Russia Attacks Ukraine - 23 Feb 2022 #7

[Dontknow?]

Andrew Neil@afneil
20m

Russian official admits almost 10,000 Russian military have died in Ukraine and over 16,000 injured.

 

[CoverMeCagney]

Andrew Neil@afneil
20m

Russian official admits almost 10,000 Russian military have died in Ukraine and over 16,000 injured.

I was about to tongue-in-cheek ponder whether Wali the sniper had had a good day sniping, but realised I’d not heard anything about him for a few days.

A Google search does not bring promising news. I hope he’s ok.

 

[MassGuy]

This is just mind-blowing.
9,861 Russian KIAs and 16,153 WIAs in Ukraine - and this pro-Kremlin tabloid Komsomolskaya Pravda refers to the Russian Ministry of Defense.
The story was deleted almost immediately.
https://twitter.com/iaponomarenko/status/1506000982366371847?s=21
https://twitter.com/iaponomarenko/status/1506000982366371847?s=21

 

[sunshineray]

I have no idea. But what we’ve done isn’t going to work I don’t think. My random thoughts…. I don’t know that there is anything we can do to prevent Putin from pulling the trigger on a nuclear bomb sooner or later. He considers almost everything an act of war it sounds now. I wouldn’t be the first to launch a nuclear weapon but what we are doing now is just playing into his hands I fear. I would have met him at the border of Ukraine and Russia with the strongest largest NATO , EU force possible and hoped against hope he was too scared to launch a nuclear bomb because of what it would release on his own country. Maybe the Russian people will rise up and claim their freedom before it’s too late. But then we will just be sitting waiting for the next time some crazy has his finger on THE button.

I feel the same, that we ARE playing to the fear he causes when he puts his nuclear forces on high alert and now with the hypersonic missile being deployed...but those are normal emotions when faced with nuclear warfare. I thought the time to show force was at the beginning too but then as soon as Chernobyl was under siege I thought Oh my God what is this man doing!?

That letter that the Canadians "corrected" says it all. Putin's lackeys know they're bald-faced lying to the world about the death and destruction they're causing. They state absolute falsehoods the direct opposite of the facts that we all can clearly see.

Who does something like that on the world stage!? History has shown us the answer...cold-blooded evil dictators do these things. I say deliver those planes undercover of night, quickly and efficiently...do it and then lie to the liars...if they notice. I know it sounds risky. AJMO

 

[sunshineray]

This is just mind-blowing.
9,861 Russian KIAs and 16,153 WIAs in Ukraine - and this pro-Kremlin tabloid Komsomolskaya Pravda refers to the Russian Ministry of Defense.
The story was deleted almost immediately.
https://twitter.com/iaponomarenko/status/1506000982366371847?s=21

It's so frustrating when they, not you MassGuy, post this inside a jpeg so you can't copy and paste it into a translator...arggg

 

[Arkay]

Andrew Neil@afneil
20m

Russian official admits almost 10,000 Russian military have died in Ukraine and over 16,000 injured.

I mean, obviously we all know that in a war, the military will sustain casualties. So I know this isn't surprising, but I AM surprised that Russia admitted this.

But IMO it's so, so senseless. This is not a war that is being fought for any reason other than to satiate one man's appetite. In a dictatorship there's no checks and balances, no Congress or Parliament or any other governing body to vote on whether a war is justifiable. No one who can tell Putin "no" and expect to keep his job, his freedom or even his life.

Yet, in the face of this, Putin can hold a pep rally with flags waving and a cheering crowd. It seems clear that these deaths and injuries mean nothing to him. He will remain defiant and unbowed 'til he meets his end.

Worse, of course, is how nonchalant he is about not just the loss of his own troops, but the deaths of civilians in Ukraine who were just minding their own business. Maybe nonchalant is the wrong word---as far as Ukrainian deaths, I guess the word would be "thrilled." Thrilled that these babies and children who died can't grow up to be future Ukrainian citizens. Thrilled that with a snap of his fingers, buildings in Ukraine are demolished, refugees are panicked, citizens are living a subterranean life in basements. Thrilled that the whole world is in an uproar over his every move.

All this from a man whose brother died in the Siege of Leningrad before he was born. If only that had instilled in him a sense of compassion rather than domination.

Jmo

 

[Sillybilly]

Thread closed.

Check back later today.

 

[Sillybilly]

Thread is open again.

 

[PrairieWind]

I mean, obviously we all know that in a war, the military will sustain casualties. So I know this isn't surprising, but I AM surprised that Russia admitted this.

But IMO it's so, so senseless. This is not a war that is being fought for any reason other than to satiate one man's appetite. In a dictatorship there's no checks and balances, no Congress or Parliament or any other governing body to vote on whether a war is justifiable. No one who can tell Putin "no" and expect to keep his job, his freedom or even his life.

Yet, in the face of this, Putin can hold a pep rally with flags waving and a cheering crowd. It seems clear that these deaths and injuries mean nothing to him. He will remain defiant and unbowed 'til he meets his end.

Worse, of course, is how nonchalant he is about not just the loss of his own troops, but the deaths of civilians in Ukraine who were just minding their own business. Maybe nonchalant is the wrong word---as far as Ukrainian deaths, I guess the word would be "thrilled." Thrilled that these babies and children who died can't grow up to be future Ukrainian citizens. Thrilled that with a snap of his fingers, buildings in Ukraine are demolished, refugees are panicked, citizens are living a subterranean life in basements. Thrilled that the whole world is in an uproar over his every move.

All this from a man whose brother died in the Siege of Leningrad before he was born. If only that had instilled in him a sense of compassion rather than domination.

Jmo

You are sooooo correct. This is a war with no reason. It makes no sense. Putin just wanted a war.

 

[CSIDreamer]

Video at link:

https://twitter.com/NATO/status/1505931172920111111?t=Rq0DDjkHJBBDbCSunY_dkg&s=19

Despite its litany of lies, denials, and disinformation, the Kremlin’s intentions are clear for the world to see

Stop the lies, stop the war https://t.co/rWZydFhUte

 

[SouthAussie]

Biden has urged the private sector to strengthen cybersecurity in order to fend off a potentially “consequential” Russian cyber attack, offering US government help to companies to step up their defences.

“The magnitude of Russia’s cyber capacity is fairly consequential, and it’s coming,” Biden said.

The White House said in a statement that the warning was based “on evolving intelligence that the Russian Government is exploring options for potential cyberattacks”.

“Most of America’s critical infrastructure is owned and operated by the private sector and critical infrastructure owners and operators must accelerate efforts to lock their digital doors,” it said.

Biden says potential Russian cyber attack would be ‘consequential’

 

[dotr]

Russia-Ukraine War: Latest News (wsj.com)
''In Ukraine: The Ukrainian government rebuffed a Russian demand to surrender the embattled port city of Mariupol that came as Moscow appears to be shifting its battle plan to compel Kyiv to accept Moscow’s claims to Ukraine’s southern and eastern territory.

• The World Health Organization said the fighting is taking an ever greater toll on Ukraine’s healthcare system. The agency said Monday that it had registered 14 deaths and 36 injuries in attacks on the healthcare system tied to the fighting that began Feb. 24.
• Russia claimed to have seized a Ukrainian military command headquarters and taken 61 Ukrainian prisoners of war, and reported a cruise-missile attack on an alleged training center for foreign and Ukrainian fighters in the Rivne region of western Ukraine, which it says killed more than 80 Ukrainian and foreign fighters.
• The two sides exchanged accusations for damage at a chemical plant in the city of Sumy in eastern Ukraine on Monday morning where an ammonia gas leak was detected.''

''Mr. Biden said earlier in the day that based on ''evolving intelligence," Mr. Putin was exploring options for potential cyberattacks. He repeated that warning to the executives, saying that one of the tools Mr. Putin was most likely to use was cyberattacks. He called it a patriotic responsibility for businesses to bolster their cyber defenses.''

 

[cujenn81]

Videos show Russian soldiers responding to a protest in Kherson with gunfire.

Kherson was the first major city to fall in the war. Russian forces seized control on March 2.

In the weeks since, residents have gathered at the city’s Freedom Square to protest the Russian occupation.

While Russian troops previously had fired into the air to disperse crowds in the region, Monday saw an escalation in the violent response — including sustained use of gunfire for nearly a minute, shooting directly at the crowd, and the use of flash-bang type grenades.

In videos and images verified by The Times, soldiers are seen carrying Russian assault rifles, with at least one firing into the air and another directly at protesters.

During demonstrations in Kherson on Sunday, Russian military vehicles were filmed retreating after being surrounded by protesters.

Here are the latest developments in Ukraine.

After nearly a month of fighting, the war has reached a stalemate, with Russia turning to deadlier and blunter methods, including targeting civilians. A New York Times reporter saw six dead bodies at the mall in Kyiv covered in plastic as rescue workers battled fires and pulled more victims from the wreckage Monday morning.

Ukrainian officials and witnesses said they were forcibly deporting people, including children. Oleg Nikolenko, the spokesman for Ukraine’s foreign ministry, said in a statement that 2,389 children were taken from their parents in the Donbas region and sent to Russia on a single day, Saturday. The claim could not be independently confirmed.

Mr. Biden urged the private sector in the United States to “harden your cyber defenses immediately” in response to what he called “evolving intelligence” that Russia is examining the possibility of waging potential cyberattacks.

 

[worldwatcher]

Little bit O/T here,but nevertheless -quite interesting (imo)

Not much is known about Vladimir Putins childhood /family.
I came across an article and, thought it was worth a share:

Is Vera Putina the biological mother of M*d Vlad?

According to author Stanislav Belkovsky, there are two stories of President Putin's early childhood: the official one and the real one.

According to the real one , Vera Nikolaevna Putina (September 6, 1926-deceased?) is M*d Vlad's biological mother. She has claimed that Vladimir Putin (“Vova”) is her son since 1999. The newspaper The Telegraph examined the woman's story and concluded that her testimony "fills in the gaps in the well-known narrative of Putin's past".


<One problem for Putin – if this is true – is Georgia. To some, Georgia is not Russia, and a leader who promises to restore Russian greatness and promote Russian patriotism and ethnocentrism had better be a real Russian boy.>

SBM

Is Vera Putina de biologische moeder van Mad Vlad? - PNWS




Several journalists who were investigating this story were killed:
These were, the 2 journalist who investigated the story:

Antonio Russo - Wikipedia :

“According to historian Yuri Felshtinsky and political scientist Vladimir Pribylovsky, Borovik's death may be linked to his publications about Vladimir Putin just before the presidential elections that took place on 26 March.[13] He died three days prior to the scheduled publication of materials about Putin's childhood. At this time, he also conducted an investigation of the 1999 Moscow apartment bombings.[4][14] Borovik had studied Vera Putina's claims.”
———————————————————————————————-
‘Antonio Russo died in the night between 15 and 16 October 2000 in Georgia, where he was sent by Radical Radio to document the war in Chechnya. The Farnesina announced that his body was found on the edge of a country road, near the village of Udzharma, at 25km from Tbilisi (Georgia), tortured and bruised, with techniques related to military specialist departments. This fact is significant, because on this road there is a Russian base of Vasiani. His apartment had been searched and looted; Russo's laptop computer, mobile telephone, video camera, and three videotapes were missing.[13] The circumstances of death were never clarified, unconfirmed bring back the incident to the government of Vladimir Putin in Moscow. The autopsy reveals that the envoy Radical Radio was killed by blows to the chest that caused fatal internal injuries’

Artyom Borovik - Wikipedia

 

[dotr]

by Steven L. Hall
Analysis: Putin fears a coup but it’s not oligarchs who will oust him — it’s the <em>siloviki</em> | National Post
''The real threat to Putin comes from the siloviki, a Russian word used loosely to describe Russia’s security and military elite. These are people like Nikolai Patrushev, currently the secretary of the Russian security council, and Alexander Bortnikov, the head of the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB), as well as other current and former senior security officials.''

''Men like Patrushev and Bortnikov not only possess hard power, but they know how to use it and are inclined to do so. The FSB includes around 160,000 members of the Border Guard service, as well as thousands of armed personnel with law enforcement authorities. But the strength of the FSB comes not only from its ability to do violence; the organization is also highly secretive. FSB officers are skilled at working clandestinely, keeping their most sensitive operations strictly compartmented to small groups. Putin understands this better than most: He once ran the organization himself.''


''The siloviki are willing to use this deadly mixture of hard power and secrecy when a serious threat to the Russian kleptocratic system emerges. That’s because the security elite derives their power from the system. The whole operation can flex when threatened; street protests are tolerated to a certain extent, and Russia has withstood lesser Western sanctions in the past. Like branches of an old tree, the kleptocratic autocracy in the Kremlin can withstand the occasional storm, but if the trunk is rotting, the siloviki will take action.''

 

[PommyMommy]

[URL='https://www.theguardian.com/world/live/2022/mar/21/russia-ukraine-war-latest-news-kyiv-rejects-moscows-deadline-for-mariupol-surrender-biden-to-visit-poland-live']Russia-Ukraine war: Zelenskiy urges talks with Putin; Biden flags ‘clear sign’ Russia considering chemical and biological weapons – live | World news | The Guardian[/URL]

1h ago 20:28
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskiy has called for direct talks with his Russian counterpart as the key to ending the war.

Ukraine and Russia have held several rounds of talks via videoconferencing, but so far without a major breakthrough, and Zelenskiy reiterated that direct talks with his Russian counterpart “in any format” were now needed.

Without this meeting it is impossible to fully understand what they are ready for in order to stop the war.”

Zelenskiy said his country would be “destroyed” before it surrenders its cities to invading Russian forces.

The Ukrainian president made clear his countrymen would not “hand over” the capital, the eastern city of Kharkiv, or the heavily bombarded and besieged Mariupol.

Ukraine cannot fulfil Russian ultimatums.

We should be destroyed first.”

 

[PommyMommy]

Zelenskiy Says Any War Compromises Will Be Put To Ukraine Referendum (rferl.org)
“The people will have a say in any type of compromises. But what the [compromises] will end up being will be the result of our talks and agreements between Ukraine and Russia. Therefore, I am ready to do whatever is necessary if our people support my decisions," he added.

Biden Warns U.S. Private Sector Of Russian Cyberattacks, Citing 'Evolving Evidence' (rferl.org)
He said the latest warnings are based on “evolving intelligence” that the Kremlin is exploring options for potential cyberattacks. He did not give specifics.

Russia Summons U.S. Ambassador After Biden Calls Putin A 'War Criminal' (rferl.org)
Russia's Foreign Ministry has summoned U.S. Ambassador to Russia John Sullivan over recent comments by President Joe Biden calling Russian President Vladimir Putin "a war criminal" for Moscow’s unprovoked invasion of Ukraine.

The ministry said in a statement on March 21 that it issued a démarche and handed a note of protest to Sullivan "in connection with the recent unacceptable remarks by the head of the White House, Joe Biden, regarding the president of Russia."

Mariupol: Apocalyptic Images From A City Under Siege (rferl.org)

 

[Sundog]

Russia-Ukraine War: Latest News (wsj.com)

<snipped for focus>

''Mr. Biden said earlier in the day that based on ''evolving intelligence," Mr. Putin was exploring options for potential cyberattacks. He repeated that warning to the executives, saying that one of the tools Mr. Putin was most likely to use was cyberattacks. He called it a patriotic responsibility for businesses to bolster their cyber defenses.''

We've talked in the past about things to do to be ready for a cyberattack against U.S. infrastructure. Below is an article that talks about this, albeit before Biden's warning that there is evolving intelligence that Russia may be exploring options for potential cyberattacks.

Some of the things to keep in mind include electrical grids, utilities such as gas, banking systems, and mobile networks. If internet goes down, then have cash for emergencies. Grocery store digital payment systems wouldn't work, it would be cash only, if they stayed open. Maybe have some cash on hand for food. Maybe have a plan if internet goes down for a few days or a week. A battery operated radio. A suppy of medicines/prescriptions.

Authors say no need to panic, but prepare. Just in case.

If others have suggestions or thoughts on this, perhaps share them here in case of a cyberattack to America's infrastructure either now, or even some time in the future. It would be good to know what to be thinking of. Maybe make a plan with any other family members who wouldn't be able to reach you if phone and internet go down. Etc.

I was a girl guide, hence the admonition/motto: be prepared.

How potential Russian cyberattacks could affect Americans and how to prepare

 

[CSIDreamer]

Zelenskiy Says Any War Compromises Will Be Put To Ukraine Referendum (rferl.org)
“The people will have a say in any type of compromises. But what the [compromises] will end up being will be the result of our talks and agreements between Ukraine and Russia. Therefore, I am ready to do whatever is necessary if our people support my decisions," he added.

Biden Warns U.S. Private Sector Of Russian Cyberattacks, Citing 'Evolving Evidence' (rferl.org)
He said the latest warnings are based on “evolving intelligence” that the Kremlin is exploring options for potential cyberattacks. He did not give specifics.

Russia Summons U.S. Ambassador After Biden Calls Putin A 'War Criminal' (rferl.org)
Russia's Foreign Ministry has summoned U.S. Ambassador to Russia John Sullivan over recent comments by President Joe Biden calling Russian President Vladimir Putin "a war criminal" for Moscow’s unprovoked invasion of Ukraine.

The ministry said in a statement on March 21 that it issued a démarche and handed a note of protest to Sullivan "in connection with the recent unacceptable remarks by the head of the White House, Joe Biden, regarding the president of Russia."

Mariupol: Apocalyptic Images From A City Under Siege (rferl.org)

What does a referendum look like under martial law? A parliamentary vote?

 

[LadyL]

These journalists documented the destruction in Mariupol and escaped as Russian forces hunted them down