Ukraine Invasion: Part 26

[MagicFox]

Here we are, on top of our rock

and just to make you laugh:

⚡️"Kyiv's demands to the West regarding the supply of MLRS go beyond all limits and decency, this is a direct provocation", – Lavrov.

.... deary deary me, poor Lavrov. How will his innocence cope with this aggression?

:(

If this isn't just a rumour - what the actual fuck

Kyiv Independent

⚡️Minister: German missile supplies to Ukraine may be delayed for months.

German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said on June 1 that IRIS-T air-to-air missiles would be supplied by German manufacturer Diehl and not from the Bundeswehr warehouses, delaying the shipment. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz earlier said the country would send its “most modern air defense system,” the IRIS-T, to Ukraine in the coming weeks. Previously Scholz has faced criticism for blocking and delaying weapons supplies to Ukraine for weeks.

I'd wait for multiple sources.

It's certainly being "rebroadcast" on twitter verbatim by a source ("Canadian" is in their handle) who hasn't got the best reputation when it comes down to accuracy.

Oh the guy who claims to be fighting there?

Yep, that's the one.

I don't have the background to judge one way or another but there are quite a few ex-army types on another forum who have really serious doubts about at least some of what he posts.

Oh I don't trust the Canadian guy. I don't know why, something in my waters.

Same here. he posted about some excursion into an occupied or threatened city like it was a boy's own adventure and then got into a very childish argument with someone on Twitter. It really didn't smack of someone in the thick of it ...

📌The Pentagon has published a list of weapons that Ukraine will receive as part of the 11th $700m military aid package:

➖High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems and ammunition (HIMARS, already announced by the White House);

➖5 counter-artillery radars;

➖2 air surveillance radars;

➖1,000 missiles anti-tank missile system Javelin and 50 Command Launch Units;

➖6,000 anti-armor weapons;

➖15,000 155mm artillery rounds;

➖4 Mi-17 helicopters;

➖15 tactical vehicles;

➖Spare parts and equipment.

Not sure if anyone else is watching the Scotland vs Ukraine World Cup qualifier. As a Scot it feels very unnatural to be half hoping the other team win.

ljsbear good list of weapons from the Pentagon. Hope they arrive soon before any change of heart.

Thanks again for your Key Takeaways.

Also see that Interpol’s General Secretary has raised concerns around what will happen with the weapons that have been poured into Ukraine after the war there. He suggested that there would be a significant uptick in illegal arms trafficking. Must say it’s a concern I share. Clearly should t prevent weapons being sent to allow Ukraine to defend themselves but serious thought is needed around managing the long term ramifications.

@Igotjelly - I've only just come in as I didn't want to watch it as I'm so conflicted dh however is not as it's been so long since Scotland got to the World Cup Finals

when we debated 4 months ago what weird and wonderful way that Scotland would go out as per usual we didn't consider actually wanting the opposition to win

I told DH I was pleased for them to win and I honestly wouldn’t be surprised if I wake up to divorce papers 😂😂

glad they're useful!

I never considered the issue of illegal arms trafficking but what about the weapons which Russia has poured into Ukraine which has been abandoned or captured. I would have thought that would also be vulnerable to illegal arms trafficking.

I can see the concern but frankly that ship has sailed and not a valid reason not to supply Ukraine. Sounds like lame footdragging again.

that's true but there are large amounts of weopons washing around, particularly in the Middle East. Libya, Afghanistan and Iraq are close to lawless in some, perhaps many places. Iran is selling a lot of their shady weopons to Russia according to some sources.

This is one of the rare videos I found with English subtitles!

The interviewee is Dmitry Potapenko, one of the most famous Russian economists, entrepreneurs, and economics activists.

Just as a bit of a warning - there is A LOT of dark humour. And unfortunately, the subtitles only translate the very essence of the discussion, and misses out a lot of brilliant Russian humour, which for a native speaker is hilarious, but nevertheless

The video was taken about a week ago, so they don't know yet that the US payments licence did not get extended, and tha t the EU 6th package of sanctions got approved.

Forgot to say, about 10-15 mins through there's an advert where there's no subtitles, but it only lasts a few minutes, and subtitles come back once the advert is finished.

Ukraine beat Scotland 3-1 in the world cup qualifiers

A few interesting tweets with some thoughts to go with it.

Samuel Ramani AT SamRamani2
Russia struck the Beskidy railway near Lviv

This strike is significant, as it highlights Russia's continued efforts to block weapons and fuel shipments to Ukraine

The railway around Lviv has been up shit creek for about a fortnight.There were strikes that quitely caused disruption that had been causing issues. This is just the latest setback.

Samuel Ramani AT SamRamani2
BREAKING: Ireland's Senate passes a resolution recognizing Russia's war crimes in Ukraine as a genocide

Thats not a place I'd thought would use the G word next... This applies political pressure elsewhere.

Samuel Ramani AT SamRamani2
66.6% of people in Denmark support joining the EU's Common Security and Defence Policy

A big shift in Denmark's security policy is underway

Denmark is the only EU country not in this framework due to past exemptions. The Russia threat has changed Denmark's security policy, as it began holding talks on hosting US troops on February 10 and now is considering a deeper formal security alignment with the EU

Denmark had its gas shut off today...

Samuel Ramani AT SamRamani2
Russian MP Oleg Morozov suggests that Russia should kidnap a NATO defence minister in Kyiv and take him back to Moscow

A new escalation in Russia's efforts to deter Western diplomats from visiting Kyiv

Context: Macron has been dared to visit Kyiv by Ukraine by the end of June...

Denmark wants to join EU defense policy - Why is this significant?

It appears voters in Denmark have said yes to the country joining the European Union's common defense policy.

According to a public broadcaster exit poll, more than 69 percent have supported the plan in a referendum.

Denmark is an EU member but in the past negotiated an exemption on the bloc's defense policy. Now, against a backdrop of Russian aggression, Danes were asked whether they want to opt in.

Also, Sweden and Finland are pushing ahead with their landmark bids to join NATO. For Sweden, joining the military alliance would mean giving up more than two centuries of neutrality. Public opinion in favour of joining grew to around 50 percent after Russia invaded Ukraine.

But NATO-member Turkey opposes the bids. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan accuses Sweden of supporting terrorists and is angry about Stockholm's embargo on arms sales to Turkey.

@OwlsDance · Today 21:56
This is one of the rare videos I found with English subtitles!

The interviewee is Dmitry Potapenko, one of the most famous Russian economists, entrepreneurs, and economics activists.

Thank you, OwlsDance, that was riveting. It seems surprising that he can get away with that sarcasm and cynicism, though he does describe how he would wipe out Ukraine more efficiently if he were the dictator.

It is interesting that the interviewer mentioned general unease about the Mariupol Theatre and Bucha. We have only heard of how Russia denies those. So presumably there was a murmur of recognition by some going around.

It was fascinating to hear him lay out how easy it would be to cover their tracks with lies if they did carpet bomb Ukraine into oblivion.

Aren’t they carpet bombing already though?

I wonder if he is right about a junta taking over within the next 18 months.

There is a lot to take in so I need to watch it again.

It was fascinating to hear him lay out how easy it would be to cover their tracks with lies if they did carpet bomb Ukraine into oblivion.
Aren’t they carpet bombing already though?
I wonder if he is right about a junta taking over within the next 18 months.

What could the justification be for carpet bombing and then lying about it? I thought Russia was supposed to be liberating Ukrainians from Nazis. What is the point of leveling it, which is of course what they are doing anyway because their military prowess sucks and they are just chucking missiles around.

Scrollingleaves, Owlsdance, I would love to hear key thoughts from the video. I managed about 5 mins but found it quite hardgoing as a non-Russian speaker. I thought the bouncy presenter lost his bounce quite early on in the interview. His eyes seemed to drift at times. He was probably hoping for something more juicy.

RedtoothBrush, CasualIObserver UK, interesting to read about the position with Denmark. I wondered where they stood seeing they are often regarded as a close cousin of Sweden.

@ScrollingLeaves @blueshoes
I'll try to get back to this tomorrow, although I'm on holiday so might be accused of being antisocial if spend too long staring at the phone 😬

I have a benefit of understanding the subtleties of language and humour as well as seeing some of his earlier videos and drawing common themes and also his unique "dry" sense of humour/sarcasm. I'll try to explain it tomorrow. But u thought it was an interesting piece, although even for me it was quite challenging at times.