Ukraine Invasion: Part 21

[MagicFox]

Another thread, thank you to all

Thanks for the new thread Magic.

Thank you for the new thread and my therapy.

@K4fkaesque

I've no idea if this has been photoshopped but it's amazing none the less.

What is this?

I saw something on AlJazeera (I think) about Sarin which predicted it’s imminent use. That seems unavailable. But this later article indicates what could have been used.

It was always inevitable chemical agents would be used. That’s what Russia uses.

www.aljazeera.com/amp/news/2022/4/13/ukraine-russia-backed-separatist-stirs-fears-of-chemical-weapons

@blueshoes
It’s a tank turret, blown off the chassis.

The article might also indicate why the mobile crematoria are being put into use.

Can I ask what consequences this could have - reported by BBC news 'The SAS, Britain's famed special forces corps, has been training Ukrainian soldiers on the ground in the Kyiv region, Ukrainian military sources have told The Times of London.
Officers from two battalions told the newspaper on Friday that SAS troops led training sessions last week and the week before.
One commander said the trainers showed how to use NLAWs, a type of British anti-tank missile.
The report of serving British soldiers on the ground in Ukraine for the first time has not been confirmed by the UK Ministry of Defence.'

Why would Ukraine reveal that, surely they know it could be an escalation step for the uk?

An elite cat disguised as an ornament (why? ) to placemark.

While I recognise my privilege with a nice house, 2 beautiful cats and a healthy 21 year old ds, I do worry about the future for ds. 3 of his 4 years at Uni have been blighted by Covid and on top of that, now the world seems more unstable than ever Not just the potential for WW3 but Climate Change too

He's finishing an MA in Politics and International Relations and has a particular interest in China, so at least it seems unfortunately somewhat relevant.

@Hillsmakeyoustrong

Ok so this afternoon I've been asked to source a new drug which treats people who are poisoned by zarin gas. Apparently the Ukrainian military are in real need of it.

Its preparation.

The US has just sent chemical suits and they are taking the threat of it being used seriously.

I think its WHO that has said they are concerned that Ukraine aren't fully prepared for coping with a chemical attack and are urging them to do so.

So its not happened yet (no confirmation of the incident in Mariupol which is so far only suspected) but there is a drive to be able to deal with such an attack going on.

pmk

About Sarin use in Mariupol

^en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eduard_Basurin^

During the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, Basurin called for using chemical weapons against the defenders of Mariupol.[9] On 16 April, Ukraine's military intelligence reported that Basurin had been detained by Russia in connection to revealing chemical weapons use.[10] [my bold]

Chemical weopons were used in Syria, often by the government. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Use_of_chemical_weapons_in_the_Syrian_civil_war

www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-43747922

Lavrov denies utterly that Russia was involved in Sarin attacks and says the West staged the attack. So um .... proof really that Russia was involved in Syria.

How far they are involved in possible Mariupolan attacks is not certain, but this Eduard_Basurin was arrested for revealing the use.

I think its WHO that has said they are concerned that Ukraine aren't fully prepared for coping with a chemical attack and are urging them to do so.

Are they going to offer suggestions how to get protective gear to the Mariupolan defenders?

On Twitter tonight,

Ampules with chemical agents, including sarin, found in a village of Bilky, Sumy region, after the retreat of Russian military. This was stated by Yuri Bova, the mayor of Trostianets town in Sumy region. He said Ukraine's security services SBU are investigating.

.

Thanks for the new thread, as always good to have this place to come to.

[quote TargusEasting]@blueshoes
It’s a tank turret, blown off the chassis.[/quote]
Yep, the image was doing the rounds elsewhere a few days back and I think the consensus was it was genuine, not photoshopped....then again given the number of turrets that have gone suborbital we're almost into an infinite monkey's scenario.

Thanks for new thread

Thanks for the new thread.

"Let the Ukrainians do the denazification for themselves, we can't do it for them. Do we need to get into another Afghanistan but worse? There are more people and they're more advanced in their handling of weapons. We don't need that. Enough already

Well, it must have occurred to Putin that Ukraine is no Chechnya or Syria, with increasing amounts of Western advanced hardware and with the experience of Mariupol, this will be a very long and hard war, no matter how much they bomb from a far.

I think the defenders of Mariupol will fight on, they cannot trust Russia's promises, this is very sad and another stain on Putins so called legacy.

Blimey thread 21! Thanks @MagicFox

Policy Tensor @policytensor
.@HalBrands: Ukraine is expending a week's worth of munitions per day. This has severely depleted Western inventories. Are we already at risk of running out? And did Nato training make the Ukrainian military more American than the US military?
www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2022-04-14/russia-ukraine-war-u-s-is-running-out-of-weapons-aiding-kyiv
Ukraine War Is Depleting America’s Arsenal of Democracy
Western allies face a choice: Send more weapons to Kyiv or save their stockpiles for their own defense.

Not a huge amount of discussion about this - its been touched on but a lot more has been made about Russian issues in this department. This is one of the first things Ive seen discussing the scale of the problem. Biden did have a meeting with arms manufacturers to discuss upscaling production earlier this week so clear awareness of the issue.

One of the facts Ive seen today is that the US has just said they are sending another 500 javelins in the next few days. Which sounds like a lot, however it turns out thats probably about 5 days worth. Hence Zelensky begging for more weapons.

This is where stuff like improvisation civilian drones to deliver a strike, which we have seen an example of, might prove invaluable.

On the subject of Russian hardware and munitions issues, it was rumoured from about 26th March that Russia had to shut down production of tanks, but there's some suggestion that they tried to carry on some production after that. However it now seems thats come to a complete halt.

Margo Gontar @margogontar
Russia's Uralvogonzavod shuts down production. It will no longer be able to assemble any of T-72 tank (main RU tank) or newer T-90 & T-14 tanks (Armata). Reason: lack of imported components. It means more saved UA lives, is direct result of Western sanctions which should continue

It also sounds like repair of tanks is proving problematic.

So the west has to scale up production which isn't easily achieved and Russia faces the problem of having to smuggle components or arms via the black market. Or change its entire economy to a warfooting (which in a country as corrupt as Russia, isn't exactly going to be easy)

Checking in

I've just spoken to my contact and he says he doesn't know. He thinks it could mainly be preparation but he has heard reports of it being used already in a certain region.

He has just sent me a picture of the youngest looking women in military uniform who are stationed in the east. It shocked me after days of seeing photos of hardened looking marines. These are essentially girls. I hope they know how to use the guns they are carrying.

Girls can fight too

No doubt @Alexandra2001