Russia Ukraine Update Thread - part 2

a reply to: Xcathdra

The only way this ends is when Putin winds up on a slab ............

originally posted by: Xcathdra

originally posted by: JinMI
Rand Paul and Antony Blinkin sparing over Ukraine policy.

Rand Paul and his thought process on Ukraine and NATO drives me bonkers. I have to agree with Blinken - its up to a sovereign nation to decide who they wish to be allies with. Constantly giving in on issues solely because it would piss Russia or China off needs to stop.

I agree. So then, where would Ukraine be without the Nato carrot on a stick or NATO arms?

Better yet, where would they be if certain political critters never got involved in 2013/14?

a reply to: JinMI

In the same position they are in now.

a reply to: Xcathdra

Impossible.

originally posted by: JinMI
a reply to: Xcathdra

Impossible.

No.. Russia, one way or another, was going to occupy Ukraine.

originally posted by: Xcathdra

originally posted by: JinMI
a reply to: Xcathdra

Impossible.

No.. Russia, one way or another, was going to occupy Ukraine.

The option where Russia did not occupy Ukraine was having a puppet dictator for life there like in Belarus.

originally posted by: SgtEsquire
a reply to: F2d5thCavv2 RPGs are rocket launchers (RPG - Rocket Propelled Grenade).

I’ve been following this thread since the beginning and I really appreciate all your contributions.

Oh yes, I agree. But the term "grenade launcher" is not used (in English) to mean the same thing that "RPG" does. A grenade launcher (the term) refers to weapons like the M203. IIRC, "RPG" was a designation that derived from the Russian abbreviation and given an equivalent description in English.

Cheers

27 April update

Key Takeaways

* Concentrated artillery is likely enabling limited Russian advances in eastern Ukraine, though Russian forces continue to struggle to break through prepared Ukrainian defenses.

* Russian forces funneled additional reinforcements and tactical missile units into the Izyum front and made minor advances. Russian forces are likely attempting to bypass Ukrainian forces on the road to Barvinkove by advancing directly west before pivoting southwards in the coming days.

* Heavy Russian bombardment and continued assaults failed to make headway against Ukrainian defenders in Mariupol’s Azovstal plant, even as Russian forces reportedly prepared to stage a press tour in the occupied areas of the city on April 28.

* Russian forces around Kherson are likely preparing for a renewed push to capture the entirety of Kherson Oblast in the coming days but Ukrainian counterattacks continue to disrupt Russian operations in the area.

* Russian occupation forces continued preparations to announce the creation of a Russian proxy “Kherson People’s Republic” (KNR) amid widespread Ukrainian resistance.

* The Kremlin may be preparing to either bring Transnistria into the war in Ukraine or destabilize Moldova itself to put additional pressure on NATO.

More at URL above.

Cheers

Has Putin turned one of his allies against him?
Serbia,traditionally a pro Russian country is pissed about comments he made regarding Kosovo-

BELGRADE – Today’s editions of the leading pro-government tabloids in Serbia published front pages with highly critical headlines about Russian President Vladimir Putin for the first time since the war in Ukraine began.
The headlines are a reaction to the statement of the Russian President on 26 April that the Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics have the same right to decide on their sovereignty without the permission of the central government as does Kosovo.
“Putin stabbed a knife into Serbia’s back: He traded Kosovo for Donbas” is the biggest headline on the front page of today’s Srpski telegraf.

europeanwesternbalkans.com...

Special dolphin operation in Black sea-

Russia has deployed trained military dolphins at its naval base in the Black Sea – possibly to protect its fleet from an underwater attack – according to new analysis of satellite images.
The US Naval Institute (USNI) reviewed satellite imagery of the naval base at Sevastopol harbor, and concluded that two dolphin pens were moved to the base in February at the start of Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine.

www.yahoo.com...

a reply to: Silcone Synapse

I was wondering how Serbia was going to take those comments. Russia has long been one of the biggest holdouts in recognizing Kosovo. By recognizing Donetsk and Luhansk, and comparing it to Kosovo, he has more or less stated that Russia recognizes the legitimacy of Kosovo.

originally posted by: Xcathdra


No.. Russia, one way or another, was going to occupy Ukraine.

People keep believing Russia's false narratives as to why they invaded. The reality is that Russia as a whole sees Ukraine as Russia and not a sovereign state. That is literary the reason for all of this going back even before 2014. RT tells us right here on ATS it is Russia, the other day on Russian TV they were saying there is no such thing as a Ukrainian or a language of Ukraine other than Russian. They have made up half a dozen reasons now that all kind of drift off into the wind, but it is all smoke and mirrors to get back what they see as theirs.

The rub is they really believe what they say and were expecting a very short invasion with the majority of the population there cheering them on, it didn't happen as 85%+ of the population do not want it, and typically hate Russia for all they have done to them in the last 100 years.

originally posted by: phiupan

The option where Russia did not occupy Ukraine was having a puppet dictator for life there like in Belarus.

Russia did for a short while....

Biden is pushing a 33 billion Ukraine aid package to Congress today.

a reply to: Xtrozero

The money sure is flowin!

Were not even at war yet.

US has evidence that Russian troops in the Donbas are executing Ukrainians even as they surrender, official says

The US has evidence that Russian troops in eastern Ukraine have executed people who are trying to surrender, a top US official told the United Nations Security Council on Wednesday.

"We now have credible information that a Russian military unit operating in the vicinity of Donetsk executed Ukrainians who were attempting to surrender, rather than take them into custody," Beth Van Schaack, the US ambassador-at-large for Global Criminal Justice, said in the meeting.

"If true, this would be in violation of a core principle of the law of war: the prohibition against the summary execution of civilians and of combatants who are hors de combat by virtue of surrender, injury, or other forms of incapacitation."

Hors de combat is a French term used in international law to refer to someone in war who has clearly expressed an intention to surrender or who is injured and incapable of defending themselves.

Van Schaack continued: "These ... reports suggest that atrocities are not the result of rogue units or individuals; they rather reveal a deeply disturbing pattern of systematic abuse across all areas where Russia's forces are engaged."

click link for article

Russia, Belarus Form New USSR, Call On Ex-Soviet Nations to Join

Russia's President Vladimir Putin and Belarus' President Alexander Lukashenko reportedly have plans to strengthen the "Union State" stipulating the close cooperation between the two independent states to attract other countries into the supranational organization, according to Belarusian media.

Belarus' state-owned news agency BelTA reported that Lukashenko said he met with Governor of Russia's Voronezh Oblast Aleksandr Gusev in Minsk on Thursday, where the two discussed their interest in further developing the cooperation between Belarus and Russia.

"Thanks to you we have this cooperation," Lukashenko said, according to BelTA.

"We are building a single Union State on the new principles to ensure that everyone's interests are respected, that the sovereign independent states—Belarus and Russia—keep developing. I am sure that this union will attract other republics of the former Soviet Union."

The claims made by the Belarusian news agency have not yet been confirmed by Russian media or either Belarusian and Russian authorities.

click link for article

"We are building a single Union State on the new principles to ensure that everyone's interests are respected, that the sovereign independent states—Belarus and Russia—keep developing. I am sure that this union will attract other republics of the former Soviet Union." - Alexander Lukashenko on Belarus' state-owned news agency BelTA

LOL. Let's rebuild the 20th Century's greatest failure. Losers.


ETA: someone beat me to it.

a reply to: Xcathdra

I am sure that this union will attract other republics of the former Soviet Union."

I bet they will be queuing up to join.

LOL

Several Cars on Fire in Moscow, Explosions Heard in Video

A blast can be heard in a video posted on Twitter by Ukraine War SitRep, whose user bio says that it reposts "verified media only about the Ukraine invasion by Putin."

"Today in Moscow on Kustanayskaya street, several explosions were heard due to seven burning cars," said the Twitter post.

"No one was hurt, the fire was extinguished, all the circumstances are being investigated now," the message said. Kustanayskaya street is in the south east of the Russian capital.

Images posted on VKontakte show aerial shots of burnt cars in the morning. Next to the video it said that the fire covered an area of 430 square feet.

"What happened is unclear, no one was injured, the reasons are being clarified," said the post on the account that details accidents and emergencies on the social media network.

This is a developing story.

a reply to: alldaylong

Absolutely begging to be crushed under the jackboot of Putin, I'm sure.