Russia Attacks Ukraine - 23 Feb 2022 #8

[PommyMommy]

The Kyiv Independent on Twitter - 9 hrs ago
Parliament greenlights deploying Territorial Defense Units in war zones. Ukraine’s parliament voted to allow Territorial Defense Units to fight outside their assigned regions.

JAN 7, 2022
Who can and can't join Ukraine's Territorial Defense Force
According to new legislation that enters force in 2022, pretty much anyone aged between 18 and 60 can enlist in the force, which expects to recruit 11,000 servicemembers across the country.

The Kyiv Independent on Twitter - 8 hrs ago
General Staff: Russian forces move heavy mortars, rocket launchers to eastern Ukraine. The Ukrainian military reported that additional units of artillery were being transported from Russia's Belgorod Oblast in the direction of the city of Izium in Ukraine's Kharkiv Oblast.

The Kyiv Independent on Twitter - 2 hrs ago
Ukrainian troops repel 12 Russian attacks in Donbas on May 3. Ukraine’s Joint Forces Operation reported that Russian losses in the fighting in Donbas include six tanks, two artillery systems, three MLRS, 15 units of armored combat vehicles and nine cars.

MAY 3, 2022
Russian missiles rain down all over Ukraine, fired mostly from Caspian Sea (kyivindependent.com)
Approximately 18 Russian missiles hit infrastructure sites across the country. Preliminary reports suggest that at least eight other missiles were downed by Ukraine’s Air Defense, the military said.

The Kyiv Independent on Twitter - 1 hr ago
Zelensky: Ukraine seeks full restoration of territory, including Crimea. Speaking at the WSJ's CEO Council Summit on May 3, President Zelensky said Ukraine's goals are to halt Russia’s advance, reclaim territory, and to restore Ukraine’s entire territory through diplomacy.

The Kyiv Independent on Twitter
“We are not retreating,” Zelensky told the summit via video conference. “Victory will be ours.”

The Kyiv Independent on Twitter
Russia steals 400,000 tons of grain from temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine. Taras Vysotsky, first deputy minister of agriculture, said if the theft continues, the regions may experience famine.

The Kyiv Independent on Twitter
According to Vysotsky, the total amounts to about one third of all grain stocks in temporarily occupied regions of Zaporizhzhia, Kherson, Donetsk, Luhansk oblasts.

 

[PommyMommy]

NEXTA on Twitter - 10 hrs ago
#Ukrainian border patrol dogs received bulletproof vests from the US.

NEXTA on Twitter - 9 hrs ago
Air raid alert almost all over #Ukraine.

NEXTA on Twitter - 8 hrs ago
The chief propagandist of the Kremlin Solovyov has landed in #Mariupol Together with the head of the so-called DPR, Denis Pushilin, they stand near the entrance to the plant "Ilyich". We are waiting for a new version of schizophrenic delirium and staged shootings.

NEXTA on Twitter - 8 hrs ago
Residents of #Gostomel turned the bullet holes in the fence into flowers.

Euromaidan Press on Twitter - 4 hrs ago, Video
Witnesses of Mariupol residents, who managed to leave the city, about the bombing of Mariupol Drama Theatre, maternity hospital, residential buildings in an 1 hour 20 min long documentary Mariupol. The Chronicles of Hell - YouTube In this fragment the volunteer tells about Russian shelling on yard

Euromaidan Press on Twitter
This evening, Russia launched more than 18 missiles on Lviv, Vinnytsia, Kyiv, Dnipro, Odesa, Kharkiv, Kropyvnytskyi and for the first time the westernmost Zakarpattia Oblasts. This is one of the most massive air attacks. 8 missiles were downed - Air Force https://facebook.com/kpszsu/posts/366088125559142

Euromaidan Press on Twitter - 3 hrs ago, Video
Russia targeted mostly railway infrastructure in the center of Ukraine and electricity substations in the west, leaving part of Lviv without electricity. Missiles also hit a few other "infrastructural objects." VIDEO By locals of one of the missile stikes near Lviv

Euromaidan Press on Twitter - Video
Although the first group of 156 evacuees from Azovstal in Mariupol arrived in Ukraine-controlled territory, more civilians still remain in the besieged plant. Nobody of the 500 wounded Ukrainian soldiers was evacuated. Russia started a new assault and bombing of Azovstal.

Euromaidan Press on Twitter - 2 hrs ago
Russia killed 21 civilians from Donetsk Oblast today and injured 27. This is the largest number of casualties in one day since Russia shelled Kramatorsk railway station. National police documented the consequences of Russian strike in Avdiyivka where 10 were killed. https://t.me/pavlokyrylenko_donoda/3256

NEXTA on Twitter - 1 hr ago
Financial Times: #China’s independent refiners start buying #Russian oil at steep discounts. China’s independent refiners start buying Russian oil at steep discounts | Financial Times (ft.com)

Euromaidan Press on Twitter
Ukrainians lost almost 90,000 cars during the Russian invasion, according to submitted reports. The total sum of documented direct damage caused by war is $92 billion ($4.5 bn increase in a week). This is not yet a full estimation, thought. Ukrainians because of the war lost almost 90 thousand cars for $ 1.3 billion (suspilne.media)

 

[Charlot123]

Our Taoiseach (prime minister) has condemned it and asked for an apology but I highly doubt one will be forthcoming. Ridiculous posturing from a Putin mouthpiece, but still highly offensive that they casually 'entertain' Russian TV viewers with a simulation of wiping out millions of people like it's no big deal.

Russian mock-up of attack on Ireland condemned

The Taoiseach has described the mock-up of a Russian nuclear attack destroying Ireland and Britain as "very sinister, intimidatory-type tactics by the Russian Federation".

(...)

Micheál Martin said while he does not think anyone is going to be intimidated by the imagery depicting the outcome of such an assault, he said "it reflects a mindset that is worrying and not in touch with reality".

He said "there should be an apology forthcoming" in relation to the incident from "whoever instigated this".

Minister for Foreign Affairs Simon Coveney said there has been a lot of comment about the "trash video on Russian State TV".

"Let's not allow ourselves be distracted from the real atrocities being committed by Russian Forces in #Ukraine by disinformation like this," he said.

Meanwhile, former army captain turned senator Tom Clonan has dismissed the piece as utter nonsense.

"Fantasy, farce, such an attack could not happen," he said.

"They haven't developed such a weapon and even if they did, they would have needed thousands of them to create a shockwave to generate any movement," he said.

"It just really is propaganda. It's also a further example of Putin weaponising TV as part of this war - spreading misinformation, trying to create fear," added Mr Clonan.

(...)

You know, when in the beginning of February some Ukrainians were expressing their concern, I would not believe them because a war with Ukraine seemed a suicidal act to me. And here we are. After February 24th, I would not even just dismiss what Putin says. It will probably end up very different from what was intended, but they can mess up the environment pretty badly in the process.

 

[dotr]

Why it may matter that Russia is calling Canadians fighting in Ukraine ‘mercenaries’ | The Star
''Russia has launched criminal investigations against 75 foreign “mercenaries” — including an undisclosed number of Canadians — who are fighting in defence of Ukraine, the head of Russia’s Investigative Committee says.

Aleksandr Bastrykin, who leads the national criminal investigation agency, says the information about foreign fighters has been gleaned from interrogations of more than 2,000 captured Ukrainian soldiers, including five brigade commanders.''

“Based on available data, criminal cases have been initiated against 75 mercenaries who are participating in hostilities on the side of Ukraine. We know that they came from the U.K., U.S.A., Norway, Canada, Georgia and other countries.”

''Mercenaries have no legal status and are guaranteed no protections as prisoners of war under the humanitarian law and can be charged if captured by an enemy force. Under Russian law, mercenaries can face up to seven years in prison.''

North Korea fires ballistic missile amid rising animosities | The Star
''Observers say North Korea’s unusually fast pace in weapons testing this year underscores its dual goal of advancing its missile programs and applying pressure on Washington over a deepening freeze in nuclear negotiations. They say Kim eventually aims to use his expanded arsenal to win an international recognition of North Korea as a nuclear state that he believes would help force the United States to relax international economic sanctions on the North.''

 

[sds71]

AP evidence points to 600 dead in Mariupol theater airstrike

 

[Mo Thuairim]

You know, when in the beginning of February some Ukrainians were expressing their concern, I would not believe them because a war with Ukraine seemed a suicidal act to me. And here we are. After February 24th, I would not even just dismiss what Putin says. It will probably end up very different from what was intended, but they can mess up the environment pretty badly in the process.

I agree. The scenario of nuking and outright destroying Ireland and Britain as depicted in that simulation may be fantastical but I don't necessarily dismiss any Russian threats out of hand as being too crazy. At this point I don't put anything past Putin. He may not be capable of annihilating all his 'enemies' but he can do an untold amount of damage while trying to mess with them.

 

[dotr]

AP evidence points to 600 dead in Mariupol theater airstrike

Excellent and lengthy article!
''LVIV, Ukraine (AP) — She stood in just her bathrobe in the freezing basement of the Mariupol theater, coated in white plaster dust shaken loose by the explosion. Her husband tugged at her to leave and begged her to cover her eyes.

But she couldn’t help it — Oksana Syomina looked. And to this day, she wishes she hadn’t. Bodies were strewn everywhere, including those of children. By the main exit, a little girl lay still on the floor.

Syomina had to step on the dead to escape the building that had served as the Ukrainian city’s main bomb shelter for more than a week. The wounded screamed, as did those trying to find loved ones. Syomina, her husband and about 30 others ran blindly toward the sea and up the shore for almost five miles (eight kilometers) without stopping, the theater in ruins behind them.

“All the people are still under the rubble, because the rubble is still there — no one dug them up,” Syomina said, weeping at the memory. “This is one big mass grave.”''

''AP journalists arrived at a much higher number through the reconstruction of a 3D model of the building’s floorplan reviewed repeatedly by direct witnesses, most from within the theater, who described in detail where people were sheltering.

All the witnesses said at least 100 people were at a field kitchen just outside, and none survived. They also said the rooms and hallways inside the building were packed, with about one person for every 3 square meters of free space.''

 

[PommyMommy]

The Kyiv Independent on Twitter - 10 hrs ago
Evacuations from Mariupol to resume on May 4. Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vershchuk said the Ukrainian government has planned four humanitarian corridors to evacuate civilians to Zaporizhzhia on May 4 if all safety conditions are met.

The Kyiv Independent on Twitter - 6 hrs ago
UK Intelligence: Russia deployed 22 battalion tactical groups near Izyum. According to the recent intelligence update by the U.K. Defense Ministry, Russia attempts to advance along the northern axis of Donbas.

Euromaidan Press on Twitter
"Serious inspection during departure [evacuating from Azovstal].Scars were checked, women's underpants were looked at. Russians checked phones,read all correspondence Women who knew military or police were told they would be found and receive men's heads in boxes" Military sukhpayki and filtration camps. How mariupol residents lived in the Azovstal bunker for 2 months

The Kyiv Independent on Twitter - 4 hrs ago
Ukraine’s Intelligence: Russia plans to hold military parade in Mariupol on May 9. Intelligence Directorate reported that Russia is conducting “preparations for the parade,” by cleaning central streets from debris, unexploded ordnance and removing the bodies of those killed.

Euromaidan Press on Twitter - 2 hrs ago
Reportedly Russian troops broke into Azovstal in Mariupol. Heavy fighting is going on there at the moment, acc to UkrPravda own sources Russians broke into the plant "Azovstal" in Mariupol – sources | Ukrayinska Pravda About 200 civilians still hide there. Till today the Azovstal was ony bombed and shelled. No connection with Ukrainian defenders

The Kyiv Independent on Twitter - 1 hr ago
Mobile service restored in Russian-occupied Kherson. Ministry of Digital Transformation said on May 4 that Ukrainian mobile carriers had restored the infrastructure damaged by shelling. Mobile networks had been down in Kherson since April 30.

Euromaidan Press on Twitter
The location of some 300 Mariupol residents, deported to Russia was detected. They are in Vladivostok w/o documents and are being registered No money is given to them, so they simply can't get in touch.Only low-skilled work is offered,–Mariupol Mayor adviser https://t.me/andriyshTime/638

The Kyiv Independent on Twitter
State Border Service: Ukraine ready if Belarus joins Russia's war. Belarus said it has begun large-scale drills on May 4 to test its combat readiness, while local residents reported spotti

 

[CSIDreamer]

Speaking of evacuations, I really hope this area doesn't turn into another steel works situation.

https://twitter.com/IAPonomarenko/status/1521597180666068992?t=-YJY9jcxq_Ez49LBY3nzRg&s=19

Just found out that the Ukrainian-defended salient in Donbas Russia is (unsuccessfully) trying to lock up is pretty much the size of Connecticut. https://t.co/ufnTFPl36I

(Kyiv Independent reporter)

 

[dotr]

I agree. The scenario of nuking and outright destroying Ireland and Britain as depicted in that simulation may be fantastical but I don't necessarily dismiss any Russian threats out of hand as being too crazy. At this point I don't put anything past Putin. He may not be capable of annihilating all his 'enemies' but he can do an untold amount of damage while trying to mess with them.

(20) Russian TV threatens 'UK's nuclear annihilation with giant radioactive tsunami & Satan-2 missiles' - YouTube

May 3 2022

 

[dotr]

Russian forces pounded targets across Ukraine, taking aim at supply lines for foreign weapons in the west - Bing images

Russia pounds Ukraine, targeting supply of Western arms | The Star
''LVIV, Ukraine—Russian forces pounded targets across Ukraine, taking aim at supply lines for foreign weapons in the west and intensifying an offensive in the east, as the European Union moved Wednesday to further punish Moscow for the war with a proposed ban on oil imports.

The Russian military said Wednesday it used sea- and air-launched precision guided missiles to destroy electric power facilities at five railway stations across Ukraine, while artillery and aircraft also struck troop strongholds and fuel and ammunition depots.

The defence minister repeated that Russian forces have blocked off a steel mill in Mariupol from which scores of civilians were evacuated over the weekend. Another official denied they were storming the plant, as its defenders said a day earlier.''

 

[MassGuy]

This really warms my heart:

U.S. Intelligence Is Helping Ukraine Kill Russian Generals, Officials Say


WASHINGTON — The United States has provided intelligence that has helped Ukrainians target and kill many of the Russian generals who have died in action in the Ukraine war, according to senior American officials.

Ukrainian officials said they have killed approximately 12 generals on the front lines, a number that has astonished military analysts.

The targeting help is part of a classified effort by the Biden administration to provide real-time battlefield intelligence to Ukraine. That intelligence also includes anticipated Russian troop movements gleaned from recent American assessments of Moscow’s secret battle plan for the fighting in the Donbas region of eastern Ukraine, the officials said. Officials declined to specify how many generals had been killed as a result of U.S. assistance.

The United States has focused on providing the location and other details about the Russian military’s mobile headquarters, which relocate frequently. Ukrainian officials have combined that geographic information with their own intelligence — including intercepted communications that alert the Ukrainian military to the presence of senior Russian officers — to conduct artillery strikes and other attacks that have killed Russian officers.

<snip>

The Biden administration is also supplying new weaponry that should improve Ukraine’s ability to target senior Russian officers. The smaller version of the Switchblade drone, which is now arriving on the battlefield, can be used to identify and kill individual soldiers, and could take out a general sitting in a vehicle or giving orders on a front line.

 

[PommyMommy]

[URL='https://www.theguardian.com/world/live/2022/may/04/russia-ukraine-war-russia-attacks-azovstal-steel-plant-after-first-evacuated-civilians-reach-safety-live']Ukraine war: ‘bloody battles’ inside Mariupol steelworks; another 344 civilians evacuated, says Zelenskiy – live (theguardian.com)[/URL]

4h ago 17.38 The US has reportedly offered security assurances to Sweden in the event that it submits an application to join Nato.

Reuters reports that Ann Linde, Sweden’s foreign minister, said Antony Blinken, the US secretary of state, assured her Sweden would receive support during the period a potential application to join the alliance is processed. Sweden, as well as its neighbor Finland, stayed out of Nato during the cold war, but the countries are now rethinking security policies after Russia’s 2014 annexation of Crimea in 2014 and invasion of Ukraine.

[...]

3h ago 18.42 Another 344 people have been rescued from the besieged city of Mariupol in a second evacuation operation, Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskiy confirmed in his latest national address.

"The second stage of our evacuation operation from Mariupol was completed today. 344 people were rescued - from the city and its suburbs. That’s how many people departed to Zaporizhzhia today. Our team is getting ready to meet them. Meet in the same way as more than 150 people whom we managed to take out of Azovstal. They all receive the necessary help. All of them will receive the most caring treatment from our state.”

[...]

2h ago 18.55 Russia has said it will implement a ceasefire for three days from Thursday to allow more civilian evacuations from the Azovstal plant in the besieged city of Mariupol.

“The Russian armed forces will from 8 am to 6 pm (Moscow time) on May 5, 6 and 7 open a humanitarian corridor from the territory of the Azovstal metallurgical plant to evacuate civilians,” the defence ministry said on Wednesday.

[...]

2h ago 19.47 Russia has said its forces practised simulated nuclear-capable missile strikes in the western enclave of Kaliningrad, sandwiched between Poland and Lithuania along the Baltic Coast.

Russia practised simulated “electronic launches” of nuclear-capable Iskander mobile ballistic missile systems on Wednesday, the defence ministry said in a statement.

[...]

The combat units also practised “actions in conditions of radiation and chemical contamination”.

[...]

Russia’s state television has attempted to make nuclear weapons use more palatable to the public, according to some who spoke to AFP.

“For two weeks now, we have been hearing from our television screens that nuclear silos should be opened,” Russian newspaper editor and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Dmitry Muratov said.

 

[PommyMommy]

The Kyiv Independent on Twitter - 11 hrs ago
Associated Press: 600 civilians killed by Russian airstrike in Mariupol drama theater. An investigation by Associated Press shows that the March 16 airstrike that destroyed the Mariupol theater killed over half of the 1,000 civilians who used it as a shelter.

The Kyiv Independent on Twitter
The investigation also shows that there was no Ukrainian military in the theater, a pretext used by Russia to justify its airstrike.

The Kyiv Independent on Twitter - 9 hrs ago
3 people injured by Russian mines in Kyiv Oblast in 24 hours. Kyiv Oblast's Police Chief Andriy Nebytov urged residents of Kyiv Oblast to avoid forest roads, field paths and roadsides in areas previously under Russia's occupation.

Euromaidan Press on Twitter
Meet Max The Belgian shepherd was part of the Russian National Guard that captured a Ukrainian village in Mykolayiv Obl. He was left behind when Ukrainian Army liberated the region. Now Max is learning commands in Ukrainian and preparing for service in Ukraine Army Trophy dog abandoned by Russian army learning to obey commands in Ukrainian | Euromaidan Press

The Kyiv Independent on Twitter - 8 hrs ago
General Staff: 3 Russian missile carriers currently in Black Sea, ready to strike at Ukraine. The Russian fleet keeps blocking Ukrainian coastal areas and conducting reconnaissance. There are three ships carrying 3M-54 Kalibr missiles, Ukraine's general staff reported.

Euromaidan Press on Twitter - 7 hrs ago
Ukrainian troops repulsed 11 enemy attacks in Donbas today - JFO Command The Joint Forces Operation Command says Ukrainian troops destroyed:
5 tanks
7 armored combat vehicles
5 transport vehicles
2 Su-30 aircraft
2 UAVs: Orlan-10 and ZALA-421

The Kyiv Independent on Twitter - 6 hrs ago
Ukrainian air defense shoots down Russian missile in Kyiv Oblast. The remnants of the missile fell in a field near the village of Trebukhiv, said Ihor Sapozhko, the mayor of the nearby city of Brovary. No one was injured, and no buildings were damaged.

Euromaidan Press on Twitter
Russia tried to "export" stolen Ukrainian grain to Egypt A Russian ship loaded 27,000 tons of grain in the temporarily occupied Crimea and tried to sell it to Egypt, but after the refusal changed direction to Lebanon/Syria. The Russians tried to "export" to Egypt stolen Ukrainian grain | (epravda.com.ua)

Euromaidan Press on Twitter
"It's the second day as the enemy broke into the premises of the plant. There are heavy bloody battles. The situation is extremely difficult, but in spite of everything we continue to carry out the order to keep the defense" - Azov Regiment Commander Lt-Col Denys Prokopenko.

The Kyiv Independent on Twitter - 5 hrs ago
Azov commander says Russian troops broke into Azovstal. Denys Prokopenko, commander of the Azov volunteer regiment, said that “bloody fighting” is going on at the highly fortified Azovstal steel plant in Mariupol, Donetsk Oblast.

Euromaidan Press on Twitter
Russian troops have launched from Belarus at least 631 missiles targeting Ukraine since Feb 24 - Belaruski Hayun monitoring group Apr 1 was the most intense day as at least 56 warheads hit Ukraine covering the retreat the Russian troops from Kyiv Oblast. Щонайменше 631 ракета була запущена з Білорусі по Україні - Мілітарний (mil.in.ua)

The Kyiv Independent on Twitter - 2 hrs ago
Russia claims it will release civilians from Azovstal starting May 5. Russia’s Defense Ministry announced on May 4 that it will permit the evacuation of civilians from the Azovstal steel plant in Mariupol from 8:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. Moscow time on May 5, 6, and 7.

The Kyiv Independent on Twitter
No mention was made of Ukrainian military personnel also trapped in the plant and Ukrainian authorities have yet to respond to the announcement.

The Kyiv Independent on Twitter - 1 hr ago
Air raid alerts go off across Ukraine.

The Kyiv Independent on Twitter
Sirens have sounded in Kyiv and Kharkiv, as well as in Dnipropetrovsk, Donetsk, Khmelnytsky, Cherkasy, Zhytomyr, Poltava, Ivano-Frankivsk, Kirovohrad, Vinnytsia, Volyn, Chernivtsi, Zakarpattia, Mykolaiv, Lviv, Ternopil, Odesa, and Zaporizhzhia oblasts.

Euromaidan Press on Twitter
When Russia invaded Ukraine, Ukrainian military journalist & veteran Oleksandr Makhov joined the Army On 4 May he was killed in Russian shelling. "We are fighting for our country. For our home. Trust in the Ukrainian Army" reads his last FB post. RIP

 

[dotr]

May 4, 2022 9:49PM EDT
Russia pushing to seize two cities in eastern Ukraine: UK analysts | CP24.com
''LVIV, Ukraine (AP) - Complaining that the West is “stuffing Ukraine with weapons,” Russia bombarded railroad stations and other supply-line targets across the country, as the European Union moved to further punish Moscow for the war Wednesday by proposing a ban on oil imports.

Heavy fighting also raged at the Azovstal steel mill in Mariupol that represented the last stronghold of Ukrainian resistance in the ruined southern port city, according to the mayor. A Russian official denied that Moscow's troops were storming the plant, but the commander of the main Ukrainian military unit inside said Russian troops had broken into the mill's territory.

The Russian military also said it used sea- and air-launched missiles to destroy electric power facilities at five railway stations across Ukraine, while artillery and aircraft also struck troop strongholds and fuel and ammunition depots.''

Russia-Ukraine Latest News: May 4, 2022 - Bloomberg
''U.S. Sent Cyber Team to Lithuania Over Threat of Russian Hacking (4:15 a.m.)
The U.S. rushed cyber forces to Lithuania to help defend against online threats that have risen since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, an Army general said Wednesday.

“Our deployment in Lithuania was directly related to the ongoing crisis in the Ukraine,” Major General Joe Hartman, who commands the U.S. Cyber National Mission Force, told reporters at a roundtable interview in Nashville.''

 

[cujenn81]

Institute for the Study of War

Ukrainian defenses have largely stalled Russian advances in Eastern Ukraine. Russian troops conducted a number of unsuccessful attacks in Eastern Ukraine on May 4 and were unable to make any confirmed advances. Russian forces attacking south of Izyum appear increasingly unlikely to successfully encircle Ukrainian forces in the Rubizhne area.

Six Russian cruise missiles hit electrical substations near railway stations in Lviv and Transcarpathia (the southwestern Oblast of Ukraine) on May 4.

A senior US defense official reported that Russian aircraft conducted 200 to 300 airstrikes largely targeting transportation infrastructure in the last 24 hours.[2] The US official added that these Russian strikes are likely intended disrupt Ukrainian transportation capabilities and slow down weapon re-supply efforts but have been unable to do so.

Russian and Ukrainian sources confirmed that a Ukrainian counteroffensive pushed Russian troops back 40 kilometers from Kharkiv City.

Ukrainian forces continued to threaten Russian ground lines of communication to Izyum along the E40 highway, destroying a Russian supply convoy in Vesele on May 3.[7] Russian forces heavily shelled Ukrainian positions south and west of Izyum and likely targeted a Ukrainian pontoon bridge across the Siverskyi Donets in Protopoivka.

Russian forces continue to consolidate their administrative control of Mariupol. The Ukrainian Main Intelligence Directorate (GUR) reported that Russian preparations for a “Victory Day” parade in Mariupol on May 9 are ongoing. These preparations reportedly include forcing residents to clear damaged streets in return for food and preparing materials to portray a Russian “liberation” of Mariupol.[20] The GUR noted that First Deputy Head of the Russian Presidential Administration Sergey Kiriyenko arrived in Mariupol on an unspecified date to oversee preparations in his new position as Kremlin-appointed curator for Donbas issues. Kiriyenko’s activities in Mariupol are consistent with previous assessments that the Kremlin intends to make Mariupol the focal point of a possible Russian declaration of some sort of victory on May 9, though Russian forces will continue offensive operations beyond this date regardless of any Kremlin claims.

Novosilka, Donetsk Oblast, and Orihiv, Zaporizhia Oblast, likely to push towards the N15 highway running from Donetsk to Zaporizhia City.[25] Ukrainian artillery continued to target Russian supply lines running to occupied Zaporizhia Oblast settlements from Donbas, destroying a Russian convoy on May 4.

The Ukrainian Main Intelligence Directorate (GUR) said that Russia seeks to use Transnistria to achieve psychological effects pinning Ukrainian forces to keep them from deploying to Donbas.[30] The GUR noted that there are only 300 able-bodied servicemen in the Russian Special Task Force in Transnistria and that they are equipped with old ammunition. The three Russian missile attacks on Odesa on May 3 were likely part of this psychological campaign in addition to targeting unspecified infrastructure.

 

[PommyMommy]

MAY 5, 2022
Easy out from steel mill seen as unlikely for Ukraine troops | AP News
[...]

“They have the right to fight until they are dead, but if they surrender to Russia, they can be detained,” said Marco Sassoli, a professor of international law at the University of Geneva. “It’s simply their choice.”

Laurie Blank, a professor at Emory Law School in Atlanta who specializes in international humanitarian law and law of armed conflict, said injured fighters are considered “hors de combat” — literally “out of the fight” — and can be detained as prisoners of war.

[...]

The wives of at least two Ukrainian soldiers inside Azovstal have been in Rome pleading with the international community for an evacuation of the soldiers there, arguing they deserve the same rights as civilians.

[...]

“We don’t want them to die, they won’t surrender,” Kateryna Prokopenko said. “They are waiting for the bravest countries to evacuate them. We won’t let this tragedy happen after this long blockade.”

[...]

Ukrainian authorities have also demanded that Russia offer the Azovstal soldiers a safe exit — with their arms.

But experts say it would be nearly unprecedented for them to be simply allowed to walk free, not least because they could take up arms again and possibly cause Russian casualties.

“It is unlikely that Russia would allow Ukrainian troops to leave the plant with their weapons and nothing in the law would require that,” Blank said via email.

Instead the Russian military has called on the troops inside Azovstal to lay down their weapons and come out with white flags. It says those who surrender will not be killed, in line with international law.

[...]

In the event the Azovstal fighters were to be taken captive, it’s not clear whether Russia would uphold its commitments under international law regarding POWs, given its alleged previous violations of rules governing war conduct and a lack of evidence for how it has been treating Ukrainian soldiers it already has in custody.

International humanitarian law “grants absolute protection to POWs against ill treatment and murder. Violations of these norms are war crimes,” said Annyssa Bellal, senior researcher and international humanitarian law expert at the Geneva Graduate Institute. “The respect of the norms, though, is dependent on the will of the parties to the conflict.”

[...]

Under the Geneva Conventions, POWs “must at all times be humanely treated” and may not be “subjected to physical mutilation or to medical or scientific experiments” that aren’t justified for health reasons. Members of armed forces who are wounded or sick, meanwhile, “shall be respected and protected in all circumstances.”

Unlike civilians, prisoners of war may be forcibly sent to other countries in order to keep them from returning from the battlefield.

[...]

The International Committee of the Red Cross plays a crucial and nearly exclusive role in conflicts around the world mediating between combatants on matters such as arranging prisoner swaps and monitoring detainee conditions. Among other things, the ICRC collects names of POWs and reports back to their governments and families.

Yet the ICRC has not said whether it has met with any POWs in Russian custody since the war began Feb. 24, a silence that Sassoli said could be a “bad sign.”

[...]

On Tuesday, Pascal Hundt, the ICRC’s chief in Ukraine, told reporters that only civilians were covered in a Russian-Ukrainian deal that led to the recent evacuations from Azovstal. And he expressed uncertainty that anyone else might get out.

“The ICRC has little leverage when it comes to reaching a cease-fire agreement, and it is up to the parties to find agreement and to get these people out,” Hundt said. “We’ll continue to push even if the hope is close to zero, we’ll just continue to push — and we stand ready to go there.”

 

[dotr]

Updated May 5, 2022, 8:47 AM EDT
Russia-Ukraine war live updates: Fighting rages inside Azovstal steel plant in Mariupol (nbcnews.com)
''Heavy fighting has been raging inside the Azovstal steel plant, where Mariupol's last defenders have been holding out for weeks.

One commander of the remaining Ukrainian troops said late Wednesday that Russian forces had broken into the sprawling site and "heavy, bloody battles" were being fought. Civilians remain trapped in the plant despite this week's successful evacuation, with Moscow vowing it would stop military activity on Thursday to allow more to make it out.

Gaining full control of Mariupol, the key port city, would mark a significant victory for the Kremlin as its eastern offensive struggles to make progress. In recent days Russian attacks have focused on striking infrastructure across the country in an apparent effort to disrupt the supply of Western weapons.

While stepping up their support for Kyiv, Ukraine's allies are also focused on how to punish Moscow and hinder its war effort. European Union countries will continue to discuss the bloc's proposed ban on Russian oil — a key source of funds for the Kremlin but also of energy for the continent.''

 

[PommyMommy]

The New Voice of Ukraine on Twitter
The fallen Ukrainian soldiers. Cemetery in Dnipro. Photo: flying_svetlana / Instagram

The Kyiv Independent on Twitter - 5 hrs ago
Popular pro-Russian blogger, politician Anatoly Shariy detained in Spain. The controversial Ukrainian blogger was detained in Spain on May 4, the Security Service of Ukraine said. Ukrainian authorities suspect Shariy of high treason.

The Kyiv Independent on Twitter
Ukrainian authorities say Shariy has been spreading disinformation to harm Ukraine's national security, while being paid for it by Russia. Shariy has lived in exile in EU since 2012. He founded a political party active in Ukraine. It was banned under martial law in February.

The Kyiv Independent on Twitter
Heavy shelling kills 5 civilians in Luhansk Oblast. According to the regional governor Serhiy Haidai, Russian forces attacked residential areas in Luhansk Oblast 24 times on May 4, killing five locals.

NEXTA on Twitter
Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Kuleba shares a touching text by 8-year-old Yehor.

Dmytro Kuleba on Twitter
‘Since Feb 24, my two dogs have died, and my grandma Halya, and my beloved Mariupol’, wrote 8yo Yehor in his diary while hiding from Russian bombs. His grandpa died too. He, his sister, and their mother were wounded. Ukraine will never give up or get tired. We have to prevail.

The Kyiv Independent on Twitter - 3 hrs ago
Ukraine’s biggest thermal power plant stops due to coal shortage. Zaporizhzhia Thermal Power Plant near the city of Enerhodar stopped operating as Russian occupation of Enerhodar and ongoing hostilities disrupted coal supplies, Enerhodar Mayor Dmytro Orlov said on May 5.

The Kyiv Independent on Twitter - 2 hrs ago
Russian forces blockade occupied Kherson. For several days, Russian occupiers have not been allowing anyone to leave the occupied areas of Kherson Oblast or enter from the Ukrainian-controlled territories, according to deputy head of Kherson Oblast Council Yuriy Sobolevsky.

The Kyiv Independent on Twitter - 1 hr ago
Commander: Ukraine launched counteroffensives in Kharkiv Oblast. Valeriy Zaluzhny, chief of Ukraine’s armed forces, announced that Ukrainian troops have now switched to launching counteroffensives near Kharkiv and the Russian-occupied city of Izyum in Kharkiv Oblast.

The New Voice of Ukraine on Twitter
The Russian military fired about 18 missiles on May 3. According to the Air Force Command, the missiles were fired from Tu-95 or Tu-160 strategic bombers stationed in the Caspian Sea. These missiles could carry a nuclear warhead. Russia military strategic bomber jets can carry nuclear weapons and so can NATO / The New Voice of Ukraine (nv.ua)

NEXTA on Twitter - Video
The "#Azovstal" was shelled from the ship's artillery. The situation at the plant is close to critical.

 

[Sundog]

MAY 5, 2022
Easy out from steel mill seen as unlikely for Ukraine troops | AP News
[...]

“They have the right to fight until they are dead, but if they surrender to Russia, they can be detained,” said Marco Sassoli, a professor of international law at the University of Geneva. “It’s simply their choice.”

Laurie Blank, a professor at Emory Law School in Atlanta who specializes in international humanitarian law and law of armed conflict, said injured fighters are considered “hors de combat” — literally “out of the fight” — and can be detained as prisoners of war.

[...]

The wives of at least two Ukrainian soldiers inside Azovstal have been in Rome pleading with the international community for an evacuation of the soldiers there, arguing they deserve the same rights as civilians.

[...]

“We don’t want them to die, they won’t surrender,” Kateryna Prokopenko said. “They are waiting for the bravest countries to evacuate them. We won’t let this tragedy happen after this long blockade.”

[...]

Ukrainian authorities have also demanded that Russia offer the Azovstal soldiers a safe exit — with their arms.

But experts say it would be nearly unprecedented for them to be simply allowed to walk free, not least because they could take up arms again and possibly cause Russian casualties.

“It is unlikely that Russia would allow Ukrainian troops to leave the plant with their weapons and nothing in the law would require that,” Blank said via email.

Instead the Russian military has called on the troops inside Azovstal to lay down their weapons and come out with white flags. It says those who surrender will not be killed, in line with international law.

[...]

In the event the Azovstal fighters were to be taken captive, it’s not clear whether Russia would uphold its commitments under international law regarding POWs, given its alleged previous violations of rules governing war conduct and a lack of evidence for how it has been treating Ukrainian soldiers it already has in custody.

International humanitarian law “grants absolute protection to POWs against ill treatment and murder. Violations of these norms are war crimes,” said Annyssa Bellal, senior researcher and international humanitarian law expert at the Geneva Graduate Institute. “The respect of the norms, though, is dependent on the will of the parties to the conflict.”

[...]

Under the Geneva Conventions, POWs “must at all times be humanely treated” and may not be “subjected to physical mutilation or to medical or scientific experiments” that aren’t justified for health reasons. Members of armed forces who are wounded or sick, meanwhile, “shall be respected and protected in all circumstances.”

Unlike civilians, prisoners of war may be forcibly sent to other countries in order to keep them from returning from the battlefield.

[...]

The International Committee of the Red Cross plays a crucial and nearly exclusive role in conflicts around the world mediating between combatants on matters such as arranging prisoner swaps and monitoring detainee conditions. Among other things, the ICRC collects names of POWs and reports back to their governments and families.

Yet the ICRC has not said whether it has met with any POWs in Russian custody since the war began Feb. 24, a silence that Sassoli said could be a “bad sign.”

[...]

On Tuesday, Pascal Hundt, the ICRC’s chief in Ukraine, told reporters that only civilians were covered in a Russian-Ukrainian deal that led to the recent evacuations from Azovstal. And he expressed uncertainty that anyone else might get out.

“The ICRC has little leverage when it comes to reaching a cease-fire agreement, and it is up to the parties to find agreement and to get these people out,” Hundt said. “We’ll continue to push even if the hope is close to zero, we’ll just continue to push — and we stand ready to go there.”

Do we know how many civilians still need to be evacuated from Azovstal? IIRC, about a week ago I read that there were 1,000 civilians trapped, but then I read that 100 were evacuated recently, and that about 200 civilians were still inside. So not sure of the actual numbers. If there are evacuations over the next three days, as has been posted that this is being planned, then surely all civilians will be out by this weekend, if 200 is the accurate number. I hope that is the case.