Russia Attacks Ukraine - 23 Feb 2022 #8

[PommyMommy]

APR 13, 2022

Russia Claims 1,000 Ukrainian Marines Surrender; Polish, Baltic Leaders Head To Kyiv To Bolster Zelenskiy (rferl.org)
[...]

"In the city of Mariupol...1,026 Ukrainian servicemen of the 36th Marine Brigade voluntarily laid down their arms and surrendered," the Russian Defense Ministry said in a statement on April 13.

Russian state news television channel Rossiya-24 showed video of soldiers marching with their hands up that it said were Ukrainian marines who had surrendered. Similar video footage was circulating on the social media accounts of pro-Kremlin bloggers.

The videos could not be independently verified.

[...]

Russia-Ukraine war latest: Finland to make Nato decision ‘within weeks’; Russia claims mass surrender of Ukrainians in Mariupol – live (theguardian.com)

2h ago 08:27
The presidents of Poland, Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia have arrived in Ukraine for talks with their Ukrainian counterpart, Volodymyr Zelenskiy.

Lithuania’s president, Gitanas Nauseda, tweeted earlier that he was heading to the Ukrainian capital “with a strong message of political support and military assistance”.

[...]

1h ago 09:01
Russia will view US and Nato vehicles transporting weapons on Ukrainian territory as “legal military targets”, the Russian deputy foreign minister, Sergei Ryabkov, said, Reuters reports.

Speaking in an interview with the Russian state-owned news agency Tass, Ryabkov said:

We are warning that US-Nato weapons transports across Ukrainian territory will be considered by us as legal military targets.

We are making the Americans and other westerners understand that attempts to slow down our special operation, to inflict maximum damage on Russian contingents and formations of the DPR and LPR (Donetsk and Luhansk People’s republics) will be harshly suppressed.

 

[dotr]

April 13 2022

'Russian troops in 'Z tanks' move in on last remaining district in besieged Mariupol'

 

[Bit of hope]

UWV: 900 Oekraïense vluchtelingen hebben werk • 'Al meer dan 720 lichamen gevonden bij Kiev'

UWV <Dutch benefits agency> 900 Ukrainian refugees have a job • 'More than 720 bodies have already been found near Kiev'

2 HOURS AGO
Russia sees NATO arms shipments as military targets
The Russian Foreign Ministry has told state media TASS that Russia considers arms shipments from NATO and the United States to be legitimate military targets.

"We warn that US and NATO arms shipments over Ukrainian territory will be considered legitimate military targets by us," Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said.

Many countries supply weapons to help Ukraine in the fight against Russia, including NATO countries such as Turkey and the Netherlands. This concerns, for example, drones, rocket launchers and ammunition. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said he would also deliver armored vehicles and anti-ship missiles during his visit to Kiev last weekend.

Isn't this article 5 Nato?

and then this

AN HOUR AGO
Macron: Be careful with terms like genocide
French President Macron does not want to use the term 'genocide'. He said this in an interview with the broadcaster France 2. Yesterday , US President Biden accused his Russian counterpart Putin of genocide against the Ukrainian population.

According to Biden, it is becoming increasingly clear that Putin is simply trying to destroy the idea of being Ukrainian. Macron warns that such statements do not contribute to efforts to end the war.

The French president therefore prefers to stick to the facts, which he believes are that Russia has started a brutal war. He also says that war crimes have been committed that need to be investigated.

If we are talking about 'genocide', of course it has to be proven.....this means according to the Geneva Convention we have to act up.

3 HOURS AGO
900 refugees from Ukraine have found work in the Netherlands
According to the UWV, at least 900 Ukrainian refugees have found work in the Netherlands. A spokesman for the government organization says the number is increasing by about 130 per day.

Many refugees want to work. There is a shortage of personnel in many sectors and companies can use them well. Ukrainians who have fled their country because of the Russian invasion are allowed to work without a so-called work permit. Employers must, however, report it from the beginning of this month if they employ a refugee Ukrainian.

The UWV cannot yet say in which sectors the refugees work. That will be communicated next month.

8 HOURS AGO
BBC: Clear evidence that cluster bomb was used in train station attack
According to the BBC , there is clear evidence that a cluster bomb was used in the attack on a train station in Kramatorsk in eastern Ukraine. This means that several small bombs are dropped from large ammunition, increasing the chance of many casualties.

BBC journalists visited the site of the attack and saw "clear patterns consistent with the use of a cluster projectile" on the ground. They also saw a "scatter pattern" next to a larger hole in a building. Witnesses also heard an explosion followed by four or five explosions.

In addition, a Tochka-U missile was found that can be used to fire cluster munitions. The broadcaster spoke to three weapons experts who reviewed the findings and also confirmed that these are likely cluster munitions.

The use of cluster bombs is highly controversial. Not all projectiles explode. The explosives can still explode later if someone touches or picks them up. At least 50 people were killed in the attack in Kramatorsk.

Did anybody see a confirmation from the free countries/independent media or Ukraine about the surrendering troops in Mariupol?

 

[Charlot123]

Orthodox Easter is next Sunday. Not this week, but the week after.

Head of Russia's Orthodox Church calls on people to rally around authorities

This is beyond belief.

Not at all.

Peter the Great, a smart man but a full autocrat, significantly limited the position of the Russian Orthodox Church by instituting the Holy Synod, basically, a secular, bureaucratic organization, governing Russian church. His reforms were continued by Catherine the Great. From 1700 till 1917 there was no patriarch in Russian Orthodox Church. After the Revolution, the church was basically ruined and forbidden by the Bolsheviks. In 1943, during WWII, Stalin allowed the church to convene, just because he wanted to bolster the patriotic spirit of the Soviet people. I can write a lot, but it is easier to view the Russian church as the servant of the state, it is not the Vatican in any way. The priests are believers, of course, but the bureaucratic structure fully dependent on the government, the church is. It is rather the sad history of Russian Orthodox Church than personal traits of its Patriarch (whom I don’t like, but no matter).

 

[Bit of hope]

UWV: 900 Oekraïense vluchtelingen hebben werk • 'Al meer dan 720 lichamen gevonden bij Kiev'

AN HOUR AGO
Kremlin calls Biden's genocide ruling unacceptable and incorrect
The Kremlin finds President Biden's statement that Russia is committing genocide in Ukraine unacceptable. Biden said for the first time that Russia's behavior in Ukraine amounts to genocide in his eyes.

"This is hardly acceptable from a president of the United States, a country that has committed known crimes in recent times," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said in a conference call with reporters. Biden previously called his Russian counterpart Putin a war criminal.

Biden's ruling follows the discovery of mass graves with civilians in, among other places, Butja, a Ukrainian city that had about 36,000 inhabitants before the invasion. According to Putin, those people were not killed by the Russians.

The bodies of several civilians have been discovered in a mass grave next to St. Andrew's Church, Ukrainian government officials say:

 

[Niner]

snipped...

The Kyiv Independent on Twitter - 1 hr ago
Media: Sweden to apply for NATO membership in June. The application will be submitted at the alliance’s Madrid summit, the Svenska Dagbladet newspaper reported on April 13.

I think my sister will be relieved to hear about this! How about you @Fika ?

 

[CSIDreamer]

Statement by President Joe Biden on Call with President Zelenskyy and Additional Security Assistance to Ukraine | The White House

I just spoke with President Zelenskyy and shared with him that my Administration is authorizing an additional $800 million in weapons, ammunition, and other security assistance to Ukraine. The Ukrainian military has used the weapons we are providing to devastating effect. As Russia prepares to intensify its attack in the Donbas region, the United States will continue to provide Ukraine with the capabilities to defend itself.

This new package of assistance will contain many of the highly effective weapons systems we have already provided and new capabilities tailored to the wider assault we expect Russia to launch in eastern Ukraine. These new capabilities include artillery systems, artillery rounds, and armored personnel carriers. I have also approved the transfer of additional helicopters. In addition, we continue to facilitate the transfer of significant capabilities from our Allies and partners around the world.

The steady supply of weapons the United States and its Allies and partners have provided to Ukraine has been critical in sustaining its fight against the Russian invasion. It has helped ensure that Putin failed in his initial war aims to conquer and control Ukraine. We cannot rest now. As I assured President Zelenskyy, the American people will continue to stand with the brave Ukrainian people in their fight for freedom.

###

 

[sds71]

@CavasShips

Latest US defense aid package for Ukraine as just announced by the Pentagon. Included are 11 Mi-17 Russian-built helicopters originally earmarked for but not transferred to Afghanistan; 5 were trf'd earlier. Package also includes 18 155mm howitzers, the 1st transfer of artillery

 

[worldwatcher]

<modsnip - not an approved source>

Read more on :
https://ukranews.com/en/news/849331-russian-warship-moskva-is-on-fire-in-black-sea-media

 

[ilovewings]

What is the point of our president calling Putin a war criminal and alleging genocide? We know Putin is a war criminal and I do believe he is committing genocide, but what good does it do at this time in the invasion/war to keep saying this? It isn't going to change Putin's behavior --- IMO it serves to inflame tensions in this hideous war against Ukraine: there is plenty of time after the war is over to address war crimes and genocide: IMO now is not the time.

 

[ZoriahNZ]

It is a way to show solidarity with Ukraine and force the issue with the reluctant European nations who are still dragging their feet over immediate aid. Why quibble over wording technicalities when the evidence is documented on video, satellite photos, intercepted transmissions, witness testimonies etc - and mounting. Ukraine needs the weapons and assistance now, not months down the road. If the US is seen to be firm and steadfast in defending Ukraine from the invaders, it bolsters their position in the global community. Too often countries try to turn a blind eye to atrocities, hemming and hawing over whether to get involved or not.

Putin is relying on countries being scared of Russia. Of not wanting to get targeted next. He's a bully dictator and wants European countries to treat with kid gloves while his troops massacre, rape and pillage. I'm glad Biden is finally calling a spade a spade and pushing back on Putin's rhetoric and completely untrustworthy actions.

JMO, of course.

 

[dotr]

'Absolutely right' to call Russia's actions in Ukraine genocide, Trudeau says | CBC News
''Prime Minister Justin Trudeau told reporters he thinks it's "absolutely right" more people are using the word genocide to describe Russia's actions in Ukraine, but stopped short of using the word himself.
"There are official processes around determinations of genocide, but I think it's absolutely right that more people be talking and using the word genocide in terms of what Russia is doing, what Vladimir Putin has done," Trudeau said at a news conference in Laval, Que.

Trudeau pointed to Russian military attacks on civilians, including the targeting of health-care facilities and train stations, as well as sexual violence in the conflict. He also said Russia is attacking "Ukrainian identity and culture."
"These are all things that are war crimes that Putin is responsible for, these are all things that are crimes against humanity," he said.''

Experts assess Biden's accusation of Russian genocide in Ukraine (nbcnews.com)
''What is genocide?
Coined by Polish lawyer Raphäel Lemkin in 1944, partly in response to the systematic murder of Jews by Adolf Hitler’s regime in Nazi Germany, genocide was later defined by the United Nations as any acts “committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group.”

Those acts could include killings, serious bodily or mental harm, deliberately inflicting lethal life conditions, measures to prevent births and forcibly transferring children, according to the U.N. definition.

This was codified by the U.N. as an independent crime in the 1948 Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, known as the Genocide Convention.

The U.S. has its own genocide legislation, “a federal statute that basically takes the definition from the genocide convention so it doesn’t really depart from it,” William Schabas, a professor of International Law at Middlesex University in London, told NBC News by telephone Wednesday.
Who can be prosecuted?
The Genocide Convention states that everyone can be prosecuted and punished for genocide, including constitutionally elected leaders.''

 

[dotr]

Live updates: Russia invades Ukraine, country braces for major Donbas offensive (cnn.com)
''13 min ago
Ukrainian commanders defending Mariupol say their units were able to link up despite relentless attacks
From CNN staff
The commanders of two Ukrainian units defending the besieged port city of Mariupol issued a video statement saying they had been able to join forces, as Russia claimed advances in the city.

Their statement comes as Ukrainian forces remain blockaded inside Mariupol, which has been under weeks of relentless bombardment. The Russian military has repeatedly claimed to have taken strategic positions in the city, but has also faced stiff resistance from Ukrainian forces.

Denys Prokopenko, the commander of the Azov Regiment, said his unit had linked up with troops from the 36th Marine Brigade, but acknowledged that some Ukrainian defenders had surrendered.

"These are real men [of the 36th] who have chosen the path of war," he said. "Do not make heroes out of deserters and fighters who voluntarily surrendered. They chose the path of shame, and shouldn’t be heroized in any case."

"We know what we are doing, why we are here. We will do whatever is necessary to successfully complete our combat mission," said Serhii Volyna, commander of the Marine Brigade said.
Ukrainian presidential adviser Oleksiy Arestovych had said earlier on Wednesday that after a "risky maneuver" the last remaining defenders of the besieged port city of Mariupol have been able to join forces.

"This is what happens when officers do not lose their heads, but firmly maintain command and control of the troops," Arestovych said.

CNN cannot independently confirm the details of the operation.

Meanwhile, in a statement Wednesday, Russian Ministry of Defense spokesperson Maj. Gen. Igor Konashenkov said Mariupol's commercial seaport had been captured. CNN was not independently able to verify that claim.''

 

[Vern]

What is the point of our president calling Putin a war criminal and alleging genocide? We know Putin is a war criminal and I do believe he is committing genocide, but what good does it do at this time in the invasion/war to keep saying this? It isn't going to change Putin's behavior --- IMO it serves to inflame tensions in this hideous war against Ukraine: there is plenty of time after the war is over to address war crimes and genocide: IMO now is not the time.

Russia is committing genocide and I am thankful that we now have world leaders recognizing that fact and calling it what it is.

It does step up the consequences for Russia when it is being recognized on the world stage. France, of course (unsurprisingly??) wants to walk back that comment by the USofA's President Biden's because "they" (France) is attempting to work as the neutral peace-broker in this war.

That doesn't change the fact that Russia is committing genocide, but it does explain why France is hesitant to state such.

I'll offer up the UN's Internationally recognized definition of the term 'Genocide':
United Nations Office on Genocide Prevention and the Responsibility to Protect

Then point out that Russia is a signatory to this Convention.

"Genocide' is just one type of War Crime that Putin is committing among many others: Cluster Munitions, Targeting of Civilians (Failing to protect non-combatants), Rape etc

So, although Genocide is a more significant type of War Crime ... I fail to see any logical reason as to why it would be verboten to speak of/discuss it, and not the other types of War Crimes being committed IMO. Discussion of none of the other war crimes have changed his behaviour either, so all the more reason to have factual discussions about these atrocities put on the record and spoken out loud (IE: "We" need to speak up for "them" [Ukrainians]) by the powers that be ... that lessens the odds that we 'forget' or downplay those things when Russia is finally brought to justice IMO.

 

[LadyL]

Europe halts moon exploration partnership with Russia, looks to replace Ukraine-built rocket engines

 

[LadyL]

Russian Netflix Users Sue Streamer for Loss of Service

 

[LadyL]

Biden approves $800M in artillery, helicopters for Ukraine

 

[LadyL]

Presidents from countries on Russia's doorstep visit Ukraine

 

[ParkerParky]

I personally am not conflicted. I would protect my family any way possible. Perhaps, that's what happened here. JMO

agreed. These people are facing a threat to their very existence. They are fighting back the way they can. I can´t imagine the anguish these people are feeling as they watch their fellow citizenś being murdered. imo

 

[sunshineray]

Orthodox Easter is next Sunday. Not this week, but the week after.

Head of Russia's Orthodox Church calls on people to rally around authorities

This is beyond belief.

It's deplorable and all sour grapes since Ukraine started it's own branch of the Orthodox Church after Russia invaded Crimea. AJMO

Russia's war in Ukraine leads to historic split in the Orthodox Church