Ukraine and the Russian invasion, 2022-24

[Indeliblelink]

Putin honors 64th Brigade accused of Bucha massacre

Russian President Vladimir Putin has awarded a honorary title of ‘Guards’ to the 64th Separate Motor Rifle Brigade, which committed the mass killings of civilians in Bucha, Kyiv Region. â Ukrinform.

www.ukrinform.net

oh dear this is very unfortunate

One theory I read was that Putin sent them to the most dangerous area in the East so they'd get wiped out so no embarrassing war crime trials if they got captured.

 

[DaveCinzano]

not confirmed yet - but Ukrainian military reports have proven to be pretty reliable so far .

To lose one general near Kherson may be regarded as misfortune, etc

 

[DaveCinzano]

One theory I read was that Putin sent them to the most dangerous area in the East so they'd get wiped out so no embarrassing war crime trials if they got captured.

Not sure that makes any sense. You'd probably want to finish doing your warcriming before somehow deliberately getting your go-to warcrime guys knocked off by the very people you've only incompletely warcrimed.

But then that's me, I'm not a 4 dimensional chess master and war criminal.

 

[Raheem]

Not sure Putin would give them this force promotion and then immediately let them be slaughtered.

 

[DaveCinzano]

Not sure Putin would give them this force promotion and then immediately let them be slaughtered.

OR WOULD HE

 

[rekil]

I think I read that alongside identification of individuals of that 64th brigade, there were elements of several different units involved in Bucha, including Wagner mercs.

 

[frogwoman]

Mentions of Kyiv and Ukraine removed from Russian schoolbooks: "We have a task to make it look as if Ukraine simply does not exist"

On February 24, Vladimir Putin announced the beginning of his "special military operation", and the Russian troops invad...

zona.media

Wtf is this fash shit.

Sections about Nestor the Chronicler are rendered unrecognisable in some textbooks. “No one forbids us to mention that he wrote his ‘Tale of Bygone Years’ in the Kyiv Pechersk Lavra,” explains one editor. “But the line was removed in whole because it just won't pass the review. Now we have some monk named Nestor how wrote a ‘Tale of Bygone Years’, and that's it.”

Textbooks that omit all references to the Kyiv Pechersk Lavra are through the initial editing stage and will be available in schools this fall.

Another new development: the publishing house will release one textbook without its author's surname on the cover because the author is a citizen of Ukraine, and his surname is “obviously” Ukrainian. “You can still find the name in small print on the back, but we removed it from the cover just in case,” says an employee of the publishing house.

 

[tim]

Are you saying allowing traders in different countries to trade freely is the same as killing people?

Crony capitalism in Ukraine, Russia and beyond has never been about free trade.

 

[cupid_stunt]

Today marks 2 months since the invasion started, so many lives lost and damaged, so much destruction, in so little time, and with no clear ending.

 

[cupid_stunt]

Assuming these figures are reasonably accurate, that's a hell of a lot of Russian kit destroyed, of course, we don't know what kit the Ukrainians have lost.

 

[SpackleFrog]

I think we can be very confident that “the west” is currently working very hard to reduce its dependency on Russian fuel.

Just an update on this - EU says they're going to pay in roubles.

EU says pay for Russian gas in euros to avoid breaching sanctions

EU companies may be able to work around Russia's demand to receive gas payments in roubles without breaching sanctions if they pay in euros or dollars which are then converted into the Russian currency, the European Commission said on Friday.

www.reuters.com

 

[frogwoman]

Amid the horrors of Ukraine's war, doctors are seeing a growing emergency among newborn babies

After weeks of war, doctors in Ukraine are starting to see the consequences of the stress, fear and displacement placed on expectant mothers. Many fear for the future of the country's war babies.

www.abc.net.au

 

[frogwoman]

 

[planetgeli]

#notallOrthodoxleaders

but yes some

Bad in Serbia, where there are strong links, and consequently Montenegro which has a large Serb population.

Old, but

Serb nationalists in Montenegro rally in support of Russia

About 100 Serb nationalists rallied in front of an Orthodox church in Montenegro on Monday in a rare European display of support for Russia's invasion of Ukraine and President Vladimir Putin.

www.reuters.com

 

[planetgeli]

I'd also add, for balance, and having just come back from there, that Montenegro, which has a substantial Ukrainian population too, is the only place I've heard of that has demonstrations against the war every day (Cetinje, 5.30pm if you're around). Talking to Montenegrins it seems these protests are not attended by the Ukrainian population, which probably means most of those there are pro-Russian, probably rich. 1% of Montenegro's population are Russian, mostly rich oligarchs with their yachts in PorteMontenegro in Tivat.

 

[ska invita]

Just an update on this - EU says they're going to pay in roubles.

heres the dollar to rouble exchange rate



Looks like the Kremlin have successfully managed to squash that line of attack...
For the best really, a rouble collapse basically punishes every Russian person for the action of their unelected state

 

[Rob Ray]

But ukrainian businesses and capitalists have probably been almost entirely shut down. War isn’t a win for capitalism.

War can actually be pretty good for capitalism - clears out massive amounts of old assets and sets the stage for the building of modern ones, as well as unexpectedly freeing up tracts of land for exploitation. There's also the impetus of whoever loses least pouring cash in to rebuild to show they were in the right/shore up the region conquered/protected - Marshall Plan or Grozny/Crimea type projects, take your pick. Expect a huge boom for military firms, followed by glaziers and brickmakers.

 

[platinumsage]

heres the dollar to rouble exchange rate

View attachment 319872

Looks like the Kremlin have successfully managed to squash that line of attack...
For the best really, a rouble collapse basically punishes every Russian person for the action of their unelected state

That graph is an illusion really because most people and companies can't exchange rubles for dollars, so it doesn't reflect any sort of restoration of pre-war exchange rate normality.

 

[Raheem]

That graph is an illusion really because most people and companies can't exchange rubles for dollars, so it doesn't reflect any sort of restoration of pre-war exchange rate normality.

True, it would be wrong to read it as any sort of sign that the Russian economy is coping. But it does mean that it's problems are not compounded by a spiralling currency.

 

[Flavour]

It doesn't seem like there have been major advances by the Russian Army on the Kharkiv front since the launch of this new offensive. But all the small towns in the Donetsk region that weren't already under occupation are being smashed to nothing by artillery. While the Ukrainian Army is conducting a lot of very impressive strikes against planes, command posts and tanks, I won't be able to believe in them actually "winning" unless they can recapture significant cities (like Kherson) but that seems wildly optimistic right now. I don't think there's any serious possibility of Russia losing the land corridor region, the way things are going. But likewise, a Russian push for Odesa and Transnistria seems wild, though probably more believable than Ukraine retaking Kherson.

Zelensky is entirely dependent on the continuing flow of Western arms in order to continue. The other former Eastern bloc countries are clearly the most motivated... But I can't see any of them taking any truly radical action (eg. Leaving Nato in order to get in stuck properly).

I think behind closed doors the Western leaders are already strategizing on how they'll spin a Russian victory and reintegration of Russia into world economy "to keep food prices down"

 

[teqniq]

No redeeming features whatsoever:

 

[ska invita]

It doesn't seem like there have been major advances by the Russian Army on the Kharkiv front since the launch of this new offensive. But all the small towns in the Donetsk region that weren't already under occupation are being smashed to nothing by artillery. While the Ukrainian Army is conducting a lot of very impressive strikes against planes, command posts and tanks, I won't be able to believe in them actually "winning" unless they can recapture significant cities (like Kherson) but that seems wildly optimistic right now. I don't think there's any serious possibility of Russia losing the land corridor region, the way things are going. But likewise, a Russian push for Odesa and Transnistria seems wild, though probably more believable than Ukraine retaking Kherson.

Zelensky is entirely dependent on the continuing flow of Western arms in order to continue. The other former Eastern bloc countries are clearly the most motivated... But I can't see any of them taking any truly radical action (eg. Leaving Nato in order to get in stuck properly).

I expect thats right.. and then if Russia holds troops for years there'll be an ongoing guerrilla war...a more violent Northern Ireland type situation.

 

[_Russ_]

(eg. Leaving Nato in order to get in stuck properly).

Where does this having to leave NATO to get "stuck in" thing come from?, pressure could be asserted not to and there would be obvious downsides but the 'big boys' have gone outside a few times

 

[dilute micro]

It doesn't seem like there have been major advances by the Russian Army on the Kharkiv front since the launch of this new offensive. But all the small towns in the Donetsk region that weren't already under occupation are being smashed to nothing by artillery. While the Ukrainian Army is conducting a lot of very impressive strikes against planes, command posts and tanks, I won't be able to believe in them actually "winning" unless they can recapture significant cities (like Kherson) but that seems wildly optimistic right now. I don't think there's any serious possibility of Russia losing the land corridor region, the way things are going. But likewise, a Russian push for Odesa and Transnistria seems wild, though probably more believable than Ukraine retaking Kherson.

Zelensky is entirely dependent on the continuing flow of Western arms in order to continue. The other former Eastern bloc countries are clearly the most motivated... But I can't see any of them taking any truly radical action (eg. Leaving Nato in order to get in stuck properly).

I think behind closed doors the Western leaders are already strategizing on how they'll spin a Russian victory and reintegration of Russia into world economy "to keep food prices down"

This is the war's second long phase. This is a battle of attrition so we shouldn't expect Ukraine to break through to the Russian border anytime soon. Russia couldn't run a knife through Kyiv so they're opting for the next best way to kill Ukraine and that is to cut it off from trade and essentially suffocate it.

 

[_Russ_]

Sanctions wont stop this, with all their loopholes for strategic reasons they just keep the poor poor and add to their numbers
What if Transnistria starts seeing Russian Troops basing there?, this will spread if Europe doesnt get serious soon.

 

[cupid_stunt]

What if Transnistria starts seeing Russian Troops basing there?

Russian troops have been based in Transnistria since 1992.

 

[dilute micro]

Sanctions wont stop this, with all their loopholes for strategic reasons they just keep the poor poor and add to their numbers
What if Transnistria starts seeing Russian Troops basing there?, this will spread if Europe doesnt get serious soon.

Sanctions help though. The ones that will hurt Russia are the ones intended to shut down industry. They'll take time to do their work. Spare parts have to get used up. Russia is a basketcase of corrupt leadership. That helps too.

 

[IC3D]

Sanctions help though. The ones that will hurt Russia are the ones intended to shut down industry. They'll take time to do their work. Spare parts have to get used up. Russia is a basketcase of corrupt leadership. That helps too.

Will they? The majority of world aren't imposing them and capturing the east of Ukraine gains Russia all of Ukraines mineral wealth, most the gas reserves and steel industry.

 

[emanymton]

Will they? The majority of world aren't imposing them and capturing the east of Ukraine gains Russia all of Ukraines mineral wealth, most the gas reserves and steel industry.

And what exactly are they going to do with that when Ukraine are in range to shell it?

 

[IC3D]

And what exactly are they going to do with that when Ukraine are in range to shell it?

There's a few options. What do you think the outcome of the war will be?