Russia Attacks Ukraine - 23 Feb 2022 #6

[Bit of hope]

Oekraïne: Rusland gebruikt verboden fosformunitie • Amerikaanse journalist gedood

We don't attack civilians.....huh..sorry??!

Again lies...lies....do this Russian talking heads have seeing and hearing troubles?

• 4 HOURS AGO
  Russian ambassador to the Netherlands: no Russian attacks on civilians
  Ukraine uses civilians as living shields and the pregnant woman who was transported on a stretcher after the attack on a maternity hospital in Mariupol was an actor. That is what the Russian ambassador Aleksander Vasilyevich Shulgin claimed in an interview in the TV program Buitenhof .
  
  It was an interview at the cutting edge, in which presenter Maaike Schoon Sjoelgin repeatedly interrupted. The ambassador did not deviate from the official Kremlin line. He did not use the word "war" and emphasized that Russia does not want to occupy Ukraine, "but denazify".
  
  According to Shulgin, the damage to the children's hospital and maternity hospital in Mariupol was caused by "Ukrainian nationalist battalions". Although the UN speaks of many hundreds of civilian deaths, mainly from Russian airstrikes and bombings, according to Shulgin, the Russian army has never attacked civilians.
  
  
  
  
  Russian ambassador Aleksander Vasilyevich Shulgin in conversation with presenter Maaike SchoonVPRO / BUITENHuis.
• Why is this person still allowed to be in the Netherlands....ridiculous.

 

[worldwatcher]

Ugh. If you watched Winter On Fire, you'll recall the Berkut's. They are vicious. MOO

MAR 13, 2022
Russia Deploying Members Of Notorious Ukrainian Police Unit In Occupied Regions, Official Says (rferl.org)
Russian forces have tried to intimidate local officials working in the occupied southern Ukrainian city of Kherson and deployed officers from a notorious, now-disbanded riot police unit as part of that effort, a local administration official said.

In an interview, Serhiy Khlan, deputy chief of the Kherson regional council, also described in more detail an effort by Russian officials to organize a sham independence referendum, in a pretext for formally taking over the region or simply prying it away from central government control.

[...]

Speaking to Current Time on March 12, Khlan said that Russian military forces have remained on the outside of city limits, but civilian police and government officials have been sent into the city -- most likely, he said, under orders from Russia’s National Guard, a highly militarized civilian police force.

He also said that the police officers being deployed under Russian orders included former members of a feared Ukrainian riot police unit known as the “Berkut.”

The unit was notorious for violent repressions against protesters, and was blamed for most of the shooting deaths of Ukrainian civilians that occurred in February 2014, in the final days of the Maidan street protests.

[...]

“Kherson is already controlled by the National Guard. These are the so-called policemen, these are the ‘berkutists’, these are those who fled from Ukraine during the Maidan in 2014, and now they are returning, and they fiercely hate Ukrainians,” he said.

[...]

“And the fact that they managed to occupy almost the entire Kherson region today, they use it for their propaganda purposes in order to make a fake picture that Kherson already wants independence and wants to recognize its independence as part of, probably” Russia, Khlan said.

I watched it,it’s on Netflix.

 

[worldwatcher]

China-Australia Relations Hit New Low Over Military, Politics, Science

China-Australia Relations Hit New Low Over Military, Politics, Science

What’s next ,after China?
Iran?
https://www.atlanticcouncil.org/blogs/iransource/as-the-world-shuns-russia-over-its-invasion-of-ukraine-iran-strengthens-its-ties-with-moscow/

 

[Elley Mae]

What’s next ,after China?
Iran?
https://www.atlanticcouncil.org/blogs/iransource/as-the-world-shuns-russia-over-its-invasion-of-ukraine-iran-strengthens-its-ties-with-moscow/

It’s a year old article, but a 25 year agreement.


China, With $400 Billion Iran Deal, Could Deepen Influence in Mideast

China, With $400 Billion Iran Deal, Could Deepen Influence in Mideast

That draft detailed $400 billion of Chinese investments to be made in dozens of fields, including banking, telecommunications, ports, railways, health care and information technology, over the next 25 years. In exchange, China would receive a regular — and, according to an Iranian official and an oil trader, heavily discounted — supply of Iranian oil.

 

[PommyMommy]

Jane Ferguson on Twitter - Award-winning correspondent for @PBS @NewsHour (2 hrs ago)
Just left roadside spot near Irpin where body of American journalist Brent Renaud lay under a blanket. Ukranian medics could do nothing to help him by that stage. Outraged Ukranian police officer: “Tell America, tell the world, what they did to a journalist.”

The Kyiv Independent on Twitter - 50 min ago
Mariupol city council: Death toll of civilians rises to 2,187. Russia bombed Mariupol, a besieged city in Donetsk Oblast, 22 times in the last 24 hours, according to the city council. About 400,000 residents are stuck in the city, as Russia continues to block evacuation.

Euromaidan Press on Twitter - 35 min ago, Video
At least 22 air bombings on Mariupol in 24 hours with 100+ bombs. Russians are purposefully targeting apartment buildings & hospitals. At least 2,187 Mariupol residents have been killed, - city council wrote, saying the greatest danger is from the sky Telegram: Contact @mariupolrada

Euromaidan Press on Twitter - 3 min ago, Video
Faced with logistical problems, [Russian] Army has legalized looting, Defence Intelligence of [Ukraine] reports: The army of the occupier legalizes looting (gur.gov.ua) Videos showing Russian soldiers looting stores & offices in occupied territories spread on social media. First episode shows tank "liberating" a chicken store

NEXTA on Twitter - 24 min ago
In the #Donetsk region, #Avdeevka coke and chemical plant is on fire.

NEXTA on Twitter - 24 min ago, Video
A convoy of invaders enters #Sadovsk.

NEXTA on Twitter - 6 min ago, Video
Today a large column of military equipment with V-signs was noticed not far from #Gomel, #Belarus. Video: Zerkalo. io

 

[Bit of hope]

Why is this man still allowed to be in our country? Aleksander Vasilyevich Shulgin

 

[PommyMommy]

'That's what dads do': US man goes to Ukraine for daughter | AP News
[...]

William Hubbard recently flew to Poland and crossed the border to Ukraine on foot before joining his daughter, Aislinn, and her 8-month-old son, Seraphim, at their home near Kyiv, WCVB-TV reports.

Aislinn moved to Ukraine in 2018 at age 16 to study ballet at the prestigious Kyiv Choreographic College. She tried to leave before Russia began its invasion, but her son does not have a birth certificate or passport because he was born in a home during the coronavirus pandemic.

William previously flew to Ukraine to help arrange a DNA test to prove Seraphim’s U.S. citizenship, but it was unsuccessful.

Hubbard and his wife, Deborah, spent weeks trying to help from their home in Fitchburg. But as Russian forces advanced, William decided to make his way to Aislinn and Seraphim and help them flee.

“I did what any dad would do, I guess, in this situation,” Hubbard told WCVB-TV.

[...]

 

[sunshineray]

@MartaDhanis

BREAKING: A journalist was shot and killed in Irpin, a second American journalist was also shot and has been taken to a hospital


@cliffordlevy
@nytimes is deeply saddened to learn of the death of an American journalist in Ukraine, Brent Renaud. Brent was a talented photographer and filmmaker, but he was not on assignment for@nytimes in Ukraine. Full statement is here

Brent's death is a terrible loss. Brave journalists like Brent take tremendous risks to bear witness and to tell the world about the devastation and suffering caused by Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

They were filming civilians escaping over a bridge and Russian soldiers targeted them. Civilians being targeted was most likely just verified on film, for The Hague

 

[scandinavian girl]

Thank you all for the updates, WB is the place to go for info and @PommyMommy you have a God given gift for doing this.

 

[PommyMommy]

Russia-Ukraine war latest news: dozens reportedly dead after military base hit; US journalist killed by Russian forces | World news | The Guardian
2h ago 10:51

Summary
Here’s a round-up of today’s latest events as the Russian invasion of Ukraine continues, where at least 35 people were killed in a rocket attack near Lviv.

• A Russian air strike has killed at least 35 people and wounded 134 at a military base in Yavoriv, 50km west of Lviv and less than 10 miles from the Polish border. The attack happened hours after the Kremlin had warned that western supply lines into the embattled country were “legitimate targets”.
  
• Brent Renaud, an award-winning US film-maker whose work has appeared in the New York Times and other outlets, has been killed by Russian forces in town of Irpin, outside Kyiv. Juan Arredondo, a US photographer, was wounded and is in hospital.
• The Ukrainian port city of Mariupol is running out of its last reserves of food and water, according to its local authority. Earlier on Sunday, president Volodymyr Zelenskiy said a supply convoy was only two hours away from the city, where 400,000 people are currently stuck.
• Kyiv has a two-week supply of food in case of a blockade, its local authority has reported.
• Ukrainian and Russian delegates from peace talks have sounded positive, ahead of more negotiations in the next few days. Ukrainian negotiator Mykhailo Podolyak said talks had become more constructive. Leonid Slutsky, a Russian delegate said there had been significant progress and they hoped to soon arrive at a “joint position”, Reuters reports.
• Senior Christian figures have called for fighting to stop in Ukraine and for the fighting to end. Pope Francis said Ukrainians are being massacred and called for the invasion to stop. “In the name of God, let the cry of the suffering people be heard, and let the bombings and attacks stop. In the name of God, I ask you, stop this massacre.”
• Meanwhile the Orthodox world’s spiritual leader Bartholomew I has called for a ceasefire in Ukraine while praising the nation’s “powerful resistance” against invading Russian forces.
• More than 14,000 people in 112 cities have been arrested in Russia for anti-war protests since the start of the invasion of Ukraine, according to an independent human rights body in the country.
• Ukraine’s human rights ombudsman has claimed Russia used banned phosphorus munitions in an attack overnight in Popasna in eastern Ukraine, which would constitute a war crime.
• India is temporarily relocating its embassy in Ukraine to Poland, its government confirmed.
  
• The mayor of a city in southern Ukraine is the latest to have been kidnapped by Russian forces, according to Ukraine’s foreign minister. Dymtro Kuleba said that Yevhen Matveyev from Dniprorudne has been “abducted” by Russian forces.
  
• Nine people were killed in airstrikes on the southern Ukrainian city of Mykolaiv. The city is seen as key in any future assault on the port of Odesa, further down the Black Sea coast.
• Polish president Andrzej Duda says he fears Vladimir Putin could use chemical weapons, and if so it would be a “gamechanger” in the conflict.
• The UK has now issued more than 3,000 visas to Ukrainian refugees, with the government believing the final number who could end up in Britain could be in the tens of thousands, according to government minister Michael Gove.
• The UK chancellor, Rishi Sunak, has said there is no case for new investments in Russia. In a statement issued alongside a video on Sunday morning, he urged companies to “think very carefully” about their holdings.

@scandinavian girl, thank you for your kind words.

 

[Bit of hope]

Aleksander Vasilyevich Shulgin pack your stuff....get out of our country...where can I turn to to make this happen? Posted it on my personal FB page...we will see.

 

[worldwatcher]

Oleksandr Kononov killed
Near Severodonetsk Russian occupation troops executed Ukrainian activist Olexander Kononov - head of Luhansk regional administration Sieverodonetsk - Ukraine Interactive map - Ukraine Latest news on live map - liveuamap.com


“Fifteen years ago, more than a hundred people lived in Desyatyny, Zhytomyr Oblast. Today, this rural community counts only 30 inhabitants. The village would have completely disappeared if not for one brave and enterprising man, Olesandr Kononov.


Until very recently, Oleksandr was held captive and tortured in a dark cellar in the so-called “LNR”, but the terrorists failed to break his spirit. Once liberated, Oleksandr acquired one of the many abandoned homes in Desyatyny, moved his beloved goats and sheep across the country, and started re-building not only his own life, but also the future of the local community.”
https://euromaidanpress.com/2016/07/30/oleksandr-the-good-shepherd/

 

[Arkay]

Could Putin actually fall?

Very long article at Vox, and I suppose it’s the author’s opinion, but a very informed one.
The gist of it is that Putin is of course very well aware that the West would impose sanctions and he’s personally well-prepared for it.

And, primarily, the author lays out what it would take to remove Putin—-essentially a coup or a popular uprising. But in the article the author points out how extraordinarily difficult this would be, as Putin has long ago made these scenarios well nigh impossible.
Yes, there are street protests in Russia but the fear of being jailed for 15 years at least will deter the revolution that would need to happen to be effective. Not to mention dying.

Also, that the military is seeded with Putin’s intelligence officers, making a coup too difficult because that requires coordination among top brass, but they are afraid to coordinate because they’re likely communicating with Putin’s spies.

A lot more in the article but I found it informative, insightful and discouraging.

I watch the news a little too obsessively, and I’m always concerned seeing journalists in a war zone. I remember Richard Engel was kidnapped in Syria years ago. Now that a journalist has been killed, and Russian forces are in Lviv in western Ukraine, who knows what will happen? What will the West do when US and other Western citizens are killed in Ukraine? Even though journalists are there voluntarily, and so are citizens of many countries who traveled to Ukraine to help defend it?

The war is clearly in a more intense phase now with the bombing of facilities that housed Westerners.

All this time, Zelenskyy has been pleading for NATO to help save Ukraine. But I’m starting to feel that it’s Ukraine that is trying to save Europe. Now that Russia has been bombing 15 miles from Poland, IMO Ukraine is the first domino.

jmo

 

[PommyMommy]

MAR 13, 2022
‘Stop this massacre’: pope condemns invasion of Ukraine | Pope Francis | The Guardian
Speaking to thousands of people in St Peter’s Square for his Sunday blessing, Francis also said the killing of children and unarmed civilians was “barbaric” and had “no valid strategic reason”.

He called besieged Mariupol a “martyred city” and again appealed for “truly secure humanitarian corridors” to allow residents to leave.

“In the name of God, I ask you: stop this massacre,” the pope said, adding that Ukrainian cities risked “being reduced to cemeteries”.

 

[dotr]

Ukraine War: Russia strikes base 15 miles from NATO territory
Mar 13, 2022

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VkB8Qaf0yyw

 

[PommyMommy]

The Kyiv Independent on Twitter
Journalists forbidden from entering Irpin after Russians kill US reporter on March 13. Irpin Mayor Oleksandr Markushyn said the measure was put in place to protect journalists and Ukrainian soldiers alike. Irpin is a satellite town near Kyiv, and a site of fighting.

The Kyiv Independent on Twitter
Between 20,000 and 30,000 people rally in support of Ukraine in Berlin. The column of protesters demanding that Russia stops the war walked through the center of the German capital on March 13.

The Kyiv Independent on Twitter
Russia claims it killed 180 'foreign mercenaries' in missile strike on Yavoriv military training ground in western Ukraine. The Russian government added that it will continue to kill foreign nationals in Ukraine whom it considers mercenaries.

The Kyiv Independent on Twitter
Local Ukrainian authorities said that 35 people were killed in the March 13 attack, and 134 were injured. They didn't disclose the nationality of the victims.

The Kyiv Independent on Twitter
The training ground was the site where foreign military instructors used to train Ukrainian troops. However, the instructors were reportedly ordered by their governments to leave Ukraine before the invasion started.

The Kyiv Independent on Twitter - 8 min ago
President Volodymyr Zelensky visited the Ukrainian soldiers wounded in battle as they are getting treatment at the military hospital in Kyiv.

Euromaidan Press on Twitter
18:00 EET Russian troops are focusing on advancing in the direction of Kryvyi Rih and Mykolayiv in the south. They are also accumulating troops to capture Vuhledar and Mariupol in Donetsk Oblast. The navy in the Black sea is in full readiness - GenStaff Оперативна інформація станом / General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine | Facebook

Euromaidan Press on Twitter
According to available information, Russians are planning sabotage on the routes of transport convoys with humanitarian and military aid. The Russian army has legalized looting which is now widespread along with other crimes against civilian population - General Staff

 

[sunshineray]

Oleksandr Kononov killed
Near Severodonetsk Russian occupation troops executed Ukrainian activist Olexander Kononov - head of Luhansk regional administration Sieverodonetsk - Ukraine Interactive map - Ukraine Latest news on live map - liveuamap.com


“Fifteen years ago, more than a hundred people lived in Desyatyny, Zhytomyr Oblast. Today, this rural community counts only 30 inhabitants. The village would have completely disappeared if not for one brave and enterprising man, Olesandr Kononov.


Until very recently, Oleksandr was held captive and tortured in a dark cellar in the so-called “LNR”, but the terrorists failed to break his spirit. Once liberated, Oleksandr acquired one of the many abandoned homes in Desyatyny, moved his beloved goats and sheep across the country, and started re-building not only his own life, but also the future of the local community.”
https://euromaidanpress.com/2016/07/30/oleksandr-the-good-shepherd/

So sad, he only had one arm and leg but he was a goat shepherd and loved the tiny village life...shot in his wheelchair. Who does that? Monsters that's who. AJMO

 

[PommyMommy]

MAR 13, 2022
Interview: How The Coming Weeks Could Decide The Future Of The Ukraine War (rferl.org)
[...]

To find out more, RFE/RL spoke with Gustav Gressel, a former Austrian defense official and Russian military expert at the European Council on Foreign Relations.

RFE/RL: How should people make sense of the varying and at times conflicting casualty figures we are seeing from U.S, Ukrainian, and Russian officials? What’s the reasoning behind these diverging figures and how should we view the gaps? Also, can you explain some of the difficulties in tracking a conflict in real time like this?

Gustav Gressel: ... If the Russian [casualty] counts were true, ghosts would have had to [be] driving all the tanks. When a tank blows up in split seconds, there's no way the crew gets out and Russian tanks have a three-man crew.

So, you can roughly [guess], at least from the vehicle crews, that there are much higher casualties than [what Moscow is disclosing.]

[...]

RFE/RL: Given that Russian casualties are likely much higher, are we seeing any shift in strategy now from Moscow?

Gressel: ... So I think they're playing for April 1 where you have new conscripts moving in and old conscripts demilitarizing. [The Russian military] wants, of course, to pressure a lot of these demilitarizing conscripts into signing up [again] or [signing] contracts to take part in this war.

This is why, I think, we [currently] see no peace solution or no serious negotiations on the Russian side. They are [waiting] for April 1, [when they could get] another round of force regeneration and [until] they haven’t [tried to use] them…I don't think Russia will make any serious attempt to make peace.

[...]

 

[CSIDreamer]

I'm just thinking of the number of Russian POWs in Ukraine. I have no idea how many detention facilities they're putting them in. It occurs to me with these food shortages going on, it isn’t going to be easy to care for them. Also, positive Putin doesn't care. JMO

 

[PommyMommy]

MAR 13, 2022
Invasion jolts Russia's friends in tiny West-leaning Moldova | AP News
[...]

In Gagauzia, a small, autonomous part of the country that’s traditionally felt closer to the Kremlin than the West, people would normally back Russia, which they never wanted to leave when Moldova gained independence. But this time, most have trouble identifying with either side in the war.

Anna Koejoglo says she’s deeply conflicted.

“I have sisters (in Ukraine), I have nephews there, my own son is in Kyiv,” the 52-year-old said, quickly adding that her other, younger, son is studying in Russia.

“My heart is (broken), my insides are burning,” she told The Associated Press.

[...]

Although Moldova is neutral militarily and has no plans to join NATO, it formally applied for EU membership when the Russian invasion began. It’s also taken in about a tenth of the more than 2.3 million Ukrainians who fled their country for safety.

[...]

An ethnic Ukrainian who lives in Balti said her sympathies were divided.

“I’m very sorry for the people of Ukraine ... but I also feel sorry for Russians,” said Iulia Popovic, 66. “I understand that it is all (happening because of) politics and that the situation is very difficult.”