Russia Attacks Ukraine - 23 Feb 2022 **Media Thread** NO DISCUSSION #5

[PommyMommy]

JUL 25, 2023

Freed in Russia Prisoner Swap, US Marine Injured Fighting in Ukraine (Exclusive)

US officials are frustrated that Trevor Reed went to Ukraine after the efforts made to bring him home from Russia

themessenger.com

A Marine veteran who was freed from Russia in a 2022 prisoner exchange has volunteered to fight for Ukraine and is now asking for U.S. government help after sustaining injuries on the battlefield, The Messenger has learned.

Trevor Reed was wounded after stepping on a landmine roughly two weeks ago, according to two U.S. military officials who were briefed on the events. Reed had spent more than two years in Russian custody before winning his freedom in April 2022.

The officials, who spoke under condition of anonymity due to Defense Department regulations, said they did not know the extent of Reed’s injuries but said he had suffered shrapnel wounds from the explosion. One of the sources said Reed was being treated in the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv, and had requested transfer to an American military facility in either Germany or Poland.

The sources also said that U.S. officials have privately expressed frustration over Reed’s case, in part because of regular State Department warnings to American citizens against travel to Ukraine, and especially given the lengths the U.S. went to free Reed from a Russian prison.

[...]

 

[PommyMommy]

JUL 25, 2023

Freed in Russia Prisoner Swap, US Marine Injured Fighting in Ukraine (Exclusive)

US officials are frustrated that Trevor Reed went to Ukraine after the efforts made to bring him home from Russia

themessenger.com

A Marine veteran who was freed from Russia in a 2022 prisoner exchange has volunteered to fight for Ukraine and is now asking for U.S. government help after sustaining injuries on the battlefield, The Messenger has learned.

Trevor Reed was wounded after stepping on a landmine roughly two weeks ago, according to two U.S. military officials who were briefed on the events. Reed had spent more than two years in Russian custody before winning his freedom in April 2022.

The officials, who spoke under condition of anonymity due to Defense Department regulations, said they did not know the extent of Reed’s injuries but said he had suffered shrapnel wounds from the explosion. One of the sources said Reed was being treated in the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv, and had requested transfer to an American military facility in either Germany or Poland.

The sources also said that U.S. officials have privately expressed frustration over Reed’s case, in part because of regular State Department warnings to American citizens against travel to Ukraine, and especially given the lengths the U.S. went to free Reed from a Russian prison.

[...]

 

[PommyMommy]

Ukraine to receive $244 million for humanitarian demining, according to Ukraine's Minister of Economy Yulia Svyrydenko The funds will be allocated by foreign donors.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1683960566958657538

Frontline report: Ukrainian forces breach Russian defenses in Bakhmut sector, forcing Russians to abandon Andriivka, crucial Russia's logistical hub near Bakhmut.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1684106459888361473

“The arguments against Ukraine using cluster munitions betray a naivety, if not a disingenuousness, about the hard truths of military history,” writes Dr. Nathan M. Greenfield.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1684172798070083586

 

[PommyMommy]

Air Force: Ukraine downs 36 Russian missiles Ukrainian forces shot down 33 Kh-101/Kh-555 and three Kalibr cruise missiles launched against Ukraine on July 26, the Air Force reported.

At around 5 p.m., Russian forces fired 36 Kh-101/Kh-555 cruise missiles from eight Tu-95 bombers from the direction of the Caspian Sea, the Air Force said, adding that Ukraine managed to destroy 33 of them.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1684283743706419200

A combined Russian cruise and ballistic missile attack targeted the military airfield in Starokostiantyniv, hosting Su-24M tactical bombers that launch UK-donated Storm Shadow missiles. It is yet unclear if all were shot down.

It turned out that Russia has been planning this attack for a very long time. In a propaganda story filmed in 2020 at the training of the Russian missile forces, a training map was recorded. It was Starokostiantyniv.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1684323777377697794

White House: Ukrainian pilots to receive F-16 training in Denmark, Romania. Ukrainian pilots are going to receive training on F-16 fighter jets in Denmark and Romania, U.S. National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said on July 26.

However, the official noted that other details of the training scheme are not yet finalized. "The dates, the locations, the length of the syllabus, all of that is still being worked out," Kirby said at a press conference.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1684306988623097861

 

[PommyMommy]

Russia raises conscription age to increase dwindling forces in Ukraine. The Russian State Duma, Russia's lower house of parliament, voted on July 25 to raise the maximum age of conscription from 27 to 30, according to the state news agency TASS.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1684376521031528448

Cluster munitions outperform conventional rounds in destroying Russia's defenses, helping Ukraine save on shells and artillery while maintaining pressure. They also make the armed forces less reliant on infantry for the bloody job of clearing trenches.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1684375802711019520

NYT: Ukraine deploys new forces in counteroffensive's 'main thrust'. Ukrainian officials informed Washington that Ukraine will now deploy thousands of Western-trained reinforcements previously held in reserve, the New York Times reported on July 26.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1684400274033479680

 

[PommyMommy]

JUL 26, 2023

Institute for the Study of War

Ukrainian forces launched a significant mechanized counteroffensive operation in western Zaporizhia Oblast on July 26 and appear to have broken through certain pre-prepared Russian defensive positions south of Orikhiv. Russian sources, including the

www.understandingwar.org

Key Takeaways:

• Ukrainian forces launched a significant mechanized counteroffensive operation in western Zaporizhia Oblast on July 26 and appear to have broken through certain pre-prepared Russian defensive positions south of Orikhiv.
• Russian sources provided a wide range of diverging claims as to the scale of both the attack and resulting Ukrainian losses, indicating that the actual results and Ukrainian losses remain unclear.
• The battlefield geometry around Robotyne, as well as the force composition of the Russian elements defending there, offer important color to speculation surrounding the Ukrainian attack and gains.
• Western and Ukrainian officials suggested that the attacks towards Robotyne mark an inflection in Ukraine’s counteroffensive effort. Today’s actions around Robotyne are likely the start of any “main thrust” Ukrainian forces might be launching, if US officials are correct, rather than the sum of such a thrust.
• Russian forces conducted a large-scale missile strike largely aimed at rear areas in Ukraine on the night of July 26.
• The Russian Black Sea Fleet is increasing military posturing in the Black Sea, likely in an attempt to set conditions to forcibly stop and search civilian vessels and exert increased control in the area.
• The US Department of Defense (DoD) announced on July 26 that it authorized another presidential drawdown to provide an additional $400 million of security assistance to Ukraine.
• Russia continues to find ways to remind Armenia and Azerbaijan that Moscow’s military and diplomatic presence in the South Caucasus is necessary. The Russian government may have intended for the Russia-Armenia-Azerbaijan trilateral meeting to reduce possible Iranian efforts to supplant Russian influence with Armenia by providing Shahed drones to Yerevan.
• A prominent Kremlin-linked milblogger expressed his incredulity that the US has not provided Ukraine F-16 fighters yet and did not assess Russian deterrence or escalation cycle dynamics to be a factor.
• Russian forces conducted offensive operations along the Kupyansk-Svatove-Kreminna line, in Bakhmut, along the Avdiivka-Donetsk City line, in western Donetsk Oblast, and in western Zaporzhia Oblast on July 26 and have made advances in certain areas.
• Ukrainian forces continued counteroffensive operations along at least three sectors of the front on July 26 and have advanced in certain areas.
• Ukrainian military sources reported that Russian forces have begun using Russian-produced Shahed drones against Ukraine.
• Russian occupation authorities continue to pursue infrastructure projects in occupied areas to facilitate the economic integration of occupied Ukraine into the Russian system.

 

[PommyMommy]

JUL 27, 2023

July 27, 2023 - Russia-Ukraine news

Ukraine appears to be ramping up its counteroffensive after a slow start, pummeling a key Russian logistics hub and claiming to capture a village near the southern front.

www.cnn.com

2 min ago

Russia, North Korea and China align on Ukraine in Pyongyang meeting​

Delegations from Russia and China — North Korea’s key allies in the Korean War — gathered in Pyongyang this week to celebrate North Korea’s “Victory Day” in the war that ravaged the Korean Peninsula seven decades ago as they align over another very contemporary conflict – Russia’s devastating invasion of Ukraine.

At a state reception for Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu and the Russian delegation, in a reference to the war in Ukraine, North Korean Defense Minister Kang Sun Nam expressed Pyongyang’s full support “for the just struggle of the Russian army and people to defend the sovereignty and security of the country,” according to a report from the state-run Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).

In remarks of his own, Shoigu then said the Korean People’s Army (KPA) has “become the strongest army in the world” and pledged continued cooperation to keep it that way.

Shoigu’s presence at "Victory Day" celebration is "particularly notable: a sign of just how close Pyongyang and Moscow have become since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine last year,” said Ankit Panda, Stanton senior fellow in the Nuclear Policy Program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.

[...]

Read more about the meeting here.

 

[PommyMommy]

russia will not be in Paris next year. There is no place at the Olympics for those who started this war and who unleashed a bloody genocide. Dozens of countries, millions of athletes and fans joined the protest campaign. We accomplished this together. This is the first victory of the 2024 Olympic Games.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1684562350874284034

Russian occupiers continue to burn Ukraine's ecosystems. On 26 July, 6 fires were caused due to Russian shelling in Kherson Oblast.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1684762853193011202

Poland to double the size of its military in response to security threat. The intention to drastically expand the size of the Polish military was expressed by deputy prime minister Yaroslav Kaczynski during a visit to the town of Koden near the Belarusian border on July 27.

Existing units are being replenished and three new divisions are being created, for a total of six, with a seventh being a possibility. Polish military presence on Belarusian border is being strengthened as well.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1684828127485190145

 

[PommyMommy]

The head of the Belarusian Red Cross, Dzmitryi Shautsou, admitted the organization’s involvement in the forced deportation of children from Russian-occupied parts of Ukraine to Belarus.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1684881256474185728

Lull observed with Russia's military aviation on front line. Usually, Ukraine tracks 20-30 Russian airborne targets at once, but was only tracking two or three of them, Ukrainian Air Force spokesman Yuriy Ihnat said. UAV activity on the front line was also greatly reduced.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1684885489612886016

Day 520. Ukrainian drones reported near Moscow. Ukrainian parliament extends martial law and mobilisation. Putin promises African leaders “free grain.”

https://twitter.com/x/status/1684891699653345280

 

[PommyMommy]

Ukraine launched deceptive operations from the east and west, and attacked where Russia least expected. More progress expected to follow

https://twitter.com/x/status/1684934525514665984

https://euromaidanpress.com/2023/07/28/frontline-report-ukrainians-use-deception-trickery-to-capture-staromaiorske/

Ex-head of Russian jail charged over abuse of Ukrainian POWs. The ex-head of the Russian prison in the occupied village of Olenivka, Donetsk Oblast, and one of his subordinates have been charged over physical, sexual, and psychological abuse of Ukrainian soldiers held there, Ukraine's Prosecutor General's Office reported on July 28.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1684968961316724755

Media: NATO to open repair center in Poland for Ukrainian equipment. NATO plans to set up a logistics and repair center for Ukrainian military equipment near Polish Rzeszow, roughly 100 km from Ukraine's border, the Globe and Mail reported on July 28, citing officials.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1685018016038219778

 

[PommyMommy]

Russian Iskander missiles have hit a 12-floor apartment building and SBU building in central Dnipro. Mayor Filatov has said this is the third strike on the empty SBU building and confirmed that the apartment highrise was not yet in use. No casualties reported.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1685020581324804096

Belarus built a new garage facility for the allegedly nuclear-capable Iskander missile launchers The construction began in October 2022 and was completed in April 2023, the Federation of American Scientists said

https://twitter.com/x/status/1685038379832872962

Energoatom: Russia kidnaps, tortures Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant engineer. Russia has illegally held Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant engineer Serhii Potynh in captivity since June and subjected him to torture, Energoatom reported on July 28.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1685034846425341954

 

[PommyMommy]

‘Not Thailand anymore’: Russians are flocking to this resort island — but not all is well in paradise​

''The Thai island of Phuket expects to welcome one million Russians this year — the biggest group of foreign visitors by far — according to the Tourism Authority of Thailand. Some are escaping the dim of winter. Some are dodging the draft. Others are buying local property as a ticket to a new life.

But the influx of Russians, since the Thai foreign minister visited Moscow and direct flights resumed in October, is a conundrum for Phuket, which depends on tourism for 90 per cent of its economy and is still struggling to recover after the deadly 2004 tsunami and COVID-19 travel bans. Although many Russian visitors are just terrified young men, there are tensions simmering between visiting Russians and other residents.

“Russians in Phuket are known for their bad behaviour,” Stefan Zich, manager of a large hotel off the coast of Phuket, told the Star. Drunkenness, debauchery, violence and traffic accidents are rife in the “Russian-occupied” zones of the island, he alleged.

Nurses at the hospital in Patong, a popular Russian destination on the island, said they are seeing increasing numbers of people suffering from alcohol poisoning and involved in traffic accidents. Russians top the list of arrests in Phuket for crimes including theft, recklessness causing death and drug smuggling, according to provincial police reports in local media.

“My family and I are moving out of Phuket after five years, because we see and hear only Russians,” said one man on a Phuket news site. “Phuket is not Thailand anymore, but Russian territory,” he said.

The surge of Russian arrivals is putting pressure on the prices of real estate, motorbikes and cars on the island. Local schools have filled to capacity with Russian children, according to local media, as wealthier Russians acquire elite visas, which allow stays from five to 20 years for $25,000 and upwards. Almost all condo sales are to Russians, according to reports, and many are purchasing hotels, restaurants, souvenir shops and other tourism-related businesses.''

 

[PommyMommy]

JUL 29, 2023

Russian attacks injure at least 14 civilians over past day

Russian forces attacked nine Ukrainian regions over the past day, regional officials reported on July 29.

kyivindependent.com

Russian forces attacked nine Ukrainian regions (oblasts) over the past day, injuring at least 14 people, regional officials reported on July 29.

Donetsk, Kharkiv, Zaporizhzhia, Chernihiv, Dnipropetrovsk, Kherson, Luhansk, Mykolaiv, and Sumy oblasts all came under attack.

In Dnipropetrovsk Oblast, at least nine people were injured, including two teenagers of 14 and 17 year old, in the Russian missile strike against Dnipro on July 28, Dnipropetrovsk Oblast Governor Serhii Lysak reported.

Russian forces launched Iskander missiles at Dnipro, hitting the regional headquarters of the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) and a nearby apartment building. The SBU building was reportedly empty. The apartment building was newly-built and had no tenants yet, the city mayor said earlier.

Ukraine’s counteroffensive lurches forward: Key moment looms as more forces committed

Fresh videos of Western-made armor rolling across open fields, a new settlement liberated, and a lot of noise on Russian military blogger Telegram channels heralded to the world on July 28 that the Ukrainian summer counteroffensive had upped its gear. Almost eight weeks into the long-awaited...

kyivindependent.com

Predictably, the main obstacle for a rapid armored advance has first and foremost been the vast, dense minefields placed by Russia in front of their main defenses along the southern front line.

To make progress, Ukraine is using a combination of mine-clearing line chargers and breaching vehicles, although these are both in short supply, and often an easy target for Russian artillery and anti-tank fire, as seen by the loss of donated Leopard 2R breaching vehicles in early June.

This dangerous job is often done by hand by Ukrainian combat engineers, while Russia is able to replenish its minefields with the use of remote deployment systems.

Here, U.S.-made Bradley infantry fighting vehicles have greatly improved the survivability of Ukrainian infantry in the fight, but that alone is not enough to actually break through.

Russian dominance in the air above the battlefield has also played a role, with the U.K. defense ministry noting a significant uptick in the use of Ka-52 attack helicopters to strike exposed groupings of Ukrainian armor and personnel in the southern fields.

“In my view it's not because Ukraine is making a lot of mistakes, it's mainly because Russia is defending in a competent way and they've got very strong defenses,” said Lee.

 

[PommyMommy]

Polish PM: Wagner mercenaries in Belarus 'may try infiltrating Poland.' Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said on July 29 that over 100 Wagner mercenaries were deployed to the Grodno area in Belarus near the Suwalki Gap, an area southwest of the Lithuania-Poland border.

“This is a step towards a further hybrid attack on Polish territory,” Morawiecki said, as quoted by the Polish RMF24.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1685303842844372993

Defense Ministry: Russian forces aim to maintain control over land corridor into occupied Crimea. Russia is focusing on maintaining control of the land corridor to Crimea in Kherson and Zaporizhzhia oblasts, the Defense Ministry's Military Media Center said on July 29.

The Military Media Center also reported that Russian forces are striving to prevent attacks on their fleet and fortify Black Sea and Azov Sea naval bases.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1685317426924163072

Ukraine reports strike on Chonhar bridge Chonhar connects occupied Crimea with the Zaporizhzhia Oblast, where Ukraine is conducting its counteroffensive

https://twitter.com/x/status/1685395215027167232

 

[PommyMommy]

Wagner mercenaries moved towards Poland - Morawiecki According to the Polish Prime Minister, more than 100 mercenaries of the Wagner group have moved towards the Suwalki Gap near Hrodna in Belarus. They may be disguised as border guards to help illegal migrants get into Poland. But, more likely, the mercenaries themselves will try to enter Polish soil in the form of migrants to destabilize the situation.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1685301873882939392

#Russian officials report a drone attack on #Moscow. One of the towers of the Moscow City complex was damaged.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1685506009777786881

Russia claims drone attack on Moscow. The Russian Defense Ministry claimed that Moscow was attacked by three drones, injuring one person, on July 30.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1685511459625730048

 

[PommyMommy]

#SaudiArabia will hold peace talks on #Ukraine with the participation of 30 countries, but without Russia.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1685522799081803776

Day 522. Ukraine advances near Bakhmut and strike the Chonhar bridge to Crimea. Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant’s 5th power unit in cold shutdown and 4th in hot shutdown modes. African leaders pressure Putin to end the war.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1685610464255037440

In #Moscow City at night, a drone flew into a building in which three ministries are located at once: the Ministry of Economic Development, the Ministry of Industry and Trade and the Ministry of Communications. Their documents were carried out by the blast and scattered along the street.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1685577557171666944

 

[PommyMommy]

Russia Attacks Ukrainian Port 200 Meters From Romanian Border​

Jul 24, 2023 Dramatic video posted on social media captured the moment Russian forces launched an air strike on the Ukrainian port of Reni, which is just 200 meters across the river Danube from Romania, on July 24. Romanian President Klaus Iohannis condemned the attack calling it an "escalation".

'Organized Crime': Ukrainian Children Taken To Belarus​

Jul 28, 2023 Children are not only being taken from Russian-occupied areas of Ukraine to Russia, but also to Belarus. The country's leader, Alyaksandr Lukashenka, has claimed "they don't want to leave." But exiled Belarusian opposition politicians and the Ukrainian authorities say the children were abducted.

What Did You Do Before The War? Ukrainian Troops Recall Peacetime Jobs​

Jul 27, 2023 Barista, mayor, musician, mechanic, electrician, and many other professions -- RFE/RL correspondent Serhiy Nuzhnenko asked Ukrainian military personnel what they had been in civilian life.

 

[PommyMommy]

Russian ex-president threatens nuclear strike if Ukraine liberates occupied territories. "If we imagine that the NATO-backed Ukrainian Banderites' offensive is successful and they seize part of our territory, we would have to use nuclear weapons, based on the presidential decree issued on June 2, 2020," Dmitry Medvedev, an ex-president of Russia and the deputy chairman of Russia's Security Council, said in a reference to the potential liberation of Ukrainian territories illegally annexed by Russia. "We won't have any other choice."

https://twitter.com/x/status/1685705394855841792

The aftermath of a Russian missile strike on Sumy. An educational institution was hit. 2 people dead, 20 injured. A four story building severely damaged - Sumy city council. Terrorist state continues terrorizing civilians.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1685737560193089537

#Russia is illegally imprisoning over 500 #Ukraine medics in horrific conditions #LetMyPeopleGo #Mariupol #StandWithUkraine #StopRussia #RussiaWarCrimes

https://twitter.com/x/status/1685753132016369664

 

[PommyMommy]

Ukraine to discuss security guarantees with U.S. next week Negotiations between Ukraine and the United States for a bilateral security guarantee agreement are set to begin as early as next week, head of the Office of the President Andrii Yermak reported on Telegram.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1685780215295864832

Zelensky warns of renewed Russian attacks on Ukraine's power grid. Russia is likely to recommence attacks on Ukraine's energy system during the upcoming autumn and winter months, President Volodymyr Zelensky said on July 30.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1685824620027363328

US and Australia call on Chinese authorities to influence Russia The United States and Australia condemned Russia's weaponization of food in a joint statement on July 29, calling on world powers such as China to influence Russia's direction in the war on Ukraine.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1685840781104353281

 

[PommyMommy]

JUL 30, 2023

Russia-Ukraine war at a glance: what we know on day 522 of the invasion

Putin says Russia ‘building up power’ of its navy; drone attack on Moscow damages two office blocks

www.theguardian.com

• President Vladimir Putin praised Russia’s navy in an address at the annual Navy Day parade. He announced 30 new ships this year as he said Russia was “building up the power” of its navy.
• Putin has said African and Chinese proposals could serve as a basis for finding peace but added elements were “difficult or impossible” to implement. He was speaking at a press conference after meeting African leaders in St Petersburg.
• A night-time drone attack on Moscow damaged two office blocks, the mayor of the Russian capital said early on Sunday, Russia’s state news agency Tass reported. The capital’s Vnukovo airport was temporarily shut. City mayor Sergei Sobyanin posted on Telegram that there were “no victims or injured”. However, Tass reported a security guard had been injured in the attacks.
• Ukraine’s ministry of defence has said Saturday’s Russian missile attacks killed one person and 10 were injured in Sumy. In Zaporizhzhia two people died and two were injured.
• Moscow said on Sunday its forces had thwarted a Ukrainian attempt to attack Russia-annexed Crimea with 25 drones overnight.
• The latest UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) update says satellite imagery captured on 19 July has identified approximately 300 tents and 200 vehicles in Tsel, Belarus, where Wagner troops have likely established a military camp there. The MoD said it was unclear what happened to the heavy equipment Wagner used in Ukraine, suggesting it was possible it was forced to return these to the Russian military.
• Pope Francis has called on Russia to revive the Black Sea grain deal, through which Moscow had allowed Ukraine to export grain from its seaports despite the war.
• The general staff of Ukraine’s armed forces said Russia has lost 245,700 troops in Ukraine since the start of the war. According to the report, as of 9am (EET) on 30 July, Russia has also lost 4,205 tanks, 8,178 armoured fighting vehicles.
• Ukrainian soldiers fired UK-donated AS90 self-propelled artillery guns to mark the end of their training in south-west England. British army instructors taught the 72 Ukrainian army personnel how to operate and maintain the guns when in combat, the UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) said.
• The Associated Press has reported that Saudi Arabia will host a Ukrainian-organised peace summit in early August.