Russia Attacks Ukraine - 23 Feb 2022 #8

[PommyMommy]

The Kyiv Independent on Twitter - 8 hrs ago
Russia says it test-launched its intercontinental ballistic missile, threatens West. Russian Defense Ministry says it launched a new intercontinental ballistic missile “Sarmat.” Vladimir Putin said the missile will “strengthen the combat potential” of Russian forces.

The Kyiv Independent on Twitter - 7 hrs ago
Russian, Belarusian tennis players banned from Wimbledon tournament. The oldest tennis tournament in the world starts on June 27. The decision would be reconsidered "if circumstances change materially between now and June."

The Kyiv Independent on Twitter - 6 hrs ago
Zelensky: Ukraine ready for any format of people exchange in Mariupol. He said that Ukraine was ready to exchange captured Russian soldiers and bodies of the killed Russian soldiers for the civilian Ukrainians in the largely ruined and partly occupied Mariupol.

The Kyiv Independent on Twitter - 4 hrs ago
Ukraine’s negotiators ready to visit Mariupol for evacuation talks. Mykhailo Podoliak and David Arakhamia, two top members of Ukraine's peace talks delegation, said they would go for "a special round of negotiations" to save Ukrainian military, civilians trapped in Mariupol.

The Kyiv Independent on Twitter
Governor: Russians control 80% of Luhansk Oblast. Luhansk Oblast Governor Serhiy Gaidai said that the area controlled by Russia increased after the capture on April 18 of Kreminna, a city with a population of more than 18,000 people.

The Kyiv Independent on Twitter - 2 hrs ago
Danilov: Russia's large-scale offensive in Donbas has not yet begun. National Security and Defense Council Secretary Oleksiy Danilov said Russia’s recent offenses in Ukraine’s east have been “trial” operations to test Ukraine’s defenses.

Danilov said it is “only a matter of time” before a “so-called full-scale offensive” in Donbas begins.

He also cautioned against reports that the Battle of Donbas will be the last and most decisive as Russia still has time to amass new resources and reserves.

Oleksiy Danilov - Wikipedia

The Kyiv Independent on Twitter
White House: US sent five planes with military aid to Ukraine, more weapon deliveries to come. White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said the flights arrived within the last few days and another half dozen planes carrying military equipment will arrive in the near future.

The Kyiv Independent on Twitter
US announces new sanctions against Russia. The sanctions target Transkapitalbank, more than 40 individuals and entities associated with sanctioned Russian businessman Konstantin Malofeyev, and Russian-owned Bitriver AG, one of the largest crypto-mining companies in the world.

The U.S. Treasury said the sanctions target those involved in attempts to evade sanctions imposed by the U.S. and its partners.

Russian billionaire blasts Putin's invasion

 

[PommyMommy]

APR 20, 2022
‘Hide the girls’: How Russian soldiers rape and torture Ukrainians (kyivindependent.com)
A week before she would have turned 23, Karina Yershova was killed by Russian soldiers in Bucha, a town outside Kyiv.

[...]

The exhumations and the testimonies of surviving locals have shed light on another Russian atrocity: mass rape of Ukrainians, including women, men, and children.

[...]

Dereko asked the detectives to at least let him see the photos of his stepdaughter’s dead body. He was shown Karina’s upper body only. What he saw was terrifying.

“There were cuts and lacerations, there was also a piece of flesh torn off from her ribs,” he said. “It’s obvious they tortured her.”

The police told Dereko that Karina’s leg had also been shot. She apparently tried to stop the bleeding with a tourniquet.

[...]

“Half of her nails were torn off,” Dereko said.

[...]

Across the entire Kyiv Oblast, including Bucha, women were warned to lie low, sometimes, by Russian soldiers themselves, to avoid being raped.

[...]

Women in nearby villages tell similar stories.

“Russians told my husband: ‘Hide the girls’. I overheard them saying it,” said Inga Odinokova, the mother of a 25-year-old daughter. They are both residents of Velykyi Lis, a tiny village in Kyiv Oblast, 35 kilometers northwest from Bucha.

[...]

In another place in Kyiv Oblast, a 34-year-old woman witnessed kadyrovites raping and killing her neighbours. She is a client of Vilena Kit, a psychologist from Lviv who is helping victims of Russia’s war to overcome trauma.

[...]

“When this woman came, she was speechless, she could not say anything. When she started talking, it would become hard for her to breathe,” Kit said.

She saw a girl and a woman she knew her entire life being raped and hanged. The youngest was 16, the oldest was 48, Kit said.

[...]

Most reports about sexual violence are coming from Kyiv Oblast, said Julia Anosova, a lawyer with La Strada, a human rights non-profit.

Since the full-scale war broke out, their hotline for psychological aid has recorded nine cases of rape involving 13 victims, including children.

[...]

“From what we see now, including how numerous such cases are, and how often multiple victims are involved at once, I assume that rape has now become a weapon of war,” Anosova said.

[...]

 

[dotr]

Wednesday, April 20. Russia’s War On Ukraine: News And Information From Ukraine (forbes.com)
rbbm.
''A humanitarian corridor to evacuate women, children and the elderly from Mariupol was agreed upon on Wednesday. Fewer buses than planned were able to reach the city, so not as many people were evacuated from Mariupol as authorities had hoped.

A Ukrainian commander in Mariupol, Serhiy Volyna, said that his forces were probably facing their “last days, if not hours.” According to Volyna, Ukrainians are outnumbered 10 to one and have 500 wounded soldiers.''

Luhansk. Nearly 80% of Luhansk territory is under Russian control, regional military governor Serhii Haidai told CNN. According to Haidai, Ukrainians “are doing well” destroying Russian equipment.

He also warned of possible Russian attacks during upcoming Easter services and called for religious observations online. There are almost no surviving churches left in the Luhansk region.

Russia said it test-launched its intercontinental ballistic missile called “Sarmat” to “ensure the security of Russia from external threats.”

 

[mickey2942]

Ukraine War Divides Orthodox Faithful

Orthodox Easter is this Sunday.

 

[sunshineray]

APR 20, 2022
‘Hide the girls’: How Russian soldiers rape and torture Ukrainians (kyivindependent.com)
A week before she would have turned 23, Karina Yershova was killed by Russian soldiers in Bucha, a town outside Kyiv.

[...]

The exhumations and the testimonies of surviving locals have shed light on another Russian atrocity: mass rape of Ukrainians, including women, men, and children.

[...]

Dereko asked the detectives to at least let him see the photos of his stepdaughter’s dead body. He was shown Karina’s upper body only. What he saw was terrifying.

“There were cuts and lacerations, there was also a piece of flesh torn off from her ribs,” he said. “It’s obvious they tortured her.”

The police told Dereko that Karina’s leg had also been shot. She apparently tried to stop the bleeding with a tourniquet.

[...]

“Half of her nails were torn off,” Dereko said.

[...]

Across the entire Kyiv Oblast, including Bucha, women were warned to lie low, sometimes, by Russian soldiers themselves, to avoid being raped.

[...]

Women in nearby villages tell similar stories.

“Russians told my husband: ‘Hide the girls’. I overheard them saying it,” said Inga Odinokova, the mother of a 25-year-old daughter. They are both residents of Velykyi Lis, a tiny village in Kyiv Oblast, 35 kilometers northwest from Bucha.

[...]

In another place in Kyiv Oblast, a 34-year-old woman witnessed kadyrovites raping and killing her neighbours. She is a client of Vilena Kit, a psychologist from Lviv who is helping victims of Russia’s war to overcome trauma.

[...]

“When this woman came, she was speechless, she could not say anything. When she started talking, it would become hard for her to breathe,” Kit said.

She saw a girl and a woman she knew her entire life being raped and hanged. The youngest was 16, the oldest was 48, Kit said.

[...]

Most reports about sexual violence are coming from Kyiv Oblast, said Julia Anosova, a lawyer with La Strada, a human rights non-profit.

Since the full-scale war broke out, their hotline for psychological aid has recorded nine cases of rape involving 13 victims, including children.

[...]

“From what we see now, including how numerous such cases are, and how often multiple victims are involved at once, I assume that rape has now become a weapon of war,” Anosova said.

[...]

It seems little has changed since WWII Stalin's Russian Army...and much father back in history the atrocities against women have always occurred in wartime. When will it end? </3

..."Red Army soldiers don't believe in 'individual liaisons' with German women," wrote the playwright Zakhar Agranenko in his diary when serving as an officer of marine infantry in East Prussia. "Nine, ten, twelve men at a time - they rape them on a collective basis."...

...Natalya Gesse, a close friend of the scientist Andrei Sakharov, had observed the Red Army in action in 1945 as a Soviet war correspondent. "The Russian soldiers were raping every German female from eight to eighty," she recounted later. "It was an army of rapists...

The capacity of Soviet officers to convince themselves that most of the victims were either happy with their fate, or at least accepted that it was their turn to suffer after what the Wehrmacht had done in Russia, is striking. "Our fellows were so sex-starved," a Soviet major told a British journalist at the time, "that they often raped old women of sixty, seventy or even eighty - much to these grandmothers' surprise, if not downright delight."...

...When gang-raped women in Königsberg begged their attackers afterwards to put them out of their misery, the Red Army men appear to have felt insulted. "Russian soldiers do not shoot women," they replied. "Only German soldiers do that." The Red Army had managed to convince itself that because it had assumed the moral mission to liberate Europe from fascism it could behave entirely as it liked, both personally and politically."

https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.theguardian.com/books/2002/may/01/news.features11

 

[Bit of hope]

Russische defensieminister Sjoejgoe meldt inname Marioepol • 7300 Oekraïense kinderen hier naar school

Defense Minister Shuygu reports Mariupol capture

30 MINUTES AGO
Defense Minister Shuigu reports Mariupol capture
After weeks of siege, the southern Ukrainian city of Mariupol has fallen to Russian troops, Russian defense minister Sergei Shoygu said. President Putin congratulated him on the "successful operation". 1478 Ukrainian soldiers are said to have surrendered.

However, the site of the Azovstal steel factory is not yet completely in the hands of the Russians. Shoigu says there are still more than 2,000 Ukrainian armed forces on the factory site, but Putin says the complex will not be attacked. The site is surrounded, the minister said.

About a thousand Ukrainian citizens are also said to be hiding in underground passages in the enormous factory complex. According to Shoigu, Russian soldiers have so far "evacuated" more than 142,000 civilians from Mariupol. According to the Russians, the situation in the city is calm.

 

[dotr]

Dog news: Putin humiliated as bomb-sniffing hero helps defuse dozens of explosives | World | News | Express.co.uk
''Ukraine’s Center for Strategic Communications and Information Security announced that the Jack Russell terrier, named Patron, "helped defuse nearly 90 explosive devices since the beginning of the full-scale invasion". They added: "One day, Patron's story will be turned into a film, but for now, he is faithfully performing his professional duties."

The two-year-old terrier works with State Emergency Service (SES) rescuers in Chernihiv, in the north of Ukraine.
He was branded "the mascot of Chernihiv" by the SES.
They shared more pictures of the dog to their Facebook page on Tuesday, calling him "our pyrotechnic dog Patron, who is loved by both adults and children".
Patron has fans across Ukraine, shown by the dozens of illustrations of the hero dog drawn by people across the country.''

 

[dotr]

April 21 2022 rbbm.
Putin calls off plans to storm the last pocket of Ukrainian resistance in Mariupol | CBC News
''Russian President Vladimir Putin tried to claim victory in the strategic port of Mariupol on Thursday, even as he ordered his troops not to storm the last pocket of Ukrainian resistance in the war's iconic battleground.

Russian troops have besieged the southeastern city since the early days of the conflict and largely pulverized it — and top officials have repeatedly indicated it was about to fall, but Ukrainian forces stubbornly held on.

In recent weeks, they holed up in a sprawling steel plant, and Russian forces pounded the industrial site and repeatedly issued ultimatums ordering the defenders to surrender.

"The completion of combat work to liberate Mariupol is a success," Putin said. "Putting such an important centre in the south as Mariupol under control is a success."

Local residents walk past a destroyed apartment building in Mariupol on Wednesday. (Alexander Ermochenko/Reuters)
But the Russian leader said that, for now, he would not risk sending troops into the warren of tunnels under the giant Azovstal plant, instead preferring to isolate the holdouts who have captivated the world's attention "so that not even a fly comes through." His defence minister said the plant was blocked off, while giving yet another prediction that the site could be taken in days.
Putin's order may mean that Russian officials are hoping they can wait for the defenders to surrender after running out of food or ammunition. Bombings of the plant could well continue''

 

[PommyMommy]

The Kyiv Independent on Twitter - 8 hrs ago
Ukraine's military: Russia’s ‘pseudo-referendum’ in Kherson set for April 27. Ukrainian Operational Command South said on April 20 the staged referendum shows Russia is uninterested in expressing the will of the local population, as the falsified result is “already known.”

The Kyiv Independent on Twitter
Russia rejects proposed Easter ceasefire. Ukraine’s Permanent Representative to the UN Sergiy Kyslytsya said in a Tweet on April 20 that Russia rejected the “Easter humanitarian break” requested the day before by UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.

The Kyiv Independent on Twitter - 7 hrs ago
Luhansk Governor: Russian forces destroy all food warehouses in Sievierodonetsk. Luhansk Oblast Governor Serhiy Haidai said there are no surviving food depots left in Sievierodonetsk and that residents are only able to receive food through humanitarian aid.

The Kyiv Independent on Twitter - 6 hrs ago
Minister says 4 buses with civilians evacuated from besieged Mariupol. They spent the night in occupied Berdyansk, and are now moving towards Zaporizhzhia, Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk said. She added that the evacuation of civilians is expected to continue today.

The Kyiv Independent on Twitter - 5 hrs ago
Putin calls storming of Azovstal steel mill in Mariupol impractical. Vladimir Putin told Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu that a full block of the mill is more rational. Shoigu said that except for the heavily fortified Azovstal, Mariupol had been occupied by Russia.

The Kyiv Independent on Twitter - 3 hrs ago
Bild: German chancellor blocked supplies of heavy weapons to Ukraine. In March, Ukraine requested Leopard tanks, as well as Puma, Marder, Boxer, and Fuchs armored vehicles. However, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz blocked the deliveries of heavy weapons, Bild reports.

The Kyiv Independent on Twitter - 2 hrs ago
Estonia becomes first country to officially recognize Russia's actions in Ukraine as genocide. The Estonian parliament approved a resolution calling Russia’s aggression and subsequent war crimes against Ukraine an act of genocide and urged other countries to do the same.

The Kyiv Independent on Twitter
Official: Russian troops bury killed Mariupol residents in Manhush to hide crimes. Petro Andryushchenko, an aide to the mayor of Mariupol, said that Russians are burying killed residents of Mariupol in mass graves in Manhush, a town 20 km west of the besieged port city.

The Kyiv Independent on Twitter - 1 hr ago
Latvian parliament recognizes Russia's actions in Ukraine as genocide, adopts law to strip citizenship for supporting war crimes. Only those with multiple citizenships can have their Latvian citizenship revoked over supporting Russia's war in Ukraine.

The Kyiv Independent on Twitter
Ukrainian Ombudsman Lyudmyla Denisova: Russian troops forcibly deport group of Ukrainian children to Russia. According to her, a group of Ukrainian teenagers aged 14-15 from Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts were left with a charitable foundation in Russian city Vladimir.

The Kyiv Independent on Twitter
Denisova said there were reports that the children's parents had been killed by Russian forces.

The Kyiv Independent on Twitter
19 Ukrainian POWs released in new exchange. Deputy PM Iryna Vereshchuk said 2 officers, 8 soldiers, 9 civilians were released from Russian captivity. She didn’t disclose the number of Russian POWs that Ukraine gave up in return. It is the 6th prisoner exchange since Feb. 24

The Kyiv Independent on Twitter
Ukraine extends martial law until May 25. The Ukrainian parliament voted on April 21 to extend martial law for another 30 days, from April 25. Ukraine imposed nationwide martial law after Russia began its full-scale offensive on Ukraine on Feb. 24.

 

[PommyMommy]

Euromaidan Press on Twitter - 5 hrs ago
Rescuers have unblocked the bodies of 41 victims in Borodianka, Kyiv Oblast, after dismantling rubble at 7 sites. 112 victims were found under the rubble of 40 sites in Kharkiv. In both cases the work is not finished, a lot of rubble remain, rescuers said. https://t.me/dsns_telegram/6207

NEXTA on Twitter - 4 hrs ago
#Ukraine intends to launch a strike on the #Crimean bridge which #Russia uses as the main logistical route for military deliveries. "If there is an opportunity to do so, we will definitely do it," said secretary of the National Security and Defense Council, Oleksiy Danilov.

Euromaidan Press on Twitter - Video, 3 hrs ago
This is what Russian soldiers looted and stored in one car near Bucha but failed to drive away with it, according to the author of the video. He says all things will be in the Bucha police office so that people can collect their property. https://t.me/zedigital/1639

Euromaidan Press on Twitter - 2 hrs ago
Ukraine demands urgent humanitarian corridor from Azovstal in Mariupol. About 1,000 civilians and 500 wounded soldiers are there and "they all need to be evacuated today," Minister of reintegration said, asking partners to focus their efforts on Azovstal

Euromaidan Press on Twitter - 1 hr ago
The first group of Syrian and Libyan mercenaries, recruited by Russia, was eliminated in Donbas. About 25 mercenaries. It's hard to estimate how many of them Russia has deployed but most likely up to 500 - Ukraine Secretary of Security and Defense Council Oleksiy Danilov on the war in Ukraine - interview on Radio NV - 2022 - latest news / NV

Euromaidan Press on Twitter
The bodies of 1,020 civilians are being stored in morgues in and around Kyiv after these areas were liberated from Russian troops "These are only civilians collected from buildings, but also on the streets,"–Ukraine’s deputy prime minister told AFP 1,020 civilian bodies in Kyiv morgues: Ukrainian official

NEXTA on Twitter
Another #Russian aircraft was destroyed in the #Kharkiv region.

‘They’ve gone through hell’: fears for British prisoners of war in Ukraine | Ukraine | The Guardian

[...]

“They are very nice guys,” Garrett added, speaking in a cafe just off Kyiv’s main Khreschatyk boulevard. “They have gone through absolute hell. There is no way to comprehend what they have been through. Shaun was injured by shrapnel. Nobody really expected them to get out. If they’d surrendered to Chechens they would be dead.”

[...]

Both of his friends have given interviews to Russian state media. Garrett said it was clear they had spoken under duress and were being exploited by Moscow for propaganda purposes. The British propagandist Graham Phillips, who has worked for the Kremlin RT channel, described Aslin as a “mercenary”. Garrett said: “I watched the video yesterday. I don’t think it’s right. It’s against the Geneva conventions [to show footage of them].” Prisoners of war are obliged to give their real name and rank when asked, but cannot be compelled to give more information, the conventions say.

Russia’s foreign ministry claimed on Thursday that the two were being “fed, watered and given the necessary assistance.”

Aslin was serving as a marine in Ukraine’s 36th brigade. He appeared on Russian TV, however, wearing a T-shirt with the logo of the far-right Azov battalion. Putin says his “special operation” in Ukraine is needed to “denazify” the country. “The T-shirt looks brand new. It would not have been Aiden’s. The Russians probably picked it up when they took the Azov base in Mariupol,” Garrett said. Garrett has worked with the Azov battalion, but he has said he is not rightwing or a Nazi sympathiser.

[...]

 

[CSIDreamer]

April 21 2022 rbbm.
Putin calls off plans to storm the last pocket of Ukrainian resistance in Mariupol | CBC News
''Russian President Vladimir Putin tried to claim victory in the strategic port of Mariupol on Thursday, even as he ordered his troops not to storm the last pocket of Ukrainian resistance in the war's iconic battleground.

Russian troops have besieged the southeastern city since the early days of the conflict and largely pulverized it — and top officials have repeatedly indicated it was about to fall, but Ukrainian forces stubbornly held on.

In recent weeks, they holed up in a sprawling steel plant, and Russian forces pounded the industrial site and repeatedly issued ultimatums ordering the defenders to surrender.

"The completion of combat work to liberate Mariupol is a success," Putin said. "Putting such an important centre in the south as Mariupol under control is a success."

Local residents walk past a destroyed apartment building in Mariupol on Wednesday. (Alexander Ermochenko/Reuters)
But the Russian leader said that, for now, he would not risk sending troops into the warren of tunnels under the giant Azovstal plant, instead preferring to isolate the holdouts who have captivated the world's attention "so that not even a fly comes through." His defence minister said the plant was blocked off, while giving yet another prediction that the site could be taken in days.
Putin's order may mean that Russian officials are hoping they can wait for the defenders to surrender after running out of food or ammunition. Bombings of the plant could well continue''

I wonder what he is really planning. Russia lies. JMO

 

[Niner]

The tweet quotes below were posted by PommyMommy.

The Kyiv Independent on Twitter - 8 hrs ago
Russia says it test-launched its intercontinental ballistic missile, threatens West. Russian Defense Ministry says it launched a new intercontinental ballistic missile “Sarmat.” Vladimir Putin said the missile will “strengthen the combat potential” of Russian forces.

*nicknamed Satan-2....


The Kyiv Independent on Twitter - 1 hr ago
Latvian parliament recognizes Russia's actions in Ukraine as genocide, adopts law to strip citizenship for supporting war crimes. Only those with multiple citizenships can have their Latvian citizenship revoked over supporting Russia's war in Ukraine.

*This should be interesting on May 9th - there is a so-called "Freedom" statute built by the Soviets in "freeing" Latvia from the Nazis. They (Russians) gather there every year - wondering if those showing up will have their Latvian citizenship revoked.

quote-snipped from post #630 above...
Russia’s foreign ministry claimed on Thursday that the two were being “fed, watered and given the necessary assistance.”

As in water-boarded... ??

 

[Bit of hope]

Half a million Ukrainians deported to Russia? 'Ringing alarm bells'

Half miljoen Oekraïners afgevoerd naar Rusland? 'Alarmbellen rinkelen'

Cookies and iced tea were waiting for Mila Panchenko when she arrived at the refugee shelter. Still, the Ukrainian would rather have thanked her for her room with two beds, TV and small refrigerator in a Russian sanatorium.

"I want to go back to Ukraine so badly." But Panchenko, 53, had no choice when Chechen soldiers released her from a shelter in Mariupol a month ago. Without food, water or a safe haven, a trip to Russia was the only option, she tells Reuters news agency. She was lucky enough to be able to travel on to Italy thanks to acquaintances.

About 500,000 Ukrainians have ended up in Russia since the start of the war, the warring parties are more or less agreed on that. Russia calls it a humanitarian mission, while Ukraine calls it outright kidnappings. President Zelensky speaks of deportations and a member of parliament called on the Red Cross to track down missing compatriots in Russia.

"It is very difficult to gain insight into what exactly is happening, but the stories do ring alarm bells," says Russia expert Hubert Smeets. "Ukraine points to the deportations in the Soviet Union and 'filtration camps' during the Chechen War and that association is understandable."

Forced evacuations
The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) speaks of consistent reports from various sources about forced evacuations. The organization calls that a war crime if there is no military necessity for it. The Red Cross says it has no first-hand information, but calls the stories "a concern".

Ukrainian authorities say Russia has once again set up 'filtration camps' where civilians are screened. Pantshenko says that her photos were taken and fingerprints were taken. She was also extensively interrogated.

"They asked if we had any ties to the Ukrainian army and if we knew anyone from the Azov battalion," she sums up. They were also asked how the Russian minority in Ukraine has been treated. Other refugees were asked about troop movements and relatives left behind.

An anonymous refugee told the news site Graty how her phone was taken. "They plugged it into a computer for 20 minutes and I saw them download my contacts." Other refugees say that individuals with nationalist tattoos, such as the coat of arms of Ukraine, were singled out.

†
We were treated like criminals, convicts on the way to prison.

Ukrainian refugee about the treatment by the Russians
Smeets calls the treatment intimidating, especially when you consider that people were detained and tortured for a long time in the filtration camps in Chechnya. "There is no evidence that people are being severely mistreated now, but it is about long interrogations in an enemy country. Then it seems like you are a prisoner of war."

"We were treated like criminals, convicts on the way to prison," the anonymous woman who spoke to Graty agrees. According to her, the staff themselves used the term "filtration camp" and she was interrogated by a member of the FSB security service.

At least 25,000 Ukrainians are currently being held in the camps, according to the Ukrainian ambassador to the UN. He speaks of Nazi practices and his American colleague agrees with that qualification: "I don't have to explain to you what these camps remind of."

To Russian corners
Those who are allowed to continue traveling often end up surprisingly deep in Russia. A British newspaper reported about Kremlin plans to receive refugees not only in Ingushetia and Dagestan, but also in the Siberian Magadan, the polar port of Murmansk or the island of Sakhalin near Japan. Ukraine is disgraceful that these corners have been chosen.

etc...etc.

 

[Bit of hope]

Volodymyr werd vastgehouden door de Russen: '15 dagen geboeid en nauwelijks eten'

1. 

Volodymyr after his captivity ROEL PAUW
NOS NEWS • ABROAD † SAT APRIL 9, 09:59
Volodymyr was detained by Russians: 'cuffed for 15 days and hardly eat'

etc..etc..

 

[Sundog]

<snipped for focus>

To Russian corners
Those who are allowed to continue traveling often end up surprisingly deep in Russia. A British newspaper reported about Kremlin plans to receive refugees not only in Ingushetia and Dagestan, but also in the Siberian Magadan, the polar port of Murmansk or the island of Sakhalin near Japan. Ukraine is disgraceful that these corners have been chosen.
etc...etc.

Years ago Chairman Mao closed the schools and universities and sent my husband and his classmates to the Chinese border with Russia near Kharbarovsk on the Sea of Okhots, not too far from some of these places you mention above in the far eastern region of Russia. It was barely survivable then, and many did not make it back, especially after the cruel winters. (ETA Much of the time there was no food.)

Fortunately, my husband survied and made it back and eventually travelled to the U.S. to study and we met. He still can speak some Russian as it was a border town (with the PRC and Russia). Some day we want to visit this place together which was such an important part of his youth, but when the world is much safer, if that day will ever come.

 

[dotr]

This sweet young woman will touch your hearts, so hoping she gets word of her mom soon.
VIDEO.
Daughter unable to reach mother in Mariupol | CBC.ca

• 1 hour ago
• Duration3:25

A Ukrainian woman living in New York says 'it's beyond painful,' that she hasn't been able to contact her mother in Mariupol since March 2. 'It feels like a knife stabbing my heart,' she says.'

 

[mickey2942]

Reading about the invasion of Germany by Russian army in WW II is horrific. If the Russian army is still doing those atrocities, there probably won't be any accountability. Just kill the victims, or ship them off to "relocation centers" in Russia. Where have we heard that term before? Genocide.

These folks don't need to be sent to any "centers" or camps in Russia. They have homes, in Ukraine. It feels so helpless to see this, and realize that one of the most powerful countries in the world, the United States, just watches a bully, Russia, mercilessly beat down Ukraine.

 

[PommyMommy]

The Kyiv Independent on Twitter - 9 hrs ago
Satellite imagery shows 985-foot-long mass grave in village near Mariupol. A trench that appears to be a place of mass burial was dug out between March 23 and March 29, according to satellite imagery found by RFE/RL. Photo: RFE/RL

The Kyiv Independent on Twitter
Zelensky about lifting Mariupol blockade: 'We're preparing, but we need weapons.' Ukraine’s military is preparing to unblock Mariupol through diplomatic or military means, but the country needs the right weapons from its allies, President Volodymyr Zelensky said on April 21.

The Kyiv Independent on Twitter - 8 hrs ago
Pentagon develops drone system for Ukraine. The Phoenix Ghost drone system was developed to meet Ukrainian needs, with a minimal amount of training needed for Ukrainian forces, Pentagon spokesperson John Kirby said. The new U.S. military aid package includes 121 such systems.

The Kyiv Independent on Twitter
Russian lawmaker proposes to force Ukrainian POWs to donate blood to injured Russian soldiers. Sergey Leonov proposed the move while speaking with reporters on April 21.

The Kyiv Independent on Twitter - 7 hrs ago
Governor: Russian rockets hit railway in Dnipropetrovsk Oblast. Valentyn Reznichenko said it wasn’t clear whether it would be possible to resume railway traffic after three missile strikes hit and “completely destroyed” the railway network in Dnipropetrovsk Oblast.

The Kyiv Independent on Twitter - 6 hrs ago
Mariupol City Council: Up to 9,000 Mariupol residents could be buried in Manhush. According to the council, satellite images of a mass grave in Manhush, a town 20 km west of the besieged port city, published by Maxar suggest that 3,000-9,000 people could be buried there.

The Kyiv Independent on Twitter
CNN: Russia replenishes forces on the front line. According to a senior U.S. defense official quoted by CNN, Russia continues to bolster its forces in eastern Ukraine, bringing the total number of its battalion tactical groups to 85. Most of them are deployed to the Donbas.

The Kyiv Independent on Twitter - 5 hrs ago
No civilian evacuation from Mariupol on April 21 due to shelling. “Shelling started near the meeting point, which forced us to close the corridor,” said Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk. Ukraine will continue to try to evacuate the trapped Mariupol residents, she said.

 

[LadyL]

U.S. dance champion says she has not heard from Ukraine family since March 2

 

[PommyMommy]

Defence of Ukraine on Twitter - Video, 7 hrs ago
Military brotherhood. On April 21st, Ukrainian paratroopers shot down a russian helicopter with a Stinger. And when the second helicopter arrived, it was shot down by Marines. Ukrainian Armed Forces are strong, both on the ground and in the air.

Euromaidan Press on Twitter - 6 hrs ago
Mariupol mayor:

• 100,000 civilians remain in Mariupol
• 20,000+ were killed by Russian artillery, aviation, soldiers
• 40,000 go through Russian "filtration camps"
• 100,000 left to Ukraine-controlled ter. by own transport since 13.03
• 100,000+ left before the encirclement
• https://youtube.com/watch?v=b-WFSSMvLxw

Euromaidan Press on Twitter
Zelenskyy in Portugal parliement: "Leopard tanks, armored carriers, Harpoon anti-ship missiles–you have them &you can help protect the freedom and civilization of Europe with them. I appeal to Portugal to provide Ukraine with them. You can tell the truth about Russian war, both in South America and Africa"

Euromaidan Press on Twitter - 5 hrs ago
Patriarch Kirill should be prosecuted by the International Criminal Court,–Brussels NGO in a detailed report Human Rights Without Frontiers calls for the investigation of criminal liability of Russian Orthodox Church Primate for aiding and abetting war crimes https://europeantimes.news/2022/04/brussels-ngo-issues-complaint-against-patriarch-kirill/

Euromaidan Press on Twitter - 3 hrs ago
Russian military began to transport stolen grain by train from Kherson Oblast to occupied Crimes - Ukraine Ombudswoman Lyudmila Denisova These trains belong to the North Caucasus Railway and go to stations bordering Kherson Oblast. https://t.me/denisovaombudsman/5306

Euromaidan Press on Twitter - 2 hrs ago
Russia prepares large-scale provocations in Russia's Belgorod, Kursk, Bryansk oblasts at civilian infrastructure and in residential areas - Serhii Vysotskyi of
@InformNapalm Wreckage of downed Ukrainian Bayraktars & helicopters are being brought there to blame Ukraine

Euromaidan Press on Twitter - 1 hr ago
Ombudswoman Denisova also says that Crimeans report Russians started selling vegetables transported from occupied Kherson Oblast in Crimea.

Russian invaders held captive for a month Azerbaijani student who tried to flee Mariupol / The New Voice of Ukraine
[...]

The student said he heard gunshot sounds and screams from other cells where people were being tortured.

“They (tortured me) every day. On March 21, it was my birthday and I was tortured all day long… As a rule, the electric shock torture lasted 20-30 minutes, and they beat for an hour. The torture was repeated three times a day. Sometimes I fainted, cold water was poured on me and I continued to be tortured,” Abdullayev said in an interview with Media.az.

[...]

“He had heart problems, and had a heart attack – I tried to help him, but then I was beaten even harder. As a rule, they did not hit (people) in the face, but for some reason it did not apply to Edik Krostov. When we saw him, there wasn’t an untouched spot on him. Serhii Nazarov’s body was constantly electrocuted, and they videotaped it.

[...]