The invasion is a Week Old...Part 7

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Unbelievable. Thread 6 is almost full, to be found here : www.mumsnet.com/Talk/_chat/4495271-The-Invasion-is-ongoing-Part-6?pg=1

Still a fascinating and thoughtful set of documentation of our evolving thoughts, fears, questions, analyses and updates. And still a credit to the eyes, ears and knowledge of those on here.

Pinched from one poster on thread 6 whose name I can't recall:

Latest claims from both sides about casualties
Ukraine's army regularly puts out updates on the damage it says it's inflicting on Russian forces, which continue to press on key cities, particularly in the south.

We should stress that the BBC can't verify this information, but the latest update from the General Staff of the Armed Forces says that approximately 9,000 Russian personnel have been killed or wounded.

It also says Ukrainian forces have destroyed:

217 tanks
90 artillery systems
31 helicopters
30 planes or other aircraft
For its part, Russia yesterday for the first time gave a specific number for casualties it had suffered in Ukraine, saying 498 Russian soldiers had died and nearly 1,600 had been wounded.

It said it had killed 2,870 Ukrainian soldiers and "nationalists".

@alltheapples

Also a huge convoy of military vehicles has been spotted heading through Estonia. Does anyone know what is happening?

@alltheapples the only report I can find on this is from the Daily Mail saying they are British tanks being transported to the border.

Putins' chilling surreal propaganda using children.

@FatFredsFriedEgg. That’s true!

Just to echo what @Squidinkk has said, I have been feeling high anxiety but have taken steps to manage it over the last day or so.
I’m only looking at FT reporting and dipping into mumsnet but taking it all as unverified opinion unless I can back it up.
I’ve been out with friends, done some exercise, taken DS to the park. It helps to see normal life going on around us.
That’s not to say bury your head in the sound but I’m pretty sure if there had been rolling news and social media for the Cuban Missile Crisis, Falklands war etc then people would have been having even higher levels of anxiety than they already did.
I had to do the same with Afghanistan, seeing all those poor children being handed over the fence. Sometimes you absolutely have to step back and do what you can in other ways, ie donating.

@CaveMum I saw it on sky news.

@alltheapples

Also a huge convoy of military vehicles has been spotted heading through Estonia. Does anyone know what is happening?

Where have you seen this?

It was a 70+ person that said they shouldn't have had a vote. FWIW my DM late 70's voted remain as did another posters so pretty much debunks that theory!

Just reading on Twitter and it appears to be a NATO convoy of tanks and military equipment travelling through Estonia to the border, and includes British tanks and trucks.

Given all the measures that have been enacted in Russia this week I am also hoping we've seen the end of 'free speech is a right-wing dog-whistle' discourse. Tell it to a journalist whose television station has just been closed down. Tell it to someone who gets 15 years in jail for criticising the army.

[quote FatFredsFriedEgg]@notimagain

I don't know of specific similarities/differences between MIGs supplied by Russia to Poland and MIGs supplied by Russia to Ukraine. Do you?

I mean, do you have any reason to believe that they're not identical apart from (I assume) the writing on the buttons?

(I have no reason (or evidence) to believe they're the same - other than they came from an era when I perceived that Russia was very much in full control of the Warsaw Pact countries).[/quote]
Depends on the variant or sub variants, and any upgrades..

From the the basic airframe of a generic MIG whatever whatever will look similar, the basic controls will be the same, but beyond that things like weapon control panels, displays, and other instrumentation may be very different from one countries set of airframes to another.

For example the MiG-21 LanceR the Romanians lost a few nights back
was one of several that Air Force had that has a upgrade package of Israeli origin, and it’s cockpit would look very fancy by comparison with many other nations MiG-21s..

With regard the other posters question about drones…no idea.

I can't see anything on twitter about a NATO convoy.

According to a British military intelligence assessment, Kharkiv, Chernihiv and Mariupol remain in Ukrainian hands despite heavy shelling.

@alltheapples can't see this anywhere? Can you link

That’s not to say bury your head in the sound but I’m pretty sure if there had been rolling news and social media for the Cuban Missile Crisis, Falklands war etc then people would have been having even higher levels of anxiety than they already did.

My sister was born during the Cuban Missile Crisis. I can only imagine how MN and other SM would have reacted if it had existed at the time. Our parents would have all exploded from stress wouldn't they?

@yoolia American military news is calling it a NATO convoy. Sky News is calling it a British convoy.

OK I see it now but that's nothing new - we've had troops in Estonia since the start.

www.politico.com/news/magazine/2022/02/28/world-war-iii-already-there-00012340

I know some have said they don't like some of the things being said which are said in this interview, and find them inflammatory, but, this is from a Russia and Putin expert.

"...I reached out to Fiona Hill, one of America’s most clear-eyed Russia experts, someone who has studied Putin for decades, worked in both Republican and Democratic administrations and has a reputation for truth-telling, earned when she testified during impeachment hearings for her former boss, President Donald Trump."

I'm not posting it because of those "inflammatory" things, I'm posting for all the information it has. A lot to read, tbh, I haven't finished reading it.

twitter.com/un_hrc/status/1499696876601462789?s=21

Jeez when even UAE are against Russia you know they are done for

@elephantmarchingin I just did a search on Twitter.

twitter.com/search?q=british%20convoy%20in%20estonia&src=typed_query

But the original info I saw on a Sky News notification.
Apparently, Euronews reported on the convoy last night and now lots of places are.

[quote alltheapples]@yoolia American military news is calling it a NATO convoy. Sky News is calling it a British convoy.[/quote]
Presumably UK is only in Estonia by virtue of them both being NATO?

Although do I vaguely remember UK forces on exercise in Belarus not too long ago?

@yoolia Sky News said this is doubling our personnel in Estonia.

Are unmanned aircraft easier to learn how to fly?
??

There is also a good twitter thread here on how to check whether news being shared about Ukrain is accurate or not. It includes examples of old irrelevant photos being passed off as current.

twitter.com/firstdraftnews/status/1498086034394914816

Although do I vaguely remember UK forces on exercise in Belarus not too long ago?

I checked for myself. Apparently training with the Belarus military has been an ongoing thing for a couple of years.

Sky News said this is doubling our personnel in Estonia.

Yes which was expected. Putin expects it too. I don't think it is anything to be concerned about.