Россия invades Україна | UPDATE (20 Apr 2024) - US House passes military aid bill for Ukraine

[Commissar SFLUFAN]

Not just the "heh", but also the "Well, Iraq too." aside as well.

 

It's about as close to an admission of guilt as you could possibly get.

[Signifyin(g)Monkey]

29 minutes ago, Commissar SFLUFAN said:

Not just the "heh", but also the "Well, Iraq too." aside as well.

 

It's about as close to an admission of guilt as you could possibly get.

Trump made it okay to just embrace it.  This is “grab ‘em by the pussy”, only it’s “grab ‘em by the unprosecuted Bush war crimes”.

[Commissar SFLUFAN]

ISW analysis for 18 May 2022:

 

Russian Offensive Campaign Assessment, May 18 | Institute for the Study of War

WWW.UNDERSTANDINGWAR.ORG

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Russian occupation authorities announced plans to destroy the Azovstal Steel Plant and turn Mariupol into a resort city, depriving Russia of some of the most important economic benefits it hoped to reap by taking the city in the first place. Head of the

 

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Russian occupation authorities announced plans to destroy the Azovstal Steel Plant and turn Mariupol into a resort city, depriving Russia of some of the most important economic benefits it hoped to reap by taking the city in the first place. Head of the Donetsk People’s Republic (DNR) Denis Pushilin stated that DNR authorities are planning to level Azovstal after completing its capture.[1] Azovstal was a major element of Mariupol’s economy before the war because of its unique function as a full-cycle metallurgical complex, the 10,000 jobs associated with production at the plant, the billions of dollars of foreign exchange earnings and taxes it generated, and its production output of 7,000 tons of steel, 6 million tons of iron, and 4.5 million tons of rolled metal, according to the Mariupol City Council.[2] Pushilin stated that the DNR intends to rebuild Mariupol to be a “resort city,” while admitting that 60% of the structures in Mariupol have been destroyed to the point where they cannot be rebuilt.[3] The announced plan to turn Mariupol into a center of tourism and leisure following the complete destruction of a major center of economic activity in Mariupol, is indicative of the damage that Russian troops have inflicted on themselves through the destruction of Mariupol. Russia does not need another resort town on the Black Sea. It does need the kind of hard currency that a plant like Azovstal had generated. This announcement epitomizes the kind of Pyrrhic victories Russian forces have won in Ukraine, to the extent that they have won victories at all.

 

The Kremlin may hope to offset the loss of revenues from Azovstal and other destroyed infrastructure in Ukraine by profiting from the Zaporizhia Nuclear Power Plant that is forces have seized. Russian Deputy Prime Minister Marat Khusnullin announced that he will allocate maximum integration assistance for Zaporizhia Oblast to work in a “friendly Russian family” during his visit to Melitopol on May 18.[4] Khusnullin added that the Zaporihia Nuclear Power Plant will exclusively work for Russia and will sell electricity to Ukraine. This statement is a clear Russian recognition that there will be an independent Ukraine at the end of this war and that Russia seeks to restore its energy leverage over Ukraine and possibly the West more broadly that has been reduced by sanctions and efforts to reduce reliance on Russian energy. It also reinforces the urgency of helping Ukraine regain control of Enerhodar City and the rest of its occupied territory to forestall this renewed economic thralldom. ISW previously reported that Russian forces started digging trenches and blocking highways to Enerhodar City.[5] The Zaporizhia Oblast Military Administration reported that Russian occupation authorities continued to prepare for a referendum in Enerhodar City on May 18.[6]

 

Ukrainian officials reported protests in Donetsk and Luhansk People’s Republics (DNR and LNR) over forced mobilizations on May 16-17. The Ukrainian Military Intelligence Directorate (GUR) reported that relatives of the forcefully mobilized LNR servicemen demanded an immediate return of their family members from combat in Luhansk City and Rovenky approximately 50 kilometers west of Russian border.[7] The GUR noted that perceptions of war and resentment of mobilization in LNR worsened because of the high casualties Russian forces have suffered and the fact that Russian authorities are reportedly evading payments to the families of wounded and killed servicemen. Mariupol Mayor’s Advisor Petro Andryushenko had previously reported that a protest against mobilization had occurred in Donetsk City on May 16.[8]

 

Key Takeaways

• Russian forces are continuing to inflict air and artillery strikes on the Azovstal Steel Plant, indicating that a remnant of Ukrainian defense is still in the plant despite evacuations over the last few days.
• Russian occupying authorities are reportedly planning to level the Azovstal Steel Plant after completing its capture, which directly undermines the large strategic economic importance of capturing the plant.
• Russian forces continued to prepare for an assault on Severodonetsk and intensified operations around Lyman.
• Russian forces continued to prioritize holding positions around the Russian border to prevent further Ukrainian advances north of Kharkiv City and will likely continue to do so at the expense of deploying additional reinforcements to other axes of advance.
• Russian troops focused on maintaining their positions on the Southern Axis and on conducting rocket, missile, and artillery strikes along the frontline.

 

 

 

 

[Commissar SFLUFAN]

Quote

Russian occupation authorities announced plans to destroy the Azovstal Steel Plant and turn Mariupol into a resort city, depriving Russia of some of the most important economic benefits it hoped to reap by taking the city in the first place.

 

This right here is about as "Maximum Russian" as you could possibly get.

[CayceG]

9 hours ago, GeneticBlueprint said:

 

It's working gotta say

 

Perfect tweet. No notes. 

[skillzdadirecta]

3 hours ago, CayceG said:

 

Perfect tweet. No notes. 

Replace "tweet" with "cut", and you have the four of my favorite words in the Englisj language... Back on topic,

 

Putin 'facing a coup after his closest allies accept they've lost the war'

METRO.CO.UK

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The Russian tyrant is less likely to order a nuclear strike if his top officials don't play ball.

 

[Commissar SFLUFAN]

Russian soldier asks Ukrainian widow to forgive him during first war crimes trial | Ukraine | The Guardian

WWW.THEGUARDIAN.COM

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Vadim Shishimarin, 21-year-old tank commander, has pleaded guilty to killing unarmed 62-year-old civilian

 

 

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A 21-year-old Russian soldier asked a Ukrainian widow to forgive him for the murder of her husband, as a court in Kyiv met for a second hearing on Thursday in the first war crimes trial arising from Russia’s 24 February invasion.

 

Vadim Shishimarin, a tank commander, pleaded guilty on Wednesday to killing Oleksandr Shelipov, an unarmed 62-year-old civilian, in the north-east Ukrainian village of Chupakhivka on 28 February.

 

“I acknowledge my blame … I ask you to forgive me,” he told the widow, Kateryna Shalipova, on Thursday.

 

Dressed in a tracksuit, his shaved head lowered, Shishimarin cut a forlorn spectacle in a glass booth for defendants. He spoke calmly, but looked frightened.

 

 

As a humanitarian gesture, I personally believe that Ukraine should suspend whatever sentence he's deservedly given and hand him over to the ICRC for transfer back to Russia.

 

[Commissar SFLUFAN]

ISW analysis for 19 May 2022:

 

Russian Offensive Campaign Assessment, May 19 | Institute for the Study of War

WWW.UNDERSTANDINGWAR.ORG

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Ukrainian military officials reported that some Russian troops withdrawn from the Kharkiv City axis have redeployed to western Donetsk Oblast on May 19. The Ukrainian General Staff said that 260 servicemen withdrawn from the Kharkiv City axis arrived to

 

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Ukrainian military officials reported that some Russian troops withdrawn from the Kharkiv City axis have redeployed to western Donetsk Oblast on May 19. The Ukrainian General Staff said that 260 servicemen withdrawn from the Kharkiv City axis arrived to replace the significant combat losses that the 107th Motorized Rifle Battalion has taken approximately 20 km southwest of Donetsk City.[1] The Ukrainian Military Directorate (GUR) intercepted a Russian serviceman’s call suggesting that some of the 400 servicemen from the Kharkiv City axis who had arrived elsewhere in Donbas were shocked by the intensity of the fighting there compared with what they had experienced in Kharkiv Oblast.[2]

 

Russian forces are continuing to suffer shortages of reserve manpower, causing the Russian military command to consolidate depleted battalion tactical groups (BTGs). An unnamed US defense official reported that Russian forces still have 106 BTGs operating in Ukraine but had to disband and combine some to compensate for losses.[3] Ukrainian General Staff Main Operations Deputy Chief Oleksiy Gromov reported that Russian forces are combining units of the Pacific and Northern Fleets at the permanent locations of the 40th Separate Marine Brigade and the 200th Separate Motorized Rifle Brigade, respectively.[4] Gromov added that Russian forces are training servicemen in Krasnodar Krai to replenish units of the 49th Combined Arms Army and are trying to restore combat power of Russian units withdrawn from the battlefront in occupied Crimea.

 

Unknown Russian perpetrators conducted a series of Molotov cocktail attacks on Russian military commissariats throughout the country in May, likely in protest of covert mobilization. Russian media and local Telegram channels reported deliberate acts of arson against military commissariats in three Moscow Oblast settlements—Omsk, Volgograd, Ryazan Oblast, and Khanty-Mansi Autonomous District—between May 4 and May 18.[5] Ukrainian General Staff Main Operations Deputy Chief Oleksiy Gromov said that there were at least 12 cases of deliberate arson against military commissariats in total and five last week.[6] Russian officials caught two 16-year-olds in the act in one Moscow Oblast settlement, which suggests that Russian citizens are likely responsible for the attacks on military commissariats.[7]

 

Key Takeaways

• Russian forces are intensifying operations to advance north and west of Popasna in preparation for an offensive toward Severodonetsk.
• Russian and proxy authorities in Mariupol are struggling to establish coherent administrative control of the city.
• Russian forces reportedly attempted to regain control of the settlements they lost during the Ukrainian counteroffensive north of Kharkiv City.
• Russian forces are bolstering their naval presence around Snake Island to fortify their grouping on the island.

 

 

 

[CitizenVectron]

It feels like Russia is throwing everything it has at getting Severodonetsk. It's taking practically their entire military to move forward a few km. I think they will unfortunately take it...but will they effectively be spent?

[Commissar SFLUFAN]

5 minutes ago, CitizenVectron said:

It feels like Russia is throwing everything it has at getting Severodonetsk. It's taking practically their entire military to move forward a few km. I think they will unfortunately take it...but will they effectively be spent?

 

Russian forces significantly outnumber Ukrainian forces in that sector so it's only a matter of time before they achieve that objective, but just as you stated, it's coming at a helluva cost.

[CayceG]

Ukraine War, 19–20 May 2022. Good morning everybody! | by Tom Cooper | May, 2022 | Medium

MEDIUM.COM

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Good morning everybody!

 

 

The Russians are finally learning their lessons. Perhaps too late to save their military, but at a time where they can shift to being victorious in some areas. 

 

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As first, they should have launched a decoy attack on Trypillya, thus tied the defenders down, then exploited the opportunity to rush the VDV past the place to quickly capture Volodymyrivka. This attack seems to have been brought forward at such a pace, that the Ukrainians couldn’t bring their artillery to bear. ‘Logical consequence’: Ukrainians were forced to withdraw from both, Trypillya and Troitske, to avoid being encircled.

As a consequence, the Russians took Druzhba, 5km further south, too.

 

Around the same time, the RFA did something similar in the Komyshuvakha area: while tying down the defenders of that village by mechanised forces, it rushed its VDV troops over the Komyshuvakha River, punched through in between Komyshuvakha and Zolote, and advanced on Vrubivka from the south, securing it late in the evening. The latter place is mere 30km south of Severodonetsk. Worst of all, Troitske, Vrubivka and Druzhba are only 8–9km east of the road T1302: the main life-line for Ukrainian forces in the Severodonetsk-Lysychansk area…
 

With other words: by now, the ‘Plan G’ seems to be working relatively good — and in Russia’s favour. And, as announced, the Popasna area is now definitely the new ‘Schwerpunkt’.

 

 

This article from Tom Cooper also touches on the deployment of Terminator fighting vehicles--the exact piece of equipment that should have been procured and deployed in numbers for this precise war. 

[Commissar SFLUFAN]

 

[PaladinSolo]

 

[CitizenVectron]

This war, combined with the COVID supply chain crisis, is going to push many parts of the world into food chaos:

 

 

[PaladinSolo]

 

[Comet]

1 hour ago, PaladinSolo said:

 

Couldn’t he have just used Docusign? Quite the carbon footprint otherwise!

[Commissar SFLUFAN]

ISW analysis for 20 May 2022:

 

 

Russian Offensive Campaign Assessment, May 20 | Institute for the Study of War

WWW.UNDERSTANDINGWAR.ORG

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Russian forces are focusing on digging in and reinforcing defensive positions in Kharkiv and along the Southern Axis in preparation for Ukrainian counteroffensives, while the majority of active offensive operations remain confined to Izyum-Donetsk City

 

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Russian forces are focusing on digging in and reinforcing defensive positions in Kharkiv and along the Southern Axis in preparation for Ukrainian counteroffensives, while the majority of active offensive operations remain confined to Izyum-Donetsk City arc and especially the Popasna-Severodonetsk area. The Ukrainian General Staff reported that Russian forces are creating secondary defensive lines on the Southern Axis, indicating that the Russian grouping in this area may be preparing for a major Ukrainian counter-offensive and a protracted conflict. Russian forces reportedly are holding defensive positions north of Kharkiv City following the success of the Ukrainian counteroffensive since May 5 and have conducted limited spoiling attacks either to give Russian forces time to complete their redeployment back to Russia in good order or to allow reinforcements to arrive to defend territory in Kharkiv Oblast. Significant Russian offensive operations are confined to the area of Severodonetsk. Russian troops have made marginal gains to the north, west, and south of the city, especially around Popasna, in order to attempt to take control of Severodonetsk.

 

Key Takeaways

• Russian forces may have made marginal gains to the north, west, and south of Popasna in order to continue their offensive on Severodonetsk from the south.
• Russian sources may be overstating the number of Ukrainian defenders who have been evacuated from Azovstal to either maximize the number of Russian prisoners of war who may be exchanged for Ukrainian soldiers or to avoid the embarrassment of admitting they have been locked into a months-long siege against only “hundreds” of Ukrainian soldiers.
• Russian troops reportedly regained certain positions taken by the Ukrainian counteroffensive north of Kharkiv City.
• Russian forces are likely preparing for a major Ukrainian counteroffensive and protracted conflict on the Southern Axis.

 

 

 

[CitizenVectron]

 

And another major crossing repelled:

 

 

[Smith]

Ukraine's natural environment is another casualty of war. The damage could be felt for decades

EDITION.CNN.COM

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The pine forests around Irpin are Oleh Bondarenko's happy place. He discovered them as a child, when his mom sent him to the area for summer camp, and he has been coming back...

 

[PaladinSolo]

 

[Commissar SFLUFAN]

ISW analysis for 21 May 2022:

 

Russian Offensive Campaign Assessment, May 21 | Institute for the Study of War

WWW.UNDERSTANDINGWAR.ORG

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Russian forces intensified efforts to encircle and capture Severodonetsk on May 21 and will likely continue to do so in the coming days as efforts on other axes of advance, including Izyum, remain largely stalled. Russian troops in Luhansk Oblast will

 

 

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Russian forces intensified efforts to encircle and capture Severodonetsk on May 21 and will likely continue to do so in the coming days as efforts on other axes of advance, including Izyum, remain largely stalled. Russian troops in Luhansk Oblast will likely move to capitalize on recent gains made in the Rubizhne-Severodonetsk-Luhansk-Popasna arc to encircle and besiege Severodonetsk—the final Ukrainian strongpoint in Luhansk Oblast. Russian milbloggers are hypothesizing on the success of Russian tactics in the area and have dubbed it the Battle of Severodonetsk—emphasizing that this is the preliminary line of effort in the Donbas theatre.

 

Key Takeaways

• Russian forces are conducting operations to cut off Ukrainian ground lines of communication (GLOCs) between Severodonetsk and Lysychansk across the Severskyi Donetsk River.
• The information space in Mariupol will likely become increasingly restricted in the coming weeks as Russian forces shift focus from completing the capture of the Azovstal Steel Plant to consolidating occupational control of the city.
• Russian troops are likely reinforcing their grouping around Kharkiv City to prevent further Ukrainian advances toward the international border.
• Russian forces may be assembling forces in certain areas of Zaporizhia and Kherson oblasts to initiate further offensive operations on the southern axis.

 

 

 

[Commissar SFLUFAN]

On 5/20/2022 at 10:57 PM, CitizenVectron said:

This war, combined with the COVID supply chain crisis, is going to push many parts of the world into food chaos:

 

 

 

Oh yeah - that "Bronze Age Collapse" feeling is pretty strong right now, eh @Fizzzzle?

[Jason]

 

[CitizenVectron]

I rode my bike down to my city's legislative building/park today for Sikh Day, where there is tonnes of free food, a parade, etc. Sikh community in my city is awesome. Anyway, one guy had a "Russian warship go fuck yourself" hoodie. I gave a "Slava Ukraini" as I rode by and got "Heroyam Slava" in response.

[Fizzzzle]

8 hours ago, Commissar SFLUFAN said:

 

Oh yeah - that "Bronze Age Collapse" feeling is pretty strong right now, eh @Fizzzzle?

It kind of does feel like things are precarious. The bronze age collapse was the last time in human history that economies were so intertwined that no one was spared when the house of cards fell down.

 

It's easy to think of a country like China as our enemy, but the reality is that if they go down, so do we, and vise-versa.

 

It's kind of scary to think about. A drought in the Yangtze basin, fighter pilot that flies a little too close to Taiwan, a dam on the Nile, any one of a number of things causes the house of cards to fall down. Our connectivity with one another has both allowed us to progress as far as we have and will also be the cause of our downfall, whenever that happens.

 

And to people who think nationalism and "looking out for ourselves first" in some way is the solution... It's already too late for that.

[Commissar SFLUFAN]

ISW analysis for 22 May 2022:

 

Russian Offensive Campaign Assessment, May 22 | Institute for the Study of War

WWW.UNDERSTANDINGWAR.ORG

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Russian forces made only minimal gains in eastern Ukraine on May 22. New reporting confirmed that Russian troops previously recaptured Rubizhne in northern Kharkiv Oblast, on May 19. Russian forces are likely committing additional reinforcements to hold

 

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Russian forces made only minimal gains in eastern Ukraine on May 22. New reporting confirmed that Russian troops previously recaptured Rubizhne in northern Kharkiv Oblast, on May 19. Russian forces are likely committing additional reinforcements to hold their positions on the west bank of the Siverskyi Donets River in northern Kharkiv—rather than withdrawing across the river to use it as a defensive position—to prevent any further Ukrainian advances to the north or the east that could threaten Russian lines of communication to the Izyum axis.[1] Ukrainian sources additionally confirmed previous Russian-claimed advances around Popasna, and Russian forces likely seek to open a new line of advance north from Popasna to complete the encirclement of Severodonetsk while simultaneously driving west toward Bakhmut, though Russian forces are unlikely to be able to fully resource both lines of advance simultaneously.

 

Key Takeaways

• Ukrainian sources confirmed that Russian forces have secured local advances to the north and west of Popasna since at least May 20. Russian forces likely seek to push further west toward Bakhmut and north to support the encirclement of Severodonetsk but remain unlikely to achieve rapid advances.
• Russian forces will likely attempt to hold positions west of the Siverskyi Donets River against Ukrainian attacks (rather than retreating across the river) to prevent further Ukrainian advances from threatening Russian lines of communication to Izyum.
• Russian occupying forces continued filtration and deportation procedures in and around Mariupol.
• Russian forces are likely preparing to resume offensives on the southern axis.

 

 

 

[Commissar SFLUFAN]

Ukrainian court sentences Russian soldier to life in prison for killing civilian | Ukraine | The Guardian

WWW.THEGUARDIAN.COM

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Vadim Shishimarin shot dead Oleksandr Shelipov in village in late February

 

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A court in Kyiv has sentenced a Russian soldier to life in prison for the killing of a Ukrainian civilian, in the first verdict in a trial related to war crimes carried out by the Russian army during its invasion of Ukraine.

 

Vadim Shishimarin, a 21-year-old sergeant, was found guilty of killing 62-year-old Oleksandr Shelipov in Sumy region during the first days of the invasion.

The verdict was delivered on Monday by the judge, Serhii Ahafonov, at a packed courtroom, with dozens of Ukrainian and foreign television cameras crammed into the small room.

 

The judge said although Shishimarin cooperated with the investigation and expressed remorse, the court could not accept his claim he had not meant to kill Shelipov when he fired at him.

 

Shishimarin, wearing a grey-and-blue hoodie, listened with his head bowed to the judge deliver his long verdict from inside the glass box for defendants. He was given a translation of the judge’s words from Ukrainian to Russian by a court-appointed translator.

 

 

[CitizenVectron]

Whoa

 

 

[CitizenVectron]

tl;dr: the food situation (re: exports from Ukraine to Asian and Africa) is not as bad as news headlines are making it out to be. Ukraine is still growing crops during the war, and they have pivoted to using rail and river barge to transport out to the west, rather than sea to the south. 

 

Not only is Ukraine fighting a war against Russia, it's still feeding much of the third world:

 

 

 

 

 

[b_m_b_m_b_m]

9 minutes ago, CitizenVectron said:

tl;dr: the food situation (re: exports from Ukraine to Asian and Africa) is not as bad as news headlines are making it out to be. Ukraine is still growing crops during the war, and they have pivoted to using rail and river barge to transport out to the west, rather than sea to the south. 

 

Not only is Ukraine fighting a war against Russia, it's still feeding much of the third world:

 

 

 

 

 

Had me until the last tweet

[CitizenVectron]

 

[Commissar SFLUFAN]

ISW analysis for 23 May 2022:

 

Russian Offensive Campaign Assessment, May 23 | Institute for the Study of War

WWW.UNDERSTANDINGWAR.ORG

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Russian nationalist figures are increasingly criticizing the failures of Russia’s “special military operation” in Ukraine and are calling for further mobilization that the Kremlin likely remains unwilling and unable to pursue in the short term. The All-R

 

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Russian nationalist figures are increasingly criticizing the failures of Russia’s “special military operation” in Ukraine and are calling for further mobilization that the Kremlin likely remains unwilling and unable to pursue in the short term. The All-Russian Officers Assembly, an independent pro-Russian veterans’ association that seeks to reform Russian military strategy, called for Russian President Vladimir Putin and the Kremlin to declare war on Ukraine and introduce partial mobilization in Russia on May 19.[1] The Assembly said that Russia’s “special military operation” failed to achieve its goals in three months, especially after the failed Siverskyi Donets River crossings. ISW previously assessed that the destruction of nearly an entire Russian battalion tactical group (BTG) during a failed river crossing on May 11 shocked Russian military observers and prompted them to question Russian competence.[2] The Assembly’s appeal called on Putin to recognize that Russian forces are no longer only “denazifying” Ukraine but are fighting a war for Russia’s historic territories and existence in the world order. The officers demanded that the Kremlin mobilize all regions bordering NATO countries (including Ukraine), form territorial defense squads, extend standard military service terms from one year to two, and form new supreme wartime administrations over Russia, the Donetsk and Luhansk People’s Republics (DNR and LNR), and newly occupied Ukrainian settlements. The officers also demanded the death penalty for deserters.

 

The Assembly’s letter may be a leading indicator of elements of the Russian government and society setting informational conditions to declare partial mobilization. However, the Kremlin has so far declined to take this step likely due to concerns over domestic backlash and flaws in Russia’s mobilization systems.[3] The All-Russian Officers Assembly called on Putin to recognize the independence of the DNR and LNR three weeks prior to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, setting conditions for the Russian “special military operation.”[4] Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu announced on May 20 that Russia will form 12 new Western Military District units (of unspecified echelon) before the end of the year in response to NATO expansion.[5] Russian forces may intend to man these units with newly mobilized personnel, as it is unclear how else the Kremlin could generate the manpower for new units. The Ukrainian General Staff also reported that Russian forces are withdrawing old T-62 tanks from storage to form new BTGs.[6] Russia is likely continuing to exhaust its remaining combat-ready reserves to maintain the momentum of the Battle of Severodonetsk, rather than prioritizing preparations for new reinforcements. ISW previously assessed that Russian mobilization is unlikely to generate combat-ready force due to hasty training.[7]

 

More Russians supportive of the Kremlin and the Russian invasion of Ukraine are beginning to criticize the Kremlin openly. Russian milbloggers claimed that the Kremlin will not honor the Officers Assembly appeal, indicating an intensifying negative perception of the Russian leadership among Russians supportive of the war in Ukraine.[8] Kaliningrad Oblast Governor Anton Alikhanov publicly stated that the Russian war in Ukraine has disrupted transport routes and construction schedules in the region, a rare admission of the economic cost of the war from a Russian government official.[9] The Ukrainian General Staff also reported that Russian military personnel are increasingly complaining about the ineffectiveness of offensive operations against Ukrainian troops.[10]

 

Unidentified assailants continued attacks against military recruitment offices in Russia on May 23, indicating growing discontent with conscription.[11] A Russian Telegram channel reported that an unknown attacker threw a Molotov cocktail at the military recruitment office in the Udmurtia region, which follows a May 19 incident wherein a Russian conscript shot at a recruitment office in Zheleznogorsk-Ilimsky (Irkutsk Oblast) with a pneumatic device.[12] The Ukrainian General Staff previously reported that 12 total attacks on recruitment offices have happened since the beginning of the war, with five happening in the past few weeks alone.[13] These attacks may represent growing domestic discontent with conscription and recruitment practices.

 

The UK Ministry of Defense reported that Russia has suffered a similar death toll within the first three months of the invasion of Ukraine as was experienced by the Soviet Union over the course of nine years in Afghanistan.[14] The British Ministry of Defense stated that a combination of poor low-level tactics, poor air defense, lack of operational flexibility, and poor command methods have resulted in repeated mistakes and failures, which are continuing to be evident in Donbas. The report noted that the Russian public is sensitive to high casualty numbers, and assessed that as casualties suffered in Ukraine grow and become harder to conceal, public dissatisfaction will increase.

 

Key Takeaways

• Russian nationalist figures (including veterans and military commentators) are increasingly criticizing the failures of Russia’s “special military operation” in Ukraine and are calling for further mobilization that the Kremlin likely remains unwilling and unable to pursue in the short term.
• Russian forces around Izyum increased their tempo of air and artillery strikes and likely intend to attempt to resume stalled offensive operations in the coming days.
• Russian operations to encircle Severodonetsk made minor gains in the past 24 hours, driving north through Zolote. Fighting is ongoing in Lyman (north of Severodonetsk) as Russian forces attempt to cut off Ukrainian supply lines
• Russian forces will likely make further minor gains west of Popasna in the near future but are unlikely to be able to quickly seize Bakhmut.
• The Ukrainian counteroffensive northeast of Kharkiv continues to threaten Russian positions and is forcing Russia to pull units from ongoing offensive operations in eastern Ukraine to shore up their defensive positions near Vovchansk.

 

 

 

[Commissar SFLUFAN]

Jomini of the West's "intelligence briefing" for Days 80-88:

 

 

[CayceG]

Henry Kissinger tells global elite gathered at Davos that Ukraine should give Russia territory | Daily Mail Online

WWW.DAILYMAIL.CO.UK

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The former US secretary of state Henry Kissinger told the global elite that Ukraine should give Russia territory within the next two months and accept terms that fail to meet current war aims.

 

 

 

This man is a Lich that survives on the souls of the people he has killed. 

 

 

[Commissar SFLUFAN]

10 minutes ago, CayceG said:

Henry Kissinger tells global elite gathered at Davos that Ukraine should give Russia territory | Daily Mail Online

WWW.DAILYMAIL.CO.UK

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The former US secretary of state Henry Kissinger told the global elite that Ukraine should give Russia territory within the next two months and accept terms that fail to meet current war aims.

 

 

 

This man is a Lich that survives on the souls of the people he has killed. 

 

I was just about to post that story.

 

It's hardly surprising that he'd make such a blatantly "realpolitik" statement in front of the supposedly "rational" Davos elite.  Oh, if only there was a exceptionally cunning jihadist or two that could inflitrate/slip past the Davos security cordon...