Russian Invasion of Ukraine

[DCSaints_fan]

15 minutes ago, Sacks 'n' Stuff said:

What’s Zelensky gonna do against the hand slap game?

 

Challenge him to a footrace

 

[Gurgeh]

20 hours ago, DCSaints_fan said:

...

 

So basically, he did it because he thought he could get away with it like Georgia, Crimea and Donbas.

 

Very true... but he also had this long term goal of establishing a new Russian empire (or in his mind, re-establishing it). If Ukraine had fallen quickly, he imagined the remaining eastern European states would fall in line with Russian demands because of the threat of Russian invasion. NATO would withdraw to it's Cold War borders rather than risk confrontation, and Vlad would be hailed as the new Peter the Great,

 

He was, and is, delusional. Angela Merkel, who was closer to Putin than any other Western leader (probably too close), said that "he lived in another world" and that was years before he became ever more isolated. 

[CousinsCowgirl84]

As long as Putin can keep the status quo the war favors Russia. People say that the rebellion made Putin Weaker. I’m not convinced of that. Before the rebellion Wagner was openly mocking Putin’s war effort. The rebellion was “squashed” within a day and Putin is still the countries leader. The only obvious risk to Putins grasp of power has been disbanded and their leader whisked away into a third world country…

 

With NATO determined to stay out of it regarding troops does anyone think Ukraine can win to the 2014 borders? I sort of doubt it though I hope I am wrong.

 

I think if NATO only had to deal with Russia they would have already sorted it out, but I think they are worried about Iran, North Korea, and China and Russia and the impact of open war with those countries would have on the ability to import oil and the economy as a whole.

[FootballZombie]

16 minutes ago, CousinsCowgirl84 said:

People say that the rebellion made Putin Weaker. I’m not convinced of that. Before the rebellion Wagner was openly mocking Putin’s war effort. The rebellion was “squashed” within a day and Putin is still the countries leader.

 

Nah, Russia's most effective fighting unit has been removed from the Ukraine theater and has yet to return. Some believe that they may even be out of it for good.

 

The effects of the rebellion are increased each day that Wagner is not out there. That makes Putin weaker. Every goal Putin had just became harder to achieve and he has less manpower and less competent organized groups to do it with.

[DCSaints_fan]

1 hour ago, FootballZombie said:

 

Nah, Russia's most effective fighting unit has been removed from the Ukraine theater and has yet to return. Some believe that they may even be out of it for good.

It was the only unit that was capable of offensive operations in Ukraine since last year.

 

So if Russia can't go on the offensive, they're pretty screwed, as long as the West supports Ukraine, they are going to try to get back their territory.  And eventually they will succeed.

[China]

‘Blame Ukraine in Case of Any Emergency,’ Russians Tell ZNPP Personnel

 

The Russian contingent is gradually leaving the territory of the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP), according to the Ukrainian military intelligence report from June 30.

 

Three employees of Rosatom, Russia’s state nuclear energy corporation, were among the first to leave the plant. The Russians have been occupying the plant since March 2022. Ukrainian employees who had signed a contract with Rosatom also received evacuation recommendations. 

 

“According to the instructions received, they must leave by July 5. The desired destination is the territory of the occupied Crimea. As of today, the head of the legal department Mantsurova, chief inspector Shtatsky, and deputy station manager for support Gubarev are leaving for the peninsula,” the message stated.

 

Military patrols on the territory of the ZNPP and in the satellite city of Enerhodar have also been gradually decreasing. The personnel remaining at the plant have been instructed to “blame Ukraine in case of any emergency.”

 

At the same time, Moscow sent a letter to the UN Security Council confirming that it did not intend to blow up the ZNPP. Russia’s permanent representative to the organization, Vasily Nebenzya, reiterated the Russian position at a UN Security Council meeting on arms supplies to Ukraine.

 

“Today, we have circulated as a UN Security Council and General Assembly document a letter confirming once again that we have no intentions to blow up this plant under our control and urge the UN Secretary-General and the international community to influence Kyiv to refrain from provocations against the ZNPP,” Nebenzya said. 

 

Click on the link for the full article

[Gurgeh]

22 minutes ago, China said:

‘Blame Ukraine in Case of Any Emergency,’ Russians Tell ZNPP Personnel

...

Military patrols on the territory of the ZNPP and in the satellite city of Enerhodar have also been gradually decreasing. The personnel remaining at the plant have been instructed to “blame Ukraine in case of any emergency.”

 

At the same time, Moscow sent a letter to the UN Security Council confirming that it did not intend to blow up the ZNPP. Russia’s permanent representative to the organization, Vasily Nebenzya, reiterated the Russian position at a UN Security Council meeting on arms supplies to Ukraine.

 

“Today, we have circulated as a UN Security Council and General Assembly document a letter confirming once again that we have no intentions to blow up this plant under our control and urge the UN Secretary-General and the international community to influence Kyiv to refrain from provocations against the ZNPP,” Nebenzya said. 

 

Click on the link for the full article

 

It's possible that the destruction of the dam has dropped the water level in the nearby reservoir enough for Ukrainian troops to be able to cross it and potentially threaten the Russians. However, it's hard to conceive of anyone wanting to be involved in a firefight in a nuclear power station. Perhaps the Russians are pulling back because they could potentially get surrounded in there now.

 

The Russians are reported to have mined the cooling pond for the station. Destroying the pond could have bad consequences for the reactors, not Chernobyl level but enough to radioactively contaminate the facility itself. However, if the vents were opened after destroying the pond, then radiation would be released into the atmosphere. There's also plenty of spent nuclear fuel stored there that could be tampered with. It all depends how crazy the Russians want to be.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[CousinsCowgirl84]

Dunno if anyone where checks out RT just for funsies but it offline now for about 2 hrs.

[88Comrade2000]

The Wagner 'Coup' Was Staged by Putin—and the West Fell for It | Opinion

[China]

‘Yevgeny Prigozhin will never be discussed again’: Russian media to erase all traces of mutinous warlord

 

uddenly, Yevgeny Prigozhin is a phantom. Is he in Belarus or St Petersburg? In unconfirmed footage that makes him look like a Bond villain, he struts across a rooftop, shadowed by a muscled bodyguard, takes a seat in a helicopter, and vanishes into the skies of St Petersburg.

 

For nearly a decade, Prigozhin has sown scandal in Russia, creating a troll factory empire, leading Russia’s interference into foreign elections and bankrolling the Wagner mercenary group that fought in Ukraine and has propped up dictators in Africa.

 

In last weekend’s mutiny, he also called for upheaval, leading an armed rebellion that many fear could turn to score-settling or even looting in Moscow, including the upmarket homes of Moscow’s wealthy Rublyovka district.

 

“This call to go get those thieves in Rublyovka was revolutionary,” said Konstantin Remchukov, editor-in-chief of Nezavisimaya Gazeta, who saw Vladimir Putin last week at a closed-door meeting for top editors. “[The elite] truly fear Prigozhin as a possible alternative to Putin. There would be no guarantees, no protection, no rules to the game.”

 

Instead, it is Prigozhin’s empire that will now crumble, ending a decade of his schemes and tricks doing some of the Kremlin’s dirtiest work.

 

On Friday, Russia blocked the websites of the Ria Fan, Politics Today, Economy Today, Neva News and People’s News online media outlets, part of a constellation of online sites that pushed out fake news in support of Prigozhin’s agenda.

 

The St Petersburg-based outlet Rotunda also reported that Prigozhin’s Internet Research Agency, a troll factory where low-paid interns would try to sow anger and distrust by writing aggressive comments under news and social media posts, had also been closed down.

 

Prigozhin had for years denied that he was the founder of the organisation until earlier this year. “I’ve never just been the financier of the Internet Research Agency,” he said. “I invented it, I created it, I managed it for a long time. It was founded to protect the Russian information space from boorish aggressive propaganda of anti-Russian narrative from the west.”

 

Click on the link for the full article

[Cooked Crack]

Quote

In the wake of a mutiny that almost reached Moscow, Vladimir Putin is facing a new test—managing one of the most complex corporate takeovers in history.  

 

Inside the Wagner Group’s sealed-off glass tower headquarters  in St. Petersburg, agents from the Federal Security Services, or FSB, have been scouring the offices for evidence against Yevgeny Prigozhin, the Wagner chief who led last month’s insurrection. New Kremlin-backed military contractors are launching recruiting drives on Russian social-media networks with recruitment ads to poach some of Wagner’s 30,000 mercenaries, hackers and moneymen, whom the longtime ally of President Putin deployed to Ukraine, the Middle East and Africa.  

 

Across St. Petersburg, Russian law enforcement took computers and servers at Prigozhin’s Patriot Media Group, a key piece of a communication empire that once included the Internet Research Agency, the social-media organization that pumped millions of pro-Kremlin messages onto social-media channels and caused mayhem in the 2016 U.S. presidential election, according to staff and text messages reviewed by The Wall Street Journal. A likely new owner of Patriot Media, the messages say, is National Media Group, chaired by Alina Kabaeva, the Washington-sanctioned rhythm gymnast the U.S. government believes to be the mother of at least three of Putin’s children.

 

[China]

Quote

 A likely new owner of Patriot Media, the messages say, is National Media Group, chaired by Alina Kabaeva, the Washington-sanctioned rhythm gymnast the U.S. government believes to be the mother of at least three of Putin’s children.

 

Was she using the rhythm method?

[China]

The West must stop opposing Russia and agree to 'annihilation' of democratic Ukraine or face Third World War and 'nuclear winter', warns Putin ally in latest chilling rant

 

The West must stop opposing Russia's aggression in Ukraine - or face nuclear war, epidemics and famine which could wipe out millions, a close aide to Vladimir Putin has warned.

 

The dictator will not accept any solution short of total defeat of the 'annihilation' of democratic Ukraine, warned the former Russian president Dmitry Medvedev in a chilling threat to the free world.

 

'You don't have to be a visionary to understand that the confrontation phase will be very long,' said Medvedev, who is now deputy head of 70-year-old Putin's security council.

 

'The confrontation will last for decades... One way to resolve it is the third world war.

 

'But it is obviously bad, because the victors are not at all guaranteed further prosperity, as was the case after previous world wars... Most likely, there will simply be no winners.

 

After all, it is impossible to consider as a victory the world in which nuclear winter has come, million-plus cities lie in ruins, there is no electricity due to the transcendent electromagnetic impulse, and a huge number of people die from the shock wave, light radiation, penetrating radiation and radioactive contamination.

 

'Where terrible epidemics and famine reign.'

 

Click on the link for the full article

[LD0506]

съесть мешок членов

[Gurgeh]

Ukrainian troops regain more territory along eastern and southern fronts | Ukraine | The Guardian

 

In an initial report on Telegram on Monday, Maliar said the Ukrainian military took back 37.4 sq km (14.4 sq miles) of territory in heavy fighting in the past week. She said Russian forces were attacking near Lyman, in the northern Donetsk region and near Avdiivka and Mariinka, long-contested cities farther south – to the west of Bakhmut.

In a later report, Maliar said fighting near Bakhmut had intensified and “a struggle is under way to seize the initiative.

 

... Moscow has spent months consolidating its defensive lines, some of which now run to a depth of 30km. “There’s a considerable number of Russians in Ukraine. There are considerable defensive obstacles,” Adm Rob Bauer, the chair of Nato’s military committee told journalists in Brussels on Monday.

 

“The counteroffensive, it is difficult. People should never think that this is an easy walkover.” Ukrainian military chiefs were right to be “cautious” probing for weaknesses in the Russian lines, as they risk losing a lot of forces in full-on assaults, Bauer said.

[China]

Wagner warlord Prigozhin has vanished eight days after mutiny as Kremlin cracks down on his business empire with the mercenary chief not seen since last week's rebellion

 

Wagner warlord Yevgeny Prigozhin's business empire came under fresh assault yesterday as his media companies suddenly folded amid questions over his whereabouts.

 

The mercenary chief has not been seen since shortly after the collapse of a mutiny by his Wagner Group fighters that rocked Vladimir Putin's regime eight days ago.

 

Normally prolific on social media, Prigozhin was last heard from on Telegram a week ago, despite a rumoured sighting in Moscow.

 

Under the deal that halted his rebellion, the former ally and one-time chef to Putin was to be allowed to go into exile in Belarus.

 

His men, who have fought some of the bloodiest battles of the 16-month war in Ukraine, were given the choice of joining him, being integrated into Russia's armed forces or returning home. Now the closure of his network of companies has added to growing scepticism over whether Prigozhin will really be allowed to leave Russia.

 

Click on the link for the full article

[PokerPacker]

[China]

Wagner boss Yevgeny Prigozhin resurfaces with new message

 

Russian warlord Yevgeny Prigozhin gave his first sign of life in a week on Monday as he issued a voice message expressing thanks to supporters of his recent failed uprising.

 

“I want you to understand that our ‘March of Justice’ was aimed at fighting traitors and mobilizing our society,” Prigozhin, chief of the Wagner mercenary army, said in a 41-second voice message posted on Telegram. “In the near future, I am sure that you will see our next victories at the front. Thanks guys!”

 

Click on the link for the full aritcle

[Cooked Crack]

 

 

[Switchgear]

[CousinsCowgirl84]

July 5 night time is supposed to be the time from what I read, so that would be any moment now correct?

 

 

 

[Llevron]

Lets hope for the planet and everything living on it sake that its Russian bluster and nothing else. JFC 

[TradeTheBeal!]

Almost 9PM Moscow time…better hurry up!

[Switchgear]

https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-war-nuclear-977195f0ef72c1601ce17e83ff9da818

 

Quote

Citing the latest intelligence reports, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy alleged Tuesday night that Russian troops had placed “objects resembling explosives” on top of several of the plant’s power units to “simulate” an attack from outside.

 

“Their detonation should not damage power units but may create a picture of shelling from Ukraine,” according to a statement from the general staff of Ukraine’s armed forces.

The Associated Press reviewed high-resolution satellite imagery of the plant taken Monday and Wednesday. The photos showed no visible changes to the roofs of the six concrete containment domes covering the reactors at the plant, or nearby buildings.

 

The International Atomic Energy Agency has officials stationed at the Russian-held plant, which is still run by a Ukrainian staff that oversees crucial cooling systems and other safety features.

 

The facility’s location in an area of intense fighting has put it at the mercy of stray shells or rockets, and the Russia-ordered evacuation of hundreds of local people in May deepened the anxiety. The IAEA has tried in vain to forge a deal on a security zone around the plant.

 

IAEA Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi said his agency’s most recent inspection of the plant found no activity related to explosives, “but we remain extremely alert.”

“As you know, there is a lot of combat. I have been there a few weeks ago, and there is contact there very close to the plant, so we cannot relax,” Grossi said during a visit to Japan.

 

Agency experts have requested additional access to the rooftops of two reactor units, as well as turbine halls and some parts of the cooling system at the plant to confirm the absence of explosives.

 

“Our experts must be able to verify the facts on the ground. Their independent and objective reporting would help clarify the current situation at the site, which is crucial at a time like this, with unconfirmed allegations and counter allegations,” Grossi said in a statement.

 

Seems like it may have been a bit overhyped...

[NickyJ]

So, are we all going to die of nuclear radiation in a week yet? If we are, I want to splurge and get the $8 ice cream at the store.