Russia's Invasion of Ukraine - Consolidated Thread

[schwartzie]

US Long-Range Rocket Systems Used For First Time In Ukraine

BY TYLER DURDEN

FRIDAY, JUN 24, 2022 - 12:05 PM


Starting Thursday, Ukraine's Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov hailed the arrival of the longest-range missiles the United States has provided thus far in the four-month long war.



"HIMARS have arrived to Ukraine. Thank you to my colleague and friend SecDef Lloyd J. Austin III for these powerful tools! Summer will be hot for Russian occupiers. And the last one for some of them," Reznikov announced on Twitter.





The HIMARS, or High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems, were announced as part of the latest $700 million weapons package to Ukraine on June 1. In total four of the systems will be transferred as part of the authorization, with the possibility of more in coming aid packages.



The HIMARS being provided to the Ukrainians are estimated to be able to hit targets about 50 miles away, which from the administration's standpoint marks a significant improvement in range, but still makes it unlikely the missiles could be used to strike within Russian territory, which Biden had expressly said he wants to avoid.



The US has said that Ukraine's military leadership has provided "assurances" it won't use the newly provided systems to attack Russian territory, amid persisting fears Washington and Moscow could enter direct conflict.



Reznikov announcement didn't specify how many HIMARS have arrived at this point, however, it didn't take long at all for Ukraine military observers to allege the US-supplied system has already appeared on the battlefield as of Friday...

Given that prior Pentagon statements indicated it would take at least three to four weeks to train Ukrainian forces on using the HIMARS - and given it seems the system has already rapidly been deployed - the likelihood is that Ukrainians had already been receiving training by US advisers in a neighboring country in anticipation of receiving them.



A well-known war monitoring account has posted what's purported to be video below of HIMARS hitting their targets:

Meanwhile, for months the Kremlin has warned the West against providing Ukraine's forces with long-rage weaponry. Russia has threatened attacks against "decision-making" command centers, and has vowed to disrupt their transport to the battlefield.



At the same time, the Pentagon has reportedly wanted to at least double the number of HIMARS being provided. Especially if battlefield 'success' is proven, the US is likely to ramp up its supply of the systems to Kiev.

Ukraine's leadership says the long-range, more advanced US weaponry spells pain for the Russian occupiers, however, others have lately admitted it could be "too little, too late."


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[OmegaMan]

Massive numbers of Ukrainian forces now surrounded by Russian troops in Donbas region as U.S. continues pouring in weapons

Tuesday, June 28, 2022 by: JD Heyes

Tags: Eastern Ukraine, fighting, Joe Biden, Kyiv, M777, Moscow, NATO, Russia, Russian troops, surround, U.S. artillery, U.S. weapons, Ukraine, Ukrainian troops, WWIII



This article may contain statements that reflect the opinion of the author




(Natural News) Russian forces may have met a lot more resistance in Ukraine than their commanders and President Vladimir Putin initially anticipated, but as the fighting continues, Moscow’s superior numbers are taking a heavy toll on Kyiv’s defenders.



According to a report on RT.com, at least two thousand Ukrainian troops including the neo-Nazi Azov Battalion are now trapped in the eastern Donbas region after having been surrounded by Russian troops, Chechen fighters and Ukrainian rebels.



“The soldiers are encircled in two neighboring towns in the Lugansk People’s Republic,” the report said, referencing a region of Ukraine that has been annexed by Putin and renamed.



“Four Ukrainian battalions as well as an artillery unit are among those trapped, the Defense Ministry announced. The encircled forces also include around 120 fighters from the notorious ‘Right Sector,’ a neo-Nazi group of up to 80 foreign fighters, according to the ministry,” the report continued.



You may recall that one of Putin’s objectives for invading Ukraine was its ‘denazification.’



The encircled Ukrainian troops are in the towns of Gorskoye and Zolotoye, located south of the major cities of Severodonetsk and Lysychansk. Those cities have recently been targeted by both sides as they continue to trade ground and fight over the territory of Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics, RT.com reported.



The report adds:



The Russian military has also claimed that the trapped units have lost over 60% of their strength. According to the defense ministry, 41 Ukrainian soldiers encircled in the area have surrendered. The Defense Ministry has also published a video supposedly showing those who have laid down their arms.



Brighteon.TV

The head of the Ukrainian Gorskoye military administration, Aleksey Babchenko, confirmed to the Ukrainian media on Friday that the town has been fully seized by the Russian forces and the Donbass militias.



Sergey Gaidai, who is called “the head of the Lugansk Oblast” by the Ukrainian government in Kyiv, noted on the chat app Telegram that the country’s forces may soon pull back from Lysychansk because their defensive positions have been knocked out by Russian forces, and there is “little sense” in trying to remain.



In addition, Russian warplanes have successfully targeted a Ukrainian artillery battery that was equipped with American-made M777 howitzers in the Kharkiv region. In recent days, the Biden regime had agreed to supply Ukraine with as many as 90 M777 guns, The New York Times reported in May.



“Russia is using its long-range fires to try to overwhelm Ukrainian positions,” Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said last week at a NATO ministers meeting in Brussels, Belgium, in part to figure out how to get more weapons and ammunition to Ukrainian troops being pounded by long-range Russian guns and rocket fire.



“The most advanced weapons the United States has so far supplied Ukraine include four HIMARS truck-mounted multiple-launch rocket launchers, with rockets that have a range of up to 40 miles, greater than anything Ukraine currently possesses. The first Ukrainian team is scheduled to complete its training on the system on Wednesday, and it will be deployed in the battlefield next week, a Biden administration official said,” according to the Times.



The Russian encirclement comes amid earlier reports that Moscow’s forces claim to have killed hundreds of Ukrainian troops during a strike on a shipbuilding plant in the Ukrainian port of Nikolaev. In addition, the Russian Defense Ministry said forces killed dozens of Ukrainian officers during a strike on a compound where several Ukrainian unit commanders were meeting.



The war will likely continue for months, if not years, which will no doubt leave more of Ukraine a wasteland as Russia continues to dominate in manpower, manufacturing and technology.



The U.S. should be sitting this one out but won’t, for some reason. No doubt because Applesauce Brain and his dirtbag son have interests in Ukraine they're trying to protect! 

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[Pink Rose]

Terrifying new video captures moment Russian AS-4 missile slams into Ukrainian mall killing 18, debunking Kremlin claims that a blaze accidentally spread from a 'weapons store' targeted nearby


New CCTV footage reveals the moment Russian missile slammed into Ukrainian shopping mall in Kremenchuk

Video shows AS-4 anti-ship missile striking Amstor mall shortly before 4pm local time, causing large blast

Footage directly contradicts Russia's claim the mall burned down after it hit a nearby train station and factory

At least 18 people died and 59 were hurt in the attack, with another 21 missing - many of them presumed dead

By CHRIS PLEASANCE FOR MAILONLINE



PUBLISHED: 06:21 EDT, 29 June 2022 | UPDATED: 06:37 EDT, 29 June 2022




Terrifying new footage has captured the moment a Ukrainian shopping centre was eviscerated by a Russian anti-ship missile, debunking Kremlin claims that the mall accidentally caught fire after it hit a factory nearby.



Video captured on a CCTV camera overlooking the rear of the Amstor mall in Kremenchuk, central Ukraine, shows what appears to be a guided AS-4 Kitchen missile - originally designed to take out US aircraft carriers - slamming into the shopping centre shortly before 4pm local time Monday.



It emerged just hours after more footage taken from cameras in a nearby park showed the moment a second missile struck the Kredmash factory, which sits behind the mall, destroying four warehouses at the northern end of the complex and raining debris down on passersby.





Russia's defence ministry has admitted being behind the attacks - despite one politician initially blaming Ukraine for bombing its own people - saying the factory was being used as a store for western weapons which were due to be transported to Donbas. It denied striking the mall, and said the second missile actually hit a train station.



But Ukraine says Russia deliberately targeted the mall in a 'terrorist attack' designed to sow fear among civilians, and that there were no arms being stored at the factory - which manufactures parts for civilian vehicles, among other things. The video footage tallies more closely with Kyiv's account than Russia's.



Mykhailo Podolyak, one of President Zelensky's top advisers who posted the footage online late last night, wrote: 'Russian propaganda always lies: There is no coincidence, [the strike] was a deliberate blow to intimidate the population and cause mass casualties.'



At least 18 people were killed in the strike with another 21 still missing as-of Wednesday, with rescuers warning they are unlikely to have survived an inferno which gutted the mall and caused the roof to collapse. Identifying victims is proving difficult, with some bodies burned beyond recognition.

Continued at the link

[Pink Rose]

Terrifying moment Putin's missiles hit city centre, sending Ukrainians diving for cover as blast kills 23 people including three children


Cyclists and pedestrians were thrown to the ground by yesterday's blast in Vinnytsia, video shows

Yesterday's Kalibr missile attack hit the city of 370,000 far from the Donbas frontline, killing 23

More than 100 people were injured in the inhumane attack by Putin's forces against civilians

By WILL STEWART and JACK NEWMAN FOR MAILONLINE



PUBLISHED: 04:04 EDT, 15 July 2022 | UPDATED: 20:57 EDT, 15 July 2022


Terrified pedestrians were forced to run for cover when Putin's forces fired a Kalibr missile at a busy city centre yesterday killing 23 people, shocking video shows.



The missile launched from a submarine in the Black Sea crashed down on Vinnytsia at around 10.50am local time injuring at least 100 people.



Russia has insisted the savage strike targeted the Ukrainian military, during a meeting of air force command and representatives of Western arms suppliers.


Yet footage shows cyclists and pedestrians going about their day when suddenly the destructive power of the blast blows them off their bicycles while others cowered and dropped to the ground for safety.



Seconds later, an ominous shadow of darkness suddenly casts a pall across the square as frightened dogs flee the scene.



Terrorised people are seen running to escape the strike unleashed on the city of 370,000 people in the centre of the country, far from the Donbas frontline.

Continued at the link

[Pink Rose]

Russia bombards cities across Ukraine, with shelling in the north, cluster bombs in Mykolaiv and missile strikes in Odesa


Russian forces struck a school, houses and a community centre in Odesa using Kalibr missiles

Cluster shells rained down on Mykolaiv, injuring two, while 150 mines and shells were fired in Sumy

Ukraine is preparing a counterattack to recapture the biggest swath of territory taken since the invasion

By JACK NEWMAN FOR MAILONLINE



PUBLISHED: 09:00 EDT, 19 July 2022 | UPDATED: 09:07 EDT, 19 July 2022


Russia has stepped up its bombardment across Ukraine, with intense shelling of Sumy in the north, banned cluster bombs targeting Mykolaiv and a missile strike in Odesa in the south.



At least two civilians were killed and 15 wounded by Russian shelling across the country over the past 24 hours, Ukraine's presidential office said.



In Odesa, an attack injured at least four people, burned houses to the ground and set other homes on fire, Oleksii Matsulevych, a spokesman for the regional administration, said.





Russian forces fired seven Kalibr cruise missiles at the region, hitting houses, a school and a community centre.



Russian forces targeted Mykolaiv with cluster shells, injuring at least two people and damaging windows and roofs of private houses, the Ukrainian city's mayor Oleksandr Senkevich said.



More than 150 mines and shells had been fired on the Sumy region, Dmytro Zhyvytskyi, the head of the Sumy regional military administration, said.



'They fired mortars, barrel and rocket artillery. The Russians also opened fire using machine guns and grenade launchers,' he said.

Continued at the link

[Pink Rose]

Mystery as 'Russian soldiers are killed' in 'unexplained incident' at occupied Ukrainian nuclear power plant that left troops 'so scared they ran around the station in panic'


Troops at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant 'were hospitalised yesterday'

One is said to be in a serious condition while an unspecified number were killed

Russia has been storing their weapons, including missile systems, at the plant

By JACK NEWMAN FOR MAILONLINE



PUBLISHED: 05:00 EDT, 19 July 2022 | UPDATED: 05:35 EDT, 19 July 2022


Russian soldiers have been killed and injured in a mysterious 'unexplained incident' at the occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in Ukraine, it has been claimed.



Dmytro Orlov, the mayor of Enerhodar where the station is based, said the troops were 'so scared that they ran around in a panic', with some now in intensive care in hospital.



The cause of the sudden hysteria is not known, although Putin's men had been using the power plant to store many of their weapons, including missile systems.


Russian soldiers have been killed and injured in a mysterious 'unexplained incident' at the occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in Ukraine



The president of Ukrainian nuclear agency Energoatom had warned on Friday that the situation was 'extremely tense', with up to 500 Russian soldiers controlling the site.





'The occupiers bring their machinery there, including missile systems, from which they already shell the other side of the river Dnipro and the territory of Nikopol,' Petro Kotin said, referring to the city across the water.


'They physically control the perimeter. The occupiers' heavy machinery and trucks with weapons and explosives remain on the territory of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant,' he said.



According to Mayor Orlov, nine soldiers were taken to the local hospital with varying degrees of severity.



He said: 'One of them was brought in in a serious condition and has been put in intensive care.



'Some have died but we cannot name their exact number at the moment.'



A Russian serviceman stands guard at the main entrance to the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Station

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A Russian serviceman stands guard at the main entrance to the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Station



He continued: 'They were so frightened that they ran around the territory of the station in a panic, and blocked two shifts of operational personnel at the plant for a very long time instead of changing shifts as they were supposed to.'



The Zaporizhzhia plant, which creates around 20 per cent of Ukraine's electricity, was seized by Russian forces on March 4 and they now control the administrative buildings and the station.



It comes as the UK's Ministry of Defence claimed Russia is increasingly relying on 'convicts and blacklisted individuals' to plug gaps in its frontline forces.



With 50,000 Russian troops believed dead, wounded or captured since Vladimir Putin invaded Ukraine, the Kremlin has contracted the Wagner Group, a mercenary firm, to supply soldiers.



But even the group's resources are running low after fighting in the Luhansk and Donetsk regions. Russia has made territorial gains but at a significant cost. Yesterday the MoD said: 'The fighting has inflicted heavy casualties on the group.



'Wagner are lowering recruitment standards, hiring convicts and formerly blacklisted individuals while very limited training is available to new recruits.

Continued at the link

[Pink Rose]

Russian soldiers are put 'on a direct path to a body bag' with only FIVE DAYS' training for recruits and some sent to Ukraine without knowing how to use a machine gun


Russia's Defence Ministry website states that anyone who signs a contract with the Russian army must first undergo four weeks of combined arms training

But one soldier has said he was given just five days, with some of his comrades reaching the front lines in Ukraine not knowing how to use a machine gun

The report is the latest sign of Russia's increasing desperation in its invasion

Ukraine's fierce resistance has taken the Kremlin by surprise, with some estimates putting Russian losses above 30,000 - with morale reportedly low

By CHRIS JEWERS FOR MAILONLINE



PUBLISHED: 04:37 EDT, 21 July 2022 | UPDATED: 05:24 EDT, 21 July 2022


Russian soldiers are being put 'on a direct path to a body bag,' a military analyst has said, with one soldier claiming he was given just five days of training before being sent to fight on the front lines in Ukraine.



The soldier, named only as Ivan to protect his identity, said in some cases his comrades were being shipped off to fight without even knowing how to use a machine gun, according to The Moscow Times.



The report is the latest sign of Russia's increasing desperation to crush Ukraine's fierce resistance that has taken the Kremlin by surprise, with some estimates suggesting President Vladimir Putin has seen more than 30,000 of his troops killed.





When the invasion began on February 24, Moscow brazenly believed its forces would sweep to victory and depose Kyiv's government in a matter of days. Instead, Russia has been dragged into a protracted and costly conflict, with no end in sight.



Independent military analyst Pavel Luzin offered a damning assessment of Russia's military when told of Ivan's claim that he was given less than a week of training.



'A week [of training] is nothing — for a soldier, it is a direct path to a hospital or a body bag,' Luzin told The Moscow Times on Thursday.

Continued at the link

[Pink Rose]

Russia accuses Ukraine of firing on occupied nuclear plant and says a 'European-wide catastrophe' was avoided 'by luck' when reactor cooling tank was narrowly missed


Russia claimed Ukrainian drones struck the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant

Moscow accused Ukraine of creating 'conditions for a nuclear disaster'

Kyiv today accused Moscow of storing heavy weapons in the nuclear plant

By RACHAEL BUNYAN FOR MAILONLINE and AFP



PUBLISHED: 10:36 EDT, 21 July 2022 | UPDATED: 11:06 EDT, 21 July 2022


Russia today accused Ukraine of firing on the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in Moscow-occupied territory, claiming a 'European-wide catastrophe' was narrowly avoided 'by luck'.



Moscow claimed Ukrainian drones struck the nuclear power plant - the largest in Europe - on Wednesday just yards away from a reactor cooling tank.



Foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said: 'It was only by luck that this did not lead to damage to the equipment and to a man-made catastrophe.'





She accused Kyiv of seeking to create 'conditions for a nuclear disaster, not only on its territory, but throughout Europe.'



Russian troops took control of the Zaporizhzhia plant in southeast Ukraine in March, early in their Ukraine offensive.


Continued at the link

[schwartzie]

Russian Missiles Blast Port of Odessa Hours After Deal on Grain Shipments Signed

BREITBART LONDON
23 Jul 2022

(AFP) – Russian missiles struck Ukraine’s key Black Sea port of Odessa Saturday, officials said, in an attack Kyiv described as a “spit in the face” of a deal signed by the warring neighbours a day earlier to resume grain exports blocked by the conflict.



Two cruise missiles hit terminal infrastructure, regional authorities said on social media, casting a shadow over the landmark agreement hammered out over months of negotiations aimed at relieving a global food crisis caused by stalled deliveries that sent wheat prices tumbling.



“The Russian missile is [Russian president] Vladimir Putin’s spit in the face of UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and Turkish President Recep [Tayyip] Erdogan, who made enormous efforts to reach an agreement,” said foreign ministry spokesman Oleg Nikolenko.

The first major accord between the countries since the February invasion of Ukraine aims to ease the “acute hunger” that the United Nations says faces an additional 47 million people because of the war.



Nikolenko said Russia would bear “full responsibility for deepening the global food crisis” if the agreement were jeopardised by the assault.



“The enemy attacked the Odessa sea port with Kalibr cruise missiles. Two of the missiles were shot down by air defences. Two hit port infrastructure,” Sergiy Bratchuk, a representative of the Odessa region said in a statement on social media.



The hostility between Moscow and Kyiv had spilled over into Friday’s signing ceremony in Istanbul — delayed briefly by disputes about the display of flags around the table and Ukraine’s refusal to put its name on the same document as the Russians.

Ukraine had entered the ceremony by bluntly warning that it would conduct “an immediate military response” should Russia violate the agreement and attack its ships or stage an incursion around its ports.



The two sides eventually inked separate but identical agreements in the presence Guterres and Erdogan at Istanbul’s lavish Dolmabahce Palace.



“Today, there is a beacon on the Black Sea — a beacon of hope, a beacon of possibility, a beacon of relief,” Guterres had said moments before the signing.



Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky later said the responsibility for enforcing the deal would fall to the UN, which along with Turkey is a co-guarantor of the agreement.



The agreement includes points on running Ukrainian grain ships along safe corridors that avoid known mines in the Black Sea.



Huge quantities of wheat and other grain have been blocked in Ukrainian ports by Russian warships and landmines Kyiv has laid to avert a feared amphibious assault.



Zelensky said that around 20 million tonnes of produce from last year’s harvest and the current crop would be exported under the agreement, estimating the value of Ukraine’s grain stocks at around $10 billion.



Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu told Kremlin state media he expected the deal to start working “in the next few days” although diplomats expect grain to only start fully flowing by mid-August.



The United States, Britain, and the European Union hailed the Istanbul agreement while urging Moscow to abide by its rules.

Global alarm about grain has been accompanied by European fears that Russia is starting to use its stranglehold on energy exports as a geopolitical weapon in its standoff with the West.



The grain deal was signed one day after Russia’s restart of the Nord Stream natural gas pipeline eased concerns in Europe of a permanent shut off after a 10-day maintenance suspension.



Analysts say the partial resumption of gas supplies was insufficient to ward off energy shortages in Europe this winter.



The ornate halls of Istanbul’s Dolmabahce Palace felt far removed from east Ukraine’s Donbas war zone on another day of relentless shelling across the front.



Russia is trying to fight deeper into the war zone’s Donetsk region after securing full control of neighbouring Lugansk.



On Friday, the United States signed off on another $270 million in military aid to Ukraine, including rocket systems, artillery ammunition and armoured command posts.



Russian missile strikes on railway infrastructure and a military airfield in the central area of Kirovograd on Saturday killed at least three people and wounded nine, regional governor Andriy Raikovych said.

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[OmegaMan]

Massive escalation of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine being planned as Donetsk People’s Republic leader seeks “liberation” of “all Russian cities” in Ukraine

Saturday, July 30, 2022 by: JD Heyes

Tags: Denis Pushilin, Donbass, expansion, MAGA Republican, military support, national security, Reagan Republicans, Republicans, Russia, Russian invasion, Ukraine, Vladimir Putin, world war



This article may contain statements that reflect the opinion of the author


(Natural News) It appears as though Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is about to become a much longer, multi-year operation.



The leader of the newly ‘liberated’ Donetsk People’s Republic, Denis Pushilin, has called for the liberation of “all Russian cities” in Ukraine, which includes Odessa, something that he considers one of the most important strategic objectives of Moscow’s ‘special military operation.’



“All Russian cities must be liberated,” he said in response to questions from an RIA News correspondent, according to Russian news site TopWar.ru.



“It is time to liberate the Russian cities founded by the Russian people again, such as Kyiv Chernigov, Poltava, Odessa, Dnepropetrovsk, Kharkov, Zaporozhye and Lutsk,” he added, according to The Limited Times.



Pushilin went on to say that allied troops consisting of Russian forces along with the People’s Militia of the DPR and LPR should move beyond the borders of those two enclaves after they have been completely taken over, meaning, he is pushing President Vladimir Putin to take over the entire country of Ukraine. He believes that if Putin halts the invasion at the borders of the two annexed ‘republics’ then Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy will take that as a victory of sorts and use it to restore the Ukrainian army’s combat capabilities.



In addition, Pushilin reasoned that any delay in taking all of Ukraine by Russia will also give Ukraine’s Western allies time to help rearm Kyiv’s fighting forces as well. That will no doubt include long-range artillery, rockets and other weapons that will be used to constantly shell the annexed republics.



Brighteon.TV

“If the enemy receives serious weapons with a long range, then, of course, we will then have to make appropriate decisions,” he said.



The report added:



In fact, with his statement, the head of the DPR answered the question that has not yet been raised whether the militia of the People’s Militia of Donbass will participate in the further liberation of the territory of Ukraine together with the RF Armed Forces after they reach the administrative borders of the republics.



Literally, Pushilin’s words mean that the further offensive of the Russian army will be supported by the NM DPR. The head of the Donetsk Republic agrees with the opinion of State Duma deputy Adam Delimkhanov, who heads the Chechen special forces in a special operation in Ukraine, that the goals of the SVO will be achieved before the end of the year.



Pushilin also believes that Zelenskyy should be tried by an international tribunal after being charged with war crimes in the Donbass.



Meanwhile, political divisions in the U.S. over Ukraine are continuing to deepen especially among Republicans. Supporters of former President Donald Trump are pushing for the U.S. to cut aid and assistance to Ukraine, while “Reagan Republicans” are seeking to expand it, The Hill is reporting.



“The Reagan Republicans have been winning the battle, but the continued fight could shape future U.S. policy if the GOP takes the House or Senate in this fall’s midterms,” the outlet reported this week. “GOP lawmakers who want to continue U.S. support for Ukraine are sending out warning signals, calling for the U.S. to keep up its backing for Kyiv regardless of which party holds the congressional majorities.”



Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick (R-Pa.), who sits on the House Intelligence and House Foreign Affairs committees and who worked in Ukraine as an FBI agent, told The Hill: “If freedom is under assault by dictatorship and we don’t back up freedom, then what message does that send?”



But that logic misses the mark — intentionally. Since Fitzpatrick was an FBI agent who worked in Ukraine, he knows full well what a corrupt country it is, and how undemocratic it has been throughout most of its post-Soviet existence.



As for the Trump-aligned Republicans “who oppose support for Ukraine,” they “largely say they do not want to send money abroad when it can be used in the U.S. to fortify the southern border and invest in domestic energy production, among other issues.”



America first is always a better foreign policy, especially as it appears that Russia may soon greatly expand its war in Ukraine.

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[bloodbought]

Most Ukraine aid is a ‘scam’ – US lawmaker

Two GOP congresswomen have cited a media report showing that most weapons shipped to Kiev aren’t making it to the front lines

Most Ukraine aid is a ‘scam’ – US lawmaker

Republican lawmakers are feeling vindicated for opposing a $40 billion Ukraine aid package after a CBS News report showed that only 30% of the Western weapons flooding into the country are actually making it to the front lines in Kiev’s conflict with Russia.



“This [is] one of the reasons I voted ‘no,’” US Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Georgia) said on Twitter in a retweet of the CBS News post. Greene was among 57 House Republicans who voted against the massive aid bill, which passed overwhelmingly in May with the support of all Democrats and most GOP lawmakers. Eleven Republicans opposed the bill in the Senate, where it passed by an 86-11 margin.



The CBS story noted that with nearly $60 billion in US and Western European aid approved for Ukraine since Russia’s military offensive began in February, most of the weaponry has failed to get through to Ukrainian fighters. Getting weapons to the troops involves navigating a complex network of “power lords, oligarchs [and] political players,” the outlet cited Lithuanian aid group founder Jonas Ohman as saying. Amnesty International senior crisis adviser Donatella Rovera told CBS that “there is really no information” on where the weapons are going.



Representative Lauren Boebert (R-Colorado) said such scrutiny had been dismissed prior to the CBS report. “How many people were called Russian bots for saying this exact same thing since March? Now, when CBS says it, it’s perfectly fine. Whatever the case, glad the facts are out now. The majority of the Ukraine aid is a scam.”

Continued at link

[Pink Rose]

Russia 'abandons 20,000 troops' near Kherson: 'Stupid orcs' cut off as commanders flee across river in the face of Ukrainian counter-attack, governor says


Vitaly Kim said Russian commanders are withdrawing east of the Dnipro River

20,000 Russian troops have now been 'abandoned' on west bank, he claimed

Ukraine has blown up all major bridges crossing the river under Russian control

Means Putin's forces in Kherson have no easy way of reinforcing or retreating

By CHRIS PLEASANCE FOR MAILONLINE



PUBLISHED: 10:12 EDT, 15 August 2022 | UPDATED: 10:35 EDT, 15 August 2022


Russia has abandoned 20,000 troops near Kherson in the face of a Ukrainian counter-attack, the regional governor has claimed.



Vitaly Kim said Russia is relocating command posts on the west bank of the Dnipro River to the east, leaving 'stupid orcs' - his term for Kremlin soldiers - behind.



Ukraine has already blown up all three bridges under Russian control connecting the two banks, meaning its soldiers on the west side have no easy way of resupplying, reinforcing, or retreating as Kyiv's men continue their advance.



Kim, the governor of Mykolaiv which sits on the west bank, said Monday that Russian commanders have now begun withdrawing - apparently fearing capture or death at the hands of the Ukrainians.


'I feel just a bit sorry - but not much - for the stupid orcs who had been abandoned on the right bank of the Dnipro,' he wrote on Telegram.



'All of the commanders are moving to the other side.'



Kherson was captured by Russian forces back in March, as Putin's troops stormed out of occupied Crimea and captured swathes of Ukraine's south.



It is a strategically important city as it spans the Dnipro River - which divides Ukraine in two - and sits close to the Black Sea coast, which connects Ukraine to valuable sea trading routes.



The city also has huge symbolic value, because it is the only regional capital to have been captured by Putin's forces during the invasion.



Ukraine announced plans for a counter-attack in the region last month, before blowing up two road bridges - the Antonovsky Bridge in Kherson and Nova Kakhovka hydroelectric dam bridge - using HIMARS rockets.



Both have been struck several times, including again at the weekend, with British intelligence saying they are now likely impassable to most vehicles.



'Even if Russia manages to make significant repairs to the bridges, they will remain a key vulnerability,' the Ministry of Defence said.



'Ground resupply for the several thousand troops on the west bank is almost certainly reliant on just two pontoon ferry crossing points.

Continued at the link

[ExquisiteGerbil]

Zaporozhye is where the Nuclear Power Plant (NPP) is located!

[ExquisiteGerbil]

[Pink Rose]

Explosions rock Donbas as Russian ammo dump goes up in flames in fresh blow to Putin's 'exhausted' forces almost six months after war began


Explosions lit up sky in Donetsk after overnight strike on Russian ammo dump

Russian state media said Ukraine hit 'warehouses', without linking it to military

It is just the latest arms depot to be hit, after blasts rocked bases in Crimea

Attacks have badly hurt Russia's ability to wage artillery warfare with Putin's 'exhausted' men struggling to advance six months after war began, experts say

By CHRIS PLEASANCE FOR MAILONLINE



PUBLISHED: 06:15 EDT, 22 August 2022 | UPDATED: 09:52 EDT, 22 August 2022


Explosions lit up the early morning sky over Russian-occupied Donbas this morning as yet another of Putin's ammo dumps went up in flames.



Videos captured on the eastern outskirts of the city of Donetsk showed smoke and flames engulfing a set of badly-damaged buildings as the sun came up Monday, with multiple blasts caught on camera.



It is just the latest arms depot to go up in flames after blasts at bases across occupied Crimea that Ukraine says has badly-damaged Russia's ability to fight.



Analysts at the Institute for the Study of War say Putin's 'exhausted' forces are now struggling to make any ground and believe his invasion will soon ground to a halt.



Meanwhile Ukrainian commanders say they are confident in their ability to wear down Russia's army and force it to retreat, as what was supposed to be a days-long 'special military operation' has dragged out into a nearly six-month war.

Continued at the link

[Pink Rose]

Fears grow of a new Chernobyl as area surrounding Ukrainian nuclear power plant is hit by Russian shelling despite international disaster warnings


Russia struck Ukrainian cities near Europe's largest nuclear plant overnight

Nikopol, which sits across the Dnipro River from the plant, was hit three times

Four people were injured, including two taken to hospital, local governor said

Comes despite global calls for shelling around nuclear plant to immediately stop

By CHRIS PLEASANCE FOR MAILONLINE



PUBLISHED: 08:58 EDT, 22 August 2022 | UPDATED: 09:10 EDT, 22 August 2022


Russia has shelled cities around Europe's largest nuclear power plant overnight despite international calls for all fighting around the reactors to stop.



Nikopol, a city that sits six miles downstream from Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant and on the opposite side of the Dnipro River, was hit three times overnight.



Four people were injured in the strikes, regional governor Valentyn Reznichenko said, including two who had to be taken to hospital.



It comes despite calls from the UN to halt fighting around the plant, with President Joe Biden calling European leaders to express his concern at the weekend.



Fears about the plant are growing as Volodymyr Zelensky warns Russia could be plotting 'something particularly ugly' to coincide with Ukraine's Independence Day celebrations this week.

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[shalom]

U.S. Embassy Kiev Warns All US Citizens to Flee Ukraine

By Larry Johnson

Published August 23, 2022 at 2:59pm




That’s right. After 6 months of war between Ukraine and Russia, the U.S. Embassy is now alarmed by the prospect of a possible Russian air assault on Kiev, Lviv and other large Ukrainian cities. Here is the “Security Alert”:



Ukraine Event:The Department of State has information that Russia is stepping up efforts to launch strikes against Ukraine’s civilian infrastructure and government facilities in the coming days. Russian strikes in Ukraine pose a continued threat to civilians and civilian infrastructure. The U.S. Embassy urges U.S. citizens to depart Ukraine now using privately available ground transportation options if it is safe to do so.



See additional safety information from a previous Security Alert below:



If you hear a loud explosion or if sirens are activated, immediately seek cover.


If in a home or a building, go to the lowest level of the structure with the fewest exterior walls, windows, and openings; close any doors and sit near an interior wall, away from any windows or openings. If you are outdoors, immediately seek cover in a hardened structure; if that is not possible, lie down and cover your head with your hands. Be aware that even if the incoming missile or drone is intercepted, falling debris represents a significant risk. After the attack, stay away from any debris, and monitor major news outlets for official guidance.



The security situation throughout Ukraine is highly volatile and conditions may deteriorate without warning. U.S. citizens should remain vigilant and take appropriate steps to increase their security awareness.



It is not clear what has sparked this heightened level of panic. Have Ukrainian and U.S. intelligence intercepted communications that the Russians are prepping airstrikes in response to the assassination of the Russian woman last week by alleged Ukrainian operatives or in retaliation for the artillery shelling of the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant? Perhaps.



There are other possibilities. Russia is using deception, i.e. signalling major air strikes west of the Dnieper, while diverting the force of the Russian attack to another mission. Such as? There are now reports from the Russian Minister of Defense that the attack on Nikolaev is underway from the east and the north:



As a result of an offensive in Kherson-Nikolaev direction near Aleksandrovka, the Allied Forces have eliminated units of 28th Mechanized Brigade of AFU and reached the administrative border of Nikolaev Region. 36 square kilometres of Kherson Region have been liberated.



Komsomolskoye has been liberated, advancing 3 kilometres into the enemy defence in this direction. Territory of 12 square kilometres of Nikolaev Region has been liberated.



In addition, 35th Marine Brigade and 46th Aeromobile Brigade of AFU suffered significant losses near Andreevka. The enemy is dislodged from Blagodatovka and neighbouring populated areas.



Or is the United States and Ukraine feeding the false narrative of an impending attack in order to further tarnish Russia’s international reputation? We will know for sure by the end of the week.



If Russia does fulfill the AmEmbassy Kiev’s dire warning of impending doom, this will mark a watershed moment in Putin’s so-called “Special Military Operation.” Hitting Kiev and Lviv in force after months of giving them the kid glove treatment means the gloves are off and the Russian military is going to ratchet up the pain factor on all of Ukraine, not just the military units.

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[shalom]

Europe was ‘one step away from a nuclear disaster’ after Russian-held power plant was forced to be cut off from electrical grid and only back-up diesel generators prevented catastrophe


Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant was disconnected from the national power grid on Thursday

Zelensky said the plant's emergency backup diesel generators had to be activated to supply the plant

He accused Russia of nearly causing a 'radiation disaster' in the country still haunted by Chernobyl

Three other power lines 'were earlier damaged during terrorist attacks' by Russian forces, said Ukraine

By TOM BROWN FOR MAILONLINE



PUBLISHED: 04:30 EDT, 26 August 2022 | UPDATED: 14:57 EDT, 26 August 2022


Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has accused Russia of nearly causing a 'radiation disaster' after the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant was temporarily cut off from the electrical grid because of fire damage.



Mr Zelensky blamed Russian shelling and said the plant's emergency backup diesel generators had to be activated to supply power needed to run the plant. A loss of cooling could cause a nuclear meltdown.



'Russia has put Ukraine and all Europeans one step away from a radiation disaster,' the president said in his nightly video address.



'The world must understand what a threat this is,' Zelensky said, after speaking with US president Joe Biden. 'If the diesel generators hadn't turned on, if the automation and our staff of the plant had not reacted after the blackout, then we would already be forced to overcome the consequences of the radiation incident.'



A blackout across the region on Thursday heightened fears of a catastrophe in a country still haunted by the Chernobyl catastrophe.



'Every minute the Russian troops stay at the nuclear power plant is a risk of a global radiation disaster,' Zelensky said.



All six reactors of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant in southern Ukraine are still disconnected from Ukraine's electricity grid, state nuclear company Energoatom said.


Full story with pictures and video at link

[Pink Rose]

Ukraine 'breaks through Russian lines and forces separatists to retreat from one region' as Kyiv's forces begin counter-offensive in Kherson


Ukraine has started a counter-offensive in the captured Kherson region

Recent strikes on Russia's logistical routes have 'weakened the enemy'

Russia rapidly captured swathes of Ukraine's south near the Black Sea coast

By JACK NEWMAN FOR MAILONLINE



PUBLISHED: 08:46 EDT, 29 August 2022 | UPDATED: 11:18 EDT, 29 August 2022




Ukraine claims it has broken through Russian lines in a major new counter-offensive in the south as Kyiv forces go on the attack against the invading troops.



The 'Kakhova' Ukrainian military group said it had seen 'the retreat' of pro-Russian separatist fighters from their positions in Kherson.



Russian forces seized Kherson on March 3, the first major city to fall following Putin's barbaric invasion.



The southern military command announced today they had carried out the long-awaited manoeuvre, reflecting Kyiv's growing confidence as Western military aid flows in.



'Today there was a powerful artillery attack on enemy positions in ... the entire territory of the occupied Kherson region,' Sergey Khlan, a local deputy and adviser to the regional governor told Ukraine's Pryamyi TV channel.



'This is the announcement of what we have been waiting for since the spring - it is the beginning of the de-occupation of Kherson region.'


Khlan said Ukrainian troops now had 'the advantage' on the southern front.



Several strikes in recent weeks have targeted bridges in the region, in a bid to hamper logistics for the Russian military.



In late July, Khlan said the region would be recaptured by Kyiv's forces by September.



Southern command spokesperson Natalia Humeniuk said that Ukraine's recent strikes on Russia's southern logistical routes had 'unquestionably weakened the enemy,' adding that more than 10 Russian ammunition dumps had been hit over the last week.



However, she declined to be drawn into giving more details about the new offensive.



'Any military operation needs silence,' she said, adding that Russia's forces in the south are 'rather powerful' and have been built up over a long time.



Russia rapidly captured swathes of Ukraine's south near the Black Sea coast, including Kherson, in the early phase of the war in stark contrast to its failed attempt to capture the capital Kyiv.



Ukraine has been using sophisticated Western-supplied weapons to hit Russian ammunition dumps and wreak havoc with supply lines.



Humeniuk told a briefing on Monday that Ukraine had struck more than 10 such ammunition dumps in the past week, adding they had 'unquestionably weakened the enemy'.



She declined to give details of the counter-offensive, saying Russian forces in southern Ukraine remained 'quite powerful'.

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[Pink Rose]

Ukraine warns 'limited nuclear conflict' cannot be ruled out, with 'the prospect of Third World War already visible'


Valeriy Zaluzhnyi said there is a 'direct threat' of Russia using nuclear weapons

He said the shelling around Zaporizhzhia shows their disregard for safety

The commander in chief said it would unleash 'chaos' on a global scale

By JACK NEWMAN FOR MAILONLINE



PUBLISHED: 10:17 EDT, 7 September 2022 | UPDATED: 11:49 EDT, 7 September 2022


Ukraine's military chief has claimed there is a direct risk of Russia using tactical nuclear weapons 'in certain circumstances'.



Valeriy Zaluzhnyi, the Ukrainian army's commander in chief, added that it is impossible to rule out the direct involvement of global powers in what he described as a 'limited' nuclear war.



Zaluzhnyi said in an article published by state news agency Ukrinform: 'There is a direct threat of the use, under certain circumstances, of tactical nuclear weapons by the Russian Armed Forces.



Ukraine's military chief has claimed there is a direct risk of Russia using tactical nuclear weapons 'in certain circumstances' (pictured: Russia's Sarmat missile test launch in April)

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Ukraine's military chief has claimed there is a direct risk of Russia using tactical nuclear weapons 'in certain circumstances' 

'Battles on the territory of Ukraine have already demonstrated how much the Russian Federation neglects the issues of global nuclear security even in a conventional war.



'In particular, since July 2022, Russian troops have set up a military base at the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant, deploying heavy artillery, including BM-30 Smerch multiple rocket launchers, on its premises.


'It is hard to imagine that even nuclear strikes will allow Russia to break Ukraine's will to resist. But the threat that will emerge for the whole of Europe cannot be ignored.



'The possibility of direct involvement of the world's leading powers in a 'limited' nuclear conflict, bringing closer the prospect of World War 3, cannot be completely ruled out either.'



The military chief warned any such provocation would unleash chaos all across the world.

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[Midnight]

Ukraine's 2nd Largest City Plunged Into Total Darkness As Russia Strikes Key Infrastructure

BY TYLER DURDEN

SUNDAY, SEP 11, 2022 - 06:00 PM

Kharkiv, which is Ukraine's second largest city and is the biggest population center closest to Russia's border, has been plunged into total darkness Sunday night amid alleged Russian attacks on key infrastructure sites, including large power stations.



"The center of Ukraine’s second city Kharkiv was plunged into darkness on Sunday evening by an electricity blackout," Reuters has confirmed of the large-scale outage. It's further being reported that some city districts are also without water, creating a severe crisis for residents.







"The cause and extent of the blackout in the northeastern city were not immediately clear. There were also unconfirmed social media reports of blackouts in other places and regions," the report said initially.



However, Ukrainian officials are pointing to stepped up and deliberate Russian attacks on civilian electrical facilities crucial to the city's operations. They are viewing it as punishment for the at this point largely successful Ukrainian military counteroffensive which has regained at least 40 towns and villages to the north and east of Kharkiv.



President Volodymyr Zelensky posted a brief statement to social media along with footage of destroyed infrastructure, denouncing "Deliberate and cynical missile strikes on civilian, critical infrastructure." He stressed they were not "military facilities" that were attacked. "Kharkiv and Donetsk regions were cut off. In Zaporizhia, Dnipropetrovsk, Sumy there are partial problems with power supply."

Zelensky just posted this video with brief statement: “Deliberate and cynical missile strikes on civilian, critical infrastructure. No military facilities. Kharkiv and Donetsk regions were cut off. In Zaporizhia, Dnipropetrovsk, Sumy there are partial problems with power supply.” pic.twitter.com/8BullYcdAr



— Christopher Miller (@christopherjm) September 11, 2022


The governor of the eastern Kharkiv region said that both electricity and water supplies had been disrupted Sunday, citing ongoing Russian attacks on "critical infrastructure" had disrupted electricity and water.



Additionally, a top Ukraine offical of the Dnipropetrovsk region blamed the Russian military for hitting "energy infrastructure" - calling it retaliation for "defeat on the battlefield."

Confirmed: Real-time network data show a major internet disruption in #Kharkiv Oblast, Ukraine; the incident is attributed to a Russian strike on TEC-5 thermal power plant as Ukrainian forces recover Russian-occupied territory 📉



📰 Background: t.co/S0qJQ7CbNv pic.twitter.com/5sXDAwjbS7



— NetBlocks (@netblocks) September 11, 2022

Global network monitoring site NetBlocks also confirme


Global network monitoring site NetBlocks also confirmed a mass disruption in internet access across Kharkiv oblast, citing a "Russian strike on TEC-5 thermal power plant" amid pro-Moscow forces being pushed back.

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[schwartzie]

Blackouts Across Much of Ukraine as Russian Missiles Blast Power Plants, Waterworks

JACK MONTGOMERY
13 Sep 2022

Much of Ukraine, particularly in and around the region of the second city of Kharkiv (Kharkov), was plunged into darkness after missile strikes on energy infrastructure.



The missile strikes, which left Kharkiv the Kharkiv region and Ukrainian-controlled areas of Donetsk in darkness, with partial blackouts also reported in Dnipropetrovsk, Zaporizhzhia, and Sumy.



“Russian terrorists remain terrorists and attack critical infrastructure. No military facilities, only the goal of leaving people without light and heat,” said Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky of the strikes.



Water supplies are also said to have been impacted by the bombardment.

The strikes follow what appears to be a major rout of Russian and pro-Russian separatist forces on the Kharkiv front, potentially also imperilling their positions in the Donbas.



While rhetoric on a major Ukrainian counter-offensive in recent weeks has — perhaps deliberately — focused largely on the southern Kherson region, north of the Crimea, it is on the Kharkiv front that Russian forces have, according to British military intelligence, been “taken by surprise”, with tens of thousands of acres of territory recaptured.

The Russian government’s official line is that troops have been withdrawn from the area so they can regroup and help to secure Donetsk, but this does not appear to be convincing people even in Russia.



Indeed, even senior figures like Ramzan Kadyrov, the notorious strongman leader of Chechnya, a Muslim-majority autonomous republic within the Russian Federation, have expressed open dismay over developments on the Kharkiv front, saying of the military leadership: “If they don’t make changes in the strategy of conducting the special military operation in the next day or two, I will be forced to contact the leadership of the Defense Ministry and the leadership of the country to explain the real situation on the ground.”

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[OmegaMan]

Poland distributes iodine pills as fears grow over Ukraine nuclear plant

Reuters




WARSAW, Sept 22 (Reuters) - Poland, concerned about fighting around Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, has distributed iodine tablets to regional fire departments to give to people in the event of radioactive exposure, a deputy minister said on Thursday.



Iodine is considered a way of protecting the body against conditions such as thyroid cancer in case of radioactive exposure.



Shelling at the site of Zaporizhzhia - Europe's biggest nuclear power plant - has damaged buildings close to its six reactors and cut power cables, risking a nuclear catastrophe that would affect neighbouring countries. Russia and Ukraine blame each other for the shelling around the plant.


"After the media reports about battles near the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant we decided... ahead of time to take protective action to distribute iodine," deputy interior minister Blazej Pobozy told private broadcaster Radio Zet.



"I would like to reassure all citizens that these are routine, pre-emptive actions that are to protect us in the event of a situation which... I hope will not happen," he added.



Russia's invasion of Ukraine has put former Soviet satellite states on edge, and President Vladimir Putin's threat of using nuclear weapons had already sent residents scrambling to stock up on iodine in the war's earlier stages. read more



Russia's military fired nine missiles on the city of Zaporizhzhia, hitting a hotel and a power station, regional governor Oleksandr Starukh said on Thursday.



Zaporizhzhia is about 50 kms (31 miles) from the nuclear plant of the same name. read more


The head of the United Nations atomic agency said on Wednesday he would not abandon a plan to create a protection zone around the Zaporizhzhia plant despite Russian plans to mobilise new troops and hold a referendum in the region.

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[Berean]

Russian men call Ukraine to surrender BEFORE being drafted: Tank captain reveals he is being sent to the front with zero training, troops are left without food, and Kyiv 'kills 550 of Putin's soldiers in 24 hours' as morale collapses

Russians are calling Ukrainian surrender hotline before being drafted, Kyiv says

Men are researching how to give up safely in case they are sent to the frontline

Videos reveal tank captain complaining he is being sent to the front with no training, and troops in a foxhole saying they were abandoned without food

Ukraine claims it has killed 550 Russian soldiers within the last 24 hours alone

By CHRIS PLEASANCE FOR MAILONLINE



PUBLISHED: 08:59 EDT, 27 September 2022 | UPDATED: 14:13 EDT, 27 September 2022




Russians are calling Ukraine to surrender before even being drafted into the military as moral within Putin's ranks collapses, Kyiv has claimed.



Andrii Yusov, spokesman for the Ministry of Defence, said men who are fearful of the draft have been getting in touch with a surrender hotline to check how to give up safely before they are called to the frontlines.



Meanwhile videos have emerged showing a newly-recruited tank commander who has been told he will deploy to the Kherson frontline in just two days without so much as firing a shot on a training range.



More footage captures two troops sitting in a field in Ukraine and complaining that they have been abandoned by their commanders without food or water, and that they would be better off fighting for the other side.



Kyiv's generals claimed to have killed 550 Russian soldiers in the past 24 hours after conscripts began arriving on the front, underlining the meat grinder that Moscow's rag-tag reinforcements are being thrown into.

Full story, pictures, and video at link

[Berean]

The situation is out of control: Massacre in Moscow for the defeat in Liman - They set up two meters A/GETHA, A/GES and General Lapin - Dozens of nuclear Iskanders are transported

Kadyrov requested the use of nuclear...

01/10/2022 - 23:18 in Main topics , Ukraine

0

Duma emergency meeting: Putin chastises Deputy Prime Minister over HIMARS – Paving the way for supply of drones from Iran


Rapid developments exist in the Kremlin after the defeat at Krasny Liman, the third in a row after Isium, Kupyansk, Balakliya.



Analysts, active and retired generals have opened fire in groups against the Ministry of Defense as it is now clear to all that the Russian Army does not have the required forces to hold the massive front.



The head of Chechnya, R. Kadyrov, publicly demanded the heads of Lt. Gen. V. Gerasimov, and the Commander of the Central Military District, General Alexander Lapin, who had previously been awarded the star of the Hero of Russia for the liberation of Lisichansk, and was responsible for the defense of the Krasnolimansky sector. Lapin was transferred to the command of the troops of the Western District.



The same views are expressed by many others. There are expressions of anger in almost all the Russian media such as " what the hell is the Administration doing", "do they understand what is happening?", "we have Generals with modern minds and doctrine, let them work".



"We've lost Krasny Liman, we're losing the gateway to Slavyansk" and more.



Kadyrov's statements are not accidental. They are considered to be expressing the Kremlin and developments must be expected as it has called for martial law and the use of tactical nuclear weapons in Ukraine. We remind you that yesterday was preceded by Putin's statements about the "destined US with Hiroshima-Nagasaki"



Obviously the situation is not good and the temper is beginning to be lost. Immediately after Kadyrov's statements, a mass transfer of Iskander-M ballistic missiles, which may also carry a nuclear warhead, to Kherson was detected for the first time.



Nuclear use is now very close.



The front has collapsed for the Russians and it will be very difficult for them to contain the Ukrainians at this stage. Russian military sources said that the Russian Army does not have a strong defensive line in Kreminna either.



Therefore the Ukrainian Army can push and head towards Svatove, Kreminna or Lysychansk, i.e. enter Lugansk as well.



Watch the video of the transfer of Iskander to Kherson (link below)

Violent attack by R. Kadyrov on the Russian leadership

With his statements, R. Kadyrov launched a fierce attack on the Russian military leadership. Features include:



"I have always said: there is nothing better than the truth expressed, although bitter, offensive, but the truth. This is the only way forward. Therefore, I cannot remain silent about what happened in Krasny Liman.



The defense of this division was led by the commander of the Central Military District, General Alexander Lapin. The same Lapin, who received the star of the Hero of Russia for the capture of Lisichansk, although de facto he was not there and was not around. Lapin also surrendered to the troops of the Western Military District.



The general deployed forces from the Lugansk militia and other units to all lines of the Liman direction, but did not provide them with the necessary communications and ammunition supplies.



Two weeks ago, my dear BROTHER Apty Alaudinov mentioned to me personally that our fighters could become an easy target. In turn, I informed Valery Gerasimov, Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, about the danger.



But the general assured me that he had no doubt of Lapin's leadership talent and did not think that a retreat to Krasni Liman and its environs was possible.



A week later, Lapin moves his base to Starobelsk, a hundred kilometers from his subordinates, while he himself sits in Lugansk. How can you manage the units quickly, being 150 km away from them? Due to a lack of rudimentary military logistics, today we have left several settlements and a large piece of land.



It's not a shame that Lapin is mediocre. And that it is covered at the top by the leaders in the GES. If I had my way, I would have demoted Lapin to the rank of soldier, stripped him of his awards, and, with a machine gun in hand, sent him to the front line to wash away my shame in blood.



Nepotism of the military will not lead to good. In the army, it is necessary to appoint people of strong character, courageous, principled, who worry about their fighters, who tear their teeth for their soldier, who know that a subordinate cannot be left without help and support. There is no room for nepotism in the military, especially in difficult times.



Even then, I said: shoot at the enemy's military concentration in Izyum captured by the Nazis, especially since our artillery at that time had such an opportunity.



They would have killed the main satanists and fascists immediately. We must do "special military operation" in the full sense of the word and not flirt. Use every opportunity and every weapon to defend OUR territory.



Donetsk is still being bombed. The residents of the united 4 regions want to be protected.



I do not know what the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation reports to the Supreme Commander-in-Chief, but in my personal opinion more drastic measures should be taken, up to the declaration of martial law in the border areas and the use of low-yield nuclear weapons.



It is not necessary to make every decision with an eye on the Western American community – it has said and done a lot against us. Yesterday there was a parade in Izyum, today a flag in Liman and what tomorrow? Everything would be fine if it wasn't so bad."

"The problem is with the Ministry of Defense"

Andrey Gurulev, Duma member, General e.a. and former Commander of the 58th Army, said:



"I completely agree with R. Kadyrov. The problem is not that the Commander of the Central Military District misjudged the situation.



The problem is the big lies that are told that for example the situation is good. The system starts from the top down.



Did we know the number of forces and equipment of the Ukrainians heading for Liman?



If not where was our surveillance, spy planes, UAVs etc.?



The 144th Division was operating perfectly there, the Air Force as well, the artillery did not stop pounding.



The whole problem is not on the ground but in the Ministry of Defense where they do not understand the situation.



We need our own General Kvashnin who gave orders and went to the trenches to see our soldiers.



This is how we won the Second Chechen War.



Until something different happens at the Ministry of Defense, nothing will change.



Everything is a consequence of the policy followed there".

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