Ukraine unbroken two years into Putin's War

[Dukasaur]

What do you mean 'no Ukraine'? No one ever said Russia is planning to dig a giant hole and tip Ukraine into it.

Actually Putin has made no secret of the fact that he wants to restore the Soviet Empire and re-subjugate all the republics that have gained independence.

As for the Ukrainians, he holds special animus, and there's no doubt that if he succeeds in re-subjugating them that it will be followed by genocide. Putin's main role model is Stalin, and what Stalin began, Putin intends to finish.

[saxitoxin]

the west is determined to help them

Correction: The City and Wall Street is determined to help them.

The West could care less.

Click image to enlarge.

Contributions too low to measure: Australia, Netherlands, Spain, Italy, New Zealand, Japan, Greece, Portugal, Belgium, etc.

[pmac666]

the west is determined to help them

Correction: The City and Wall Street is determined to help them.

The West could care less.

Click image to enlarge.

Contributions too low to measure: Australia, Netherlands, Spain, Italy, New Zealand, Japan, Greece, Portugal, Belgium, etc.

Why dont you link the whole site? Cause it gives a complete different picture?

https://www.ifw-kiel.de/topics/war-agai ... el=not-set

[saxitoxin]

Why dont you link the whole site? Cause it gives a complete different picture?

https://www.ifw-kiel.de/topics/war-agai ... el=not-set

Naw. Unless you're talking about this graph - https://app.23degrees.io/view/X3Rr0Fvzw ... gure-8_csv - which is dumb. The EU is famous for pledging 10X what they actually send during any crisis or disaster. (See Nepal earthquake, Haiti earthquake, etc. etc.) To be fair, the U.S. does the same, but no one does it at the scale of the EU.

[pmac666]

Why dont you link the whole site? Cause it gives a complete different picture?

https://www.ifw-kiel.de/topics/war-agai ... el=not-set

Naw. Unless you're talking about this graph - https://app.23degrees.io/view/X3Rr0Fvzw ... gure-8_csv - which is dumb. The EU is famous for pledging 10X what they actually send during any crisis or disaster. (See Nepal earthquake, Haiti earthquake, etc. etc.) To be fair, the U.S. does the same, but no one does it at the scale of the EU.

M-kay.
Doesnt change the fact that you post misleading stuff tho.
But nvm, i expect that from antivax Putinbros.

[saxitoxin]

Why dont you link the whole site? Cause it gives a complete different picture?

https://www.ifw-kiel.de/topics/war-agai ... el=not-set

Naw. Unless you're talking about this graph - https://app.23degrees.io/view/X3Rr0Fvzw ... gure-8_csv - which is dumb. The EU is famous for pledging 10X what they actually send during any crisis or disaster. (See Nepal earthquake, Haiti earthquake, etc. etc.) To be fair, the U.S. does the same, but no one does it at the scale of the EU.

M-kay.
Doesnt change the fact that you post misleading stuff tho.
But nvm, i expect that from antivax Putinbros.

Talking With McCarthyists, Episode 112

pmac: "You post misleading stuff."
Saxi: "Can you be specific about what is misleading?"
pmac: "..."
Saxi: "Well?"
pmac: "..."
Saxi: "Yes?"
pmac: "Look over there! It's the Russians!"

[pmac666]

Why dont you link the whole site? Cause it gives a complete different picture?

https://www.ifw-kiel.de/topics/war-agai ... el=not-set

Naw. Unless you're talking about this graph - https://app.23degrees.io/view/X3Rr0Fvzw ... gure-8_csv - which is dumb. The EU is famous for pledging 10X what they actually send during any crisis or disaster. (See Nepal earthquake, Haiti earthquake, etc. etc.) To be fair, the U.S. does the same, but no one does it at the scale of the EU.

M-kay.
Doesnt change the fact that you post misleading stuff tho.
But nvm, i expect that from antivax Putinbros.

Talking With McCarthyists, Episode 112

pmac: "You post misleading stuff."
Saxi: "Can you be specific about what is misleading?"
pmac: "..."
Saxi: "Well?"
pmac: "..."
Saxi: "Yes?"
pmac: "Look over there! It's the Russians!"

Thx godness youre completly irrelevant.

[saxitoxin]

After Zelenskyy's wife went on a $40,000 shopping trip to Paris this month we thought he couldn't top that for audacity. But he did! The BBC reports he has now appointed a sex therapy hypnotist and online jewelry salesman with no diplomatic background as Ukrainian ambassador to Bulgaria, a nation critically important to transiting munitions to the Uke Army.

choppy Google translation from BBC Ukraine ...

Her biography was not officially published. But journalists found it on Facebook two profiles, which published personal photos and other information about Ilashchuk.

Journalist Yuri Butusov calls the appointment of Olesi Ilaschuk as ambassador a "strategic failure in Bulgaria".

"Unfortunately, Ms. Ilaschuk, who has never faced military affairs, diplomacy or politics, and has no experience in either diplomatic or even civil service at all, will not be able to act adequately in Ukraine's national interests during these critical months, and we will lose a lot because of the underestimation of Bulgaria's importance for our victory in the war, "- convinced Butusov.

https://www.bbc.com/ukrainian/news-64103170

Remember, Zelenskyy was caught-up in the Pandora Papers money laundering scandal and probably enriched himself with up to $40 million in money sliding into his personal bank accounts from selling favors to mega-corporations. Ukraine was the most corrupt nation in Europe according to ratings pre-intervention with bribes freely and openly being traded among the country's ruling class ... the same ministers, oligarchs, and flag officers now lining their pockets with slices of foreign aid being skimmed off the top. Is that why they don't want to negotiate an end to this extremely profitable war? America is paying for the deaths of Ukrainian workers and peasants to enrich the mega-wealthy.

Marketing war to appeal to wild-eyed, vapid American dupes whose intellect has been fattened on a diet of Real Housewives and The Voice:

[jimboston]

Marketing war to appeal to wild-eyed, vapid American dupes whose intellect has been fattened on a diet of Real Housewives and The Voice:

What did you say?

I was too busy checking out how hot she is.

[HitRed]

European natural gas prices drop back to pre-Ukraine war levels

[mookiemcgee]

European natural gas prices drop back to pre-Ukraine war levels

You think it'll last? (I don't)

[Dukasaur]

Despite an ongoing campaign of terror strikes against civilian targets by Russian drones and missiles, Ukraine enters the New Year unbowed and unbroken.

https://www.pbs.org/newshour/world/russian-strikes-intensify-as-ukrainians-return-to-spend-holidays-with-their-families

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Multiple blasts rocked Kyiv and other areas of Ukraine on Saturday, killing at least one person and wounding 14 others, in a sign that the pace of Russia attacks had picked up before New Year’s.

Some Ukrainians defied the danger, however, to return to the country to reunite with families for the holidays.

Ukrainian officials claimed Russia was now deliberately targeting civilians, seeking to create a climate of fear to see out the year grimly and usher in a bloody 2023.

Mykolaiv Gov. Vitalii Kim said that the Russians were targeting civilians more directly than just by attacking infrastructure as in the past.

“In many cities residential areas, hotels, just roads and garages are affected,” he wrote on Telegram.

In Zaporizhzhia region, as a result of a missile attack, two houses were destroyed, and around eight damaged. Four people were also wounded, among them a pregnant woman and a 14-year-old girl, said regional Gov. Oleksandr Starukh.

Even though Russia’s 10-month war rumbles on with no end in sight, for some families the new year is nevertheless a chance to reunite, however briefly, after months apart.

[Dukasaur]

Russia admits its own callousness leads to a successful Ukrainian strike.

A Ukrainian artillery hit on a Russian ammunition dump has resulted in significant casualties. The official Russian number is 63 dead, although other estimates are higher and a Ukrainian estimate puts it at 400. The exact number is if minor importance. What is of major importance is that the high casualty count is the result of their own callousness. Russian officers rarely care about loss of life, even of their own troops, and housing troops immediately next to a pile of ammo is the type of carelessly stupid decision that only an officer who doesn't give a shit could make.

https://www.nytimes.com/live/2023/01/02/world/russia-ukraine-news

One pro-war lawmaker, Sergei Mironov, a prominent member of the upper house of Russia’s parliament, called on his Telegram channel for criminal prosecution of all officials responsible for the Makiivka disaster “whether they wear epaulets or not.”

“Obviously neither intelligence nor counterintelligence or air defense worked properly,” he said.

Accounts by pro-war military bloggers — who have become influential opinion-makers in Russia amid the censorship of mainstream media — suggested that the strike in Makiivka had proved so deadly partly because of a litany of errors by Moscow’s forces, some of which have been repeated throughout the war.

One military blogger, Igor Girkin, a former Russian paramilitary commander in Ukraine as known as Igor Strelkov, said that the vocational school had been “almost completely destroyed” because “ammunition stored in the same building” detonated in the strike. Video posted on social media showed firefighters amid the ruins of the structure and piles of steaming rubble.

The ammunition was stored “without the slightest sign of disguise,” Mr. Girkin wrote, adding that similar strikes had occurred earlier this year, though with fewer casualties. “Our generals are untrainable in principle,” he said.

[jusplay4fun]

Russia admits its own callousness leads to a successful Ukrainian strike.

A Ukrainian artillery hit on a Russian ammunition dump has resulted in significant casualties. The official Russian number is 63 dead, although other estimates are higher and a Ukrainian estimate puts it at 400. The exact number is if minor importance. What is of major importance is that the high casualty count is the result of their own callousness. Russian officers rarely care about loss of life, even of their own troops, and housing troops immediately next to a pile of ammo is the type of carelessly stupid decision that only an officer who doesn't give a shit could make.

https://www.nytimes.com/live/2023/01/02/world/russia-ukraine-news

One pro-war lawmaker, Sergei Mironov, a prominent member of the upper house of Russia’s parliament, called on his Telegram channel for criminal prosecution of all officials responsible for the Makiivka disaster “whether they wear epaulets or not.”

“Obviously neither intelligence nor counterintelligence or air defense worked properly,” he said.

Accounts by pro-war military bloggers — who have become influential opinion-makers in Russia amid the censorship of mainstream media — suggested that the strike in Makiivka had proved so deadly partly because of a litany of errors by Moscow’s forces, some of which have been repeated throughout the war.

One military blogger, Igor Girkin, a former Russian paramilitary commander in Ukraine as known as Igor Strelkov, said that the vocational school had been “almost completely destroyed” because “ammunition stored in the same building” detonated in the strike. Video posted on social media showed firefighters amid the ruins of the structure and piles of steaming rubble.

The ammunition was stored “without the slightest sign of disguise,” Mr. Girkin wrote, adding that similar strikes had occurred earlier this year, though with fewer casualties. “Our generals are untrainable in principle,” he said.

I think Duk said it well already and I ENLARGED some of his post for emphasis.

I cannot access the NYT account (without paying), so here is one more:

Ukrainian forces fired rockets at a facility in the eastern Donetsk region where Russian soldiers were stationed, killing 63 of them, Russia's defense ministry said Monday, in one of the deadliest attacks on the Kremlin's forces since the war began more than 10 months ago.

Ukrainian forces fired six rockets from a HIMARS launch system and two of them were shot down, a defense ministry statement said. It did not say when the strike happened.

The strike, using a U.S.-supplied precision weapon that has proven critical in enabling Ukrainian forces to hit key targets, delivered a new setback for Russia, which in recent months has reeled from a Ukrainian counteroffensive.

According to the governor of Russia's Samara region, Dmitry Azarov, an unspecified number of residents of the region were among those killed and wounded by the strike on the town of Makiivka.

Russian military bloggers, whose information has largely been reliable during the war, said ammunition stored close to the facility had exploded in the attack and contributed to the high number of casualties.

Expressing anger at the losses, Daniil Bezsonov, an official with the Russian-appointed administration in Russian-occupied Donetsk, called for the punishment of military officers who ordered a large number of troops to be stationed at the facility.

(...)
The Ukrainian military appeared to acknowledge the attack Monday, with the General Staff confirming that Makiivka was hit on Dec. 31, and saying 10 Russian military vehicles were destroyed or damaged. It added that Russian personnel losses were still being clarified.

In a claim that could not be independently verified, the Strategic Communications Directorate of Ukraine's Armed Forces had maintained Sunday that some 400 mobilized Russian soldiers were killed in a vocational school building in Makiivka and about 300 more were wounded. The Russian statement said the strike occurred "in the area of Makiivka" and didn't mention the vocational school.

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/ukraine-war-dozens-russian-soldiers-killed-moscow-says/

The above URL includes a video, for those who prefer that style of info.

I heard that one source of intelligence used to pinpoint the location of the Russian troops was the these new draftees used their cell phones and that was a way to confirm their location and lead to ANOTHER military disaster for pukin' putin.

And there was a story of the same Blonde appearing in 3 recent videos of pukin' putin, as if he is STAGING the video shoots. REALLY? Is anyone SHOCKED by such putin tactics? saxi is trying, but he has trouble recruiting pretty blondes to be in HIS VIDEOS...!

Speculation Swirls as Putin Accused of Using Same Woman in Multiple Photos
BY THOMAS KIKA ON 12/31/22

Speculation and mockery abounded on social media after an eagle-eyed journalist spotted what appeared to be the same woman playing different roles in photos with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

The oddity was first highlighted on Twitter Saturday morning by London-based Belarussian journalist, Tadeusz Giczan. In his post, Giczan shared three photos of Putin standing among various different crowds which included a line-up of soldiers, sailors on a boat, and worshippers attending some sort of religious service.

In each image, it appears that the same blonde woman is present—often at the forefront of the image—giving the impression that she is being used by Russian officials to fill out Putin's various photo-ops.

"A soldier, a sailor, a devout Christian. God moves in a mysterious way," Giczan tweeted with a dryly tongue-in-cheek tone.

CNN's correspondent Clarissa Ward responded to Giczan's tweets, raising questions about the woman's identity and her precise role. The journalist wondered if she is simply an actor being used to fill out photos or if she has another reason to be in close proximity to Putin in different situations. She also noted other figures who appear in at least two of the photos, but do not stand out as much as the woman.

(...)

In his own response, Kyiv Post correspondent Jason Jay Smart gave further context to the various photos, noting that the image with the line-up of "soldiers" was from Putin's New Year's Eve address and that the photo with the worshippers was from his Easter address earlier in the year. Echoing Ward's post, he also referred to the woman as an "actor," and also claimed that she and the others were most likely rounded up from Putin's security detail.

"As one would expect: Putin's New Year's Eve address did not even use real soldier, but actors (that is - people rounded-up from the Presidential Protection Office)," Smart wrote. "The blonde woman can also be seen in his Easter address. He's as fake as the value of the Ruble."

Andriy P. Zagorodnyuk, the former Ukrainian Minister of Defense, responded to Smart's tweet, arguing that the alleged charade was not surprising.

https://www.newsweek.com/speculation-swirls-putin-accused-using-same-woman-multiple-photos-1770576

btw: those photos are in the above URL; judge for yourself

[saxitoxin]

OH YEAH!

The city of Soledar has just surrendered to the Wagner Army. The liberation of Soledar was accomplished entirely by Wagner troops, without Russian support.

"Units of the Wagner private military company have taken the entire territory of Soledar under their control. The city center has been surrounded, and urban warfare is under way. The number of captives will be announced tomorrow," Prigozhin was quoted as saying on his company’s Telegram channel.

The acting head of the Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR), Denis Pushilin, said the republic’s cities of Soledar and Artemovsk were about to be liberated. Intense fighting is under way in those areas, he added.

https://tass.com/politics/1560519

This now puts Z forces on the doorsteps of Bakhmut. The British MoD confirms Soledar has fallen but says it's unlikely to result in the encirclement of Bakhmut. Of course, last week, they said Soledar was unlikely to be captured.

Wagner troops also secured all of Ukraine's massive salt mines at Soledar!

Click image to enlarge.

[karel]

russia winning this war and good for russia,we need to stop supporting this country no more money

[jimboston]

russia winning this war and good for russia,we need to stop supporting this country no more money

Russia is “winning”?

ummm… another alternate reality.

Russia thought they’d roll over Ukraine in 3 months.

At this point Russia is just hoping to inflict enough pain that they can negotiate a full / official transfer of Crimea and
maybe some other eastern areas. Also at this point that doesn’t look like it’s gonna happen.

You continue to demonstrate your lack of intelligence.

[Dukasaur]

russia winning this war and good for russia,we need to stop supporting this country no more money

Russia is “winning”?

ummm… another alternate reality.

Russia thought they’d roll over Ukraine in 3 months.

At this point Russia is just hoping to inflict enough pain that they can negotiate a full / official transfer of Crimea and
maybe some other eastern areas. Also at this point that doesn’t look like it’s gonna happen.

I wouldn't be so cocky.

This is still a David-and-Goliath war. The Ukrainians have done a magnificent job of holding off the Russian onslaught so far, and they've even shown themselves able to mount a counteroffensive, but ultimately they will be remembered as heroes who fought courageously in a losing cause.

Ukrainian population 41 million. Russian population 144 million. (3.5 times greater)
Ukrainian nominal GDP 200 bilion. Russian nominal GDP 2 trillion. (10 times greater)
Ukrainian PPP 590 billion. Russian PPP 4.6 trillion. (7.5 times greater)

The Russian economy has been hurt by the war, but no great cracks have appeared. The Ukrainian economy has been almost completely crippled, and only subsidies from the West are keeping it alive.

Russia is a big, diverse country, self-sufficient in most metals and minerals, and an energy superpower. Ukraine is a moderate-sized country with basically two industries -- agriculture and steel. The Russian stole the better half of the steel mills in 2014, and they've bombed the rest of them into oblivion. Ukraine's other industry, agriculture, can only be turned into cash by exporting grain through the Black Sea, which the Russians dominate completely. The fact that the Russians have allowed (some) Ukrainian grain exports to continue (for now) shows that they're not too worried about the Ukrainians being able to pay their bills. They know just how fragile the Ukrainian balance sheet is, and allowing grain exports to continue buys the Russians a bit of goodwill in Africa without any great danger of Ukraine getting rich.

They've had some setbacks on the battlefield, but ultimately wars are won by economics. Heroics on the battlefield can only hold off the inevitable for so long.

The Russian army has made some colossal blunders, but that's what they do at the start of every war -- look at the Napoleonic Wars, the Great Northern War, the Crimean war, WW1, WW2, the various Turkish Wars, the various Persian Wars, etc., etc. Even more recently the various wars with Georgia, Chechnya, Tajikistan, etc. Always the Russian like to open with some colossal blunders. They soon find out who are the stupidest generals, exile or execute them, replace them with a younger officer corps, and roll back in. Their vast population reserve allows them to quickly replace those early casualties. They've won 90% of their wars in the last 200 years and always started out by putting their worst foot forward and making a big show of incompetence. Only really lost 3 -- WWI, Japan and Afghanistan -- and some minor setbacks like in Chechnya where they had to temporarily accept a tactical defeat only to come back two years later.

Don't get me wrong -- my heart is 100% with Ukraine -- but I know my heart will again be broken. This war is without final hope. It's a heroic sacrifice the Ukraine is making, giving Europe a chance to wake up and rearm before the Russian bear falls upon them.

[HitRed]

Has WW3 started yet?

[Dukasaur]

Has WW3 started yet?

That's not what I thought you'd say, lol.

[jimboston]

russia winning this war and good for russia,we need to stop supporting this country no more money

Russia is “winning”?

ummm… another alternate reality.

Russia thought they’d roll over Ukraine in 3 months.

At this point Russia is just hoping to inflict enough pain that they can negotiate a full / official transfer of Crimea and
maybe some other eastern areas. Also at this point that doesn’t look like it’s gonna happen.

I wouldn't be so cocky.

This is still a David-and-Goliath war. The Ukrainians have done a magnificent job of holding off the Russian onslaught so far, and they've even shown themselves able to mount a counteroffensive…

I’m not… but I am acknowledging that Russia hasn’t been able to attain the goal it likely assumed would be easy.

There’s still a possibility of internal Russian politics impacting the situation.

but ultimately they will be remembered as heroes who fought courageously in a losing cause.

I don’t agree… let history decide this yes. You might be right but it’s not done.

People assumed the Red Sox were a lost cause when they were down 0-3 versus the Yankee’s in 2004 pennant.

I’m from Boston. I’m an expert on the lost cause.

Don't get me wrong -- my heart is 100% with Ukraine -- but I know my heart will again be broken. This war is without final hope. It's a heroic sacrifice the Ukraine is making, giving Europe a chance to wake up and rearm before the Russian bear falls upon them.

The “Russian Bear” is hyperbole.

Maybe in 2090 after a couple environmental/food/resource wars, Russia may again be a world power.

We need to be talking more about the Chinese Dragon than the Russian Bear.

[ConfederateSS]

--------1) Ukraine is no saint, they are just as bad as Russia/Soviet Union...Putin sucks, But Zelenskyy is no Mother Teresa...He treats his political rivals like, Stalin,Putin,XI,Saddam Hussein...So , I am not crying any tears , no matter who wins...They are both commie pinkos...I lean a little twords The Ukraine, only because we lived in fear of nuclear war, under Russia/Soviet Union for so long...
------------------------2) The USA should stay out of it...We have no borders, millions invade our country...We send Billions and Billions over to The Ukraine....70% of the money is unaccounted for.... SURPRISE ... Maybe if all the money was accounted for...The war would be over by now...
-------------------------3) Jimmy B is right...The Democratic Party is in bed with China...so they keep saying Russia/Soviet Union is our biggest threat...The Mexican Cartel is a bigger threat than Russia/Soviet Union...
------------------------- 4) Although China is buying wheat and oil from Putin... Keeping him going...XI begged Putin to hold up his Invasion until after the Olympics... Maybe Putin would have won in a week...If he wouldn't of held off for XI...The fact China hasn't got military involved...Sort of, make the Invasion of Taiwan...More a sure thing...XI doesn't want to be fighting 2 wars....
--------------------------5) But one thing even more telling...There is always truth in anything...No matter how long it is passed down...In the Bible , Daniel warns of The Dragon and The Bear....So does Nostradamus, he tells The Lion(England),The Eagle(USA)...In World War 3...Will be Fighting The Bear(Russia/Soviet Union),The Dragon (China,who has been around for 5,000 years,just saying),An Arabic Leader named MABUS....I have been looking at Middle East leaders ...The closest so far...The Head of Saudi Arabia, goes by MBS...AU in Saudi... Crossing fingers , He isn't MABUS... Nostradamus is awesome in his name jumbles...Like 100% on the nose...YIKES...Just saying...... ConfederateSS.out!(The Blue and Silver Rebellion)...

-------------DUK, you gave all those times Russia/Soviet Union sucks ...You left out FINLAND,not part of WW2...War of Fire and ICE...They Stuck it to Stalin...Which gave Hitler the idea, Russian troops are a push over...Time to invade...The same way America's blunder in Afghanistan...Gave Putin the idea, Hell yeah, Don't have to worry about American intervention... Ukraine is a go......

[jimboston]

-------------------------3) Jimmy B is right...The Democratic Party is in bed with China...so they keep saying Russia/Soviet Union is our biggest threat...The Mexican Cartel is a bigger threat than Russia/Soviet Union...

This statement has been fact-checked and is proven as FALSE!

Jimmy B never stated, suggested, or implied that the Democratic Party was “in bed with China”.
Jimmy B doesn’t believe that.

Jimmy B does believe and has stated that he thinks China is a more serious threat to the USA than Russia.

[saxitoxin]

For once I agree with Jim - the Democratic Party is in bed with China. Good call, Jim.

[ConfederateSS]

For once I agree with Jim - the Democratic Party is in bed with China. Good call, Jim.

------RIGHT....Literally ...Democrat Congressman Swalwell and Hunter Biden in bed with Chinese Spies...Plus Hunter in bed with Chinese Hookers...Pictures provided by Hunter's own lab top...Not even talking about Biden Family deals in China,China over seas deals.like African Cobalt mines...AND SO ON,and so on.......The Squad of The Democratic Congress, would not join to take on China...They say to offend,take on China is wrong...It is not like China unleashed a world wide pandemic that killed over a million Americans, wouldn't want to offend China.... .. ...Jimmy B is the man good call Jimmy B...Whew thank you kindly for opening the people's eyes... ...Nixon tried in the 1970's...but no one listened...Alot of Democrat non believers, and China backers then also... ... ConfederateSS.out!(The Blue and Silver Rebellion)...