Ukraine Invasion: Part 25

[MagicFox]

Hi all, another thread for supporting and sharing

Remember we'd be talking about the whole planet here, no country would be safe from the effects. It would be an attack on the world, not just Russia's enemies. And Russia needs and is cultivating allies. However dodgy they are, they'd still surely want to deal with somebody rational. Also, we say 'Russia' but we're talking about a specific regime. If Putin got to the point where he thinks there is no Russia (as per his threats to use NW) what about everybody else? Hope for Russia's future lies with a younger generation than Putin's, of Zelensky's age and younger. The danger I suppose is what those other members of Putin's regime think and how much power/control they have over the decision. But the very fact that that's the case must in itself invite new ways of thinking, especially at a crunch point. I guess I'm saying we have to have hope. It's the only way we won't all lose our minds :-)

@BringBackCoffeeCreams

Reality is that there'll be no warning. Whether it's 200 minutes or 300, most of that time will be lost to the detection people running round like headless chickens, as they try to verify if it's real, remember to their protocols, all while trying not to shit themselves.

Interesting, guess things have changed since my days.

Without going into too much detail for a chunk of my military career part of my job involved being almost literally plugged in , via a box on the wall and a phone line, to the UK end of the likes of Ballistic Missile Early Warning System (BMEWS)...

The people I worked with were very well drilled - they at their end of the line and we at ours had a handle on the protocols...(and were tested on such on a regular basis, often with no notice, which could be a heart stopper in the early hours of the morning).

I have no idea how the politicians/civil servants would have responded but I think our part would have worked OK...

But what would be the point in warning the public? It would just create panic and there's nothing to be done. I'd rather not know!

I very much look forward to that day, and I hope its not too long away.

The real Eurovision video.

A song to a mother filmed in devastated but won back areas.

English subtitles.

twitter.com/hannaliubakova/status/1525755313412001792?s=21&t=eSdN3kbaGYB6USpotGEIfg

Yeah if there's nowhere safe to go then warning just makes those last minutes worse.

Finland has now officially announced its application for NATO, no turning back now yle.fi/news/3-12446441

That's Finland officially applying to join NATO now 👏

twitter.com/euromaidanpress/status/1525782172002570240?s=21&t=kDlcmB38ce0UNY0RqWTMkw

Cross post @Natsku! Historic

Today is memorial day here in Finland too so a very appropriate day to announce this, on the day we remember all Finns Russia killed before.

@Ijsbear

With that level of losses - I imagine the UK Defense Ministry is pretty accurate - do the military folk think there really is a chance that Russia could be driven out?

I am sometimes sceptical of my previous employer but FWIW I reckon the MOD summaries are pretty good value and are about the only ones I read on a daily basis.

Reason for that is generally they aren't tempted to drill down and try and provide a level of detail that the data really doesn't have the resolution to support...sometimes a broad brush picture is accurate as you can get.

As for whether the Russians can be driven out, it's IMHO an increasing possibility (that's me being non-commital).

Probably true, that's why I mentioned the Mark Rylance /Abel comment upthread....

There is OTOH some value in warning at least some in the military, because there are things that they (or some of them) might be drilled/practiced in that can be done v quickly....

Most of the population would have a reasonable chance of survival though depending on the size of the bomb. If you can avoid the blast and subsequent fallout for a couple of weeks, depending upon local infrastructure, you could survive and life would continue. It's also best to avoid radiation burns as that's not a nice way to go.

Re: Finland joining NATO. Well done Russia, you now have a massive border to police with your rusty tanks and bolt action shotguns 😆😆😆

Sorry haven't checked if this has been posted yet. It's a film compliled from video filmed by a Russian soldier who was later captured. With subtitles:

In healthier days 😆

No one in their right mind would read the history of Soviet-Finnish warfare and think "let's do it again."

The only way I would want invade Finland would involve a box of chocolates and some wine. Maybe on the back of a tractor.

As for whether the Russians can be driven out, it's IMHO an increasing possibility (that's me being non-commital).

That's the sort of non-committed comment I like.

@MMBaranova · 15/05/2022 11:17

The real Eurovision video.

A song to a mother filmed in devastated but won back areas.

English subtitles.

twitter.com/hannaliubakova/status/1525755313412001792?s=21&t=eSdN3kbaGYB6USpotGEIfg

Thank you very much MMBaranova.

Re the video @MMBaranova posted

Kalush Orchestra showed a video for the song Stefania, shot in Bucha, Irpin, Hostomel and Borodyanka, destroyed by the Russian army. They didn't want to publish it before #Eurovision not to get accused of politicizing the contest. The video ends with a call: Stand with #Ukraine!

Absolutely broke me this video did.

very sadly though:

OSINT Aggregator
@AggregateOsint
·
4h
The biggest indicator that the siege at #Mariupol and #Azovstal is almost over is the reaction of the families of #Ukrainian troops still inside the plant. Most say that the battle is nearing its end and that soldiers are saying their final goodbyes.

>Absolutely broke me this video did.

I'm not much of a crier. At most I well up and a tear rolls nowadays. That's it usually.

By the time this got to the Teddy being carried I could hardly see the screen.

....

The lyrics in translation help if you are thinking 'oh no here we go with a rap I can't understand'. He's praising his mother for raising him.

The Daily Mail headline is playing a clip of a continuous swarm of phosphorus bombs raining down on the Mariupol steelworks. Apparently after Ukraine won the Eurovision Song Contest. It looks just awful. Is it the end for the people trapped in there? Is this use of chemical weapons illegal and will it provoke a response from NATO?

"This was reported on Telegram by the adviser to the Mariupol Mayor, Petro Andriushchenko, Ukrinform reports.

"Yesterday, the occupiers used incendiary or phosphorus bombs against Mariupol Defenders for the first time (we will leave the conclusion to specialists). The occupiers themselves claim that 9M22C incendiary shells with thermite layers were applied. The combustion temperature is about 2,000-2,500 degrees Celsius. It is almost impossible to stop the burning," he said."

I melted into a puddle.