Russia Attacks Ukraine - 23 Feb 2022 #8

[PommyMommy]

The Kyiv Independent on Twitter
26 Ukrainian prisoners of war released in new exchange. Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk said they include 12 soldiers and 14 civilians, but she didn’t disclose the number of prisoners of war sent back to Russia. It is the third prisoner exchange since Feb. 24.

The Kyiv Independent on Twitter
Ukraine imposes a complete trade embargo with Russia. The decision prohibits the import of all goods from Russia, Taras Melnychuk, the government's representative in the parliament said on April 9. In 2021, Ukraine imported over $6 billion worth of goods from Russia.

Euromaidan Press on Twitter
For decades, Russia pumped up its war machine thanks to Western technologies. Now, sanctions have already crippled its military sector. Yet, Ukraine has no time to relax: Russia still has stockpiles from its years of preparing for a Big War.
How Western sanctions cripple Russia's war machine | Euromaidan Press

The Kyiv Independent on Twitter
Russian governor accuses Ukraine of firing mortars at Russian territory. Kursk Oblast Governor Roman Starovoyt claimed that a border crossing in Elizavetovka, located several kilometers away from Ukraine’s Sumy Oblast, was shelled on April 9.

The Kyiv Independent on Twitter
Russia has repeatedly accused Ukraine of attacking its territory with no proof, which Ukraine has denied.

Euromaidan Press on Twitter
In Mariupol Russians collect corpses in underground passages and then destroy them in mobile crematoriums "Hundreds of corpses every day. Ruscists do all to hide the tragedy.Because the scale of crime is ten times worse than genocide in Bucha"–CityCouncil Telegram: Contact @mariupolrada

Euromaidan Press on Twitter
Underground crossing in Sadkiv district on Mariupol outskirts. Here Russians set up one of its collection points for bodies of residents killed by Russian military. The largest point is in a warehouse near Staryy Krym. Russians destroy bodies in mobile crematoria or bury in mass graves

NEXTA on Twitter
The mayor of #Kharkiv, Igor Terekhov, reported that the #Russian invaders were dropping bombs on the city by parachutes and warned people not to come close to such projectiles.

The Kyiv Independent on Twitter
Zelensky: Supporting Ukraine's struggle for peace is not only a moral duty of all democracies, of all European forces. It has to be the defense strategy of every civilized state.

 

[Arkay]

Would this fantasy be feasible in any shape or form?
R leaves U, Huge wall built between countries, U is built up again with help from the international community, U becomes a huge tourist draw and a magnet for movie and documentary makers, artists and big business.
R remains a pariah, nobody goes there, sells or buys from them, citizens not allowed to enter any Nato country. Monies seized from oligarchs used to rebuild schools and hospitals, lots of jobs for Ukrainians and benefits for U moms who have lost husbands.

This would be lovely, but IMO your fantasy is not feasible at all.

For one thing, a huge wall wouldn't keep out invaders ever since the invention of the airplane.

For another, nobody buying or selling from Russia anymore would be exquisite and wonderful, but it won't happen.

Putin has a carrot and a stick----the carrot is oil and the stick is nuclear weapons.

Here in the USA most of our oil is not Russian-sourced (although IMO buying from Iran is even worse) and we can manage, though expensively, without it.

In Europe, where they rely on Russian oil, it's a different story. How many people are willing to forego heating oil, gasoline and all the other oil-based needs? I'm beside myself about Ukraine, from where my grandfather immigrated in the days of Czar Nicholas II, but I don't know if I would actually have the fortitude to freeze during the winter, and so on.

I can see myself doing rationing, as the West did in WWII, but to search myself honestly I don't know how much I could do without.

JMO

 

[LadyL]

US sends Patriots to Slovakia so Ukraine can get its anti-aircraft system: Pentagon

 

[PommyMommy]

APR 9, 2022
War Crimes Watch: A devastating walk through Bucha's horror | AP News
[...]

Like many who stayed in Bucha, Babak is older -- 61. It was not as easy to leave. He thought he would be spared. And yet, in the end, the stressed-out Russians accused him of being a saboteur. He spent a month under occupation without connection with the world, without electricity, without running water, cooking over a fire. He was not prepared for this war.

Maybe the Russians weren’t either.

Around 6 p.m. on March 31 — and Babak remembers this clearly — the Russians jumped into their vehicles and left, so quickly that they abandoned the bodies of their companions.

Now he watches police and other investigators arrive, look at the bodies in the courtyard, and leave. He wonders when the bodies will be taken away so families can mourn. Down the road is an empty playground, steps away from six charred bodies. People don’t know who they are.

“On this street we were fine,” Babak says, taking stock of the occupation. In Bucha, everything is relative. “They weren’t shooting anyone who stepped out of their house. On the next street, they did.”

[...]

 

[dotr]

 

[Kaley Smith]

The red line for me would be... If genocide is happening and citizens are being targeted, as the Russians are obviously doing, the free world armies must step in. Call it peacekeeping. Provide security for humanitarian corridors and anti-missle defense at least. Don't just stand back and watch thousands being slaughtered.

 

[PommyMommy]

Russia-Ukraine war latest: Boris Johnson makes surprise trip to Kyiv for talks with Volodymyr Zelenskiy – live (theguardian.com)

2h ago 18:36
[...]

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy speaks during an interview with The Associated Press in his office in Kyiv, Ukraine, Saturday, April 9, 2022. Photograph: Evgeniy Maloletka/AP

British prime minister Boris Johnson offered fresh financial and military support during the surprise visit.

[...]

Ukraine can never be bullied again, never will be blackmailed again, never will be threatened in the same way again,” Johnson said.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy walk at Khreschatyk Street and Independence Square during their meeting in Kyiv, Ukraine on April 09, 2022. Photograph: Anadolu Agency/Getty Images

And appearing earlier in the day with Austrian chancellor Karl Nehammer, also in Kyiv, Zelenskiy warned in a news conference that while the threat to the capital had receded, it was rising in the east.

"This will be a hard battle, we believe in this fight and our victory. We are ready to simultaneously fight and look for diplomatic ways to put an end to this war.”

Ukranian negotiator Mykhailo Podolyak said Zelenskiy and Russian president Vladimir Putin would not meet until after the country defeated Russia in the east, which would bolster its negotiating position.

"We are paying a very high price. But Russia must get rid of its imperial illusions,” he said, according to the Interfax Ukraine news agency.

[...]

 

[SouthAussie]

The red line for me would be... If genocide is happening and citizens are being targeted, as the Russians are obviously doing, the free world armies must step in. Call it peacekeeping. Provide security for humanitarian corridors and anti-missle defense at least. Don't just stand back and watch thousands being slaughtered.

I like that idea. (Military) others helping to provide safe humanitarian corridors (at the invitation of Zelenskyy).

We should just tell Putin that is what we are doing .. and when and where.

Sure there would be skirmishes, but at least we would have a good and 'valid' reason to be involved, be inside Ukraine, and help these people. We can't just let this slaughter continue.

 

[CSIDreamer]

Yes!

https://twitter.com/KyivIndependent/status/1512975541636374529?t=0TzpO5wls9xPaaoZc14EdQ&s=19

️Ukrainian airforce: 13 Russian aerial targets destroyed.

Russia lost five UAVs, four missiles, three airplanes, and one helicopter on April 9, according to the Air Force Command of the Ukrainian Armed Forces.

 

[PommyMommy]

Ukraine news live: Ukrainian embassy reveals PM's 'surprise' trip to Kyiv; Russian general with 'savage' record in Syria 'put in charge of war' | World News | Sky News

8 Apr 09:43
Russian forces abandon tanks in hasty withdrawal that may indicate 'collapse of will' - official

A western official has been providing some interesting comments on intelligence from the ground in northern Ukraine.

They said Russian forces had abandoned "a lot" of tanks, vehicles, and artillery in a "hasty" withdrawal.

Vladimir Putin's operations had been "disastrous", the official said, and the abandonment of vehicles may be a sign of a "collapse of the will to fight".

"We can confirm that there are no longer units in northern Ukraine," they told a news conference.

"It has been a pretty hasty withdrawal by Russian forces and there's a lot of Russian equipment which has been abandoned in that hasty withdrawal and that's only going to exacerbate the challenge they have in terms of the refurbishment and reconstitution of their forces as they remove them both into Belarus and into Russia.

"Some of it's kind of unclear as to why it's been abandoned because you might have thought there is some of these vehicles are still usable and you think they would have been able to take and I think there's something around the collapse of morale and the collapse of the will to fight."

 

[Bit of hope]

Meer treinen uit Loegansk om burgers te evacueren • 'Massagraf bij Kiev ontdekt'

More trains from Lugansk to evacuate civilians • 'Mass grave discovered near Kiev'

2 HOURS AGO
Dozens of civilians in mass grave near Kiev'
A mass grave has been discovered in Buzova, a village near Kiev. This is reported by Reuters news agency, based on a local official. In the grave, in a ditch at a gas station, the bodies of dozens of civilians are said to lie. Reuters said it was unable to verify the reporting.

With the withdrawal of Russian troops from the Kiev region, it is becoming increasingly clear how many civilians have been killed, as a result of fighting but also of targeted actions. The best-known example is Boetsja, where there are presumably hundreds of civilian casualties.

3 HOURS AGO
Lugansk residents get a new chance to evacuate
Residents of the eastern Ukrainian region of Lugansk will be given the opportunity to leave the area on nine trains today. That's what Governor Gaidai said. Yesterday he appealed to residents to leave, to prevent them from getting caught up in the violence of war.

Lugansk, together with Donetsk, forms the Donbas region, an industrial area in eastern Ukraine where the majority of Russian is spoken. Russia has said it is targeting the Donbas after the withdrawal from Kiev.

6 HOURS AGO
British military intelligence: Russia continues to use improvised bombs
According to British military intelligence, Russian troops continue to use improvised explosive devices to inflict casualties, lower morale and restrict Ukrainians' freedom of movement. Russian forces also continue to attack infrastructure targets that also endanger civilians, the defense ministry said in a statement.

Russia denies attacking civilians.

7 HOURS AGO
Also on the front in Mikolayiv, Russians are targeting schools and clinics
East of the city of Mikolayiv, the Ukrainians have recaptured a large area from the Russians.

 

[Bit of hope]

Russia-Ukraine war by the numbers: Live Tracker

I think this is interesting and explains a lot about how countries are operating on the "sanction front" and the problems around (lack of) resources they face, right now.

Also this is good background info about a possible ban of Russian oil and gas and the consequences.

Explained: Why Europe is balking at a proposed ban on Russian energy

 

[Mo Thuairim]

Inside Chernobyl: We stole Russian fuel to prevent catastrophe

The former nuclear power plant at Chernobyl in northern Ukraine was taken over by Russian forces on the first day of the invasion. It's now back under Ukraine's control. The BBC's Yogita Limaye is among the first journalists to look inside it since the Russians left.

(...)

Chernobyl's staff were keen to keep control of the plant's maintenance. It's not a working power station, but radioactive waste is stored at the site of the world's worst nuclear disaster. Billions of dollars have been spent since the accident in 1986 to clean up and contain further contamination. If conditions at the site are not monitored properly, there is a major risk of the release of nuclear material.

"They wanted to know how the facility was managed. They wanted information about all the procedures, documents and operations. I was scared because the questioning was constant, and sometimes forceful," said Oleksandr Lobada, a radiation safety supervisor at the station.

(...)

"We had to constantly negotiate with them, and try hard not to offend them, so that they allowed our personnel to manage the facility," said engineer Valeriy Semonov.

When the power to the station was cut off for three days, Valeriy said he scrambled to find fuel to keep the generator running, even resorting to stealing some from the Russians.

"If we had lost power, it could have been catastrophic," Oleksandr explained. "Radioactive material could have been released. The scale of it, you can well imagine. I wasn't scared for my life. I was scared about what would happen if I wasn't there monitoring the plant. I was scared it would be a tragedy for humanity." (BBM)

The area behind the plant called the "Red Forest" is one of the most radioactive places on earth. Drone footage released by the Ukrainian military shows that Russian soldiers dug trenches and even stayed there. This was also confirmed to the BBC by officials at the station.

It's evidence of how little the soldiers knew about nuclear safety.

Energoatom, Ukraine's state-run nuclear power agency, has said Russian soldiers were exposed to "significant doses" of radiation.

Just outside the sarcophagus which protects the damaged nuclear reactor, Russian soldiers piled up sandbags behind which they could hide if attacked. Valeriy scoffed at this, saying the Ukrainian military wouldn't dream of firing at a nuclear reactor.

Down in the basement of the main building, are dormitory style rooms which have been completely ransacked. The floor is littered with rugs, mattresses, clothes, shoes and other personal belongings of the Ukrainian national guard who were held there. Officials at Chernobyl say Russian soldiers looted what they could when they left, and they also took the captive members of the national guard with them.

"We were able to keep the site safe. But it's upsetting that they took 169 of our military," said Valeriy.

It's not confirmed where the men are being held, but Chernobyl's staff believe they are in Russia.

(...)

 

[Grouse]

The DM, but still...

April 9 2022
Kremlin rants against Baltic 'neo-Nazi' state in chilling echo of Moscow's threats to Ukraine | Daily Mail Online
''Putin's deranged regime branded Latvia a 'neo-Nazi' state in a chilling echo of Moscow's threats to Ukraine after the Baltic state made May 9 a day of remembrance for victims of Russian aggression.

In an extraordinary rant, Moscow called Riga's decision to commemorate Ukrainian war victims next month - on the same day as Russia's Victory Day to mark the surrender of Nazi Germany - 'blasphemous'.

Latvian MPs passed the legislation to draw attention to ' Russia's military aggression'. Latvian national flags will be raised alongside Ukrainian flags at every residence and government building.''

''It comes as a former senior officer in the Russian army laid out a battle plan on state TV which includes the Russian army invading the NATO Baltic states and parts of Sweden, a politically neutral country.

Speaking live on TV channel Rossiya 1, retired Russian military Colonel gestured to the map showing Gotland, Sweden's largest island with a population of around 58,595, circled in red. ''

''Sweden has been politically neutral throughout its recent history, but Russia's invasion of Ukraine brought the prospect of the Nordic country joining NATO to the fore of political discussion.

Russia has threatened Sweden and Finland over NATO membership repeatedly since the invasion began.''

Yes, it's the DM but still .. very scary if true, a step nearer to World War 3.

 

[Grouse]

Full embargo on oil could stop war - ex-Putin aide

Full embargo on oil could stop war - ex-Putin aide

A "real embargo" on Russian energy by Western countries could stop war in Ukraine, President Putin's former chief economic adviser has suggested.

Dr Andrei Illarionov said Russia "did not take seriously" other countries' threats to reduce their energy usage.

 

[Bit of hope]

Massagraf bij Kiev blijkt misverstand • Meer treinen uit Loegansk om burgers te evacueren

Mass grave near Kiev turns out to be a misunderstanding

AN HOUR AGO
At least two bodies found in Buzova, mass grave turns out to be a misunderstanding
Reports about the discovery of a mass grave in Buzova, near Kiev, appear to be based on a misunderstanding. Earlier this morning , news agencies Reuters and DPA reported that a mass grave had been discovered at a gas station. The mayor of Buzova, Taras Didytsch, now tells NOS reporters on the spot that this is not the case; he would have been misunderstood.

Two bodies of people in civilian clothes were found in a well behind a destroyed gas station. They were members of the territorial defence, according to the mayor. It is not clear how they died. At least ten people have died in the village. Before the search continues, the area will first be cleared of mines.

Buzova has been half occupied by the Russians and the other half was still in the hands of Ukraine. There has been heavy fighting. Reporters on the spot see two tattered tanks and destroyed houses and apartment buildings.

The Ukrainian army has regained control of the place.

3 HOURS AGO
Brits: Russia tries to recruit veterans
Russia is trying to bolster its military with soldiers who have retired from military service since 2012. That says the British secret service, which points to the increasing losses of the Russian troops.

Russia is also trying to recruit troops in Transnistria, a renegade region in Moldova where Russian troops are active.

 

[Vern]

The DM, but still...

...

''It comes as a former senior officer in the Russian army laid out a battle plan on state TV which includes the Russian army invading the NATO Baltic states and parts of Sweden, a politically neutral country.

Speaking live on TV channel Rossiya 1, retired Russian military Colonel gestured to the map showing Gotland, Sweden's largest island with a population of around 58,595, circled in red. ''

...

I posted yesterday that Russia would lose their cool about this.

BUT, Russia has been saying since the beginning of their latest incursion into a sovereign, democratic nation (Ukraine). Saying that they wanted all "neutral" nations on their western flank. No one should be surprised by this article and if they are then they haven't been paying attention.

I'm neither shocked nor surprised by the article you've linked nor the statements within it. Russia is far from done once they've taken Ukraine. Rather the opposite.

If I've learned a single thing - it's that Russia, in this case Putin, should be believed. If anyone is still thinking that Ukraine will be the end of Russia's aggression, I don't think anything is going to convince them otherwise until we are checkmated and forced to act only when Russia's invaded a greater geographical scale and nations. Allowing that to happen before we attempt to stop them is even worse for the world IMO.

 

[dotr]

How a QAnon conspiracy theory about Ukraine bioweapons became mainstream disinformation | CBC News
Justin Ling · Apr 10, 2022 rbbm.
''More than a quarter of Americans polled at the end of March said they believe that the United States has been developing bioweapons in labs across Ukraine — a conspiracy conceived, crafted and amplified by QAnon and the Russian government.

Five weeks ago, that conspiracy theory was little more than a fringe belief. Today, it is an official stated reason for Russia's brutal invasion. And it could be a sign of what President Vladimir Putin is plotting next.''

"There's zero basis in fact for doing anything in bioweapons or any kind of research like that at all," said Robert Pope, a senior official at the U.S. Defense Threat Reduction Agency. He says this pattern goes back to Soviet propaganda, trying to establish that America has been developing weapons to destroy the Russian people.

"This is purely a Russian propaganda effort to try and undermine the work the United States is doing," said Tom Moore, a non-proliferation expert who has worked in the U.S. Senate and at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.

"The smoking gun isn't even a mushroom cloud in this case. It's not even a provable vial of anthrax anywhere. We've gotten rid of all that. This is purely political."

It started with a tweet
Bioweapons remain a firm red line in international war. During the Cold War, both the United States and the Soviet Union weaponized agents like anthrax and smallpox — which could be deployed against an enemy once, then spread through person-to-person contact among military personnel or civilians — but never deployed them on any large scale.

The U.S. shuttered its bioweapons research program in the late 1960s, while the Soviets continued their development right up until the fall of the Berlin Wall. Fears of bioweapons research have continued, however.''

''@WarClandestine picked up on the news with glee: "My hypothesis was correct!" he wrote on a freshly created Twitter account. The #biolabs hashtag began trending on Twitter and TikTok.

In the days that followed, a raft of Russian-language channels on Telegram, a platform popular in Russia and Ukraine, began sharing posts about these rumoured bioweapons labs. Sputnik News, a Kremlin-run propaganda agency, published a report accusing the government of deleting documents proving the labs' existence''

 

[Vern]

I like that idea. (Military) others helping to provide safe humanitarian corridors (at the invitation of Zelenskyy).

We should just tell Putin that is what we are doing .. and when and where.

Sure there would be skirmishes, but at least we would have a good and 'valid' reason to be involved, be inside Ukraine, and help these people. We can't just let this slaughter continue.

Unfortunately, way back in February, Zelensky has already requested/invited foreign forces to come in and provide assistance and deterrence and NATO, as well as the European Union's member nations "politely declined" ("not one boot on Ukrainian soil" which also happened to signal to Putin that he could do this unimpeded ). I think we've made it clear that, militarily-wise, he's on his own. We'll give him weapons and funds, but not a single soldier.

 

[Bit of hope]

Sadly it's not possible to translate this in English. If somebody is capable of...please do.

Relatives give victims a face
Ukraine and Russia have reported thousands of deaths so far. but no one knows exactly how many there are. Let alone that it is clear who they are. Nieuwsuur speaks with three relatives who want to take their lost loved one, children or partner out of anonymity and give them a face.

Zij werden vermoord in de oorlog, dit is hun verhaal <they were killed in the war, this is their story>