Russia Attacks Ukraine - 23 Feb 2022 #8

[PommyMommy]

APR 6, 2022
As Ukraine regains control of Borodyanka area, more Russians’ atrocities come to light (kyivindependent.com)
Burned and shattered, high-rise residential buildings in the center of Borodyanka, a town 40 kilometers northwest of Kyiv, hide even more horror underneath.

Around 200 people have been buried alive in the basements when Russian bombs destroyed the buildings, local authorities estimate.

[...]

As Evidence Of War Crimes In Bucha Mounts, A Hunt For Russian Military Units (rferl.org)
[...]

On April 3, Oleksiy Arestovych, an adviser to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, published a list of Russian units, both military and National Guard, that he said had been deployed to Bucha and two other towns in the Kyiv region, Irpin and Hostomel.

Among those he named were the 104th and 234th Airborne Assault Regiments of the 76th Airborne Assault Division.

Based in the northwestern Russian city of Pskov, the division is renowned in Soviet and Russian military history, for both battlefield prowess and brutality. During the Second Chechen War in the early 2000s, paratroopers from the 76th Airborne Division were credibly accused of killing Chechen civilians indiscriminately.

The social-media post about the death of Bayur, the commander of the artillery unit, was one piece of evidence pointing to the presence of the paratroopers in Bucha.

Sometime around March 26, a video apparently produced by Ukraine's military intelligence agency appeared online, featuring a captured soldier whose unit is identified as the 76th Airborne Division. The video was later removed by YouTube but a copy was published on a Ukrainian journalist's Telegram channel.

In the video the soldier, who is identified as Timofei Bobov, describes how on February 24 his unit was ordered to Ukraine and deployed to "clean up Hostomel or Bucha." According to Bobov, he was instructed to break into apartments in residential buildings with a crowbar and take the people who were inside to the basement. He did not indicate what happened to them afterward.

[...]

 

[PommyMommy]

The Kyiv Independent on Twitter
General Staff: Russia prepares an ‘offensive operation’ against Ukraine. According to Ukraine’s Armed Forces, Russia plans to capture Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts. The regrouping of troops in Russia’s Bryansk and Kursk regions is nearing completion.

The Kyiv Independent on Twitter
Blinken: for every Russian tank Ukraine has 10 anti-tank systems. During an interview with NBC, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the U.S. and its allies have provided or will soon provide Ukraine with “10 anti-tank systems for every single Russian tank.”

The Kyiv Independent on Twitter
Blinken also said that while it may take time, there is “no scenario” in which Ukraine does not win.

The Kyiv Independent on Twitter
New York Times: Pentagon trains small group of Ukrainian soldiers to operate portable armed drones. Pentagon officials reportedly said on April 6 that the soldiers are on a pre-scheduled educational assignment in the U.S. and are being trained on how to use Switchblade drones.

The Kyiv Independent on Twitter
The U.S. included 100 Switchblade drones for Ukraine as part of a $800 million military aid package to Ukraine.

NEXTA on Twitter
In #Mariupol, as a result of the bombing of a children's hospital by #Russian aircraft, almost 50 people were burned alive. This was announced by the city mayor Vadim Boychenko.

NEXTA on Twitter
"According to preliminary estimates, 5 thousand people were killed in #Mariupol during the month-long blockade of the city, 210 of them were children. #Russian terrorist troops dropped several super-powerful bombs on a children's hospital. Almost 50 people were burnt alive".

NEXTA on Twitter
The AFU General Staff reported that the enemy had lost control over #Osokorovka in #Kherson region.

Euromaidan Press on Twitter
“Serhiyi was shot in the back of the head, and his friend was tortured. They sliced off his cheek and shot him in the chest. We buried them right on the factory grounds.” Eyewitness account of Russia's murders in Bucha
“They were shot in the back of the head.” Eyewitness account of Russia's murders of Bucha residents | Euromaidan Press

Euromaidan Press on Twitter
The US has now sent 100 switchblade kamikaze combat drones to Ukraine,–Defense Dep official https://edition.cnn.com/europe/live-news/ukraine-russia-putin-news-04-06-22/index.html… Ukrainian servicemen, who have been in US since last autumn, has been trained in the use of switchblade and can transfer experience to the Armed Forces,–Ukriniform

 

[sds71]

The Senate unanimously passed major legislation late Wednesday to revive a World War II-era program allowing President Joe Biden to more efficiently send weapons and other supplies to Ukraine amid Russia’s bloody invasion.

Senators quickly rallied behind the proposal, known as lend-lease, as Ukraine’s military proved it could fend off Russian troops who have been shelling Ukrainian cities and towns since late February. The lend-lease program created during World War II was seen as a game-changer in the conflict, as it allowed the U.S. to quickly resupply the Allies without time-consuming procedural hurdles.
In the fight against Putin, Senate unanimously approves measure that once helped beat Hitler

 

[PommyMommy]

AP PHOTOS on Day 42: Rows of body bags in Ukraine's Bucha | AP News


A Ukrainian serviceman walks amid destroyed Russian tanks in Bucha, on the outskirts of Kyiv, Ukraine, Wednesday, April 6, 2022. (AP Photo/Felipe Dana)


Men ride bicycles by a destroyed apartment building in Borodyanka, Ukraine, Wednesday, April 6, 2022. (AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda)


A cat sits between large caliber rounds of ammunition abandoned by retreating Russian forces or retrieved from destroyed fighting vehicles in the village of Andriivka, Ukraine, heavily affected by fighting between Russian and Ukrainian forces, Wednesday, April 6, 2022. (AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda)


Ukrainian soldiers walk next to heavily damaged residential buildings in Irpin, on the outskirts of Kyiv, Ukraine, Wednesday, April 6, 2022. (AP Photo/Felipe Dana)


Tetiana Oleksiienko cries standing at the gate of her house in the village of Andriivka, Ukraine, heavily affected by fighting between Russian and Ukrainian forces, Wednesday, April 6, 2022. (AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda)

 

[PommyMommy]

The Kyiv Independent on Twitter - 10 hrs ago
Reuters: FBI hijacks Russian cyber network. According to U.S. officials on April 6, the Federal Bureau of Investigation hijacked thousands of routers and firewalls from Russian military hackers.

The Kyiv Independent on Twitter
This was reportedly a “pre-emptive move” to stop the creation of a “botnet,” a network of computers infected with malicious software and used to barrage other servers with traffic.

The Kyiv Independent on Twitter - 5 hrs ago
Taiwan expands sanctions against Russia, targets high-tech exports. Taiwan’s Ministry of Economic Affairs said in a statement that the list includes designated telecommunications equipment, integrated circuit parts, and variable-frequency drives.

The Kyiv Independent on Twitter
NATO to discuss supplying heavy weapons, air defense systems to Ukraine. NATO foreign ministers will consider the isssue at a meeting on April 7, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said.

The Kyiv Independent on Twitter - 4 hrs ago
Emergency service: 6,883 explosive devices found and neutralized in Kyiv Oblast. The area is being demined after the withdrawal of Russian troops from the region in early April.

The Kyiv Independent on Twitter
Ukraine, Russia agree on 10 humanitarian corridors for April 7 to evacuate people from: Mariupol in Donetsk Oblast; Berdiansk, Tokmak, Energodar and Melitopol in Zaporizhzhia Oblast; Sievierodonetsk, Lysychansk, Popasna, Rubizhne and Hirske in Luhansk Oblast.

The Kyiv Independent on Twitter - 3 hrs ago
Russian troops forcibly transport Mariupol hospital staff, patients to occupied territories in eastern Ukraine. The staff and patients have been transported from Mariupol's Hospital No. 4, the city council said on April 7.

The Kyiv Independent on Twitter
Russian troops shelled Kharkiv civilian infrastructure 48 times over the past 24 hours. Three people had been killed by Russian artillery in the city of Balakliya in the region. Source: Kharkiv Oblast Governor Oleh Synehubov

The Kyiv Independent on Twitter - 2 hrs ago
Zelensky, European Commission President to meet on April 8. Zelensky's meeting with Ursula von der Leyen will take place in Kyiv, Zelensky's spokesman Serhiy Nikiforov said on April 7.

The Kyiv Independent on Twitter - 1 hr ago
Der Spiegel: Russian soldiers discussed killing civilians in Bucha by radio. The conversations have been intercepted by German intelligence, Der Spiegel reported on April 7. Russian soldiers also said that Ukrainian prisoners of war had been shot dead after being interrogated.

The Kyiv Independent on Twitter
Kyiv city hall bans visiting forests during martial law. The Vyshgorod district administration in Kyiv Oblast said in March that forests in the district, which is separate from the city, cannot be visited either. Martial law will be in force until at least April 25.

The Kyiv Independent on Twitter
Bucha mayor: Almost 90% of people found dead have ‘bullet wounds, not shrapnel wounds.’ Mayor of Bucha Anatoly Fedoruk told Deutsche Welle that the number of people found dead is growing every day. The mayor said that three mass graves were found in the city.

The Kyiv Independent on Twitter
Dnipro mayor: Residents not involved in critical infrastructure should evacuate. According to Suspilne media, Borys Filatov said that the situation in eastern Ukraine is escalating. Dnipro is a regional capital in central Ukraine that borders the eastern Donetsk Oblast.

 

[SouthAussie]

I wonder how long some of the sanctions can/will hold up.


Shell says its decision to pull out of Russia in response to the country’s invasion of Ukraine has already cost the international energy giant as much as $5bn.

The reduced value of Russian assets, credit losses and “onerous” contract terms will cut earnings for the first three months of the year by between $4bn and $5bn, the company said in a statement.

Energy companies are under pressure to cut ties with Russia because oil and natural gas exports are crucial revenue sources for Moscow.

Ukraine warns ‘last chance’ to flee Russian attacks in east

 

[SouthAussie]

Ukraine warns ‘last chance’ to flee Russian attacks in east

 

[Elley Mae]

British embassy security guard suspected of being Russian spy pleads not guilty to nine charges

 

[PommyMommy]

APR 7, 2022

Russo-Ukrainian war, day 43: Russian troops left Sumy Oblast, preparing an offensive is Donbas in 3-4 days | Euromaidan Press
Russian army is preparing to start an offensive in Donbas in 3-4 days. Heavy artillery and strategic aviation units are concentrated around the area for the bombing of Mariupol. Residents of the Ukrainian-controlled territories in Donbas are told to leave. ...

If there is no really painful package of sanctions against Russia, it will be considered by Moscow as a permission to attack - address by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy — Official website of the President of Ukraine
[...]

Some politicians are still unable to decide how to limit the flow of dollars and euros to Russia from the oil trade, so as not to jeopardize their own economies. But that's why people go into politics. To solve such problems, difficult tasks. To solve them quickly and in a principled fashion. If you are not capable, then you shouldn’t have started political activity.

The embargo on Russian oil supplies will be applied anyway. The format will be found. The only question is how many more Ukrainian men and women the Russian military will have time to kill, so that you, some politicians - and we know you, can borrow a little determination somewhere.

It is good that the United States Department of the Treasury has suspended Russia's ability to use US bank accounts and related assets to pay its debt. It's tangible. And I'm grateful for that. But much more needs to be done to stop the war.

[...]

Moscow Patriarchate to troops: "Wipe the Ukrainian nation off the face of the earth" | Euromaidan Press


Broadside produced by the Bryansk metropolitanate of the Russian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate that has been distributed to Russian soldiers there (Credit: social media)

Translation: “Russian Orthodox Church Moscow Patriarchate Bryansk Metropolitanate
You are a Russian Warrior.
Your duty is to defend the Fatherland from Ukrainian nationalists.
Your task is to wipe the Ukrainian nation off the face of the earth.
Your enemy is an ideology causing sinful damage to human soul.
The Department for relations with the military and the police of the Bryansk Eparchy, Priest Mikhail Ageshin.”

Bucha massacre survivors: ‘Why do Russians hate us so much?’ (kyivindependent.com)
Monthlong massacre

[...]

“The Kadyrovites’ checkpoint was the scariest,” said Lyubarets referring to Chechen forces loyal to Chechnya leader Ramzan Kadyrov, which Russia had deployed in the area.

“They could shoot to kill without asking questions, without checking documents. In that area, there were a lot of corpses that have now been buried on the territory of the church. Kadyrovites killed everyone – women, men, children, the age didn’t matter.”

[...]

 

[Elley Mae]

Report: Germany Intercepts Russian Calls Discussing Bucha Killings

Report: Germany Intercepts Russian Calls Discussing Bucha Killings

Germany's intelligence agency intercepted radio messages from Russian military sources discussing the killing of civilians in the Ukrainian town of Bucha, German news magazine Der Spiegel reported Thursday.

…

Possible Evidence of Russian Atrocities: German Intelligence Intercepts Radio Traffic Discussing the Murder of Civilians in Bucha

 

[dotr]

April 5 2022
What is Russia's Wagner Group of mercenaries in Ukraine? - BBC News
''A BBC investigation into the Wagner Group has pointed to the believed involvement of a 51-year-old former Russian army officer, Dmitri Utkin. He is thought to have founded Wagner and given it its name - his own former call-sign.

He is a veteran of the Chechen wars, a former special forces officer and a lieutenant colonel with the GRU, Russia's military intelligence service.

The Wagner Group first went into action during Russia's annexation of Crimea in 2014, says Tracey German, professor of conflict and security at King's College London.

"Its mercenaries are thought to be some of the 'little green men' who occupied the region," she says. "About 1,000 of its mercenaries then supported the pro-Russian militias fighting for control of the Luhansk and Donetsk regions.''

"Running a mercenary army is against the Russian constitution," she adds. "However, Wagner provides the government with a force which is deniable. Wagner can get involved abroad and the Kremlin can say: 'It has nothing to do with us'."

Samuel Ramani, associate fellow at the Royal United Services Institute, says Wagner mainly recruits army veterans who need to pay off debts: "They come from rural areas where there are few other opportunities for them to make money."

Who funds the Wagner Group?
Some suggest Russia's military intelligence agency, the GRU, secretly funds and oversees the Wagner Group.

Mercenary sources have told the BBC that its training base in Mol'kino in southern Russia is next to a Russian army base.''

''Russia has consistently denied Wagner has any connection with the state.

The BBC investigation that identified Utkin's links to the Wagner Group also links Yevgeny Prigozhin, the oligarch known as "Putin's chef" - so-called because he rose from being a restaurateur and caterer for the Kremlin.''

 

[Elley Mae]

In Mali, Wagner has deployed its African playbook once again. Prigozhin associate Maxim Shugaley conducted another disinformation operation, releasing a public opinion poll “purporting to show 87 percent support among Malians for the government’s outreach to Wagner” by the Foundation for National Values Protection (FZNC). This organization is sanctioned by the US Treasury Department for disinformation activities. The operation, along with an interview by another Prigozhin associate, Alexandre Ivanov, to Malian media, demonstrate Wagner Group’s involvement in a bid to enhance its own reputation in Mali.[17]

The military-to-miliary relationship between Mali and Russia is nascent but reflects the recent introduction of Wagner to the country. Around September 2020, Mali’s transitional government agreed to accept 1000 Wagner group contractors “to conduct training, close protection, and counterterrorism operations.” In 2019, Mali’s then-government agreed to receive four Russian attack helicopters, MI-171s with weapons and ammunition, which were allegedly delivered as a “donation” on January 9, 2021, as part of a Mali-Russia military cooperation convention.[18] Given the chronological proximity of these two actions, Wagner appears intimately involved in the growing military-to-military relationship between Mali and Russia.

The Wagner Group's Playbook in Africa: Mali - Foreign Policy Research Institute

 

[Elley Mae]

Private jet linked to Wagner Group’s Yevgeny Prigozhin seized at Luton airport | News | The Times

 

[sds71]

Congress votes to suspend normal trade relations with Russia and ban oil imports, ratcheting up the U.S. response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Congress votes to suspend Russia trade status, enact oil ban

 

[Elley Mae]

UN votes to suspend Russia from its Human Rights Council

 

[LadyL]

Kyiv, Ukraine mayor addresses Toronto council, calls for defensive weapons as war continues

 

[dotr]

Private jet linked to


Wagner Group’s Yevgeny Prigozhin seized at Luton airport | News | The Times

Wow, that just happened today, hopefully a good start to spotting and stopping the W group.
All dressed up, but you wouldn't want to run into him in a dark alley, imo.

Yevgeny Prigozhin, known as “Putin’s chef”, runs Wagner Group, which supplies mercenaries to conflict zones across the world
MIKHAIL METZEL/TASS/ALAMY LIVE NEWS

''Investigators are trying to untangle the shadowy history of a private jet which was detained last weekend on the suspicion of being linked to the Putin crony who runs the notorious Wagner Group mercenary unit.

The Gulfstream G550 landed at Luton airport last weekend with no passengers on board. Flight data suggests it flew from Dubai.''

 

[CSIDreamer]

UN votes to suspend Russia from its Human Rights Council

I wish they would have suspended Belarus, too. JMO

 

[worldwatcher]

Just released - Pink Floyd

Hey Hey Rise Up', released in support of the people of Ukraine, sees David Gilmour and Nick Mason joined by long time Pink Floyd bass player Guy Pratt and Nitin Sawhney on keyboards, all accompanying an extraordinary vocal by Andriy Khlyvnyuk of Ukrainian band Boombox. All proceeds go to Ukrainian Humanitarian Relief.
(BBM)

 

[SouthAussie]

Just released - Pink Floyd

Hey Hey Rise Up', released in support of the people of Ukraine, sees David Gilmour and Nick Mason joined by long time Pink Floyd bass player Guy Pratt and Nitin Sawhney on keyboards, all accompanying an extraordinary vocal by Andriy Khlyvnyuk of Ukrainian band Boombox. All proceeds go to Ukrainian Humanitarian Relief.
(BBM)

I always loved Pink Floyd. And I still love them.
The desperation of the people is heartbreaking.