The Russian Invasion of the Ukraine.

[Ryokan]

Who would actually want to turn up to the talks from the Ukraine side then ?

People who want to show the world that at least they tried, and who knows they will be martyrs, to their fellow Ukrainians and to the world, if Russia does anything to them.

 

[Arcade22]

The name of the site references the well-known term Gruz-200 (Cargo-200) that was used by Soviet military for corpses being flown back from the war in Afghanistan in the 1980s.

Russia's defence ministry has so far given no details of any military losses in Ukraine since launching a multi-pronged attack Putin called a "special operation" to protect two separatist regions.

The head of the North Caucasus region of Dagestan, Sergei Melikov, on Saturday became the first official to report the death of a Russian soldier in Ukraine.

He posted a tribute on his official Instagram page, paying homage to an officer he said had been killed during the "special operation to defend Donbas."

...

Lev Shlosberg, a prominent liberal politician, has suggested Russia's military was using mobile crematoriums to destroy evidence of those killed in Ukraine.

"There is no war. No dead. No tombs. People will just be no more. Forever," he wrote on his blog.

https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2022...e-for-russians-to-find-killed-soldiers-a76628

A single dead Russian soldier is the unofficial tally coming from Russia.

 

[The Don]

https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2022...e-for-russians-to-find-killed-soldiers-a76628

A single dead Russian soldier is the unofficial tally coming from Russia.

This is why it's vitally important that UEFA, the IOC and other organisations actually step up and ban Russia and Russian sportspeople from competing. The Russian public may never find out how many soldiers have died, or how the invasion is going but unless the Russians are going to fake sporting events (like North Korea does), then people are going to wonder why their team isn't playing on the world stage.

Sporting isolation wasn't responsible for the end of apartheid in South Africa, but it was an unambiguous message to South Africa about world sentiment towards them.

 

[The Don]

People who want to show the world that at least they tried, and who knows they will be martyrs, to their fellow Ukrainians and to the world, if Russia does anything to them.

Then they are incredibly brave IMO. I'm almost certain I wouldn't have the courage to do that.

 

[timhau]

https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2022...e-for-russians-to-find-killed-soldiers-a76628

A single dead Russian soldier is the unofficial tally coming from Russia.

This demonstrates an important difference: The Ukrainian tally of 5300 dead is probably wildly exaggerated. The Russian claim is just BS.

 

[Arcade22]

This demonstrates an important difference: The Ukrainian tally of 5300 dead is probably wildly exaggerated. The Russian claim is just BS.

The Russians aren't claiming anything though. They have been extremely quiet, even about their successes. Given that the whole war is subject to an almost total media blackout in Russia it's unlikely they are going to suddenly admit that hundreds let alone thousands have died during a "special military operation". They were not ready at all for this kind of calamity.

 

[jimbob]

This is why it's vitally important that UEFA, the IOC and other organisations actually step up and ban Russia and Russian sportspeople from competing. The Russian public may never find out how many soldiers have died, or how the invasion is going but unless the Russians are going to fake sporting events (like North Korea does), then people are going to wonder why their team isn't playing on the world stage.

Sporting isolation wasn't responsible for the end of apartheid in South Africa, but it was an unambiguous message to South Africa about world sentiment towards them.

Exactly.

A total cultural and sporting boycott would be very powerful symbolically and might make some Russians wonder why Russia is not competing in world cup qualifiers, for example.

 

[timhau]

There was what looks a lot like a pre-timed publication in RIA Novosti on Saturday, congratulating Putin on bringing the Ukraine back to fold and creating unity for all Russian people.

That might give some hints on what the goals and the assumed timetable were. Well, a big hearty **** You to you, Vlad.

 

[Andy_Ross]

BBC Rolling

Russia-Ukraine peace talks commence

On the fifth day after Russian forces entered Ukraine, delegations from the two countries have begun talks aimed at ending the war.

The Ukrainian president's office says it wants an immediate ceasefire and the withdrawal of Russian forces.

Meanwhile Moscow wants to reach an agreement that was in the interests of both sides, according to Russian negotiator, Vladimir Medinsky.

Before the meeting started, Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky urged Russian troops to lay down their weapons, and called for the EU to grant Ukraine membership of the bloc immediately.

 

[Andy_Ross]

BBC Rolling

Kremlin says Russia will 'ride out' sanctions

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov has been speaking to journalists on a conference call, during which he said Russia planned to ride out sanctions imposed by Western countries that have sent the rouble tumbling.

"The Western sanctions on Russia are hard, but our country has the necessary potential to compensate [for] the damage," Mr Peskov said on Monday.

He added that "today Putin will be working on economic questions" and meeting key ministers including the finance minister and central bank governor.

It comes after the UK, along with the US and EU, cut off Russia's banks from financial markets in the West, stopping dealings with the central bank, state-owned investment funds and the finance ministry.

As a result, Russia's central bank has more than doubled its key interest rate to 20% from 9.5%.

It marks a bid to halt the rapid fall in the value of Russia's currency the rouble against the US dollar, which threatens to wipe out its buying power and destroy the savings of ordinary Russians.

 

[BillC]

... a lie that has absolutely no chance of being mistaken for true, even by his useful idiots.

I don't believe such a thing exists.

 

[MarkCorrigan]

BBC Rolling

Russia blames Liz Truss for nuclear 'special alert'

Earlier, UK Defence Secretary Ben Wallace downplayed the nuclear "special alert" announced by Vladimir Putin, suggesting that the Russian president wanted to distract people from his forces' slower-than-expected progress in the invasion.

Wallace told the BBC: "We will not do anything to escalate in that area, we will not do anything to feed any miscalculation - we take it very, very seriously. But at the moment this is a battle of rhetoric that President Putin is deploying."

Now, the Kremlin has suggested comments from Foreign Secretary Liz Truss were the reason that Russia put its nuclear forces on heightened alert, according to the Russian news agency Interfax.

 

[Andy_Ross]

BBC Rolling

Pictures have started to emerge as Russian and Ukrainian officials meet to discuss the conflict at the Ukraine-Belarus border.

Ahead of the meeting, Ukraine's president said his country wanted an immediate ceasefire and the withdrawal of Russian troops. Meanwhile, Russia says it wants to reach an agreement that benefits both sides.

I won’t link the pictures as it’s a rolling feed.

 

[Andy_Ross]

BBC Rolling

Russia blames Liz Truss for nuclear 'special alert'

Earlier, UK Defence Secretary Ben Wallace downplayed the nuclear "special alert" announced by Vladimir Putin, suggesting that the Russian president wanted to distract people from his forces' slower-than-expected progress in the invasion.

Wallace told the BBC: "We will not do anything to escalate in that area, we will not do anything to feed any miscalculation - we take it very, very seriously. But at the moment this is a battle of rhetoric that President Putin is deploying."

Now, the Kremlin has suggested comments from Foreign Secretary Liz Truss were the reason that Russia put its nuclear forces on heightened alert, according to the Russian news agency Interfax.

Russian statement

”There had been statements by various representatives at various levels about possible conflict situations and even collisions and clashes between Nato and the Russian Federation," said Dmitry Peskov, spokesman for Vladimir Putin.

"We consider such statements absolutely unacceptable. I will not name the authors of these statements, although it was the British foreign secretary."

 

[Andy_Ross]

BBC Rolling

Dozens of civilians have been killed and hundreds more injured during heavy Russian shelling of the eastern Ukrainian city of Kharkiv, Ukrainian officials say.

Anton Herashchenko, an adviser to Kyiv's interior minister, wrote on Facebook that Moscow's troops had bombarded residential areas with Grad missiles, saying: "Dozens have been killed and hundreds wounded!

"The whole world must see this horror! Death to the occupiers!"

It is not possible at this stage to say exactly how many civilians have been killed so far. The UN Human Rights chief Michelle Bachelet said earlier today that at least 102 civilians had been killed, with a further 304 people injured.

"Most of these civilians were killed by explosive weapons with a wide impact area, including shelling from heavy artillery and multi-launch rocket systems, and air strikes. The real figures are, I fear, considerably higher," Bachlet said.

 

[shemp]

Does this show a war crime? An apparently unarmed perhaps wounded soldier is lying beside the truck. Arms seem to be above his head. The soldier by the white van comes forward and shoots him.

Aftermath: A Ukrainian military medic approaches the bodies of Russian servicemen wearing a Ukrainian army uniforms lying beside and inside a vehicle after they were shot during a skirmish in the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv

Somebody correct me if I'm wrong, but I'm pretty sure that in times of war, it is acceptable to treat anyone wearing the uniform of the other side as a spy or saboteur and that summary execution of spies and saboteurs is acceptable. In any case, I have zero ***** to give for these two scum.

Edited to add: I found this on Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Summary_execution#Exceptions_to_prisoners_of_war_status

According to Article 4 of the Third Geneva Convention of 1949, irregular forces are entitled to prisoner of war status if they are commanded by a person responsible for the subordinates, have a fixed distinctive sign recognizable at a distance, carry arms openly, and conduct their operations in accordance with the laws and customs of war. If they do not meet all of those conditions, they may be considered francs-tireurs (in the original sense of "illegal combatant") and punished as criminals in a military jurisdiction, which may include summary execution.

Soldiers who are wearing uniforms of the opposing army after the start of combat may be considered illegal combatants and subject to summary execution.

 

[jimbob]

https://www.france24.com/en/live-ne...logises-for-war-in-ukraine-at-un-climate-meet

Paris (AFP) – The Russian head of delegation at a major UN climate conference apologised for his country's invasion of Ukraine on Sunday, which he said lacked justification, according to several sources who heard him speak at the virtual meeting.

"Let me present an apology on behalf of all Russians not able to prevent this conflict," Anisimov said at the closing plenary of the virtual, 195-nation forum, according to three sources who heard him speak.

A brave Russian scientist

 

[trustbutverify]

Does this show a war crime? An apparently unarmed perhaps wounded soldier is lying beside the truck. Arms seem to be above his head. The soldier by the white van comes forward and shoots him.

I think you're getting a bit desperate.

 

[Meadmaker]

I think that these claims from Ukraine seem very optimistic.



https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/wor...1c909e0ce87e491a0ed78b&pinned_post_type=share

For comparison, under 15,000 Soviet soldiers were killed in the 10 year occupation of Afghanistan.

I'm pretty skeptical about a lot of the good news I'm hearing from Ukraine. Killing thousands while losing a couple of hundred against an enemy that's better equipped just doesn't seem realistic.

 

[TurkeysGhost]

I'm pretty skeptical about a lot of the good news I'm hearing from Ukraine. Killing thousands while losing a couple of hundred against an enemy that's better equipped just doesn't seem realistic.

Are the invading Russian troops that much better equipped?

The Ukrainian citizens getting AKs handed out to them aren't taking out armor or tanks, but I get the impression that the Ukrainian regular armed forces are pretty well equipped with anti-armor weapons.