Ukraine Invasion: Part 22

[MagicFox]

Here we are again

Kevin Rothrock AT KevinRothrock
This is one of the weirdest pro-invasion demonstrations I’ve seen yet: one of Girkin’s crew, Evgeny Skripnik, is crowdfunding cash handouts to the widows of “special operation” soldiers. These women are posing with 10,000 rubles — about $135.

^^

Guy Chazan AT guychazan
German media: in a stunning volte-face, Germany is to send "Gepard" tanks to Ukraine. Just days ago, Scholz was saying sending heavy weapons to Ukraine could precipitate a nuclear war.

Blinken and Austin were going to see the Germans yesterday right?

Anti-aircraft kit. Very much needed. I am wondering if these US UAV's Fighting Phantoms are adapted to bring down aircraft. This is very much what UA will need in the east now to save troop lives.

BREAKING
Radiation levels at Chernobyl abnormal, says UN atomic power chief
The head of the UN's atomic agency says radiation levels at the former Chernobyl nuclear power station, the scene of weeks of fighting after the Russian invasion, are "abnormal".
International Atomic Energy Agency director general Rafael Grossi told reporters Russia's weeks-long occupation of the site was "very, very dangerous", according to AFP.
The disused power station was the site of history's worst nuclear disaster in 1986 and is still used to contain nuclear waste

BBC overview of Lavrov and Guterres statements at new conference. What do we think? Bit of a damp squib? And when is Guterres meeting Putin? Is he at all?!

**

United Nations' Secretary General Antonio Guterres and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov have now finished their press conference following their meeting in Moscow today. But what did we learn from their statements?
Lavrov complained that Western involvement in Ukraine had been used as a foothold to limit, control and aggravate Russia.
He also blamed the current conflict on the "infringement" of the West into Russia's "geopolitical space", side-lining Russian influence in Ukraine.
Lavrov repeated the Kremlin's claim that the residents of the eastern Ukraine region of Donbas needed liberating from "Nazis".
But he also said Russia would work with the UN to protect civilians.
Guterres said he had held "frank discussions" with Lavrov and repeated the UN's view that the war was a violation of the integrity of Ukraine's territory and against the UN charter.
He said that despite the difference in position about the cause of the war, it was in everyone's interests for an end to hostilities and called for safe corridors for civilian evacuations.
Guterres finished his statement by calling for international laws to be respected and a return to co-operation in order to overcome the challenges of climate change and epidemics.

I think he is meeting with him shortly.

Euromaidan PR
@EuromaidanPR
·
3h
Martial law in #Transnistria and cancelation of May 9th parade. Latest from RU controlled area

From Wiki

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kreminna

The city was occupied by Russian Armed Forces on 18 April 2022 during the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine.[1]

Nasty bit about an old people's home too.

Meanwhile

Last factory producing batteries for electric cars in Russia has shut the production as there’s no lithium. All the exports have been cut off so Russia now considers mining them.

The site that assembles Kia,BMW and other makes of cars in Kaliningrad is struggling with production- no materials and no parts.Prices are rocketing.

Siberia has serious forest fires. In the past army has always helped to extinguish it but now army is busy elsewhere.

Another tv programme from Kremlin’s propagandist Skabeyeva talks about genetics and demographics in context of best genes. Sounds familiar?

Lavrov is walking sewer. Everything that flows out of this man’s mouth is shit.

He has audacity to complain.

Get the fuck out of Ukraine you walking relict of Soviet era

Unbelievable. Why is he even listened to?

Russia could officially declare war and basically do more of the same only they have now secured their troops and have unrestricted access to Russian facilities.

Probably best to get that unrestricted access before anymore get burned down ? Also what areas are restricted to the Russian Government currently ?

Totally agree! This clip from early in the invasion is how he should always be treated.

I might be wrong, but I rather assumed that Germany finally agreeing to supply heavy weapons following the Ramstein conference might have something to do with the sudden sabre rattling. I think Russia may well see Germany as the weak link and thinks (perhaps correctly) that Germany can be frightened into backing off more easily than other countries. Scholz has made it very clear that the possibility of nuclear war is the reason behind the reluctance to supply tanks. The sabre rattling is disgusting behaviour but I can see why the Kremlin would think it might be effective in this instance.

He's one of the prime examples that logical/critical thinking and ability to reason with are just not within some people's capabilities. And that's who Putin is surrounded with 🙄

Whom he actively chose to surround himself with and promote ... :s

But I think Lavrov is worse than stupid. He isn't dumb. He has deliberately and consciously chosen to lie, deceive and manipulate, to want power over everything and to not care about the countless deaths in Chechnya, Syria and now Ukraine. Aleppo is a city whose history goes back to maybe 6000BC.

@RedToothBrush, I reported the 11 copies of your post on P22 to MN, and got the reply

"Re: Ukraine Invasion: Part 22 | Canadian Ukrainian Volunteer AT Ca... | rpt-530471
"Hello RedToothBrush,
"Sorry about that - it was a server error. We'll remove the posts now."

So in case that email was meant for you and got sent to me in error, that's what happened about the multi-posting: not your phone, their server.

(It may have been a cheek to report it, but it didn't look as though you had so I thought it would be a good idea to let them know. I hope you don't mind.)

It doesn't indicate anything about his critical thinking. It indicates he is in full-on Russian broadcast mode.

In a previous life, I spent some time in Moscow as I was a UK negotiator and dealing with Russia was part of the pack of countries I was responsible for.

Russian gov officials would fabricate facts endlessly in a total "you know we know you know we're lying, and we don't care enough to even shrug about it". It was complete indifference (at best) to be known to be lying, and usually just a powerplay, a "you have no choice but to accept these lies".

Russia doesn't want to be believed, or to be thought justified, or to be approved of. They just want to win.

Rather like that superb 'super-spy Ukrainian assassin starter kit' they just unveiled. Twitter went nuts goggling at the just-unwrapped t-shirt, the Sims, the wig, etc. And yes, sure, may be some incompetence, a bit more internal sabotage, but also a healthy dollop of "we can't even be arsed to pretend this is real, because we don't actually care if you believe it".

Well yes, Putin has surrounded himself with puppets who will agree with everything and do what he says. Which is why they won't tell him the truth - it's not what is expected...

@AthelstaneTheUnready agree re Russia and lying. Long standing tradition of committing atrocities and lying,lying,lying.

They don’t care. Their stance is Give us what we want (Ukrainian land) and we don’t care how many people we kill. And if you won’t then you’ll see (nukes and whatever).

Russia/Soviet Union slaughtered millions of people. They never cared as long as they got what they wanted.

Shame they're a massive nuclear power isn't it! How can you co-exist with an actor using these methods?

From UNHCR Briefing this afternoon:

In response to the growing Ukrainian refugee crisis, UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, and humanitarian partners are appealing for increased financial support to help refugees and the neighbouring countries generously hosting them.
Launching an updated Regional Refugee Response Plan (RRRP) for the Ukraine situation yesterday, UNHCR and partners are seeking US$1.85 billion to support a projected 8.3 million refugees in neighbouring countries, namely Hungary, the Republic of Moldova, Poland, Romania and Slovakia, as well as other countries in the region, including Belarus, Bulgaria and the Czech Republic.

The human impact and the suffering already caused by this war are staggering. Families have been torn apart, houses and infrastructure have been destroyed, while the trauma of war will have a lasting impact on many of those forced to flee their homes, including women and children who represent some 90 per cent of those forced to flee.

A couple of issues from this. Firstly that is a further 3m people of whom about 2.7m will be women and children - vulnerable to traffickers. Secondly, to put this into context, $1.85 billion is equal to:

US tax revenue - collected in 4 hours.
German tax revenue - collected in 11 hours.
UK tax revenue - collected in 17 hours.

Shame they're a massive nuclear power isn't it! How can you co-exist with an actor using these methods?

I suppose you have to keep in mind that their cultural motivations and values are -different-. Never forgetting it. Ive spoken to some people who think that talking and goodwill will solve everything, but it doesn't.

I don’t know @MagicFox
The question is are they big on nuclear as they claim to be? Their army was supposed to be 2nd in the world.
I do understand why there is cautious approach to them but when the violent bully (Russia) will be stopped?

This whole idea of Great Russia and Soviet methods how to achieve is insane. Shame they chose this path.

If Ukraine folds the who’s next?

Sorry,these questions were probably analysed in previous threads.

Horrible feeling to see this and not be able to do anything quick to stop all destruction and suffering.

I think the general feeling at the moment is that after the massive losses Russia is getting, it will be some time before they would be able to launch another offensive regardless of whether they win or lose.

One of the big things is demographics. They simply don't have the manpower for another war and to rebuild their economy to a point they can manufacture / buy replacement equipment.

It gives some breathing space for other countries, but it depends on what happens for the next generation or two all the same.