Ukraine and the Russian invasion, 2022-24

[TopCat]

A protest in Berlin against sending weapons to Ukraine drew 10,000 people on Saturday, Reuters reports.

The “Uprising for Peace” was held around the Brandenburg Gate in central Berlin, a day after the one-year anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The event was partly organised by politician Sahra Wagenknecht, a member of Germany’s left-wing Die Linke party.

 

[TopCat]

Police deployed 1,400 officers to keep the peace and enforce bans on military uniforms, Russian and Soviet flags, Russian military songs and right-wing symbols. A police spokesperson said the protest was peaceful and there was no sign of right-wing groups in attendance.

 

[TopCat]

Hungary signals new delay in approving Finland and Sweden's Nato bid​

Hungary has indicated a further possible delay in ratifying Finland and Sweden’s bid for Nato membership, as Hungarian prime minister Viktor Orbán’s chief of staff said a vote may take place in the second half of March, Reuters reports.

 

[TopCat]

Russian mercenary boss says group captured village north of Ukraine's Bakhmut​

Yevgeny Prigozhin, founder of Russia’s Wagner mercenary group, said on Saturday that Wagner fighters captured the village of Yahidne, north of the eastern Ukrainian city of Bakhmut, Reuters reported.

Reuters could not independently confirm the statement, which Prigozhin had made in a short audio message.

After six months of heavy fighting, Ukrainian forces were reported to have blown up a bridge near Bakhmut this month in a possible sign of retreat, a move that would give Russia a significant boost. Ukraine has denied it intends to leave Bakhmut.

 

[cupid_stunt]

And, the Putin-bot is off again.

 

[TopCat]

And, the Putin-bot is off again.

Why not address the issues, e.g. engage with the thread instead of your pathetic insults?

 

[TopCat]

Mykhailo Podolyak, a senior adviser to Volodymyr Zelenskiy, has dismissed China’s “unrealistic” proposal to end the conflict. Beijing should not “bet on an aggressor who broke [international] law and will lose the war”, Podolyak posted to Twitter. President Zelenskiy has cautiously welcomed China’s peace plan to end Russia’s invasion of Ukraine but said it would be acceptable only if it led to Vladimir Putin pulling his troops out from all occupied Ukrainian territory.

 

[cupid_stunt]

Why not address the issues, e.g. engage with the thread instead of your pathetic insults?

Why don't you actually make comment on of what you actually think, instead of carpet bombing the thread with quotes & links, which is against the rules, then we would have something to engage with?

 

[Pickman's model]

Why don't you actually make comment on of what you actually think, instead of carpet bombing the thread with quotes & links, which is against the rules, then we would have something to engage with?

Given the way so many posters have contributed content-free posts for months now it seems peculiar to pick on TopCat for joining in while not having a go at all the twitter posters etc

 

[TopCat]

Why don't you actually make comment on of what you actually think, instead of carpet bombing the thread with quotes & links, which is against the rules, then we would have something to engage with?

Tell you what, why don't you just quit with the insults and projection?

 

[Chz]

Given the way so many posters have contributed content-free posts for months now it seems peculiar to pick on TopCat for joining in while not having a go at all the twitter posters etc

TBF, 5 zero content posts inside of 15 minutes is rather a lot more carpet bombing than we usually get. But I agree that it's hardly where I'd start my complaints.

 

[two sheds]

TBF, 5 zero content posts inside of 15 minutes is rather a lot more carpet bombing than we usually get. But I agree that it's hardly where I'd start my complaints.

Comment-free rather than content-free I'd have thought, there was content.

 

[Pickman's model]

Comment-free rather than content-free I'd have thought, there was content.

Comment is the content sought, content free is the way it's referred to in the faq

 

[two sheds]

good point well made

 

[Chz]

Comment-free rather than content-free I'd have thought, there was content.

You're right, 'twas what I meant inside my head.

 

[two sheds]

You're right, 'twas what I meant inside my head.

No, following umpire clarification you were quite right

 

[LDC]

Interesting video here on the resistance to the invasion and occupation of Kherson. Also a good illustration of why it's impossible to try and draw lines between the civil and military resistance like some of the pacifist and anti-military resistance types do.



The Bratstvo unit gets coverage in the film, and there's this on them ACTION ALERT: NYT Has Found New Neo-Nazi Troops to Lionize in Ukraine - FAIR (no idea about the credibility or politics of that FAIR website, so political skepticism warning on that and the info they present as well as the unit details and video - everything basically!).

Will also stick this article in Jacobin here, looks better than some of drivel they publish on Ukraine at a skim, but not had a chance to read it properly yet.

Peace in Ukraine Isn’t Coming Soon

Vladimir Putin invaded Ukraine one year ago today hoping to capture it in a few days — then spent the last year turning its southeast into a bloodbath. Even if the current military stalemate is broken, the divides created by the war won’t heal soon.

jacobin.com

 

[TopCat]

I am so pleased we left this increasingly nationalistic and right wing EU.

Zelensky said:
A year ago, on the fifth day of the full-scale war, we applied for Ukraine’s accession to the European Union. We obtained the candidacy. This year is the time to decide on the launch of membership negotiations.

It is with Ukraine that the majestic project of a peaceful, free and united Europe will be complete. We are together in the struggle, and therefore we will be together in victory. Long live Europe. Long live freedom.

 

[The39thStep]

A little bit more on the logistics and challanges of conscription

Ukraine finds stepping up mobilisation is not so easy | The Economist

archived 28 Feb 2023 07:36:51 UTC

archive.ph

 

[The39thStep]

Interesting video here on the resistance to the invasion and occupation of Kherson. Also a godd illustration of why it's impossible to try and draw lines between the civil and military resistance like some of the pacifist and anti-military resistance types do.



The Bratstvo unit gets coverage in the film, and there's this on them ACTION ALERT: NYT Has Found New Neo-Nazi Troops to Lionize in Ukraine - FAIR (no idea about the credibility or politics of that FAIR website, so political skepticism warning on that and the info they present as well as the unit details and video - everything basically!).

Will also stick this article in Jacobin here, looks better than some of drivel they publish on Ukraine at a skim, but not had a chance to read it properly yet.

Peace in Ukraine Isn’t Coming Soon

Vladimir Putin invaded Ukraine one year ago today hoping to capture it in a few days — then spent the last year turning its southeast into a bloodbath. Even if the current military stalemate is broken, the divides created by the war won’t heal soon.

jacobin.com

The Guardian covered them earlier this month (after the NYT article ) but neglected to describe their far right politics and just conveniently wolfed down anything they said. Despite their claim to be some sort of elite special forces unit they are a militia , with members from Canada and Ireland . Rab Grady, a granddad from Scotland briefly spent some time with them.

Korchynsky, the founder of Bratstvo, was/is one of Ukraine's Duganists . He worked with Dugin and Zelensky's ex adviser Arestovych in the International Eurasian Movement.

This article from The Intercept in 2015 pretty much sums up Korchynsky

The Making of a Christian Taliban in Ukraine

The recruiting center for Dmytro Korchynsky’s holy war in Ukraine is located in the basement of a building in central Kiev in what used to be a billiard club. Anyone can sign up, and the location isn’t secret.

theintercept.com

 

[_Russ_]

Some imagery of the Mainstay AWACS event...False flag imo

 

[existentialist]

Some imagery of the Mainstay AWACS event...False flag imo

I can't see how a false flag attack like this, on Belarussian territory, would serve any useful purpose. It seems far more plausible that it was a partisan act.

 

[StoneRoad]

hmmmm - lifted from livemap ...

Several videos of "Russian volunteer corps" appeared online, taking responsibility for the clashes in Briansk region of Russia​

/// Several videos of "Russian volunteer corps" appeared online, taking responsibility for the clashes in Briansk region of Russia Bryansk,Bryanskaya oblast' - Ukraine Interactive map - Ukraine Latest news on live map - liveuamap.com

..........

Never heard of this RVC group before.

But the RF seems to have reacted with a large amount of force in the border region [ Briansk ].

But why would Ukraine attack in such a way ? They already have enough to do elsewhere.

 

[Crispy]

The guy on the left is Denis Kapustin, neo-Nazi founder of the Russian Volunteer Force. Thoroughly nasty guys, and not part of the official armed forces of Ukraine.

Russian Volunteer Corps: Denis "WhiteRex" Kapustin is Back in Business - Antifascist Europe

A new unit consisting of Russian volunteers has appeared on the Ukrainian side. It calls itself the Russian Volunteer Corps. Antifascist Europe has concluded that the group is made up of neo-Nazis from Russia, who were organized by the well-known far-right entrepreneur Denis “WhiteRex” Kapustin...

antifascist-europe.org

(That flag dates back to the WW2 Nazi collaborationist Russian Liberation Army)

 

[StoneRoad]

The guy on the left is Denis Kapustin, neo-Nazi founder of the Russian Volunteer Force. Thoroughly nasty guys, and not part of the official armed forces of Ukraine.

Russian Volunteer Corps: Denis "WhiteRex" Kapustin is Back in Business - Antifascist Europe

A new unit consisting of Russian volunteers has appeared on the Ukrainian side. It calls itself the Russian Volunteer Corps. Antifascist Europe has concluded that the group is made up of neo-Nazis from Russia, who were organized by the well-known far-right entrepreneur Denis “WhiteRex” Kapustin...

antifascist-europe.org

(That flag dates back to the WW2 Nazi collaborationist Russian Liberation Army)

Still very suspicious of the whole thing ...

Anti-Kremlin forces seem to be the likeliest explanation, but a False Flag op is also very possible.

 

[The39thStep]

Still very suspicious of the whole thing ...

Anti-Kremlin forces seem to be the likeliest explanation, but a False Flag op is also very possible.

See my posts on the fascist thread . They exist in Ukraine , they’ve been interviewed since their formation ( some are ex Azov) on Ukrainian TV and press and interviewed by western press

 

[Chz]

Seeing some videos on Twitter that Ukraine is blowing the bridges around Bakhmut to form a corridor westward. I think it may finally be time to let the Russians have it if they want it that bad. They've inflicted some truly unreal losses, so I hope they git while the gittin's good.

 

[LDC]

Some imagery of the Mainstay AWACS event...False flag imo

A flase flag? By whom and why? Why is that more likley than the claim it was BYPOL _Russ_?

 

[editor]

I am so pleased we left this increasingly nationalistic and right wing EU.

Zelensky said:
A year ago, on the fifth day of the full-scale war, we applied for Ukraine’s accession to the European Union. We obtained the candidacy. This year is the time to decide on the launch of membership negotiations.

It is with Ukraine that the majestic project of a peaceful, free and united Europe will be complete. We are together in the struggle, and therefore we will be together in victory. Long live Europe. Long live freedom.

You must meet some interesting bedfellows with your anti-EU, pro-Brexit, pro-Russia views.

 

[_Russ_]

A flase flag? By whom and why? Why is that more likley than the claim it was BYPOL _Russ_?

By Russia, it helps the propaganda machine demonise its enemies and for little cost, it'll work up the Home based nutters innit.
The footage really doesnt tie in with the early narrative of noteably damaging the Mainstay and looks like its filmed from a small quadcopter that wouldn't have much range...looks staged to me