Russia Attacks Ukraine - 23 Feb 2022 #7

[Sundog]

Biden’s Putin ad-lib should focus west on what its endgame should be

 

[sunshineray]

Putin's security takes precautions months before any public appearance. PHOTO BY - /SANA/AFP via Getty Images
The special unit hand-picked to protect Vladimir Putin from assassination | National Post
Mar 05, 2022 rbbm.
''Bodyguards armed with kevlar umbrellas and bulletproof briefcases, body doubles at the ready and food tasters for every meal are just a few of those reportedly enlisted to protect the Russian leader from any attempts on his life.

Putin’s security team are hand-picked for their “operational psychology” and willingness to go on the offensive, according to Russia Beyond.''

''He’s protected by four squads in public. The first faction is visible and stays close to Putin, alert for any danger and willing to take a bullet for him. If they need to go on the offensive, each carries a 9mm Gurza pistol capable of shooting 40 bullets a minute.''

''A second set, dressed in plain clothes, blends in with the crowd. A third stands just outside the crowd, while the fourth are situated on rooftops with snipers at the ready.''

''IT personnel apparently place electronic jammers around his location to neutralize remote denotations and conduct electronic surveillance of cellphones in the vicinity.''

''The guards are replaced when they turn 35. In addition to being versed in politics (to understand who the president is meeting with), they must also understand foreign languages and be dressed in light overcoats even in frigid temperatures so as to move without restriction.''

Could a Kremlin assassin get to Putin? | The Spectator
March 7 2022 by Nigel Jones rbbm
''Putin is protected 24/7 by one of the world’s strongest security details, who have sealed him in a closed bubble. All access to him is strictly – almost manically – controlled, in much the same way as it was for Stalin and Hitler.''

''If Putin is to be stopped, ousted, and arrested or assassinated, the authors of such an attempt will have to come from within the clique who surround him. Desperate times spawn desperate remedies, and only when the clique think that their own futures are directly imperilled by Putin’s increasingly dangerous actions are they likely to act.''

''Putin has already publicly humiliated members of his inner circle by berating them when they have raised the mildest of questions about his actions. They cannot have much affection for this supremely unlovable man. But will their growing doubts about him overcome their fears for their own futures?''

''As the options open to the kleptocrats and and former secret policemen who Putin has protected and promoted close down, and the rage of the Russian people themselves rise, the best hope for ending this crisis may well rest with bad men acting to bring down the still worse and possibly deranged dictator who is leading them and Russia into the abyss''

WOW! You know what stuck out to me in all that...kevlar umbrellas, like The Kingsman

 

[worldwatcher]

Russia can't just sell its oil to China: even without an EU boycott, the Russian oil industry threatens to come to a standstill

However, according to the Federal Reserve's analysis, the chance that China will be able to purchase additional Russian oil in the short term is small:

"There is little spare capacity in oil pipelines running from Russia to China. In addition, it is unclear whether China wants to invest in oil tankers to transport Russian oil. getting oil to China."

Rusland kan z'n olie niet zomaar kwijt aan China: zelfs zonder EU-boycot dreigt de Russische olie-industrie stil te vallen

 

[Sundog]

Russia-Ukraine war latest: Ukraine ‘prepared to discuss neutrality as part of peace deal’, with talks between sides to resume

Macron warns against 'escalation' following Biden speech

French president Emmanuel Macron has distanced himself from comments made by the US president Joe Biden about Russia’s Vladimir Putin.

In a speech in Warsaw, Poland, last night, Biden said Putin is a “butcher” and said “this man cannot remain in power”. However, the White House later clarified that the US was not calling for regime change.

Macron told broadcaster France 3: “I would not use those words.”

He added that “everything must be done to stop the situation from escalating” if there is to be any hope of stopping Russia’s war in Ukraine.

Macron also told France 3 he saw his task as “achieving first a ceasefire and then the total withdrawal of [Russian] troops by diplomatic means. If we want to do that, we can’t escalate either in words or actions.”

 

[Sundog]

I guess Turkey then? Probably China and North Korea too?

<snipped for focus>

Turkey, France, India, Israel, the UK, the PRC, and others are still talking to Russia, many of these countries - and others - with the goal of ending the war and negotiating a peace treaty.

 

[Sundog]

Russia can't just sell its oil to China: even without an EU boycott, the Russian oil industry threatens to come to a standstill

However, according to the Federal Reserve's analysis, the chance that China will be able to purchase additional Russian oil in the short term is small:

"There is little spare capacity in oil pipelines running from Russia to China. In addition, it is unclear whether China wants to invest in oil tankers to transport Russian oil. getting oil to China."

Rusland kan z'n olie niet zomaar kwijt aan China: zelfs zonder EU-boycot dreigt de Russische olie-industrie stil te vallen

Here is an article on the current pipeline that Russia uses to transport gas to the PRC, and what is planned for the future based on their new 30-year gas deal.

Russia, China agree 30-year gas deal via new pipeline, to settle in euros

 

[PommyMommy]

The Kyiv Independent on Twitter - 3 hrs ago
Russia fired record number of missiles, Ukraine’s air defense shot down most of them. According to The Insider, Russia fired at least 70 missiles against Ukraine on March 26. Only eight hit their targets, the rest were shot down by Ukraine’s air defense.

The Kyiv Independent on Twitter
Ukraine, Russian delegations to meet in Turkey by end of March. According to lawmaker David Arakhamia, member of Ukraine’s peace talks delegation, the two sides will meet face-to-face between March 28 and March 30.

The Kyiv Independent on Twitter - 2 hrs ago
Zelensky gave an interview via videoconference to four journalists representing non-governmental Russian media on March 27. The Russian government called upon the media to not publish the interview, and said those who interviewed Zelensky will be investigated.

Euromaidan Press on Twitter - 1 hr ago
British-made shoulder-mounted anti-aircraft missiles Starstreak are reportedly in Ukraine already. The first Ukrainian troops had been trained and were now deployed with Starstreak, Defence Secretary Ben Wallace told The Mail.

Euromaidan Press on Twitter
Ukraine has eliminated:

• almost 12% of Russian troops
• 1/2 of Russian tanks
• more than 1/2 of Russian helicopters

out of Russia's initial invasion force. Graphic by @voxukraine

NEXTA on Twitter - 20 min ago
#Russian soldiers kidnapped seven people in the town of Snivsk in #Chernihiv Region. Among them is the town head, Alexander Medvedev, according to the #Snivsk city council.

Euromaidan Press on Twitter - 15 min ago
First captured Russian tanks T-72B3&T-90 are joining the Ukrainian army after repairs & training for soldiers. "We strengthened the guys with tablets, software; communication devices are coming to the unit," volunteers of Povernys Zhyvym fund reported.

 

[PommyMommy]

MAR 27, 2022
'My personal tragedy': Ukrainians brace for attack on Odesa | AP News
The Black Sea port of Odesa is mining its beaches and rushing to defend its cultural heritage from a feared Mariupol-style fate in the face of growing alarm that the strategic city might be next as Russia attempts to strip Ukraine of its coastline.

The multi-cultural jewel, dear to Ukrainian hearts and even Russian ones, would be a hugely strategic win for Russia. It is the country’s largest port, crucial to grain and other exports, and headquarters for the Ukrainian navy.

[...]

“The only thing we’re really afraid of is that the other side has no principles whatsoever,” said Valerii Novak, a local businessman. He never considered himself a Ukrainian patriot, but when Russia invaded, something “just clicked” in him. He has refused to leave Odesa and joined thousands of people in basic training in how to use a gun.

Now he and other Odesa residents watch Russian warships move closer, in provocation. Western officials call the Russian ships a mix of surface combatants and the kinds used to put naval infantry ashore.

[...]

Now the city’s Italian baroque opera house, rebuilt in the 1880s, is one of the most heavily defended buildings in Ukraine. Major monuments elsewhere in Odesa are covered in sandbags. The contents of the fine arts museum, including Orthodox religious icons, have been moved into underground storage. Checkpoints are heavy throughout the historic city center.

Russian forces’ plans to take Odesa have been ruined by the Ukrainian resistance in Mykolaiv, a crucial land supply route, Shelest said. Without holding Mykolaiv, a Russian landing operation in Odesa from the sea would be suicidal.

 

[worldwatcher]

/

Here is an article on the current pipeline that Russia uses to transport gas to the PRC, and what is planned for the future based on their new 30-year gas deal.

Russia, China agree 30-year gas deal via new pipeline, to settle in euros

Newbie economics !
I do remember,when my kids were young and many Polish people stayed and worked on nordstream gasoline -early 2000s.
They lived close to the border,in wintertime ,camping grounds mainly| Germany-Netherlands.
Here is more about it -the cost
Nord Stream - Wikipedia

Seems like (sigh) more reading to do:

Joint Statement of the United States and Germany on Support for Ukraine, European Energy Security, and our Climate Goals

Joint Statement of the United States and Germany on Support for Ukraine, European Energy Security, and our Climate Goals - United States Department of State

Guess , you need to be a lawyer to understand,whats going on...
The deeper,you dive into it - the harder to understand,imo!

Good luck on China and citizens!

 

[PommyMommy]

[URL='https://www.theguardian.com/world/live/2022/mar/27/russia-ukraine-war-latest-zelenskiy-calls-on-west-for-planes-and-tanks-biden-says-butcher-putin-cannot-remain-in-power-live?filterKeyEvents=false']Russia-Ukraine war latest: Macron warns against ‘escalation’ after Biden speech; Zelenskiy calls on west for planes and tanks | World news | The Guardian[/URL]

2h ago 19:22
Ukraine prepared to discuss neutrality status as part of peace deal, Zelenskiy says
A key development from the Ukrainian president’s interview with Russian journalists, Reuters reports:

Ukraine is prepared to discuss adopting a neutral status as part of a peace deal with Russia but it would have to be guaranteed by third parties and put to a referendum, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said in an interview aired on Sunday.

Speaking to a group of Russian journalists via video call, Zelenskiy said Russia’s invasion had caused the destruction of Russian-speaking cities in Ukraine, and said the damage was worse than the Russian wars in Chechnya.

[...]

1h ago 19:28
Turkish president pushes for a ceasefire in phone call with Putin: Reuters

New from Reuters:

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan told Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin in a telephone call on Sunday that a ceasefire and better humanitarian conditions were needed following Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine, his office said in a statement.

“Erdogan noted the importance of a ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine, the implementation of peace and the improvement of humanitarian conditions in the region,” his office said in a readout of the call.

[...]

1h ago 19:53
What Zelenskiy told Russian reporters
Russian independent new outlets are already facing warnings from Russia’s communications regulator that they are under investigation for conducting a video interview with Ukraine’s president, and that they are forbidden from distributing the interview.

As journalists review the now publicly-posted footage from the 92-minute interview, they are highlighting some of the key points Volodymyr Zelenskiy made:

• Zelenskiy said he believes Putin was told that Ukrainians would welcome a Russian invasion, and claimed that Ukraine found Russian parade uniforms in early convoys, suggesting they were ready for immediate victory marches:
  • Tikhon Dzyadko on Twitter
  • max seddon on Twitter

• Zelenskiy also said that the bodies of Russian and Ukrainian people are lying in piles across Mariupol, and that Russians are not picking up the bodies of their own dead, or allowing Ukrainians to pick up their own wounded and dead, CNN analyst Bianna Golodryga reports:
  • Bianna Golodryga on Twitter
  • Bianna Golodryga on Twitter
  • Bianna Golodryga on Twitter

 

[sunshineray]

Russia-Ukraine war latest: Macron warns against ‘escalation’ after Biden speech; Zelenskiy calls on west for planes and tanks | World news | The Guardian

The Ukrainian MP Lesia Vasylenko said people are starving and being forced to drink sewage water in Ukraine as the situation across the country worsens.

Speaking to Times Radio, Vasylenko said Kyiv is still facing attacks and suffering food scarcity while people are “made to stay in basements and metro stations”.

She said:

People are actually starving without food, and drinking sewage water [in Mariupol].

In Mariupol, thousands of people are getting forcefully deported across the border to Russia apparently to safety but then they are sent off in an unknown direction and nobody hears from them again.

So the atrocities, they’re just the same all over the place.

[...]

Ukraine said that Russia holding a referendum in occupied Ukrainian territory would have no legal basis and would face a strong response from the international community, deepening its global isolation.

The Russian-controlled Luhansk region in eastern Ukraine could hold a referendum soon on joining Russia, its local leader was quoted as saying.

“All fake referendums in the temporarily occupied territories are null and void and will have no legal validity,” Ukraine’s foreign ministry spokesperson Oleg Nikolenko said in a statement to Reuters.

“Instead, Russia will face an even stronger response from the international community, further deepening its global isolation.”

[...]

The UK government’s top legal adviser has appointed a war crimes lawyer to advise Ukraine over the Russian invasion.

The attorney general, Suella Braverman, announced on Sunday that Sir Howard Morrison QC will act as an independent adviser to Ukrainian prosecutor general Iryna Venediktova, PA Media reported.

Sir Howard has served as a judge at the international criminal tribunal for the former Yugoslavia and the international criminal court (ICC) for more than 12 years, including overseeing cases like that of the Serbian war criminal Radovan Karadžić.

[...]

The French foreign minister said on Sunday there would be “collective guilt” if nothing was done to help civilians in Mariupol, the Ukrainian city besieged by Russian forces.

“Mariupol is a striking example of a military siege, and military sieges are horrible wars because civil populations are massacred, annihilated. The suffering is terrible,” Jean-Yves Le Drian told the Doha Forum international conference.

“This is why there needs to be at least one moment when the civilian population can breathe,” he said, adding that this was what the French president Emmanuel Macron was working to secure.

Macron said on Friday he was seeking to hold more talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin in coming days about the situation in Ukraine and the initiative to help people leave Mariupol.

[...]

"Collective guilt"

 

[CSIDreamer]

"Lyudmyla Denisova, Ukraine’s ombudsperson, said 402,000 people, including 84,000 children, had been taken to Russia.

The Kremlin gave nearly identical numbers for those who have been relocated, but said they wanted to go to Russia."

Moscow Has Forcibly Taken More than 400,000 Ukrainians to Russia, Ukraine Says

So they're talking about total from everywhere, not just in Mariupol? I think that's the different numbers.

 

[sunshineray]

<snipped for focus>

Turkey, France, India, Israel, the UK, the PRC, and others are still talking to Russia, many of these countries - and others - with the goal of ending the war and negotiating a peace treaty.

Yes but It all seems to falling on deaf ears...right now. I sure wish Putin's "best friend" in China would bend his ear more and loud enough so the world can hear it too.
AJMO

 

[PommyMommy]

The Kyiv Independent on Twitter- 1 hr ago
Zelensky: 'I told Ukrainian defenders of Mariupol they can leave the city, they refused.' They refused to leave behind injured and dead comrades and civilians, Zelensky told Russian journalists on March 27.

NEXTA on Twitter
A logistics base for #Russian troops has been deployed on the territory of #Belarus, Ukrainian Armed Forces General Staff has said. The agency noted that dozens of tons of rockets and artillery shells are transported from there to #Ukraine. Оперативна інформація станом на 18.00 27.03.2022 щодо російського вторгнення - YouTube

NEXTA on Twitter
The transport corridor passes through the town of Pripyat and a few hundred meters from the ChNPP containment facilities. Further storage of ammunition is carried out in #Chernobyl, where a temporary command post of a group of troops of the Eastern Military District is deployed.

Euromaidan Press on Twitter
Air warnings have been issued for all oblasts of Ukraine; all Ukrainian citizens instructed to shelter. Explosions are reported in Lutsk and Kherson

The Kyiv Independent on Twitter - 40 min ago
Powerful explosions heard in Kyiv, Lutsk, Kharkiv and Zhytomyr during air alert. The explosions can mean that Russian missiles hit targets or were taken down by Ukrainian air defense. Air alert went off in almost all of Ukraine’s regions.

Euromaidan Press on Twitter - 27 min ago
Significant fires broke out in Chornobyl Russian occupiers continue to ignore serious consequences of fires. As a result of combustion, radionuclides are released into atmosphere; wind can carry them over long distances,incl European countries–Reintegr.Minister Ірина Верещук - Прошу поширити це звернення, щоб лідери... | Facebook

Euromaidan Press on Twitter - 7 min ago
Ukrainian pilot:"We have great morale. But it’s also limited, we don't want to die. For the guys with families…it’s way harder. Main problem is equipment. We are absolutely on different pages of techs, between modern Russian airforce & airdefenses and our stuff" DISPATCH: Interview With a Ukrainian MiG-29 Pilot

 

[Charlot123]

Poor old billionaire

A sanctioned Russian oligarch says he's struggling to pay bills and isn't sure he can employ a cleaner or driver

BTW: Pyotr Aven is super smart, the patron of ballet, quite educated. His ancestors were revolutionaries, his paternal grandfather was a Latvian rifleman. Later purged. KGB connections are obvious if you read Wikipedia. Pyotr has a brilliant, analytical mind, and out of all oligarchs, he stands out as more cultured. But can’t he understand how his complaints sound to both clients of Alpha-bank, whose investments turned into nothing? Or poor Ukrainians, whose houses are a pile of rubbish? Can he stop complaining? Lots of people in both countries, aside from big cities, can’t buy apartments nor afford cars…

 

[LizzyE]

Putin's security takes precautions months before any public appearance. PHOTO BY - /SANA/AFP via Getty Images
The special unit hand-picked to protect Vladimir Putin from assassination | National Post
Mar 05, 2022 rbbm.
''Bodyguards armed with kevlar umbrellas and bulletproof briefcases, body doubles at the ready and food tasters for every meal hand-picked for their “operational psychology” and willingness to go on the offensive, according to Russia Beyond.''

Fascinating article! RSBM for members’ sake.

I don’t doubt that Putin has valid reasons to be paranoid, but IMHO, living this life would be hell and quite frankly not worth it. Paranoia begets more paranoia and I believe it also provides a terrifying look into some very dark places in his subconscious many suspect have been there for a long time. In my experience (with the exception of diagnosable mental illness with paranoid features), one would have a hard time imagining such incredible persecution if they themselves had not entertained the idea in regards to doing the same thing to others.

 

[worldwatcher]

Russia shifts focus to the east of Ukraine but bombs in the west: 'This is a very smart tactic."

DPG Media Privacy Gate

 

[PommyMommy]

Russia-Ukraine war latest: Ukraine ‘prepared to discuss neutrality as part of peace deal’, with talks between sides to resume | World news | The Guardian

2h ago 16:52
Watch the Ukrainian president’s interview with Russian reporters

The full interview with Volodymyr Zelenskiy, already the subject of a crackdown by the Russian government on the media outlets involved, is available here with English subtitles.

Natalia Krapiva ‍ on Twitter
NEW:@ZelenskyyUa just gave a remarkable interview to Russian independent
@meduzaproject @kommersant @novaya_gazeta & @tvraine, who defied Russian
government orders not to release it. Here are some highlights in English.

[...]

16m ago 18:56
Zelenskiy claims that 2,000 children from Mariupol have been taken by Russia: CNN

One of the most striking claims in the Ukrainian president’s interview with Russian reporters was Volodymyr Zelenskiy’s assertion that Russia has “stolen” 2,000 children from Mariupol during attempts to evacuate civilians from the city, CNN reported.

[...]

 

[Cool Cats]

Russia and Ukraine to start next round of live negotiations in Turkey in the coming days

Ukrainian and Russian officials will meet on Monday in Istanbul, Turkey, for the next round of in-person peace talks, a Ukrainian negotiator said Sunday.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan spoke with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Sunday to discuss the negotiations.

"Stressing the need for the immediate establishment of ceasefire and peace between Russia and Ukraine as well as the amelioration of the humanitarian situation in the region, President [Erdoğan] said that [Turkey] would continue to lend every kind of support regarding the process," Turkish Presidency's communications office said Sunday.

Chief Ukrainian negotiator David Arakhamia confirmed that the peace talks will be held March 28-30. A Russian negotiator said they would start on Tuesday.

 

[LadyL]

Cost of living in Russia rose more than 14% after invasion of Ukraine - National | Globalnews.ca