Ukraine Invasion: Part 40

[MagicFox]

40 threads, still here 🇺🇦

How depressing that this invasion still goes on. My thought s with the people of Ukraine

I cannot believe it’s 40 threads

I think this thread is going to be a hot one.

Let this be the beginning of the end! I've been quietly following since your first. Thank you, all, for your constant input/updates/sharing/encouragement/insights.

That map from the Wiki link in the previous thread. All the heartache, lives lost, money wasted. Breaks my heart. And the Olympic and Paralympic committees want to let Russians 'play'. Fuck them all.

(I will be boycotting the whole thing if they don't ban them properly. That'll show'em!)

What I haven't posted here.

1. Specific private family things. They are too identifying and often mundane. They have a meaning often to me that it isn't necessary to share.
2. Too specific locational data. I'm sure you can understand why. 'Dnipro a little outside the centre' / 'a rural area west of Nova Kakhovka south of the river' etc.
3. Identifying pics. Again, nobody wants to be a known and identifiable target. The relative I have passed information on from over the previous two days is in her earlier twenties. She's pretty. Her eyes are a grey blue. They are lovely. Her complexion has suffered from the stress and living most of the time in a basement for over a year. Her hair is straight and long and has not far off waist length at the moment. She wears it up and with a cap or scarf when she walks for supplies because she wants a dressed down peasant look to not draw attention. She has t-shirts with pre-2022 artwork and slogans on that she sometimes wears in the cellar as a form of dressing up. If she encounters Russian troops she just looks straight ahead, but if they talk to her she will respond in Russian. If her only language was Ukrainian they would be less likely to leave her alone, but having fluent local Russian isn't an automatic pass in an occupied area either. Going out is a lottery and it's a semi-deserted rural area. However, most Russians pass by in vehicles. Sometimes they raid homes they assume are empty for whatever they can scavenge.
4. Bomb damage etc. pics. I tried with some careful cropping, but once I had cropped out the other relative, the distinctive nearby house in the background, its distinctive gates and so on it was just earth and made no sense. It was actually a shell 'crater' [more a trough with uneven sides] 40m away near a neighbouring property, where said property was the crowning, quirky, self-built pride and joy of a couple who hoped to end their days there and have instead relocated to God knows where. If they are still alive.

Hope this is the beginning of the end

What did I learn today?

She is surprised I have friends over later to watch Eurovision.

I said I went for a run this morning. She replied that it didn't feel good to go outside much and aviation and artillery had been 'working' off and on through the night and into the morning.

She saw 10-12 missiles heading out from Russian controlled territory.

The local online grapevine [imagine a child's school mothers' WhatsApp group but dedicated to updating on deaths, damage and what scarce supplies are available instead] suggested five homes had been damaged locally in the last day but there were no casualties. That damage is probably from Ukrainian fire targeting Russians emplaced in and around the strung out buildings.

A group of trees caught fire.

People living closer to the river said that automatic weapons were being fired at or near the Dnipro river banks. Ukrainian forces are on the other side.

So I am going to watch Eurovision. There will be Ukrainian flags, symbols and support. Three of my relatives will be sitting in a cellar hoping the mobile signal holds and they don't run out of charge as they check for local updates every now and then. It probably won't be a quiet night.

I also wondered if anyone has seen the latest Imagine Dragons video? They say it's real, I have no way of knowing though! Here:

They are raising money for a charity called United24, those who know do you know if this is a decent charity to donate to please? thanks

Thank you @MagicFox

I'll repost this here

https://bulgarianmilitary.com/amp/2023/05/13/four-russian-aircraft-shot-down-2-mi-8s-one-su-34-and-su-35-each/

@lifesabitchandthenyoudie United24 is the most legitimate site there is - it’s Zelenskyy’s own Official Fundraiser for Ukraine. I donate fairly frequently and it’s very good for updates etc.

https://twitter.com/Maks_NAFO_FELLA/status/1657413986357264388 3rd helicopter down. That makes 5, the report says that they were on their way to make a strike on Ukraine

https://twitter.com/officejjsmart/status/1657436056399011841 Lukashenko hospitalised

https://twitter.com/JimmySecUK/status/1657383020318294016 seemingly the helicopters were very rare electronic warfare platforms, whatever that means

Thanks @MagicFox 💙💛

@Greenshake thank you for that! I've decided to stay off alcohol and donate what I would have spent (it's not much but it's better than nowt) as it's one of the few things I can do.

@lifesabitchandthenyoudie what @Greenshake says - UNITED24 is probably the single best organisation to donate to. It's certainly trustworthy.

They jam radar signals, which inhibits the targeting of some air to air and surface to air missiles. It didn't seem to be working today. 😁

Unfortunately what seems to be a huge Ukrainian military stockpile has been hit :(

https://twitter.com/KrzysztofJano15/status/1657406021487284224

Thank you for the new thread and all the contributions.

Hoping that this will finally be the thread with good news.

On more positive news - because that Russian hit on the Ukrainian supply centre looks really bad tbh :( ) ...

https://english.nv.ua/nation/swiss-parliament-moves-to-allow-weapons-deliveries-to-ukraine-news-50324277.html

Both chambers of the Swiss parliament have voted to amend the War Material Act, which will allow for the weapons deliveries to Ukraine in the future, European news outlet Euronews reported on May 12.
Read also:
Swiss diplomat defends country's ban on transferring ammunition to Kyiv
Until now, weapons and ammunition purchased abroad could not be transferred from Switzerland to countries involved in armed conflicts.
Due to its neutral status, Switzerland has consistently vetoed requests from countries such as Spain, Germany, and Denmark to transfer Swiss-made armored vehicles and ammunition to the Ukrainian Armed Forces, including ammunition for German Gepard tanks.
In March, Switzerland definitively refused to support the re-export of ammunition to Ukraine. However, in recent weeks, pressure on Bern from its western partners has increased, with the government being urged to provide greater assistance to Ukraine. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz criticized Switzerland for its neutrality and veto on the supply of ammunition.
Currently, EU countries plan to supply ammunition to Ukraine, but their own supplies are running low. Moreover, some of the weapons and ammunition purchased from Switzerland several years ago have not yet been delivered to Ukraine.

While this is not good news, in the bigger picture, it tells us that the Russians are shifting from civilian to military targets. That allows the Ukrainians to deploy some of their air defense assets to the units going on the offensive. That's good news.

The mail online has an article about the report on the torture of the Ukrainian prisoners of war and civilians by Dignity. I won't link as it is easy to find if you want to

Very good to again see the Royal Family coming out for Ukraine at Eurovision.

for all.

Think we need 🍷🍷@PerkingFaintly ;-)