Russia Attacks Ukraine - 23 Feb 2022 #7

[dotr]

Poison, spies & peace negotiations | Ukraine: The Latest | Podcast
Mar 29, 2022

Putin realizes his Ukraine invasion is going poorly

 

[sunshineray]

I have a real issue with the easing of sanctions.

Ukraine is suffering greatly and will continue to do so for years. Let Russia suffer under sanctions. It's nothing compared to Ukranian citizen's corpses literally rotting where they fall.

JMO

I agree and in fact President Zelensky is asking for tighter sanctions against Russia.

Ukraine's Zelensky tells Danish parliament Russia sanctions must be tightened - France 24

 

[Sundog]

I have a real issue with the easing of sanctions.

Ukraine is suffering greatly and will continue to do so for years. Let Russia suffer under sanctions. It's nothing compared to Ukranian citizen's corpses literally rotting where they fall.

JMO

As hard as it is to imagine, I think that there would have to be relief from NATO sanctions once a peace treaty is negotiated and implemented, but individual countries would be free to look at their own sanctions and change some of their trade and other interactions with Russia.

Below is an excerpt from an article that goes somewhat off topic (discusses executive branch sanctions versus congressional sancations) but does address some of the issues related to the relief of sanctions.

Lots to think about and consider, including how effective sanctions would be in the future against other countries if sanction imposition and relief were to lose their credibility.

Why Congress Should Stay Out of U.S. Sanctions Policy on Russia

At their core, sanctions are bargaining measures. As Under Secretary of State Victoria Nuland has stated, if Russia complies with U.S. demands for a peaceful resolution, the United States will offer Moscow sanctions relief in exchange.

Washington cannot control whether Russia will accede to its demands, but it can ensure that any sanctions relief it does offer during future negotiations is credible. If Russia thinks that U.S. promises are empty and that it will not reap any economic benefit from acceding to western demands, it will be less likely to change its behavior. With sanctions relief uncertain, for example, Moscow might be unlikely to commit to an “irreversible” withdrawal from Ukraine, a condition recently articulated by Sec. of State Antony Blinken.

The president is well-positioned to ensure U.S. credibility. Through the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, Congress has given the executive branch the authority to impose and lift sanctions with few procedural hurdles. This power has not been without controversy. In these pages, former Treasury official Adam Smith, for example, has highlighted these measures’ “unfettered” nature and called for reform.

This very “unfettered” nature, however, is what makes sanctions so useful. The executive branch is responsible for the conduct of diplomacy – it makes sense for the same branch of government to make the promises necessary to achieve diplomatic breakthroughs, and then have the full capacity to fulfill them. This is why being able to quickly lift the sanctions imposed as part of a diplomatic strategy is essential to U.S. credibility.

BBM

 

[worldwatcher]

I thought the Russian withdraw was,... due to their losses..and Ukraine forces took back some area’s?!
And Russia’s shifted combination of economics focus..:

”The city of Mariupol, which has been besieged and surrounded for weeks, is important because of its port, says the military expert. “If the Russians own that port, they can export coal from the mines in Donbass, something that was not allowed by Ukraine from the two people's republics. With the port you also control access to the land bridge to Crimea.”
DPG Media Privacy Gate

It is astonishing that NATO is not providing military support to Ukraine, says Lou de Jongh.

“NATO fears an escalation of the conflict. This means that Putin can continue with his military actions. It is therefore no longer possible to follow that we have supported the Afghans militarily in the conflict with the Taliban for more than 20 years. It has cost us a lot of money to supply the most modern equipment and have trained the armed forces there for 20 years.”

’NAVO stelt niet veel meer voor’


!!Just want to add that...!!
Finland should really join the NATO,imo:
They were awake - the whole time!


“If the worst fears of Europe are realised and the conflict in Ukraine spreads across the continent to other neighbours of Russia, then Finland will be ready. It has supplies. At least six months of all major fuels and grains sit in strategic stockpiles, while pharmaceutical companies are obliged to have 3-10 months’ worth of all imported drugs on hand. It has civilian defences. All buildings above a certain size have to have their own bomb shelters, and the rest of the population can use underground car parks, ice rinks, and swimming pools which stand ready to be converted into evacuation centres. And it has fighters. Almost a third of the adult population of the Nordic country is a reservist, meaning Finland can draw on one of the biggest militaries relative to its size in Europe. “We have prepared our society, and have been training for this situation ever since the second world war,” says Tytti Tuppurainen, Finland’s EU minister. After spending eight decades living first in the shadow of the Soviet Union and now Russia, the threat of war in Europe “has not hit us as a surprise”. The improvised “total defence” strategy that has defined Ukraine’s dogged defence against Russia’s invasion, with newly-weds and shopkeepers reportedly taking up arms, has captivated people around the world. But what Finland calls its strategy of “comprehensive security” offers an example of how countries can create rigorous, society-wide systems to protect themselves ahead of time — planning not just for a potential invasion, but also for natural disasters or cyber attacks or a pandemic...”


War with Russia? Finland has a plan for that

 

[Sundog]

More on the lifting of sanctions if a peace treaty is negotiated and implemented.

UK says Russian sanctions could be lifted with Ukraine withdrawal

British foreign minister Liz Truss says sanctions imposed on Russian individuals and companies could be lifted if Russia withdraws from Ukraine and commits to end aggression, the Telegraph newspaper reported on Saturday.

<snipped>

"Those sanctions should only come off with a full ceasefire and withdrawal, but also commitments that there will be no further aggression. And also, there’s the opportunity to have snapback sanctions if there is further aggression in future. That is a real lever that I think can be used."

Blinken sets a standard for lifting sanctions: an 'irreversible' Russian withdrawal

In an interview with NPR, Blinken spoke of Western sanctions that cratered the Russian ruble, led global firms to shutter their Russian operations, and closed the Moscow stock market. He said the unplugging of much of Russia's economy from the West is beginning to wreak long-term effects that are "growing over time."

He insisted that U.S. sanctions against Russia are "not designed to be permanent," and that they could "go away" if Russia should change its behavior. But he said any Russian pullback would have to be, "in effect, irreversible," so that "this can't happen again, that Russia won't pick up and do exactly what it's doing in a year or two years or three years."

 

[TGIRecovered]

I wish Biden would just be quiet. I concur with his outrage, but his comments are dangerous. The White House has to keep correcting and spinning what he says. Now, his comment has been denounced by our allies, so it's best he just stays out of the fray, so to speak. JMOO and all just my own opinion.

I wish Biden would just be quiet. I concur with his outrage, but his comments are dangerous. The White House has to keep correcting and spinning what he says. Now, his comment has been denounced by our allies, so it's best he just stays out of the fray, so to speak. JMOO and all just my own opinion.

Biden actually denied saying any of the direct quotes during the press conference. (Video of him saying it at the link.)

"Are you worried that other leaders in the world are going to start to doubt that America is back if some of these big things that you say on the world stage keep getting walked back?" Doocy asked.

"Just in the last couple days, it sounded like you told U.S. troops they were going to Ukraine; it sounded like you said it was possible the U.S. would use a chemical weapon; and it sounded like you were calling for regime change in Russia," Doocy noted.

"None of the three occurred," Biden responded. "None of the three. You interpret the language that way."


PHOTOS: Biden caught using cue cards in trying to paper over Ukraine gaffe about ousting Putin

 

[worldwatcher]

Detailed article about Putin security:

50,000 personal bodyguards:
-It wouldn't surprise me if these people are spied on again," says Van Koningsbrugge.-

This is how Putin protects himself against poisoning, disease and possible coups

" If you look closely at photos of work visits or events that Putin goes to, you will notice that the same people can often be seen around him. They look like spectators, visitors to the site or fishermen on a boat, but are therefore part of the FSB."

" A team of IT experts ensures that signals are blocked, so that Putin cannot be tapped, for example. Otherwise it is possible. "

Long tables and disinfection tunnels
"When it turned out that he had been in contact with someone diagnosed with corona, he disappeared from public life and spoke to the Russians almost exclusively from a windowless room, also known as his bunker"

"Since Putin started the war in Ukraine, he is said to have locked himself in his home, where he is protected by all those layers of security around him. This makes it impossible to get close to him."

SBM

GT - from source :
Zo beschermt Poetin zichzelf tegen vergiftiging, ziekte en mogelijke coups

 

[worldwatcher]

Biden actually denied saying any of the direct quotes during the press conference. (Video of him saying it at the link.)

"Are you worried that other leaders in the world are going to start to doubt that America is back if some of these big things that you say on the world stage keep getting walked back?" Doocy asked.

"Just in the last couple days, it sounded like you told U.S. troops they were going to Ukraine; it sounded like you said it was possible the U.S. would use a chemical weapon; and it sounded like you were calling for regime change in Russia," Doocy noted.

"None of the three occurred," Biden responded. "None of the three. You interpret the language that way."


PHOTOS: Biden caught using cue cards in trying to paper over Ukraine gaffe about ousting Putin

Huh?
https://nypost.com/2022/03/29/biden-appears-to-reveal-us-troops-training-ukraine-forces-in-poland/

 

[dotr]

Suspected arms depot in western Russia is destroyed 'by Ukrainian missile' | Daily Mail Online
''Suspected arms depot in western Russia is destroyed ‘by Ukrainian missile’ sparking blast seen from across the border

• Footage emerged of a huge explosion in Russia, a mere 12 miles from Ukraine
• The blast is thought to have destroyed an arms depot in a village near Belgorod
• There are reports the suspected arms depot was hit by a Ukrainian missile
• Ukrainian officials have not yet confirmed the strike - but this would represent just the second Ukrainian attack on Russian territory since the war began

Ukraine war latest: UK and US urge caution on Russian pledge to reduce attacks - BBC News

''And here's more American reaction to the Russian announcement: despite a shift in focus to Ukraine's eastern Donbas region, Russia continues to pose a threat to Kyiv, Pentagon spokesperson John Kirby says.

Kirby says Russia is likely to have changed its focus as a result of a failure to swiftly take Ukraine's capital - which he claims was a key objective of Russia's operations.

Kirby adds that while "small numbers" of Russian troops have been moving away from Kyiv, the Pentagon believes this is a "repositioning", rather than a withdrawal.

"We are not - and nobody should be - fooling ourselves by the Kremlin's recent claim that it will suddenly just reduce attacks near Kyiv.

"It does not mean that the threat to Kyiv is over. [Russia is] still inflicting massive brutality on the country, including on Kyiv even today, and continued airstrikes."

 

[LadyL]

Ukrainian mom weighed down by guilt amid others' grim struggle for survival

 

[LadyL]

More RCMP sent to bolster international court war crimes investigation of Russia

 

[LadyL]

Russia to covertly mobilize reserves, conscript Chechen convicts - GUR

 

[LadyL]

Ukraine floats Canada as security guarantor at peace talks. Here’s what’s happening

 

[CrimeAway]

More on the issue of food insecurity:

ETA (@PommyMommy)

Ukraine’s other fight: Growing food for itself and the world

 

[PommyMommy]

MAR 29, 2022
After Russian forces pull back, a shattered town breathes | AP News

[...]

Russian tanks lay burned, twisted, left behind like the soldiers in the woods. One of the soldiers had a red band around his leg. The other had an arm flung over his head as if napping on the leaves in the late afternoon light. A Ukrainian soldier nudged him with his toe.

[...]

A red “Z” marked a Russian truck, its windshield fractured, near stacked boxes of ammunition. Hundreds of the boxes, including ones with artillery shells, had been stacked around the town. Curious residents peered into an open box of shells.

It is not clear where the Russian forces went, under what circumstances they fled or whether the town will remain free of them in the days ahead. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in his overnight address emphasized that the situation remains tense in Ukraine’s northeast around Kharkiv, the nearest large city, and other areas.

[...]

Packets of Russian food rations were seen amid the debris. But residents indicated that the soldiers were still hungry.

“In the evenings they came to us, to our houses and our basements, and stole our pickles, potatoes, lard and cucumbers,” said one resident who didn’t give her name.

She called the Russians “orcs,” or goblin-like creatures. Militias from the Donetsk and Luhansk regions were there as well, she said. The entire town had been occupied.

[...]

 

[worldwatcher]

More on the lifting of sanctions if a peace treaty is negotiated and implemented.

UK says Russian sanctions could be lifted with Ukraine withdrawal

British foreign minister Liz Truss says sanctions imposed on Russian individuals and companies could be lifted if Russia withdraws from Ukraine and commits to end aggression, the Telegraph newspaper reported on Saturday.

<snipped>

"Those sanctions should only come off with a full ceasefire and withdrawal, but also commitments that there will be no further aggression. And also, there’s the opportunity to have snapback sanctions if there is further aggression in future. That is a real lever that I think can be used."

Blinken sets a standard for lifting sanctions: an 'irreversible' Russian withdrawal

In an interview with NPR, Blinken spoke of Western sanctions that cratered the Russian ruble, led global firms to shutter their Russian operations, and closed the Moscow stock market. He said the unplugging of much of Russia's economy from the West is beginning to wreak long-term effects that are "growing over time."

He insisted that U.S. sanctions against Russia are "not designed to be permanent," and that they could "go away" if Russia should change its behavior. But he said any Russian pullback would have to be, "in effect, irreversible," so that "this can't happen again, that Russia won't pick up and do exactly what it's doing in a year or two years or three years."

Depends on what turns, the UK left the EU....
Not am gonna be, on UK bads side, but where there is smoke..there is also... gossip whisper also and that includes putin!

He jammed & planned it more then a decade..

Govs should never underestimate- people's power!
Just saying....

ETA :
First thing, I learned on WS, it was all about the - about TL.

Put-ins TimeLine!

 

[PommyMommy]

The Kyiv Independent on Twitter - 9 hrs ago
Blinken: No signs that Russia is serious about peace talks with Ukraine. “There is what Russia says, and there is what Russia does. We’re focused on the latter,” U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said at a press conference, as quoted by CNN.

The Kyiv Independent on Twitter - 8 hrs ago
General Staff: Russia partially withdraws military units from Kyiv, Chernihiv oblasts. According to Ukraine’s military, the Russian army is regrouping in the east to concentrate its military power in the area. In the south, Russia is preparing to resume offensive operations.

NEXTA on Twitter
In #Zaporozhye region, #Russian servicemen kidnapped Ukrainian journalist Irina Dubchenko, head of the National Union of Journalists of Ukraine said. She was taken to #Donetsk "to conduct investigative actions." Irina hid a seriously wounded #Ukrainian serviceman at her home.

The Kyiv Independent on Twitter - 7 hrs ago
Poland to block coal imports from Russia. “We cannot wait any longer for the EU reaction on the issue,” said Polish government spokesman Piotr Muller. “We are aware of the risks.” Almost 20% of Polish coal comes from Russia.

The Kyiv Independent on Twitter
US prepares new round of sanctions against Russia. According to Deputy U.S. Treasury Secretary Wally Adeyemo, the sanctions will target supply chains for the Russian military and undermine the country’s defense industry.

The Kyiv Independent on Twitter - 6 hrs ago
Russia blocks evacuation to Zaporizhzhia. According to Zaporizhzhia Oblast Governor Oleksandr Starukh, pre-agreed evacuation routes from Enerhodar and Berdyansk to Zaporizhzhia were blocked by Russia.

NEXTA on Twitter
The #UN Security Council is meeting right now on the humanitarian situation in #Ukraine United Nations - LIVE - YouTube

The Kyiv Independent on Twitter - 5 hrs ago
France says humanitarian mission to Mariupol not possible ‘at this stage.’ French President Emmanuel Macron asked Russian President Vladimir Putin to provide a humanitarian corridor from Mariupol, however, he didn’t receive a positive answer, says Macron’s office.

NEXTA on Twitter
Pentagon: A small number of #Russian troops have withdrawn from #Kyiv, but this is a redeployment, not a troop withdrawal.
U.S. official warns any Russian troop movement 'not a withdrawal' | Reuters

NEXTA on Twitter - Video
Mayor of #Irpen: it is still impossible to return to the city "The city is still being shelled by the enemy, there are many stretch marks, mines and unexploded shells in the city. I ask you very much to stay where you are now".

 

[LadyL]

 

[LadyL]

A Ukrainian serviceman who said “Go f— youself!” to a Russian warship invading an island in the Black Sea that he was protecting has now returned to his home country and received a medal on Tuesday.

Ukrainian serviceman who told Russian warship 'Go f--- yourself' awarded after being taken as prisoner | National Post

 

[LadyL]

In one of his most recent rescue efforts, Tom and his four-man team were able to retrieve 120 animals that were trapped in a bomb-stricken shelter in northeast Kharkiv, the country's second largest city, which has been obliterated by Russian troops.

'It was a shelter that had been blown up twice. No one could go to it, no one could reach it and help the animals, so we went in,' he said.

'It was 900 meters (980 yds) from the Russian frontline. There were artillery rounds landing in and around the area while we were extracting the animals. The dogs were barking like mad, then they settled down.

'One was trying to bite me because he was scared. They were all scared, but we were able to get all the animals out of there, so that's good.'

This is the British army veteran saving abandoned pets from bomb-stricken shelters in Ukraine | Daily Mail Online