Russia Attacks Ukraine - 23 Feb 2022 **Media Thread** NO DISCUSSION #3

[PommyMommy]

~ Finland ~

This is how the NATO solution moves forward: report on Maundy Thursday, party leaders set up as important monitoring group.

"In practice, party leaders and parliamentary group chairmen are to decide whether or not to apply for NATO membership. After that, the official decision will be made by TP-Utva.

The soldiers of NATO member states are already a familiar sight in Finland, but there is no certainty about the assistance they will receive in real time, because Finns lack the security guarantees of NATO Article 5."

Näin Nato-ratkaisu etenee: selonteko kiirastorstaina, puoluejohtajista muodostetaan tärkeä seurantaryhmä

 

[PommyMommy]

"Locating old-fashioned radios is very simple, as is interfering with their signal. Ukrainians are also able to enter false and misleading information into the channels to sow chaos on their opponent. Listening to cell phone communications, on the other hand, is ridiculously easy."

"Communication problems combined with lousy morale and tangled attack have also forced officers closer to the front lines. This may be one of the reasons why Ukraine, in its own words, has so far gotten an amazing seven Russian generals under the ground."

Google Translate:
Surkeat radiot maksavat Venäjälle: Ukraina häiritsee hevillä – kenraalin henki lähti

 

[PommyMommy]

Adoption Information: Russia
What Russia’s Law Affecting Adoptions Means for U.S. Parents

On December 28, 2012, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed Federal Law No. 272-FZ, which went into effect on January 1, 2013. The law:

• Prohibits the adoption of Russian children by U.S. citizens,
• Prohibits adoption service providers from assisting U.S. citizens in adopting Russian children, and
• Requires termination of the U.S.-Russia Adoption Agreement. Russia has given the U.S. official notice that the agreement will terminate on January 1, 2014.

 

[PommyMommy]

The Kyiv Independent on Twitter - 7 hrs ago
Putin orders to draw 134,500 new conscripts. According to the Russian Defense Ministry, conscripts are called up under the annual spring draft and won't be sent to any “hot spots.” Russia sent conscripts to fight in its war against Ukraine despite promises it wouldn’t happen.

The Kyiv Independent on Twitter
Governor: Russia sends more military equipment, Chechen soldiers to Luhansk Oblast. Serhiy Haidai said that “the situation is getting much worse” in the region, as the number of shellings has increased dramatically.

The Kyiv Independent on Twitter - 6 hrs ago
General Staff: Russia aims to blockade two cities in Donetsk Oblast. As Russia relocates troops to eastern Ukraine, the occupiers aim to take control over areas in Kharkiv, Luhansk and Donetsk oblasts, as well as blockade the cities of Kramatorsk and Sloviansk.

The Kyiv Independent on Twitter
Deputy prime minister: Russian occupiers forcibly move 45,000 residents of besieged Mariupol. According to Iryna Vereshchuk, Mariupol residents were deported to the Russian-occupied parts of Donetsk Oblast. Nearly 100,000 people still need urgent evacuation from the city.

The Kyiv Independent on Twitter - 5 hrs ago
Russian military steal 14 tons of humanitarian aid. According to Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk, food and medicine supplies delivered to Melitopol by 12 buses were stolen by Russians. Negotiations are underway to evacuate people by these buses to Zaporizhzhia.

The Kyiv Independent on Twitter - 4 hrs ago
Biden: 'Open question' whether Putin is fully informed on his military’s performance in Ukraine. U.S. President Joe Biden said that Russian President Vladimir Putin may have already fired some of his advisers or placed them under house arrest.

Inside a hospital in occupied town near Kyiv (kyivindependent.com)
[...]

When wounded Ukrainian soldiers came in, the hospital staff put them in civilian clothes, gave them fake name tags, and hid their IDs so they wouldn’t become targets if Russians burst in.

[...]

“We put police members that guarded the hospital into white robes, otherwise they could be shot to death,” Dovgopol says. “Same with the territorial defense guys – we dressed them into civilian clothes and hid their weapons.”

[...]

“We just had to start burying the bodies, as risky as it was, because it just became unbearable. There were bodies everywhere, dogs eating them…” Dovgopol recalls.

Reaching the cemetery was impossible, as the area was full of snipers. So on March 10, Dovgopol and his colleagues dug out a mass grave near a local church, burying 67 people.

They took photos and assigned numbers to every person, passing this information to the police. The hospital managed to identify 35 bodies, including three Ukrainian soldiers. The names of 32 people remained unknown.

[...]

 

[PommyMommy]

[URL='https://twitter.com/nexta_tv/status/1509598580239216646']NEXTA on Twitter [/URL]- 7 hrs ago
#Turkey is ready to become a security guarantor for #Ukraine. Earlier, Great #Britain and #Germany had expressed this desire.

Володимир Зеленський on Twitter - President of Ukraine
Had another conversation with a real friend of Ukraine, President of Turkey
@RTErdogan. Noted the high level of organization of negotiations of delegations in Istanbul. Agreed on further steps towards peace. Thanked for the readiness of Turkey to become the guarantor of security of our state!

NEXTA on Twitter - 3 hrs ago
#Ukrainian Armed Forces liberated 11 settlements in the #Kherson region and seized trophy equipment.

Euromaidan Press on Twitter - 2 hrs ago
"We endured much more than the enemy expected. They said - three or five days. They thought that this would be enough for them to seize our entire state. And it’s already 36. And we are standing. And we will continue to fight" - President Zelenskyy in his midnight address

Euromaidan Press on Twitter
Britain and its allies have agreed to send more lethal military aid to Ukraine, including:
air and coastal defence systems,
longer-range artillery and counter battery capabilities,
armoured vehicles
wider training and logistical support.
Britain, allies to send more lethal aid to Ukraine | Reuters

Euromaidan Press on Twitter
Before leaving the Chornobyl NPP on Mar.31, the Russians stole computers, kettles, coffee makers, and looted kitchen utensils from hotel, according to Yevhen Kramarenko, head of Ukraine's Agency for Exclusion Zone Management

Euromaidan Press on Twitter
The Russian troops have reportedly left Antonov Airport near Hostomel, Kyiv Oblast As of the evening of 31 March, there were no reports on the Ukrainian forces entering the area VIDEO: Babilon'13 via @uawire

 

[PommyMommy]

‘Refugee’ propaganda video slandering Ukrainian soldiers in Mariupol and 'thanking Russia' was produced by the FSB (khpg.org)
On 23 March, RIA Novosti, and other state-controlled Russian media broadcast a video in which somebody identified as a young Ukrainian from Mariupol, Lyubov Ustinova repeated the Kremlin’s narrative about the Ukrainian Azov soldiers defending Mariupol. The Russian independent MediaZona has now discovered that three videos with Ustinova were produced by Russia’s Security Service, or FSB, with the media instructed not to divulge this extremely relevant detail. ...

Zelensky says two generals who turned out to be traitors stripped of their rank (ukrinform.net)
"Today another decision was made on anti-heroes - now I don't have time to deal with all traitors, but gradually all of them will be punished. That is why Andriy Olehovych Naumov, former head of the main department of internal security at the Security Service of Ukraine, and Serhiy Oleksandrovych Kryvoruchko, former head of the SBU directorate in the Kherson region, are no longer generals," Zelensky said.

 

[PommyMommy]

ITV News hears allegations of Russian troops filming rape of 15-year-old girl

Russian troops who took over a suburb of Kyiv are alleged to have raped and held hostage a 15-year-old girl whose mother died while she was being detained against her will, ITV News has been told.

The teenager is claimed to have been held by Russian troops for 10 days close to Irpin, the heavily contested town which sits roughly 12 miles from the Ukrainian capital.

ITV News tracked down Konstantin Gudauskas, the volunteer who rescued the girl and relayed the horrifying details - which are being passed onto war crimes investigators - to Global Security Editor Rohit Kachroo.

Read more here: ITV News hears allegations of Russian troops filming rape of 15-year-old girl | ITV News

 

[PommyMommy]

Live updates | Russian forces block buses leaving Mariupol | AP News
The Ukrainian government said Russian forces blocked 45 buses that had been sent to evacuate civilians from the besieged port city of Mariupol, and only 631 people were able to get out of the city in private cars.

Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk said late Thursday that 12 Ukrainian buses with humanitarian aid left Melitopol for Mariupol, but the Russian forces stopped the buses and seized the 14 tons of food and medicines.

Ukrainian Troops Show Off Russian War Trophies In Kharkiv Region (rferl.org)
VIDEO CAPTION: In Ukraine's eastern Kharkiv region, the Ukrainian military shows off armor and equipment that was left behind by invading Russian troops after a battle. Some will be reused by Ukraine's armed forces, while other pieces will be left where they are. RFE/RL correspondent Roman Pahulych and cameraman Pavlo Kholodov spoke to Mykhaylo, a Ukrainian serviceman, on March 30.

Russia-Ukraine war latest: Russia redeploying forces from Georgia, UK says; Germany rejects Putin’s gas supply ‘blackmail’ – live | World news | The Guardian

7m ago 22:26
Russian troops have reportedly taken an unspecified number of captive Ukrainian servicemen hostage after leaving Ukraine’s Chernobyl nuclear power plant, according to officials.

State nuclear agency Energoatom released a statement on Telegram, citing plant workers:

"As they ran away from the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, the Russian occupiers took members of the National Guard, whom they had held hostage since Feb 24, with them.”

The Guardian is unable to verify these claims and it remains unclear how many, if any, Ukrainian servicemen were taken away.

 

[PommyMommy]

Roman Abramovich targeted with chloropicrin or Novichok, Bellingcat journalist claims

Chloropicrin (PS): Lung Damaging Agent | NIOSH | CDC
DESCRIPTION: Chloropicrin (PS) is used in agriculture as a soil fumigant. It has also been used as a chemical warfare agent (military designation, PS) and a riot control agent. It was used in large quantities during World War I and was stockpiled during World War II. However, it is no longer authorized for military use. Chloropicrin (PS) is an irritant with characteristics of a tear gas. Chloropicrin (PS) has an intensely irritating odor. Inhalation of 1 ppm causes eye irritation and can warn of exposure

 

[PommyMommy]

Invisible Children: Russia’s Dima Yakovlev Law

Ukrainian American school custodian in GA stunned by student artwork honoring Ukraine

@nytimes
Two Ukrainian helicopters crossed into Russian territory and fired on an oil depot in the city of Belgorod, injuring two people, a regional governor said. It is the first Ukrainian airstrike Russia has reported on its territory since the start of the war. https://nyti.ms/3NEVow9

Kremlin says Ukraine strike on Russian fuel depot creates awkward backdrop for talks http://reut.rs/3iQME8e

 

[PommyMommy]

Cancer surgeon ‘visited Putin 35 times in four years’ | News | The Times

Putin 'is constantly followed by thyroid cancer doctor'

 

[PommyMommy]

The Kyiv Independent on Twitter - 8 hrs ago
Ukraine’s military: 7 attacks repelled in Donetsk and Luhansk directions. According to the General Staff of Ukraine’s Armed Forces, over the past 24 hours Ukraine’s military destroyed 3 tanks, 2 armored personnel carriers, 2 artillery systems and shot down an Orlan-10 drone.

The Kyiv Independent on Twitter - 6 hrs ago
Ukraine's General Staff: Russian troops partially withdraw from northern Kyiv Oblast towards Belarus. The General Staff also said on April 1 that Russian forces are withdrawing civilian transport and other property that they have stolen.

NEXTA on Twitter - 6 hrs ago
#Australia is going to send Bushmaster armored personnel carriers to #Ukraine. It is noted that the decision to send military equipment was made after Vladimir #Zelenskyy's speech to the Australian government via video link on March 31.

The Kyiv Independent on Twitter - 4 hrs ago
Media: Putin surrounded by doctors, including thyroid cancer specialist. He traveled with five doctors on average in 2016-2017, according to an investigation by Project, a Russian media outlet. Putin has also expressed interest in alternative medicine.

Euromaidan Press on Twitter
Ukrainian air forces stress: Air superiority is the deciding factor in this war. Russia’s air force is many times larger with better technologies. Ukrainians also have lost planes, equipment. The need for fighter jets and air defense tools only grows. Stingers can't replace it.

NEXTA on Twitter
The talks between #Russia and #Ukraine will continue today, April 1, in the format of a video communication.

The Kyiv Independent on Twitter
Russia starts spring draft for its armed forces amid invasion of Ukraine. Russia expects to draft 134,500 conscripts aged 18 to 27 by July 15. Russian authorities had previously used conscripts for the aggression against Ukraine and had to admit it.

NEXTA on Twitter - 2 hrs ago
Mikhail Podolyak, adviser to the #Ukrainian presidential office, announced the beginning of a new round of #Russian-Ukrainian talks They are held via videoconference.

The Kyiv Independent on Twitter
Russia's FM Sergei Lavrov: Russia preparing its response to Ukraine's peace proposals. Lavrov also said on April 1 that "progress" had been made in negotiations on neutral status for Ukraine and the status of Russian-occupied Crimea and Donbas.

Euromaidan Press on Twitter
Up to 2000 fighters from the Russian-occupied part of Georgia are being reorganized to be deployed in Ukraine. Ukrainian forces conducted several local counterattacks. No indicators of Russian forces fully relinquishing captured territory in the north.

Euromaidan Press on Twitter - 35 min ago
This map from @Nrg8000 shows settlements confirmed recaptured today (blue) and yesterday (yellow). The siege of Chernihiv is also lifted. Russian forces around Kyiv are retreating, leaving behind wrecked armor and possibly trapped pockets of troops as the Ukrainian army advances

 

[PommyMommy]

Majority of NATO nations fail to spend 2 percent GDP guideline for defense

... the report shows that the U.S. still accounted for just over half of the alliance's GDP spending and 69 percent of total defense expenditures in 2021. The report puts total NATO military spending for 2021 at $1 trillion.

The other countries that met the 2 percent threshold include the United Kingdom, Greece, Croatia, Poland, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania.

Germany spent 1.49 percent of its GDP on defense, putting it in the bottom 10 for spending despite having Europe's largest economy.

<snipped>

Canada ranked 25th in military spending at 1.36 percent of its GDP.

 

[PommyMommy]

[URL='https://www.theguardian.com/world/live/2022/apr/01/russia-ukraine-war-latest-news-germany-rejects-putins-gas-supply-blackmail-russia-drawing-on-forces-from-georgia-uk-says-live']Russia-Ukraine war latest: explosion at oil depot in Russia; battles being fought near Kyiv, says mayor – live | World news | The Guardian[/URL]

3h ago 06:53
Speaking to reporters today, the Kremlin’s spokesperson, Dmitry Peskov, said the alleged Ukrainian strike on a Russian fuel depot in Belgorod does not create comfortable conditions to continue peace talks.

3h ago 07:16
Ukraine’s foreign minister, Dmytro Kuleba, said he could not confirm or deny Ukraine’s alleged involvement in a strike on a fuel depot in the Russian city of Belgorod, Reuters reports.

"I can neither confirm nor reject the claim that Ukraine was involved in this simply because I do not possess all the military information."

3h ago 07:21
Around 2,000 evacuated civilians from the Ukrainian city of Mariupol besieged by Russian forces appear to be on their way to safety, according to reports from the city’s city council.

Several private cars joined 42 buses escorted by the Red Cross and Ukrainian emergency services vehicles from nearby Berdyansk to the safer Ukranian-held city of Zaporizhia, Mariupol city council’s Telegram channel posted on Friday, along with a photo and video of the convoy.

2h ago 07:56
The Turkish president, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, said he will tell Vladimir Putin that he and Volodymyr Zelenskiy need to take a step to address issues over Ukraine’s Donbas region and Crimea, Reuters reports.

Speaking to reporters in Istanbul, Erdoğan said he will hold a phone call with Putin at 1pm GMT and renew an offer to host the Russian and Ukrainian leaders for peace talks.

2h ago 08:11
The mayor of Chernihiv, Vladyslav Atroshenko, has accused Russia of shelling an oncology ward of a hospital in the northern Ukrainian city, days after Russia promised it would “drastically reduce” its military assault on Kyiv and Chernihiv.

"Some shells hit the regional hospital direct, and one of the buildings of the hospital, in fact the oncological unit, was completely destroyed. Three people sustained heavy injuries."

1h ago 08:37
The mayor of Kyiv, Vitaliy Klitschko, said “huge” battles are being fought to the north and east of Ukraine’s capital, Reuters reports.

Klitschko issued a warning to residents who have fled the city:

The risk of dying (in Kyiv) is pretty high, and that’s why my advice to anyone who wants to come back is: Please, take a little bit more time.

Kyiv’s regional governor said earlier today that Russian forces were pulling back in some areas around the capital but strengthening its positions in others.

It comes after an adviser to President Zelenskiy, Oleksiy Arestovych, said Ukrainian forces are pushing back Russian troops north-east and north-west of Kyiv.

49m ago 09:17
There’s been a strong diplomatic signal of Indian support for Russia today, with the news that as well as meeting foreign minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, the trip of Russia’s foreign minister Sergie Lavrov to India has included a meeting with prime minister Narendra Modi. Modi has pointedly not met with any of the varying other foreign ministers who have visited India in the last couple of weeks while the Russian invasion of Ukraine has been progressing.

 

[PommyMommy]

Kremlin: 'Aanval oliedepot hindert vredesbesprekingen' • Oekraïne: 11 dorpen heroverd in Cherson <Kremlin: 'Oil depot attack hinders peace talks' • Ukraine: 11 villages recaptured in Kherson>

Russia and Ukraine are negotiating online again

Ukraine and Russia continued peace talks online today. On Tuesday, delegations from Russia and Ukraine were in Istanbul to discuss the war.

After the talks on Tuesday, both parties expressed a cautious positive attitude. Russian negotiator Vladimir Medinsky spoke of a "constructive meeting" and Ukrainian negotiator Mychailo Podoljak said enough progress had been made to arrange a meeting between Presidents Putin and Zelensky. According to Russia, this only makes sense if there is more or less an agreement.

The Kremlin also said today that the possible Ukrainian attack on a fuel depot in Belgorod creates " uncomfortable conditions " for the progress of peace talks.

 

[PommyMommy]

Kremlin: 'Aanval oliedepot hindert vredesbesprekingen' • Oekraïne: 11 dorpen heroverd in Cherson <Kremlin: 'Oil depot attack hinders peace talks' • Ukraine: 11 villages recaptured in Kherson>

5 HOURS AGO
Ukrainian troops: 11 villages recaptured in Kherson
Ukrainian forces say they have recaptured 11 villages in the southern Kherson region in recent days. Russia previously claimed to control the entire area.

During the advance in the north of the Kherson region, the Ukrainian army is said to have found abandoned Russian military equipment, including T-64 tanks. The local population has been given food and medicine, local authorities say.

Earlier this week, Russia announced that the "military operation" from this week is aimed at the "liberation" of the self-declared people's republics of Donetsk and Lugansk.

The separatists in the so-called People's Republics of Donetsk (DNR) and Lugansk (LNR) control only part of the two provinces of the same name, but claim the entire territory.

 

[PommyMommy]

Kremlin: 'Aanval oliedepot hindert vredesbesprekingen' • Oekraïne: 11 dorpen heroverd in Cherson <Kremlin: 'Oil depot attack hinders peace talks' • Ukraine: 11 villages recaptured in Kherson>

'Russian troops not completely withdrawn from Chernihiv, Chernobyl'

Although Russian troops are withdrawing from the Chernihiv region in northern Ukraine, they have not yet completely left. The local governor said this in a video address on Friday. "Air and missile strikes are (still) possible in the region, no one is ruling this out," the director said.

He added that Ukrainian military personnel have secured sites previously held by Russian forces. According to the governor, Ukrainian troops in the region must remain vigilant, as there are "Russian military personnel still on our territory". Russia announced earlier this week that operations in the Chernihiv and Kiev regions will be scaled down.

In Chernobyl there are also Russian troops in the so-called 'exclusion zone', the area within a radius of 30 kilometers around the nuclear power plant. The head of the Ukrainian agency responsible for that zone has confirmed on national television that Russian troops have left the factory itself.

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) previously reported that Russian armed forces "have handed over in writing" the Chernobyl nuclear power plant to Ukrainian personnel. The agency cannot confirm that Russian troops contracted radiation sickness on the Chernobyl site.

 

[PommyMommy]

Russia Travel Advisory (state.gov)
Do not travel to Russia due to the unprovoked and unjustified invasion of Ukraine by Russian military forces, the potential for harassment against U.S. citizens by Russian government security officials, the singling out of U.S. citizens in Russia by Russian government security officials including for detention, the arbitrary enforcement of local law, limited flights into and out of Russia, the Embassy’s limited ability to assist U.S. citizens in Russia, COVID-19 and related entry restrictions, and terrorism. U.S. citizens residing or travelling in Russia should depart Russia immediately.

U.S. citizens should note that U.S. credit and debit cards no longer work in Russia, and options to electronically transfer funds from the United States are extremely limited as a result of sanctions imposed on Russian banks. There are reports of cash shortages within Russia.

Limited commercial flight options and overland routes by car and bus are still open and available. If you wish to depart Russia, you should make arrangements on your own as soon as possible. The U.S. Embassy has severe limitations on its ability to assist U.S. citizens, and conditions, including transportation options, may suddenly become even more limited. U.S. citizens who are able to depart Russia for another country and are in need of emergency assistance upon arrival may contact a U.S. embassy or consulate in that country.

Due to Russia’s further invasion of Ukraine, an increasing number of airlines are cancelling flights into and out of Russia, and numerous countries have closed their airspace to Russian airlines. In addition, airspace around southern Russia is restricted, and a number of airports in the area have closed. U.S. citizens located in, or considering travel to, the districts of the Russian Federation immediately bordering Ukraine should be aware that the situation along the border is dangerous and unpredictable. Given the ongoing armed conflict, U.S. citizens are strongly advised against traveling by land from Russia to Ukraine. In addition, there is the potential throughout Russia of harassment of foreigners, including through regulations targeted specifically against foreigners.

The U.S. government’s ability to provide routine or emergency services to U.S. citizens in Russia is severely limited, particularly in areas far from the U.S. Embassy in Moscow, due to Russian government limitations on travel, the number of U.S. staff, and the ongoing suspension of operations, including consular services, at U.S. consulates.

[...]

 

[PommyMommy]

"...the Soviet elimination of a social class, the kulaks (who were higher-income farmers), and the subsequent killer famine among all Ukrainian peasants – as well as the notorious 1937 order No. 00447 that called for the mass execution and exile of “socially harmful elements” as “enemies of the people” – were, in fact, genocide."...

..."In the process of collectivization, for example, 30,000 kulaks were killed directly, mostly shot on the spot. About 2 million were forcibly deported to the Far North and Siberia.

They were called “enemies of the people,” as well as swine, dogs, cockroaches, scum, vermin, filth, garbage, half animals, apes. Activists promoted murderous slogans: “We will exile the kulak by the thousand when necessary – shoot the kulak breed.” “We will make soap of kulaks.” “Our class enemies must be wiped off the face of the earth.”

One Soviet report noted that gangs “drove the dekulakized naked in the streets, beat them, organized drinking bouts in their houses, shot over their heads, forced them to dig their own graves, undressed women and searched them, stole valuables, money, etc.”...

..."We will never know how many millions Stalin killed. “And yet somehow Stalin gets a pass,” Ian Frazier wrote in a recent New Yorker article about the gulags. “People know he was horrible, but he has not yet been declared horrible officially.”...

..."One of Stalin’s colleagues recalled the dictator reviewing an arrest list (really, a death list) and muttering to himself: “Who’s going to remember all this riff-raff in ten or twenty years’ time? No one. … Who remembers the names now of the boyars Ivan the Terrible got rid of? No one. … The people had to know he was getting rid of all his enemies. In the end, they all got what they deserved.”...

Stalin killed millions. A Stanford historian answers the question, was it genocide?


..."By supporting the image of Stalin as a hero to the Russian people, however, Borshchev said that Putin, a veteran member of the KGB, the former Russian secret police and intelligence agency, and who served as director of its successor agency, the FSB, is working to rehabilitate the KGB’s image and dampen criticism of his own draconian crackdown on political dissent."...

“Putin is pragmatic. He knows that Stalin was an executioner, but he needs him now to save his own political career,” Borshchev said."...

‘The best master’: Russia's new Stalin Center evokes pride, revulsion

 

[PommyMommy]

'Russian conscripts' complain of being 'thrown into the s**t with 1940s rifles that do not work'

Mutinous Russian forces are sabotaging their weapons and refusing to carry out orders amid surging Red Army deaths, a UK spy chief will reveal today.

Vladimir Putin “massively misjudged” how hard conquering Ukraine would be but is bent on his “personal war” — even as his poorly fed and armed soldiers are giving up.

It came as telling footage showed despairing conscripts complaining of being “thrown into the s**t” with 1940s rifles that do not work.

Planes have been downed by friendly fire and Russia’s “command and control is in chaos,” GCHQ boss Sir Jeremy Fleming will say.

Met with fierce resistance, Russian troops have been bogged down and pushed back. The strategically important town of Trostyanets in the north-east has been retaken, the occupying soldiers fleeing, leaving their uniforms behind.

But Putin’s fearful generals are hiding the scale of the battlefield losses from him as what was meant to be a lightning war grinds on.

READ MORE: Russian forces in chaos as soldiers ditch uniforms, refuse orders & 'shoot down own aircraft' (thesun.co.uk)