Russian Invasion of Ukraine

[RansomthePasserby]

31 minutes ago, tshile said:

poor wording on my part. 
 

There’s certainly an idea floating around, that’s been written about, that this was all about the eastern /coastal regions anyways. 
 

I’m sure the economics things are not something he’s happy about - but as others have suggested, I wouldn’t be surprised if the rest of the world decides they’ll settle for Russia stealing territory if they get their gas for a dollar cheaper a gallon. 
 

I think the idea ukraine surrenders in some way is the most likely possibility. Putin views his troops as fodder it seems. So. If the west is going to rely on just giving them weapons, I wouldn’t be surprised if ukraine decides they’d rather give up some territory than continue to have their cities reduced to rubble. Putin has made it clear he doesn’t care about the war crimes. 
 

even if ukraine outlasts Russia, they’re still destroyed and in utter disrepair. 

Makes sense, thanks for the clarification. Even if Putin views his troops as fodder, at some point (relatively soon) if they lose enough people and material they will become ineffective. I think Ukraine’s best chance is not to outlast Putin, but to outlast and defeat Russia’s military machine.

[Wildbunny]

18 minutes ago, visionary said:

 

If that info is checked, then it's ****ing huge.

 

That would tell everyone all you need to know about Putin's way of negotiating. And Abramovich being too is a good sign for everyone that was thinking about removing Putin.

[Renegade7]

"Keep my country out your f'n mouth!!!"

Edited March 28, 2022 by Renegade7

[visionary]

 

 

 

 

[88Comrade2000]

Putin won’t stop until he gets what he wants. His goal is to wipe Ukraine off the map and he will never give up that goal; even if it takes him the rest of his life to do it.

[China]

Roman Abramovich and Ukrainian peace negotiators ‘victims of suspected poisoning’

 

Roman Abramovich and Ukrainian peace negotiators suffered symptoms of suspected poisoning after a meeting in Kyiv at the start of March, according to sources.

 

The Russian oligarch and at least two senior members of the Ukrainian delegation developed symptoms that included red eyes and peeling skin on their faces and hands, sources familiar with the matter told the Wall Street Journal and investigative new outlet Bellingcat.

 

The Independent understands that the current Chelsea FC owner suffered temporary blindness for several hours following the poisoning, but quickly recovered.

 

Mr Abramvoich accepted a request by Ukraine at the end of February to help negotiate an end to Vladimir Putin’s invasion just days after it started, and is said to still be interested in mediating despite the incident.

 

The Kremlin said last week that he played an early role in peace talks, but that the process was now in the hands of the two sides’ negotiating teams.

 

Ukrainian officials dimissed the reports, with Mr Umerov urging people not to trust “unverified information” while another negotiator, Mykhailo Podolyak, said “there is a lot of speculation, various conspiracy theories”.

 

The suspected poisoning attack was blamed on hard-liners in Moscow, sources told the Wall Street Journal, who they said wanted to sabotage talks to end Russia’s war in Ukraine.

 

Bellingcat said that three members of the delegation attending the peace talks on the night of 3 March - including Mr Abramovich - experienced symptoms consistent with poisoning with chemical weapons.

 

Click on the link for the full article

[China]

Nun who became ruthless sniper with 40 kills is 'captured by Ukraine'

 

An infamous sniper fighting for the Russian invasion force has been captured by Ukrainian troops after being left for dead by her comrades.

 

Irina Starikova, code name Baghera, achieved infamy and a reported kill count of 40, including Ukrainian civilians - but her true identity remains unclear and is shrouded in mystery.

 

Believed to have originally been born in Serbia, she is according to some reports she a former professional handball player named Daniela Lazovic.

 

It is reported that she was once a nun who became a drug trafficker, before covering to Islam.

 

She has fighting on behalf of the pro-Russian rebels in Donestk since 2014, when Russia invaded Ukrainian territory in Crimea and parts of the Donbas.

 

The Kyiv Defence Ministry's news agency, ArmyInform, reported that “ZSU [Ukrainian Armed Forces] had taken the famous sniper Baghera from ORDLO [Russian occupied territory] prisoner, who shot Ukrainian prisoners in 2014”.

 

The official press release continued: “According to some volunteers, she killed at least 40 Ukrainians, including civilians."

 

According to Ukrainian serviceman Vlad Ivanov, "Baghera" had been wounded before she was captured and treated by Ukrainian army medics.

 

A report from the Ukrainian intelligence services she has been serving in the units of the "People's Militia in the DPRK” since 2014.

 

She claims that she was abandoned on the battlefield by her comrades.

 

Click on the link for the full story

 

 

[DogofWar1]

 

This would be an absolutely MASSIVE climb down by R and I suspect it's too good to be true unless it comes with Ukr giving them like the entire Donbas and Crimea in exchange for the above.

On the flip side.  If they've truly taken Mariupol I suppose they can declare that they "denazified" Ukraine, and say they did sufficient demilitarization via bombing all the bases they have.  Ukraine, despite its ability to continue the fight, has been pretty gutted.

[MrSilverMaC]

3 hours ago, Renegade7 said:

"Keep my country out your f'n mouth!!!"

As soon as saw the pic last night I was praying for that chop.

[visionary]

 

 

 

[visionary]

 

 

[China]

Russia plans a ‘Korean scenario’ for Ukraine: Intelligence chief

 

Russia is considering “a Korean scenario” for Ukraine and splitting the country in two after failing to seize the capital Kyiv and overthrow its government, the Ukrainian military intelligence chief has said.

 

Russian President Vladimir Putin “will try to impose a dividing line between the unoccupied and occupied regions of our country”, General Kyrylo Budanov, head of the Ministry of Defence’s Intelligence Directorate, said on Sunday as reported by the ministry’s Telegram account.

 

“It is an attempt to create North and South Korea in Ukraine. After all, he is definitely not in a position to swallow the whole country,” Budanov said.

 

Click on the link for the full article

[TheGreatBuzz]

And America isn't part of the EU.  That's what makes NATO more dangerous. 

[Wildbunny]

3 minutes ago, The Almighty Buzz said:

And America isn't part of the EU.  That's what makes NATO more dangerous. 

I can't believe the Russians are that dumb.

 

Sure EU isn't NATO, but can we just take a look at EU members?

1. Austria
2. Belgium
3. Bulgaria
4. Croatia
5. Cyprus
6. Czechia
7. Denmark
8. Estonia
9. Finland
10. France
11. Germany
12. Greece
13. Hungary
14. Ireland
15. Italy
16. Latvia
17. Lithuania
18. Luxembourg
19. Malta
20. Netherlands
21. Poland
22. Portugal
23. Romania
24. Slovakia
25. Slovenia
26. Spain
27. Sweden

In bold are those that are also members of NATO. That's 21 of them.

Sure you do miss US, Canada, Turkey and UK that are huge, and Iceland too (I wouldn't mess with those guys, really).

But going after a EU country nearly also means triggering article 5 of NATO.

 

That's been the main problem behind European defense. Up until today the word was for many countries that we didn't need one, because we had NATO. Hopefully this is about to change, but going after EU wouldn't be really a good option either as Big Brother is quite close as well.

 

The point about Ukraine joining NATO is pure BS from Putin. Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland are all NATO members and the guy didn't complain much about that. So really, Ukraine being NATO wouldn't have threatened him in any way much more than any of those. Hell, soon he'll find himself with Finland being part of NATO too, so the situation we'll be even worse from a military standpoint.

 

If Ukraine and Russia ends up with a ceasefire and Russia gets the whole Azov's sea as a prize. Then I'd feel ashame to watch our countries leader pat themselves in the back saying "Hey we didn't start WW3! Woot!". Nah we'll just have let an autocrat forcefully grab a part of a legitimate country and we stood by and watch. That would be disgusting.

[DogofWar1]

EU's article 5 equivalent also doesn't have the same requirements to respond militarily.  There is no unified European army (yet) either so yeah much less dangerous to Russia.

 

But it also might solve the security guarantees aspect of Ukraine's demands in another way.

 

Still not sure how NATO article 5 would interact with the security guarantees.  Buncha ways that could shake out, but yeah it could be a back door NATO membership which is another reason I am somewhat doubtful about the above terms.

[China]

 

[China]

Russian Tankers Going Dark Raises Flags on Sanctions Evasion

 

Russian tankers carrying oil chemicals and oil products are increasingly concealing their movements, a phenomenon that some maritime experts warn could signal attempts to evade unprecedented sanctions prompted by the invasion of Ukraine.

 

In the week ended March 25, there were at least 33 occurrences of so-called “dark activity” -- operating while onboard systems to transmit their locations are turned off -- by Russian tankers, said Windward Ltd., an Israeli consultancy that specializes in maritime risk using artificial intelligence and satellite imagery. That’s more than double the weekly average of 14 in the past year.

 

The dark operations occurred mainly in or around Russia’s exclusive economic zone, according to Windward, which conducted the research at Bloomberg’s request. The ships engaging in dark activity include vessels connected to big corporations and multinational shipping firms, as well as small businesses, according to Windward.

 

Commercial vessels are required by international maritime law to have their automatic identification system, or AIS, turned on while at sea. Disabling or manipulating a ship’s identification system is at the top of deceptive shipping practices cited by the U.S. Treasury Department in an advisory last May to curb illicit shipping and sanctions evasions.

 

“There’s no reason why they should have their AIS turned off,” said Gur Sender, Windward’s program manager who specializes in compliance and risk issues. “Investigating if a vessel is engaged in deceptive shipping practices related to specific regimes is crucial to protect your business from dealing with sanctioned entities.”

 

Click on the link for the full article

 

 

[China]

Ukraine war threatens food supplies in fragile Arab world

 

Layal Aswad was already exhausted by Lebanon’s devastating two-year economic collapse. Now, as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine sends food and energy prices soaring even further, she finds herself struggling to put food on the table for her family of four.

 

“Even bread is not something we take for granted anymore,” said the 48-year-old housewife, standing recently in a supermarket aisle in front of gallons of cooking oil whose prices had risen to an all-time high.

 

From Lebanon, Iraq and Syria to Sudan and Yemen, millions of people in the Middle East whose lives were already upended by conflict, displacement and poverty are now wondering where their next meals will come from. Ukraine and Russia account for a third of global wheat and barley exports, which countries in the Middle East rely on to feed millions of people who subsist on subsidized bread and bargain noodles. They are also top exporters of other grains and the sunflower seed oil that is used for cooking.

 

Even before the war in Ukraine, people in countries across the Middle East and North Africa were not getting enough food to eat. Now with trade disruptions spurred by the conflict, more commodities are becoming either unaffordable or unavailable.

 

“Put simply, people cannot afford food of the quality or quantity that they need, with those in conflict- and crisis-affected countries ... at greatest risk,” said Lama Fakih, Middle East and North Africa Director at Human Rights Watch.

 

A similar set of circumstances led to a series of uprisings starting in late 2010 known as the Arab Spring, when skyrocketing bread prices fueled anti-government protests across the Middle East, noted Kristalina Georgieva, managing director of the International Monetary Fund.

 

“When prices jump, and poor people cannot feed their families, they will be on the streets,” Georgieva remarked Sunday at the Doha Forum, a policy conference in Qatar.

 

In Iraq and Sudan, public frustration at food prices and a lack of government services erupted in street protests on several occasions over the past several weeks.

 

“People have a right to food, and governments should do everything in their power to protect that right, otherwise we risk not only food insecurity but the insecurity and instability that gross deprivation on this scale could trigger,” Fakih said.

 

The war also has sparked concern that much of the international aid upon which so many in the Arab world depend will be diverted to Ukraine, where more than 3.7 million people have fled the war, Europe’s largest exodus since World War II.

 

“For the millions of Palestinians, Lebanese, Yemenis, Syrians, and others who live in countries experiencing conflict, catastrophic economic meltdowns, and increasing humanitarian needs, this would be equivalent to shutting down critical life support,” states an analysis released by Carnegie Middle East experts last week.

 

Click on the link for the full article

[Larry]

Her name's Aswad.  
 

Had to. It's the Internet. 

[visionary]

 

 

 

 

[visionary]

 

[China]

Breaking through Russia's digital Iron Curtain

 

In the fight against disinformation, this is the front line: The Prague studios of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, where writers, producers, and social media hosts are battling Kremlin propaganda.

 

"Our role is to provide surrogate journalism, essentially local journalism, in countries where freedom of the press is under assault," said Jamie Fly, the president of RFE, which operates in 27 languages and 23 countries, including Russia. "These are countries where the message is decided every day in a government office about what people should see, what they should hear, what they should be told."

 

Correspondent Christina Ruffini asked Ksenia Sokolyanskaya, an anchor for RFE's Russian-language network, "What is it like covering this conflict as a Russian?"

 

"There is no easy way to talk about it," Sokolyanskaya replied. "I don't want to push anyone. I think that people should come to conclusions themselves. [But] they need to have the options. And that's the biggest problem with media in Russia: there are no other options."

 

Those other options disappeared earlier this month when Russian President Vladimir Putin imposed a restrictive new media law, forcing almost all independent outlets to shut down.

Fly said, "We were warned that unless we started to censor our content about the war in Ukraine, that we would be blocked. We refused to censor, and so, our websites are now blocked inside Russia."

 

And that's where Patrick Boehler comes in. He's the head of digital strategies, helping keep RFE and its consumers one step ahead of the censors. "Part of it's a cat-and-mouse game, where you try to anticipate what they're going to do, and you react," Boehler said.

 

"So, is it kind of a race against time to stay ahead of whatever measure they're implementing?" asked Ruffini.

 

"They will block our site, then they might block a copy of our site. But then we just create another copy of our site. And then another copy, another copy …"

 

"So, it's whack-a-mole?"

 

"That's right, yeah."

 

The strategy seems to be working: since the war began, RFE says its page views from inside Russia are up 51%.

 

Click on the link for the full article and video

[visionary]

 

[FrFan]

 

[visionary]