Russian Invasion of Ukraine

[China]

Bakhmut: Fighting in the street but Russia not in control - deputy mayor

 

Russian and Ukrainian forces are fighting in the streets of Bakhmut - but Russia does not control the eastern city, its deputy mayor has said.

 

Oleksandr Marchenko also told the BBC the remaining 4,000 civilians are living in shelters without access to gas, electricity or water.

 

Mr Marchenko said "not a single building" had remained untouched and that the city is "almost destroyed".

 

Bakhmut has seen months of fighting, as Russia tries to take charge.

 

"There is fighting near the city and there are also street fights," Mr Marchenko said.

 

Taking the city would be a rare battlefield success in recent months for Russia. But despite that, the city's strategic value has been questioned.

 

Some experts say any Russian victory could be pyrrhic - that is, not worth the cost.

 

Thousands of Russian troops have died trying to take Bakhmut, which had a pre-war population of around 75,000. Ukrainian commanders estimate that Russia has lost seven times as many soldiers as they have.

 

On Saturday, UK military intelligence said Russian advances in the northern suburbs had left the Ukraine-held sections vulnerable to Russian attacks on three sides.

 

Click on the link for the full article

[China]

Ukraine war: Russian reservists fighting with shovels - UK defence ministry

 

Russian reservists are likely using "shovels" for "hand-to-hand" combat in Ukraine due to a shortage of ammunition, the UK's Ministry of Defence says.

 

In late February, reservists described being ordered to assault a Ukrainian position "armed with only 'firearms and shovels'", the ministry said in its latest intelligence update.

 

It mentioned a shovel known as MPL-50.

 

 

The tool was designed in 1869 and had changed little, the ministry said.

 

"The lethality of the standard-issue MPL-50 entrenching tool is particularly mythologised in Russia," the ministry said.

 

The continued use of the shovel "as a weapon highlights the brutal and low-tech fighting which has come to characterise much of the war", it said.

 

One of the reservists described being "neither physically nor psychologically" prepared for the action, the update added.

 

"Recent evidence suggests an increase in close combat in Ukraine," it said.

 

"This is probably a result of the Russian command continuing to insist on offensive action largely consisting of dismounted infantry, with less support from artillery fire because Russia is short of munitions."

 

The BBC has been unable to independently verify these reports. The ministry did not give information on where such battles were taking place.

 

Meanwhile Russian forces appear to have secured a sufficient positional advantage in the besieged city of Bakhmut, the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) said.

 

Click on the link for the full article

[EmirOfShmo]

 

 

[The Sisko]

11 hours ago, China said:

Russia is inviting the pro-Putin American right to come join them (but BYO toilet)

 

Today's Ukraine update comes to us thanks to community member CyberMindGrrl, who last week highlighted a new Russian program aiming at recruiting 7 million citizens of the United States and Europe as immigrants to Vladimir Putin's Russia.

 

Not just any immigrants, mind you. The Moscow kleptocracy is specifically looking for "ideological immigration" from white European conservative-minded adventurers who are angry that their own countries give too many rights to LGBT+ citizens, who are angry about their nations' continued opposition of Russia, or who are simply angry at the presence of so many ethnic people in their home countries.

 

If you fit that criteria—for example, if you're an avid Tucker Carlson viewer—and don't mind moving to an authoritarian nation where authorities can and will kill or imprison you for speaking out against Putin, his allies, or his underlings, good news. There's a plot of barren Russian land out there just waiting for you to build the compound of your dreams.

 

Via Google Translation:

 

 

You'll note that the enticement there is 25 acres of what Russia has the most of: land. You'll note that there's no promise that your new plot of land will come with a shelter, or electricity, or an outhouse. We've been seeing more and more of late that highlights the lifestyles of most Russians who live outside the major cities, but conservative Russia-backers may or may not be aware that in modern day Russia, toilets are considered a luxury item.

 

There's a reason that not just toilets, stoves, dishwashers, and washing machines but even the most trivial of home appliances are being looted in bulk from Ukrainian homes "liberated" by Russia and delivered back to the homeland. It's because stealing those things is the only way for the average non-connected Russian to get them.

 

Click on the link for the full article

 

Let’s hope as much of MAGAland takes him up on the offer as possible. Of course the best way for them to support their new home would be to get right to the front in Ukraine. 

Edited March 6, 2023 by The Sisko

[CousinsCowgirl84]

Wonder how this will affect Germany’s support for Ukraine?

 

https://www.nytimes.com/2023/03/07/us/politics/nord-stream-pipeline-sabotage-ukraine.html

 

New intelligence reviewed by U.S. officials suggests that a pro-Ukrainian group carried out the attack on the Nord Stream pipelines last year, a step toward determining responsibility for an act of sabotage that has confounded investigators on both sides of the Atlantic for months.

 

U.S. officials said that they had no evidence President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine or his top lieutenants were involved in the operation, or that the perpetrators were acting at the direction of any Ukrainian government officials.

 

The brazen attack on the natural gas pipelines, which link Russia to Western Europe, fueled public speculation about who was to blame, from Moscow to Kyiv and London to Washington, and it has remained one of the most consequential unsolved mysteries of Russia’s year-old war in Ukraine.

 

 

No evidence that the Ukraine government was involved, but isn’t blowing up a pipeline 250ft underwater a pretty complex task? 

[Wildbunny]

Sounds like a decoy...

[CousinsCowgirl84]

2 minutes ago, Wildbunny said:

Sounds like a decoy...

I’m not following?

[Jabbyrwock]

3 minutes ago, Wildbunny said:

Sounds like a decoy...

 

Just now, CousinsCowgirl84 said:

I’m not following?

 

You're probably not a duck.

[Larry]

Hey, is it believable that it was blown up by someone (European, maybe even German) who was pissed that Germany was continuing to send hard currency to Moscow?  
 

I'd believe it. In fact, sounds more believable than Russia doing it. Russia wanted that money. Badly.)

[China]

Exclusive: Zelensky warns of ‘open road’ through Ukraine’s east if Russia captures Bakhmut, as he resists calls to retreat

 

Russian troops will have “open road” to capture key cities in eastern Ukraine if they seize control of Bakhmut, President Volodymyr Zelensky warned in an interview with CNN, as he defended his decision to keep Ukrainian forces in the besieged city.

 

“This is tactical for us,” Zelensky said, insisting that Kyiv’s military brass is united in prolonging its defense of the city after weeks of Russian attacks left it on the cusp of falling to Moscow’s troops.

 

“We understand that after Bakhmut they could go further. They could go to Kramatorsk, they could go to Sloviansk, it would be open road for the Russians after Bakhmut to other towns in Ukraine, in the Donetsk direction,” he told CNN’s Wolf Blitzer in an exclusive interview from Kyiv. “That’s why our guys are standing there.”

 

A weeks-long assault from Wagner mercenary troops, which has picked up pace in recent days, has forced thousands from the city and decimated its infrastructure. But Ukrainian troops have also mounted a dogged defense of the area, stalling Russia’s progress.

 

Zelensky said his motivations to keep the city are “so different” to Russia’s objectives. “We understand what Russia wants to achieve there. Russia needs at least some victory – a small victory – even by ruining everything in Bakhmut, just killing every civilian there,” Zelensky said.

 

He said that if Russia is able to “put their little flag” on top of Bakhmut, it would help “mobilize their society in order to create this idea they’re such a powerful army.”

 

Though Bakhmut does not hold significant strategic value in itself, its road connections to Kramatorsk and Sloviansk – two densely populated, industrial urban hubs to the northwest – mean those cities be next in Russia’s crosshairs if they are able to take control.

 

Some commanders and lower level officers have questioned the merit of holding Bakhmut amid a rising number of casualties and a growing risk that hundreds or even thousands of Ukrainian troops could get cut off.

 

Click on the link for the full article

[Gurgeh]

The Ukrainians have been systematically blowing bridges behind Bakhmut which could either be prudence or preparation for a withdrawal, and they've had plenty of time to create a fresh line of defences.

 

On the other hand they're apparently inflicting a lot of casualties on the Russian military by holding on to the city. Some estimates have the Russian casualties at 5:1 compared to Ukraine, which seems high until you factor in the Russian tactics of just throwing waves of infantry forward to overwhelm the defenders.

 

The weather is also starting to change, with the ground thawing and turning into a treacherous mudbath making it difficult for both sides to bring up fresh equipment. It's not a good time to be pressing large-scale assaults; think back to around this time last year where the Russians created those long traffic jams because their poorly-maintained vehicles were unable to cope with the conditions off-road.

[Larry]

1 hour ago, Gurgeh said:

think back to around this time last year where the Russians created those long traffic jams because their poorly-maintained vehicles were unable to cope with the conditions off-road.

 

Remember those 10-mile-long Russian supply convoys?  All bunched up and traveling on the one open road?  

[DCSaints_fan]

11 hours ago, CousinsCowgirl84 said:

No evidence that the Ukraine government was involved, but isn’t blowing up a pipeline 250ft underwater a pretty complex task? 

A bomb with a delayed fuse could have been planted in the pipeline while it was still above ground (say around St. Petersburg).   I thought there was evidence the explosion was internal (came from inside)

Edited March 8, 2023 by DCSaints_fan

[CousinsCowgirl84]

22 minutes ago, DCSaints_fan said:

A bomb with a delayed fuse could have been planted in the pipeline while it was still above ground (say around St. Petersburg).   I thought there was evidence the explosion was internal (came from inside)

It’s the US that believes Ukraine is involved….

[Larry]

Yahoo: Fox News Edits Out Trump Saying He Might’ve Let Russia ‘Take Over’ Parts of Ukraine

 

 

Quote

 

During a radio interview with Fox News host (and longtime confidant) Sean Hannity on Monday, the twice-impeached ex-president finally revealed how he personally would have prevented the war. According to Trump, all he needed to do was let Russia “take over” parts of Ukraine.

 

Saying that Russia was going for the “whole enchilada” with Joe Biden as president, Trump added that Russia “took over nothing” while he was in the White House because Russian President Vladimir Putin “understood” that “he would have never done it.”

 

The former president then added: “That’s without even negotiating a deal. I could have negotiated. At worst, I could’ve made a deal to take over something, there are certain areas that are Russian-speaking areas, frankly, but you could’ve worked a deal.”

 

Later that evening, Hannity played excerpts of his “exclusive” interview with Trump on his primetime Fox News program, along with highlights of Trump’s bombastic speech at the Conservative Political Action Conference. Though Hannity aired the segment featuring the ex-president boasting that he could have stopped the war, he curiously omitted the portion where Trump revealed his plan.

 

 

Hannity using selective editing, to protect Trump from Trump.  

[Gurgeh]

5 hours ago, CousinsCowgirl84 said:

It’s the US that believes Ukraine is involved….

 

What's interesting is the Russians don't believe the Ukrainians did it, and normally they are more than willing to blame Ukraine for everything. Or maybe the Russians are thinking that it couldn't have been done without some Western help. 

 

[China]

Russian state TV host claims Ukraine's allies are reduced to eating squirrels because they are spending all their money on military aid

 

A Russian state TV host suggested this week that people in the UK are being forced to eat squirrels because their country is spending so much money on military aid to Ukraine.

 

 "Today it was revealed that some restaurants in once-Great Britain will be serving squirrels," Olga Skabayeva said on Russian news show "60 Minutes," per a translation by Ukrainian interior ministry adviser Anton Gerashchenko. 

 

"In view of the fact that there are plenty of animals in the parks, so why not eat them, bearing in mind the food shortage [in the UK]," Skabayeva said in the video.

 

Click on the link for the full article

[China]

McCarthy is a coward:

 

Kevin McCarthy Snubs Volodymyr Zelensky After Invitation to Visit Ukraine

 

As Ukraine digs in further against a faltering Russian invasion, leaders from most Western countries have taken the opportunity to visit the war-torn nation and express their support. When GOP House Speaker Kevin McCarthy received an invitation from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to do just that, however, he declined the offer in no uncertain terms. “I will continue to get my briefings and others, but I don’t have to go to Ukraine or Kyiv to see it,” McCarthy said, decrying what he called a policy of writing Ukraine “blank checks.” Zelensky had pushed for a visit from McCarthy, who holds significant influence on congressional spending, in an interview with CNN, saying, “He has to come here to see how we work, what’s happening here, what war caused us … And then after that, make your assumptions.” President Joe Biden visited Ukraine on Feb. 20, days before the first anniversary of Russia’s full-scale invasion.

 

Click on the link for more

[China]

Lots of Russian soldiers want to surrender. Ukraine makes it easier with a high-tech hotline

 

Bound for the battlefield, sounding harried and anxious, the Russian soldier placed a hasty phone call — to a Ukrainian military hotline.

 

"They say you can help me surrender voluntarily, is that right?" asked the serviceman, explaining that he was soon to be deployed near the southern Ukrainian city of Kherson.

 

"When Ukrainian soldiers come, do I just kneel down, or what? Do you promise not to film me while this is happening?"

 

In fluent Russian, the hotline operator calmly assured him he’d be given detailed instructions on how to safely lay down his weapon and turn himself in.

 

"When you get to the front lines, just call us right away," she said.

 

At a crucial juncture in an extraordinarily bloody war, Ukraine’s military is focused on one task: removing Russian soldiers from the battlefield. But faced with a foe whose ranks are known to be riddled with unwilling fighters, Ukrainian military strategists realized there might be more than one means to that end.

 

With that, the “I Want to Live” outreach was born, aimed at providing invading forces with step-by-step information on how to abandon the ranks. Initially run by Ukrainian police, the program has had a ramped-up, military-operated version in place since mid-September.

 

The 10-member hotline team, all active-duty service personnel with backgrounds in psychology, is tasked with providing callers with clear, concise instructions, while being alert to signs that the outreach might be a “probe” by Russian intelligence, meant to elicit information about Ukrainian methods and intentions.

 

Click on the link for the full article

[China]

UN nuclear chief raises alarm over Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia plant

 

After another blackout at the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP) in Ukraine, the head of the United Nations nuclear watchdog has appealed for a protection zone, saying he was “astonished by the complacency” of the organisation he leads, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).

 

Russian forces pounded several Ukrainian cities while people slept on Thursday, killing at least six civilians, knocking out electricity, and forcing Europe’s largest nuclear plant off the grid for a sixth time since Moscow’s invasion began last year.

 

The last time all power was lost at the site was on November 23, 2022, Rafael Grossi told the IAEA board of directors in a meeting on Thursday.

 

“What are we doing to prevent this [from] happening? We are the IAEA, we are meant to care about nuclear safety,” he said.

 

“Each time we are rolling a dice. And if we allow this to continue time after time then one day our luck will run out.”

 

The agency has placed teams of experts at all four of Ukraine’s nuclear power plants to reduce the risk of severe accidents.

 

ZNPP, which has been held by Russia, can run off diesel generators for 10 days. Nuclear plants need constant power to run cooling systems and avoid a meltdown, and fears remain about the possibility of a catastrophe at Zaporizhzhia.

 

As in previous attacks, Russia and Ukraine blamed each other for the latest blackout.

 

Grossi has long tried to get both sides to strike a deal, pledging they would not fire at or from the plant and heavy weapons would be removed.

 

Click on the link for the full article

[CobraCommander]

16 hours ago, China said:

Russian state TV host claims Ukraine's allies are reduced to eating squirrels because they are spending all their money on military aid

 

A Russian state TV host suggested this week that people in the UK are being forced to eat squirrels because their country is spending so much money on military aid to Ukraine.

 

 "Today it was revealed that some restaurants in once-Great Britain will be serving squirrels," Olga Skabayeva said on Russian news show "60 Minutes," per a translation by Ukrainian interior ministry adviser Anton Gerashchenko. 

 

"In view of the fact that there are plenty of animals in the parks, so why not eat them, bearing in mind the food shortage [in the UK]," Skabayeva said in the video.

 

Click on the link for the full article

I bet the Venn Diagram of Americans that eat squirrel and believe Russia is in the right when it comes to Ukrainian invasion is just one circle. 

[PokerPacker]

2 hours ago, CobraCommander said:

I bet the Venn Diagram of Americans that eat squirrel and believe Russia is in the right when it comes to Ukrainian invasion is just one circle. 

I'm fairly certain my hick aunt doesn't support Russia.

[CobraCommander]

45 minutes ago, PokerPacker said:

I'm fairly certain my hick aunt doesn't support Russia.

[Gurgeh]

Away from Bakhmut

 

https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/russian-officers-refuse-fight-bakhmut-vuhledar-ukraine_uk_6406f95be4b0e45e2f907450

 

Ukrainian officials told newspaper the Kyiv Post that senior Russian officers who were previously an elite part of the Moscow’s forces, have rejected orders to continue attacking the Ukrainian town of of Vuhledar. Allegedly, the 155th Naval Infantry Brigade of the Pacific Fleet has suffered around 300 casualties a day over the last three weeks.

 

This Russian marine brigade was originally a leading part of the Kremlin’s invasion of Ukraine last February, but since then, they’ve been torn apart again and again on the battlefield by their opponents. A think tank, The Institute for the Study of War, believes that the entire battalion has been rebuilt around seven times over the last year, with poorly equipped conscripts filling in the gaps.

 

Two units – the Steppe and Tiger Cossack Battalion – have also reportedly refused to take part, adding to the ongoing idea that Russian troops are demoralised and struggling. It all comes after Russia allegedly lost around 130 tanks and armoured vehicles in the ongoing conflict around Vuhledar.

 

[PleaseBlitz]

I ate a squirrel once. 
 

Just gonna leave it at that.