Russia's Invasion of Ukraine

[N.E. Brigand]

Per the New York Times, U.S. officials estimate that more than 7,000 Russian soldiers have been killed in the first 20 days of the invasion.

As some have noted, that's higher than the number of U.S. fatalities in the Battle of Iwo Jima during World War II in 1945, which lasted 36 days.

[RoseMorninStar]

General calculations in such situations are for injuries to be 3x higher than casualties. Let's hope there is a quick end to this for everyone involved.

[N.E. Brigand]

Stumbled across a conservative late night talk radio show ("The Backstory" hosted by Lee Stranahan) broadcast on a Michigan station (might be nationally syndicated, not sure). The callers were saying that Russia had to invade the "independent" breakaway republics to stop genocide, that Vladimir Putin is a quiet steely chess player, that Russia is calmly waiting for the EU to break up, that the sanctions will lead to massive inflation, and that Ukrainians will overthrow Zelenskyy in a coup and ask Russia to help them drive out the neo-Nazis.

Ah, I see that the host works for Sputnik.

[N.E. Brigand]

Ukraine's government says that Russia has bombed a theater building in Mariupol where civilians were sheltering. The word "children" had been written in large letters on the pavement outside the building so that fact would be known to aerial surveillance. Reported many people are buried in the rubble.

As Heather Cox Richardson notes in the piece quoted above by Voronwë, the U.S. Senate today passed a resolution declaring Vladimir Putin a war criminal. Later today, Joe Biden also referred to Putin as a war criminal.

even so, what will you say of your torches in Westfold and the children that lie dead there?

Russians dropped a heavy bomb on Mariupol theater where hundreds of civilians were said to be sheltering. The number of casualties is yet unknown.

Russians have also been known to wait for the rescuers to arrive, and then shell the same area again, killing medics.

While the building was destroyed, fortunately the bomb shelter underneath the building apparently was not, and the "majority" of those sheltering there survived.

[N.E. Brigand]

The above is probably more important for Americans' perception of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Yermak is Zelenskyy's chief of staff.

And he's saying that Joe Biden is doing more for Ukraine than "any of his predecessors."

[Voronwë the Faithful]

Do you really think that "Americans" are paying to attention to what Andriy Yermak says?

[N.E. Brigand]

Do you really think that "Americans" are paying to attention to what Andriy Yermak says?

No, I mean that any American who says that Donald Trump offered more assistance to Ukraine than Joe Biden has done should be directed to Yermak's statement.

[Frelga]

So this is curious.

According to German newspaper Bild, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov was on a flight to Beijing, China today, but the plane turned around midway and flew back to Moscow.

The White House announced a call between Xi & Biden today, set for tomorrow.

[Voronwë the Faithful]

Do you really think that "Americans" are paying to attention to what Andriy Yermak says?

No, I mean that any American who says that Donald Trump offered more assistance to Ukraine than Joe Biden has done should be directed to Yermak's statement.

I doubt it would make much impression on most (or any) of them.

[Frelga]

even so, what will you say of your torches in Westfold and the children that lie dead there?

Russians dropped a heavy bomb on Mariupol theater where hundreds of civilians were said to be sheltering. The number of casualties is yet unknown.

While the building was destroyed, fortunately the bomb shelter underneath the building apparently was not, and the "majority" of those sheltering there survived.

The majority were in the shelter below the stage. The survivors, if there are any, were still under the rubble, and rescue efforts could not proceed because of the ongoing battle.

This from 2 hours ago from Christopher Miller of Buzzfeed News.

Update on the Mariupol Drama Theater rescue operation after Russian bombing: President Zelensky said in a public address that 130 people have been saved but "hundreds of Mariupol residents are still under the rubble." Rescue efforts ongoing.

Meanwhile, putin held a rally in Moscow

[RoseMorninStar]

Meanwhile, putin held a rally in Moscow

Presumably to ramp up support for the (It's not a) war?

'Patriotic rally' ... that leaves such a sour taste in my mouth.

Being a master manipulator seems to go hand-in-hand with being a totalitarian.

[Frelga]

Rodia, our own Polish friend, is purchasing supplies to send to Ukraine. I promised to pitch in with $, and I'm wondering if other people here might be interested. If it's OK with V, I'll post the details in the Bag End, or you can pm me.

[Voronwë the Faithful]

Certainly fine to post in Bag End.

[RoseMorninStar]

I've recently watched/listened to quite a few excellent interviews on PBS/Frontline and Ezra Klein's series for the NY Times on Putin & Russia with interviewees such as Masha Gessen, Fiona Hill, Julia Ihoffe, Timothy Snyder, etc.. and it is fairly evident that Putin's invasion of Ukraine is (in Putin's mind) a 'Holy War'. The Russian equivalent of a sort of rapture which would ensure his legacy as something akin to divine.

Putin views himself as 'chosen' and is massively entitled. He has shown signs of this from his youth. He is being encouraged by some Eastern Orthodox Russian clergy to bring about a 'perfect Russia' as it was in the time of Vladmir the Great, 980-1015, who converted from Slavic paganism to Christianity and is known as Saint Vladmir (I believe this is important). Vladamir the Great consolidated Ukraine, Belarus, parts of Poland, and Lithuania, a good reason for those countries to be concerned. It seems Putin is intent on restoring this 'perfect Russian union' to the time of roughly 1000.

I do not believe Putin to be a deeply religious person but it seems he believes he is a divine/anointed instrument intended to bring this 'perfect unification' about. That someone would not consider Russia 'whole' without the slaughter, destruction, and taking of other lands is messed up, imo, but it does point to this theory. If this is what is in his mind, sanctions will not matter. Atrocities will not dissuade him. He has (personal) divinity in mind. It sounds off the wall, but it makes sense of what he is doing, from Putin's skewed point of view. It's not unlike what others have done (North Korea comes to mind) deification. Apotheosis.

*edited to add: I think Trump has a similar view and it's why he can't accept that he lost.

[elengil]

I mean... does it count as being religious if you think you are god??

[RoseMorninStar]

Perhaps metaphysical is a better word? Ordained or consecrated from birth? Transcendental? Beyond good and evil? The Holy Rus or 'The Kingdom of Heaven and on Earth' ? Putin has referred to his aggression/war as a 'reunification of sacred space' to justify his actions. It's a similar concept as to what Jerusalem/Israel is to some.

[N.E. Brigand]

I agree that, if the Ukrainian military were storing munitions in this shopping mall that was bombed by Russia, it would be a legitimate military target...

...except that Ukraine is allowed to store munitions anywhere it wants to in its own country, and any military action that Russian undertakes in Ukraine is illegal.

Therefore Russia's bombing of this shopping mall is a war crime.

[N.E. Brigand]

The following count of Russian military deaths in Ukraine was released by the Russian government but subsequently removed:



Also, a Ukrainian source three days ago claimed that intercepted Russian communications indicated the the number of Russian troops (regular military plus mercenaries) killed in the invastion to that point was 17,265.

[River]

So they're basically recreating WWII in terms of both tactics and death toll...

My husband, fretting about the state of math education: "The Russians are going to roll right over us."

Me: "They have to get their army out of the mud first."

He giggled.

[N.E. Brigand]

Russia's defense ministry later said that site had been hacked. Some seasoned observers say it could be true.

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Meanwhile, I thought this was fascinating:



Short version: Zelenskyy describes the Holocaust in terms of Ukrainian Jews who died *in battle* not in camps, presumably because that's how it was taught in the Soviet Union and the states which succeeded it until well into the 1990s, but we should "cut him some slack. He's fighting a war; he can get a Jewish studies degree when they beat back the fascist invaders."