View Full Version : Here we go again-Ukraine once again
Russia: Damn NATO is beating us
USA: Let's send Ukraine like a terribly small amount of our weapons and some cash to help and see what they could do with it.
Ukraine: Hold my beer...
https://twitter.com/zVooky/status/1569391313279422465
Rumors/reports of the frontline in Kherson, Russian units are surrendering, they apparently shot through the last of their ammo last night.
https://i.postimg.cc/bNsFMVcy/tablebridge.jpg
As Russia suffered its most humiliating defeat since the initial stage of the war in Ukraine, cracks emerged in the official narrative as lawmakers and pundits on state television cast doubt on Moscow’s prospects.
While some urged the Kremlin to start peace negotiations, others demanded that its forces double down. The divergence of views, even on tightly controlled state television networks, highlighted how Moscow’s narrative has quickly shifted from a conviction that it was only a matter of time before Russia subjugated Ukraine to a sense of alarm over the rapid progress of Kyiv’s forces. And it was a contrast from the muted response after Russia’s drive to take Kyiv failed in the spring.
On Friday, as the Russian front line in northeastern Ukraine collapsed, Boris Nadezhdin, a Russian municipal lawmaker, told viewers of a political talk show on NTV, a state-owned television channel, what had once been unspeakable: Moscow cannot, under current conditions, win this war.
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/09/12/world/europe/russia-tv-moscow-ukraine-war.html?smid=tw-share
Did not see Dargo had mentioned it in his comment ^
Markus
This year, hundreds of Russian tanks have gone missing in Ukraine.
It’s important to find these tanks within the first 48 hours because after that, there’s a 97% chance they’ll be towed away by a Ukrainian farmer
If you have any information, please call 1-800-LMAO-ROFLMAO
https://i.postimg.cc/j5R79j5p/missing.jpg
https://twitter.com/saintjavelin/status/1569370025018150913
A funny picture-It had however been more trustworthy if the text on the left side of the thing had been in Russian.
Markus
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0pw6K0SnAeo
Garry Kasparov, considered to be one of the greatest chess players in history having held the number one spot for a record-setting 255 months, and a leading voice in the Russian opposition, sat down with the Kyiv Post’s correspondent Jason Jay Smart to discuss how the West can pressure Putin, the scandal embroiling the chess world today, and what the future of Ukraine will be.
How do you think that Putin’s calculus about the war in Ukraine has changed?
Well, analyzing war games is not the same as chess games. However, judging from what I have heard and can analyze, it looks clear that Ukraine is doing much better. It’s still too early to say that it’s done. We will still have many more months of exhaustive fighting because Russia still has many more resources to throw into the flames of the war. However, the news is encouraging.
What’s changed?
There’s a factor that’s underestimated by the West: It’s the psychological factor. Morale is always a problem, just as is military equipment. And today, the morale of the Russian soldiers is deteriorating. Alternatively, it seems that the Ukrainians are at the point where they’re willing to bear any cost to liberate their country and defeat the enemy.
The continuation of the war will have a dramatic effect inside of Russia. You have wounded soldiers coming back to the poor countryside. We don’t know the exact numbers but the latest leak from the Ministry of Defense put the death toll at 50k. That’s a big number to deal with, even for Russia.
Those who were mobilized or were wounded will cause chaos. Here in America we know this post-war syndrome. These returning soldiers will cause problems.
The situation in Russia will deteriorate. The war in Ukraine isn’t going Russia’s way. Sanctions have not destroyed the country but they continue biting. They are having an effect.
So, combined – between the war in Ukraine going badly and sanctions – we will see if Putin is able to maintain his grip on power.
You understand Putin and how he and the power structure around him thinks. What are they doing with the Zaporizhia Nuclear Power Plant? Also, do you think that Putin would use nuclear weapons?
All of these questions about nukes are very hypothetical. Putin has never dealt with situations like this one. This crisis is different for him.
Putin’s been lucky that he has always been able to escape. His opponents always folded their cards instead of calling his bluff. I think we’re now at the point in history where even the very mediocre leadership of the free world realized that we had no other choice but to call Putin’s bluff.
I think that Putin realizes his tricks won’t work as they did before. That’s why we aren’t hearing the same bold threats, the brazen threats, from Putin’s generals or Putin’s entourage who were formally saying “we will use whatever weapons,” etc. They seem to be finding a middle ground: Not to drop threats all together, because they understand that If NATO is dragged in, then it would be a disaster for them.
Then what’s next?
Basically, the war is lost. If you look at all of the objectives that Putin set for the war, all of them have failed. All of them. So, continuing the war is the only way for Putin to stay in power. He wants to create extra chaos in the free world hoping that a new window will open for him. It’s really just a protracted agony. It is cynical and stupid, but Putin is willing to put thousands of civilians into graves in the months to come before the whole of Ukraine is liberated, if that will allow him to maintain power.
You just had your Congress for a Free Russia a few days ago. How was it? What do you see coming with the opposition?
It was a huge success. We had over 500 participants in Vilnius. The biggest we ever had.
We had a very impressive list of foreign participants: High level leaders. They demonstrated that the Russian Action Committee, the group I founded with Mikhail Khodorkhovsky, is the main voice of the Russian opposition in exile.
We had the former President of Estonia and Ministers of Foreign Affairs from Lithuania and Latvia. Interestingly, the British parliamentarian who headed the Foreign Affairs Committee, was appointed as Minister of State Security by Liz Truss just a couple of days later.
We had a great panel on sanctions with Bill Browder and Ambassador Mike McFaul.
I ran a panel called “The war in Ukraine: The last war of Russia?” There’s a group I call the coalition of the willing: Lithuania, Estonia, Latvia, Poland, and Great Britain.
What do you propose the West do now?
We believe that the free world must do everything to help Ukraine win. There’s no other solution: Unconditional victory of Ukraine – and the unconditional defeat of Putin.
The only chance to defeat Putin’s fascism is to raise the Ukrainian flag in Sevastopol, Crimea. That’s the top priority for anyone who wants to see our planet safe from Putin’s existential threat of destruction.
We believe that Europe should demonstrate its resolve by banning Russian tourism all together – total ban on Russian tourists.
At the same time, we believe that those Russians who wish to leave Putin’s “North Korea,” as we jokingly call it, and who wish to come to “South Korea” and the free world, should be given this opportunity if they sign a decree simple that the war is criminal, Putin’s regime is illegitimate, and that Ukraine is whole. We are seeking a combined approach.
We hope that friendly governments will understand and that’s why we are already talking to a number of governments about this. There’s likely around 100,000 Russians who are ready to completely cut all ties with Putin’s Russia.
Let me ask you a couple of questions from Kyiv Post readers: What do you think of the NRA
It’s fake.
Who is behind the organization then?
I don’t know. I’m not an expert in fakes. You know, Ponomarev is using this to advertise his own agenda. I think it’s falling apart, and unfortunately, it has had some ramifications for people inside of Russia as the Putin government has been arresting people inside of Russia because of this. These fakes could have lethal effects for people who could otherwise be safe.
The chess world has been rocked by a scandal as top-ranked champion Magnus Carlsen quit the St. Louis Sinquefield Cup a couple of days ago. What do you make of this?
I don’t know all the details about the scandal in St. Louis where Carlsen pulled out after his match with Hans Niemann and he came just short of accusing his opponent of cheating. And I don’t wish to speculate.
But, I think that Carlsen’s decision is unacceptable. As a world champ he has a responsibility to the game. Showing this disrespect to the players and organizers, St. Louis is the most prestigious tournament in the world, and it is absolutely wrong to do what he did.
Carlsen must at least provide an explanation. You can’t just walk away and so far, he’s done just that. That bothers me a lot.
Do you think that Putin is a threat to you and your security?
Probably. But thinking about it doesn’t help.
If there was something that you could tell Ukrainians: What would you tell them?
Their heroism is so refreshing at a time of cynicism. I wish them strength. I believe that we all owe them big. I don’t think we could ever compensate them for the sacrifices they’ve made, not just for their country, but for freedom around the world.
As a Russian citizen – though with the longest record of fighting Putin – I still feel responsible for the suffering that the Ukrainians are suffering and caused by Putin’s criminal regime. We will never be able to repay Ukraine for their sacrifices, heroism, and spirit. Ukraine is a beacon to the free world.
What Ukraine has done has reminded all of us that we had values and ideas worth fighting for – and dying for.
This interview was edited for clarity and length. https://www.kyivpost.com/multimedia/video/interview-with-chess-champ-and-russian-opposition-leader-garry-kasparov
In the talk show of Andrei Norkin and Ivan Troeshkin on the Russian state broadcaster NTV, the confusion can be read from the faces of the hosts. There is no conclusive story yet, and this leads to unprecedented candor among the guests. That all is not well with the Russians in Ukraine is well known. Even the major evening news acknowledges that last week was "the most difficult week on the front lines" of the "special military operation," as the Kremlin continues to call the war. So denial is not necessary, but if everyone starts saying what they think, Russia has a problem. In the talk show, distributed by the website RussiaMediaMonitor, some panelists go much further this time. They appear to have lost faith in the Kremlin's stories and in the war itself. Openly, some panelists even say that this war is no longer winnable or else it will last a very long time: two opinions that people have always jealously kept to themselves until now.
Things go awry, for example, when the most outspoken panelist, ex-politician Boris Nadezhdin, says that Russia has no chance if it continues "to use the current means and the colonial methods of war. With the word "colonial" he touches a nerve with Dumas member Aleksandr Kazakov. The latter scornfully calls Nadezhdin a "noncomrade" and threatens him live on television: "I once again advise you to watch your words. Talking about a 'colonial war', even in passing, is unacceptable in this context. A warning like this could have nasty consequences in Russia, but the intimidation no longer works on Nadezhdin. He continues on the same footing. He no longer believes that Russia can win the war against Ukraine, he says, and thinks it is time for peace negotiations. It is either full-scale war, with a "total mobilization," or quit and leave Ukraine. There is no longer a middle ground, according to him. Diehard and Dumas member Sergei Mironov ripostes with standard propaganda: 'There can be no negotiations with Zelensky's Nazi regime.' He confides in the leadership and the military: 'Vladimir Vladimirovich (Putin) said recently: we haven't even started yet.' 'Sorry, but then what are we waiting for?' jumps in Viktor Olevych (political expert). 'You say, everything is going according to plan. Do you really believe that someone planned six months ago that we now had to resist a counteroffensive from Kharkiv, that we could not conquer Kharkiv and that we had to leave Balaklia?'
Putin himself remains out of harm's way, but if anyone should be blamed for the debacle, it's the surrounding advisers, says Nadezhdin. 'Those people have fooled us all.' He is joined by political commentator Aleksandr Timofejef. 'For a long, long time there has been an expert who always says that if the Russian army enters Odessa, there is only one danger: that the soldiers will be hugged to death by the inhabitants who have been overcome by their love for the Russians. Surely, after February 24, we all understand very well that this is not how things are done.' Timofejef is clearly not fooled anymore either. The same expert is now saying on federal television that we must fight on until the bitter end. If his expertise was so wrong before, why should I listen to this man now?' Host Andrei Norkin thinks it's time to conclude. 'I think we should deal with that later, when the military phase is over.' But Nadezhdin hooks up again. 'How long will it take?' 'As long as it takes,' is Norkin's reply. Nadezhdin: 'Thank you for this honest answer. So my children, who are now 10 years old, will soon have the chance to join the fight, yes?'
https://www.volkskrant.nl/nieuws-achtergrond/talkshowgast-negeert-bedreiging-en-bekritiseert-ruslands-koloniale-oorlog~b67ddb7f/
Another rotation of Russians troops will mainly consist of residents of the Russian Far East and Kamchatka, as they are better adapted to life in low temperature conditions and will be more effective in the winter period, reports the Main Intelligence Directorate of Ukraine’s Defence Ministry.
Source: Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defence of Ukraine
Details: Ukrainian Intelligence says that new recruits are better adapted to life in conditions of low temperatures and will be more effective in winter. Also, these servicemen are not accustomed to comfort and will easily tolerate the lack of well-established living conditions.
The Intelligence Directorate has learned that Kremlin recruiters managed to attract part of the population of the northern regions with promises of high payments.
However, these personnel "are poorly trained and know practically nothing about the real state of affairs of the hostilities in Ukraine."
Meanwhile, the Russian Federation has announced a campaign to raise funds for the purchase of winter uniforms for the occupying contingent stationed in Ukraine.
https://www.pravda.com.ua/eng/news/2022/09/12/7367126/
Not even the Pentagon expected Ukraine’s blitzkrieg to move so quickly.
Top Western defense officials were informed in advance that Ukraine was planning a two-front counteroffensive to retake territory captured by Russia, but they have been surprised by the blistering pace of Kyiv’s gains in the north, according to four officials with knowledge of the discussions.
Ukrainian forces rolled through lightly manned Russian posts around Kharkiv over the weekend, retaking more than 1,000 square miles around the city and pushing east — in some cases all the way up to the Russian border. Russian forces retreated from two key logistical hubs, the towns of Izyum and Kupiansk, as their ranks were depleted by the simultaneous fight in Kherson in the south.
https://www.politico.com/news/2022/09/12/ukraines-rapid-gains-in-northern-counteroffensive-00056244
I was surprised too. On two account
1. The offensive where they pushed forward-Even though I have said they should lure Russia. It nevertheless toke me by surprise
2. The speed of this offensive and the speed of Russian being defeated.
Markus
Rockstar
09-12-22, 06:39 PM
https://youtu.be/1SdxS2h_pGA
Catfish
09-13-22, 02:12 AM
^ he hits hard :up:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JTuCGRs7DpY
Catfish
09-13-22, 02:27 AM
"Border clashes erupt between Armenia, Azerbaijan":
https://www.dw.com/en/top-stories/s-9097
Catfish
09-13-22, 04:56 AM
Russian Energy Chief Ivan Pechorin, dies after falling off boat in 8th such suspicious death since Putin's Ukraine invasion
The managing director of the Far East and Arctic Development Corporation (ERDC) died under mysterious circumstances on Saturday, Russian media reported.
"Pechorin's body was recovered from the waters on Monday following an extended search. This came days after he attended the Eastern Economic Forum, which was hosted by Russian President Vladimir Putin in Vladivostok."
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/russian-energy-chief-dies-after-falling-off-boat-in-8th-such-suspicious-death-since-putin-s-ukraine-invasion/ar-AA11Ly9o?ocid=EMMX&cvid=c79bf5754f8041dc9a93117dcbf26304
Jimbuna
09-13-22, 05:23 AM
We've retaken 6,000 sq km from Russia, says Zelensky
Ukrainian forces have seized even more territory from Russia as they continue their counter-offensive, the country's president has said.
Volodymyr Zelensky said troops have now retaken more than 6,000 sq km (2,317 sq miles) from Russian control in September, in the east and the south.
The BBC cannot verify these figures.
Russia has admitted losing key cities in the north-eastern Kharkiv region, in what is seen by some military experts as a potential breakthrough in the war.
Moscow describes its troop withdrawal from the region in recent days as a "regrouping" with the aim of focusing on the Luhansk and Donetsk regions in Ukraine's east.
That claim has been ridiculed even in Russia, with many social media users there describing the stated pull-out as "shameful".
Speaking later on Monday, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Ukrainian forces had made "significant progress" in their counter-offensive, but added that it was too early to predict the outcome.
"The Russians maintain very significant forces in Ukraine as well as equipment and arms and munitions. They continue to use it indiscriminately against not just the Ukrainian armed forces but civilians and civilian infrastructure as we've seen," Mr Blinken said.
Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered a full-scale invasion of Ukraine on 24 February. Russia still holds about a fifth of the country.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-62884668
Jimbuna
09-13-22, 06:23 AM
You can normally expect Russian state TV's flagship weekly news programme to trumpet Kremlin successes.
But Sunday's edition opened with a rare admission.
"On the frontlines of the special operation [in Ukraine], this has been the toughest week so far," declared sombre-looking anchor Dmitry Kiselev.
"It was particularly tough along the Kharkiv front, where following an onslaught by enemy forces that outnumbered ours, [Russian] troops were forced to leave towns they had previously liberated."
For "liberated", read "seized". Moscow had occupied those areas months ago, but after a lightning counter-offensive by the Ukrainian army, the Russian military has lost considerable territory in north-east Ukraine.
Still, Russian state media are putting a brave face on things. Officially, what happened in Kharkiv region isn't being referred to here as a "retreat".
"The Russian defence ministry dismissed rumours that Russian troops fled in disgrace from Balakliya, Kupiansk and Izyum," claimed the latest edition of the government paper, Rossiyskaya Gazeta. "They didn't flee. This was a pre-planned regrouping."
In tabloid Moskovsky Komsomolets, a military analyst took a different view: "It's already clear that we underestimated the enemy. [Russian forces] took too long to react and the collapse came… As a result, we suffered a defeat and tried to minimise the loss by withdrawing our troops so they weren't surrounded."
This "defeat" has sparked anger on pro-Russian social media channels and among "patriotic" Russian bloggers, who have accused their military of making mistakes.
So has the powerful leader of Chechnya, Ramzan Kadyrov.
"If today or tomorrow no changes in strategy are made," Mr Kadyrov warned, "I will be forced to speak with the leadership of the defence ministry and the leadership of the country to explain the real situation on the ground to them. It's a very interesting situation. It's astounding."
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-62879367
Jimbuna
09-13-22, 06:27 AM
The BBC’s Analysis Editor Ros Atkins looks at the significance of Ukraine’s counter-offensive against Russian forces in the Kharkiv region.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/world-europe-62881571
Jimbuna
09-13-22, 06:39 AM
Occupiers are urgently evacuating their families from occupied Crimea and Southern Ukraine, - intelligence
The successful actions of the defenders of Ukraine force the so-called "authorities" of the temporarily occupied Crimea and the south of our country to urgently relocate their families to the territory of the Russian Federation.
This is reported by Censor.NET with reference to the data of the Defence Intelligence.
"Despite the assurance of the population that it is safe to stay on the peninsula, representatives of the occupation administration of Crimea, employees of the FSB, and commanders of some military units are secretly trying to sell their homes and urgently take their relatives out of the peninsula," the report says.
Also, according to intelligence, the occupiers have prohibited the conclusion of agreements on the purchase and sale of housing, set restrictions on movement across the Crimean bridge and are trying in every way to close access to information about the counteroffensive actions of the defenders of Ukraine. Source: https://censor.net/en/n3366800
Jimbuna
09-13-22, 06:43 AM
Kremlin is trying to buy ammunition for Soviet artillery systems from republics of Central Asia, - Defence Intelligence
The Kremlin is trying to use the resources of Central Asian countries in the war against Ukraine. First of all, the Russian Federation is interested in the possibility of replenishing stocks of Soviet ammunition and spare parts for military equipment.
This is reported by Censor.NET with reference to the press service of the Defence Intelligence of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine.
"Recently, the Federal Service for Military-Technical Cooperation of the Russian Federation turned to the Ministry of Defense of the Republic of Tajikistan with a request for the transfer of 220-mm rockets to the Uragan surface-to-air missile. The Russians are also interested in ammunition for the 203-mm Pion self-propelled guns and FTD-20 engines for IFV-1 and IFV-2, which are stored in large quantities in the military warehouses of Tajikistan," the message says.
In addition, retired military personnel and employees of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Tajikistan receive offers to sign a contract with the Russian Armed Forces and take part in the war against Ukraine.
"A recruiting campaign is underway in the Kyrgyz Republic. In the chat room of graduates of the Bishkek Higher Military School, messages are received with offers to sign contracts with the Russian Armed Forces or one of the private military companies.
Similar recruitment messages are distributed throughout the republic in professional chat rooms of former military personnel and employees of the Ministry of Internal Affairs," the Defence Intelligence added. Source: https://censor.net/en/n3366775
Jimbuna
09-13-22, 06:48 AM
Peskov assures that Russians support Putin: Edge in critical positions is "very shaky"
Despite the critical statements of Russians on social networks about the Russian Federation’s war in Ukraine, the Kremlin assures that citizens allegedly support Vladimir Putin and his actions.
This was stated by the press secretary of the President of Russia Dmytro Peskov, Censor.NET informs with reference to the Russian "Interfax".
"Public opinion is so sensitive to what is happening within the framework of a special military operation (this is what Russia calls the war in Ukraine. - Ed.), it is clear that public opinion reacts very, very emotionally," he noted.
When asked by journalists to comment on critical posts in Telegram channels, Peskov said that critical statements about the retreat of the Russians "in the light of recent events are permissible within the framework of current legislation, but the line in this matter is very shaky."
At the same time, Peskov claims that "Russians support the president, this is confirmed by the mood of the people, their actions, participation in the elections and the choice made by those who used their vote." Source: https://censor.net/en/n3366812
Commander Wallace
09-13-22, 06:48 AM
^ considering the fact that Russian troops themselves are running away from the continued fight, I would be surprised if anyone besides North Korea would be interested in fighting for the Russian Federation.
Jimbuna
09-13-22, 06:55 AM
I'm beginning to think Rasputins only option would be to announce 'full mobilization' but that brings everything out into the open for the Russian population and the withy it the gamble as to whether the majority will support him or not.
Jimbuna
09-13-22, 07:06 AM
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8OMT6mqItxE
I'm beginning to think Rasputins only option would be to announce 'full mobilization' but that brings everything out into the open for the Russian population and the withy it the gamble as to whether the majority will support him or not.
He has some options:
1. General mobilisation
2. Convince Belarus to attack Ukraine and thereby open a second front
3. Decrease the goal he has for Ukraine.
4. Use of Nukes.
5. Withdraw fully from Ukraine
Markus
Jimbuna
09-13-22, 07:28 AM
You forgot the chemical weapons option and full withdrawal as well.
Commander Wallace
09-13-22, 07:40 AM
You forgot the chemical weapons option and full withdrawal as well.
^ I had forgotten about the chemical and biological weapons Putin probably has. I think the U.S and probably other countries would consider their use to be weapons of mass destruction and perhaps respond with weapons of their own weapons of the same magnitude including nuclear weapons.
You forgot the chemical weapons option and full withdrawal as well.
I had full withdrawal as number 5.
I forgot Chemical and Biological
Markus
Jimbuna
09-13-22, 07:47 AM
^ I had forgotten about the chemical and biological weapons Putin probably has. I think the U.S and probably other countries would consider their use to be weapons of mass destruction and perhaps respond with weapons of their own weapons of the same magnitude including nuclear weapons.
That would be the ultimate gamble on both sides and one I hope never comes about in reality.
I occasionally come across articles which say "Russian army is nothing like as effective as we have believed in the past so do their nukes actually work"?
My response is usually "Are you prepared for the consequences if you are wrong"?
Jimbuna
09-13-22, 07:53 AM
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VtrFtIY7_5c
Commander Wallace
09-13-22, 07:53 AM
That would be the ultimate gamble on both sides and one I hope never comes about in reality.
I occasionally come across articles which say "Russian army is nothing like as effective as we have believed in the past so do their nukes actually work"?
My response is usually "Are you prepared for the consequences if you are wrong"?
:agree: You are exactly right. I hope it never comes to that. A rational person wouldn't even consider the use of Nuclear weapons. The question is and remains, how rational is Putin ?
Jimbuna
09-13-22, 07:55 AM
:agree: You are exactly right. I hope it never comes to that. A rational person wouldn't even consider the use of Nuclear weapons. The question is and remains, how rational is Putin ?
And that my friend is the billion dollar question :03:
I occasionally come across articles which say "Russian army is nothing like as effective as we have believed in the past so do their nukes actually work"?
My response is usually "Are you prepared for the consequences if you are wrong"?
This reminds me what I said to some friends.
The UA defence toke down 9 out of 11 missiles who had been fired from bomberplane and warship.
This tells me that this air defence system isn't perfect.
Imagine Putin goes berserk and order a nuke strike on Ukraine-He fire 20 missiles and 17 of them are shot down. One could hope that the rest has a malfunction.
Markus
Jimbuna
09-13-22, 08:54 AM
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TzwtmM1NXq8
Rockstar
09-13-22, 09:04 AM
In what I think is related news Azerbaijan forces are attacking Russia’s close ally Armenia.
Jimbuna
09-13-22, 09:14 AM
^ True that.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0UGbWB2X6t0
Exocet25fr
09-13-22, 09:22 AM
Now after the attack on Russian Aerospace a Tactical mini-nukes response is a possibility !?
Jimbuna
09-13-22, 09:31 AM
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gbUCZiSCHoI
Now after the attack on Russian Aerospace a Tactical mini-nukes response is a possibility !?
There's two words here we should dig into
First Mini-nukes-The smallest is the one US once fired from a cannon-Which the only time their did this-The smallest you have today is 1.5 Kt. From searching I found that Russia should have mini nukes on 1 Kt.
Tactical-Well there isn't exactly a certain size of a tactical nuke-the only reason they are called tactical is because they are used on the battlefield-So even a 1.1 Megaton can be called tactical when used on the battlefield.
Markus
Catfish
09-13-22, 12:27 PM
In what I think is related news Azerbaijan forces are attacking Russia’s close ally Armenia.
https://www.subsim.com/radioroom/showpost.php?p=2827501&postcount=6264
Yes, though it seems it is not yet an all-out war?
Jimbuna
09-13-22, 12:51 PM
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tG2TS9imXag
Jimbuna
09-13-22, 12:57 PM
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MU0_g-ttOjA
Jimbuna
09-13-22, 01:09 PM
Scholz and Putin discussed Russia’s war against Ukraine for hour and half
Federal Chancellor of Germany Olaf Scholz had a telephone conversation with the President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin.
This is stated by Censor.NЕТ with reference to Іnterfax-Ukraine.
"90-minute phone conversation with Putin: Russia must withdraw its troops from Ukraine and recognize its sovereignty and territorial integrity. Otherwise there is no diplomatic solution," Scholz wrote on Twitter.
The German government press office said the conversation between Scholz and Putin focused on Russia's war against the ongoing Ukraine.
"The Federal Chancellor stressed that any further attempts to annex territories by Russia will not go unanswered and will not be recognized under any circumstances," the report noted.
Scholz also called on Putin to abide by the Geneva Conventions regarding Ukrainian prisoners of war and to allow representatives of the International Committee of the Red Cross access to them.
Read more: Scholz about tanks for Ukraine: Germany cannot act alone
The parties also discussed the situation at the Zaporizhzhia NPP.
"The Federal Chancellor noted the need to ensure the safety of the nuclear power plant. In this context, the Federal Chancellor urged to avoid any escalation steps and to immediately implement the measures recommended in the report of the International Atomic Energy Agency," the report said.
In addition, Scholz and Putin discussed the food situation in the world, particularly tense as a result of Russia's war of aggression.
"The Chancellor noted the important role of the grain agreement under UN auspices and appealed to the Russian president not to discredit the agreement and to implement it fully in the future," the German government said. Source: https://censor.net/en/n3366918
Jimbuna
09-13-22, 01:14 PM
Ukraine was preparing counterattack together with U.S. - The New York Times
According to The New York Times, the strategy behind Ukraine’s rapid military gains in recent days began taking shape months ago during a series of tense talks between Ukrainian and U.S. officials on the next steps in the war.
This is stated by Censor.NЕТ with reference to LIGА.
Work on the strategy began after President Volodymyr Zelensky decided to demonstrate that Ukraine could fight back against the Russian invasion. On his orders, the Ukrainian military developed a plan for a large-scale offensive to the south in order to retake Kherson and cut off Mariupol from the Russian forces in the east, the weekly said.
According to journalists, Ukrainian generals and US officials believed that such a large-scale attack would entail huge losses and would not be able to return large territories quickly.
According to U.S. and Ukrainian officials, time was of the utmost importance. To mount an effective counterattack, the Ukrainians needed to act before the first snowfall, when Russian dictator Vladimir Putin could use his control of gas supplies to pressure Europe.
One of the critical moments in the development of the plan was a "military maneuver" with U.S. and Ukrainian officials to test the success of a large-scale offensive in the south. The exercise, previously reported by CNN, suggested that such an offensive would fail.
In August, at Ukraine's request, the U.S. stepped up intelligence reporting on Russian troop positions, revealing their weaknesses. Intelligence also noted that it would be difficult for Moscow to quickly reinforce its forces in northeastern Ukraine or move troops from the south, even if it detected Ukraine's preparations for a counteroffensive.
Instead of one major offensive, the Ukrainian military proposed two, the newspaper writes. "One, towards Kherson, is likely to take days or weeks before any dramatic results are achieved due to the concentration of Russian troops. The other was planned near Kharkiv," the article says.
The UK, US and Ukraine have assessed the new plan in an effort to double-check it. This time, officials of the three countries agreed that it would work and give Zelensky what he wanted: a big and clean victory, the NYT writes.
However, the plan, according to an officer of the AFU General Staff, depended entirely on the size and pace of additional military aid from the United States. According to the Ukrainian officer, before the counterattack, the Ukrainian Armed Forces sent the U.S. a detailed list of weapons needed to implement the plan.
Ukrainian and U.S. officials said that weekly or bi-weekly Pentagon announcements of new arms and ammunition deliveries gave Kyiv's senior command the confidence to plan comprehensive simultaneous offensives.
When the Ukrainian military moved into the northeast last weekend, Russian troops scattered. According to U.S. Defense Department officials, in some places around Kharkiv, Russian troops simply withdrew from the battlefield, abandoning their equipment and ammunition.
Although Ukraine may have an opportunity to retake more territory in the east, U.S. and Ukrainian officials say the south is the most important theater of military operations. Ukraine believes that for long-term success, the AFU will still need to achieve the abolished operation's goal of retaking Kherson, liberating the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, and cutting off Mariupol from the Russian occupants in the east.
The plan, which emerged from mid-summer discussions, relied heavily on US intelligence and high-tech weaponry. But American officials insist that the credit for the offensive belongs entirely to Zelensky and the Ukrainian military, the publication writes. Source: https://censor.net/en/n3366914
Had to search for it.
While reading you latest comment Jim I came to remember what Dargo posted some days ago #6248 page 417.
Where he posted a part of a list of material USA will send to Ukraine.
It's a lot of material-Could it mean Ukraine are going to retake Crimea or is those weapon to be used in the Luhansk areas ?
Markus
Had to search for it.
While reading you latest comment Jim I came to remember what Dargo posted some days ago #6248 page 417.
Where he posted a part of a list of material USA will send to Ukraine.
It's a lot of material-Could it mean Ukraine are going to retake Crimea or is those weapon to be used in the Luhansk areas ?
MarkusThink focus will be Kherson Oblast, Zaporizhia Oblast if they got them supply lines only can go via Crimea in range of himars but first wait when or if Russians can set up defense lines in Donetsk Oblast and Luhansk Oblast Ukraine has about a month till weather change a lot can happen.
The elite Russian 1st Guards’ Tank Army is no more.
Elements of the Russian forces withdrawn from Kharkiv Oblast over the last week were from the 1st Guards Tank Army (1 GTA), which are subordinate to the Western Military District (WEMD).
1 GTA suffered heavy casualties in the initial phase of the invasion and had not been fully reconstituted prior to the Ukrainian counter-offensive in Kharkiv.
1 GTA had been one of the most prestigious of Russia’s armies, allocated for the defence of Moscow, and intended to lead counter-attacks in the case of a war with NATO.
With 1 GTA and other WEMD formations severely degraded, Russia’s conventional force designed to counter NATO is severely weakened. It will likely take years for Russia to rebuild this capability.
https://i.postimg.cc/Mp4HFTjT/ukukraine13sept.jpg
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=24qFCm5rAtY
Sorry for the f-word
Markus
Catfish
09-13-22, 02:46 PM
It is "a bit" unfair to put the blame on Germany when it comes to deliver tanks (i mean REAL tanks like MBTs) to Ukraine.
Not one western country has done this before, and Germany is only ready to act in case all agree. But not all do.
A lot of soviet age tanks have been supplied by Poland and the Czech Repubic, but not MODERN tanks, at all. I still wish Germany had.
But then i have to listen to speeches by Sarah Wagenknecht of "Die Linke" :nope:
So ridiculous. They claim to be left, but they support Russia? Russia is anything but "left", it is ruled by an egomanic dictator who's only purpose seems to be bringing imperialism back from the 19th century. So why does she support this?
Obviously she likes absolutist systems and gives a F. about being "left".
Rockstar
09-13-22, 02:48 PM
https://www.subsim.com/radioroom/showpost.php?p=2827501&postcount=6264
Yes, though it seems it is not yet an all-out war?
There was a large scale rocket attack last night in Armenia’s South, Jermuk, Sotk, and Goris areas. But hey, when considering Azerbaijan is a key energy supplier for the entire European Union. I suppose knocking out Russian backed Armenia is a necessary evil.
It is "a bit" unfair to put the blame on Germany when it comes to deliver tanks (i mean REAL tanks like MBTs) to Ukraine.
Not one western country has done this before, and Germany is only ready to act in case all agree. But not all do.
A lot of soviet age tanks have been supplied by Poland and the Czech Repubic, but not MODERN tanks, at all. I still wish Germany had.
But then i have to listen to speeches by Sarah Wagenknecht of "Die Linke" :nope:
So ridiculous. They claim to be left, but they support Russia? Russia is anything but "left", it is ruled by an egomanic dictator who's only purpose seems to be bringing imperialism back from the 19th century. So why does she support this?
Obviously she likes absolutist systems and gives a F. about being "left".The German company Rheinmetall has resumed 16 Marder infantry fighting vehicles for Ukraine, but deliveries are not yet possible due to obstacles from Berlin. It is noted that Rheinmetall has resumed 16 SUVs at its own expense, but the federal government does not issue a license for their export to Ukraine. https://twitter.com/Flash_news_ua/status/1569711606245769218
It is good Ukraine has a new 1st class supplier since this week strange that Russia is the main supplier of heavy weapons :D and Germany refuses
From Kyiv Independent
Mayor: Russian forces retreating from occupied Melitopol to Crimea. Ivan Fedorov, the mayor of occupied Melitopol city in Zaporizhzhia Oblast, said that columns of Russian military hardware were detected further south in Chonhar, a village in Kherson Oblast, located at the entrance to occupied Crimea.
Pentagon has seen 'a number of Russian forces' cross back into Russia in Kharkiv Oblast. According to CNN, Pentagon press secretary Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder said that some Russian forces have crossed the border from Kharkiv Oblast back into Russia, as they retreated during Ukraine’s counteroffensive. But Russian forces still “do exist en masse in Ukraine,” Ryder said.
Markus
From Kyiv Independent
MarkusGood how quickly it degenerated into a chaotic ‘every man for himself’ rout and lesser troops for a defense line, Russian's worst defeat since WW II.
Mayor: Russian forces retreating from occupied Melitopol to Crimea.
Ivan Fedorov, the mayor of Melitopol city in Zaporizhzhia Oblast, said that columns of Russian military hardware were detected further south in Chonhar, a village in Kherson Oblast at the entrance to Crimea. https://twitter.com/KyivIndependent/status/1569776560630005760
Good how quickly it degenerated into a chaotic ‘every man for himself’ rout and lesser troops for a defense line, Russian's worst defeat since WW II.
The military and political leaders in Russia has a huge task in front of them
Redesign the army
Markus
Skybird
09-13-22, 04:25 PM
Right now while the Ukrainians have big success on the battlefield, Bubble Olaf calls Putin after a long break and tells him to allow diplomatic solutions by withdrawing first. At the same time repeated and inceasingly urgent calls by Kyiv for Germna anks and IFVs get oince again catgeoriclaly uzrled out by him and his carrictaure of a defenc emionsutress who boast at the same time that Germany is willing to take a military lead role in Europe. Why the Ukrainian demands become increwainglky urgent? Because they run out of ammo and spare parts for Sovjet made weapons and platforms and so must increasingly turn to Western equipment to be able to continue to fight. Also, the yhave the momentum but can only continue to make use of it if they can move forces quickly with moving supporting firepower for such troops movements quickly as well: so,m they need APCs/IFVs, and tanks.
German Rheinmetall said they have 16 Marder IFVs finalised for immediate delivery, and now finish 14 more Marders, and could prepare 70 more Marder sin short time.
How tio make sens eof this timing? I fear bad things. I fear Bubble Olaf fears Russian anger nif the yget beaten too badly, and so he does not want Ukrainian victories, but a "diplomatic" solution- which of course only makes sense to be called that if the ukrainians accept to talk about letting Russia annex more of their land.Scholz weants a negiotiated "peace" like this to go back to business as usual with Russia na dhave deliveries of anything form Russia coming back to normal - and maybe also having Germany, this "big military lead power in Europe" (in his reality-disconnected bubble-thinking)havign a role as mediator and briliant diplomat again,l like Germany and France already traded the Crimea to Russia in negotiations with Ukriane in 2015 which was still too weak back then to reject this favour.
A very underhanded double play I fear is running here.
Washington has singleled very lcerly they have no objecttiosn whatever toi gerkan deliveries if armour to Ukraine - Bubble OlAaf's excuse all time long is that eh woukld act not alone and only in close cooridnaiton with "the allkiues". In fact he si hgiding behind a lie about Washington's claimed stand, and other (Western) European powers hide behind Germany. And in this way Bubble Olaf has secured his goal of that the Ukraine does not get heavy armour of Western types.
I put it clearly what I think: Scholz wants to break the ukrainian momentum, and he wants to prevent a clear Russian defeat. Maybe he also wants to rpevent th ekurian beocming a NAOT and EU emeber ever, becasue foi you look at iots size, its population, its military ability and its rhich ressources and relvqnce ans a bread basket of the world, it would be a heavy weight entering the EU union and would fundamentally shift he power balances inside the block - at the cost of Germany, and France.
Its intrestign to see that the further away Wetsenr Europenba n atiosn are for Russia, the mroe fear they idnoicate of nculear war, or pretend to be worrie dbaout that, biut the highly endangered smaller states in the Baltic and Eatsenr Europe tend to be more courageous and coinfornting Russia withouzt watsign time on that "concern". Its no concern, I think - its a foul excuse to not get engaged too seriously.
What woudkl be neede dnow is to use the current opprutnity to really make it a very bad autumn for Russia by sending massive armoured reinforcements to the Ukraine. Now, immediately. Keep the momentum pushing Russia and hurting Russia.
Much oif the Germna mateiral, most of the Ge,rman howitzuer are out of action currently, due to needed repairs due to too much wear and tear they are currently beyond the or are being transported to the Western border. Germany is ranking 16th place in weapon contributions, but Bubble Olaf still claims that Germany is the most significant wepaon distributor to the Ukraine.
He lies, and lies, and lies. Sicne all years I observe him now. Always. As mayor. As finance minister. As chancellor. Blasé to the max, and completely full of himself. He has nothing but praise for his "work". The type always makes me completely stunned.
Right now while the Ukrainians have big success on the battlefield, Bubble Olaf calls Putin after a long break and tells him to allow diplomatic solutions by withdrawing first. At the same time repeated and inceasingly urgent calls by Kyiv for Germna anks and IFVs get oince again catgeoriclaly uzrled out by him and his carrictaure of a defenc emionsutress who boast at the same time that Germany is willing to take a military lead role in Europe. Why the Ukrainian demands become increwainglky urgent? Because they run out of ammo and spare parts for Sovjet made weapons and platforms and so must increasingly turn to Western equipment to be able to continue to fight. Also, the yhave the momentum but can only continue to make use of it if they can move forces quickly with moving supporting firepower for such troops movements quickly as well: so,m they need APCs/IFVs, and tanks.
German Rheinmetall said they have 16 Marder IFVs finalised for immediate delivery, and now finish 14 more Marders, and could prepare 70 more Marder sin short time.
How tio make sens eof this timing? I fear bad things. I fear Bubble Olaf fears Russian anger nif the yget beaten too badly, and so he does not want Ukrainian victories, but a "diplomatic" solution- which of course only makes sense to be called that if the ukrainians accept to talk about letting Russia annex more of their land.Scholz weants a negiotiated "peace" like this to go back to business as usual with Russia na dhave deliveries of anything form Russia coming back to normal - and maybe also having Germany, this "big military lead power in Europe" (in his reality-disconnected bubble-thinking)havign a role as mediator and briliant diplomat again,l like Germany and France already traded the Crimea to Russia in negotiations with Ukriane in 2015 which was still too weak back then to reject this favour.
A very underhanded double play I fear is running here.
Washington has singleled very lcerly they have no objecttiosn whatever toi gerkan deliveries if armour to Ukraine - Bubble OlAaf's excuse all time long is that eh woukld act not alone and only in close cooridnaiton with "the allkiues". In fact he si hgiding behind a lie about Washington's claimed stand, and other (Western) European powers hide behind Germany. And in this way Bubble Olaf has secured his goal of that the Ukraine does not get heavy armour of Western types.
I put it clearly what I think: Scholz wants to break the ukrainian momentum, and he wants to prevent a clear Russian defeat. Maybe he also wants to rpevent th ekurian beocming a NAOT and EU emeber ever, becasue foi you look at iots size, its population, its military ability and its rhich ressources and relvqnce ans a bread basket of the world, it would be a heavy weight entering the EU union and would fundamentally shift he power balances inside the block - at the cost of Germany, and France.
Its intrestign to see that the further away Wetsenr Europenba n atiosn are for Russia, the mroe fear they idnoicate of nculear war, or pretend to be worrie dbaout that, biut the highly endangered smaller states in the Baltic and Eatsenr Europe tend to be more courageous and coinfornting Russia withouzt watsign time on that "concern". Its no concern, I think - its a foul excuse to not get engaged too seriously.
What woudkl be neede dnow is to use the current opprutnity to really make it a very bad autumn for Russia by sending massive armoured reinforcements to the Ukraine. Now, immediately. Keep the momentum pushing Russia and hurting Russia.
Much oif the Germna mateiral, most of the Ge,rman howitzuer are out of action currently, due to needed repairs due to too much wear and tear they are currently beyond the or are being transported to the Western border. Germany is ranking 16th place in weapon contributions, but Bubble Olaf still claims that Germany is the most significant wepaon distributor to the Ukraine.
He lies, and lies, and lies. Sicne all years I observe him now. Always. As mayor. As finance minister. As chancellor. Blasé to the max, and completely full of himself. He has nothing but praise for his "work". The type always makes me completely stunned.Ahum https://euromaidanpress.com/2022/09/12/how-germanys-industrial-giants-help-russia-manufacture-weapons-of-war/?swcfpc=1
Rockstar
09-13-22, 06:51 PM
Ahum
Thanks to the global economy we have found components in Russian arms from many western nation, including parts from U.S. manufactures. :hmmm:
I think some of what we see in Germany is they can’t move past the sins of the father, past WWII. So much so, pacifism has become part of the German lifestyle especially in what was once the FRG, it seems many there take pride being afraid of that shadow. The bigger problem I think though is the aftershocks of reunification are still being felt, it’s been no cake walk even after 30 or so years, which in reality isn’t all that long ago. IMO Germany is still suffering from the impact reunification had on its economy which in turn affected their military readiness. Worse yet, reunification changed the whole German political landscape which I think is still quite evident today when even old guard Soviet ideology and friendships of the former GDR can influence German internal and foreign policy decisions. It’s not easy living with bipolar disorder :D
I’m not trying to make excuses I just think Germany still has a few things to iron out and it may take a couple or more generations to smooth things over. :03:
Rockstar
09-13-22, 07:41 PM
Wow
https://youtu.be/e1o_J42_5o8
Rockstar
09-13-22, 09:20 PM
So who do you think is next in line after Putler?
Cybermat47
09-14-22, 04:53 AM
So who do you think is next in line after Putler?
I would hope that it’s someone competent enough to realise that continuing down the path of imperialism is suicidal for Russia.
So basically anyone with an IQ above room temperature.
Jimbuna
09-14-22, 04:54 AM
‘What is Berlin afraid of?’ Ukraine attacks Germany over lack of military aid
Angry Ukraine officials have accused Germany of ignoring Kyiv’s pleas for military hardware, including Leopard tanks and infantry fighting vehicles.
Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said Berlin was offering “abstract fears and excuses” instead of weapons, as the row over military aid between the two countries erupted again.
His comments came after President Volodymyr Zelensky made a new appeal to the West to speed up deliveries of weapons systems as Ukrainian forces move to consolidate control over a large swathe of northeastern territory recaptured from Russia.
“Disappointing signals from Germany while Ukraine needs Leopards and Marders now to liberate people and save them from genocide,” Kuleba tweeted.
“Not a single rational argument on why these weapons cannot be supplied, only abstract fears and excuses. What is Berlin afraid of that Kyiv is not?,” he wrote, in unusually blunt language.
Germany has sent self-propelled howitzers to Ukraine but Zelensky and Kuleba say that is not enough. Kuleba has often criticised what he claims is Germany‘s slowness in sending weapons, suggesting it is reluctant to antagonise Russian President Vladimir Putin.
One of Zelensky’s advisers, Mykhailo Podolyak, also took a swipe at Germany.
“For six months the allies have been arguing over who will sell tanks to Ukraine. There are no tanks for six months because there is no ‘political solution’. Russia continues its terror, people die, time is wasted. Germany, we are waiting for your word,” he said on Twitter.
In talks with Kuleba in Berlin at the weekend, German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock promised further military aid and did not rule out the delivery of Western-style main battle tanks, adding the “next few weeks and months will be crucial” for Ukraine.
https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/world/what-is-berlin-afraid-of-ukraine-attacks-germany-over-lack-of-military-aid/ar-AA11Mrup?cvid=28705c4a3ccd4742b619b1947c294233
Jimbuna
09-14-22, 05:02 AM
Russians 'very embarrassed' as 'cracks in system' show Putin regime on brink of collapse
Former advisor to Ukraine Foreign Minister Cormac Smith revealed Russians are starting to feel "very embarrassed" after the latest updates appeared to confirm that Ukrainians have "taken over an area the size of Kent" in their counter-offensive campaign to regain control over Russian-occupied Kharkiv. Mr Smith said the decision of 18 Russian deputies to sign a petition asking for the resignation of Vladimir Putin is starting to show the presence of "cracks" within the Russian system and Putin's regime.
In light of the achievements made by the Ukrainian forces in the last few days, he urged the West to keep supporting Ukraine in its fight against Russia and argued Ukraine is probably "at a D-Day point" with Russia.
Mr Smith told TalkTV host Julia Hartley-Brewer: "There is a lot of good news coming out of Ukraine at the moment, the Ukrainians have taken over an area the size of Kent.
"Eighteen deputies from lawmakers from Moscow and Saint Peterborough have now signed a petition asking for the resignation of Vladimir Putin and inviting others to do it.
"There are definitely signs that there are cracks in the system."
Referring to Ukraine's counter-offensive in Kherson, he continued: "The Ukrainians are definitely making huge progress at the moment, the eight to one advantage that they have, I think we must take it with a very large pinch of salt because it comes from a Russian proxy source."
He explained: "People I have spoken have suggested that Russians are actually very embarrassed.
"They are fleeing the battlefield in great numbers and they are leaving massive amounts of equipment tanks and ammunitions behind them.
"This is a great embarrassment for what was supposed to be the world's second greatest army.
"I spoke to a very good friend of mine the other day and he made the point that Ukraine is only doing as well as they are because of the massive amount of weapons that we in the West and the Brits in particular, along with the Americans, are giving them and age sanctions which are starting to bite in Russia.
"We must not blink as we're probably at a D-Day point.
"We're not there yet, but so much lies in the hands of the West".
An update from the UK's Ministry of Defence confirmed that Russian army has been left "severely weakened" after the Ukrainian retreat from Kharkiv Oblast.
In the defence intelligence update, the UK MoD also said that Russia "could take years to rebuild the capability" it has lost amid Ukraine counter offensive.
Another update from Ukraine's governor of Luhansk Serbia Haidai confirmed the achievements made by the Ukrainian forces.
On Telegram, he wrote that "the Russian have completely left Kreminna", a city located in the Luhansk Oblast region.
He said: "Today, Kreminna is completely empty - the Russian army has left the city. The Ukrainian flag raised by the partisans flies there".
In his nighty address to the nation, President Zelensky also declared that Ukraine has overall recaptured 2,300 sq miles of territory, urging the West to keep providing military support to Ukraine in its counter-attack campaign to regain control over the Russian-occupied Kharkiv region.
https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/world/russians-very-embarrassed-as-cracks-in-system-show-putin-regime-on-brink-of-collapse/ar-AA11LE0q?cvid=1050c95c43fc448cb3a55088a29fe6e4
Skybird
09-14-22, 05:22 AM
Thanks to the global economy we have found components in Russian arms from many western nation, including parts from U.S. manufactures. :hmmm:
I think some of what we see in Germany is they can’t move past the sins of the father, past WWII. So much so, pacifism has become part of the German lifestyle especially in what was once the FRG, it seems many there take pride being afraid of that shadow. The bigger problem I think though is the aftershocks of reunification are still being felt, it’s been no cake walk even after 30 or so years, which in reality isn’t all that long ago. IMO Germany is still suffering from the impact reunification had on its economy which in turn affected their military readiness. Worse yet, reunification changed the whole German political landscape which I think is still quite evident today when even old guard Soviet ideology and friendships of the former GDR can influence German internal and foreign policy decisions. It’s not easy living with bipolar disorder :D
I’m not trying to make excuses I just think Germany still has a few things to iron out and it may take a couple or more generations to smooth things over. :03:
Correct direction aimed at. Just that in the Eastgerman states the Russophilia is even worse. The people of the GDR have not learned the lesson to stay away from their once-occupants, but to transfigure them. "Russenkitsch" und "Osthalgia" (noistalgia for the German Democratic Republic), spikes high.
The Germans will never recover from all this, and some more. We are a dying culture, the Germans will simply die out and get replaced with foreigners. In the coming 2 or 3 decades, until the middle of this century, the economic and financial currency/debt and demographic problems (employees-pensioneers ratio) will see a decline in Germany that keeps everybody so busy that he will have no time to relearn walking upright. A special explosion with Germany shifting into a very dark political era again is absolutely possible.
Germany's most likely future is spelled "irrelevance". And much of the EU will follow its fall. In the second half of this century nobody will care for the remains of the EU anymore. And the Euro by then will be a thing of the past already. The European enforced currency union is the gravedigger of it all. Our troubles with the Euro are so big that they can no longer be solved. They will bring us down.
Jimbuna
09-14-22, 05:25 AM
What are Vladimir Putin's options after Russian military setback in Ukraine?
LONDON (Reuters) - Russian President Vladimir Putin has yet to publicly comment on a lightning rout of his forces in north-eastern Ukraine, but is under pressure from nationalists at home to regain the initiative.
He has few quick fix options, if Western intelligence and open source analysis is accurate, and most of the potential steps he could take come with domestic and geopolitical risks.
Since coming to power in 1999, Islamist militants in Chechnya and the wider North Caucasus region are among the toughest armed foes Putin has faced. In that instance, he chose to escalate with more force.
These are some of his main options in Ukraine:
STABILISE, REGROUP, ATTACK
Russian and Western military analysts agree that -- from Moscow's point of view -- Russian forces need to urgently stabilise the frontline, halt Ukraine's advance, regroup and, if they can, launch their own counter offensive. There are however doubts in the West about whether Russia has the ground forces or sufficient equipment, given how many casualties it has taken and how much hardware has been abandoned or destroyed during what Russia calls its "special military operation" to destroy the Ukrainian army.
"There is no manpower," Konrad Muzyka, director of Poland's Rochan Consulting, said after Russia's setback in the north-east.
"Volunteer battalions are under strength, and the recruitment campaign is not delivering what was expected. And I think it will only get worse as fewer men will now want to join. If Moscow wants to add men, it needs to conduct a mobilisation."
Russian efforts to increase the number of troops it can deploy include the formation of a new 3rd Army Corps, Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov marshalling new forces, and Putin last month signing a decree to increase the size of Russia's armed forces.
Putin will need to decide whether to agree to demands from nationalist critics that he sack or reshuffle the military's top brass, including Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu, a close ally. Putin has traditionally not given in to immediate pressure to fire subordinates, but has sometimes parted company with them at a later date.
MOBILISATION
Mobilising Russia's reserves, who number around 2 million men with military service within the past five years, is doable but it takes times to train and deploy people.
The Kremlin said on Tuesday there was no discussion of a nationwide mobilisation "at the moment."
Such a move would be popular with nationalists, but less so with some Russian men in urban centres who, anecdotal evidence suggests, are less keen on joining the fight.
It would mean recalibrating official messaging on Ukraine and moving away from describing it as "a special military operation" with limited goals to an open-ended war.
That in turn would force the authorities to abandon their policy of trying to ensure that the lives of most Russians go on as they did before Feb. 24 when Putin invaded Ukraine.
Putting Russia on a full wartime footing would come with domestic political risks too, notably the risk of a public backlash against a forced draft.
It would also constitute an admission that Russia is engaged in a full-scale war against a fellow Slav country - and that the war is going badly for Moscow.
Andrey Kortunov, head of RIAC, a think tank close to the Russian foreign ministry, has said he believes the authorities are reluctant on mobilisation.
"In big cities many people do not want to go and fight and mobilisation is not likely to be popular," said Kortunov.
These are some of his main options in Ukraine:
STABILISE, REGROUP, ATTACK
Russian and Western military analysts agree that -- from Moscow's point of view -- Russian forces need to urgently stabilise the frontline, halt Ukraine's advance, regroup and, if they can, launch their own counter offensive. There are however doubts in the West about whether Russia has the ground forces or sufficient equipment, given how many casualties it has taken and how much hardware has been abandoned or destroyed during what Russia calls its "special military operation" to destroy the Ukrainian army.
"There is no manpower," Konrad Muzyka, director of Poland's Rochan Consulting, said after Russia's setback in the north-east.
"Volunteer battalions are under strength, and the recruitment campaign is not delivering what was expected. And I think it will only get worse as fewer men will now want to join. If Moscow wants to add men, it needs to conduct a mobilisation."
Russian efforts to increase the number of troops it can deploy include the formation of a new 3rd Army Corps, Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov marshalling new forces, and Putin last month signing a decree to increase the size of Russia's armed forces.
Putin will need to decide whether to agree to demands from nationalist critics that he sack or reshuffle the military's top brass, including Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu, a close ally. Putin has traditionally not given in to immediate pressure to fire subordinates, but has sometimes parted company with them at a later date.
MOBILISATION
Mobilising Russia's reserves, who number around 2 million men with military service within the past five years, is doable but it takes times to train and deploy people.
The Kremlin said on Tuesday there was no discussion of a nationwide mobilisation "at the moment."
Such a move would be popular with nationalists, but less so with some Russian men in urban centres who, anecdotal evidence suggests, are less keen on joining the fight.
It would mean recalibrating official messaging on Ukraine and moving away from describing it as "a special military operation" with limited goals to an open-ended war.
That in turn would force the authorities to abandon their policy of trying to ensure that the lives of most Russians go on as they did before Feb. 24 when Putin invaded Ukraine.
Putting Russia on a full wartime footing would come with domestic political risks too, notably the risk of a public backlash against a forced draft.
It would also constitute an admission that Russia is engaged in a full-scale war against a fellow Slav country - and that the war is going badly for Moscow.
Andrey Kortunov, head of RIAC, a think tank close to the Russian foreign ministry, has said he believes the authorities are reluctant on mobilisation.
"In big cities many people do not want to go and fight and mobilisation is not likely to be popular," said Kortunov.
"Secondly I think it is arguably in Putin's interests to present the whole thing as a limited operation. The state would like to preserve as much as possible as it was before without making any radical changes."
Tony Brenton, a former British ambassador to Russia, has said it would take months before a mobilisation would have any effect on Russia's fighting strength in any case.
BET ON 'GENERAL WINTER'
Two Russian sources familiar with Kremlin thinking told Reuters last month that Putin is hoping that sky-rocketing energy prices and possible shortages this winter will persuade Europe to strong arm Ukraine into a truce -- on Russia's terms.
Some European diplomats believe that Ukraine's recent battlefield success has undermined the urge of some Europeans to push Kyiv to make concessions however, while countries like Germany appear to have grown tougher on Moscow in recent weeks and more determined to ride out winter energy problems.
The European Union has banned Russian coal and approved a partial ban on Russian crude oil imports. Russia in turn has sharply cut gas exports to Europe and made clear it could ban all energy exports, a lever Putin has yet to pull.
EXPAND MISSILE TARGETING
After its setback in north-east Ukraine, Russia struck Ukrainian power infrastructure with missiles. That caused temporary blackouts in the Kharkiv and adjacent Poltava and Sumy regions. Water supplies and mobile networks were also affected.
The move was cheered by some Russian nationalists who would like to see Moscow use cruise missiles to cripple Ukrainian infrastructure on a more permanent basis, a move certain to attract international condemnation.
The same nationalists have also long called for Moscow to strike what they call "decision-making" centres in Kyiv and elsewhere, something that it is unlikely could be achieved without significant collateral damage.
END OR DOWNGRADE GRAIN DEAL
Putin has complained that a U.N. and Turkey-brokered deal that allows Ukraine to export grain and other foodstuffs via the Black Sea is unfair to poorer countries and Russia.
Putin is due to holds talks this week with Turkish leader Tayyip Erdogan to discuss revising the deal, which provides Ukraine with much needed budget revenues. If Putin wants to immediately hurt Ukraine he could suspend or cancel the pact or refuse to renew it when it expires in November. The West and poorer countries in Africa and the Middle East would accuse him of worsening global food shortages; he would blame Ukraine.
PEACE DEAL
The Kremlin says it will dictate to Kyiv the terms of any peace deal when the time comes, while Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has said he will use force to liberate his country.
Zelenskiy has said that includes Crimea, which Russia annexed in 2014. Moscow has repeatedly said that Crimea's status is settled forever.
Conceding captured territory in eastern Ukraine in the Russian-backed self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic or Luhansk People's Republic also looks politically impossible for Moscow as it has formally recognised them.
Fully "liberating" the two self-proclaimed statelets from Ukrainian forces was one of the main reasons given for the "special military operation" in the first place.
Handing back captured territory in southern Ukraine where Russia partially controls three regions looks like a hard domestic sell too.
The southern Kherson region is directly north of annexed Crimea and the location of a canal which supplies the Black Sea peninsula with most of its water.
Along with the neighbouring Zaporizhzhia region, Kherson also gives Russia a land corridor through which it can supply Crimea, something Moscow has touted as a major prize.
GO NUCLEAR
Russian government officials have dismissed Western suggestions that Moscow would use tactical nuclear weapons in Ukraine, but it remains a worry for some in the West.
Apart from inflicting mass casualties, such a move could start a dangerous escalatory spiral and formally draw Western countries into a direct war with Russia.
Russia's nuclear doctrine allows for the use of nuclear weapons if they - or other types of weapons of mass destruction - are used against it, or if the Russian state faces an existential threat from conventional weapons.
Putin, in a quasi-autobiography in 2000, recalled cornering a rat in a corner with a stick when growing up in a dilapidated apartment building in then Leningrad and being surprised when the cornered animal threw itself at him and turned the tables.
Brenton, the former British ambassador to Russia, has warned that a cornered Putin could go nuclear if he faced a humiliating defeat with no face-saving off-ramp.
"If the choice for Russia is fighting a losing war, and losing badly and Putin falling, or some kind of nuclear demonstration, I wouldn't bet that they wouldn't go for the nuclear demonstration," said Brenton.
Retired U.S. general Ben Hodges, former commander of U.S. Army forces in Europe, agrees it's a risk but has said he thinks it unlikely.
"There is no real battlefield advantage to be gained, it would be impossible for (the) U.S. to stay out/not respond, and I don't think Putin or his closest advisers are suicidal," said Hodges.
https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/world/what-are-vladimir-putin-s-options-after-russian-military-setback-in-ukraine/ar-AA11MwSO?cvid=253a9a92e14749c3a2aeccc7088cd620
Skybird
09-14-22, 05:30 AM
Russians 'very embarrassed' as 'cracks in system' show Putin regime on brink of collapse
A dollar for every time in the past 20 years that I was told that Russia's collapse is imminent, and I would be an much wealthier man today.
Dont now if true or not. Dont care either. I heard it too often.
Jimbuna
09-14-22, 06:04 AM
Oligarchic clans have lost their influence on Ukrainian politics, - Danilov
Currently, oligarchic clans do not have any influence on Ukrainian politics.
As Censor.NET informs with reference to Interfax-Ukraine, the Secretary of the NSDC Oleksii Danilov stated this in an interview with Wirtualna Polska.
"The war causes them to lose their influence on the country," he said.
At the same time, according to Danilov, "the war makes it difficult to work with the register (of oligarchs. - Ed.). We do not control parts of our territory, so it is difficult to estimate the fortunes of some people. But, in my opinion, the anti-oligarchic law has already worked."
"We see that the oligarchs are making moves to avoid getting into the register. Its goal is to build a transparent system, fair relations between business, the government, and society. Instead of oligarchs, we need businessmen who will create jobs," said the secretary of the NSDC.
"It was a system that allowed oligarchs to function. The goat is not to blame for eating cabbage from an unfenced garden. There were no fences in our country, so anyone could eat this cabbage. Currently, oligarchic clans do not influence Ukrainian politics. I don't know what will happen in the future, but I want this issue to never return to us," Danilov added. Source: https://censor.net/en/n3367058
Skybird
09-14-22, 10:22 AM
Neue Zürcher Zeitung and FOCUS:
------------------------------
The Inspector General of the German Armed Forces, General Eberhard Zorn, so far cannot see any real counteroffensive by the Ukrainians. "I am careful with the terms," he said, according to an advance report in Focus magazine Wednesday (Sept. 14). At best, he said, he sees "counterattacks that can be used to win back places or individual sections of the front, but not to push Russia back on a broad front." He also said that the approaching winter "will not reduce the suffering - on the contrary." To be sure, he said, the Ukrainian army is "acting smartly, rarely offering a broadside, and conducting operations with aplomb and great agility."
And "just two weeks ago I would have said that the entire Donbass would be in Russian hands in six months. Today I say they won't be able to do that." But whether the Ukrainians would really have the strength for a counteroffensive, Zorn doubts: "They would need a superiority of at least 3 to 1."
In an interview with Focus, Zorn reiterated his fear that Russia could open a second front, naming possible sites of attack: "Kaliningrad, the Baltic Sea, the Finnish border, Georgia, Moldova... there are many possibilities." Putin would have the capabilities. Even though about 60 percent of his land forces are tied up in the Ukraine war, the land forces, and especially the Russian Navy and Air Force, still have uncommitted capabilities. If Putin ordered a general mobilization, he would not have manpower problems either."
Zorn defended past German arms deliveries but warned against further ones, saying, "My advice is really to recognize our numbers: Everything we give away, we need back," Putin understands only one language, "that is that of power. For an effective deterrent, we need the appropriate forces. Our partners are counting on us."
----------------
Hm. :hmmm: "Kaliningrad, the Baltic Sea, the Finnish border, Georgia, Moldova"..., he says? Some of these places surely become the next warzones if Russia succeeds in the Ukraine.And the object of discussion is not reserves of the Bundeswehr being given to the Ukraine, it is beyond doubt that Germany cannot do this anymore indeed. But it is about phased-out tanks and IFVs the BW does not have anymore but the industry. If the German "leadership" :haha: is so worried about more Russian attacks, maybe even an attack on NATO states in the Baltic - why does it then not buy back these phased out equipments and prepares them for active duty again?
I can imagine Russian trouble making in Moldovia, Georgia, yes. But in the Baltic? Finlanbd? I am currently sceptical on that, because the Russian army has illustrated its incompetence so clearly that it would be madness if they now attack NATO directly. And one thing every poll about Russia shows since years: nothing Russian people are more worried about than a war with NATO. Ukraine is not NATO, has not its weapons and means. And see what it does to Russia's 1st guard tank army recently, a claimed elite unit they pout their pride in and that wa smeant to defend Moscow . And look at so many other formations the Rusisans have send there - and what the ukrianians have done to them.
An attack oi the Baltic currently is not my primary concern anymore. I was worried of that. Before the war.
Jimbuna
09-14-22, 10:32 AM
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kd_BELBb90c
Speculation:
Does anyone of you know what the outcome of the war would be if Kerch Bridge was destroyed ?
As I see it it would be a huge setback for the Russian.
Markus
Skybird
09-14-22, 10:50 AM
Deutsche Welle (DW)
---------------------------
Bulgarian political scientist Ivan Krastev is head of the Centre for Liberal Strategies in Sofia and a Permanent Fellow at the Institute for Human Sciences (IWM) in Vienna. He does not believe that the war in Ukraine will end quickly. Financial crisis, inflation and energy prices will "cause massive turbulence" in the EU.
Deutsche Welle: Mr. Krastev, the Ukrainian army is currently achieving impressive military successes in its counteroffensive against Russian troops in their country. Is the war in Ukraine about to end?
Ivan Krastev: The wars of the past decades have never had a real end, the warlike actions were simply frozen at some point. This is likely to happen in this war as well. There will probably be a ceasefire, but no real peace. As we hear and read, Russia is preparing "independence referenda" in the territories controlled by Moscow, which is de facto annexation of these territories. Under these conditions, peace negotiations are impossible.
Russian propaganda claims that Russia defeated Ukraine long ago. Now it is fighting against NATO, which is waging war with Ukrainian cannon fodder. Is Moscow right?
In any war, both sides claim victory. Russia actually started the war as a "special operation," convinced that within a few weeks there would no longer be a pro-Western Ukraine. In this sense, Russia has already lost, because it has not achieved this goal.
The claim that they are actually fighting the West in Ukraine attempts to answer two questions. First, why are the Russians killing people in Ukraine with whom they lived until recently? And second, why does Russia not have the expected military superiority? The only explanation that seems plausible in both cases: Russia is fighting the entire West. The thesis is: the West has betrayed Russia, Russia is the victim and not the aggressor.
This cliché of good Russia against evil Ukraine and the West is apparently widely accepted. Russian TV host Vladimir Solovyov recently said the following, mutatis mutandis: Yes, Russians are not the richest people, they do not have the highest life expectancy, but they fight on the side of good. Is this the mindset of all Russians?
Portraying Russians as the "chosen people" who keep saving the world is nothing new. What is new, however, is that this idea no longer ignites within Russian society. A consumer society has emerged that is willing to accept military operations in the post-Soviet space, but not the idea of missionary self-sacrifice. This is precisely why the Russian government is trying to shield people in the big cities from the war. In Moscow or St. Petersburg, after all, you can hardly see the infamous Z symbol.
Does this mean that the sanctions are having an effect on the Russian population?
In the medium term, they will certainly have an effect, but so far they have not had a major impact on the everyday life of ordinary Russians. Only the urban middle class and the business elite are affected, i.e. the ten million or so Russians who travel abroad. This has become much more complicated. Moreover, when they are abroad, they are now looked at askance there. They are the real losers in this war on the Russian side.
And who is the winner? Another Moscow propaganda cliché claims that the only winners are the United States. Is there any truth in that?
Yes, Russian propaganda tirelessly claims that everything that happens in the world is caused by the U.S. and results in a bottom line gain for the U.S.. In reality, however, the economic damage caused by this war has been felt much more painfully in Europe than in the United States. At the same time, Europe has also painfully felt its dependence on the United States. Paradoxically, few people have contributed more to this growing dependence than President Putin. By claiming that the U.S. is a war profiteer, Moscow is precisely trying to drive a wedge between Brussels and Washington. Russian propaganda repeats it again and again: oil and gas prices in the EU are growing, but the U.S. is not affected, it sells its liquefied natural gas.
They also sell their weapons.
In the case of Ukraine, the weapons are rather given away. Yes, American weapons and the U.S. are indeed a key factor in this war. But the Russian narrative tries to reinterpret the whole thing: The U.S. was not only involved, it wanted and initiated the war. But this narrative is not at all convincing. After all, before Russia's attack, the U.S. was strategically aligned entirely with China and did everything conceivable to prevent this war.
How will the war affect the next U.S. presidential election?
America is dramatically divided in many ways, and Ukraine is by no means at the center of the public debate. The Senate and Congressional elections in November are crucial. Until two months ago, it appeared that Democrats would lose both houses of Congress. That would have massively strengthened Donald Trump's positions. One can imagine a next President Trump gleefully claiming that the Ukraine war was Joe Biden's war. But if the Democrats were to retain control of the Senate and Congress, the question for Republicans is: Is Trump the right candidate?
People keep saying that the U.S. and Russia are on the brink of nuclear war right now. Is that how you see it?
The danger exists, but it's not that serious at the moment. Because the only thing the Russians and the Americans are managing together at the moment is to prevent a nuclear escalation. But the big risk is Ukraine's nuclear power plants. Fighting is proceeding dangerously close to the plants, and a mistake or human error could lead to a dramatic development. The use of nuclear weapons becomes more likely only in the event of a huge Ukrainian military success. Or if Kiev tries to regain Crimea.
Will Moscow export the war to other countries, to Moldova or the Baltic states?
That depends on the course of the war in Ukraine. At the moment, Russia is trying to avoid a broad mobilization. Moscow does not want to send the sons of the urban middle class to the front under any circumstances. Depending on how things go in Ukraine, Russia might indeed attack Moldova - but not the Baltic states under any circumstances. They are NATO members, and if they were attacked, it would be a very different war.
The Baltics, as well as the Poles, sounded the alarm within the EU long before Moscow attacked Ukraine, warning of the danger posed by Putin - but no one listened. Now the war is here. What impact will it have on the EU?
First and foremost, it has led to a consolidation of the EU. The attitudes of governments, but also of citizens, have led to unprecedented sanctions against Russia. Support for Ukraine remains strong, but meanwhile tensions are also growing within the EU and in individual EU countries. I fear that the next six to nine months will be the most difficult in the history of the EU.
Now we are paying a huge price for the war - but the EU has been hit by other crises before. In this sense, the war seems to me like a kind of long-COVID: The refugee crisis is back, twice as many refugees have already come to Europe from Ukraine as during the Syrian war. The financial crisis is also back, threatening instability and inflation.
Europe and Japan currently have to spend about $100 billion more per month on energy than they did a year ago. This huge financial burden is creating massive problems. And societies are already tired. There will be more protests like those in Prague and Germany, I fear. Different groups have consolidated during different crises. People who were marginalized during the financial crisis, opponents of refugees, opponents of vaccination: today they are all coming together as opponents of the establishment and raising demands. This will create massive turbulence in the EU.
But that is still not the worst of it. In all previous crises, Germany was the stability factor, a rock of stability. Today, however, Germany is one of the countries most affected economically by the crisis. Moreover, the moral legitimacy of the Federal Republic is being questioned, especially by the Baltic states and the Poles, but also by the Czechs. These changed attitudes toward Germany - but also toward France - further complicate efforts to emerge from this massive crisis.
Skybird
09-14-22, 10:53 AM
Does anyone of you know what the outcome of the war would be if Kerch Bridge was destroyed ?
Nobody can know what the outcome would be if this or that event takes place. But the loss of the bridges would make the logistical supply situation for the occupants in Crimea and their supply of the Russian front in the south much, much, much more difficult.
Jimbuna
09-14-22, 11:16 AM
President Volodymyr Zelensky has been to the recaptured city of Izyum, a key logistics hub in north-eastern Ukraine.
During his visit, Mr Zelensky thanked troops who took part in the counter-attack against Russian occupiers.
He oversaw a flag-raising ceremony and said the Ukrainian flag would return to every city and village in the country.
Ukrainian officials say they are targeting towns in the eastern Donbas region after making a series of gains in a rapid counter-offensive.
In recent days, Ukraine's army has reclaimed swathes of occupied territory, forcing Russian troops to retreat.
In a late evening address on Tuesday, Mr Zelensky said his forces were fortifying their hold over 8,000 sq km (3,088 sq miles) of retaken territory in the Kharkiv region.
Last Thursday, President Zelensky said Ukrainian forces had retaken 1,000 sq km. By Sunday, that stated figure had tripled to 3,000 sq km, before rising again to 6,000 sq km.
The precise scale of Ukraine's gains has not been verified by the BBC.
He vowed to take back all Ukrainian territory still occupied by Russian forces - he said he did not know when this would happen, but that the "truth is on our side".
US President Joe Biden said Ukraine had made "significant" gains.
Mr Biden said it was "clear" that the advance had enjoyed success, but cautioned that the offensive "could be a long haul".
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-62899474
Nobody can know what the outcome would be if this or that event takes place. But the loss of the bridges would make the logistical supply situation for the occupants in Crimea and their supply of the Russian front in the south much, much, much more difficult.
Thank you.
Only thing I know for sure is:
If they want to take Crimea they have to destroy the bridge.
Markus
Jimbuna
09-14-22, 11:34 AM
In liberated Balaklia, death of person from torture at police station during Russian occupation was confirmed. PHOTOS
In the premises of the Balaklia police station, where the Russian military and special services detained and tortured local residents during the occupation.
This was reported by the head of the investigative department of the police of the Kharkiv region Serhii Bolvinov, Censor.NET reports.
According to Serhii Bolvinov, in the administrative building of the police station, there were soldiers of the so-called "LPR" and the Chechen Republic, as well as representatives of the riot police of Tolyatti and the FSB of the Russian Federation. Each room held from 8 to 15 people, who were secretly monitored.
"During the inspection of the building, we discovered wires leading to hidden video cameras in the rooms where the hostages were kept. People, including women, were sleeping on the floor, and during interrogations, they were tortured with electric currents. Currently, we have one confirmed death of a person as a result of torture. We know the profile data of the victim and the place of burial, so we will carry out the exhumation for further procedural actions," said the head of the investigative department of the State Police of the Kharkiv region.
Fleeing from the Ukrainian city, the occupiers left the prisoners in closed rooms. However, one of the hostages was able to break a window and climb out to open all the doors and free the others. Therefore, the exact number of detainees and victims is still being determined. Source: https://censor.net/en/p3367124
Jimbuna
09-14-22, 11:38 AM
Germany will change its mind about Leopard tanks. Count is for week, - Ambassador Melnyk
Ambassador of Ukraine to Germany Andrii Melnyk is convinced that the ruling coalition in Germany will make a decision on the supply of Marder armored personnel carriers and Leopard tanks to Ukraine in the coming weeks.
He said this in an interview with the German mass media, Censor.NET reports with reference to Liga.net.
"I am convinced that the ruling coalition, which refuses to supply Marder armored personnel carriers and Leopard tanks, will change its decision. It is only a matter of time, and the score is coming in weeks," said Melnyk.
He also noted that Ukraine wants to free as much territory as possible before winter.
"I hope that the Ukrainian army can outsmart the Russians in the coming weeks, just like they have done in the last few days. ...I think we have a good chance. We have seen that our army, which has always been considered weak, is quite capable to achieve such success even with a small amount of Western weapons. We should continue to be supported," the ambassador said. Source: https://censor.net/en/n3367099
Jimbuna
09-14-22, 12:08 PM
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oTYDzSrSGgM
I would hesitate opening a third front with my reserve division.
Depending on how it goes for the northern division around Luhansk and for the southern division around Kherson
I could make a split Divide The Russian at Mariopol and then turn north or south and attack Kherson from two front.
Even thinking about split this third division and let one half attack south and the other north.
Attacking Russia on four front.
It's easy to sit here behind the monitor and write another thing is standing somewhere with a map and decide for real.
Markus
Jimbuna
09-14-22, 12:52 PM
Russia advertises recruitment of convicts who have committed serious crimes for war in Ukraine: "Everyone has second chance!". VIDEO
Putin’s closest friend, previously convicted Yevgeny Prigozhin, owner of the private military company "Wagner", personally recruits those convicted in Russia of serious crimes for the war in Ukraine.
Corresponding video was published today, reports Censor.NЕТ.
Putin’s closest friend, previously convicted Yevgeny Prigozhin, owner of the private military company "Wagner", personally recruits those convicted in Russia of serious crimes for the war in Ukraine.
Corresponding video was published today, reports Censor.NЕТ.
"Putin has reinstated the Stalinist fine battalions! Every Ukrainian, every friend of Ukraine, every commander, every soldier, the whole world should watch this video, which will be one of the most impressive evidence of Russia's aggression against Ukraine. Putin's closest friend, the previously convicted Yevgeny Prigozhin, owner of the private military company "Wagner", is personally giving a speech to recruit those convicted of major crimes for the war in Ukraine.
This is who and what Putin is throwing into the fight. If the convicts agree to sign a 6-month contract, they will be released from punishment despite the severity of the crime. Prigozhin recruits drug addicts, murderers, rapists of women who require discipline and a willingness to go into battle.
This is not a movie, this is life, this is who defends the "Russian world," who wants to take over Ukraine. Putin is unable to find warriors to take over Ukraine, so Putin has made an alliance with criminals, and promises amnesty to murderers and rapists of Russians if they do it in Ukraine! This is a must watch for everyone!" - Yuri Butusov, Editor-in-Chief of Censor.net, commented on the video. Source: https://censor.net/en/v3367170
Jimbuna
09-14-22, 01:01 PM
Six percent of Kharkiv’s territory remains occupied - RMA
As of September 14, 6% of the territory of the Kharkiv region remains under Russian occupation.
This was announced by the head of Kharkiv RMA Oleg Synehubiv at a meeting with President Volodymyr Zelensky, reports Censor.NЕТ with reference to рress service of President.
According to the official, 16 territorial communities in Kharkiv region have been fully de-occupied, while seven more communities have been partially de-occupied. Six percent of the region remains under occupation, while before the counterattack there were 32 percent.
Infrastructure is being repaired in the region, power lines, mobile communications and medical facilities are being restored in the liberated territories, the head of the RMA said. Source: https://censor.net/en/n3367173
The recommendations provide for a multi-level approach to guarantees. A core group of allies would make clear commitments to support Ukraine's armed forces, while a broader group would provide non-military guarantees built around sanctions mechanisms.
https://www.president.gov.ua/en/news/andrij-yermak-ta-anders-fog-rasmussen-prezentuyut-rekomendac-77729
Markus
Skybird
09-14-22, 01:40 PM
I am surprised the Ukrainians would be satisfied with "guarantees". They were under protection of guarantees after they gave up their nuclear weapons. They enjoyed guarantees when Russia occupied Crimea, and they had guarantees when Russia attacked this year once again.
I think they better wipe their rear with European guarantees. They should get all money they can get and then buy weapons, weapons, weapons, and more weapons. They should also consider to rebuild nuclear arms. Secretly. The next war after this one will come, its only a question of time as long as Russia exists.
Heck, they got burned three times now. I would have assumed they had learned their lesson by now. :o
----------------------
The war is far form over. Even with theb great success at Karkhiv, which was apparently was the result of a phenomenal deception manouver, the offensive at Cherson seems to meet stiffer resistence - their gains on the ground are much smaller, and they suffer losses.
Its also an open quesiton what will happen if they turn their announcement into rerality and start to attack crimea on the ground. By Russian self-proclamation and their new doctrin, Russia claims that as Russian territory and reserves the right to react to attacks on its own soil and ground with nuclear weapons. Of course their self-justification is bollocks and ht elgic of cmrinals cum, but its the argument they make.
Somebody needs to give Ukraine some tactical nukes with sufficient range to threaten targets in Russia, to make Russia think twice on this option. It makes no sense for Ukraine to nuke their own country, so such weapons must have a bit longer legs. Russia must understand this: if they set the other places ablaze, Russia itself must inevitably burn in the same fire.
I wonder how often they have bitten their a### by now for having given up their nuclear weapons that they once had.
Can one hope it will be different this time ??
Edit
In late March, the Ukrainian delegation to the Russia-Ukraine peace negotiations in Istanbul put forward a draft peace agreement. The keystone of this agreement was a mutual defense guarantee, similar to NATO’s Article 5, to protect Ukraine. Treaty-bound guarantors would come to Ukraine’s defense in the event of an attack on the country, in exchange for Ukraine’s neutrality. But it is possible that Ukraine’s borders will be altered as part of a final peace settlement. As such, states should understand the territorial issues at stake and how those issues could trigger any negotiated security guarantee mechanisms.
https://www.usip.org/publications/2022/04/how-territorial-issues-could-impact-security-guarantees-ukraine
End edit
Markus
Skybird
09-14-22, 03:17 PM
America is no longer willing to serve as Scholz' alibi to not deliver armour. Focus writes:
-----------------------
Time and again, Chancellor Olaf Scholz has justified his refusal to supply German tanks to Ukraine with agreements among NATO partners. But a statement from the U.S. Embassy now casts doubt on this.
With a single sentence, the U.S. Embassy has pulverized the German chancellor's procrastination tactic: "The decision on the type of aid is ultimately up to each country itself."
This means nothing less than: From now on, Olaf Scholz can no longer justify his refusal to supply Ukraine with German tanks with an alleged agreement by NATO. The Social Democratic chancellor can no longer hide.
"No German unilateral action." That was Olaf Scholz's mantra for months, basically since the beginning of Vladimir Putin's criminal Ukraine campaign. No going it alone, that meant: German policy takes place in a NATO convoy.
But this NATO convoy no longer exists, if it ever did, according to the U.S. Embassy. Instead, a different doctrine applies: the Western leader gives its allies "free rein" - it leaves it up to Germany to decide how it will help.
This does not change everything, but it does change a great deal: If Olaf Scholz, with his directive authority, were to decide today to supply German battle tanks and infantry fighting vehicles to Ukraine, this would be a German "solo effort.
But not one for which Scholz would have to fear criticism from the leading Western power - on the contrary. The new U.S. ambassador to Germany, Amy Gutman, had already said in her first TV interview that she wanted Germany to provide more support for Ukraine than it had in the past.
And from the recent meeting of Western defense ministers at the U.S. base in Ramstein it leaked out - certainly no coincidence - that Washington was seriously considering supplying its own tanks (Abrams) to Ukraine.
In this respect, the current announcement by the U.S. Embassy is at the end of a chain. Its political goal: Germany should finally take the lead in Europe. And thus - this too unspoken - relieve the Americans in Europe, who are increasingly focused on security in the Pacific and the looming conflict with China.
Washington's action of using a social network, with the help of a tweet, to exert serious influence on German domestic politics, and nothing else is happening here right now, is unusual enough. But isn't it also legitimate?
After all, Scholz in particular has always justified his refusal to equip Ukraine with German tanks by citing American policy. In this respect, a "rematch" of the Americans is taking place here.
Washington apparently no longer wants to play the scapegoat for an appeasement policy of the Germans toward Russia that is also perceived by the most loyal Ukraine helpers, the Eastern Europeans.
However, it must be said that Germany has supplied substantial amounts of weapons since the beginning of the war, such as the Gepard anti-aircraft gun tank and rocket launchers, which have been used so skilfully by the Ukrainian military that they have enabled remarkable military successes against the Russians.
But Germany delivered late and mostly only under pressure - and mostly lagged behind the Ukrainian wishes, which were well-founded from a military tactical point of view. Too late, too little, that was the accusation most frequently leveled against the German government - not only by Ukraine, but also by NATO allies such as Poland or the Baltic states.
This accusation always hit one person: the chancellor and his Social Democratic comrades. Their motive: not to provoke Russia with further arms deliveries, to expand the war into NATO territory or even to use weapons of mass destruction.
Scholz always " framed" this narrative with the word: "prudence." The Social Democratic defense minister provided a new rationale for not supplying more potent weapons to Ukraine.
This would harm national and alliance defense, Christina Lambrecht, flanked by SPD Secretary General Kevin Kühnert, had argued just yesterday. However, this had previously been contradicted by the NATO Secretary General - the Norwegian Jens Stoltenberg.
He said it was more important for the security of the West to defend it already in Ukraine than for the West to defend it first on its own alliance territory. Stoltenberg thus argued - strategically logically - military "prevention" in Ukraine was more important than later "reaction" to further Russian aggression.
In essence, Stoltenberg was defending NATO's old doctrine of deterrence, which, if the NATO Double-Track Decision of the late 1970s is taken as a reference, has proven its worth over 40 years as an instrument for securing peace.
Now the question is: Is Lambrecht, in anticipation of the American "release" of national go-it-alone, setting up the next hurdle of not supplying Ukraine with weapons? The next " excuse"? Olaf Scholz is now coming under increasing pressure.
He can no longer use the Americans as an argumentative shield. And he is increasingly on the defensive vis-à-vis his own coalition partners. The Free Democrats and the Greens, on the other hand, can feel strengthened. For those who like it pathetic, they also feel strengthened in their belief that they are on the right side of history.
------------------------------
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jSjOUFA-fXk
Markus
Sky, let me remind you again. Launching nukes just over your own border is suicidal. :yep:
You want Ukraine to target North Korea, fine. China? Knock yourself out. The UK? Sure. You get the idea?
Better yet, roll the dice and bring Ukraine into NATO as soon as possible. Let someone else launch the nukes, after they give Ukraine enough time to build shelters.
Skybird
09-14-22, 05:46 PM
No sane mind wants to nuke other countries. But Russia's doctrine now says that it will answer with nuclear attacks if soil and ground it claims to be "Russia" is being attacked and in danger. And they claim that Crimea is Russian soil. Of course it is Ukrainian territory, occupied by fascist Russia, but still Ukrainian. If Ukrainian troops try to conquer and liberate it, there is a chance that Russia will reply with nuclear strikes to that - on Ukraine.
For that case the Ukraine needs arguments that make Russia think twice before doing so. European security guarantees or economic sanctions will not do the trick.
Nobody said Ukraine wants to nuke Korea, Cina or the UK. Where did you get this nonsense?
Do you not know the concept of nuclear deterrance? Cold war'S mutual assured destruction doctrine: MAD? The fear that what one is doing to the other he will do to you?
Have removed the quote and my reply it was somehow wrong
Markus
Nobody said Ukraine wants to nuke Korea, Cina or the UK. Where did you get this nonsense?
Sky, I'm trying to get you to understand. It isn't about Right and Wrong, its about Geography. :yep:
If Ukraine launched ICBMs at Russia, they would know the bombs went off after their own people started to die. Look at a map. :up:
This is why India and Pakistan going nuclear never really made sense. Deterrence doesn't work if you have to kill yourself in the process.
Now, look at the US and the old USSR. We were separated by a large ocean and most of central Europe.
Now, do you understand?
Sky, I'm trying to get you to understand. It isn't about Right and Wrong, its about Geography. :yep:
If Ukraine launched ICBMs at Russia, they would know the bombs went off after their own people started to die. Look at a map. :up:
This is why India and Pakistan going nuclear never really made sense. Deterrence doesn't work if you have to kill yourself in the process.
Now, look at the US and the old USSR. We were separated by a large ocean and most of central Europe.
Now, do you understand?
The question for me is
Would Russia have invaded Ukraine, if Ukraine had nukes ?
Markus
The question for me is
Would Russia have invaded Ukraine, if Ukraine had nukes ?
Markus
I would say yes, Russia would have invaded if Ukraine had space lasers and fighter jets made out of Unobtanium. There's that question of WHY invade in the first place that will take years to answer.
You should also recall that when Ukraine had nukes, who were they aimed at? :03:
Buddahaid
09-14-22, 08:42 PM
I would say yes, Russia would have invaded if Ukraine had space lasers and fighter jets made out of Unobtanium. There's that question of WHY invade in the first place that will take years to answer.
You should also recall that when Ukraine had nukes, who were they aimed at? :03:
I don't think Putin would have moved without the nukes going first.
Don't forget Putin agreed to the Budapest Memorandum as a condition to recognize The Ukraine's borders if they gave up their Soviet era nukes. Looks like a long planned invasion that he fumbled to me.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Budapest_Memorandum
danzig70
09-14-22, 11:21 PM
This was in the comics yesterday. I thought it might apply:
http://www.danreavey.net/images/09_14_22_57cac8025a1f7d37d52466e54845d439.jpg
EDIT: I do not know from where that signature banner originates. Mods please remove. There is certainly a war in Ukraine.
I don't think Putin would have moved without the nukes going first.
Don't forget Putin agreed to the Budapest Memorandum as a condition to recognize The Ukraine's borders if they gave up their Soviet era nukes. Looks like a long planned invasion that he fumbled to me.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Budapest_Memorandum
Russia was lobbing shells at a couple of nuke power stations near their own border.
NOT
SMART.
Do you think that having a bunker of warheads would have slowed anything down? Ukraine was already being invaded, where were they supposed to aim them? The front lines? Maybe their own cities?
Nukes don't work when you share a common border. :yep:
Buddahaid
09-15-22, 01:48 AM
What! They had a third of the Soviet arsenal, plus production capacity, and delivery systems. They could have struck Moscow!
Skybird
09-15-22, 03:46 AM
Sky, I'm trying to get you to understand. It isn't about Right and Wrong, its about Geography. :yep:
If Ukraine launched ICBMs at Russia, they would know the bombs went off after their own people started to die. Look at a map. :up:
This is why India and Pakistan going nuclear never really made sense. Deterrence doesn't work if you have to kill yourself in the process.
Now, look at the US and the old USSR. We were separated by a large ocean and most of central Europe.
Now, do you understand?nuclear deterrance is NOT about winning nuclear war, but to guarantee that the other side looses as well. They kill us, but afterwards or simultaneously get killed themselves as well. By that inevitability the other side preferrably chooses to not start playing "thermonuclear war". It cannot be won. You can only win nuclear war if you have nukes, and the other has none.
The deterring effect lies in the old MAD doctrine: MUTUAL ASSURED DESTRUCTION. This is what keeps both sides from striking nuclear first: and so prevents a nuclear exchange. Or in WOPR's eternal words: "A strange game. The only way to win is not to play."
Skybird
09-15-22, 03:49 AM
The question for me is
Would Russia have invaded Ukraine, if Ukraine had nukes ?
Markusprobably yes, but their threatening of nuclear weapon use if they do not get their will, would be not credible.
Jimbuna
09-15-22, 05:03 AM
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HWLjoZ1W8Sg
Jimbuna
09-15-22, 05:06 AM
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VA22_5SB7M0
Jimbuna
09-15-22, 05:16 AM
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zveUHZCvrzc
Jimbuna
09-15-22, 05:23 AM
Olaf Scholz says Vladimir Putin does not see war as mistake
Russian President Vladimir Putin does not realise the invasion of Ukraine is a mistake, German chancellor Olaf Scholz has said, after the leaders spoke on the phone on Tuesday.
Speaking to reporters on Wednesday, Mr Scholz said he urged Mr Putin to withdraw troops and re-enter talks with Ukraine during the 90-minute call.
He called for Russia to respect the sovereignty of Ukraine.
The chancellor has come under pressure to increase military support for Kyiv.
Mr Scholz said the withdrawal of Russian troops from Ukraine would be the only way for "peace to have a chance in the region".
Although he said Mr Putin "unfortunately" had not changed his position on the invasion, Mr Scholz emphasised the importance of continuing to talk to him.
"It is right to speak with each other and to say what there is to say on this subject," Mr Scholz said.
He also claimed the weapons Germany had supplied to Ukraine had been "decisive" and "made the difference" in eastern Ukraine.
The Ukrainian foreign minister, Dmytro Kuleba, has criticised Germany for not sending more weapons. He wrote on Twitter on Tuesday that Ukraine needed more military support "to liberate people and save them from genocide".
"Not a single rational argument on why these weapons can not be supplied, only abstract fears and excuses. What is Berlin afraid of that Kyiv is not?" he added.
Commenting on the phone call with Mr Scholz, the Kremlin blamed Ukraine for the continued violence.
Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February has challenged Berlin's long-standing diplomatic approach towards Moscow - on whose oil and gas its economy has recently relied.
And earlier this year, Mr Scholz reversed a decades-long German policy of military restraint by announcing the country would seek to spend 2% of GDP on military spending, in keeping with Nato targets.
By August Germany had donated more than $1.2bn in military aid to Kyiv - a significant sum but far lower than the UK and US, and even less than Poland, which has a smaller economy.
On Wednesday Germany's Defence Minister Christine Lambrecht pledged additional weapons to Ukraine, in addition to the generators, winter clothes, and tents already promised last week as the colder months approach.
Speaking to Reuters, Ms Lambrecht described Ukraine's ongoing counter-offensive as a "remarkable" success, although stressed it was too early to anticipate how Russia would respond.
"This proves that the Ukrainian forces are very well positioned tactically, and that they are capable of repelling attacks that not many had thought them capable of," she said.
https://i.postimg.cc/qRVMWv3D/Untitled.jpg (https://postimages.org/)
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-62907923
Looks like one of you could be right. The one who mentioned Putin could use nuke
Russian president Vladimir Putin could deploy a nuclear strike against Ukraine after suffering humiliating defeats on the battlefield, a former senior US diplomat has warned.
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/russia-nuclear-weapons-ukraine-war-kharkiv-b2166174.html
Markus
Skybird
09-15-22, 07:45 AM
Referring to this:
https://www.subsim.com/radioroom/showpost.php?p=2827740&postcount=6318
----------------------
FOCUS writes:
x-US commander-in-chief dissects testimony of German inspector general
13:26: Ben Hodges was once commander-in-chief of U.S. forces in Europe. In a Twitter post, the ex-military man now sharply criticizes the German Armed Forces' Inspector General, Eberhard Zorn. According to Hodges, Zorn recently presented an "astonishingly poor analysis" of the Russian military. This analysis would show the thinking in large parts of the German elite.
In an interview with FOCUS, Zorn had expressed skepticism that the Ukrainian counteroffensive would ultimately succeed. He said the army was acting wisely, but it was uncertain whether they really had the strength for a counteroffensive. Zorn spoke of a necessary 3-to-1 personnel superiority for victory.
Zorn went on to say that Putin might open a second front - possibly in "Kaliningrad, the Baltic Sea, the Finnish border, or Georgia or Moldova." Hodges responded to this as well. Finland would "single-handedly destroy Russia," Hodges said. Lithuania and Poland could "choke" Kaliningrad in a week. "After all, the Russian navy is even hiding behind Crimea, although the Ukrainians don't even have a navy."
----------------
Skybird
09-15-22, 08:13 AM
Meine Fresse, was für ein Rohrkrepierer.
Although he is openly confronted now by his foreign minister, and the Greens, and the Liberals and the CDU, and was recently brusquely and clearly rebuffed by Washington's ambassador in Berlin who rejected his claim that he acts in coordination with the US when refusing delivery of tanks to Ukraine, Bubble Olaf, this sad carricture of a wannabe statesman, has today once again ruled out a German permission for exports of armour to the Ukraine.
If he ever thinks about a new job, I recommend a career as a hot air dryer. Moving hot air is something he's really great at.
He is disgusting. The further erosion of Germany's reputation is stunning. Recent comments by NATO'S Stoltenberg indicate a clear loss of trust in Germany on side of the alliance.
Jimbuna
09-15-22, 11:47 AM
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WEC-ReMdzKk
Jimbuna
09-15-22, 11:51 AM
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kv0COtHVvoA
Jimbuna
09-15-22, 12:10 PM
Putin-Xi talks: Russian leader reveals China's 'concern' over Ukraine
Vladimir Putin has acknowledged China's "concern" over Ukraine, in his first face-to-face talks with President Xi Jinping since the Russian invasion.
But speaking in Uzbekistan, Mr Putin also thanked China for its "balanced position" - and said US "attempts to create a unipolar world" would fail.
Mr Xi said China was willing to work together with Russia as "great powers".
China hasn't endorsed Russia's invasion but has grown trade and other ties with Moscow since it was launched.
The two leaders' meeting on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit in Samarkand comes at a crucial point in the Ukraine war, as Russian troops lose ground in parts of the country.
"We highly value the balanced position of our Chinese friends when it comes to the Ukraine crisis," Mr Putin told Mr Xi, on only his second foray abroad since February's invasion.
Revealing that China had "questions and concern" about the situation in Ukraine, he said he understood.
"During today's meeting, we will of course explain our position," Mr Putin said.
The invasion has plunged Moscow into its worst crisis with the West since the Cold War and has sent global food and energy prices soaring.
It also poses a huge challenge for China - whose relations with the West have nosedived in recent years over issues including human rights and the future of Taiwan.
Mr Putin and Mr Xi have met dozens of times over the years but their latest talks received particular scrutiny.
Their growing relationship - which they characterise as a bulwark to Western dominance - signifies a major shift in the world order following the demise of the Soviet Union in 1991.
The roles are reversed now, with China the dominant partner, having risen to become an economic superpower.
"Putin is getting more out of it than Xi - Russia is quite isolated internationally," Professor Emeritus Rosemary Foot, a senior research fellow in international relations at Oxford University, told the BBC.
"So it's important to show that China is a supportive partner, not an ally but certainly a supportive actor. There is a close relationship."
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-62912892
Jimbuna
09-15-22, 12:16 PM
Russia shall understand that its demands to Ukraine cannot be met, - Scholz said
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz believes that Russia should withdraw its troops from Ukraine and agree to peace talks.
He stated this at a press conference in Kyiv, as Censor.NEТ informs with reference to Іnterfax-Ukraine.
"Russia shall understand that it has no right to achieve what it wants: the demands it makes to Ukraine cannot be met. And Ukraine needs significant assistance - both financial and military. And it is necessary for Russia to withdraw its troops, and agree to peace talks," - Scholz said.
He noted that only Ukraine, its president, parliament and the Ukrainian people can decide what is important to them.
"And we can only agree to peace as they see it", the German chancellor said. Source: https://censor.net/en/n3348432
Rockstar
09-15-22, 12:22 PM
Germany will provide Ukraine with 2 more Mars II MLRS and 50 Dingo vehicles, which it previously refused to send. Additionally, 200 rockets will be provided German Defense Minister said as Zeit reports https://euromaidanpress.com/2022/09/15/germany-will-send-2-more-mars-ii-mlrs-50-dingo-vehicles-which-it-previously-refused-to-send-to-ukraine/?swcfpc=1. Time will tell if this more hot air ?????
But don’t forget Germany has sent to troops to Lithuania ‘AGAIN’ :03: but this time to help bolster NATO defense of the region. Their airforce is also loaded for bear flying guard duty the Baltic region.
At least they’re doing something :D. But I gotta admit it must be frustrated to hear of Bubble Olaf’s empty promises and hot air. But that’s something you Germans need to remedy, not me. :)
Jimbuna
09-15-22, 12:39 PM
IAEA demands that Russia withdraw its troops from ZNPP, - resolution
The Board of Governors of the International Atomic Energy Agency, which consists of representatives of 35 UN member states, on Thursday adopted a resolution demanding that Russia end its occupation of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant.
26 countries voted for the resolution, two - Russia and China - were against, the rest abstained during the vote, Censor.NET reports with reference to Ukrainian Pravda.
The document contains a call to Russia to "immediately cease all actions against the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant and any other nuclear facility in and on Ukraine." Source: https://censor.net/en/n3367403
Jimbuna
09-15-22, 12:50 PM
U.S. imposes additional sanctions on Russia in area of advanced technology
The U.S. Treasury Department announced additional sanctions against Russia in the area of advanced technology, banning the sale or any provision of quantum computing services to individuals from the Russian Federation.
This is stated in a statement of the Ministry of Finance on September 15, reports Censor.NЕТ with reference to "European truth".
In particular, export, re-export, sale, direct or indirect provision of quantum computing services to any person in Russia is prohibited.
The Department of Commerce concurrently imposed additional export controls on quantum computing equipment, software, and technology to Russia and Belarus, and the State Department imposed further sanctions on Russian companies involved in this area, which is necessary, among other things, for the military-industrial complex.
About three dozen research institutes and companies were on the sanctioned list.
"As a whole, these actions of the US government will further undermine the ability of the Russian Federation to restore its military forces with the support of advanced technologies, in which it previously relied on the US," the communique states. Source: https://censor.net/en/n3367416
Jimbuna
09-15-22, 01:16 PM
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pUj7qJDvrdg
Latest stupid, huge table has coffin in middle of it.
Symbolic. https://twitter.com/DarthPutinKGB/status/1570412675842048004
https://i.postimg.cc/Jnyp6MkJ/coffin.jpg
Exocet25fr
09-15-22, 01:43 PM
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=afe9XWKN5Rs
Reporters, journalist, politicians and ordinary people can discuss the use of Nukes from here to eternity
It's only 1 or 2 Person in Russia who has the power to press the button
Markus
Rockstar
09-15-22, 02:01 PM
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=afe9XWKN5Rs
Well then bring it on. If that’s the road Russia wants to take then I say we retaliate with everything at our disposal and obliterate all they ever held dear, their men, women, elderly, mothers, fathers, grandparent, infants, children, boys and girls, innocents and guilty alike. Their homes, cities, towns, culture, and way of life. Every last remnant of their existence, that nobody will ever know they were here. Burn them all down.
Rockstar
09-15-22, 02:13 PM
Massive anti-Russian, anti-Putin, protests underway in Georgia.
Also Reports of Georgian Army units moving towards the borders of South Ossetia, occupied by Russia.
Are we now witnessing the downfall of the Russian empire ?
Markus
Skybird
09-15-22, 02:17 PM
Well then bring it on. If that’s the road Russia wants to take then I say we retaliate with everything at our disposal and obliterate all they ever held dear, their men, women, elderly, mothers, fathers, grandparent, infants, children, boys and girls, innocents and guilty alike. Their homes, cities, towns, culture, and way of life. Every last remnant of their existence, that nobody will ever know they were here.
Lets say you trade Severodvinsk for New York. Or Archangelsk for San Diego.
Who has lost more then - you, or them?
We are richer than they are. We have more at stake. We can lose more than they can lose.
You cannot win a full scale nuclear exchange. In it, the stronger side is the bigger loser.
Those Russians in that clip are stupid propaganda puppets, btw. That stupid women is smiling while she talks. Shows that either she knows she is not serious anyway - or that she has no brains. I dont care for such talkingby such puppets who have strings attached.
For the first time since the pandemic crisis, the Russian government is launching a large-scale sequestration of the federal budget, which experienced a collapse in revenues in the summer, which statistics have not seen since at least 2011.
Ministries and departments received a notification from the Ministry of Finance on a reduction in funding in 2022-2023. by 10%, Vedomosti reports, citing a source close to the Cabinet. According to him, the so-called "unprotected articles" will go under the knife, while there are no plans to cut the costs of pensions, salaries of state employees and the healthcare system.
The government is even going to increase the financing of the army, which is bogged down in the war with Ukraine: the state defense order program, which costs the budget about 2 trillion rubles a year, will remain at the same level, and another indexation is being prepared for military salaries. This will lead to an increase in overall military spending, explains a source close to the Ministry of Defense.
The sequestration of the budget, which was hit by sanctions, a recession in the economy and the strengthening of the ruble, is not a surprise, says Natalya Orlova, chief economist at Alfa-Bank.
Since the beginning of the summer, the government has been unable to balance revenues with expenditures, and the accumulated total for June-August received a deficit of 1.452 trillion rubles. As a result, almost all the "surplus" of money that had been accumulated in six months was spent by autumn: out of 1.589 trillion rubles at the beginning of June, only 131 billion rubles remained by the end of August.
The budget is rapidly losing revenue under the pressure of sanctions and their consequences, Raiffeisenbank analysts write. Difficulties with the sale of oil to Asia and the shutdown of gas to European countries led to the fact that in July, oil and gas tax revenues collapsed by 29% yoy - a record for 11 years of available statistics. In August, they sank another 13%, to a minimum for 14 months (671.9 billion rubles).
Fees from non-primary sectors of the economy fell in August by 14% in annual terms, to 1.157 trillion rubles. And the total budget revenues - by 10%, to 1.829 trillion rubles. At the same time, expenses increased by 8.4% year-on-year to RUB 2.174 trillion.
As the recession in the economy gains momentum, the treasury receives less and less VAT, customs duties and income tax. As a result, the government needs more and more expensive oil to make ends meet. The 2022 budget would be balanced if a barrel cost $105, Orlova estimates. In fact, oil companies receive almost 30% less - $74.4 per barrel of Urals in August.
If inflation is taken into account, then in real terms, the failure of non-resource budget revenues reaches 30%, and “this is a disaster,” says Evgeny Suvorov, an economist at Centrocredit Bank. The government has the NWF in reserve, but in conditions when the currency is frozen by sanctions, spending from it is just a money issue, he says: the Ministry of Finance transfers the currency to the account of the Central Bank, and the latter “converts” it into “printed” rubles.
Despite the difficulties with the budget, the government is unlikely to make significant spending cuts, Orlova doubts: “Overcoming the recession requires financing support measures, and the March 2024 electoral cycle dictates its own terms.”
Probably, by urging departments to tighten their belts, the Ministry of Finance "forms a reserve to cover other expenses," she suggests.
https://www-moscowtimes-eu.translate.goog/2022/09/15/pravitelstvo-zapuskaet-sekvestr-byudzheta-posle-silneishego-za-11-let-obvala-dohodov-a24313?_x_tr_sl=auto&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en&_x_tr_pto=wapp
Massive anti-Russian, anti-Putin, protests underway in Georgia.
Also Reports of Georgian Army units moving towards the borders of South Ossetia, occupied by Russia."Reports of Georgian Army units moving towards the borders of South Ossetia"
Georgian officials have repeatedly announced they will not launch a war to retake Abkhazia and South Ossetia, and the US and EU do not want them to do so either. It's not happening. https://twitter.com/NeilPHauer/status/1570486022559105028
Information spread by some unreliable sources that Georgian military units are moving towards Tskhinvali region (South Ossetia) does NOT reflect the truth. https://twitter.com/visionergeo/status/1570471629825736705
Rockstar
09-15-22, 02:46 PM
Lets say you trade Severodvinsk for New York. Or Archangelsk for San Diego.
Who has lost more then - you, or them?
We are richer than they are. We have more at stake. We can lose more than they can lose.
You cannot win a full scale nuclear exchange. In it, the stronger side is the bigger loser.
Those Russians in that clip are stupid propaganda puppets, btw. That stupid women is smiling while she talks. Shows that either she knows she is not serious anyway - or that she has no brains. I dont care for such talkingby such puppets who have strings attached.
No doubt it would be a terrible, however nobody on this side of the pond or in the E.U. is advocating the use of nuclear weapons. But they do on Russian state run media broadcasts.
So two things I consider.
1st, I’m betting on the fact that it takes a massive amount of your GDP to maintain a nuclear arsenal and due to the state of the Russian military and level of corruption it’s an indicator a fair amount of their ‘deterrent’ can’t fly.
2nd it isn’t just having them that’s the deterrent the real deterrent is in one’s willingness to use them when push comes to shove. If need be I’m prepared to push the button myself and let god sort them out. What it boils down if they ever did use a nuke I don’t care what size or the number of them, I want every Russian to regret the decision of their leaders.
A mass burial site containing around 440 graves has been found in the Ukrainian city of Izyum after it was liberated from Russian control, a top police officer has told Sky News.
Serhii Bolvinov, the chief police investigator for Kharkiv region, said all the bodies would be exhumed and taken away for forensic examination as part of a major police effort, along with prosecutors and other investigators, to gather evidence of suspected Russian war crimes.
https://news.sky.com/story/mass-burial-site-containing-440-graves-found-in-izyum-after-city-liberated-by-ukrainian-forces-12698332
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cs6pIpCE00Y
I take this guy with a grain of salt, but I like salt. :Kaleun_Wink:
Rockstar
09-15-22, 04:56 PM
https://t.me/grey_zone/15036
Wagner Grey Zone Channel why mobilisation in Russia won't work, citing weak economy and already high protest activity, and the requirement of businesses to pay salaries of mobilised soldiers.
Wagner Grey Zone
Google Translated:
Within the framework of the newly raised discussions, I modestly and subjectively believe that it is not necessary to carry out a general, albeit partial, mobilization of citizens.
Firstly, the so-called SVO has no legal interpretation in Russian law, except for a presidential decree and equating its participants with the status of a veteran, which means that the involvement of citizens employed in production with a significant share in the already weak Russian economy will only lead to her weakening.
The employer will be obliged to leave the persons pulled out from enterprises / commercial organizations with the preservation of wages, and, as practice with the coronovirus has shown, from their own pocket. Businesses will either lay off employees or simply go bankrupt and close.
Also, the vast majority of people who have undergone mobilization will not create the effect that is assigned to it. These individuals lack two main factors for the infantry - experience and motivation. And in society, due to the decrease in approval for the conduct of hostilities in Ukraine, the already high protest activity will increase. All this together can lead to irreparable consequences. Citizens walking, eating and drinking in the peaceful cities of Russia are now generally indifferent to what is happening in Ukraine, but when it affects them, coupled with the complication of the financial situation of the latter, there will be a very nuclear mixture.
In addition, mobilized persons, not from among the reserve, will not strengthen the front one iota, even put a million people under bayonets. Only the experience and motivation of personnel, framed by competent command, can change something.
Catfish
09-16-22, 03:36 AM
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=afe9XWKN5Rs
This is from six months ago.
Not that I think their minds have changed ..
Jimbuna
09-16-22, 04:20 AM
A Russian mercenary boss has defended the idea of sending prisoners to fight in the Ukraine war after a video showed him recruiting at a prison.
Yevgeny Prigozhin, head of the Wagner group, said those who do not want to send convicts to fight should send their own children instead.
Earlier, leaked footage showed him telling inmates they would be freed if they served six months with his group.
The Wagner group is believed to have been fighting in Ukraine since 2014.
In a statement published on social media after the video went viral, Mr Prigozhin said that if he were in prison he would "dream of" joining the Wagner group to "pay my debt to the Motherland".
He added a message to those who do not want mercenaries or prisoners to fight.
"It's either private military companies and prisoners, or your children - decide for yourself."
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-62922152
Commander Wallace
09-16-22, 06:50 AM
A Russian mercenary boss has defended the idea of sending prisoners to fight in the Ukraine war after a video showed him recruiting at a prison.
Yevgeny Prigozhin, head of the Wagner group, said those who do not want to send convicts to fight should send their own children instead.
Earlier, leaked footage showed him telling inmates they would be freed if they served six months with his group.
The Wagner group is believed to have been fighting in Ukraine since 2014.
In a statement published on social media after the video went viral, Mr Prigozhin said that if he were in prison he would "dream of" joining the Wagner group to "pay my debt to the Motherland".
He added a message to those who do not want mercenaries or prisoners to fight.
"It's either private military companies and prisoners, or your children - decide for yourself."
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-62922152
Prigozhin forgot the best option which is get out of the Ukraine and go home-while you still can.
Maybe it's only me-When I see these picture with Putin and Xi together the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact poppes up in my head.
Markus
Catfish
09-16-22, 08:19 AM
The people of Ukraine welcome their russian liberators,
updates from occupied cities:
The Kherson regional administration building was hit with at least five rockets while a lot of the locally appointed occupation authorities were in it. A large part of the building was destroyed and many russian officials were killed.
In Berdyansk, the regional organizers (husband and wife) of the separatist referendums were found killed in their homes, assassinated.
In Lugasnk, the general prosecutor was assassinated when a bomb went off inside of his own office. (it goes to show just how much partisans are active even within the Donbass.)
The chief of staff of Donetsk in a Freudian slip up said that in contrast to what Vladimir Putin says, his people don't fight for their motherland, they loot for their motherland.
Exocet25fr
09-16-22, 08:56 AM
Zaluzhny warns Putin of 'immediate risk' of nuclear war:
https://inf.news/en/military/030b0fcc08fa5b6a330325f3928e1fa3.html
Exocet25fr
09-16-22, 09:20 AM
The reason why is Putin unhappy and dangerous:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8NlhfoFK9PI
Torvald Von Mansee
09-16-22, 10:02 AM
It's only 1 or 2 Person in Russia who has the power to press the button
If the button is pressed, will they work? I'm guessing the budget set aside for nuclear weapons maintenance has largely been siphoned off into oligarchs's pockets.
Rockstar
09-16-22, 10:47 AM
"Reports of Georgian Army units moving towards the borders of South Ossetia"
Georgian officials have repeatedly announced they will not launch a war to retake Abkhazia and South Ossetia, and the US and EU do not want them to do so either. It's not happening. https://twitter.com/NeilPHauer/status/1570486022559105028
Information spread by some unreliable sources that Georgian military units are moving towards Tskhinvali region (South Ossetia) does NOT reflect the truth. https://twitter.com/visionergeo/status/1570471629825736705
Dude, no way I googled it. ;)
Rockstar
09-16-22, 10:49 AM
The reason why is Putin unhappy and dangerous:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8NlhfoFK9PI
Nobody cares why Putin is unhappy. Especially when he enlists convicted theives, murders and rapists to invade another’s country
Buddahaid
09-16-22, 11:11 AM
Nobody cares why Putin is unhappy. Especially when he enlists convicted theives, murders and rapists to invade another’s country
I care. I'd like him to feel a rope around his neck!
Rockstar
09-16-22, 09:57 PM
I care. I'd like him to feel a rope around his neck!
Putin and all amphibian sympathizers. :D
Jimbuna
09-17-22, 07:07 AM
Prigozhin forgot the best option which is get out of the Ukraine and go home-while you still can.
True that :yep:
Jimbuna
09-17-22, 07:42 AM
Mass exhumations at Izyum forest graves site
In a pine forest at the edge of Izyum the stench of death filled the air as a mass exhumation got under way.
The earth is giving up its secrets. Ukrainian officials believe war crimes have been committed, which they are determined to document.
Around 100 Ukrainian emergency service workers wearing blue plastic coverings dug into the earth, opening makeshift graves.
They are trying to establish the cause of death of hundreds of people buried in a forest at the edge of the city, recently liberated by advancing Ukrainian forces.
Izyum, invaded in April, was used by Russia as a key military hub to supply its forces from the east.
The exhumation was conducted mostly in silence, as police and prosecutors looked on. One officer put his head in his hands. Another walked away.
Kharkiv regional prosecutor Olexander Ilyenkov says there is no doubt war crimes have been committed here.
"In the first grave, there is a civilian who has a rope over her neck. So we see the traces of torture," he told the BBC.
He said almost everyone died because of Russian soldiers.
"Some of them were killed, some were tortured, some were killed because of Russian Federation air and artillery strikes."
Ukraine was determined to show this disturbing sight to the world. Convoys of international journalists were brought to watch on.
The burial ground - beside an existing cemetery - contains row after row of graves, marked by crude wooden crosses.
Names were written on a few, but most were marked only by a number. The burials here were carried out under the orders of the Russians when they were in control.
Ukrainian police say there are 445 new graves at the site, but some contain more than one body. It's unclear how all of them died. Many are said to be civilians, women and children among them.
Prosecutors say some were killed by Russian shelling and others were victims of a Russian airstrike on an apartment block in March, in which 47 people were killed.
Officials say one grave contained around 20 soldiers, some with their hands bound and one with a noose around his neck. The body of a man in military uniform was exhumed and zipped into a white body bag.
As the graves were opened there were sporadic explosions in the distance as the security forces worked to de-mine the area.
72-year-old Hryhorii came to the burial site today to see the grave of his wife, Ludmilla. He told us she was killed on 7 March during heavy shelling in Izyum.
He first had to bury her in the yard of their home, then she was reburied in August. Now her remains will be disturbed once again.
It's only now, since the Russians have been pushed out, that Ukraine can carry out detailed investigations here, and can determine how many victims the occupiers left behind.
A woman who lived opposite the forest told us Russians troops had kept locals away from the cemetery.
A local man named Maxim appeared at the burial site, asking journalists to record his account of torture.
He said he was detained by the Russians in early September, and released by Ukrainian forces when they arrived in Izyum last Saturday (10 September).
He showed us the marks on his wrists caused by handcuffs, and said he had been subjected to electric shocks.
A senior advisor to Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky told the BBC evidence of torture was found in some areas recently retaken by Ukrainian forces.
"We saw wildly frightened people who were kept without light, without food, without water, and without the right to justice," Mykhailo Podolyak said.
Kharkiv prosecutor Mr Ilyenkov said several similar burial sites had been found in areas recently retaken by Ukrainian forces.
US national security spokesman John Kirby said reports of the graves in Izyum were "horrifying" but "in keeping with the kind of depravity and the brutality with which Russian forces have been prosecuting this war against Ukraine".
"We're going to continue to actively support efforts to document war crimes and atrocities that Russian forces commit in Ukraine and to assist national and international efforts to identify and hold Russians accountable," he added.
French President Emmanuel Macron condemned "in the strongest possible terms" what he described as the "atrocities" committed in Izyum.
British lawyer Nigel Povoas, who specialises in the prosecution and investigation of major international and transnational crime and who has just returned from Izyum, told the BBC's Newshour he would not be surprised if the exhumations revealed evidence of war crimes.
"I think that the early signs at the moment - although it's very very early - is that some of the bodies have died from shelling or malnutrition and a lack of healthcare," he said. "But as normal bodies are tested and the cause of death determined, I would expect there to be also evidence of torture and executions, because it follows a pattern of what's been happening in the occupied territories."
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-62931224
Jimbuna
09-17-22, 07:45 AM
Ukraine counter-offensive won't change Russia's plans – Putin
Ukraine's recent counter-offensive will not change Russia's plans, Vladimir Putin has said in his first public comments on the matter.
In a rapid counter-attack, Ukrainian forces say they captured over 8,000 sq km (3,000 sq miles) in six days in the north-eastern Kharkiv region.
But Mr Putin said he was not in a hurry, and the offensive in Ukraine's Donbas region remains on track.
He also noted that Russia had so far not deployed its full forces.
"Our offensive operation in the Donbas is not stopping. They're moving forward - not at a very fast pace - but they are gradually taking more and more territory," he said after a summit in Uzbekistan.
The industrial Donbas region in east Ukraine is the focus of Russia's invasion, which Mr Putin falsely claims is necessary to save Russian-speakers from genocide.
Parts of the Donbas have been occupied by Russian-backed separatists since 2014. The Kharkiv region, where Ukraine's recent counter-attack was launched, is not part of the Donbas.
In Friday's comments, Mr Putin threatened a "more serious" response if Ukrainian attacks continue.
"I remind you that the Russian army isn't fighting in its entirety... Only the professional army is fighting."
Russia initially denied sending conscript soldiers to Ukraine, but several officers were disciplined after cases came to light of conscripts being forced to sign contracts and in some instances being taken prisoner.
So far, Russia has not officially declared war on Ukraine and only refers to its invasion as a "special military operation".
But after Russia's recent losses, some pro-Kremlin commentators have called for more forces to be mobilised. A recent leaked video which appears to show an attempt to recruit convicts to a private military company suggests Russia is struggling to find enough men willing to fight.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-62934875
Commander Wallace
09-17-22, 07:47 AM
^ There really are no words. :nope:
Won't change his plane..
First his plane was the entire Ukraine-This failed.
Then he reduced his plan to secure Luhansk and Donbas area.-This failed somehow
Now he has once again reduced his plan to secure Donbas.
I'm pretty sure that in a month or so the only thing Putin has left to secure is Crimea.
Markus
Jimbuna
09-17-22, 07:50 AM
Biden warns Putin not to use tactical nuclear weapons
US President Joe Biden has warned Russia not to use chemical or tactical nuclear weapons in the war in Ukraine.
Speaking during an interview with CBS News, Mr Biden said such action would "change the face of war unlike anything since World War Two".
He would not say what response the US would make to the use of such weapons.
Russian President Vladimir Putin put the country's nuclear forces on "special" alert following its invasion of Ukraine in February.
He told defence chiefs it was because of "aggressive statements" by the West.
Nuclear weapons have existed for almost 80 years and many countries see them as a deterrent that continues to guarantee their national security.
Russia is estimated to have around 5,977 nuclear warheads, according to the Federation of American Scientists.
It, however, remains unlikely that it intends to use such weapons.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-62936643
Schroeder
09-17-22, 07:54 AM
I hope the west will start to send modern MBTs soon. Ukraine needs more firepower and I really don't see why we can send self propelled howitzers, AAA and multiple rocket launcher systems but no MBTs.
Biden warns Putin not to use tactical nuclear weapons
US President Joe Biden has warned Russia not to use chemical or tactical nuclear weapons in the war in Ukraine.
Speaking during an interview with CBS News, Mr Biden said such action would "change the face of war unlike anything since World War Two".
He would not say what response the US would make to the use of such weapons.
Russian President Vladimir Putin put the country's nuclear forces on "special" alert following its invasion of Ukraine in February.
He told defence chiefs it was because of "aggressive statements" by the West.
Nuclear weapons have existed for almost 80 years and many countries see them as a deterrent that continues to guarantee their national security.
Russia is estimated to have around 5,977 nuclear warheads, according to the Federation of American Scientists.
It, however, remains unlikely that it intends to use such weapons.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-62936643
I can already foresee what the argument for pro-Russian will be
USA used nukes in WWII so Russia has the right to use them too.
Or
USA should not point fingers
+ Many more arguments
Markus
Won't change his plane..
First his plane was the entire Ukraine-This failed.
Then he reduced his plan to secure Luhansk and Donbas area.-This failed somehow
Now he has once again reduced his plan to secure Donbas.
I'm pretty sure that in a month or so, the only thing Putin has left to secure is Crimea.
MarkusForeign Minister Sergei Lavrov said last weekend: Russia is not against negotiations with Ukraine, but Kiev is disrupting things. You can then interpret that as: Russia is opening the door to a negotiated solution here. But then again you have Dmitri Medvedev, the Vice President of the National Security Council, but above all also ex-President and ex-Prime Minister. Who says a day later: there is only one way to negotiate, and that is if Ukraine agrees to total capitulation on Russian terms. Well, then you don't want to negotiate, you just want Ukraine destroyed according "the plan". It is the paradox we see today. How fast things are moving militarily in Ukraine, so slow are political developments in Moscow. There are no fault lines there. At most, there are some hairline cracks. Of course, no one knows what is really going on in there. But let's do some old-fashioned Kremlinology. There are no indications that anything substantial has changed in the past week. What there is reason to suspect is a lack of clarity about the direction to be taken.
Jimbuna
09-17-22, 08:07 AM
"They were tortured with electric current and soldering iron": Resident of liberated Kupiansk told SSU about Russian torture. VIDEO
Everyone who was interrogated by employees of the FSB of the Russian Federation, who settled in occupied Kupiansk, had to go through bullying.
"There was always a lot of shouting from this room," recalls a resident of Kupiansk, who was illegally imprisoned by the Russian occupation forces.
During the interrogations, the FSB officers "knocked out" from the local residents the names and addresses of the participants of the anti-terrorist operation, territorial defense fighters, and people who had a pro-Ukrainian position. They threatened execution on a minefield and massacre of families that remained under occupation.
"During the first interrogation, they beat me for 40 minutes with electric shocks, shot at me either with a pneumatic gun or with a gas gun, I don't know - I was in a bag... They beat me with bats or iron pipes," says a victim of Russian torture. Some had crosses burned on their bodies with soldering irons.
"The conditions of detention of illegally imprisoned Ukrainians were also terrible: 8 people were held in a small cell designed for 2 people. Such actions of the Russian occupying forces fall under the signs of torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment and punishment. This is clearly stated in the UN Convention against Torture of 1984, of which, by the way, the Russian Federation is also a party," the SSU noted.
Currently, the Security Service is carrying out operational and investigative actions to identify all residents of the deoccupied territories who suffered from the torture of the Rashists. Source: https://censor.net/en/v3367796
Jimbuna
09-17-22, 08:09 AM
Total combat losses of Russia since beginning of war - about 54,250 people, 216 helicopters, 2,202 tanks, 1,306 artillery systems, and 4,701 armored vehicles. INFOGRAPHICS
The Russian occupiers, who invaded the territory of Ukraine, continue to suffer losses. As of the morning of September 17, the loss of enemy personnel are approximately 54,250.
The total combat losses of the enemy from 24/02 to 16/09 are approximately :
personnel - about 54,250 (+200) people were liquidated
tanks ‒ 2202 (+3) units,
armored combat vehicles ‒ 4701 (+11) units,
artillery systems - 1306 (+4) units,
MLRS - 312 (+0) units,
air defense equipment - 168 (+1) units,
aircraft - 251 (+1) units,
helicopters - 216 (+0) units,
UAV of operational-tactical level - 911 (+3),
cruise missiles - 236 (+3),
ships/boats - 15 (+0) units,
automotive equipment and tank trucks - 3571 (+21) units,
special equipment - 121 (+0). Source: https://censor.net/en/n3367768
And then Zelensky decided to scrap his first plan: the months-long preparation of the Ukrainian counterattack
At breakneck speed, the Ukrainian army captured thousands of square kilometers of territory from the Russians in recent days. But to what extent was this really a surprise? Behind the scenes, Kiev had been working out the plans for months, with the help of the United States. Months ago, the strategy behind Ukraine's rapid military victories in recent days was already taking shape. That happened, US officials say, in a series of intensive talks between Ukrainian and US officials on how to proceed with the war.
The counteroffensive - which was readjusted this summer after emergency consultations between senior U.S. and Ukrainian representatives - has exceeded expectations. Ukrainian forces have destroyed the Russian command and appear poised to cash in on their advance in the northeast and another operation in the south. Work began shortly after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky told his generals that he wanted to make a dramatic move to show that his country could push back the Russian invasion. Under his command, the Ukrainian army designed a plan for a broad assault in the south to recapture Kherson and cut off Mariupol from Russian forces in the east. Ukrainian generals and U.S. officials believed that such a large-scale attack would result in enormous casualties and that it would fail to recapture large swaths of territory quickly. The Ukrainians were already losing hundreds of soldiers a day in what had become a murderous conflict. Russian forces suffered similar losses, but continued on, destroying Ukrainian cities in the eastern Donbas region.
The Ukrainian commanders, long reluctant to share details of their plans, began to open up more to U.S. and British intelligence officials and asked for advice. Jake Sullivan, the U.S. national security adviser, and Andrii Jermak, a top adviser to Zelensky, have discussed planning the counteroffensive several times, according to a senior government official. General Mark Milley, chairman of the U.S. Army Summit, and senior Ukrainian military leaders regularly discussed intelligence and military support. In Kiev, Ukrainian and British military officials continued to work together while the new U.S. defense attaché, Garrick Harmon, held daily talks with top Ukrainian officers. Time was of the essence, American and Ukrainian officials believed. For an effective counterattack, the Ukrainians had to act before the first snow, because then Russian President Vladimir Putin could use his control over gas supplies to pressure Europe. This account of the run-up to the counteroffensive is based on interviews with several senior U.S. representatives and others who knew about the secret talks between Washington and Kiev. These were conversations that helped Ukrainian commanders shape the battle. Many talked to us on condition of anonymity.
American officials were hesitant to assess the full impact of the counteroffensive, wanting to see how it progresses. For now, at least, Kiev has the upper hand. During an exercise this summer, things looked different. In it, U.S. and Ukrainian officials tested the potential success of a broad offensive in the south. The exercise, CNN reported, made it appear that such an offensive would fail. Armed with American skepticism, Ukrainian military personnel returned to Zelensky. It would prove - in retrospect - to be a decisive moment. "We conducted modeling and a series of tabletop exercises," said Colin Kahl, the Pentagon's policy chief, in a telephone interview. "That series of exercises suggested that certain avenues for a counteroffensive were likely to be more successful than others. We gave that advice, the Ukrainians took that and came to their own decision." The stakes were enormous. Ukraine had to show that this was not going to be yet another frozen conflict AND that it could retake territory from the Russians, which is important for the morale of its people and to increase support from the West. During August, at the urging of the Ukrainians, U.S. officials provided increasing information on the position of Russian forces, revealing weaknesses in Russian lines. The intelligence also indicated that Moscow would struggle to quickly reinforce its forces in northeastern Ukraine or move troops from the south, even as it discovered Ukrainian preparations for the counteroffensive. "We saw that the Russians were moving many of their best troops south in preparation for the other counteroffensive that the Ukrainians were conducting," said Kahl of the Pentagon. "So we had reason to believe that because of continued moral challenges and pressure from the Ukrainians, parts of the Russian military may be a bit more fragile than they appear on paper."
Instead of one major offensive, the Ukrainian army proposed two. With one, in Kherson, the concentration of Russian troops would likely take days or weeks to see spectacular results. The other was planned for the Kharkiv region. Britain, the United States and Ukraine evaluated the new plan together and tried to simulate it again. This time, officials from the three countries agreed that it would work, and that it would give Zelensky what he wanted: a big, clear victory. But the plan depended entirely on the size and speed of additional U.S. military aid, according to a General Staff officer in Kiev. Ukraine, a former Soviet republic that until recently had used only older Soviet weapons, had largely used up its own ammunition. Learning to use new weapons systems in the midst of war is difficult. But so far that risky move has proved successful. For example, more than 800,000 155-millimeter cartridges have been sent to Kiev. The United States alone has pledged more than $14.5 billion in military aid since the war began in February.
Before the counteroffensive, Ukrainian forces sent the U.S. a detailed list of weapons they needed to make the plan work, a Ukrainian officer said. Specific weapons, such as the High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS), have an extraordinary impact on the battlefield. The satellite-guided missiles fired by these launch vehicles, called GMLRS, each contain a warhead containing 200 pounds of explosives. They have been used by Ukrainian forces in recent weeks to destroy more than four hundred Russian weapons depots, command posts and other targets, according to U.S. officials. More recently, Ukrainian forces have used US-supplied HARM missiles for air strikes against Soviet-designed MiG-29 fighter jets. No air force had ever done so before. The missiles proved particularly effective in destroying Russian radars. "We see real and measurable progress in Ukraine's use of these systems," General Milley said last week in Germany at a meeting of 50 countries assisting Ukraine with military and humanitarian aid. "The Russians are having great difficulty resupplying their troops and compensating for their combat losses." Ukrainian and American officials argue that weekly or biweekly announcements of new arms deliveries by the Pentagon give confidence to top commanders in Kiev to plan complex, simultaneous offensives.
"The importance of Western military support lies not just in specific weapons systems, but in the security and confidence it gives the Ukrainians," said Jack Watling, senior research fellow at the Royal United Services Institute in London. He recently returned from Ukraine. "That is precisely what they can use in their planning." As Ukrainian soldiers entered areas in the northeast last weekend, Russian troops collapsed. In some places around Kharkiv, Russian soldiers simply walked away from the battle, leaving their equipment and ammunition behind, according to U.S. officials. The attack on Kherson, according to people aware of the plan, was not a feint or a diversion. And it succeeded in forcing Moscow to postpone mock referendum on whether parts of the Kherson region want to join Russia. But as expected, the counteroffensive there is proceeding more slowly, given the much larger number of Russian troops opposite in Kharkiv.
Ultimately, Ukrainian officials believe, their long-term success depends on objectives that were in the first, rejected strategy. Consider recapturing the nuclear power plant in Zaporizhzhia, cutting off Russian forces in Mariupol and pushing back Russian forces in Kherson across the Dnipro River, U.S. officials say. Russia is weakened. That the Russian army did not notice the buildup of Ukrainian troops around Kharkiv shows that it does not have solid intelligence. The army has been decimated and is struggling to resupply its troops, giving Ukraine an opportunity in the coming weeks, according to U.S. officials. Although Ukraine has the opportunity to retake more territory in the east, U.S. and Ukrainian officials say the south is the main battleground.
"Kherson and Zaporizhzhia are probably potential targets," said Michael Kofman, director of Russia studies at CNA, a defense research institute. "We suspect we will see further operations by the Ukrainian military there." The plan that emerged from summer talks leaned heavily on U.S. intelligence and high-tech weapons. But American officials stress that credit for the offensive belongs entirely to Zelensky and the Ukrainian military, which led a relatively small force in Kharkiv to an extraordinary victory. "No one can declare victory yet" says Kahl. But, he adds, "I do think this really shows the world that the Ukrainians are capable of conducting complex, offensive operations."
https://www.demorgen.be/nieuws/en-toen-besloot-zelensky-zijn-eerste-plan-te-schrappen-de-maandenlange-voorbereiding-van-de-oekraiense-tegenaanval~b538a0a4/
Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said last weekend: Russia is not against negotiations with Ukraine, but Kiev is disrupting things. You can then interpret that as: Russia is opening the door to a negotiated solution here. But then again you have Dmitri Medvedev, the Vice President of the National Security Council, but above all also ex-President and ex-Prime Minister. Who says a day later: there is only one way to negotiate, and that is if Ukraine agrees to total capitulation on Russian terms. Well, then you don't want to negotiate, you just want Ukraine destroyed according "the plan". It is the paradox we see today. How fast things are moving militarily in Ukraine, so slow are political developments in Moscow. There are no fault lines there. At most, there are some hairline cracks. Of course, no one knows what is really going on in there. But let's do some old-fashioned Kremlinology. There are no indications that anything substantial has changed in the past week. What there is reason to suspect is a lack of clarity about the direction to be taken.
When I think on Kremlin then Putin pop-up in my head-For me Russia is Putin or Putin is Russia.
Yes they have a government-This is only a charade as I see it. Even the Dumas which is a theater
Markus
In Friday's comments, Mr Putin threatened a "more serious" response if Ukrainian attacks continue.
"I remind you that the Russian army isn't fighting in its entirety... Only the professional army is fighting." Question: If the "Russian professional army" is having this much trouble in Ukraine, what does Putin expect to accomplish with conscripted troops who will have little training and no motivation to fight? It's my understanding that the Russian people aren't exactly clamoring to enlist in the army right now.
When I think on Kremlin then Putin pop-up in my head-For me Russia is Putin or Putin is Russia.
Yes they have a government-This is only a charade as I see it. Even the Dumas which is a theater
MarkusThe Czar is sent by God, but surrounded by charlatans.
Question: If the "Russian professional army" is having this much trouble in Ukraine, what does Putin expect to accomplish with conscripted troops who will have little training and no motivation to fight? It's my understanding that the Russian people aren't exactly clamoring to enlist in the army right now.Indeed, one might think that the military now realizes that this battle is hopeless. It isn't. On the contrary, there are signals that the Russian army feel humiliated and are bent on revenge, and that we see daily by the strikes on civilians.
I hope that some Ukrainian officer get or got the same idea as I got day before yesterday.
On twitter I saw a short video clip showing soldiers-Paratroppers I think-Sitting in a transport plane. They were Ukrainian.
Came to think of two scenes from The Longest Day.
I'm talking about Robert.
Markus
Andreas86
09-17-22, 10:44 AM
Total combat losses of Russia since beginning of war - about 54,250 people, 216 helicopters, 2,202 tanks, 1,306 artillery systems, and 4,701 armored vehicles. INFOGRAPHICS
The Russian occupiers, who invaded the territory of Ukraine, continue to suffer losses. As of the morning of September 17, the loss of enemy personnel are approximately 54,250.
The total combat losses of the enemy from 24/02 to 16/09 are approximately :
personnel - about 54,250 (+200) people were liquidated
tanks ‒ 2202 (+3) units,
armored combat vehicles ‒ 4701 (+11) units,
artillery systems - 1306 (+4) units,
MLRS - 312 (+0) units,
air defense equipment - 168 (+1) units,
aircraft - 251 (+1) units,
helicopters - 216 (+0) units,
UAV of operational-tactical level - 911 (+3),
cruise missiles - 236 (+3),
ships/boats - 15 (+0) units,
automotive equipment and tank trucks - 3571 (+21) units,
special equipment - 121 (+0). Source: https://censor.net/en/n3367768
I read these updates daily on Ukrainian Pravda, and the numbers are absolutely staggering in this day and age. Truly insane. Surely some military figures in Russia must realize they cannot go on like this? Yet they act and talk like everything is perfectly normal, like they live on some other planet. Some more months and they won't have much armor left in Ukraine, if they do now.
Jimbuna
09-17-22, 01:01 PM
I read these updates daily on Ukrainian Pravda, and the numbers are absolutely staggering in this day and age. Truly insane. Surely some military figures in Russia must realize they cannot go on like this? Yet they act and talk like everything is perfectly normal, like they live on some other planet. Some more months and they won't have much armor left in Ukraine, if they do now.
I seriously doubt Putrid and his cronies actually care as long as the general population continue to believe the lies fed to them.
NATO: Sanctions begin to harm Russia's military industry.
Western sanctions are starting to hurt Russia's ability to make advanced weaponry for the war in Ukraine, Rob Bauer, who chairs NATO's Military Committee, told Reuters. NATO sees signs of Russia's decreased ability to produce replacements for cruise missiles and more sophisticated weaponry, Bauer said. On Sept. 16, unnamed U.S. officials told CNN they were disappointed about sanctions not having a bigger impact on the Russian economy. https://twitter.com/KyivIndependent/status/1571159106966228994
I read these updates daily on Ukrainian Pravda, and the numbers are absolutely staggering in this day and age. Truly insane. Surely some military figures in Russia must realize they cannot go on like this? Yet they act and talk like everything is perfectly normal, like they live on some other planet. Some more months and they won't have much armor left in Ukraine, if they do now.There are critical voices, but they never come from people in top positions, the inner circle around Putin remains closed, the criticism is also never on Putin himself, always on the people who advise him. In principle, Russia is capable of living self-sufficiently. But what do you get? A country frozen in time. That economic and military pressure is going to increase enormously, Russia is here with an expiring story either way, Putin won't keep this up for three more years and not two years either, neither will Ukraine, by the way half of the Ukrainian budget goes on defense that obviously can't last even with the support of the West.
Jimbuna
09-17-22, 01:27 PM
Russian occupiers are preparing retreat routes in Kherson region - nine wagons were sunk, - General Staff
The Russian invaders are preparing their retreat in the Kherson region - in the area of the Kakhovka HPP, 9 wagons were sunk for the construction of a crossing.
"In connection with the successful actions of the Defense Forces to disable all crossings across the Dnipro in the Kherson direction, the occupiers are preparing their retreat routes. For example, in the area of the Kakhovka HPP, for the construction of a further crossing, they flooded 9 wagons," - says the messages
According to the General Staff, the destruction of more than 180 occupiers in Kherson has been confirmed. On September 10, an attack was made on the building of Alcoresurs LLC, where the personnel and military equipment of the enemy were located: "For five days, units of the Russian Guard and the FSB dismantled the rubble and retrieved the bodies of the dead, trying to hide the losses."
In addition, it is reported that in the Kherson region, the occupation authorities continue to force local entrepreneurs to make calculations in Russian rubles. Conducts weekly inspections and threatens to "nationalize", that is, take away, the business in case of refusal to cooperate with the occupiers. Source: https://censor.net/en/n3367844
Jimbuna
09-17-22, 01:34 PM
Russia is fighting in Ukraine with surviving part of army - Danilov responded to Putin
Oleksiy Danilov, Secretary of the National Security Council, responded to the statement of Russian President Vladimir Putin that not the entire Russian army is in Ukraine, but only its "contract part".
"The Russian Federation is indeed not fighting the entire army, but only a surviving part of it," said the secretary of the National Security and Defense Council.
Thus, the secretary of the NSBO responded to President Putin's statement yesterday that only a part of the Russian army is fighting in Ukraine.
"We are working on it!", - said Danilov.
As Censor.Net reported, earlier Russian President Vladimir Putin said that only the contract part of the Russian army is fighting in Ukraine. Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council Oleksiy Danilov reacted to the statement of Russian President Vladimir Putin, in Ukraine is not the entire Russian army, but only its "contract part". Source: https://censor.net/en/n3367853
Russian occupiers are preparing retreat routes in Kherson region - nine wagons were sunk, - General Staff
The Russian invaders are preparing their retreat in the Kherson region - in the area of the Kakhovka HPP, 9 wagons were sunk for the construction of a crossing.
"In connection with the successful actions of the Defense Forces to disable all crossings across the Dnipro in the Kherson direction, the occupiers are preparing their retreat routes. For example, in the area of the Kakhovka HPP, for the construction of a further crossing, they flooded 9 wagons," - says the messages
According to the General Staff, the destruction of more than 180 occupiers in Kherson has been confirmed. On September 10, an attack was made on the building of Alcoresurs LLC, where the personnel and military equipment of the enemy were located: "For five days, units of the Russian Guard and the FSB dismantled the rubble and retrieved the bodies of the dead, trying to hide the losses."
In addition, it is reported that in the Kherson region, the occupation authorities continue to force local entrepreneurs to make calculations in Russian rubles. Conducts weekly inspections and threatens to "nationalize", that is, take away, the business in case of refusal to cooperate with the occupiers. Source: https://censor.net/en/n3367844Wonder how they get all those BTG's from one side of the Dnieper River to the other side.
Jimbuna
09-17-22, 01:46 PM
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NLR7aRXidX4
Following is copied from one of Jim's post one page back
"personnel - about 54,250 (+200) people were liquidated"
Some questions popped up.
This number Circa 54000 does this cover every Russian who have been fighting in Ukraine or is it only Ordinary soldiers who was there on a contract ?
'cause I been reading that the Wagner group is loosing a lot of soldiers every day.
Markus
Jimbuna
09-17-22, 01:56 PM
Following is copied from one of Jim's post one page back
"personnel - about 54,250 (+200) people were liquidated"
Some questions popped up.
This number Circa 54000 does this cover every Russian who have been fighting in Ukraine or is it only Ordinary soldiers who was there on a contract ?
'cause I been reading that the Wagner group is loosing a lot of soldiers every day.
Markus
Russian combatants naturally.
Following is copied from one of Jim's post one page back
"personnel - about 54,250 (+200) people were liquidated"
Some questions popped up.
This number Circa 54000 does this cover every Russian who have been fighting in Ukraine or is it only Ordinary soldiers who was there on a contract ?
'cause I been reading that the Wagner group is loosing a lot of soldiers every day.
MarkusThere is an amount of Russian conscripts (begin of invasion) but most are contract soldiers including from the Wagner group.
Jimbuna
09-17-22, 02:01 PM
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=soXKJebOaME
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=soXKJebOaMEWhen you get a coalition of big-industry, critical military and part of the population (elite), Putin will get in trouble, for now the Kremlin continues on full course to destroy Ukraine.
Jimbuna
09-17-22, 02:11 PM
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bXl_-mM6oWc
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bXl_-mM6oWcChechen TikTok soldiers get their ass burned cry me a river.
Jimbuna
09-17-22, 02:16 PM
Not a problem...yet.
Jimbuna
09-17-22, 02:24 PM
We will do everything so that "conflict" in Ukraine ends as soon as possible - Putin. VIDEO
Dictator Putin said that Russia is ready to do everything to end the war on the territory of Ukraine as soon as possible.
He said this during a meeting with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Censor.NET reports with reference to RIA Novosti.
Dictator Putin said that Russia is ready to do everything to end the war on the territory of Ukraine as soon as possible.
He said this during a meeting with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Censor.NET reports with reference to RIA Novosti.
"I know your position regarding the conflict in Ukraine, your concerns, which you constantly express. We will do everything to ensure that this all ends as soon as possible. Unfortunately, the other side, the leadership of Ukraine, has announced its refusal of the negotiation process. It has stated that it wants to achieve their goals by military means, on the battlefield, as they say," said the president of the occupying country. Source: https://censor.net/en/n3367634
Skybird
09-17-22, 02:29 PM
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NLR7aRXidX4
Short answer to the question "will the world help to deliver a swift blow" - No. Not in the forseeable future.
Biden does not want images of handed-over Abrams tanks firing on Russian tanks, it seems, not before the Novembre elections at least. - Bubble-Olaf still is scared to death by Russian threats and will to deliver tanks either, although German tanks possibly would signal other European nations maybe to then also deliver tanks. The self-claimed military lead role by the Germans? Dont make me laugh again. "Who wants leadership from me, will get leadership" (original quote Scholz)...? Im still gasping for air from my last laughing attack.
Germany instead delivers 50 armored mini-trucks, and two more MARS-II systems.
And has now given green light to allow Ukraine to buy 18 new artillery systems (RCH-155), claimed to be superior than the PZH-2000 and having greater range of 55km with according ammunition. You ask what the foulplay in that is? Well, those systems will not be available before 2025, and production of them has not even started. The first live fire demonstration is less than a year ago. The system does so far not exist in numbers.
Three years.
"German will give Ukraine all support ever needed." (original quote German government.)
"Germany is the most signficant weapon distributor to Ukraine , second only to the US." (original quote Scholz). - Truth is it ranks place 16.
--------------
Media report today experts' expectations that the gas prices will never fall to former levels again, but after any future "normalization" - that sooner or later will set in - still will stay at - at least - twice as high levels than before the crisis, for all time to come. Possibly more.
German government refuses to react to that by changing its suicidal energy transformation policy - although that stupid ideology-driven project is the main reason behind our dependency from Russian gas, and for our current energy worries. As always, the Germans say: ideology trumps reality.
Long before climate and warmth would have maybe taken us out, Germany will have already quit the table for its economic self-destruction and ideological anti-industrial fanatism. We deserve no pity - only loud laughter.
Jimbuna
09-17-22, 02:30 PM
^ Ridiculous isn't it.
Catfish
09-17-22, 02:31 PM
Analysis from today:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rOGiyUSK3_M
A comment to post #6422
For me it means they will withdraw from parts of Ukraine-Not from Crimea and Donbas though.
Markus
Jimbuna
09-17-22, 02:38 PM
In occupied Berdiansk, "deputy mayor" Boyko and his wife, who organized "referendum", were eliminated - Russian media. PHOTOS
In Berdiansk, the traitor and helper of the occupiers Oleh Boyko and his wife were eliminated.
As Censor.NET informs, this was reported by Russian media.
It is noted that today, September 16, Oleh Boyko, the so-called "deputy head of the Berdyansk Regional Council for Housing and Communal Affairs" was killed in the Koloniya microdistrict in Berdyansk near his own garage. It is reported that his wife Ludmila Boyko, who headed the "city territorial election commission" for the pseudo-referendum, was liquidated along with him. Source: https://censor.net/en/n3367579
The three logical explanations for what is happening in Kherson centre.
Staged videos for propaganda
UA Partisans or SOF engaging Russian forces
Infighting between Russian soldiers
https://twitter.com/WarMonitor3/status/1571218554753523718
Markus
https://twitter.com/WarMonitor3/status/1571218554753523718
MarkusOr drunk and shooting into...
This would not be the first time this has happened in Kherson; myself and @MichaelDWeiss broke the story of a deadly firefight between members of the FSB and the 8th Artillery Regiment of the Black Sea Fleet that left 3 soldiers dead...
https://twitter.com/JimmySecUK/status/1571221380829515776
And you must consider all those ethnic difference in this army real Russians consider themselves Übermensch over the other republics.
I truly hope it is my imagination that are running wild.
Throughout the days I get information here and there.
Like
"Dictator Putin said that Russia is ready to do everything to end the war on the territory of Ukraine as soon as possible."
" Biden has warned Putin"
"Russia is dismissive when question about nukes comes up"
Are we closer to the use of Russian nuke(s) in Ukraine ?
Please tell me that I'm wrong.
Markus
I truly hope it is my imagination that are running wild.
Throughout the days I get information here and there.
Like
"Dictator Putin said that Russia is ready to do everything to end the war on the territory of Ukraine as soon as possible."
" Biden has warned Putin"
"Russia is dismissive when question about nukes comes up"
Are we closer to the use of Russian nuke(s) in Ukraine ?
Please tell me that I'm wrong.
MarkusI think they are more likely to go for total mobilization and officially transform the "special military operation" into a war.
Skybird
09-17-22, 03:29 PM
^ Ridiculous isn't it.
Repulsive. Annoying. Disgusting. Infuriating. They make me wanting to vomit.
Skybird
09-17-22, 03:31 PM
I think they are more likely to go for total mobilization and officially transform the "special military operation" into a war.
That hopefully will tense inner conflicts of civil society and its relation to the poltical "elite" beyond explosion point. Lets hope they do. But Russian society has a centuries-long history of being submissive and servile and obedient, sooo.. certain it is not.
I think they are more likely to go for total mobilization and officially transform the "special military operation" into a war.
Within a week or two we will know. if Russia has
1. Declared war on Ukraine and started general mobilisation
2. Have instead withdrawn from some part of Ukraine and only securing Donbas and Crimea
3. Used nukes.
Markus
That hopefully will tense inner conflicts of civil society and its relation to the poltical "elite" beyond explosion point. Lets hope they do. But Russian society has a centuries-long history of being submissive and servile and obedient, sooo.. certain it is not.There is no gigantic shift in the social debate, no call to lay down arms, or anything like that. On the contrary, when the 'ordinary Russian' on the street is asked about the situation in Ukraine. The tenor there is: 'It may be that there are losses, but that may also be part of a strategy we don't know about.' Of course, you have to take into account that those people do not dare to criticize openly. There are many Russians who no longer talk about politics, even with their own friends and family. The fruits of Putin's politics of fear.
Within a week or two we will know. if Russia has
1. Declared war on Ukraine and started general mobilisation
2. Have instead withdrawn from some part of Ukraine and only securing Donbas and Crimea
3. Used nukes.
MarkusI see signs of option 2. but it could also be rotation of units, whoever knows that has a crystal ball. The only danger lies in submitting to the fear of the use of nuclear weapons that is the only power of nuclear weapons.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8TyqLNFLH68
Markus
Skybird
09-17-22, 05:06 PM
There is no gigantic shift in the social debate, no call to lay down arms, or anything like that. On the contrary, when the 'ordinary Russian' on the street is asked about the situation in Ukraine. The tenor there is: 'It may be that there are losses, but that may also be part of a strategy we don't know about.' Of course, you have to take into account that those people do not dare to criticize openly. There are many Russians who no longer talk about politics, even with their own friends and family. The fruits of Putin's politics of fear.
Thats not what I meant, but that the losses so far are not "felt" by the middle class in the big cities and urban areas, but the blood toll is on social outcasts from prisons and poor ethnic minorities from godforsaken places whom the population of the cities do not care much for, and does not know about. General mobilisation means that likely bigger losses will reach the families of those city middle class families that so far leave the coffin-counting to others.
Skybird
09-17-22, 05:16 PM
https://beta.dw.com/en/russians-debate-military-future-in-ukraine/a-63131313
Calls for a mass mobilization of the Russian population to join the army are getting louder. On Tuesday, the leader of the Communist Party, Gennady Zyuganov, spoke to Russia's lower house of parliament, saying the special military operation had escalated into a full-scale war.
"War and special operations differ radically," he said. "A special military operation can just be ended. But you can't just stop a war, even if you want to. You must go all the way."
"War only has two outcomes: either victory or defeat."
The Kremlin was quick to quash any demands for a full-on mobilization, with President Putin's spokesperson Dmitry Peskov stating this is currently not on the agenda.
Russia expert Mark Galeotti, an honorary professor at the UK's UCL School of Slavonic and East European Studies, said even a partial mobilization is a "big deal."
"It would mean that firstly, the war isn't going to plan."
"And secondly, it's going to alarm a lot of people for whom the war is a long way away," he added. Until now, the war is being fought by professional soldiers, who are largely ethnically non-Russian. A mass mobilization would draw in many more ordinary Russian families.
"If you start moving to a mobilization, you're going to get Russians in the main cities getting swept up, and you're going to get a lot of wives, daughters, mothers and girlfriends very concerned about what's going to happen."
But the Russian army remains desperately low on personnel (https://beta.dw.com/en/russia-launches-drive-to-recruit-soldiers-for-ukraine-war/a-62320176). Due to this, soldiers can't be rotated off the front lines to rest.
At the same time, professional soldiers whose contracts are ending (https://beta.dw.com/en/russian-contract-soldiers-increasingly-jailed-in-occupied-donbas/a-62701166) are refusing to renew. To solve such manpower issues, right-wing propagandists have been calling for a mobilization for months.
So far, their calls had been falling on deaf ears in the Kremlin.
Galeotti believes a mobilization is possible but currently unlikely.
"It's going to take about three months from the point where you declare mobilization to the point where you have troops, maybe 100,000-plus, actually available," he says.
Three months from now would be the middle of the winter when offensive operations are hardest, Galeotti said.
"I think it's more likely that if we see a mobilization, it'll be later so that they have the forces for a spring offensive; or more likely, to resist a Ukrainian spring offensive."
But the word mobilization is beginning to pick up traction. Despite criticism of the military, the general tone in the media remains patriotic. It may be possible that the Russian public is being prepared for the next escalation in the war.
Thats not what I meant, but that the losses so far are not "felt" by the middle class in the big cities and urban areas, but the blood toll is on social outcasts from prisons and poor ethnic minorities from godforsaken places whom the population of the cities do not care much for, and does not know about. General mobilisation means that likely bigger losses will reach the families of those city middle class families that so far leave the coffin-counting to others.Putin could do a special mobilisation forcing social outcasts from prisons and poor ethnic minorities from godforsaken places like they did in WW2 then Moscow or St Petersburg will be left out the war they would not care if those untermensch die for them.
Look we hPutin could do a special mobilisation forcing social outcasts from prisons and poor ethnic minorities from godforsaken places like they did in WW2 then Moscow or St Petersburg will be left out the war they would not care if those untermensch die for them.
You do know,After this winter and next summer the Americans will trigger the end,Of the world.We have the oldest politicians and they will burn this planet all the way to hell. Before they and their families give up power in this Hemisphere. If you don't believe me.We will see. No Head of a Country will deny the Democrat Party of America. Escape is impossible.So you can Burn with us. As an American we are Democrats you are with us or against us.As Joe said you better have F15's or something bigger in you bread basket . Well we all know what Joe's about. Free **** for everybody that doesn't have to put the check mark in the White box.And that's the real deal
.
No **** we are ready to use these immigrants to fight.If they think they have a future! Well nothing in life is free.If they don't fight.The white man living in trailer parks will enslave them again.But if you can make it to Martha's Vineyard if you can put 1 foot on Obama's property. Will you be safe no. You have to know Obama is white. And Michelle loved loved her White man he made them Gods and millionaire's they have triggered all the Peoples to come to America.Get here ,get pregnant and you will forever live on the dumb ass that works from paycheck to their next one for ever.Just vote Democrat. But don't **** in my yard.
Buddahaid
09-18-22, 01:57 AM
Look we h
You do know,After this winter and next summer the Americans will trigger the end.Of the world.We have the oldest politicians and they will burn this planet all the way to hell. Before they and their families give up power in this Hemisphere. If you don't believe me.We will see.
Just how deep is that rabbit hole you are in, or high that info silo? Did you miss your opportunity with Jim Jones? Are you handling rattlesnakes? :o
I'd like to think I'm joking.
Just how deep is that rabbit hole you are in, or high that info silo? Did you miss your opportunity with Jim Jones? Are you handling rattlesnakes? :o
I'd like to think I'm joking.
I knew you were coming. but it is 4:30 am here. No bull**** with you until next Saturday. And i know your heads will explode. You will just have wait.
Jimbuna
09-18-22, 04:43 AM
Grave sites prompt calls for tribunal over Russian killings
The European Union presidency has called for an international tribunal over Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
The call, from the Czech Republic which currently holds the rotating presidency of the bloc, came after the discovery of hundreds of graves in Izyum, a town recently liberated by Ukrainian troops.
Many are said to be civilians, women and children among them.
"We stand for the punishment of all war criminals," Czech Foreign Minister Jan Lipavsky said.
Ukraine says it believes war crimes have been committed in Izyum, where 59 bodies have been exhumed so far - with more expected from the graves in a forest at the edge of the city.
"In the 21st Century, such attacks against the civilian population are unthinkable and abhorrent," Mr Lipavsky said.
"We must not overlook it. We stand for the punishment of all war criminals," he said.
"I call for the speedy establishment of a special international tribunal that will prosecute the crime of aggression."
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-62945155
Jimbuna
09-18-22, 04:45 AM
Power back on at huge nuclear plant in Zaporizhzhia
The UN's nuclear watchdog (IAEA) says Ukraine's huge Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant has begun receiving power from the national grid once again.
Shelling in the area damaged power lines connected to the plant.
All six of its reactors are in a state of cold shutdown, but the plant needs external power to cool its reactors and defend against the risk of a meltdown.
The IAEA says the situation of the plant, which is held by Russian forces, has improved but remains precarious.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-62943902
Jimbuna
09-18-22, 04:51 AM
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DqQvaOgUrBU
Jimbuna
09-18-22, 04:55 AM
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sXjGtaVooPk
Jimbuna
09-18-22, 05:11 AM
Ukrainian strikes into Russia’s border towns compound Putin’s troubles
After a successful Ukrainian counteroffensive in the northeast of the country, the messy war that Russian President Vladimir Putin started is now being fought directly on his doorstep, with artillery strikes hitting military targets in Russia and Russian officials in cities and towns along the border ordering hasty evacuations.
On Saturday, a new round of strikes hit the Belgorod region in Western Russia, killing at least one person and wounding two.
On Friday, Ukraine reportedly struck the base of the Russian 3rd Motorized Rifle Division near Valuyki, just nine miles north of the Russia—Ukraine border. Russian officials did not acknowledge that a military target was hit but said one civilian died, and the local electrical grid experienced a temporary disruption.
Russia blamed the attacks on Ukraine, but Kyiv did not claim responsibility for striking targets in Russian territory.
Kyiv has assured U.S. officials that donated weapons would not be used to strike targets inside Russia proper. But Ukrainian forces are now so close to the border that they can hit targets using their own less-advanced weaponry.
That Russian citizens are starting to seriously feel the impact of the war directly is another new source of pressure on Putin, who returned home this weekend from a meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization in Uzbekistan where he faced a remarkable public rebuke by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and questions about the war from Chinese President Xi Jinping.
https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/world/ukrainian-strikes-into-russia-s-border-towns-compound-putin-s-troubles/ar-AA11WM4x?cvid=419109c762cc4d7d827ce676d29f134d
Jimbuna
09-18-22, 05:15 AM
Total combat losses of Russia since beginning of war - about 54,480 people, 217 helicopters, 2,210 tanks, 1,309 artillery systems, and 4,718 armored vehicles. INFOGRAPHICS
The Russian invaders, who invaded the territory of Ukraine, continue to suffer losses. As of the morning of September 18, the loss of enemy personnel are approximately 54,480.
This is reported by Censor.NET with reference to the press center of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
As noted, the total combat losses of the enemy from 24/02 to 18/09 are approximately:
personnel - about 54,480 (+230) people were eliminated,
tanks - 2210 (+8) units,
armored combat vehicles - 4718 (+17) units,
artillery systems - 1309 (+3) units,
MLRS - 312 (+0) units,
air defense equipment - 168 (+0) units,
aircraft - 251 (+0) units,
helicopters - 217 (+1) units,
UAVs of operational-tactical level - 918 (+7),
cruise missiles - 238 (+2),
ships/boats - 15 (+0) units,
automotive equipment and tank trucks - 3578 (+7) units,
special equipment - 122 (+1). Source: https://censor.net/en/n3367895
Skybird
09-18-22, 06:03 AM
How do the financial costs for that equipment lost by Russia compare to military costs for the Ukraine and costs for destroyed cities and economic ressources and civil infrastructure?
If comparing losses on a purely material/financial level I fear the Ukraine pays the much higher bill here. Thats why I think the war must be moved onto Russian soil to see the destruction being done there, on the attacker's land, as deep as UZkraine'S wepaoins reach. Sending ground troops onto Russian soil they better do not. And likely they also do not have the numbers for that. But every Russian military unit and supporting infrastructure on Russian soil that they can reach from Ukraine is a valid target for Ukrainian counterattacks as long as the war lasts. Bridges. Powerplants. C3I. Supply depots. Airfields. Troops. Everything.
Rockstar
09-18-22, 10:28 AM
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Fc8ekthXoAQNvOL?format=jpg
Rockstar
09-18-22, 12:34 PM
The general says around @15:32 what Germany is providing doesn’t always get the best media coverage and IMO is true. Oh, he also said they’ll be sending a colony of well trained and armed German Beavers to help Ukraine. (No, not the small furry kind but the bridge laying tank kind of beavers ) :D
Personally I think some people’s perception of the German response has been on account of the half hearted wish washy responses of Olaf. I’ve notice lately Annalena Baerbock working on damage control trying to clear things up a bit and show Germany has been doing quite a bit more than people realize.
https://youtu.be/MPSh-g-wdT0
Jimbuna
09-18-22, 12:47 PM
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lGE2ofcfbfo
Jimbuna
09-18-22, 12:51 PM
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fx_exBn8y6k
Jimbuna
09-18-22, 12:55 PM
Putin is failing all his military-strategic tasks, he wanted to conquer Ukraine, this will not happen, - Commander-in-Chief of Armed Forces of Great Britain Radakin
The Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Great Britain, Admiral Sir Tony Radakin, believes that Russian President Vladimir Putin is "failing" all of his military-strategic goals in the war against Ukraine.
"At the very beginning, we said that this (attack on Ukraine. - Ed.) was a strategic mistake by President Putin, and strategic mistakes lead to strategic consequences. In this case, it is a strategic failure. Putin is failing in all his military-strategic tasks, he wanted to conquer Ukraine, this will not happen," he emphasized.
The British commander-in-chief noted that he was unable to achieve any strategic goal: he did not capture Kyiv and did not weaken NATO, because right now Sweden and Finland are joining the alliance, strengthening the alliance.
"He (Putin. - Ed.) is under pressure, his problems are growing. He has always had problems with the equipment he has. He does not have enough manpower. His forces are weak on the ground," Radakin added.
At the same time, the admiral said that the Ukrainian-Russian conflict is likely to "protract for a long time" despite the recent successes of the Ukrainian military.
It will be recalled that the President of Ukraine Zelensky announced that since the beginning of September, the Armed Forces of Ukraine liberated from the Russian occupiers more than 6 thousand square kilometers in the east and south of the country. Source: https://censor.net/en/n3367935
Jimbuna
09-18-22, 01:00 PM
There is no sense in negotiations and meeting between Zelensky and Putin yet - PO
Mykhailo Podoliak, an adviser to the head of the President’s Office, said that there is currently no sense in the negotiation process between Ukraine and the Russian Federation, nor in the personal meeting of Volodymyr Zelensky with Vladimir Putin.
"To put it briefly, there is absolutely no sense in the negotiation process as such, and in the personal meeting of the presidents so far," the politician said.
Podolyak explained it as follows: "Firstly, the Russian Federation still believes that it has enough resources to record some results. Second, any meeting today is exclusively a game of traditional Russian history: we fix the status quo, we are dancing "lying Minsk dances", we are starting a new stage of escalation. An operational pause and more. And thirdly, Russia must answer for large-scale crimes and not hide behind impunity. Therefore, the war must reach the only possible end. There is no other way."
That is why, Podolyak noted, there is currently no topic of a bilateral meeting on the agenda. "Moreover, we are not at all interested in meetings for the sake of meetings or the same banal Russian negotiation "scenario". We are interested in the liberation of occupied territories, significant tactical defeats of the Russian Federation, mandatory large-scale legal processes. Everything else is a derivative of this," he said.
At the same time, the adviser to the head of the OP emphasized that the meeting of the presidents is possible if it is preceded by the complete withdrawal of Russian troops, and the subject of the conversation will be "discussion of post-war life, including the scope of reparations, compensation for damages and the extradition of criminals."
As reported by Ukrinform, during the regional summit in Uzbekistan (SCO and CSTO - ed.) on Friday, Putin promised to continue the attack on Ukraine and warned that Moscow could intensify attacks on Ukraine's infrastructure if Ukrainian troops strike targets in Russia Then Putin stated that the "liberation" of the entire eastern Donbas is Russia's main military goal and that he sees no need to revise it. Source: https://censor.net/en/n3367960
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Fc8ekthXoAQNvOL?format=jpg
Are you sure they aren't receiving their marching orders? :03:
Skybird
09-18-22, 04:05 PM
The general says around @15:32 what Germany is providing doesn’t always get the best media coverage and IMO is true. Oh, he also said they’ll be sending a colony of well trained and armed German Beavers to help Ukraine. (No, not the small furry kind but the bridge laying tank kind of beavers ) :D
Personally I think some people’s perception of the German response has been on account of the half hearted wish washy responses of Olaf. I’ve notice lately Annalena Baerbock working on damage control trying to clear things up a bit and show Germany has been doing quite a bit more than people realize.
https://youtu.be/MPSh-g-wdT0
Fact is that German deeds are not up to German words, that many claimed deliveries in fact are projects that may or may not be realised in the future, that promises to Ukraine that they could - at their own bill - order from the German industry directly what want and the chancellor will allow it, were lied, and that the relevance of weapons demanded by Ukraine reflect the need of the current pohase of the war, with its hcnagign chgarcateric challewnges and demands. Thats why they desperately demanded IFVs for example for their offensive, did not get them - and so have to moive hiuge treoops contignents in unprtected tehjcncila sna minivans instead - not a pleasure when driving in range of Russian artillery and machine cannon fire. Fact also is that Schoolz is constantlky showing off with how great a man he is and what Germany all does - he seriously claimed we were the biggest weapon supplier to Ukraine, mind you. The statistics are known, German ranks only on 16th rank, and most of the money it promised to the Ukraine has not been paid out, too.
I am not abpout equipment formt he Budnesxwehr. It is clear that the Germna army is in such a shabby shape that it is prqatcially impossibloe to give away any more stuff from iuts own reserves, but we talk about deals with the industry and delieveries form idnustry pools, not the armed forces, deals the Ukraine was told months ago it could sign and do and that would be accpeted by the giovenrment - and then get endlessly blocked by the chancellor since months and months without reacting to Ukrianians questions about it.
What use is that ultra-modern german air defence system (one), that is not even in service with the German forces, that egts dleivere dnot before Decembre, if not later? New artillery that gets delivered not before late 2025? Tank and IFVs they need to push their offensive and thenm hold the ground retaken over winter, that do not get delivered, never? Instead only armoured mionivans and minitrucks? Fine, Diungos are said to have nice mine protection. But artillery fire, machine cannon fire, RPGs...???
Germany always delivers too late, and onyl after maximum pressure by all others, and only when it has no other chance to escape, and Scholz constantly lies about the reaosns and the weight of the German deeds. While at the same time boasting and posing to the max, its ridiculous - and embarassing. That Biden doe snto doleuver Abrams, is due to the midterm elections, he cannot need those pictures in the press right now. But germany? Everybody is püressing the Germnas to send Leopard-2A4 formt he insutry ad, and Marders formt he indiustry. Scholz doe snot do it - becasue he is inti8mdated by Russian thgreats of nuzckear war, and becasue he hopoes that after the war Germany'S energy worries will be eased again by more deliveries from Russia again.
That he extends the war with his hesitation instea dof dpoing all he can to cut it shorter by dleivewr8ing Russia a crushing defeat earlier, comes not to his mind.
So, really, no need to defend the German government here Germany. "Who demands leadership from me, will get leadership form me", Scholz boasted earlier this years. "Germany is willing to take a military lead role in NATO and Europe", says his clueless carricature of a defence minister just days ago. And while the 100 billion budget already has been watered down again, Scholz boasted two or three weeks ago that Germany is on the way to become Europes biggest and most capable military within his current term. The Greens confront him. The FDP confront him - and these are his coalition partners! The CDU opposition confronts him. The Nazis and the SED of course say we should stop support for Ukraine and buy gas from Russia again, but these are the usual suspects of whom you do not expect anything different.
I wanr you and everybody of Scholz (I always did). He is a dazzler and a loudmouth. A diffuse, endlessly shape-shifting and never clearly identifiable cloud of fog made of Teflon-coated glossy particles that cannot be grasped, named, defined, and that is panic-stricken by the fear of doing anything or appearing as anything for which it would have to take responsibility and for which it might later actually be held accountable. Nothing Scholz wants to do less than to lead. He just wants to appear to be doing it without taking responsibility for real leadership. A coward and a weasel. Already as mayor of Hamburg. Already as minister of finance. Now as chancellor. He ahs ntio chnage,d and he has not grown with the office. Like he did in the past years, so he does today today.
And I predicted exactly this, and nothing else.
Do not trust Germany.
They ask the correct question
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=geSvbR9io3c
Markus
Rockstar
09-18-22, 09:25 PM
Fact is that German deeds are not up to German words, that many claimed deliveries in fact are projects that may or may not be realised in the future,…
Do not trust Germany.
Not gonna argue, if anyone ought to know it would be someone living there having to deal with it every day. I’m just a bystander on outside looking in. :03:
Catfish
09-19-22, 04:52 AM
Originally Posted by Skybird View Post
Fact is that German deeds are not up to German words, that many claimed deliveries in fact are projects that may or may not be realised in the future,…
Do not trust Germany.
The problem is chancellor Scholz and people like Sarah Wagenknecht.
While even the 'greens' Habeck and Mrs Baerbock are FOR sending main battle tanks and letting nuclear plants run longer (the latter is difficult to convince your voters with, if you got voted by promising to end this), but it is Scholz who blocks it every time.
From the US statement there is no Nato order to "only send tanks if all Nato does it", to trying to help Ukraine win and end the war, it is always Scholz intervening.
I think the german problem is that our chancellor Scholz is Putin's man, even more than Trump who was just too dumb to see through it. Scholz is not, and he had and has the contacts.
And maybe Putin could just destroy him by publishing the Cum-Ex scandal and Scholz' involvement.
Yeah i know it's all conspiracies :hmmm:
Jimbuna
09-19-22, 06:22 AM
Fact is that German deeds are not up to German words, that many claimed deliveries in fact are projects that may or may not be realised in the future...
Do not trust Germany.
Very well put Sky :yep:
I'd go one step further and threaten Germany with expulsion from NATO but we all know that will never happen.
Jimbuna
09-19-22, 06:25 AM
Putin Tells Europe To Undo Sanctions For Gas: 'If You Have An Urge, If It's So Hard For You, Just Lift The Sanctions'
Russian President Vladimir Putin said that if Europe wants more gas, it should lift sanctions on the Nord Stream 2 pipeline.
What Happened: While speaking to the media at the Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit in Uzbekistan on Friday, Putin said Russia had nothing to do with Europe's energy crisis. He blamed the EU for its "green agenda" causing the energy crisis and said the Kremlin would fulfill its energy obligations.
"The bottom line is, if you have an urge, if it's so hard for you, just lift the sanctions on Nord Stream 2, which is 55 billion cubic meters of gas per year, just push the button and everything will get going," he said, Reuters reported.
Nord Stream 2 was built a year ago and is laid on the bed of the Baltic Sea, almost parallel to Nord Stream 1. However, days before Russia invaded Ukraine on Feb. 24, Germany decided not to proceed with the project.
Following the invasion, Russian supplies declined, leading to soaring gas prices in Europe. Now, the escalating standoff between the West and Russia over the latter's invasion of Ukraine is expected to push sky-high European gas prices up even further.
Brussels has often accused the Kremlin of weaponizing energy supplies in retaliation for Western sanctions. At the same time, Putin's government has also blamed those sanctions for causing gas supply problems.
https://www.benzinga.com/government/22/09/28905699/putin-tells-europe-to-undo-sanctions-for-gas-if-you-have-an-urge-if-its-so-hard-for-you-just-lift-th?itm_source=parsely-api
Jimbuna
09-19-22, 06:41 AM
Ukraine claims control of key Oskil river on front line
Ukrainian forces say they have regained control of the east bank of the River Oskil, seen as the front line with Russian troops in north-east Ukraine.
Russia's army has been almost completely pushed out of the Kharkiv region and a regional leader said the next target would be neighbouring Luhansk.
President Volodymyr Zelensky said the next offensive was being prepared.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-62952641
Jimbuna
09-19-22, 06:47 AM
Russian pop megastar Alla Pugacheva condemns conflict
One of Russia's most popular singers, Alla Pugacheva, has called on the Russian authorities to declare her a "foreign agent", in solidarity with her strongly anti-war husband Maxim Galkin.
A showbiz star too, he was labelled a "foreign agent" on Friday after condemning Russia's attack on Ukraine.
On social media Pugacheva called her husband "a true incorruptible Russian patriot, who wants... an end to our lads dying for illusory aims".
She has been a big star for decades.
She said the Kremlin's "illusory aims" in Ukraine "make our country a pariah and the lives of our citizens extremely difficult".
Galkin, a comedian, TV presenter and singer, wanted "prosperity for his motherland, peace, free speech", she added.
The label "foreign agent" has been applied by the Russian government to various media organisations, campaign groups and individuals openly critical of Kremlin policies.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-62948146
Jimbuna
09-19-22, 06:55 AM
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YyvYu-dH0Cw
Jimbuna
09-19-22, 07:09 AM
USA is developing plan in case Russia uses nuclear weapons, - Brink
The US administration is discussing a response plan to radical actions by the Russian Federation, such as the use of nuclear weapons in Ukraine.
This was reported by the US Ambassador to Ukraine Bridget Brink in an interview with Ukrainian Truth, Censor.NET informs.
"President Biden has made it clear that any use of nuclear weapons would be unacceptable and would have serious consequences... We are working on this in the US as well, and we are discussing with our partners how we might respond to those actions that would be absolutely unacceptable. And the president made that very clear," said Brink.
The USA also agrees that the situation around the ZNPP is dangerous. The country's leadership supports Ukraine in the need to create a demilitarized zone and return the station to its full control. Source: https://censor.net/en/n3368096
Jimbuna
09-19-22, 08:26 AM
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WtlQ6ahp8J0
Very interesting take on the situation by a friend of mine:
Russia is the biggest loser here, followed by Ukraine. This is a foreign policy catastrophe on China's part - they banked on a grand alliance that could pressure the US on multiple fronts, and what they got was a united West and a US that can militarily focus exclusively on China. EU comes out ahead in security, but they'll foot most of the bill both in the cost of rebuilding and repaying Ukraine's debts, and in paying higher prices for US LNG exports to replace Russian energy.
US spent some chump change and sent some old weapons, and is going to reap far outsized strategic gains. The Russian military is shattered with no US deaths. We're going to be selling LNG, which we produce basically for free, to most of Russia's former market. The Russian arms industry will be crippled by sanctions, and they'd be an unreliable partner selling gear that's been shown to underperform even if that wasn't the case. US arms manufacturers are going to find lots of new markets (think India, Indonesia, Vietnam, etc). Russia's influence in the Middle East will wane, Iran will be weakened without a major partner, and the US backed Israel/Saudi alliance against Iran will be strengthened. China backed a loser, and showed their hand as an aspiring threat to the west. The EU won't need any more arm twisting to shy away from Huawei and to consider China a serious military threat. And as I mentioned before, they now get to face an undistracted US military in the Pacific.
This is the largest strategic win for the US since the fall of the Soviet Union.
Hard to argue with all this but I am sure someone here will! :)
Jimbuna
09-19-22, 10:04 AM
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dgOB0BaQqzs
Rockstar
09-19-22, 10:12 AM
Very interesting take on the situation by a friend of mine:
Hard to argue with all this but I am sure someone here will! :)
I don’t think there was a Chinese foreign policy catastrophe. I think China is content to watch Russia weaken or die off, as it would open many opportunities to exploit nearby resources, reclaim lands taken by Russia in the late 1800’s, and offer a huge amount of leverage to set terms with what’s left of Russia in East Asia.
Jimbuna
09-19-22, 10:23 AM
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9aEdSBODu_Y
Jimbuna
09-19-22, 11:10 AM
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CsrtV7i2uw8
Rockstar
09-19-22, 11:19 AM
Another source of opposition information.
https://theins.ru/en
Catfish
09-19-22, 03:15 PM
Very interesting take on the situation by a friend of mine: [some good content]
Hard to argue with all this but I am sure someone here will! :)
I won't, in this case i agree :hmmm:
I don’t think there was a Chinese foreign policy catastrophe. I think China is content to watch Russia weaken or die off, as it would open many opportunities to exploit nearby resources, reclaim lands taken by Russia in the late 1800’s, and offer a huge amount of leverage to set terms with what’s left of Russia in East Asia.
Maybe catastrophe is too strong but definitely a negative outcome (so far) I'd say.
It has been a lot of talk about Russia may use WMD in the war.
They can do so-Only response from us will be tuffer sanctions and embargo.
Despite Bidens Threat
Markus
It has been a lot of talk about Russia may use WMD in the war.
They can do so-Only response from us will be tuffer sanctions and embargo.
Despite Bidens Threat
Markus
Article 5. :yep:
An attack on a NATO member is an attack on all of NATO.
Can you call "Fallout" a WMD? :hmmm:
Article 5. :yep:
An attack on a NATO member is an attack on all of NATO.
Can you call "Fallout" a WMD? :hmmm:
I wouldn't put all my money on this Article 5.
member state is to assist by taking "such action as [the member state] deems necessary, including the use of armed force, to restore and maintain the security of the North Atlantic area.
Deems necessary- Key words.
More on this Article 5
It permits each NATO member to decide for itself what action should be taken to address an armed attack on a NATO ally. It does not require any member to respond with military force, although it permits such responses as a matter of international law. A member may decide that instead of responding with force, it will send military equipment to NATO allies or impose sanctions on the aggressor.
https://www.brennancenter.org/our-work/research-reports/natos-article-5-collective-defense-obligations-explained
Fallout is also a kind of WMD.
Markus
Jimbuna
09-20-22, 05:41 AM
Slovenia Is Giving Ukraine Some Very Old Tanks. But Age Can Be Deceiving.
Slovenia has announced it’s sending to Ukraine some very old tanks. As in, 70 years old, if you’re simply dating the original design.
But age might be deceiving in this case. The soon-to-be-ex-Slovenian tanks aren’t half-bad—especially compared to some of the museum pieces the Kremlin has sent to its own forces in Ukraine.
The tank is the M-55S. It’s a 1950s-vintage Soviet T-55 with upgrades. Lots of upgrades. Slovenian prime minister Robert Golob in a telephone conversation with German chancellor Olaf Scholz on Monday hammered out a deal whereby Germany would give Slovenia 40 military transport vehicles—and Slovenia in turn would supply 28 M-55Ss to Ukraine.
The M-55S is not the Slovenian army’s main tank. That would be the much newer M-84. The M-55Ss are in reserve.
On paper, a T-55—any T-55—is a hopelessly obsolete tank. While still popular in the developing world, the T-55 long ago disappeared from front-line units in reasonably modern armies.
But it’s a cheap and reliable platform. And a solid foundation for ambitious upgrades—few more ambitious than the M-55S. In the late 1990s, the Slovenian army paid Israeli firm Elbit and STO RAVNE in Slovenia to modify 30 T-55s. The companies delivered the last example in 1999.
The M-55S has a stabilized, British-made L7 105-millimeter main gun in place of the original Soviet 100-millimeter gun. The British gun is compatible with a wide range of modern ammunition, including armor-piercing sabot rounds that can penetrate the armor of a modern-ish T-72.
To point the gun, Elbit installed a new fire-control computer that allows the M-55S to shoot while moving. A T-55 normally stops before firing.
A T-55 has four crew—a commander, gunner, loader and driver. Only the gunner can aim the gun. The M-55S adds an independent sight for the commander so they can aim the gun, too.
For protection, the M-55S adds a laser-warning system that alerts the crew and deploys smoke grenades when an anti-tank missile is incoming. The Slovenian tank also has a new armor mix—explosive reactive blocks on top of passive armor.
Finally, a new engine with 600 horsepower, giving the 36-ton tank roughly the same mobility as a T-72. All that is to say, the M-55S isn’t really a T-55. It’s the bones of a T-55 with a new brain, new muscles and new skin.
And it should be a match for many of the Russian tanks in Ukraine—especially older T-72s as well as the T-62s the Kremlin pulled out of storage this summer to try to make good some of its losses.
Twenty-eight M-55Ss are enough for one battalion. It’s unclear when the ex-Slovenian tanks might arrive in Ukraine, and how quickly Ukrainian crews can train on their new-old tanks.
https://www.msn.com/en-gb/money/news/slovenia-is-giving-ukraine-some-very-old-tanks-but-age-can-be-deceiving/ar-AA121axk?cvid=1c9e1698e98c47e5a7129bad866ed648
Jimbuna
09-20-22, 05:45 AM
Putin warned military coup 'most likely' to overthrow twisted regime
A military coup is the most likely way that Vladimir Putin's regime would be overthrown an analyst of Russian politics has said.
Vladimir Juškin said that there are only two possible ways things in Russia could change, but Russian generals are more likely to overthrow Putin than a popular uprising.
Mr Juškin said that Russian generals are already voicing their displeasure at being made scapegoats for Russia's military failures.
However, he added that the current administration's idea of the Russkiy Mir (Russian world) that it uses to justify its imperial ambitions could remain for decades.
He said: "As long as Putin and his closest allies live, it will not be going anywhere. It is the only idea that ties them all together. Because the disappearance of the Russkiy Mir and the imperial consciousness would mean an end to those people and the regime. That is why it is not going anywhere. It could try and hide, change its appearance, but it is the only thing propping up the imperial sentiment."
https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/world/putin-warned-military-coup-most-likely-to-overthrow-twisted-regime/ar-AA11Yp5K?cvid=c2d954fc77a74aaf8eb44022ec89370a
Putin warned military coup 'most likely' to overthrow twisted regime
A military coup is the most likely way that Vladimir Putin's regime would be overthrown an analyst of Russian politics has said.
Vladimir Juškin said that there are only two possible ways things in Russia could change, but Russian generals are more likely to overthrow Putin than a popular uprising.
Mr Juškin said that Russian generals are already voicing their displeasure at being made scapegoats for Russia's military failures.
However, he added that the current administration's idea of the Russkiy Mir (Russian world) that it uses to justify its imperial ambitions could remain for decades.
He said: "As long as Putin and his closest allies live, it will not be going anywhere. It is the only idea that ties them all together. Because the disappearance of the Russkiy Mir and the imperial consciousness would mean an end to those people and the regime. That is why it is not going anywhere. It could try and hide, change its appearance, but it is the only thing propping up the imperial sentiment."
https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/world/putin-warned-military-coup-most-likely-to-overthrow-twisted-regime/ar-AA11Yp5K?cvid=c2d954fc77a74aaf8eb44022ec89370a
In my book it's all a help! :up:
Jimbuna
09-20-22, 06:05 AM
Turkey's Erdogan: Russia's Putin willing to end war
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has said he believes Russia's leader is seeking an end to the war he began in Ukraine, and that a "significant step" will be made.
He said his impression from recent talks with Vladimir Putin was that he wanted to "end this as soon as possible".
Ukraine has recaptured swathes of its territory this month.
The Turkish leader indicated things were "quite problematic" for Russia.
Mr Erdogan said he held "very extensive discussions" with Mr Putin at a summit in Uzbekistan last week.
In an interview with US broadcaster PBS, the Turkish leader said he gained the impression that the Russian president wanted a speedy end to the war.
"He is actually showing me that he's willing to end this as soon as possible," Mr Erdogan said. "That was my impression, because the way things are going right now are quite problematic."
He also said 200 "hostages" would soon be exchanged between the two sides. He gave no further detail of who would be included in such a prisoner swap.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-62965993
Jimbuna
09-20-22, 06:11 AM
The Prime Minister Liz Truss will tell world leaders this week that the UK will spend at least £2.3bn on military aid to Ukraine in 2023, matching the commitments made in 2022.
Ms Truss will make the pledge on her first foreign trip as prime minister, to the United Nations General Assembly in New York.
Since the start of the conflict in Ukraine, the UK has been a major supplier of weapons and equipment to Kyiv, though on a much smaller scale than the US.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-61482305
Skybird
09-20-22, 06:23 AM
Putin currently is militarily almost impotent as long as he does not go nuclear, and so he wants to secure the territorial gains he still keeps by starting to "negotiate". If he really would like to end the war, as Erdoghan says, he just needs to leave Ukraine with his troops. The Ukrainians will not chase after them beyond the border.
When Putin says he wants to see an end and maybe will offer negotiations, what he really says is he wants a way to keep his loot and get away with what he has plundered without giving up on it.
Jimbuna
09-20-22, 06:25 AM
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2qzCCSmm3Ok
Jimbuna
09-20-22, 06:32 AM
International suppliers of food and fertilizers do not want to do business with Russian Federation, - Borrell
The EU has not introduced any sanctions on the supply of Russian-made food and fertilizers to external markets, but international market operators involved in such supplies do not want to deal with a country that kills and kidnaps civilians in a neighboring country and provokes a global food crisis.
EU High Representative Josep Borrell said this in New York following the informal meeting of EU foreign ministers before the start of the UN General Assembly, Censor.NET informs with reference to Ukrinform.
"I want to emphasize that our sanctions are directed against the Russian war economy, not against food or agriculture (Russia. - Ed.).
No one imposes sanctions on fertilizer trade between third countries and Russia. Even we continue to import fertilizers from Russia, with a certain limit, so how can we object to their fertilizers going to other countries?", Borrell noted.
"But a lot of operators don't want to deal with Russia anymore. That's their choice. Not because they have to, but because they don't want to. It's called 'over-execution.' They can (deliver. - Ed. ), but they don't do it. Not because the sanctions are in place, but because of the uncertainty of doing business with a regime that kills and kidnaps civilians in a neighboring country. It is this war that worsens the global food crisis," added a senior EU representative. Source: https://censor.net/en/n3368355
Skybird
09-20-22, 06:41 AM
Russia'S navy has withdrawn its submarines form Sewastopol back to Russia, says British intel. It seems they fear that Sewastopol will come under fire.
Meanwhile, as far as we know, the Russian fleet still hides uselessly south-east behind the Crimean peninsula. Floating ducks. Beside having bombarded civilian targets a bit months ago it has been of remarkably little use. It was seen as the dominant navy in the Black Sea. Well. It seems the Russian navy is not any better than and as much corrupted as the Russian army.
Jimbuna
09-20-22, 07:15 AM
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DBi0o3m-pgc
Jimbuna
09-20-22, 08:12 AM
Pseudo-referendums in occupied territories will not give Russia right to self-defense, - head of Council delegation to NATO Parliamentary Assembly Chernev
"Referendums" in the occupied territories will drive Putin even deeper into a dead end.
This was stated by the head of the permanent delegation of Ukraine to the NATO Parliamentary Assembly Yehor Chernev, informs Censor.NET.
According to him, in terms of foreign policy, the results of pseudo-referendums will not be recognized by any of the world players.
"Accordingly, Russia's right to self-defense and the use of nuclear weapons will not be recognized either. The world's reaction to such a step will be as harsh as it would have been without the 'referendums,'" Chernev explained.
At the same time, in the internal political plan for Russia, the consequences of holding pseudo-referendums will be even worse, he added.
"First of all, the loss of territories that the Kremlin will declare Russian will have an even more depressing effect on the mood inside the Russian Federation and demonstrate Putin's helplessness and weakness.
Second, the loss of the annexed territories will further prolong the war and increase internal destabilization at a time when some of the domestic elites and Asian partners are already directly demanding its end.
Thirdly, according to Russian legislation, Putin will have to declare martial law and mobilization, which will make the war even less popular and may lead to a social explosion," Chernev emphasized.
Also, according to him, in economic terms, Russia will face increased sanctions pressure and the closing of the last loopholes of parallel imports, which will further reduce the standard of living of Russians and deepen the Russian technological lag behind the rest of the world.
"In addition, the need to carry out mobilization will become an additional burden on the economy. The war will eat up more and more resources, a significant part of which will traditionally be stolen. As a result, we see simply the hysterical behavior of Putin, who grabs at any opportunity to preserve at least the status of quo, not to mention victory," Chernev concluded. Source: https://censor.net/en/n3368391
Jimbuna
09-20-22, 08:28 AM
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v6-ZAD11FbY
Skybird
09-20-22, 08:40 AM
Felix Lemmer is a Research Associate at the "Centre for International Security" at the Hertie School in Berlin. He writes for FOCUS:
-------------------
The Russian invasion is now finally in trouble. The Ukrainians are on the verge of retaking large parts of the Donbass. This also raises concerns about a Russian nuclear strike. How will Russia react now and what do the Germans say about a possible Russian nuclear strike?
Ukraine has recaptured important swaths of land in eastern Ukraine in recent days. Russia is trying to intimidate the Ukrainian population with retaliatory strikes. Since the beginning of Russia's attack on Ukraine, Russian decision-makers have also threatened Ukraine and NATO member states with nuclear weapons.
On February 24, 2022, the day of the invasion, for example, Russian President Putin threatened that anyone who tried to obstruct Russia would face "unprecedented consequences." Russia, he said, is "one of the most powerful nuclear powers in the world." Most security experts assume that Russia is bluffing. However, the idea of a Russian nuclear strike is not unthinkable.
Rather, a tactical nuclear strike aims to create a risky scenario; it should be so unstable that the adversary considers the consequences of a further escalation to be worse than a withdrawal or than agreeing to negotiations. The use of nuclear weapons in such a scenario is thus primarily a political strategy. Its target is the psyche of the adversary.
In the current situation, the following scenario would be conceivable: The Russian invasion of Ukraine is increasingly stalled. Russia has nearly 2,000 tactical nuclear warheads, which have long been a point of conflict in arms control negotiations. Putin could decide to demonstratively detonate one such warhead over Ukraine to break the Ukrainians' will to fight and intimidate NATO.
Putin could gamble that panic would break out in both Ukraine and the thirty NATO member states, paralyzing decision-making in such a way that Ukraine's will to fight, as well as further arms deliveries or other support to Ukraine, would be off the table.
That's the theory, but would it work? How would the German population react to a tactical nuclear strike? We asked this question in two representative surveys conducted in spring 2021 and summer 2022. In our hypothetical scenario, Russia attacks NATO member state Latvia, whereupon NATO launches a defense mission.
Russia then detonates a tactical nuclear weapon to force the end of the NATO intervention. In one variation, this nuclear strike is demonstratively over the North Sea; in another, a NATO ship is attacked with a tactical nuclear weapon.
The results of our surveys show that a large proportion of the German population (about 40% in 2021 and 2022) do not know how the German government should react in such a scenario. Approximately 18% of respondents (19% in 2021 and 17% in 2022) want to continue the defense of Latvia but without reacting militarily to the Russian nuclear strike.
About 18% of the German population (17% in 2021 and 20% in 2022) would call for a non-nuclear retaliatory strike, and about 10% of respondents argue that NATO should also consider a demonstrative nuclear explosion over the Black Sea.
In the event of a NATO attack, respondents tend to choose more aggressive responses
Only about 13% (15% in 2021 and 11% in 2022) favor immediately opening peace negotiations with Russia and breaking off the defense of Latvia. In the variation in which the NATO ship is attacked, respondents are more likely to choose more aggressive responses such as a non-nuclear military retaliatory strike and less likely to choose an end to the defense of Latvia.
These results suggest that a nuclear escalation by Russia would not go as Putin might envision. A demonstrative use of nuclear weapons seems to provoke more anger than fear in Germany and would therefore probably not lead directly to an end of a NATO operation at all.
Despite the many Russian nuclear threats in recent months, fewer respondents are intimidated by a nuclear strike in 2022 than in 2021. However, the high rate of "I don't know" responses shows that public opinion is impressionable and much will depend on political leadership in such a scenario.
That's the problem Skybird, there should only be one response to the use of "tactical Nuclear weapons", and that is an immediate and complete destruction of the regime that fired it. no negotiations or waiting periods.
That's the problem Skybird, there should only be one response to the use of "tactical Nuclear weapons", and that is an immediate and complete destruction of the regime that fired it. no negotiations or waiting periods.
Lets hope that there will be a coup before Putin press the button.
Well to be honest I think our reply will not be nukes...it will be with tuffer sanctions and embargoes.
Markus
Skybird
09-20-22, 10:01 AM
Luhansk and Donzek to hold referendums to join Russia.
The idea is clear. Then claiming to be "Russian soil", they fall under the new nuclear doctrine that says that any attack on "Russia" can be answered with nuclear weapons.
Somebody prepares the way for something here. The West needs to get its preparations done for the "What if"-scenario of worst kind. Only he who is prepared and knows what do do if case X happens, has the chance to convince the other that the threat will not acchieve its purpose and that attempted intimidation will fail as well. Biden is right in telling Russia to please not do it. The problem for me is that the way how he put it to me is not convincing, but sounds weak, gives a weak, fearful impression. Putin will likely feel encouraged, I fear.
The Russian stock market collapsed on the news about referendums in Ukrainian regions and possible mobilization. The Mosbirzh Index is down 11 per cent. Shares of Gazprom fell 13%, Lukoil 11%, Rosneft and Yandex 10%. Putin and Defense Minister Shoigu are expected to address the nation tonight, according to Kremlin pool reporters.
If Russia moving to "war" some form of mobilization really doesn't solve anything, it doesn't suddenly give them air superiority, it doesn't suddenly let them counter Ukrainian HIMARS/MLRS, it doesn't solve crippling morale and leadership issues in the Russian army. It might provide them with increased numbers of poorly trained and incredibly poorly motivated conscripted infantry, but these are not going to fare well against the Ukrainian military. You can't create an army overnight, you especially can't create an army that can conduct the complex combined arms operations that modern warfare demands quickly. It takes time, and Russia has already been cannibalizing training units to fill holes in their front line units.
And then there's the domestic issue's mobilization causes you're removing economically productive men from the workforce to create (poor) soldiers that further damages the cratering Russian economy it'll destroy Russian public support for the war. It's easy for Russians to ignore the war when they aren't being forced to go fight, but when they're getting conscripted or their husbands, brothers, sons are, they're quickly going to have a totally different "cost/benefit" analysis of Putin's little adventure in Ukraine.
Rockstar
09-20-22, 11:34 AM
30 or so minutes ago Jens Stoltenberg wrote: Sham referendums have no legitimacy & do not change the nature of Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine. This is a further escalation in Putin’s war. The international community must condemn this blatant violation of international law & step up support for Ukraine.
Ivan declined the job offer but he said roughly 120 inmates signed up and were now fighting in Ukraine after a one-week training course. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/sep/20/russia-recruits-inmates-ukraine-war-wagner-prigozhin Wow 1 week think we will see Russian records of running broken this winter.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sPTEx8P8g-I
Putin Announcement About Ukraine War - LIVE BREAKING NEWS COVERAGE
Some hours ago I read that Macron requested an urgently phone call with Putin..some hours later I read this on twitter-The media report that Macron was denied a conversation with Putin.
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