Ukraine Invasion: Part 24

[MagicFox]

Welcome one and all and thanks again to everyone contributing

Yep…thanks for the reminder…I meant to mention that important bit of desti
earlier..

Several Western MSM sources reported practice flypasts (including fighters in ‘Z’ shaped formations) about four or five days ago…so I’d suggest that would indicate the resources were being made available, were being prepared, and that the cancellation was down to an on the day issue, such as weather….

John Simpson AT JohnSimpsonNews
So - no blood-curdling nuclear threats from Putin, no declaration of war, no general mobilisation, no sign he’s a sick man. Now, faced with defeat in a variety of forms, he’ll presumably dig in & fight a longish war in Donbas.
What a dreadful waste of time, life & money.

⚡️Russia was expelled from the International Gas Union. (UkraineNOW).

Didn't know there was an International Gas Union!

^Andrew Roth AT Andrew__Roth
Another notable omission from Putin's speech was no attempt to spin Russian victories from the war, no mention of Mariupol at all or claims that Russia had defeated Ukraine's fighting potential, nothing that could be vaguely construed as "mission accomplished."^ from RTB's post

I find this odd. He's never shy of claiming more than he achieved and the moral high ground (heh) so ... why isn't he claiming victory over Mariupol etc?

It's certainly not a foregone conclusion that Ukraine will be able to drive Russian occupiers out of the South and the East so you'd have expected something, specially since they televised the red flags and "celebrations"

Several Western MSM sources reported practice flypasts (including fighters in ‘Z’ shaped formations) about four or five days ago…so I’d suggest that would indicate the resources were being made available, were being prepared, and that the cancellation was down to an on the day issue, such as weather….

I did see that.

Something else that did make me was the red banners and the banners with Lenin and the sickle and the hammer. It might have been in honour of what what then the Red Army, but it was still a bit too USSR for me.

That's standard for the Victory Day parade.

I see on Twitter that the Russian ambassador to Poland was visiting a military cemetery today and has been doused in red paint by protesters

@Igotjelly 09/05/2022 12:01

www.brookings.edu/blog/order-from-chaos/2021/12/21/russias-draft-agreements-with-nato-and-the-united-states-intended-for-rejection/

A bit about the draft agreements

Thank you. I read that December 12th 2021 about the draft treaty from Moscow to Washington, the treaty referred to by Putin in his speech today.

In light of the opening of Putin’s speech, this paragraph from the article was prescient:

The unacceptable provisions in the two draft agreements, their quick publication by the Russian government, and the peremptory terms used by Russian officials to describe Moscow’s demands raise concern that the Kremlin may want rejection. With large forces near Ukraine, Moscow could then cite that as another pretext for military action against its neighbor.

@BlankTimes · 09/05/2022 12:05
That was interesting information about ‘cloud seeding’ drying up clouds with cement. What an extraordinary thing.

I have not seen any other parades, so it looked a bit strange to me.

Never heard of cloud seeding before, interesting but probably not good for the environment?

The hammer and sickle is still fairly widely used in Russia, as is the case in various other former Soviet countries.

Charles Michel is in Odessa today. Apparently had to take shelter during shelling. Isn't think the first time a fairly influential Western figure has been so close to the front line?

They did it after Chernobyl. Cloud seeded to make it rain over an area of Belarus so the fallout landed there rather than over Moscow.

The Chinese also play at cloud seeding.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beijing_Weather_Modification_Office#:~:text=The%20Beijing%20Weather%20Modification%20Office%20form%20a%20part%20of%20China's,with%20silver%20iodide%20into%20them.

Love this. This is a photo of Charles Michael and Ukrainian PM Denys Shmyhal. For anyone who is unsure of which is which, Ukraine's official government twitter account is here to help...

Ukraine AT Ukraine
our PM on the right

He looks horribly bloated. They'll have him on steroids, which give a feeling of strength and wellbeing, but come with a load of side effects. It's a pity a sniper can't take him out. I'm very disappointed that the Russian people tolerate this nazi thug.

Let's hope his illness is progressing nicely.

I agree. All those crowds but not one finger to pull the trigger.

I thought he looked quite swollen around the face and the very little you can see of his neck. Why does he wear such high necked clothing?

Somebody pointed out it looked like had a bullet proof vest on

As a retired nurse I think he looks very subdued, physically weakening and possibly drugged. He looks unwell and I've seen a video of him sitting during the parade with tanks driving past and he had a blanket over his knee 🙄 he looks like an old person in a care home.

His days are numbered. He has no confidence now and looks very deflated. I'm glad to see it.

Huh, bullet proof vest indeed. Aim for the head 👍🏻he's nothing but a gutless wonder. A failure as a man and a leader. He'll go down in history as yet another tin pot dictator leaving a trail of death and misery behind him.

I think its the blanket he put over his knees thats more telling in terms of his health. The old geezer sat next to him, had it initially. Then Putin had it.

I agree.

Two peas in a pod

As another retired nurse, I think Putin's face* and speech shows typical signs of parkinsonism. This is not necessarily due to Parkinsons disease, it can have a variety of causes - see Wikipedia.

Think of Ozzy Osborne, Muhammad Ali, Billy Connolly, Michael J Fox, Linda Ronstadt all show typical facial affect.

*Also has fillers and make-up

Don't know where that bolding came from