Ukraine Invasion: Part 27

[MagicFox]

27th thread, thanks for the continued company and analysis all

Sorry, Russian propaganda in Italy should have been separate. It is not related to blueshoes’s post.

Fuat
@lilygrutcher
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59m
US announces its largest military aid package to Ukraine since the war began: $1 billion worth of Harpoons, 155mm Howitzers, HiMARS ammunition, tactical vehicles, secure radios and other equipment that will directly help Ukraine on the battlefield.

Absolutely bizarrely:

t.me/ukrainenowenglish/10919

📌 In the Russian Federation unexpectedly announced that they are striving to agree on peace with Ukraine as soon as possible

“Russia is interested in reaching political and diplomatic agreements as soon as possible, which would make it possible to stop hostilities. However, the talks between Moscow and Kyiv are still frozen by the Ukrainian side,” said Nikolai Patrushev, Secretary of the Security Council of the Russian Federation.

According to him, the talks were frozen, allegedly at the insistence of the United States and Great Britain.

Curious rhetoric against the background of the active process of transferring modern weapons to Ukraine

Ramstein-3. Ukraine will receive a new batch of heavy weapons

The list was announced at a briefing by US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin:

🔻 The United States will allocate a billion dollars to support the defense of Ukraine. This assistance will include:

• 18 units of 155-mm howitzers;
• 36 thousand 155-mm shells;
• 18 tactical vehicles for transporting howitzers;
• Additional shells for HIMARS;
• 4 vehicles for equipment repair;
• 2 coast guard complexes with Harpoon missiles;
• Thousands of protected radio stations;
• Thousands of optical devices, including night vision.

🔻 Germany promised to provide Ukraine with three Mars MLRS, Slovakia with Mi-17 helicopters, and Canada, Poland and the Netherlands – with artillery.

@Ijsbear · Today 22:02
Thank you for this latest news.

US changed its rhetoric from getting Russia to suffer defeat to helping Ukraine get to peace talks from a point of strength. Russia is seeing this as an opportunity to make a move.

@Ijsbear so good to hear that the US is stepping up another slug of heavy weapons. Yay, Lloyd Austin. Slovakia providing 17 helicopters? That's a lot for them, I would have thought. 🙏

I guess Zelensky also said, at one point, that this war will end with a negotiated peace. But he ain't giving up territory.

Maybe Russia does not want to wait too long because Ukraine's heavy weapons will finally end up in theatre.

Peace talks have never been off the table. It's the only long-term solution to war (a ceasefire and stalemate options are unstable at best). The problem is getting Russia to the table and then getting them to follow through on any agreement. Until the pain (of sanctions and losses) outweighs probable gains, they won't do it.

Russia's not hurting enough, yet.

@TheABC makes sense. It seems a little early for Putin to come to the negotiating table. He is planning to starve half the world first. I wonder whether Putin has ever agreed to a peace deal in which he did not gain something.

Fucking farcical. There is up to a 16 week wait on getting a NI number. You can legally work without one for up to 9 weeks. Some employers won't let you start work until you have one.

One refugee Ive met, has a job contract to start next week. She can't. The job centre are being massive arses saying she must apply for jobs. She has one. She just can't do it cos so fuckwitted government department wont get off its arse. She now might lose the job. And the job centre might now sanction her for not keeping her universal credit commitments, even though she has a job contract...

This is on top of being top by the council refugee worker and a person at the job centre that she could get her documents verified at the job centre for child benefit so she doesn't have to send off originals (passport and birth certificates) which she needs for other beaucracy in the meantime so can't send off. Yet she's been told by another person at the job centre, 'oh we can't do that. Its a different department'.

I swear to god, the way our system is set up is utterly appalling. How on earth refugees can navigate this in another language I do not know.

Meanwhile refugees are being sent to food banks.

And the clock is ticking on those 6 month hosting arrangements. If you are on benefits good luck to you trying to rent somewhere.

Spot the ticking time bomb. Car crash inevitable on this, if the NI delay is that bad. Lots of very vulnerable refugees with kids are going to end up homeless, in no small measure because of the beaucracy, not because they don't want to work and they have no job but because the government is beyond useless. That also means even more disruption to school.

That is off course if you can get a school place. I'm hearing my council is saying they have up to a month to reply after an application.

So lots of bored, frustrated and fed up families with no money, unable to get benefits they are entitled to, who are being sent to food banks and are liable to end up homeless in a few months.

Appalling doesn't cover it.

@RedToothBrush , I am truly grateful for people like you who are spending so much of your time trying to help the Ukraine refugees navigate this pig's ear of a government. It sounds like a complete shambles and a train wreck in slow motion.

"That is off course if you can get a school place. I'm hearing my council is saying they have up to a month to reply after an application."

Just on this point, I hope I am not talking complete bollocks and/or you might have already thought of this. I wonder whether there are any private schools who might have less red tape and can take on a few children. I know a private school near me has taken 8-10 children . I believe the family who sponsored already have their own children in the school so maybe it was easier. Just throwing it out there. It would be so beneficial for the children if they could have at least that stability of school.

@RedToothBrush · Today 00:43
This is on top of being top by the council refugee worker and a person at the job centre that she could get her documents verified at the job centre for child benefit so she doesn't have to send off originals (passport and birth certificates) which she needs for other beaucracy in the meantime so can't send off. Yet she's been told by another person at the job centre, 'oh we can't do that. Its a different department'.

I swear to god, the way our system is set up is utterly appalling. How on earth refugees can navigate this in another language I do not know.

About getting the documents verified at the job centre - there may also be someone at the council who has the power to do this: where I live it can be done by someone at the council for British Citizenship applications. Also, I wonder if a public notary would do this for free? Could a lawyer? ( Some banks abroad accept lawyer stamped documents to verify bank accounts.)

I just heard on the radio this morning about the people in Afghanistan who are eligible to come here under two schemes ACRS and ARAP have been waiting months for their applications to be processed with no response whatsoever. Meanwhile some whose only crime was working at the British Embassy have been being beaten up. Probably some others who did jobs for the army have been killed (my presumption.)

I also heard someone from the British Gov. say this morning that there is no obligation to follow the European Court of Human Rights decision about the Rwanda system which certainly seems counter to what British values are supposed to mean.

It is all shameful.

@blueshoes · Today 01:43
I know a private school near me has taken 8-10 children . I believe the family who sponsored already have their own children in the school so maybe it was easier.

The same where I live.

ISW Key Takeaways

Russian forces launched ground assaults in Severodonetsk and settlements in its vicinity but have not taken full control over the city as of June 15.

Russian forces launched largely unsuccessful offensive operations around the T1302 Bakhmut-Lysychansk highway in an effort to cut Ukrainian ground lines of communication (GLOCs) to Lysychansk.

Russian forces continued efforts to advance along the E40 highway to Slovyansk and southeast of Izyum.

Russian and Ukrainian forces continued to fight in northeastern settlements around Kharkiv City.

Russian forces continued to fortify fallback positions in Zaporizhia and Kherson Oblasts, while undertaking defensive measures to strengthen Russian presence in the Black Sea.

The Kremlin and proxy republics continue to pursue ad hoc annexation policies in occupied territories.

▪️With regard to military assistance to Ukraine, according to ISW experts, "this military assistance will be invaluable in supporting Ukrainian operations against Russian troops in eastern Ukraine, although Ukraine will need further ongoing support."

+++

⚡️The Italian news agency Rai News (www.rainews.it/articoli/2022/06/-draghi--scholz-e--macron-saranno-oggi-a-kiev-per-incontrare-zelensky-a938e993-d5ec-46ab-9a5d-16b1c2805df0.html) published photos and videos of French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, and Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi on the train. Politicians are now on their way to Kyiv.

+++

The Kyiv Independent, [16/06/2022 01:16]
⚡️Ukraine’s military destroys Russian equipment, field ammunition depots.
Ukraine’s Operational Command “East” reports late on June 15 that they destroyed two Russian ammunition depots and military equipment, including an infantry fighting vehicle, armored personnel carrier, multi-purpose armored tracked vehicle, and a few artillery tractors in the east of the country.
Russian forces also reportedly lost 34 soldiers in the same time frame.

⚡️Institute for the Study of War: Russia faces difficulties implementing occupation agendas due to pro-Ukrainian pressure in occupied areas.
Russian occupation authorities are reportedly unable to open schools in occupied Berdiansk due to resistance from Ukrainian teachers, who are refusing to teach under Russian curricula. Such pro-Ukrainian action will likely continue to disrupt Russian efforts to consolidate full-scale administrative control of occupied areas and Russian annexation agendas

⚡️Deutsche Welle: Turkey ready to host four-way meeting to unblock export of Ukrainian grain

⚡️UN: Nearly 2.5 million people have returned to Ukraine since end of February.

+++

UkraineNOW:

🗓 Ukraine will go on a counteroffensive before September if it receives the necessary weapons – Major General Marchenko

🔺Two volunteers from the United States were taken prisoner by Russian invaders near Kharkiv – The Telegraph (www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2022/06/15/exclusive-first-two-us-fighters-captured-russian-forces-battle/)

💳 Despite the sanctions, Russia's investment in US government securities in April did not change compared to the previous month and amounted to $2.003 billion, the US Treasury said.

🌱Türkiye is negotiating with Ukraine to lease land for agricultural production, Turkish newspapers Hurriyet and Türkiye report

The problem is transport. Theres no public transport. Even if they could get a space there's no transport for them to get anywhere else. This week I know on two separate occasions of Ukrainians trying to get the bus locally and the bus didn't show up. They were supposed to be going to important meetings (job related).

Fortunately someone was able to drop everything on both occasions and give them a lift. Job centre are prattling on about how they must apply for jobs within 90 mins travelling time based on magical mystery buses which only come if they can be bothered. Locals are telling them, that the bus isn't reliable enough for that... I had a long conversation with a friend who I bumped into yesterday about this. His daughter has a bus pass for the local college. They regularly have to give her lift. They've complained repeatedly that they pay a lot of money for her bus pass for magical mystery buses that don't turn up. They just get phobed off with no compensation, no apology and nothing changes.

This is the North. And this is stuff that the Red Wall is all about really. The forever Labour council is blamed and the Tory promise of extra cash for an area to combat stuff like this, was enormously tempting (ironically stuff like this is also Andy Burnham's bread and butter policy which Johnson plagiarised.) If only out of desparation to change something.

I don't think the lack of public transport as an issue can be overstated. Everything stems from it. Particularly at the bottom end.

If all the local Ukrainian kids cant get into the local schools, its going to be interesting. There is no way they can get to another. None.

The irony of all this, is whilst Ive been aware of these type of issues for a while (and have banged on about it on MN), some of them are definitely not on the radar of the well off middle class types around these parts. The Ukrainians coming across the country, particularly to leafy suburbs, is opening a big can of worms up. You've now got a bunch of people who will either kick out refugees at 6 months, creating a big homeless crisis or will get vocal and start using their pointy elbows and will make an absolute stink. Either way the government are going to get a backlash / crisis point, possibly from multiple directions.

Stuck in the middle of this are actual people who have come from a warzone, many of whom are traumatised. The stress of the pergartory of non-sensical DWP and HMRC bollocks is dire. After the stress of the shambles that is the Home Office.

To add insult to injury, you cannot even teach them to drive and give them a car.
There's no driving tests available until 2024 in my area...

(Yes we are looking at all options available).

Flash
@Flash43191300
·
8m
⚡️The Armed Forces of Ukraine have established a bridgehead near Kherson, Adviser to the Head of the President's Office of Ukraine, Oleksii Arestovych, reports
The Ukrainian military was able to maintain the positions they had taken in several counterattacks in the Kherson region

About getting the documents verified at the job centre - there may also be someone at the council who has the power to do this: where I live it can be done by someone at the council for British Citizenship applications. Also, I wonder if a public notary would do this for free? Could a lawyer? ( Some banks abroad accept lawyer stamped documents to verify bank accounts.)

Its the council who are directing to the job centre. The job centre say they can't do it. And HMRC say it has to be done by a government official.

She can't send off original documents because she needs those original documents for proof of bollocks for all the other stuff she's trying to get set up...

Its an appalling catch 22 system of nonsense. All you get is 'not my department, not my problem' as an attitude. And you can't do x until you have done y. And you can't do y until you've done x.

Local councillers seem more interested in trying to get photo ops with refugees (against guidance and advice not to ask refugees for photos, because its downright exploitative).

Also, I still don't know any host who has seen sight of their £350 a month from the council...

@RedToothBrush · Today 08:11

What you are reporting is dire. It is like catch 22. I suppose the local MP has been tried to see if they can get sense out of the council?

They can’t possibly rush sending off their documents.

Risk not rush

That will be the next item on the to do list. Off to see the refugee council worker again this morning...

@RedToothBrush that is extremely demoralising and would drive me demented as a sponsor let alone as a refugee.

I do think the answer could lie in local, private enterprise sponsoring the refugees. Obviously they cannot change the appalling government systems but if people are forced to take the private route, they could help with funding a variety of things.

My friend's daughters live more than 2 miles away from their school and as they receive benefits, they get a free taxi to school. I am in Devon.

If you are unable to work due to disability it's like this all the time if you're on your own. I've had periods of serious ill health and it's hell.

My more well-off (and absolutely lovely) sister has absolutely no idea what its like when you live in poverty in the UK. None.

Many people in the job centre have lost all humanity and those that haven't have a difficult time.

I also think that if you treat people like they are rats to be sent running in circles with no dignity or decency then it's not a surprise when they become anti social.