Russia Attacks Ukraine - 23 Feb 2022 #8

[CSIDreamer]

Russians assault Mariupol’s port, could be planning a landing

Russian invaders conducted attacks near the port in Mariupol and could be preparing for a naval landing operation, Ukraine’s General Staff said on April 17.

Elsewhere, the invading forces are continuing their partial blockade of Kharkiv and firing on the city’s residential areas.

 

[PommyMommy]

APR 17, 2022
One onslaught, one family, one lucky chance: Surviving Mariupol theater bombing (kyivindependent.com)
Viktoria Dubovitskaya, 24, and her two children survived the Russian bombing of the Mariupol Drama Theater by pure luck.

Like hundreds of Mariupol residents, Dubovitskaya’s family was sheltering near the theater’s main stage.

But on March 16, her two-year-old daughter Anastasia got sick, and the family was offered a place on the second floor.

On the same day, Russians dropped a massive bomb on the theater. The stage area was the epicenter of the explosion. The building crashed and hundreds were killed.

[...]

According to Ukrainian authorities, Russian forces killed at least 3,000 Mariupol residents, and 90% of all buildings in Mariupol were damaged or destroyed.

Local authorities, however, said as many as 22,000 civilians may have been killed in Mariupol.

[...]

Ukrainian intelligence has recorded 13 mobile crematoriums used by Russian troops to “cover up the traces of their war crimes.”

Russian occupiers have begun exhuming the bodies and each courtyard has its own guard not to allow residents to bury the bodies, the Mariupol City Council reported. “Why the exhumation is being carried out and where the bodies will be sent is unknown,” the statement said.

[...]

The blast was so powerful that it threw her at the wall. She hit her face and injured her back, but says she didn’t feel the pain at that moment.

All she could think about was her kids. Dubovitskaya could neither see nor breathe after the explosion because of all the dust in the air. She heard her son Artem screaming not far from her, but the younger Anastasia was nowhere to be seen.

She began looking for her daughter. It took her about 20 minutes to find Anastasia, who was covered in dust and was hard to identify at first.

[...]

“We stepped over (bodies) and ran out,” Dubovitskaya told the Kyiv Independent.

[...]

Dubovitskaya’s children haven’t been able to sleep normally since surviving the attack in Mariupol.

What happened on March 16 was a shock for two-year-old Anastasia, who was injured during the explosion, Dubovitskaya said. It took her daughter days to start talking again.

Seeing blood-covered bodies was a shock to her six-year-old son Artem as well.

[...]

 

[PommyMommy]

The Kyiv Independent on Twitter - 8 hrs ago
Four high-rises catch fire in Severodonetsk after shelling. According to Luhansk Oblast Governor Serhiy Gaidai, four apartment buildings in Severodonetsk caught fire after Russian missiles struck the city overnight on April 17. A building in Novodruzhesk was also destroyed.

The Kyiv Independent on Twitter - 5 hrs ago
Russia shells Kharkiv 23 times in past 24 hours, killing 3 civilians. Kharkiv Oblast Governor Oleh Synehubov said on April 17 that 31 people were injured, including four children, by the Russian forces’ attacks on multiple neighborhoods in Kharkiv in the past 24 hours.

The Kyiv Independent on Twitter
No humanitarian corridors on April 17. Ukraine could not agree with Russian occupiers on a ceasefire on evacuation routes, so no humanitarian corridors will take place on April 17, Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk reported.

The Kyiv Independent on Twitter - 4 hrs ago
Mykolaiv Oblast governor reports shootout between Russian troops, Russia's proxies in neighboring region. According to Vitaliy Kim, shooting between the Russian military and forces of the Russian-occupied areas in Donbas took place in occupied Nova Kakhovka, Kherson Oblast.

The Kyiv Independent on Twitter - 3 hrs ago
Defense Ministry: Russians fail to launch large-scale offensive in Donbas as Ukrainian forces hold them back. Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Maliar said on TV that Russia is building up troops and equipment in Ukraine's east but is failing to enter the new stage of the war.

The Kyiv Independent on Twitter - 1 hr ago
400 new graves dug in Severodonetsk after start of Russia’s invasion. Luhansk Oblast Governor Serhiy Haidai urged residents to evacuate, adding that 20,000 people remain in the city. Before Feb. 24, there were over 130,000 residents.

The Kyiv Independent on Twitter - 33 min ago
Ukraine won't give up Donbas to end Russia’s war. President Volodymyr Zelensky told CNN that Ukraine is prepared to defend Donbas against Russian forces in a battle he says could influence the course of the entire war.

 

[dotr]

Russia bears down on Mariupol as defenders shelter in Ukrainian steel plant | CBC News
1 hour ago. rbbm.
''The Russian military estimated that about 2,500 Ukrainian fighters holding out at a hulking steel plant with a warren of underground passageways provided the last pocket of resistance in Mariupol. Russia gave another deadline for their surrender, saying those who put down their weapons were "guaranteed to keep their lives," but Ukraine remained defiant.

"All those who will continue resistance will be destroyed," said Maj.-Gen. Igor Konashenkov, the Russian Defence Ministry's spokesperson. He said intercepted communications indicated there were about 400 foreign mercenaries — most of them from European countries and Canada — along with the Ukrainian troops at the Azovstal steel mill, a claim that couldn't be independently verified.

Seizing Mariupol would free up Russian forces to weaken and encircle Ukrainian soldiers forces in Eastern Ukraine, where Russia has focused its war aims for now and is deploying personnel and equipment withdrawn from the north after the failure to take Kyiv.

Mariupol a 'shield defending Ukraine'
Ukrainian Deputy Defence Minister Hanna Malyar described Mariupol as a "shield defending Ukraine" as Russian troops prepare for a full-scale offensive in Donbas, the country's eastern industrial heartland where Moscow-backed separatists already control some territory.

Malyar said that the Russians have continued to hit Mariupol with airstrikes and appeared to be preparing an amphibious landing to beef up their forces in the city.''

 

[CSIDreamer]

The Kyiv Independent on Twitter - 33 min ago
Ukraine won't give up Donbas to end Russia’s war. President Volodymyr Zelensky told CNN that Ukraine is prepared to defend Donbas against Russian forces in a battle he says could influence the course of the entire war.

SBM

Every day my huge concerns continue to grow over what the cost is going to be in Ukraine. How many civilians are going to be sacrificed over already (since 2014 at the latest) contested lands? The world is throwing billions of dollars at Ukraine in an attempt to help them defend themselves. It's never enough. And civilians continue to die by the scores.

Troubled thoughts today. JMO

 

[Mo Thuairim]

The Ukrainian foreign minister Dymtro Kuleba has said there has not been any recent diplomatic communications between Russia and his country.

Kuleba said that the two countries’ foreign ministries had not formally spoken, and that the situation in Mariupol might provide a block to negotiations.

He told CBS News in an interview: “Mariupol may be a red line.”

Earlier on Sunday, the Ukrainian prime minister, Denys Shmyhal, said Ukraine’s forces continued to fight on in Mariupol and had not surrendered, despite Russian demands.

Russia-Ukraine war: Mariupol defenders continue to defy Russian order to surrender – live | Russia | The Guardian

 

[PommyMommy]

Russia-Ukraine war: Mariupol defenders continue to defy Russian order to surrender – live (theguardian.com)
From 3h ago 09.40

Ukraine: Mariupol 'has not fallen'

Remaining Ukrainian forces in the southern port of Mariupol are still fighting and continue to defy a Russian demand that they surrender, the Ukrainian prime minister, Denys Shmyhal, said on Sunday.

“The city still has not fallen,” Shmyhal told ABC’s This Week programme, adding that Ukrainian soldiers continued to control some parts of the city.

Shmyhal said that he would attend the International Monetary Fund and World Bank meetings in Washington this week and seek more financial assistance for Ukraine.

A local resident looks at a damaged during a heavy fighting apartment building near the Illich Iron & Steel Works Metallurgical Plant, the second largest metallurgical enterprise in Ukraine, in an area controlled by Russian-backed separatist forces in Mariupol, Ukraine, Saturday, April 16, 2022. Photograph: Alexei Alexandrov/AP

 

[PommyMommy]

Euromaidan Press on Twitter - 5 hrs ago
"We have already lost 5 children to mines and trip wires [in Trostianets, Sumy Oblast]. There are wounded as well. There are still a lot of mines,"–City Mayor He added specialists are still intensively checking roads that could have been mined by Russians https://24tv.ua/trostyantsi-cherez-zalisheni-rosiyanami-mini-roztyazhki-zaginuli_n1954885

Euromaidan Press on Twitter - Video
Pilots from Ukraine have launched #BUYMEAFIGHTERJET initiative, asking wealthy people of the planet to purchase combat aircraft for Ukr army "We have been begging NATO to close our sky. Or provide us with fighter jets. But governments of the world are afraid..." https://youtu.be/foPUxMvXbhk

Euromaidan Press on Twitter - 4 hrs ago
"One plane (appr$25mln) can save thousands of innocent lives. Ukrainian pilots, who are courageously fighting the invader, use Su22,Su25, Su27,Su24, MiG29. List of available aircraft&locations: https://buymeafighterjet.com We will also be able to quickly master &protect Ukrainian skies on F15, F16,F18"

NEXTA on Twitter
Hundreds of trucks are stuck at the border of #Poland and #Belarus because of the sanctions that came into force Some drivers stay in the direction of the border for more than 30 hours. The queue has already stretched for about 80 km.

Euromaidan Press on Twitter - 2 hrs ago
Residents of the small town of Makariv, a town near Kyiv, spent one month under Russian occupation, witnessing bombings, destruction& killings. As soon as the Russian Army found people were sheltered in a cultural center, they shelled it out of existence Russian occupiers in Makariv shelled the civilian shelter "in an instant" | Euromaidan Press

NEXTA on Twitter
There will be difficult battles in eastern #Ukraine in the near future, and the most danger to civilians is in #Kharkiv, #Kramatorsk, and #Slavyansk, said Alexey Arestovich, advisor to the head of the President's Office.

Euromaidan Press on Twitter - 1 hr ago
Russo-Ukrainian war, day 53. Russians expected to start a major offensive as soon as early next week. Russian strategic TU bombers dropping high-yield bombs on Mariupol. Closing of Ukraine’s ports could trigger a global food catastrophe, UN warns https://euromaidanpress.com/2022/04/17/major-russian-offensive-is-expected-as-soon-as-next-week/?swcfpc=1

NEXTA on Twitter
The head of the #Zaporizhzhya regional state administration, Oleg Buryak, reports that the #Russian military kidnapped his 16-year-old son Vladislav. This information was also confirmed by Zlata Nekrasova, deputy head of the Zaporizhzhya regional military administration.

NEXTA on Twitter
"My son was kidnapped. #Russians kidnapped him. He is only 16 years old. I don't know where my son is now. I appeal to #European community, to all humanity - help me. Let the whole world know that Russians are kidnapping children here in the country," said Oleg Buryak.

NEXTA on Twitter - 17 min ago
#Moldova refused to sell the MiG-29 to #Ukraine for fear of spoil the relationship with #Russia. This is reported by "Evropeyskaya Pravda" with reference to its sources. S:Moldovan sanctions: what chisinau does not want to do during the aggression of the Russian Federation | European Truth

 

[Charlot123]

That isn't what I'm reading. Since you provide no source, it's a bit hard to determine dates and such.

Internet in Russia - Wikipedia.

As of July 2018 114,920,477 people (80.86% of the country's total population) were Internet users.[1]

Source [1] "The World Factbook — Central Intelligence Agency". www.cia.gov. Retrieved 2018-01-03.

“Users” does not mean “full access”. I wrote that 1/3 of households have Internet at home. There is a difference.

@CISDreamer, have you ever been to Russia? I have, but I must admit, I never went further than the Ural Mountains. Technically, I covered three, maybe four, time zones. Russia has eleven.

And here lies a huge problem. Wide territories, with very low population density, harshest continental climate and - problem one for Russia - absence of good roads and railways. No communication. Usually gas and water follow the roads. Information as well, unless we all have satellite Internet. (Usually. If, there is suddenly full gas and hot water somewhere in Siberia outside of major roads, I wonder what is there, indeed, in that place.)

I speak Russian so for me, to Google “what percentage of Russians don’t have internet?” is easy. The answer first takes me to gas, then, to water, and then, to “Russia in numbers”, official data about the level of life of Russians. They won’t underrepresent the data, it is of no use to pretend one is less developed.

Moscow or St. Petersburg are not Russia. They don’t even provide the pool of Russian soldiers. Which is also important to understand. I am following “Radio Svoboda”, there was a story about a young man from Pinega (Russian north) who was killed in Ukraine. He signed the contract to help his grandmother, who raised him alone, to get money on dental implants. For his basketball sneakers, they had to constantly borrow the money from the government. She gives the numbers, how much her pension is, the cost of sneakers. What Internet? And this poor woman has no clue what really is happening in Ukraine. When she heard that he was there, she told him to never surrender alive, better blow up himself and the Ukrainians around him because “we were shown how they torture the captives”. Where did she get it? Probably, from TV.

Here is the map of Russian population

Population of Russia (infographics)

File:Population Density as of 2017.png - Wikipedia

I shall find and post the one of Ukraine. Being much smaller, Ukraine has more "European" communication system.

Russia always had problems with its geography, but it is not an accident that it's only formal pre-revolutionary census, that of 1894-96, was destroyed by the communists.

Here is Ukraine's population density

File:Population density in Ukraine.png - Wikipedia

 

[Charlot123]

Russian population density - 9 per square kilometer

Ukrainian population density - 75 per square kilometer

1/5 of the Russian territory is in the Arctic circle. 2 million people live there.

Given this, there are objective problems making such a huge territory marginally livable. (Russia's geography served it well only during WWII).

But logistically, even to be an invader, Russia is ill-equipped, geographically. Invading means moving people and equipment fast, Russia can not do it. (A trivia and an interesting point: during 8 years that Abramovich was the governor of Chukotka, he invested a lot of money into the region. Several times he tried to leave, and the locals begged him to stay. Why? He fed the people. Of course, he now probably has ownership of Chukotka's minerals and diamonds, but still. )

 

[CSIDreamer]

“Users” does not mean “full access”. I wrote that 1/3 of households have Internet at home. There is a difference.

@CISDreamer, have you ever been to Russia? I have, but I must admit, I never went further than the Ural Mountains. Technically, I covered three, maybe four, time zones. Russia has eleven.

And here lies a huge problem. Wide territories, with very low population density, harshest continental climate and - problem one for Russia - absence of good roads and railways. No communication. Usually gas and water follow the roads. Information as well, unless we all have satellite Internet. (Usually. If, there is suddenly full gas and hot water somewhere in Siberia outside of major roads, I wonder what is there, indeed, in that place.)

I speak Russian so for me, to Google “what percentage of Russians don’t have internet?” is easy. The answer first takes me to gas, then, to water, and then, to “Russia in numbers”, official data about the level of life of Russians. They won’t underrepresent the data, it is of no use to pretend one is less developed.

Moscow or St. Petersburg are not Russia. They don’t even provide the pool of Russian soldiers. Which is also important to understand. I am following “Radio Svoboda”, there was a story about a young man from Pinega (Russian north) who was killed in Ukraine. He signed the contract to help his grandmother, who raised him alone, to get money on dental implants. For his basketball sneakers, they had to constantly borrow the money from the government. She gives the numbers, how much her pension is, the cost of sneakers. What Internet? And this poor woman has no clue what really is happening in Ukraine. When she heard that he was there, she told him to never surrender alive, better blow up himself and the Ukrainians around him because “we were shown how they torture the captives”. Where did she get it? Probably, from TV.

Here is the map of Russian population

Population of Russia (infographics)

File:Population Density as of 2017.png - Wikipedia

I shall find and post the one of Ukraine. Being much smaller, Ukraine has more "European" communication system.

Russia always had problems with its geography, but it is not an accident that it's only formal pre-revolutionary census, that of 1894-96, was destroyed by the communists.

Here is Ukraine's population density

File:Population density in Ukraine.png - Wikipedia

No, I've never been to Russia and I have no desire to go there.

1/3 of households having internet access makes it sound like Russia is cut off from the world, and therefore who can blame them for not knowing what's going on. My point is, they have a lot (rather had) more access than it sounds.

JMO

 

[Charlot123]

Russia bears down on Mariupol as defenders shelter in Ukrainian steel plant | CBC News
1 hour ago. rbbm.
''The Russian military estimated that about 2,500 Ukrainian fighters holding out at a hulking steel plant with a warren of underground passageways provided the last pocket of resistance in Mariupol. Russia gave another deadline for their surrender, saying those who put down their weapons were "guaranteed to keep their lives," but Ukraine remained defiant.

"All those who will continue resistance will be destroyed," said Maj.-Gen. Igor Konashenkov, the Russian Defence Ministry's spokesperson. He said intercepted communications indicated there were about 400 foreign mercenaries — most of them from European countries and Canada — along with the Ukrainian troops at the Azovstal steel mill, a claim that couldn't be independently verified.

Seizing Mariupol would free up Russian forces to weaken and encircle Ukrainian soldiers forces in Eastern Ukraine, where Russia has focused its war aims for now and is deploying personnel and equipment withdrawn from the north after the failure to take Kyiv.

Mariupol a 'shield defending Ukraine'
Ukrainian Deputy Defence Minister Hanna Malyar described Mariupol as a "shield defending Ukraine" as Russian troops prepare for a full-scale offensive in Donbas, the country's eastern industrial heartland where Moscow-backed separatists already control some territory.

Malyar said that the Russians have continued to hit Mariupol with airstrikes and appeared to be preparing an amphibious landing to beef up their forces in the city.''

Well, soon Russia will celebrate May 9, its Victory Day. Putin probably wants some "achievements" before that. It won't happen, but because for him, leaving Donbass and Crimea equals political suicide, I think more people will be thrown into that senseless war.

Also: having looked at the maps, I really doubt if true Ukrainian news are reaching anyone outside of Russia's bigger central cities.

 

[Charlot123]

No, I've never been to Russia and I have no desire to go there.

1/3 of households having internet access makes it sound like Russia is cut off from the world, and therefore who can blame them for not knowing what's going on. My point is, they have a lot (rather had) more access than it sounds.

JMO

It virtually is cut off from the world. Now Russia itself cut off communication from the cites like .com, .net and many others. But i think it was the mistake from the West to cut off information on its side. Again, not Moscow or Petersburg, but outside, everything is called "province". Objectively, it is difficult to "civilize" such a country, it would take a group of very good managers, and a lot of investments. If Abramovich left, it means even he viewed running Chukotka too costly.

But - people live there, in the Urals, in Siberia, in the far East. That barely habitable land is very rich. Why should they pay kickbacks and provide cannon fodder for the center is beyond my comprehension.

 

[Charlot123]

SBM

Every day my huge concerns continue to grow over what the cost is going to be in Ukraine. How many civilians are going to be sacrificed over already (since 2014 at the latest) contested lands? The world is throwing billions of dollars at Ukraine in an attempt to help them defend themselves. It's never enough. And civilians continue to die by the scores.

Troubled thoughts today. JMO

It is not about just contested land. China is watching. If this land is left, it is not hard to predict what the next piece of news will be.

 

[worldwatcher]

No, I've never been to Russia and I have no desire to go there.

JMO

No-one can blame you for that! #MeToo

@Charlot123 ,thx for your Russian insight!

It is a going to be tricky..:

Elections in France,
Western European vs Eastern European... ,which leads also to WWII

To answer your question,...earlier on: @CSIDreamer , not a good shape, EU is/was., unprepared for what's coming.imo

( hope the last..)

 

[CSIDreamer]

It is not about just contested land. China is watching. If this land is left, it is not hard to predict what the next piece of news will be.

I want to add.

In no way, shape nor form am I trying to pick on you lol. I just see things differently.

JMO

 

[worldwatcher]

Russia (and Ukraine) are major suppliers of critical raw materials.

Russia (and Ukraine) are major suppliers of critical raw materials. For example, Russia controls as much as 44% of global palladium supplies, key in pollution control devices for cars and the aerospace industry, while Ukraine produces some 50% of the global supply of neon required in semiconductor manufacturing. Russian supplied platinum, titanium, and vanadium are used in fuel cell, hydrogen, and 3D printing technology. Russia is also the world’s third largest supplier of nickel used for electric vehicle batteries, but also in the production of stainless steel, a basic commodity in countless industries

Securing EU critical raw material supplies after Russia’s war

 

[Vern]

SBM

Every day my huge concerns continue to grow over what the cost is going to be in Ukraine. How many civilians are going to be sacrificed over already (since 2014 at the latest) contested lands? The world is throwing billions of dollars at Ukraine in an attempt to help them defend themselves. It's never enough. And civilians continue to die by the scores.

Troubled thoughts today. JMO

I don't understand your thoughts here. Ukraine is a sovereign nation - Other than having them surrender and becoming a parking lot for the Russian troops and equipment that will be readying for the next take-over of the next country on their western border .... what should they do?

I think one can tell by this thread that we are all troubled, but I don't think the citizens of Ukraine are willing to surrender their very existence. I don't blame them a bit. You don't want to visit Russia, but they really don't want to be PART of Russia. Seems pretty fair to me.

(And, I'm pretty sure they don't want to be "neutral" either as Russia has already broken their promise to Ukraine to 'never' invade them when they handed them back their Soviet era nukes [liars that Russia is!!], so I'm ALL for letting Ukraine, again a sovereign and democratic nation, decide which and what alliances they choose to belong to and not some dictator living across the border.)

 

[Vern]

Internet in the house is one thing, but they are well up with cellphones at 70% as of 2021:

5th in the world:
Mobile phone subscribers by country, around the world | TheGlobalEconomy.com

 

[LadyL]

dbm