Russia's Invasion of Ukraine

[Frelga]

8-year-old Mykhailo is providing his DNA sample because his father is among the missing.
Via Kiyiv Post.

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[Sunsilver]

I imagine that's because the bodies would have been burned?

[Frelga]

I imagine that's because the bodies would have been burned?

Yes, or blown to pieces. In Israel, they were only able to identify some of the remains in the recent weeks. Some people who have been assumed to be among hostages have been confirmed to be dead, their remains mixed with other mutilated and burned bodies.

8-year-old Mykhailo is providing his DNA sample because his father is among the missing.
Via Kiyiv Post.

Kiyiv Post reports that police identified the body of Mykhailo's dad.

[Sunsilver]

So sad...

[N.E. Brigand]

Meanwhile, the US continues to insist that American weapons cannot be used to destroy targets inside Russia, from where these bombs are launched.

News: "Biden secretly gave Ukraine permission to strike inside Russia with US weapons" (Politico).

That permission is limited to those parts of Russia near the Ukrainian city of Kharkiv.

[Frelga]

I am not awake enough to explain how much BS that restriction is, but

Map: territories from where Kharkiv being attacked(Near Kharkiv)

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Meanwhile, Ukraine carried out another attack on occupied Crimea, destroying 2 fast boats that patrol the Kerch Bridge and, separately, hitting the rail ferries near the bridge. The latter was part of the long term effort to attack the logistics of sending Russian supplies and troups to Crimea, which started when a truck bomb in October 2022 shut down auto and rail traffic, and once that was fixed, was followed with sea drones hitting the bridge support.

[Frelga]

Meanwhile, Russia continues bombing residential buildings and other civilian targets in Ukraine. Today, 5 people were killed as a bomb struck an apartment building. 25 people were injured, including 2 children. 5 are still missing.

This is a typical daily toll in one of Ukraine's largest cities. It's pure terrorism, there is no military value to it.

Russia launches these bombs from well inside its territory, and there is no logical reason why Ukraine should not be able to destroy the launchers.

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[N.E. Brigand]

Meanwhile, Ukraine carried out another attack on occupied Crimea, destroying 2 fast boats that patrol the Kerch Bridge and, separately, hitting the rail ferries near the bridge. The latter was part of the long term effort to attack the logistics of sending Russian supplies and troups to Crimea, which started when a truck bomb in October 2022 shut down auto and rail traffic, and once that was fixed, was followed with sea drones hitting the bridge support.

One of the weapons Ukraine used in Crimea yesterday was "a U.S.-made missile old enough to have seen Nirvana in concert," and it "whistled blissfully past Russia's state-of-the-art air defense systems . . . and hit its target perfectly."

[Frelga]

Dmitry Medvedev, formerly liberal hope of Russia.

A certain mediocre actor called George Clooney has decided to use his Foundation to hunt down Russian journalists all over the world and persecute them. The effort would be wasted, however: our professional journalists will find him first. They are very attentive and highly trained people. And they are going to have a chat "from dusk till dawn"

[N.E. Brigand]

I'm spoiling a 28-year-old film, but George Clooney's character is one of the few to survive in From Dusk Till Dawn.

[Sunsilver]

LOL! I normally don't like vampire or zombie films, but that one was pretty good!

(Wonders if Russia's 'state of the art' defence system was also old enough to have seen Nirvana in concert...)

[Frelga]

Not sure about the age, but since the US allowed use of its weapons "near Kharkiv", Ukraine is reported to have squashed at least one of these.

Jimmy Rushton:

This was one of the systems Russia has continually used to bombard the city of Kharkiv (the S-300 has a secondary ground attack capability) that the Ukrainians were unable to strike until very recently due to U.S. restrictions.

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[RoseMorninStar]

It has to be heartbreaking for those living on/near a border who often have family and friends on both sides. Such people pay a heavy price no matter the side the destruction comes from or who is technically "winning". It's such a waste.

[N.E. Brigand]

Always nice to see someone return to a word's roots:



However, I think Time should write "to reduce by [not "to"] 10% of the original". To "decimate" is to kill one out of every ten members of a group. To reduce "to" 10% of the original would be to kill nine out of ten members.

[Dave_LF]

They've been... novemated?

[River]

Yes, decimation means reducing by 1/10. The Romans used it as a form of military discipline. The term is used more figuratively now.

[Alatar]

There was a pretty brutal demonstration of this in Spartactus. Which I totally watched for the historical accuracy and not the sex and violence...

[N.E. Brigand]

There was a pretty brutal demonstration of this in Spartactus. Which I totally watched for the historical accuracy and not the sex and violence...

Speaking of Spartacus, historical inaccuracy, and violence (if no sex), this is probably the most beloved moment in drum corps history:



Three corpses in that corps' show! (Out of 128 members, so only a quarter of a decimation. And only two of them are visible in that clip.)

And just for added fun, here's one of the rehearsals where they practiced that new ending before championships:

[Frelga]

Today is a year since Russia blew up the Nova Kahovka dam, killing hundreds, flooding vast expanse of fertile soil, destroying towns, and creating one of the largest ecological disasters in history.

Somehow it went largely unreported. Ukraine's allies imposed no consequences on Russia. And major "environmentalist" groups either remained silent or mumbled something in passive voice without actually naming Russia.

Today, Russia is escalating a campaign of sabotage, murder, and misinformation in the West, which is also going largely unreported and unanswered.

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[N.E. Brigand]

Today marks the 80th anniversary of D-Day. President Zelenskyy and other world leaders attended a commemorative event in Normandy:



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Meanwhile in Russia, "officials continue to persecute anyone who says peep about Russia's atrocities in Bucha. Today, a judge in Moscow sentenced online streamer Anna 'YokoBovich' Bazhutova to 5.5 years in prison because she read aloud the stories of Bucha survivors in a broadcast last June."