Russia Attacks Ukraine - 23 Feb 2022 #7

[Bit of hope]

I was just coming to talk about this. It seems like relatively good news, right?

IMO NO....they are going to smoke out the south...claiming the people there want to be with Russia...if so why they need to smoke and hunger out the people living in Mariupol, deporting people and are bombing humanitarian aide offices and people standing in a row for help in Kherson.....what about Chernobyl?...bombing the houses of personnel working there...is this scaling down? Russia keeps killing civilians....because they think the Dunbas and Cremea are rightfully theirs.....and pressuring Ukraine/Zelensky to give up by killing everybody in this cities....Not scaling down at all....instead "tandje erbij" in Dutch....in the south, can't explain the meaning....something like step up more.

 

[Cool Cats]

Ukraine War 'Unmitigated Disaster' for Putin: Former U.S. Ambassador

 

[Vern]

IMO NO....they are going to smoke out the south...claiming the people there want to be with Russia...if so why they need to smoke and hunger out the people living in Mariupol, deporting people and are bombing humanitarian aide offices and people standing in a row for help in Kherson.....what about Chernobyl?...bombing the houses of personnel working there...is this scaling down? Russia keeps killing civilians....because they think the Dunbas and Cremea are rightfully theirs.....and pressuring Ukraine/Zelensky to give up by killing everybody in this cities....Not scaling down at all....instead "tandje erbij" in Dutch....can't explain the meaning....something like step up more.

I think they have re-thought their original objective (to roll through and take Ukraine in it's entirety in a matter of days) due to heavy resistance and losses to concentrate on the South as you state. At the minimum, they want to cut-off Ukraine from sea access and render her landlocked which will greatly diminish her long-term trade, economic and military replenishment capability.

 

[Bit of hope]

I think they have re-thought their original objective (to roll through and take Ukraine in it's entirety in a matter of days) due to heavy resistance and losses to concentrate on the South as you state. At the minimum, they want to cut-off Ukraine from sea access and render her landlocked which will greatly diminish her long-term trade, economic and military replenishment capability.

I agree...but now all the forces (considering all they said is the truth) will be turned to the south...and people already are dying because of hunger and deported to Russia...maybe I don't understand.....maybe they leave Kiev and surrounding cities alone (what is good) but.....you know what I mean. I'm afraid the Russians are going to give it all so to speak in the south with devastating results...to get Zelensky on his knees. The negotiations are "hanging" on the Dunbas and Cremea...Zelensky refused to give that up....

 

[Vern]

I agree...but now all the forces (considering all they said is the truth) will be turned to the south...and people already are dying because of hunger and deported to Russia...maybe I don't understand.....maybe they leave Kiev and surrounding cities alone (what is good) but.....you know what I mean.

I know what you mean. Just putting it out there too that a re-think of their objective, heading south and taking it and the coast (seaports) will also have the long-term effect of rendering the rest of Ukraine "easier" to take later due to cutting off that economic and prime replenishment capability.

 

[Bit of hope]

I know what you mean. Just putting it out there too that a re-think of their objective, heading south and taking it and the coast (seaports) will also have the long-term effect of rendering the rest of Ukraine "easier" to take later due to cutting off that economic and prime replenishment capability.

It's just that I don't see a reason for optimism. Horrible things are coming....but it's telling that Russian soldiers drive over their own commander...

 

[Dontknow?]

Ostap Yarysh@OstapYarysh
3m

A senior Pentagon official: Russian forces no longer have full control of Kherson in #Ukraine. The city is "contested territory again".

 

[Vern]

N.S. fisherman trapped by Russian shelling as he tries to drive Ukrainians to safety (msn.com)

 

[gitana1]

I agree...but now all the forces (considering all they said is the truth) will be turned to the south...and people already are dying because of hunger and deported to Russia...maybe I don't understand.....maybe they leave Kiev and surrounding cities alone (what is good) but.....you know what I mean. I'm afraid the Russians are going to give it all so to speak in the south with devastating results...to get Zelensky on his knees. The negotiations are "hanging" on the Dunbas and Cremea...Zelensky refused to give that up....

My point is that this statement- that their objectives have been met and they are going to focus on Donbas- is a major concession and admission that he has to pull back. That they cannot win this war.

So yes, now they will focus on pummeling the south. And the horror continues. But the fact that he has to retreat to only one region does, indeed, show what a disaster this has been for Putin. Especially knowing his “tough guy”, arrogant and stubborn personality. Afraid of showing any weakness.

Putin has been described as so afraid of showing the slightest weakness that he will go scorched earth rather than ever retreat at all. And yet he is now retreating.

 

[LadyL]

Russia Releases Its Forces’ Death Toll in Ukraine, Revealing Staggering Losses

 

[gitana1]

The Russian military said it’s focusing efforts on taking full control of Ukraine’s Donbas region after a month of fighting that’s yielded limited territorial gains, potentially a sign Moscow may be backing away from hopes of taking larger swathes of the country.

With Kyiv-led forces having halted the invasion in many areas amid mounting Russian losses, a Ukrainian official also signaled that Russia is shifting tactics in stalled peace negotiations.

Michael Kofman, a specialist on the Russian military at CNA, a Washington think tank, said Russia appears to be “revising war aims” in an effort “to prioritize where they can actually achieve some military success.”

“That gives Moscow an option to end this war in a way so that they can claim the victory for domestic audiences,” he said. “Politically Russia is losing. Militarily it is less clear. Russian forces have lost momentum and couldn’t achieve most of their objectives. But this is the first chapter of the war. It is hard to say if we’re near the beginning, middle or end of the conflict.”

Bloomberg - Are you a robot?

To me this says he is pulling back on his earlier goals. And while it does mean the south will be pummeled, it also means that Ukranian forces can shift resources to defending that region as well, at least somewhat.

 

[cujenn81]

Strange wording if you ask me.

Moscow signaled (or is it signalled?) on Friday it was scaling back its ambitions in Ukraine to focus on territory claimed by Russian-backed separatists as Ukrainian forces went on the offensive, recapturing towns on the outskirts of the capital Kyiv.

Signaled is the American spelling (similar to canceled).

 

[dotr]

rbbm.
Ukraine war: JK Rowling hits back at Putin's 'cancel culture' comment - BBC News
''JK Rowling has hit back at Vladimir Putin, after the Russian president cited her in a wide-ranging speech that saw him criticise "cancel culture".

At a televised meeting on Friday, Mr Putin compared recent criticism of the Harry Potter author to that faced by pro-war Russian composers and writers.

In response, Ms Rowling denounced the invasion of Ukraine in which she said Russia was "slaughtering civilians".

Rowling has been criticised for her views on transgender issues.

"Critiques of Western cancel culture are possibly not best made by those currently slaughtering civilians for the crime of resistance, or who jail and poison their critics," the Harry Potter author wrote on Twitter.

In the lengthy speech, which was given to the winners of various cultural prizes, President Putin claimed Russian composers and writers were being discriminated against.''

 

[dotr]

rbbm.
Russia-Ukraine war: hope for Mariupol evacuation as France negotiates plan; Moscow says first phase of invasion complete – live | World news | The Guardian
''Over the last month, Russian forces have repeatedly attacked Ukrainian hospitals, ambulances, medics, patients and newborns, according to the Associated Press, which is now reporting that it has independently documented 34 assaults.

More details from the AP on the growing calls for war crimes prosecutions against Putin, his generals and top Kremlin advisers:

To convict, prosecutors will need to show that the attacks are not merely accidents or collateral damage. The emerging pattern, tracked day by day by the AP, shows evidence of a consistent and relentless onslaught against the very civilian infrastructure designed to save lives and provide safe haven to Ukraine’s most vulnerable.

AP journalists in Ukraine have seen the deadly results of Russian strikes on civilian targets first hand: the final moments of children whose tiny bodies were shredded by shrapnel or had limbs blown off; dozens of corpses, including those of children, heaped into mass graves.

Deliberate attacks on hospitals will likely be a top priority for war crimes prosecutors.”

 

[Charlot123]

I think they have re-thought their original objective (to roll through and take Ukraine in it's entirety in a matter of days) due to heavy resistance and losses to concentrate on the South as you state. At the minimum, they want to cut-off Ukraine from sea access and render her landlocked which will greatly diminish her long-term trade, economic and military replenishment capability.

Someone saw it as the plan in as early as in 2015. From Donetsk and Luhansk, to go South, cut off the Black Sea and unite with Transdnistria. The goal would be landlocked Ukraine but mostly, getting the Black Sea coast to itself. What changed the plan now was Lukashenko’s rigged election, after which he let in Russian troops through its territory.

Then what? Leaving bombed and destroyed Ukraine to restore what it’s neighbor has done?

 

[Cool Cats]

Bear Rescued in War-Torn Ukraine and Taken to Sanctuary


Adopted from Russia, raised in America, now watching a war in Ukraine

 

[Sillybilly]

A post upthread was removed due to non-working links. This is the only MSM I could locate in relation to the Russian strike on the military command centre:

Russian Missiles Target Ukrainian Air Force Command in Vinnytsia, Military Says

 

[CSIDreamer]

No telling how many are dying daily right now from medical issues, dehydration, hunger. I guess 2 or 3 days is better than nothing. I don't see it happening.

https://twitter.com/nexta_tv/status/1507484931194339336?t=QvFiS5Z-LJ_zBDZRzTFKjA&s=19

Macron: France, Turkey and Greece want to evacuate people from Mariupol

President of France announced "exceptional humanitarian operation" in Mariupol to evacuate civilians who want to leave the city. Macron added that he would discuss this issue with Putin in the next 2-3 days. https://t.co/cIN80wnctu

 

[sds71]

@msepic

The Russian military has released a Minnesota man captured in Ukraine. Tyler Jacob, 28, of Winona was teaching English in Kherson when the invasion started. He tried to leave on a bus with other foreigners, but Russian forces jailed him for about 10 days in Crimea.
His mother Tina Hauser says she spoke with her son briefly after his release. “He did not give a whole lot of details because we have not had a whole lot of time to talk things over yet, but I heard his voice and that’s all that matters to me. It was like angels singing to me.”
Hauser says she can't say where Jacob is, other than he's in a safe place with his wife & stepdaughter. He plans to return to the U.S. after getting visas for them.

 

[worldwatcher]

“WASHINGTON—The Biden administration is preparing sanctions targeting Russian companies it says provides goods and services for the military and intelligence services, including dual-use components used in weapons proliferation, U.S. officials said.”
https://www.wsj.com/articles/u-s-to...an-military-intelligence-services-11648245575
WSJ News Exclusive | U.S. to Sanction Companies Providing Technology for Russian Military, Intelligence Services

Also - on Twitter:
BREAKING NEWS: Anonymous publishes leak of the Central Bank of the Russian Federation Via:
@Thblckrbbtworld

https://twitter.com/LatestAnonPress/status/1507477329689387008