Russia Attacks Ukraine - 23 Feb 2022 #8

[PommyMommy]

2h ago13.01

All women and children evacuated from Azovstal; Ukraine claims it has destroyed another Russian ship – as it happened

The UK Ministry of Defence says Russia’s most advanced units have suffered heavy losses; Pentagon defends intelligence sharing with Ukraine as ‘lawful’

www.theguardian.com

Today so far...​

The time in Kyiv is now 8pm. Here are the latest developments from today:

• All women, children and elderly people have been evacuated from Mariupol’s besieged steel plant, Ukraine’s deputy prime minister has said. Iryna Vereshchuk said the current state of the humanitarian operation in Azovstal has been completed.
• Several missiles hit the southern Ukrainian port city of Odesa, the regional administration’s spokesperson, Serhiy Bratchuk, said. The strikes hit the city after targets in the surrounding Odesa region had been hit by four missiles earlier in the day, Bratchuk said in televised remarks, without giving further detail about the new strikes.
• Two Russian missiles hit locations near the Russian border in Ukraine’s northern Sumy region today, local governor Dmytro Zhyvytskyi said. A border guard was wounded by the strikes on the Myropilske and Khotin municipalities, Zhyvytskyi wrote on Telegram.
• The Ukrainian government has said that it has destroyed another Russian ship. The ministry of defence claimed that Ukrainian Bayraktar TB2 had hit the landing craft of the Serna project, tweeting: “The traditional parade of the Russian Black Sea fleet on May 9 this year will be held near Snake Island – at the bottom of the sea.” Associated Press said it had analysed satellite photos showing the aftermath of the strike.
• The International Committee of the Red Cross said it is hopeful that more civilians will be able to be evacuated from the besieged Azovstal steel plant in the Ukrainian city of Mariupol. Ukraine said 50 civilians were evacuated on Friday, but accused Russia of violating a ceasefire intended to allow dozens more still trapped at the plant to leave.
• The conflict in Ukraine is taking a “heavy toll” on some of Russia’s most capable units, the UK’s ministry of defence said in its latest intelligence report. At least one T-90M, Russia’s most advanced tank, has been destroyed in fighting, the ministry added. “It will take considerable time and expense for Russia to reconstitute its armed forces following this conflict,” the report said.
• The UN security council has issued its first statement on the war in Ukraine, but withheld from using the words “war”, “conflict” or “invasion”.Russia-Ukraine war: all women and children evacuated from besieged steel plant; US defends passing intelligence to Ukraine – live
  The statement instead “expresses deep concern regarding the maintenance of peace and security of Ukraine” and voiced “strong support” for the secretary general, António Guterres, in seeking a peaceful solution to the “dispute”.
• Nearly four million Russians left the country in the first three months of 2022, official statistics published by Russia’s federal security service (FSB) show. Arrivals to former Soviet countries saw a significant spike after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on 24 February. It is unclear how many have since returned to their home country.
• Former US intelligence officers are advising their successors currently in office to shut up and stop boasting about their role in Ukraine’s military successes. Two stories surfaced in as many days in the American press this week, citing unnamed officials as saying that US intelligence was instrumental in the targeting of Russian generals on the battlefield and in the sinking of the Moskva flagship cruiser on the Black Sea.
• The latest US military aid package to Ukraine, announced by president Joe Biden on Friday, is worth $150m, the secretary of state, Antony Blinken, confirmed. The latest tranche of assistance includes 25,000 155mm artillery rounds, as well as counter-artillery radars, jamming equipment, field equipment and spare parts. It brings Washington’s military assistance to Kyiv since the Russian invasion began to around $3.8bn, Blinken said.
• The Group of Seven (G7) leaders will hold a video call on Sunday with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy in a show of unity the day before Russia marks its Victory Day holiday, the White House said. Talks will focus on the latest developments in Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, efforts to bolster the country and ways to demonstrate “continued G7 unity in our collective response, including by imposing severe costs for Putin’s war”, a spokesperson for the White House said.

 

[margarita25]

Live now:

 

[sunshineray]

2h ago13.01

All women and children evacuated from Azovstal; Ukraine claims it has destroyed another Russian ship – as it happened

The UK Ministry of Defence says Russia’s most advanced units have suffered heavy losses; Pentagon defends intelligence sharing with Ukraine as ‘lawful’

www.theguardian.com

Today so far...​

The time in Kyiv is now 8pm. Here are the latest developments from today:

• All women, children and elderly people have been evacuated from Mariupol’s besieged steel plant, Ukraine’s deputy prime minister has said. Iryna Vereshchuk said the current state of the humanitarian operation in Azovstal has been completed.
• Several missiles hit the southern Ukrainian port city of Odesa, the regional administration’s spokesperson, Serhiy Bratchuk, said. The strikes hit the city after targets in the surrounding Odesa region had been hit by four missiles earlier in the day, Bratchuk said in televised remarks, without giving further detail about the new strikes.
• Two Russian missiles hit locations near the Russian border in Ukraine’s northern Sumy region today, local governor Dmytro Zhyvytskyi said. A border guard was wounded by the strikes on the Myropilske and Khotin municipalities, Zhyvytskyi wrote on Telegram.
• The Ukrainian government has said that it has destroyed another Russian ship. The ministry of defence claimed that Ukrainian Bayraktar TB2 had hit the landing craft of the Serna project, tweeting: “The traditional parade of the Russian Black Sea fleet on May 9 this year will be held near Snake Island – at the bottom of the sea.” Associated Press said it had analysed satellite photos showing the aftermath of the strike.
• The International Committee of the Red Cross said it is hopeful that more civilians will be able to be evacuated from the besieged Azovstal steel plant in the Ukrainian city of Mariupol. Ukraine said 50 civilians were evacuated on Friday, but accused Russia of violating a ceasefire intended to allow dozens more still trapped at the plant to leave.
• The conflict in Ukraine is taking a “heavy toll” on some of Russia’s most capable units, the UK’s ministry of defence said in its latest intelligence report. At least one T-90M, Russia’s most advanced tank, has been destroyed in fighting, the ministry added. “It will take considerable time and expense for Russia to reconstitute its armed forces following this conflict,” the report said.
• The UN security council has issued its first statement on the war in Ukraine, but withheld from using the words “war”, “conflict” or “invasion”.Russia-Ukraine war: all women and children evacuated from besieged steel plant; US defends passing intelligence to Ukraine – live
  The statement instead “expresses deep concern regarding the maintenance of peace and security of Ukraine” and voiced “strong support” for the secretary general, António Guterres, in seeking a peaceful solution to the “dispute”.
• Nearly four million Russians left the country in the first three months of 2022, official statistics published by Russia’s federal security service (FSB) show. Arrivals to former Soviet countries saw a significant spike after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on 24 February. It is unclear how many have since returned to their home country.
• Former US intelligence officers are advising their successors currently in office to shut up and stop boasting about their role in Ukraine’s military successes. Two stories surfaced in as many days in the American press this week, citing unnamed officials as saying that US intelligence was instrumental in the targeting of Russian generals on the battlefield and in the sinking of the Moskva flagship cruiser on the Black Sea.
• The latest US military aid package to Ukraine, announced by president Joe Biden on Friday, is worth $150m, the secretary of state, Antony Blinken, confirmed. The latest tranche of assistance includes 25,000 155mm artillery rounds, as well as counter-artillery radars, jamming equipment, field equipment and spare parts. It brings Washington’s military assistance to Kyiv since the Russian invasion began to around $3.8bn, Blinken said.
• The Group of Seven (G7) leaders will hold a video call on Sunday with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy in a show of unity the day before Russia marks its Victory Day holiday, the White House said. Talks will focus on the latest developments in Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, efforts to bolster the country and ways to demonstrate “continued G7 unity in our collective response, including by imposing severe costs for Putin’s war”, a spokesperson for the White House said.

Snipped by me for focus...

• The UN security council has issued its first statement on the war in Ukraine, but withheld from using the words “war”, “conflict” or “invasion”.Russia-Ukraine war: all women and children evacuated from besieged steel plant; US defends passing intelligence to Ukraine – live
  The statement instead “expresses deep concern regarding the maintenance of peace and security of Ukraine” and voiced “strong support” for the secretary general, António Guterres, in seeking a peaceful solution to the “dispute”.

IMO this is worse than not saying anything. They could only manage calling it a "dispute"!? A dispute is somethjng to have like when you get angry at your neighbor for blowing leaves into your yard or when the doctor sends you a bill for your co-pay when you already paid it. It's not a dispute marching into a neighboring country and killing thousands of innocent civilians and laying waste to their cities and villages...that's an armed conflict, that's WAR crimes. Unfortunately the UN Security Council has watched itself become irrelevant. AJMO

 

[Mo Thuairim]

Viewpoint: Putin now faces only different kinds of defeat​

Whatever else Russia's Victory Day parade is supposed to represent, it won't be any sort of victory over Ukraine, regardless of the spin President Vladimir Putin and the Kremlin will try to put on it, writes defence analyst Michael Clarke.

This war is one that Russia cannot win in any meaningful sense.

Putin's foreign military successes around the world after 2008 were all achieved by using small units of elite forces, mercenaries and local militia groups alongside Russian air power.

This gave Moscow considerable leverage at low cost during interventions in Georgia, Nagorno-Karabakh, Syria, Libya, Mali and twice in Ukraine during 2014, first in illegally annexing Crimea and then in creating self-declared Russian statelets in Luhansk and Donetsk.

In every case, Russia moved swiftly and ruthlessly in ways the western world was unable to counter except through graduated sanctions regimes - nothing that could reverse the reality. Putin was adept at creating "new facts on the ground".

In February he tried the same again on the grandest possible scale in Ukraine - to grab governmental power within about 72 hours in a country of 45 million people occupying the second biggest land area in Europe. It was an astonishing and reckless gamble and it failed completely in the first crucial week.

Putin now has few options but to keep going forward to make this war bigger - either bigger in Ukraine or bigger by advancing beyond its borders. Escalation is built into the current situation and Europe has reached a very dangerous moment in its recent history.

(...)

What happens in the Donbas, however, offers Putin only a choice between different types of defeat.

If the battle reaches an autumn stalemate, he will have precious little to show for so much loss and pain. If the military momentum shifts and his forces get pushed back, even more so. And even if the Russians succeed in overrunning the whole of the Donbas and all across the south, they still have to hold those territories for the indefinite future in the face of several million Ukrainians who don't want them there.

Any significant Russian military success will likely create a major, open-ended insurgency that will get bigger for every district Russian forces may overrun. Putin went for broke in February with Plan A. The failure of that scheme means that plans B, C or any subsequent plans still leaves Russia going for broke - needing to suppress some or all of a very big country.

(...)

There is no way back for Vladimir Putin personally and he may even be indicted as a war criminal. His only political strategy is to make the war in Ukraine into something else - part of a struggle for Russia's very survival against the "Nazis" and "imperialists" of the West who relish the chance to take Russia down.

That's why it suits him to toy with the dangerous idea that Russia is facing a "Great Patriotic War 2.0" with the rest of Europe. We will probably hear a lot more about this on Victory Day. President Putin will claim to see light at the end of a very dark and long tunnel into which he has steered his own country.

Michael Clarke is visiting professor of defence studies, King's College London

Viewpoint: Putin now faces only different kinds of defeat

Russia's Victory Day parade won't represent any sort of victory over Ukraine, writes defence analyst Michael Clarke.

www.bbc.com

 

[sds71]

Dozens feared dead after Russian bomb levels Ukraine school

ZAPORIZHZHIA, Ukraine (AP) — Dozens of Ukrainians were feared dead Sunday after a Russian bomb destroyed a school sheltering about 90 people in the basement as Moscow's invading forces kept up their barrage of cities, towns and villages in eastern and southern Ukraine.

apnews.com

 

[dotr]

• A school in Bilohorivka, Ukraine was bombed by Russia, on Saturday, May 7. (From Luhansk Regional Governor Serhiy Haidai)
  
• Russia's war in Ukraine: Live updates
• ''Ukraine has accused Russia of dropping a bomb on a school in Luhansk region where 90 people were taking shelter. Sixty people are feared dead.
• The Ukrainian government said "all women, children and elderly people" have been evacuated from the Azovstal steel plant in Mariupol. President Volodymyr Zelensky said more than 300 civilians have been rescued.
• US President Joe Biden will meet virtually with the Ukrainian President and his G7 counterparts during a meeting of the G7 forum on Sunday, deliberately scheduled ahead of Russia's Victory Day.
• Kyiv’s mayor is urging citizens to "be aware" and stay inside Sunday into Monday during the period surrounding Russia's annual Victory Day as Western officials warn Russian President Vladimir Putin could formally declare war on May 9, allowing him to step up his campaign.''

''Ukrainians once celebrated Victory Day on May 9, in the Russian tradition. But now, as they piece through the rubble of their homes and mourn lost friends and relatives, many pointedly mark the occasion a day earlier.

"This house, I have lived here for 40 years. Both my kids were born here," Olga Teterska, a 48-year-old accountant from Borodianka, near Kyiv, told CNN as she looked at her destroyed home. "It is impossible to describe with words how I feel being back here and seeing what has happened."

"The flower garden is still growing," she added. "We’ll save the ones we can."

"We celebrated May 9 until 2014," Teterska said. "Now I will only observe May 8 as a day to remember the soldiers who fought and also as a way to be closer to Europe."

The surrender of Nazi Germany in 1945 marked the end of the largest land war in Europe until this February, when Russian forces launched an all-out assault on Ukraine.

But the timing of that surrender — late in the evening in Germany, and after midnight in Russia — symbolically split Europe in two, creating separate commemoration days on the continent.

Most of Europe marks VE Day (Victory in Europe Day) on May 8. But in Russia and a clutch of ex-Soviet states, the anniversary falls on the 9th. In Moscow, it is celebrated with an extravagant military parade and a speech by President Vladimir Putin.''

 

[sds71]

@scottdetrow

@FLOTUS just met Ukraine’s First Lady, Olena Zelenska, in Uzhhorod, Ukraine. It was Zelenska’s first public appearance since the war began. Biden was in Ukraine for about two hours.

 

[sds71]

@vmsalama

U.S. officials arrive at the embassy in Kyiv for the first time since they were evacuated in February.



@PaulCTV
Canadian PM Justin Trudeau raises Maple Leaf over the embassy in Kyiv as it reopens. Trudeau spent the day with Ukrainian president Zelenskyy.

 

[Sundog]

@scottdetrow

@FLOTUS just met Ukraine’s First Lady, Olena Zelenska, in Uzhhorod, Ukraine. It was Zelenska’s first public appearance since the war began. Biden was in Ukraine for about two hours.
View attachment 342911

Where's Joe Biden? He sends his wife into Ukraine but he doesn't go? Not quite the same as seeing Boris Johnson strutting through Kyiv with President Zelensky.

 

[PommyMommy]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1523161306076901377

https://twitter.com/x/status/1523223256857161728

https://twitter.com/x/status/1523247980463411200

 

[PommyMommy]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1523255823077572609

https://twitter.com/x/status/1523259740721381376

https://twitter.com/x/status/1523298692723544065

 

[Angleterre]

Agree, the controversy over Poland sending the MiG fighter jets to Ukraine and then not sending them is similar to what just happened in Germany. I don't fault Poland or Germany, or the United States, or the head of NATO. They are trying to keep us out of WWIII, which is what they should be doing, IMO.

Glad to see that the UK's leader supported the Chancellor at a joint press conference, and that they will do their best to send defensive military equipment, just not tanks.

Can I ask a question that may seem naive but I would rather show myself up and know the answer, as opposed to not know….

A lot of countries are assisting and sending military aid alongside billions of $
They are also sending fighter jets and missiles I believe. So what is the reasoning behind not sending tanks ?
I fully understand that we are all sidestepping because of the threat of WW111 and Putins threat of nuclear weapons and therefore are doing our best to support Ukraine and NATO has not and will not engage unless Putin steps foot on NATO territory. I also understand that Putin has been very vocal in telling the U.K. and USA among other countries NOT to aid Ukraine by sending weapons to their soldiers otherwise there will be repercussions, the like of which we have never seen before . But unless I’m mistaken, weapons are being sent so what’s the issue about sending all the military aid so far but not tanks ? Thank you in advance. A

 

[CSIDreamer]

Can I ask a question that may seem naive but I would rather show myself up and know the answer, as opposed to not know….

A lot of countries are assisting and sending military aid alongside billions of $
They are also sending fighter jets and missiles I believe. So what is the reasoning behind not sending tanks ?
I fully understand that we are all sidestepping because of the threat of WW111 and Putins threat of nuclear weapons and therefore are doing our best to support Ukraine and NATO has not and will not engage unless Putin steps foot on NATO territory. I also understand that Putin has been very vocal in telling the U.K. and USA among other countries NOT to aid Ukraine by sending weapons to their soldiers otherwise there will be repercussions, the like of which we have never seen before . But unless I’m mistaken, weapons are being sent so what’s the issue about sending all the military aid so far but not tanks ? Thank you in advance. A

They have received tanks, not planes. The problem is twofold with planes, IMO.

Planes are more of an easily offensive weapon, as well as the obvious defensive use. No one wants to be accused of 3rd party bombings in Russia. The other issue is Ukraine knows how to operate the older Soviet style MiGs. Not such things as our US fighter jets. They would need extensive training to operate them.

The bulk of their military equipment is Soviet style I believe. Which is why other weapons make more sense. No training or easy and quick to train.

All jmo

Poland Has Sent More Than 200 Tanks to Ukraine

Poland has sent at least 240 Soviet-style tanks to Ukraine, Polish officials said, enough for two tank brigades, as Western allies raced to help the country rebuff an escalating fight for its east. The T-72 tanks were donated alongside self-propelled howitzers, Grad rocket launchers and other Sovie

www.wsj.com

 

[margarita25]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1523255823077572609

 

[margarita25]

A dog named Patron, trained to search for explosives, is seen at an airfield in the town of Hostomel, on May 5. (Gleb Garanich/Reuters)

(State Emergency Service of Ukraine)

“Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has honored the country's most famous dog, Patron, for his dedication.

Patron, a Jack Russell terrier mix, has become a national figure since the Russian invasion for his work with bomb disposal teams in the northern city of Chernihiv. He is credited with uncovering some 150 munitions as one of a team working for the State Emergency Service.”

Ukraine's top canine deminer receives award from Zelensky

The Ukrainian government said that "all women, children and elderly" were evacuated from Mariupol's Azovstal plant as Zelensky and G7 leaders are set to meet Sunday.

www.cnn.com

 

[sunshineray]

A dog named Patron, trained to search for explosives, is seen at an airfield in the town of Hostomel, on May 5. (Gleb Garanich/Reuters)

(State Emergency Service of Ukraine)

“Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has honored the country's most famous dog, Patron, for his dedication.

Patron, a Jack Russell terrier mix, has become a national figure since the Russian invasion for his work with bomb disposal teams in the northern city of Chernihiv. He is credited with uncovering some 150 munitions as one of a team working for the State Emergency Service.”

Ukraine's top canine deminer receives award from Zelensky

The Ukrainian government said that "all women, children and elderly" were evacuated from Mariupol's Azovstal plant as Zelensky and G7 leaders are set to meet Sunday.

www.cnn.com

What a good boy <3 I hope all the canine soldiers and their handlers stay safe in their endeavors to allow people back to their homes to try and begin again <3

 

[PommyMommy]

MAY 8, 2022

'Everything shook': Last civilians leave Ukraine steel mill

Pale and drawn, the last civilians sheltering in the bunkers beneath the sprawling steel mill in the decimated Ukrainian port city of Mariupol arrived late Sunday night in Zaporizhzhia, the first major Ukrainian city beyond the frontline.

apnews.com

[...]

The shattered survivors spoke of constant shelling, dwindling food, ubiquitous mold — and using hand sanitizer for cooking fuel.

Ten buses slowly pulled into Zaporizhzhia’s deserted streets under darkness, carrying 174 evacuees from the Mariupol area. They included more than 30 of the 51 civilians evacuated in the last day from the Azovstal steel mill, where an estimated 2,000 Ukrainian fighters are making what appears to be their last stand. Both Ukrainian and Russian officials have said these civilians are the last non-combatants from the industrial complex.

[...]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1523414390678364160

https://twitter.com/x/status/1523442550102581249

https://twitter.com/x/status/1523443377995497472

 

[margarita25]

In case not already posted; I’m sure it has.

:candle:

 

[mmindymoo]

Can I ask a question that may seem naive but I would rather show myself up and know the answer, as opposed to not know….

A lot of countries are assisting and sending military aid alongside billions of $
They are also sending fighter jets and missiles I believe. So what is the reasoning behind not sending tanks ?
I fully understand that we are all sidestepping because of the threat of WW111 and Putins threat of nuclear weapons and therefore are doing our best to support Ukraine and NATO has not and will not engage unless Putin steps foot on NATO territory. I also understand that Putin has been very vocal in telling the U.K. and USA among other countries NOT to aid Ukraine by sending weapons to their soldiers otherwise there will be repercussions, the like of which we have never seen before . But unless I’m mistaken, weapons are being sent so what’s the issue about sending all the military aid so far but not tanks ? Thank you in advance. A

My understanding is that whatever they send needs to be for defense only. If they send offensive weaponry it could be claimed that NATO is part of the war. Crazy I know, as defense can be offensive, but I guess the differentiation is in the manufacturers intended use. IMO.

 

[PommyMommy]

4h ago05.58

Russian forces conducting ‘storming operations’ on the Azovstal steel plant in Mariupol, Ukraine says – as it happened

This blog has now closed. You can find our latest coverage of the Russia-Ukraine war in our new live blog

www.theguardian.com

Today so far …​

• Vladimir Putin has told Russian soldiers they are “fighting for the same thing their fathers and grandfathers did” as he used his Victory Day speech to tie the war in Ukraine to the memory of the second world war and justify his invasion. Prior to the speech, foreign officials had said Putin could use it to launch a full mobilisation of Russian troops or formally declare war in Ukraine, but there were no large policy announcements.
• In a rare mention of Russian casualties in Ukraine, Putin said that the “the death of each of our soldiers and officers is a grief for all of us and an irreparable loss for relatives and friends”, adding that he signed a law that “will provide special support to the children of the dead and wounded comrades”.
• Volodymyr Zelenskiy, commemorating victory over Nazi Germany, has said Ukraine will win in its war with Russia and would not cede any territory. In a video posted to social media, the Ukrainian president said: “We are fighting for our children’s freedom and therefore we will win. Very soon there will be two victory days in Ukraine. And someone won’t have any. We won then. We will win now.”
• Residents of Russian-occupied areas of Zaporizhzhya oblast have had their personal documents taken away by Russian authorities, the general staff of Ukraine’s armed forces has said, saying they would be returned “on the basis of the participation of the latter in the solemn events … of Victory Day”.
• Kirill Stremousov, deputy chairman of the pro-Russian military-civilian administration in Kherson in southern Ukraine has said “we will integrate as much as possible into the Russian Federation”.
• Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has revealed shortcomings in its ability to conduct precision strikes at scale, the UK’s Ministry of Defence has said in its latest intelligence update
• The European Union should consider seizing frozen Russian foreign exchange reserves to help pay for the cost of rebuilding Ukraine after the war, its foreign policy chief, Josep Borrell, has said in an interview.
• Emmanuel Macron, the French president, is set to travel to Berlin for talks with German chancellor Olaf Scholz on Monday and to make a major address. It will be his first trip abroad since his re-election and Ukraine is expected to be high on the agenda for the two leaders.
• UK defence secretary Ben Wallace has accused leaders of Russia’s armed forces of “amorality and corruption” and said the conflict in Ukraine brings “dishonour”.
• The UK government has expanded its sanctions against Russia to include punitive import tariffs on Russian precious metals, as well as export bans on certain UK products, to increase economic pressure on Moscow over the invasion of Ukraine.
• Traumatised Ukrainian refugees who have sought sanctuary in the UK may have to wait two years before they can get specialised therapy to help them heal from the horrors of war.

A screen shows Russian President Vladimir Putin giving a speech as servicemen line up on Red Square during the Victory Day military parade in Moscow. Photograph: Kirill Kudryavtsev/AFP/Getty Images