Russia Ukraine Update Thread - part 3

Found a rather comprehensive article on land mines in the Ukrainian war, from Reuters. Rather than quote any of it, I'll just post the link. It does have some informational graphics. I've also included a link to a text-only version of it.

In Ukraine, land mines left by Russian forces pose a deadly threat

text-only link

Suffice it to say, there are a number of modern mines I had no idea existed, including ones that can sense ground vibrations, even nearby foot steps. Although the title suggests it is just about Russian mines, it discusses the ones used by Ukraine as well.

What are the chances anything about this bs war reported @ BBC has not been approved @ B77?

originally posted by: Arbitrageur

originally posted by: face23785
On paper, they're all supposed to spend at least 2% of their GDP on defense. They didn't do that for years. A lot of people believed they'd defend Ukraine too even though they aren't NATO. You can't find any of these people today, they all pretend no one ever said that in history.

I can find a country that's not in NATO who promised to defend Ukraine, if Ukraine would send its nukes to Russia. They can't pretend they didn't say it because it's in writing in a formal agreement. Can you guess who that country is? It's so ironic.

Russia doesn't live up to their agreements. Big shocker. If that's supposed to hurt me, it doesn't. I don't support Russia or Putin.

Prigozhin hobnobbing it up at Africa summit hosted by Putin

Does anyone here still believe that was a genuine coup attempt in June?

Following the embarrassment of having to wait in the glare of cameras for a meeting with Tayyip Erdogan last year it's only gone and happened again , this time Putin shuffles about as he's forced to wait for Egyptian president Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi.


There's just no respect anymore.

a reply to: gortex

That must be great comfort to those who thought Putin was going to be deposed by now. Take what you can get I guess.

a reply to: Freeborn

Can't argue with much in your post, actually agree with much of it. How where whatever this conflict ends heaven only knows. Best wishes for the weekend etc etc

Telegraph's a decent source yes, it's just I'm genetically tight so the Guardian being the last freebie broadsheet is the go to source and yes it's pretty reasonable, compared to the Beeb at least I honestly can't answer who does the unbiased stuff re the conflict. Sometimes Al Jazeera seems quite a reasonable middle of the ground entry point for getting a view of what's going on. I guess they are biased too. As far as the BBC go they are just a mouthpiece of the government of the day in Britain. I once chatted having sat next to a BBC reporter going home on a plane, can't remember his name, might come to me in my sleep. It was interesting chatting to him. I couldn't help by asking him a couple of questions. Like why were we 'forced' to watch the South Africa events leading up to 1994 frequently this being the main headline, yet post 94 when the ANC took over we never heard a single report for months and to this day the collapse of South Africa is still completely ignored by our government's mouthpiece? Also when the Serbs were in Kosovo doing what they did atrocities amongst them, this was 'the' headline for ages. Yet when the boot was on the other foot and Serbs were being ethnically cleansed from Kosovo, also the Krajina in Croatia it was largely totally ignored by the BBC, as was the reporting from pre war times when Serbs were under attack from Saudi Arabian promoted militant Albanians for years. Millions of Serbs uprooted, massacred, not a mention. I kept on at him, how do you make the decisions? How do you promote one side of the conflicts then ignore the other also the after effects. He said it's "not important what's going on in those places, it's what we believe you need to know" with a knowing smile.

originally posted by: MrInquisitive

originally posted by: ufoorbhunter

originally posted by: Freeborn
For those who believe all we get from MSM is non-stop propaganda here is an article from the BBC News website giving an honest assessment of Ukraine's recent offensive and the problems they are encountering.

www.bbc.co.uk...

The general in charge of Ukraine's stuttering counter-offensive in the south has said Russian defences are making it difficult for military equipment, including Western tanks and armoured vehicles, to move forward.

Lol total classic FB................... You are quoting from the state sponsored and directed BS brain washing machine. Why believe anything in that quote? I'd take it with a very large grain of salt

Honest question then, what are a few examples of unbiased reporting sources on the war in the Ukraine?

I fully agree with you that both side use a lot of propaganda, but I maintain that western MSM sources (I'm talking printed not video) are a good deal more honest and transparent than pro-Russian sources.

As for the BBC in particular, it still provides a great deal of good information on stories the world over. Like any other source, I take what is said with a grain of salt and compare to what is said elsewhere. To claim that the BBC is brainwashing central is a bit of hyperbole if not disingenuous. Not being British, I am probably only stating the obvious, but I find The Telegraph to have a significantly stronger pro-Ukraine bent than the BBC. Also find the Guardian to be a good source of news, and a little more even handed.

Russia's "new"? trench warfare tactic: Lure Ukrainian foot soldiers into an abandoned Russian trench and then they set off a number of mines (placed previously before in the trench) by remote-control.

a reply to: face23785

That must be great comfort to those who thought Putin was going to be deposed by now.

Not really , a great comfort would be an end to the war this is just mild amusement.

More re: Staromaiors'ke Here

Ukraine appears to have captured a key city in Donetsk Oblast, according to Ukraine’s military and Kremlin-connected Russian Telegram channels. . . .

(Staromaior'ske) is a key logistics node along the Mokri Yaly River. It straddles the TO-518 Highway, the major north-south road in that part of the oblast. It is located some 60 miles north of Mariupol and 65 miles north of Berdiansk, two Azov Sea port cities

Cheers

originally posted by: Erno86
Russia's "new"? trench warfare tactic: Lure Ukrainian foot soldiers into an abandoned Russian trench and then they set off a number of mines (placed previously before in the trench) by remote-control.

Its why you toss a grenade into a trench to clear it first.

The Russian city of Taganrog situated about 30 miles from the Ukrainian border has been hit by what is believed to be a Ukrainian missile , Russia say they shot it down.


The moment of impact.

originally posted by: ufoorbhunter
Telegraph's a decent source yes, it's just I'm genetically tight so the Guardian being the last freebie broadsheet is the go to source and yes it's pretty reasonable, compared to the Beeb at least

I honestly can't answer who does the unbiased stuff re the conflict. Sometimes Al Jazeera seems quite a reasonable middle of the ground entry point for getting a view of what's going on. I guess they are biased too. As far as the BBC go they are just a mouthpiece of the government of the day in Britain. I once chatted having sat next to a BBC reporter going home on a plane, can't remember his name, might come to me in my sleep. It was interesting chatting to him. I couldn't help by asking him a couple of questions. Like why were we 'forced' to watch the South Africa events leading up to 1994 frequently this being the main headline, yet post 94 when the ANC took over we never heard a single report for months and to this day the collapse of South Africa is still completely ignored by our government's mouthpiece? Also when the Serbs were in Kosovo doing what they did atrocities amongst them, this was 'the' headline for ages. Yet when the boot was on the other foot and Serbs were being ethnically cleansed from Kosovo, also the Krajina in Croatia it was largely totally ignored by the BBC, as was the reporting from pre war times when Serbs were under attack from Saudi Arabian promoted militant Albanians for years. Millions of Serbs uprooted, massacred, not a mention. I kept on at him, how do you make the decisions? How do you promote one side of the conflicts then ignore the other also the after effects. He said it's "not important what's going on in those places, it's what we believe you need to know" with a knowing smile.

originally posted by: MrInquisitive

originally posted by: ufoorbhunter

originally posted by: Freeborn
For those who believe all we get from MSM is non-stop propaganda here is an article from the BBC News website giving an honest assessment of Ukraine's recent offensive and the problems they are encountering.

www.bbc.co.uk...

The general in charge of Ukraine's stuttering counter-offensive in the south has said Russian defences are making it difficult for military equipment, including Western tanks and armoured vehicles, to move forward.

Lol total classic FB................... You are quoting from the state sponsored and directed BS brain washing machine. Why believe anything in that quote? I'd take it with a very large grain of salt

Honest question then, what are a few examples of unbiased reporting sources on the war in the Ukraine?

I fully agree with you that both side use a lot of propaganda, but I maintain that western MSM sources (I'm talking printed not video) are a good deal more honest and transparent than pro-Russian sources.

As for the BBC in particular, it still provides a great deal of good information on stories the world over. Like any other source, I take what is said with a grain of salt and compare to what is said elsewhere. To claim that the BBC is brainwashing central is a bit of hyperbole if not disingenuous. Not being British, I am probably only stating the obvious, but I find The Telegraph to have a significantly stronger pro-Ukraine bent than the BBC. Also find the Guardian to be a good source of news, and a little more even handed.

Thanx for the reply.

Don't get me wrong, I don't think the BBC is anywhere near perfect, but it tends to be a good source of information nonetheless. I do remember that after a few months into the Iraq War, the Blair government did some sort of overhaul of the BBC, and afterwards the reporting on the Iraq conflict became a lot more one-sided, i.e. didn't discuss possible war crimes by the US-led NATO forces and other such matters.

You're also right about how news about South Africa in the MSM, including the BBC, dried up after the ANC took over. Now whether that was a politically-motivated move or a "if it doesn't bleed, it doesn't lead" move is another matter. Given SA's drift towards unaligned nations and to Russia and China, it doesn't seem like it was a politically-motivated move by news organizations.

As for Al Jazeera, I agree that it generally seems more equal-handed reporting matters, but it doesn't seem to go into as much depth either. Seems to be for the breezier news reader.

originally posted by: face23785
Prigozhin hobnobbing it up at Africa summit hosted by Putin

Does anyone here still believe that was a genuine coup attempt in June?

Don't believe many people were calling it a coup attempt, more like a mutiny in an attempt to remove and replace the top military leadership. And no, I don't think it was a fake mutiny. Shooting down Russian helicopters and killing 13 crew members, along with other Russian military personnel losses along the way, as well as an attempt to get at Russian tactical nukes doesn't strike me as a fake mutiny, nor does the purge of Russian generals and colonels afterwards.

I'll acknowledge it is a bit strange how Prigozhin has been treated since then, but he was careful to never criticize Putin, and Wagner group still plays a big part in Russia's oversea operations in Africa, which would explain Prigozhin's appearance at the Africa summit -- that and his man-cave complex is in St. Petersberg, where the summit was held. And do we even know this is the real Prigozhin at this point?

originally posted by: face23785
a reply to: gortex

That must be great comfort to those who thought Putin was going to be deposed by now. Take what you can get I guess.

You keep on coming up with these straw-man statements. Who exactly predicted that Putin would be deposed by now? How about providing some supporting evidence to back up your snarky remarks? Yes, during the Wagner mutiny some people were wondering if Putin's fall from power was imminent, but don't recall anyone saying it was in the cards.

On the other hand, there are people claiming that Putin, post mutiny, has increased his hold on power, but the video in the comment you replied to would suggest otherwise. Now it's foreign leaders who are intentionally keeping Putin waiting before a meeting, rather than the other way around. Also commanders in the field -- generals and colonels -- have now started criticizing the Russian military command, which wasn't happening before the mutiny. Sure, they're still getting canned, and who knows what other reprisals they are suffering, but they are emboldened to criticize their command structure nonetheless.

28 July Update

Ukrainian forces conducted counteroffensive operations in at least three sectors of the front and reportedly advanced near Bakhmut on July 28. Ukrainian military officials stated that Ukrainian forces continued counteroffensive operations on the northern and southern flanks of Bakhmut, and Ukrainian Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Malyar stated on July 27 that Ukrainian forces continued advancing south of Bakhmut.

The Ukrainian General Staff reported that the (Russian) 247th Guards Air Assault (VDV) Regiment (7th VDV Division) refused to go to combat near Staromayorske due to heavy Russian losses and Ukrainian battlefield victories.

More at URL above.

Cheers

Movements in Moldova as the country says it is expelling Russian diplomats and other embassy staff because of their "unfriendly actions" , Russia has threatened a response.

On Tuesday, Moldova's foreign ministry voiced concern about a media report on new surveillance equipment installed on the Russian embassy roof and a neighbouring building used by Russia. The report came from Russian investigative media site Insider and Moldova's Jurnal TV channel.

Announcing the expulsion on Wednesday, the ministry said it was prompted by "ongoing tensions and unfriendly actions" and the Russians would have to leave by 15 August.

"For many years we have been the object of hostile Russian actions and policies. Many of them were made through the embassy," said Moldovan Foreign Minister Nicu Popescu.

Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said Moldova's "unfriendly step will not go unanswered". She said it would mean restrictions on consular services and on Moldovans' contacts with Russia, though she did not announce specific measures.
www.bbc.co.uk...

originally posted by: gortex
Movements in Moldova as the country says it is expelling Russian diplomats and other embassy staff because of their "unfriendly actions" , Russia has threatened a response.

What can Russia do? Thump their chest and make bear sounds. "Whine, whine, whine".

Russia has been called for interfering in Moldova before. Russia seems to be incapable of having friendly relations with anyone, especially those countries they used to control.

Time for Moldova to reclaim control of Transnistria and boot the Russian occupiers out.

False flag incoming .

Poland claims more than 100 members of the private military company have been deployed near the border with Belarus

The Wagner private military company is preparing a “hybrid attack” on Polish territory from Belarus, Poland’s Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki has claimed.

RT


Seems like the Wagner rebellion was planed .