims haven’t shifted.

www.nytimes.com

So the US will turn off its cyber defenses against Russia in exchange for a nice portrait of Trump.

He's weirdly fixated on portraits of himself. I'm guessing the Russians would know that, hence the clear tactics of giving one as a gift.

Trump demands removal of his portrait in Colorado's state capitol

The US president took to Truth Social to call for the removal of his "purposefully distorted" portrait.

www.abc.net.au

MOO

 

[CoverMeCagney]

I discovered recently to my surprise that Ukraine’s land area is actually the largest in Europe (second to Russia, if you count it). But in population it is the eighth largest (including Russia). This is partly why I said earlier that the rest of Europe is in grave danger, especially countries of the former Soviet Union.

No, most Europeans definitely do not count Russia as part of Europe! Wishful thinking, on their part.

European borders include the three Baltics, Poland, Finland, Norway, Ukraine (and Belarus but the less said about them the better, frankly)

Fun fact: Russia is the only country separating Norway and North Korea, a gap of almost 5000 miles.

 

[Niner]

No, most Europeans definitely do not count Russia as part of Europe! Wishful thinking, on their part.

European borders include the three Baltics, Poland, Finland, Norway, Ukraine (and Belarus but the less said about them the better, frankly)

Fun fact: Russia is the only country separating Norway and North Korea, a gap of almost 5000 miles.

Nope! I NEVER thought of Russia "in" Europe.... I consider myself living in Northern Europe (not Eastern).

 

[CoverMeCagney]

Nope! I NEVER thought of Russia "in" Europe.... I consider myself living in Northern Europe (not Eastern).

I was thinking about you when I posted that, Niner! How’s things in Latvia, what’s the general feeling?

 

[SouthAussie]

The Russian negotiation team are ..... Sergei Beseda, a veteran of Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB), and diplomat Grigory Karasin who has previously been deputy foreign minister and ambassador to the UK.

Kremlin spokesman, Dimtry Peskov (who has had his assets frozen by the EU - link) said ..... “On Monday, we mainly intend to discuss President Putin’s agreement to resume the so-called Black Sea initiative, and our negotiators will be ready to discuss the nuances around this problem”

Coalition of the Willing ........ "Trump’s envoy Witkoff deemed the coalition “a combination of posture and pose” in an interview with conservative journalist Tucker Carlson on Saturday."

US-Russia talks on Ukraine war: What’s on the table in Saudi Arabia?

Russia and the US hold talks in the Saudi capital aimed at making progress towards peace in Ukraine.

www.aljazeera.com

 

[Lilibet]

No, most Europeans definitely do not count Russia as part of Europe! Wishful thinking, on their part.

European borders include the three Baltics, Poland, Finland, Norway, Ukraine (and Belarus but the less said about them the better, frankly)

Fun fact: Russia is the only country separating Norway and North Korea, a gap of almost 5000 miles.

Yes, I didn’t think Europe included Russia. But I figured if I didn’t say what I did, someone would say I forgot about Russia! So Ukraine is the largest country in Europe. Period.

 

[SouthAussie]

"France's Dassault Aviation is looking to ramp up production of its Rafale combat planes, its CEO said on Sunday, after President Emmanuel Macron said the country would increase orders.

Trappier said that, if the French government approved, the company would also be "ready to provide its services" to any country reviewing its orders for US-made F-35 combat planes since President Donald Trump took office."

France's Dassault says stepping up Rafale warplane output

France's Dassault Aviation is looking to ramp up production of its Rafale combat planes, its CEO said on Sunday, after President Emmanuel Macron said the country would increase orders.

www.rfi.fr

 

[SouthAussie]

"War in Ukraine is forcing Europe to reinvent its defence industry, with Moscow viewed as a threat and the United States under President Donald Trump a more unpredictable ally."

Ukraine war leads France to restore gunpowder production