Ukraine Invasion: Part 19

[MagicFox]

Welcome friends, still going

I wonder if this is right ( Washington Post report)?
www.washingtonpost.com/world/2022/04/11/russia-ukraine-war-news-putin-live-updates/

^Russia may be preparing to carry out a provocation in the enclave of Transnistria and use it as a false flag to accuse Ukraine, the Defense Ministry in Kyiv has warned.
Transnistria, a strip of territory running along Ukraine’s western flank north of Odessa, is an ethnically Russian part of Moldova that sought independence as the Soviet Union broke up three decades ago. Since then, Transnistria has maintained a largely unrecognized claim to be a separate country, helped by economic and military support from Moscow.^
“It is possible that the armed forces of the Russian Federation will carry out provocative actions in the Transnistrian region of the Republic of Moldova in order to accuse Ukraine of aggression against a neighboring state,” Ukraine’s Defense Ministry said on Monday.
The British Defense Ministry warned Sunday that Russia is hoping recruit military personnel from Transnistria, as it seeks to boost its troop levels ahead of expected heavy fighting in eastern Ukraine.

Fertiliser - can also be used in bombs in the right quantities and mix. the IRA Bishopsgate bombing was a truck of fertiliser base. The Beirut explosion was similar. In the right conditions of course.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ANFO

We used to order large quantities of highly inflammable fertiliser on a farming group under the brand name Nitram, but that is not explosive because as a fertiliser it has been mixed with other substances. Probably phosphorous or potassium (NPK fertiliser). www.cffertilisers.co.uk/media/3974/f34-nitram-rev-4-march-2021.pdf

A chemist will be able to confirm more !

Or @BringBackCoffeeCreams

Saltpetre is used in some meat processing - it's a key component of salt beef, pastrami, etc.

I'll trust bringbacks. DH on this as he knows what he's looking at (in no expert but I thought it was thermobaric) there is mixed info online and it's strangely difficult to find verification anywhere on this!

It’s bizarre how little there is online about it.

@Igotjelly

It’s bizarre how little there is online about it.

It is bizarre. Do you think it might not have been a genuine video relating to the present?

[quote ScrollingLeaves]@Igotjelly

It’s bizarre how little there is online about it.

It is bizarre. Do you think it might not have been a genuine video relating to the present?[/quote]
There was a very short bit in the Sky rolling feed about a “huge” explosion in Mykolaiv but nothing more.

Given what we were saying earlier about the problem of journalists inadvertently feeding back useful military information to the Russians, maybe everyone's being a bit more reticent now.

If you want to know about ANFO, then a few Mythbusters back episodes might be interesting ....

@Igotjelly

It’s bizarre how little there is online about it.

I guess that in a war where that type of bomb is already known to be in use, it just isn't that news worthy. It's shocking to us because that video isn't something we've seen before. But sadly that's not the case for the people in Ukraine.

@BringBackCoffeeCreams that’s so true, terrible but true. It’s like we’ve said all along about the whole conflict dropping out of the headlines. Already I think it’s noticeable that the live feeds aren’t being updated nearly as often as they were, in some cases not even every couple of hours.

This is from the Guardian's live feed, goodness knows what they will find in Mariupol:

Zelenskiy: tens of thousands likely killed in Mariupol; 300 hospitals destroyed in Ukraine

Tens of thousands of people have likely been killed in Russia’s assault on the south-eastern city of Mariupol, Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskiy told the South Korean parliament this morning.

“Mariupol has been destroyed, there are tens of thousands of dead, but even despite this, the Russians are not stopping their offensive,” Reuters quotes him saying in a video address this morning.

I am not sure if this is more up to date.

mobile.twitter.com/kyivindependent/status/1513261997231587331

The Kyiv Independent
@KyivIndependent
⚡️ Massive explosion heard in Mykolaiv.

“Currently, one guard is injured,” Mykolaiv Oblast Governor Vitaly Kim said. He added that authorities are checking if a missile hit the city.
10:05 pm · 10 Apr 2022·Twitter for iPhone

Tolomeo 🇪🇸 🇺🇦
@TolomeoNews
·
14h
Replying to
@KyivIndependent
^@EuromaidanPR
6min
Mykolaiv updates: It was not blast, Ukraine's air defence intercepted russian missile - official. via Vitaliy Kim^

The wreckage of the Russian missile caused the fire; it was extinguished at 23:30pm - Vitality Kim

@ScrollingLeaves

I am not sure if this is more up to date.

mobile.twitter.com/kyivindependent/status/1513261997231587331

The Kyiv Independent
@KyivIndependent
⚡️ Massive explosion heard in Mykolaiv.

“Currently, one guard is injured,” Mykolaiv Oblast Governor Vitaly Kim said. He added that authorities are checking if a missile hit the city.
10:05 pm · 10 Apr 2022·Twitter for iPhone

Tolomeo 🇪🇸 🇺🇦
@TolomeoNews
·
14h
Replying to
@KyivIndependent
^@EuromaidanPR
6min
Mykolaiv updates: It was not blast, Ukraine's air defence intercepted russian missile - official. via Vitaliy Kim^

The wreckage of the Russian missile caused the fire; it was extinguished at 23:30pm - Vitality Kim

Think it’s from roughly the same time last night.

Just listened to a female journalist (sorry didn't catch her name) from New Times, Moscow, on Radio 5 who is very bold and wonderful and her paper has already been fined up to 600,000 rubles. She's still speaking out! As she says "I'm free until I'm not free!" I just wanted to mention her (and honour) those Russians fighting the lies from within.

A brave lady

Speaking of brave women.

@PerkingFaintly

Given what we were saying earlier about the problem of journalists inadvertently feeding back useful military information to the Russians, maybe everyone's being a bit more reticent now.

Pretty sure thats going to be the explanation tbh.

I'm seeing this generally tbh. There was surprisingly little about the Belgorod attacks for example.

@Igotjelly I've noticed that people aren't talking about Ukraine as much, after the initial shock of the invasion. It's become normalised. I hope it does stay in the news, as it is important. I remember being horrified at the bombing of Babi Yar, so many worse actrocities have been committed since.

@HappyWinter

This is from the Guardian's live feed, goodness knows what they will find in Mariupol:

Zelenskiy: tens of thousands likely killed in Mariupol; 300 hospitals destroyed in Ukraine

Tens of thousands of people have likely been killed in Russia’s assault on the south-eastern city of Mariupol, Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskiy told the South Korean parliament this morning.

“Mariupol has been destroyed, there are tens of thousands of dead, but even despite this, the Russians are not stopping their offensive,” Reuters quotes him saying in a video address this morning.

This from AFP today.

Yesterday the Russian flag was seen flying over the city hall in Mariupol.

So really down to the last stand by the sound of it. Everyone thought that was the case a long time ago...

Wow that explosion was big. Hope it was a missile being intercepted rather than fertiliser storage going bang as there's already enough problems with fertiliser availability, big stores of it going bang will not be good.

Etienne de Poncins @Edeponcins
Fier d'accueillir à #Lviv le détachement des gendarmes techniques et scientifiques venu assister leurs camarades 🇺🇦 dans les investigations des crimes de guerre commis autour de #Kiev. La 🇫🇷 première à apporter une telle aide. Ils seront à pied d'œuvre dès demain. Solidarité 🇫🇷🇺🇦

Marqs @marqs_
French Gendarmerie Nationale forensic experts arrived in #Lviv to investigate war crimes around #Kyiv. They will begin their work tomorrow.

Those poor poor brave people in mariapol.
So disheartening that support couldn't get to them in time

From the BBC

In a separate incident, the Russian defence ministry said it had destroyed four S-300 anti-aircraft missile systems yesterday which were reportedly concealed in a hangar on the outskirts of the city.

25 troops were caught up in the attack, Russia said.

The BBC can't verify these claims, but if true, it would be a significant blow to Ukraine, which would have hoped to use such a system to bolster its air defences.

Dnipro has become a logistics hub for supplies and medical care. It bridges eastern and western Ukraine, with multiple links over the Dnieper River, meaning that it could be a potential target for Russian forces as they turn their attention on the east.

That's bad news about Mariupol, the poor people there.

I hope other countries will support Ukraine with more weapons, quickly. They need support right now, not in a few weeks.

@MagicFox

I hope other countries will support Ukraine with more weapons, quickly. They need support right now, not in a few weeks.

Yes. It is so frustrating that it often seems the be that the West is waiting till it is all over in an area then sending in war crime investigators to see what has been going on.
That matters too but it all feels hopeless.