Russia's Invasion of Ukraine - Consolidated Thread

[shalom]

Harrowing torture: Ukrainian prisoners suffer severe abuse in Russian captivity

Thousands of Ukrainians who are being held captive in Russia face severe torture, hunger, and psychological abuse, according to the testimony of released prisoners.

By VERONICA NEIFAKH/THE MEDIA LINE

JUNE 26, 2024 23:43





Thousands of Ukrainians who are being held captive in Russia face severe torture, hunger, and psychological abuse, according to the testimony of released prisoners and information obtained by the United Nations and human rights organizations.



For more stories from The Media Line go to themedialine.org

The conflict between Russia and Ukraine has raged since 2014, escalating significantly in 2022. By early 2022, the war had claimed the lives of over 14,000 Ukrainian soldiers and civilians.



Between February 24, 2022, and February 15, 2024, more than 10,000 Ukrainian civilians were killed, and nearly 20,000 were injured, according to the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights.



Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu claimed in February 2024 that Russia’s military had killed or injured 444,000 Ukrainian combatants since the beginning of its invasion of Ukraine.



The number of Ukrainians held in Russia as prisoners of war is unknown. As of the latest prisoner exchange on Tuesday, Ukraine has recovered 3,300 military personnel and civilians since the war began, according to the Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War (CHTPOW), a Ukrainian government body.


One such former prisoner is Roman Horilyk, 40, a former Ukrainian National Guard officer who says he endured two years of torture in Russia before being returned to Ukraine this May.



Photos of the emaciated Horilyk, published by CHTPOW and the Ukrainian project I Want To Live, evoke associations with Nazi concentration camps.



Another example is the story of 24-year-old Maryana Chechelyuk, who was sent in May 2022 for “filtering” after being evacuated from Azovstal in Ukraine to Russian-controlled territories.



Previously an investigator in the Ukrainian police, Chechelyuk was suspected of having connections with the Ukrainian Armed Forces and was taken captive by Russian forces. She shared that she was constantly beaten, starved, and tortured with cold. She returned to Ukraine on May 31.



Prisoners facing severe torture

UN reports provided to The Media Line indicate that Ukrainian prisoners of war are enduring severe torture.



According to the report, Russian forces beat prisoners, use stun guns to administer electric shocks, force prisoners to stand in painful positions for long periods, and expose them to cold by making them walk naked and barefoot outside during winter.



In several facilities, prisoners had to stand still in their cells all day, leading to inflammation and swollen legs.



Guards reportedly force Ukrainian prisoners to learn and sing Russian patriotic songs and the national anthem, recite Russian poetry and propaganda, tell jokes, or imitate animal sounds.



Several prisoners reported being forbidden from using the toilet and sleeping. Loud music or noises often blare from loudspeakers for prolonged periods, including at night.



Many prisoners are subjected to sexual violence, including rape, threats of castration, and repeated forced nudity.



On June 26, the International Day in Support of Victims of Torture, The Media Line features the voices of a former Ukrainian prisoner, a family member of a Ukrainian soldier in Russian captivity, and two lawyers, who recount the Russian crimes against Ukrainian prisoners of war.



Hartman (a combat nickname) is a Ukrainian fighter who was held in Russian captivity in 2014. At that time, he served in a volunteer combat unit.



“We were encircled, spent several days there, and unfortunately, we couldn’t escape. No one wanted to surrender, but we had many wounded,” he told The Media Line.



Hartman recalled that when the Russians demanded their surrender, the Ukrainian commanders agreed only on the condition that the wounded would be handed over to the International Committee of the Red Cross.



According to Hartman, after some time, vehicles arrived, and they were taken to Donetsk, where he spent four months in captivity.



“At first, they wanted to execute us,” Hartman said. “That was the most horrifying part for me—being led to execution but not actually being executed. They did this three times. The first time was unbearable, but by the third, it felt like a walk.”



Hartman explained that the Russians quickly realized the unit was valuable for exchange, so they spared their lives.“That’s why they beat us in a way that left no marks on our hands and faces, to hide the evidence of torture,” he explained.



“We were never taken outside. We, about 20 people, spent all our time in a small basement shelter, with very little space. There were so few surfaces suitable for sleeping that we had to sleep in shifts for three hours each,” he said.



Starved and beaten while in captivity

“Throughout our time there, we endured constant beatings and hunger. You can get used to the beatings, but not to the hunger,” Hartman added.



He recounted that the prisoners were fed barley porridge with pebbles mixed in. They were given no plates, only five spoons.



“There was very little time to eat, and only five spoons for all of us. We made makeshift spoons from light fixtures. You had to eat quickly because of the line. To swallow anything, you had to keep picking out the pebbles. You could only manage about two spoonfuls of porridge. We also got a piece of bread in the morning and evening,” he recalled.



Hartman recounted that the prisoners were constantly beaten during interrogations where, together with an investigator, there also was a “special person with a rubber baton.”



“They hit us on the kidneys, back, and legs. But that wasn’t the worst part because the interrogations couldn’t last forever. The worst part was the guards. They were usually drunk. They called the beatings and torture ‘physical education’—making us squat facing the wall as long as physically possible, then hitting our legs with feet and sticks, and making us squat again. This happened at night and lasted as long as they wanted,” Hartman said.He continued to say that the conditions he faced were bearable compared to what others endured:



“I remember a unit of very young guys, about 15 of them. They were released with us. In captivity, all of them had their genitals cut off. After the exchange, about half of them committed suicide.”



During his captivity, Hartman was allowed to call his family three times. This kept him going. Although they couldn’t say much to each other, hearing his family’s voices helped him survive the ordeal.



“We were in complete information isolation. We didn’t understand how we were perceived back home. That was our first question upon release: ‘Who are we? How do they see us?’ It was very important to hear that we weren’t condemned. It turned out we were seen as heroes,” he said.



The time in Russian captivity in 2014 did not deter Hartman, and today he continues to defend Ukraine against Russian forces.



“The previous experience gives strength and understanding of how important it is to move forward and fight against this evil,” he said.



Hartman noted that the conditions he endured were significantly better compared to the circumstances of Ukrainian prisoners now. Two of his friends are currently in captivity.



“Prisoners of war now are held together with regular criminals, facing intense pressure not just from the guards and interrogations but also in their cells. There are frequent cases of sexual violence against both men and women, which I can’t understand. People are constantly tortured with electric shocks. The tortures and perversions are horrific,” Hartman asserted.



Not only abuse led by Putin

“It’s not Putin giving instructions to torture like this, it’s the people doing it themselves. They have families, children, mothers, and they are capable of such things. This has no right to exist,” Hartman concluded.



Svetlana is the mother of 24-year-old Andrey Bogdan, a member of the Azov Regiment. Based on the limited information Svetlana has, Andrey was convicted as a war criminal in Russia and sentenced to 25 years in prison.



“Andrey decided to join the Azov Regiment in 2019. I saw that he was preparing for it. I understood that he and his comrades were highly motivated, ideological, true Ukrainians, and patriots. I couldn’t oppose my son. I supported him,” Svetlana told The Media Line.



The Azov Regiment, initially established as the Azov Battalion, is a unit within the National Guard of Ukraine. Formed in 2014 as a volunteer militia, it was later integrated into the National Guard.



During the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Azov Regiment played a pivotal role in defending Mariupol, a city subjected to intense bombardment by Russian forces.



After enduring weeks of siege, Azov fighters, along with other Ukrainian units and civilians, were captured by Russian forces in May 2022, following the surrender of Azovstal under dire conditions.



While Andrey was at Azovstal, Svetlana received messages a few times from other people’s phones. Andrey assured Svetlana that he was still alive. However, Svetlana knew there was no drinking water, and people had to drink water drained from the radiators.



“The first news about Andrey came in March 2023. A video from the interrogations appeared on Telegram channels. He was so emaciated that if it hadn’t been labeled, I wouldn’t have recognized my child. He looked like a skeleton wrapped in skin. The interrogation videos showed him confessing to his crimes against civilians: that he had killed a civilian. He spoke Russian almost without an accent, though he had never spoken Russian in his life. It was clear they forced him to say it with torture, as he was bruised and beaten,” Svetlana explained.



In attempts to help her son, Svetlana later joined forces with the public organization Freedom for the Defenders of Mariupol and attended meetings of the working group on enforced disappearances.



“They showed me the case file opened for Andrey, which contained all the information I had provided to the representatives of the International Committee of the Red Cross. They didn’t tell me anything new. No one told me whether they had access to my son,” Svetlana shared.



In August, she found out that Andrey had been sentenced to 25 years. She saw a video from the courtroom where Andrey looked a little better.



“So, they extracted the testimony they needed from him,” she said.



Anna Lyfar is a Ukrainian lawyer and a Ph.D. candidate in the Faculty of Law at Bar-Ilan University in Israel. She is working on a dissertation on the legal regime of captivity based on the example of the Ukrainian-Russian war.



As Lyfar explained to The Media Line, according to international law, prisoners of war should be afforded adequate accommodation.



“Every prisoner of war should be given a separate space to be captivated. And in each camp, each prisoner of war should be given food and facilitation conditions. This is not what is happening in Russian captivity. A third of each prisoner’s weight had been lost during captivity. They require urgent surgery or hospitalization,” she explained.Lyfar noted that while it is doubtful that Ukraine offers every prisoner the conditions that are required by international law, the conditions there are still much better than in Russia.



“According to official Ukrainian governmental information, the Ukrainian government spends, on average, the same amount of money on prisoners as on the average citizen. Those in captivity in Ukraine are allowed to work, to have spare time, they can read books, watch TV, they are offered sufficient nutrition, and their camps are equipped according to the international standards,” she said.



Olena Kuvaieva, a lawyer at the Strategic Litigation Center of the Ukrainian Helsinki Human Rights Union. During the full-scale invasion and now, Kuvaieva and her colleagues have been working on strategic cases—those aimed at changing judicial and administrative practices, mainly through the European Court of Human Rights, but also other international bodies.



“We also dealt with war crimes committed by Russia on Ukrainian territory before the full-scale invasion, covering the period since 2014—the time of the occupation of Donetsk, Luhansk, and Crimea. Of course, this work took on a new scale in 2022,” she told The Media Line.



According to Kuvaieva, exchanges of prisoners of war between Ukraine and Russia have resumed.



“Although they were not frequent enough for a long time. The exchanges depend solely on Russia’s will. And they are influenced by many factors, including the media, although not always positively, as the Russians are not interested in the world seeing their atrocities,” she said.



“Precisely because this is a matter of Russia’s will, we talk so much about the need for political pressure from the international community,” Kuvaieva added.



“Those involved in torture must also be held accountable. Moreover, we can talk about reparations and individual compensations for the direct victims of crimes,” she said.



Kuvaieva emphasized that virtually all forms of Russian captivity are war crimes.



In her professional opinion, considering that this is a systematic practice, the Russian military command must appear before the International Criminal Court and bear personal responsibility.

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[maybetoday]

Russian Forces Conquer Urozhaynoye, Large Village in Donetsk Region and One of the Few Ukrainian Summer Offensive Victories (VIDEOS)

By Paul Serran
Jul. 17, 2024 4:00 pm

As the world starts to prepare itself for the inevitable peace negotiations between Moscow and Kiev, on the floor along the almost 1,000-mile-long frontline, Russian Federation forces keep advancing while the overpowered and outmaneuvered Ukrainian defenses struggle to resist.



It now arises that the Russians have captured the Donetsk village of Urozhaynoye.



While the locality itself is not as strategic as strongholds like Chasov Yar, it is relevant for being one of the few places conquered 11 months ago by Ukrainians in their failed summer offensive.


The Russian Ministry of Defense has officially announced that its troops seized Urozhaynoye and are now ‘clearing and demining it.’



Reuters reported:



“Urozhaynoye sits in the south of the eastern Donetsk region, close to the border with Zaporozhie. It has long been the site of fierce clashes, along with the neighboring village of Staromaiorske.”



Watch: gliding bombs hit the positions of the Ukrainian Armed Forces in Urozhaynoye.

“Deep State, a popular Ukrainian war blog, […] said Russian forces had taken control of Urozhaynoye. The U.S.-based think tank, the Institute for the Study of War (ISW), said on Saturday that geolocated footage from earlier in the weekend indicated Russian troops had advanced into the northern part of the settlement.



[Russian] State news agency Tass reported on Friday that Ukrainian troops had pulled back from positions in the center of the village.”



Watch: FAB-500 glide bombs hit Ukrainian military positions along a tree line near Urozhaynoye village.

Russia makes incremental gains along almost daily across the frontlines, keeping the pressure on Ukraine’s east and also attacking northeast into Kharkov Oblast.



Telegraph reported:



“The alleged victory, if confirmed, would be the latest in a series of costly gains made by Moscow’s troops in the Donetsk region following the fall of the strategic hilltop city of Chasov Yar earlier this month after a months-long bombardment.”



Watch: Russian mechanized assault on the town of Urozhaynoye.

Ukraine has lost more than 80% of territories captured in 2023, notably the towns of Staromayorskoye, Andreyevka, Kleshcheyevka, Rabotino and now Urozhaynoye.



Sputnik reported:



“Since the beginning of 2024, Ukraine has lost over 880 square kilometers of territory, including in the Kharkov region, amid the Russian offensive along the entire frontline.”



Watch: Russian flag flies over Urozhaynoye.

“Chief of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces Valery Gerasimov visited the command post of the Vostok Battlegroup and heard a report from the commander of the group, Alexander Sanchik.



Gerasimov noted the successes in the liberation of Urozhaynoye and set tasks for further actions, the Ministry of Defense said. He was also shown the robotic systems that are used by the military in the Northern Military District zone.”



Watch: General Gerasimov visited the command post of the Vostok group of troops to celebrate the conquest of Urozhaynoye.

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[Midnight]

Ukrainian Forces Seize Russian Region of Kursk and Have Reportedly Captured Hundreds of Prisoners – (VIDEO)

Aug. 9, 2024 4:40 pm


Guest Post by Miriam Judith



In a dramatic escalation of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, Ukrainian forces have made significant advances into Russian territory in the Kursk region, where intense battles have raged for the past four days.



According to an advisor to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, Ukrainian troops have reportedly captured approximately 300 kilometers of territory. However, this claim remains unverified at this time.



From The Washington Post:



“In three days, the Zelensky adviser said, Ukrainian personnel advanced past towns of thousands of people, took hundreds of prisoners, and captured a gas-metering station that Russia uses for  transactions with Hungary and Slovakia…



…Drone video published on Instagram by a regiment in Ukraine’s military purported to show Russian soldiers in Kursk surrendering. Personnel from Ukrainian units believed to be fighting in Kursk declined to comment, saying operational secrecy was to their advantage.”



Another video circulating on social media appeared to show the destruction of a convoy that reportedly contained hundreds of Russian soldiers.

Looking to capitalize on the advance, Zelensky is now asking the Biden regime to green-light Ukrainian forces to use long-range ballistic missiles against targets deeper in Russian territory. This action, Zelensky’s advisor said, “will provide the leverage necessary for negotiations with Russia.”



As the situation develops, the key question is how President Vladimir Putin will respond. Will he intensify the conflict or seek a diplomatic resolution? The coming days will be crucial in determining Russia’s next move.



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[bloodbought]

Russia Declares Federal Emergency After Ukrainian Ambush in Kursk Region of Russia

Aug. 9, 2024 7:40 pm
Guest Post by Miriam Judith



On Friday, Russia’s Emergency Situations Ministry declared a “federal-level” emergency in the Kursk region, following a four-day conflict between Russian and Ukrainian forces. This escalation came after a surprise Ukrainian offensive earlier in the week where Ukrainian forces reportedly ambushed the region, taking hundreds of prisoners captive.



While tensions in the war escalate, the U.S. has continued to ramp up its military support for Ukraine over the past year, drawing considerable attention and concern from Russia. This support has included a wide array of military equipment and financial aid aimed at bolstering Ukraine’s defense capabilities against the ongoing war.



Just last month, the U.S. further intensified its engagement by delivering F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine, not only amplifying the U.S. role in the conflict but also deepening the antagonism between the two superpowers, further destabilizing the situation in Eastern Europe.





Ukrainian forces, backed by US and Western arms, launched an attack this week in the Kursk region of Russia – Sky News map


In addition to the F-16s, the U.S. announced today that it will be supplying Ukraine with a “Significant New Military Assistance” package.



From the Press Release:



“The United States is today sending Ukraine a significant new package of urgently needed weapons and equipment to support its military forces as they defend against Russia’s ongoing attacks. This $125 million package of support, provided under Presidential Drawdown Authority, includes air defense interceptors, munitions for rocket systems and artillery, multi-mission radars, and anti-tank weapons that will help Ukraine protect its troops, its people and its cities from Russian attacks and reinforce its capabilities across the front lines.



This is the tenth security assistance package the President has authorized to help Ukraine since signing the Ukraine Security Supplemental Appropriations Act. We will deploy this new assistance as quickly as possible to bolster Ukraine’s defense of its territory and its people. As President Biden has made clear, the United States and the international coalition we have assembled will continue to stand with Ukraine.”



From Russia’s perspective, the U.S.’s escalating military aid to Ukraine could be perceived as an act of aggression that directly threatens Russian security interests. The increased U.S. involvement not only inflames the conflict but also invites potential retaliatory measures from Russia, which may include heightened military responses or other forms of counteraction aimed at protecting its national interests.



The situation in Eastern Europe remains highly volatile, with both Russia and Ukraine engaged in a protracted struggle that shows no sign of immediate resolution. As the U.S. continues to bolster Ukraine’s defense capabilities, the potential for a more pronounced and dangerous military confrontation grows, raising concerns among international observers about the stability of the region and the potential for broader global implications.



ABC News posted video from the region.



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[bloodbought]

HOT Pursuit: Russians Flee From Hailstorm of Ukrainian Bullets in Kursk, Dodging Landmines in the Process – (VIDEO)

Aug. 9, 2024 6:20 pm
Guest Post by Miriam Judith



Dashcam footage released on Thursday, allegedly captured from a civilian vehicle in Russia’s Kursk Region, shows a harrowing escape amid the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict.



This follows reports that Ukrainian forces have seized approximately 300 kilometers of territory in Kursk, taking hundreds of prisoners captive.



The video reveals a car navigating a perilous situation as it maneuvers through a landscape littered with landmines while coming under fire.



As the vehicle nears Sudzha, the sounds of gunfire are prominent, and the camera reveals an abandoned car pockmarked with bullet holes, underscoring the severity of the conflict in the area.



In the video, the driver and passenger quickly face a dire situation where they are forced to abandon their route. The footage captures their desperate attempt to escape, showing high-speed driving and evasive maneuvers as they try to avoid further peril. The sound of gunfire persists, and the vehicle is seen taking hits during the frantic getaway.


This development marks a notable intensification of the ongoing conflict, with multiple reports now indicating increased aggression towards Russian civilians. Such actions reflect a disturbing pattern, as Ukraine has faced accusations of targeting civilians in previous attacks.



In a similar incident, munitions reportedly struck Russian beachgoers, highlighting the severe impact of the ongoing hostilities on civilians.





The increasing aggression and its toll on non-combatants emphasizes the urgent need for international efforts to address these issues and work towards the de-escalation of ongoing conflicts.

Video at link

[J.J.Gibbs]

Russia Begins Heavy Retaliation On Ukrainian Capital As Zelensky Breaks Silence On Kursk Invasion

by Tyler Durden

Sunday, Aug 11, 2024 - 09:55 AM


Now in the sixth day of the Kursk invasion, Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky explained the following on Sunday, breaking his silence and giving his first official confirmation of the daring cross-border ground operation, "Today, I received several reports from Commander-in-Chief Syrskyii regarding the front lines and our actions to push the war onto the aggressor’s territory." He added: "Ukraine is proving that it can indeed restore justice and ensure the necessary pressure on the aggressor."



On the same day Russia’s Foreign Ministry has vowed, "A tough response from the Russian army will not be long in coming." But that response appears to have already begun overnight and into Sunday, as the capital of Kiev has come under heavy missile attack. Missiles did not reach the center of the city, but the suburbs were impacted.



The Associated Press has described that at least four ballistic missiles slammed into the capital region along with 57 Shahed drones sent, citing Ukraine's air force, which also said its air defenses intercepted 53 of the drones.



Zelensky has alleged that as part of the aerial assault, Russia used a North Korean ballistic missile. "According to preliminary information, the Russians used a North Korean missile in this attack – yet another deliberate terrorist strike against Ukraine," Zelensky stated on social media. "Pyrotechnic experts are still working to determine the exact data regarding this missile," he added.



The US Ambassador to Ukraine Bridget Brink has condemned the new Russian aerial assault, saying it killed a man and his four-year old boy.

As has been the pattern after any major air assault by Russia, Zelensky pressed his Western allies for more immediate defense equipment to defend the skies. He urged that "to really stop Russian terror, we need not only a full-fledged air shield that will protect all our cities and communities, but also strong decisions from partners — decisions that will remove restrictions on our defensive actions."



This reference to "strong decisions" is clearly an appeal for Western militaries to get more directly involved.



Some analysts view this ongoing Kursk cross-border offensive as a last-ditch and desperate ploy to force an escalation so that the US and NATO will more directly intervene, or else to gain leverage. Others say this is all PR-driven and that Ukrainian troops are being sacrificed in what's essentially a suicide mission for propaganda purposes and as but a temporary blow to Kremlin morale...

It also appears a distraction of sorts from the front lines, where Ukraine is fairing poorly and having serious manpower problems. It might be forcing Russia to relocate reservists from the Donbass region as well in order to urgently protect its borders.



Ukraine has continued sending drones and missiles into Russian territory, with one reportedly hitting a building in Kursk on Sunday, wounding 13 according to local sources.

Meanwhile, the world is witnessing Russia fight a war to repel invaders on its own territory in the southern region, with state media describing a Ukrainian command and control center having been destroyed in the Kursk region:



A missile strike has destroyed a Ukrainian command-and-control center in Russia’s Kursk Region, the Defense Ministry in Moscow has claimed, releasing video of the strike. Ukrainian forces launched a large-scale incursion into the border region earlier this week.



Ukraine sent tanks into Kursk, which Russia is taking out via airstrikes...


Many tens of thousands of Russian citizens have been evacuated from several border regions - with Russian sources acknowledging some 80,000 have fled in buses, trains, and cars. A formal "state of emergency" has persisted as Russia pours droops and security forces into the Kursk region to restore order.

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[Berean]

Putin Appoints Ex-Bodyguard & Aide To Oversee Defense Of Kursk As Zelensky Boasts Of 74 Towns Captured

by Tyler Durden

Tuesday, Aug 13, 2024 - 08:30 PM


Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Tuesday said his military has seized dozens of Russian settlements and towns spanning hundreds of kilometers in Russia's Kursk oblast.



The surprise offensive is now one week in, and Zelensky boasted in an X post: "Ukraine controls 74 communities." This is a significantly higher figure than the Kremlin has publicized, and there remain deeply contrasting accounts of what is going on in the war-ravaged border region, or whether Russian forces have yet repelled the invasion.


"Despite the difficult and intense battles, our forces continue to advance in the Kursk region," Zelensky added, saying that many Russian border troops have been captured and can be used to eventually get Ukrainian POWs back.



Kiev says that the ultimate purpose of the high-risk operation is to protect its populace from Russian strikes, many of which happen from across the border. Currently, it is unclear the amount of territory the Ukraine invading force actually holds. By all accounts, Russian border posts were poorly manned and armed at the time of the attack which started Tuesday morning a week ago.



"Ukraine is not interested in taking the territory of the Kursk region, but we want to protect the lives of our people," Ukrainian Foreign Ministry spokesman Heorhii Tykhyi has stated.



Things are still desperate on the Russian side amid a state of emergency in southern oblasts along the border. Well over 100,000 citizens have been evacuated.



"There is no light, no connection, no water. There is nothing. It’s as if everyone has flown to another planet, and you are left alone. And the birds stopped singing," an elderly man identified as Mikhail told Russian state television on Tuesday. "Helicopters and planes fly over the yard and shells were flying. What could we do? We left everything behind."



Acting Kursk Region Governor Aleksey Smirnov has announced that at least 12 Russian civilians have been killed and another 121 injured, including ten children, amid the ongoing Ukraine military incursion.



President Putin has meanwhile reportedly appointed a special official to take charge of efforts to restore order to Kursk and the border regions. He's been identified in regional press as the president's personal aide and former bodyguard Alexei Dyumin.



One report details:



"Indeed, Alexei Gennadyevich Dyumin was summoned yesterday and tasked with supervising the counterterrorist operation," State Duma lawmaker Nikolai Ivanov, whose district is in the Kursk region, told the RTVI broadcaster.



Dyumin was the only non-cabinet member not connected with the military or security services who was present at a televised meeting with Putin on Monday. During that meeting, which was focused on the fighting in the Kursk region, the Kremlin leader ordered the military to “dislodge” Ukraine’s forces from Russian territory.



Later, an anonymous Telegram channel claiming insider knowledge claimed that Putin directed Dyumin to "coordinate all agencies currently operating in the Kursk region."



However, the Kremlin has not officially verified whether Dyumin has indeed been put in charge of Kursk operations.



At this moment a United Nations agency is trying to gain access to the region. The office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) has issued formal request for Moscow to grant access to the Kursk Region to investigate Russian allegations of abuses and war crimes committed by invading Ukrainian troops.

"We are trying to gather information about the situation in Kursk Region, but without access it is very difficult," OHCHR spokesperson Ravina Shamdasani said in a fresh statement. “We have requested access to Russia to be able to obtain additional information."


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[Pink Rose]

Zelensky says war 'is coming home' to Russia as Ukraine's invasion force adorn vehicles with a 'white triangle' to mimic Russia's Z - but Putin warns 'crazy' incursion could spark wider war

By David Averre



Published: 06:00 EDT, 13 August 2024 | Updated: 09:35 EDT, 13 August 2024


Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has declared 'war is coming home to Russia' as battalions of tanks bearing a new, distinctive symbol roar deeper into Kursk, with the Russian death toll increasing dramatically, sources claim.



Delivering a defiant address last night, Zelensky said it was 'only fair' that his troops 'kill the Russian terrorists where they are and where they launch their strikes from'.



'Russia must be forced into peace if Putin wants to continue waging war so badly... This always happens to those who despise people and any rules - Russia brought war to others, and now it is coming home,' he said stoically.



'Ukraine has only ever wished for peace - and it will ensure peace.'



The president's commitment to wreak havoc in Kursk was evident in footage from the frontlines which has seen Ukrainian tanks emblazoned with a white triangle surging through Russian fields.



The marking, likened to the infamous Russian 'Z' that became inextricably associated with Vladimir Putin's so-called 'special military operation', first appeared on Ukrainian vehicles in June - reportedly as a way to avoid friendly fire.



But it has since been painted on a host of Ukrainian heavy armour and is now seen as a sign of resistance in the face of Russian aggression.



Ukrainian commanders claim to have captured some 386 square miles of territory in just one week since their incursion began, as Kyiv's soldiers scythed through Russian units caught completely unawares.



Several Russian warblogging channels claim huge numbers of Putin's troops have been killed since the offensive began last Tuesday amid reports hospital and morgue workers are struggling to process a constant stream of bodies.



Meanwhile, sources in Russia's SVR foreign intelligence service today described the Ukrainian offensive as a 'crazy step that threatens to escalate far beyond Ukraine'.

Full story with pictures and video at the link

[ExquisiteGerbil]

Russia Evacuating 180,000 People from Border over Ukraine Invasion
Frances Martel
13 Aug 2024

The acting governor of Kursk, Russia – a border region Ukraine launched an invasion into last week – told Russian strongman Vladimir Putin on Monday he has evacuated 121,000 people from their homes and plans to move another 59,000 out of threatened areas as soon as possible.



Reports began surfacing on August 6 of Ukrainian troops crossing the border and seizing territory in Kursk, which Ukrainian officials have long identified as a launchpad for attacks into their territory. The attacks mark the first time since Putin launched a “special operation” to oust Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in February 2022 that Ukraine pushes Russian forces back into uncontested Russian territory and seizes Russian land. It is also the first time since World War II that Russia has lost land to a foreign invader.



The operation was preceded by an odd declaration by Zelensky in January branding Kursk and five other Russian territories “historically” Ukrainian.



Putin has colonized five regions of Ukraine arguing that they are rightfully Russian territory: Crimea in 2014 and the regions of Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson, and Zaporizhzhia in 2022.



Governor Alexei Smirnov made the shocking revelation of the size of the evacuation operation in Kursk on Monday evening during a meeting with Putin that also featured the governors of two other border regions, Belgorod and Bryansk.



“Currently, the enemy controls 28 communities. They have penetrated 12 kilometres deep into the territory of the Kursk Region, with a 40-kilometre-wide frontline,” Smirnov said during the meeting, according to a Kremlin translation of his remarks. Putin then interrupted Smirnov, urging him to let military leaders discuss the territory taken over and instead focus on the humanitarian conditions in his regions.



The evacuation operation, Smirnov said, “affects 180,000 people.”


“As of today, 121,000 have been evacuated, and work continues for the remaining 59,000,” the governor said.



Smirnov added that he believed a major security challenge regarding the evacuation operations is petty crimes.



“The issue we are facing right now is that communities and district centres have become deserted. Of course, there are military units stepping in right now, and not everyone has left,” he noted. “The evacuation order was not mandatory, so shops are still open. We had to ban alcohol sales, and have been keeping a close eye on the situation in order to prevent looting.”



The governor also admitted the military frontline situation was “quite blurry,” to the point that “we sometimes struggle to local our combat units.”



Putin took the opportunity of the meeting to address the Russian public, explaining that the situation on the border, in his estimation, was intended to turn the Russian people against his regime.

“It seems the opponent is aiming to strengthen their negotiating position for the future,” Putin noted, “Another clear objective of the enemy is to create discord and division within our society, to instil fear, and to undermine the unity and cohesion of the Russian people. They aim to disrupt the domestic political landscape.”



Putin warned that the incursion into Kursk could expand into other border regions, namely Bryansk, whose governor said he was not evacuating anyone at the time.



In Belgorod, where reports indicated on Monday that officials were beginning to plan for the evacuation of as many as 11,000 people, local authorities told Putin that “the number of destroyed and damaged housing in general has grown sharply in 2024.”



“Over 30,000 houses and apartments have been damaged during 2.5 years, and we have now restored 25,000,” Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov told Putin. “Unfortunately, the situation along the border does not allow us to work efficiently. The most difficult situation is now in Shebekino, with 38,000 people living in the city and 85,000 in the area.”


The Ukrainian government has mostly avoided openly discussing Kursk in the past week. Zelensky himself offered some vague comments on Thursday that Russia should “feel what it has done to his country.” That changed on Monday night, when Zelensky used his evening national address to discuss Kursk.



Zelensky referred to Kursk as “the disaster of his war.”

“This always happens to those who despise people and any rules. Russia brought war to others, and now it is coming home [to Russia],” he declared, according to the state news outlet Ukrinform.



Zelensky assured affected populations in Russia that he did not intend to annex Russian land, as Russia had done to Ukraine, but rather was targeting Russian areas used to launch long-range attacks in his country.



“These are, in particular, the areas from which the Russian army launched strikes on our Sumy region. For today and since June 1, there have been almost 2,100 shelling attacks on the Sumy region’s territory,” Zelensky said. “Therefore, our operations are purely a security matter for Ukraine, the liberation of the border area from the Russian military.”



The Ukrainian Foreign Affairs Ministry also addressed the situation on Tuesday, suggesting an invasion was necessary because Western powers, notably the United States, has discouraged Ukraine using long-range missiles to target Russian civilian areas.



“Unfortunately, Ukraine has no sufficient capabilities to launch long-range strikes with the available weapons to protect itself from this terror – there are no suitable solutions yet, which we insist on,” spokesperson Heorhii Tykhyi said. “So there is a need to liberate these border areas from Russian troops attacking Ukraine or providing cover for terror against Ukrainians. We will continue to do so the way it is deemed necessary for ensuring security and protecting Ukraine.”



“The sooner Russia agrees to restoring a just peace, in particular based on the Peace Formula, which leads to this peace, the sooner the raids of Ukraine’s Defense Forces on Russian territory will stop,” Tykhyi concluded.

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[Pink Rose]

Ukraine takes full control of Russian town in largest victory so far since incursion began, after successfully capturing 100 of Putin's troops in a day



By Miriam Kuepper and Will Stewart



Published: 12:08 EDT, 15 August 2024 | Updated: 12:58 EDT, 15 August 2024


Ukraine has taken full control of a Russian town in the largest victory since the incursion began, after successfully capturing 100 of Putin's troops in a day.



Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said a Ukrainian military commander's office is being set up in the town of Sudzha in the Kursk region.



The claim that Ukraine is now in control of the town could not be independently verified. Russia did not immediately respond to Zelenskyy's statement, but its defense ministry said earlier today that Russian forces had blocked attempts to take several other communities.



It comes after more than 100 Russian soldiers surrendered en masse to Ukraine today, claiming their commanders abandoned them.



An entire company laid down their arms and were taken as prisoners of war by the Ukrainian armed forces inside the Kursk region. A total of 102 held up the white flag in the biggest mass surrender of the war.


Full story with pictures, video, and maps at the link

[Pink Rose]

Russia 'must show it is willing to use nuclear weapons against countries that support Ukraine and CAN hit NATO countries with a tactical nuke without sparking Armageddon'

By Taryn Pedler



Published: 07:51 EDT, 12 September 2024 | Updated: 08:08 EDT, 12 September 2024


Russia is being urged to clearly state its willingness to use nuclear weapons against countries that support Ukraine, with a former Kremlin advisor claiming it can launch a strike on a NATO country without sparking Armageddon.



Sergei Karaganov, the head of the Russian Council for Foreign and Defense Policy, made the bold comment to Kommersant newspaper while pressing President Vladimir Putin to adopt a more assertive nuclear posture towards the West.



Karaganov, suggested in Wednesday's interview that Moscow should consider a limited nuclear strike on a NATO country to signal its readiness to escalate if necessary, without provoking a full-scale conflict.



He said the primary goal of Russia's nuclear doctrine 'should be to ensure that all current and future enemies are sure that Russia is ready to use nuclear weapons'.



The foreign policy adviser argued that the current Russian nuclear doctrine, adopted in 2020, which only allows for nuclear retaliation in the case of a nuclear attack or an existential threat, is inadequate.

Full story with pictures at the link

[Pink Rose]

The targets Zelensky could destroy... if US and UK allow him to use missiles INSIDE Russia: Air bases, artillery units, plus nuclear power plants and nuke stockpiles - could be obliterated in nightmare for Putin

Kyiv is desperate for Western backers to approve use of their missiles in Russia

By David Averre



Published: 09:17 EDT, 12 September 2024 | Updated: 12:56 EDT, 12 September 2024


US and British foreign ministers met President Volodymyr Zelensky in Kyiv yesterday in what could prove a key moment with the war between Russia and Ukraine now at a critical juncture.



Antony Blinken announced Washington would provide more than $700 million in aid, while foreign secretary David Lammy said Britain would stump up a further £600 million ($781 million) in the latest show of support for Kyiv.



There is no word yet on whether Zelensky will succeed in securing that which he really covets - a green light from the White House and Downing Street to begin launching Western-supplied long-range missiles at targets on Russian soil.



But there are rumours the long-awaited approval could soon come, with US President Joe Biden set to meet British Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer in Washington on Friday.



Meanwhile, American officials are said to be finalising a plan to ease restrictions on the use of US-donated missiles by Ukraine's Armed Forces, according to sources cited by Politico.



If Ukraine's Western allies lift the ban, Kyiv's soldiers will soon be able to strike Russian military assets as deep as 300km (190 miles) inside Russia with the likes of the US ATACMS and Anglo-French Storm Shadow missiles - a capability that could significantly impact the course of the conflict.



The Institute for the Study of War, a US think-tank, last month established a list of nearly 250 high value military and paramilitary targets within range of the weapons that could be demolished by Ukraine.

Full story with pictures and video at the link

[ShofarSoGood]

North Korean troops prep for combat to support Russia in Ukraine war: ‘Grave security threat’

By Zoe Hussain

Published Oct. 18, 2024, 4:01 p.m. ET



North Korea has sent 1,500 special forces troops to Russia’s Far East for training with plans to deploy them in Ukraine, South Korea’s spy agency said Friday.



The troops, transported to Vladivostok from Oct. 8 to 13, have received Russian military uniforms, weapons, and fake Russian IDs, South Korea’s National Intelligence Service (NIS) said.



Earlier, South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol called an emergency meeting to address the growing security threat posed by North Korean troops’ involvement in Russia’s war against Ukraine, according to Yoon’s office


Russia and North Korea’s closer ties have been referred to as a “grave security threat.”


“The participants … shared the view that the current situation where Russia and North Korea’s closer ties have gone beyond the movement of military supplies to actual dispatch of troops is a grave security threat not only to our country but to the international community,” his office stated.



Ukrainian President Vlodymyr Zelensky has also accused North Korea of preparing to send an additional 10,000 soldiers to support Russia, though NATO’s chief stated there’s currently no evidence though NATO’s chief Mark Rutte said there was no evidence of Pyongyang’s presence at this stage.



South Korea’s National Intelligence Service (NIS) also said it had been working with Ukrainian intelligence service and had used facial recognition artificial intelligence technology to identify North Korean officers in eastern Ukraine’s Donetsk region supporting Russian forces firing North Korean missiles.


Tropical Storm Nadine set to lash Belize, Mexico with heavy rain just hours after forming

While South Korea has faced pressure from Western allies to provide weapons to Ukraine, it has refrained from doing so. Military analysts suggest Seoul’s primary concern is Russia’s potential support for North Korea’s missile program.



Ramon Pacheco Pardo of King’s College in London said despite the gravity of the development, it may not be heavy enough to shift Seoul’s position.



“When it comes to South Korea, I think that its red line is Russia providing support to North Korea that allows Pyongyang to substantially improve its nuclear and missile program, not North Korea’s support for Russia,” Pardo said.


Since August 2022, North Korea has supplied over 8 million artillery and missile rounds to Russia.

National Intelligence Service, Republic of Korea


The deployment of the special forces troops would mark North Korea’s first significant military involvement since the Korean War.


Since August 2022, North Korea has supplied over 8 million artillery and missile rounds to Russia.


The deployment of the special forces troops would mark North Korea’s first significant military involvement since the 1950-1953 Korean War, though they reportedly sent much smaller contingents to the Vietnam War and the civil conflict in Syria.

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[J.J.Gibbs]

Russia's Largest Explosives Plant Attacked In Night Of Over 100 Drones

by Tyler Durden

Sunday, Oct 20, 2024 - 03:45 PM


On Sunday Russia's defense ministry (MoD) announced that over 100 Ukrainian drones were downed over several regions of Russia overnight, as Kiev's cross-border drone operations have persisted and even been ramped up. Some apparently made it through, however.



The military and its anti-air defense systems had thwarted "an attempt by the Kiev regime to carry out a terrorist attack using an aircraft-type UAV against targets on the territory of the Russian Federation," the ministry said.


Most of the inbound drones were intercepted over the Kursk region, scene of Ukraine's cross-border ground assault which has been unfolding since August.



In particular the MoD tallied that it intercepted or destroyed 110 UAVs, and nearly half of these were downed over Kursk not far from the border.



Dozens of other drones were intercepted over Lipetsk Region, and Nizhny Novgoro and Oryol Regions. One was also downed near Moscow.



The intended targets of the Saturday night attacks included more energy infrastructure and military sites and likely airports.



But there are reports that some of the drones made it through Russian defenses, including on Russia's "largest explosives factory". Located in Nizhny Novgorod, the sprawling state-owned complex appears to have been hit:



A source in Ukraine's SBU security service told Newsweek that drones belonging to the agency, as well as Kyiv's special operations forces and its GUR military intelligence arm, "struck the Sverdlov plant" in the city of Dzerzhinsk overnight, just west of the regional capital in Russia's Nizhny Novgorod region.



Nizhny Novgorod Regional Governor Gleb Nikitin said on Sunday that air defenses and electronic warfare systems had repelled a drone attack around the "industrial zone" in Dzerzhinsk. He did not specify the target of the attack.



Several Russian Telegram channels, often used as sources of information in lieu of official statements, reported that Ukraine had targeted the Sverdlov explosives, chemicals and ammunition factory in Dzerzhinsk.

Russia's military has downplayed these reports, saying only that "four employees of the fire department located on the territory of the industrial enterprise received minor shrapnel wounds."



But videos purporting to have captured the alleged drone strikes show a large fireball lighting up the night sky over Dzerzhinsk.

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[J.J.Gibbs]

UKRAINE DARKNESS: With Power Infrastructure Destroyed, Kiev Faces Daily Blackouts of Eight to 20 Hours During the Winter, as Russian Attacks Intensify All Along the Front

by Paul Serran
Nov. 4, 2024 8:00 pm

As the Northern Hemisphere heads with haste towards winter, the concerns regarding the situation of the Ukrainian population are growing.



It is now reported that Kiev faces daily blackouts of eight to 20 hours as the Russian Federation forces push their offensive at multiple points of the front.



Ukrainians endeavor to reconstruct and protect ‘an energy system that has lost half its power generation capacity.’



Politico reported:



“Already, experts are predicting energy rationing that would leave people without electricity for much of the day. Add in a cold snap and damaging strikes on the nuclear power system, and Ukraine could be facing blackouts of up to 20 hours per day, said Oleksandr Kharchenko, managing director at the Energy Industry Research Center and an adviser to Ukraine’s government on energy.”



In practical terms, that means no heat for homes and no power for the factories that carry the war effort.



This may lead to a massive wave of Ukrainians leaving the country in search of refuge.



“’We’re anticipating a very harsh winter’, said one senior United States official, granted anonymity to speak candidly. “People will die in their homes because Russia is taking out the energy infrastructure.”



Read: Russian Missiles and Drones Pound Ukraine’s Power Plants in Heaviest Strike in Weeks – More Than Half of Kiev’s Energy Infrastructure Has Been Destroyed (At link)

For months the Russian airstrikes have been targeting Ukraine’s energy infrastructure. Eight power plants and over 800 heat supply facilities have been destroyed.



“’The most realistic scenario’ facing the country this winter, [energy market expert Gennadii Riabtsev] said, involves limiting ‘the supply of electricity to industry and households for eight to 14 hours a day. Russian strikes will obviously continue, and nothing can guarantee the protection of the newly restored facilities from attacks … due to a lack of multilevel air and missile defense systems’, he added.”



Read: UKRAINE DARKNESS: Kiev Fires ATACMS With Cluster Munitions at Crimean Beachgoers, as Russia Rips Its Power Infrastructure – Citizens Receiving Just 8 Daily Hours of Energy (At link)


As of now, it’s not known if the winter in Ukraine will turn out to be extreme.



“’In a worst-case scenario’ — the temperature plummeting to below minus 10 degrees Celsius and Moscow crippling Ukraine’s nuclear plants — ‘the country could face blackouts of up to 20 hours per day’, [Government energy adviser Oleksandr] Kharchenko said.”

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[Midnight]

KIEV CAN’T SLEEP: Russia Launches First Missile Attack on the Ukrainian Capital Since August – Constant Drone Campaign Is Draining Citizens’ Morale (VIDEOS)

by Paul Serran
Nov. 13, 2024 10:20 pm



As world diplomacy is working overtime in this transitional period in America, the Russian Federation forces continue in their overwhelming campaign against Ukraine.



After almost four months of ‘saving missiles’, this early morning (13), explosions rocked Kiev as Russia launched its first missile attack on the Ukrainian capital since August.



Kiev citizens have been expecting a missile attack for a while now, worrying that it could deal a new blow to the hobbled energy system and cause blackouts during the winter.



Reuters reported:



“Air defenses intercepted two incoming cruise missiles, two ballistic missiles and 37 drones across the country, the air force said. No casualties or major damage were reported in Kiev.



‘Putin is launching a missile attack on Kiev right now’, Andriy Yermak, the head of the president’s office, wrote on Telegram.”



Watch: Russia’s first missile strike in Kiev since August.

As usual, an MSM report based in Ukrainian sources will tell you that nothing was hit. ‘Falling debris wound a person’, that kind of thing – but photos and videos show big explosions and fires.



Besides the missiles, there were drones, who have been a torment to Kiev in these last days, as the capital has faced Geranium (Shahed) attacks almost nightly for weeks.



“’Explosions in the city. Air defense forces are working. Stay in shelters!’ the Kiev city administration wrote on Telegram.”


Besides what is physically destroyed in these attacks, there is also the mounting psychological toll from the constant bombings.



Some people heard by Renters complained of a lack of sleep from the regular drone attacks.



These incursions trigger the air raid alert that sounds across the city and buzzes on phones.



“’The mornings are totally ruined. I started college in September and every morning has been ruined by the bloody Russians. I cannot sleep, cannot think and I drink energy drinks all the time’, said Mykyta, a teenager hugging his dog in the metro.”

On the reporting by the Russian Telegram channels, the air defense doesn’t work all that great, and there is a long list of targets hit.



Below you have some data points by military bloggers brought to English by Slavyangrad.



“A new modification of the Kh-101 missiles was tested this morning in strikes on Kiev and the area. The missiles kept disappearing from the screens of NATO air defense tracking installations.”



In Kiev alone, about a dozen targets were reportedly hit, and there are other hit targets in the northern part of the Kiev region.



“In the capital of Ukraine, presumably among the hit targets is the 195th central base of railroad equipment. Also, drones and missiles worked in the area of the Park of Partisan Glory in the east of the city, where the 1899th central base of repair and storage of communications equipment and the Kiev Armored Plant, as well as the 482nd design and technology center are located. There have also been drone strikes on the Vasylkov airfield since nightfall.”

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