The Russia-Ukraine War has begun

[Innula Zenovka]

(Content warning: The linked thread contains, at the top, video of a Russian mercenary brandishing the skull of someone he claims was a Ukrainian fighter)

 

[Bartholomew Gallacher]

It was bound to happen: a Russian paratrooper named Pavel Filatiev (33 years old) fled from his army and war in Ukraine. Now he has written a long report about how desolate and bad the state of the Russian army internally really is.

Here's a report about him and his insights:

‘We had no moral right to attack another country’ Russian paratrooper pens memoir condemning February invasion of Ukraine — Meduza

On the morning of February 24, thousands of Russian troops poured into Ukraine in a full-blown invasion. Pavel Filatiev was one of them. The 33-year-old paratroop spent two months on the front line before resigning from the army for health reasons. Now, he openly opposes the war. In a new book...

meduza.io

Here's the book called ZOV he wrote for free - it's Russian, so use Google Translate or something.

Error | VK

vk.com

 

[Katheryne Helendale]

The Russian's inability to maintain their strength may mark a big change for their Southern operations:


As reports come in about Russia's failure to maintain personnel US conservatives see this as a strength to be emulated:

I'd sure like to know what Ms. Bobblehead knows about being in the military. Or what "wokeness" even means to her.

 

[Bartholomew Gallacher]

Russian windows keep being dangerous!

 

[Bartholomew Gallacher]

The costs of fixing potholes in the UK have risen dramatically, since before the war most bitumen was imported from Russia.

Cost of fixing potholes soars to 'unprecedented' levels

Local authorities were already facing a significant road repair backlog, with latest estimates stating it would take them 10 years and £12billion to bring all surfaces up to scratch.

www.dailymail.co.uk

 

[Innula Zenovka]

 

[Innula Zenovka]

Good thread -- there's no going back on support for Ukraine in return for Russian gas this winter, no matter how bad things get

 

[Bartholomew Gallacher]

Exclusive WSJ report about the Ukrainian advance in the south, interviewing Ukrainian soldiers. Includes photos of wounded soldiers. It's quite rare that Ukraine allows reporters to talk to their soldiers in the east.

It gives off a very grim picture: high losses at Ukraine's side are highly likely, while Russia has tons of equipment but not many men.

Ukrainian officials and military analysts have said that Ukrainian losses, even if the offensive is successful, could be high as they are assaulting an entrenched enemy with significant firepower that can quickly chew up troops.

WSJ News Exclusive | Ukrainian Soldiers Say They Are Advancing in the South, but at a Cost

Ukrainian army units are pushing toward the city of Kherson, but Ukrainian officials and military analysts have said losses could be high, even if the offensive is successful.

www.wsj.com

 

[Innula Zenovka]

 

[Innula Zenovka]

 

[Innula Zenovka]

 

[Innula Zenovka]

Russia will not resume gas supplies to Europe until sanctions lifted, says Moscow

Kremlin blames western sanctions for failure to deliver gas through Nord Stream 1 pipeline

www.theguardian.com

Evernote link

 

[Innula Zenovka]

Thread (content warning -- this guy shows symptoms of psychopathy, including beheading a puppy -- image in thread, hence the waring -- and eating it)

 

[Bartholomew Gallacher]

According to the American magazine Foreign Affairs Ukraine and Russia were already close in March on reaching a diplomatic interim solution and signing it:

According to multiple former senior U.S. officials we spoke with, in April 2022, Russian and Ukrainian negotiators appeared to have tentatively agreed on the outlines of a negotiated interim settlement: Russia would withdraw to its position on February 23, when it controlled part of the Donbas region and all of Crimea, and in exchange, Ukraine would promise not to seek NATO membership and instead receive security guarantees from a number of countries. But as Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov stated in a July interview with his country’s state media, this compromise is no longer an option. Even giving Russia all of the Donbas is not enough. “Now the geography is different,” Lavrov asserted, in describing Russia’s short-term military aims. “It’s also Kherson and the Zaporizhzhya regions and a number of other territories.” The goal is not negotiation, but Ukrainian capitulation.

The World Putin Wants

Distortions about the past feed delusions about the future.

www.foreignaffairs.com

What happened? First was the revelations of Russian war crimes on TV. The other was that Boris Johnson then visited Kyiv, and he motivated Zelensky to change his mind by pressuring him.

According Ukrainska Pravda sources close to Zelenskyy, the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom Boris Johnson, who appeared in the capital almost without warning, brought two simple messages.

The first is that Putin is a war criminal, he should be pressured, not negotiated with.

And the second is that even if Ukraine is ready to sign some agreements on guarantees with Putin, they are not.

Johnson’s position was that the collective West, which back in February had suggested Zelenskyy should surrender and flee, now felt that Putin was not really as powerful as they had previously imagined, and that here was a chance to "press him."

Three days after Johnson left for Britain, Putin went public and said talks with Ukraine "had turned into a dead end".

Three days later, Roman Abramovich arrived in Kyiv again, and President Zelenskyy officially stated that there could be two security agreements with Russia: one would concern Ukraine's coexistence with Russia, the other - only security guarantees, because not everyone "sees themselves at the same table with the Russian Federation ".

After that, according to Ukrainska Pravda sources, the bilateral negotiation process was paused.

Possibility of talks between Zelenskyy and Putin came to a halt after Johnson’s visit - UP sources

IRYNA BALACHUK, ROMAN ROMANIUK — THURSDAY, 5 MAY 2022, 13:32

www.pravda.com.ua

 

[Aribeth Zelin]

According to the American magazine Foreign Affairs Ukraine and Russia were already close in March on reaching a diplomatic interim solution and signing it:

According to multiple former senior U.S. officials we spoke with, in April 2022, Russian and Ukrainian negotiators appeared to have tentatively agreed on the outlines of a negotiated interim settlement: Russia would withdraw to its position on February 23, when it controlled part of the Donbas region and all of Crimea, and in exchange, Ukraine would promise not to seek NATO membership and instead receive security guarantees from a number of countries. But as Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov stated in a July interview with his country’s state media, this compromise is no longer an option. Even giving Russia all of the Donbas is not enough. “Now the geography is different,” Lavrov asserted, in describing Russia’s short-term military aims. “It’s also Kherson and the Zaporizhzhya regions and a number of other territories.” The goal is not negotiation, but Ukrainian capitulation.

The World Putin Wants

Distortions about the past feed delusions about the future.

www.foreignaffairs.com

What happened? First was the revelations of Russian war crimes on TV. The other was that Boris Johnson then visited Kyiv, and he motivated Zelensky to change his mind by pressuring him.

According Ukrainska Pravda sources close to Zelenskyy, the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom Boris Johnson, who appeared in the capital almost without warning, brought two simple messages.

The first is that Putin is a war criminal, he should be pressured, not negotiated with.

And the second is that even if Ukraine is ready to sign some agreements on guarantees with Putin, they are not.

Johnson’s position was that the collective West, which back in February had suggested Zelenskyy should surrender and flee, now felt that Putin was not really as powerful as they had previously imagined, and that here was a chance to "press him."

Three days after Johnson left for Britain, Putin went public and said talks with Ukraine "had turned into a dead end".

Three days later, Roman Abramovich arrived in Kyiv again, and President Zelenskyy officially stated that there could be two security agreements with Russia: one would concern Ukraine's coexistence with Russia, the other - only security guarantees, because not everyone "sees themselves at the same table with the Russian Federation ".

After that, according to Ukrainska Pravda sources, the bilateral negotiation process was paused.

Possibility of talks between Zelenskyy and Putin came to a halt after Johnson’s visit - UP sources

IRYNA BALACHUK, ROMAN ROMANIUK — THURSDAY, 5 MAY 2022, 13:32

www.pravda.com.ua

Personally, negotiations were never a truly viable option. And blaming/crediting Johnson with an observation that Putin -does not- negotiated in good faith, when it ought to be pretty obvious to Zelenskyy who's already seen it multiple times up close, just seems off to me.

Dealing with Putin is like dealing with any other far-right asshole - they -will- keep moving the goalposts, while blaming the other parties involved.

 

[Innula Zenovka]

 

[Bartholomew Gallacher]

Personally, negotiations were never a truly viable option. And blaming/crediting Johnson with an observation that Putin -does not- negotiated in good faith, when it ought to be pretty obvious to Zelenskyy who's already seen it multiple times up close, just seems off to me.

Dealing with Putin is like dealing with any other far-right asshole - they -will- keep moving the goalposts, while blaming the other parties involved.

The press coverage about Johnson's influence originates from Ukraine, their version of Pravda. So this is no Russian propaganda or anything.

So according to UA Pravda Johnson really hard pushed Ukraine into going full war instead of signing the diplomatic solution with his threat to not enter a safety guarantee between UK and Ukraine, if the Ukraine should choose to sign it.

And no matter how you do view other things, this type of meddling is noteworthy. If it was for better or the worse only time will tell.

 

[Sid]

It is hard to tell what is propaganda and what's not in the Russian and Ukrainian Pravda's at the moment.
Both countries are at war with each other and in times of war the truth dies first on the battle fields.

 

[Innula Zenovka]

Thread

 

[Innula Zenovka]