Russia's Invasion of Ukraine

[Frelga]

Executing POWs is a war crime and is morally wrong.

In addition, it's counter-productive. You want your enemy to surrender nice and easy. And this specific war depends on the support of Western public, with its strongly dualistic mindset. If one side is obviously evil, the other must be composed of angels. (In real wars, you have leaders of dubious morality and even monsters like Stalin going up against even worse monsters like Hitler). Lucky for Ukraine, the worst Zelensky has done was play the piano with his hands up and his pants down.

Marauders, however, have always been executed on sight. This convoy was ambushed 7 miles out of Bucha, and Russian tanks and other vehicles were filled with stolen goods, up to and including washing machines.

Still. I wish they haven't done it.

[RoseMorninStar]

I have a subscription to the NYT and the video didn't play for me either.. which is probably just as well.

Russian propaganda, in which Russia is the aggrieved victim of Western aggression & oppression, is being well received in some countries, unfortunately.

[Sunsilver]

Lucky for Ukraine, the worst Zelensky has done was play the piano with his hands up and his pants down.

WHAATT?? OMG, now THAT'S a rare talent!

He gave an interview not to long ago, where he talked about the AZOV regiment (neo-Nazis) becoming part of the Ukrainian Armed Forces. When it was broadcast, that segment was edited out. I've also seen pictures of these men in uniforms. They have slogans and patches with Nazi symbolism. Anyone who cares to google will find the neo-Nazis are much stronger in Ukraine than we'd like to think. But no one is saying it, because it would help give legitimacy to Putin's invasion.

Of course, Zelensky is allowing the media to make a big deal out of his Jewish ancestry. Actually, he's a non-observant Jew, and is married to a Christian.

The truth is always somewhere in between...

Marauders, however, have always been executed on sight. This convoy was ambushed 7 miles out of Bucha, and Russian tanks and other vehicles were filled with stolen goods, up to and including washing machines.

Still. I wish they haven't done it.

That makes it easier to understand, but...yes.

[Frelga]

Of course, Zelensky is allowing the media to make a big deal out of his Jewish ancestry. Actually, he's a non-observant Jew, and is married to a Christian.

Jewishness is understood by both Russians and Ukrainians as an ethnicity rather than a religion. He could become a Pope... OK, he couldn't, but if he did he'd still be Jewish in their eyes.

OTOH, the infamous Azov was supposedly funded in part by Igor Kolomoisky, a Ukrainian oligarch and former governor of Dnipropetrovsk (now Dnipro) Oblast. Kolomoisky is rather ostentatiously Jewish and sponsored the Menora Center in Dnipro, one of the largest Jewish cultural centers in Europe.

Ukraine is complicated.

WHAATT?? OMG, now THAT'S a rare talent!

It's fairly SFW, no naughty bits visible.

[RoseMorninStar]

I would imagine there are a number of people in the US who may or may not call themselves Nazi's/neo-Nazi's but would fall into that category. There are almost certainly people of such ideology among military/police ranks already in the US. Many such persons are enamored of military regimen and would likely be the first to sign up. Additionally parts of the population is racist, anti-Semitic, misogynist, etc.. etc.. You get quite a mixed bag of ideologies in a free society.

It was a wake-up call (for me anyway) how the word 'Nazi' means one thing to those of us here in the US/Canada & perhaps most of Western Europe as compared to what it means in Eastern Europe/Russia. I had no idea there was such a disconnect until recently. It is evident that what is/was taught and understood regarding Nazi's/WWII/the Holocaust varies from place to place. I had a similar eyeopener to the word 'race'.

The video. Oh my.

[Sunsilver]

Frelga, laughing so hard I'm crying!!

Sharing with my step-son and his wife, who is first generation Canadian, and still has family and friends in Ukraine!

[Frelga]

Via @ngumenyuk

39 killed, 89 wounded at the Kramatorsk train station. Russia hit the station as the residents were trying to evacuate. They are trying to prevent civilians from leaving the city so they can use them as human shield.

20220408_094142.jpg (140.06 KiB) Viewed 1327 times

This is very much like what my ILs went through when they were trying to evacuate under the German bombs.

Added:

Meanwhile in Borodyanka.

[Sunsilver]

Horrible, Frelga! The Russians claim they were attacking a train loaded with ammunition. Yeah, as if anyone believes that...

Street art, in Barcelona. The piece is titled 'The Dream'. Don't we wish!

Post

[Frelga]

Russia's defense ministry initially said it used high-precision rockets on three railway stations in the Donbas today.

But after the scale of the casualties in Kramatorsk became clear, it claimed the strike was a "provocation" that "has nothing to do with reality."

Rest of thread:

[Sunsilver]

Frelga, what is MH-17?

[River]

MH17 is a passenger jet shot out of the sky in Ukraine by a Russian missile from a Russian missile launcher in 2014. 298 people who had absolutely nothing to do with the conflict died. I am not sure if Russian military personnel were directly involved or if the artillery was just sort of loaned or borrowed by Russian-backed separatists. Russia has been unable to keep its story straight about how and why its equipment got across the Ukrainian and then returned to Russia after the incident

[Sunsilver]

Right, I remember the incident, but didn't know the backstory.

[N.E. Brigand]

Five children were killed in this attack.

Is the Russian government now an arm of Q-Anon?

[Frelga]

The other way around, NE.

[N.E. Brigand]

Today, Representative Matt Gaetz introduced "The Spook Who Cried Wolf" resolution in the U.S. House of Representatives, co-signed by six other Republican members of Congress, that if enacted would strip security clearances from 53 former members of the intelligence community who signed a public letter in October 2020 stating that the news surrounding Hunter Biden's laptop and emails appeared to be Russian disinformation. (Like most such stunt resolutions, Gaetz's thing will go nowhere.)

But also today, Donald Trump's spokesperson, Liz Harrington, wants you to know that Trump "is calling on Russian leader Vladimir Putin to release any information he possesses on Hunter Biden’s dealings with oligarchs in Eastern Europe." Trump also complains -- at the same time as Putin is killing Ukrainians (which is why I'm posting to this thread) -- that Ukraine didn't help him investigate the younger Biden.

In other words, Trump is still colluding with Russia and seeking Russian disinformation!

And then Trump said the following in an interview yesterday (my emphasis in bold):

As long as Putin now is not exactly a fan of our country, let him explain: where did -- because Chris Wallace wouldn't let me ask the question -- why did the mayor of Moscow's wife give the Bidens, both of them, $3.5 million? That's a lot of money. She gave them $3.5 million, so now I would think Putin would know the answer to that. I think he should release it. I think we should know that answer. Now, you won't get the answer from Ukraine, but why are they giving somebody who knows nothing about energy $187,000 a month plus a $3 million upfront payment? And I won't even talk about China, because they haven't gone into Taiwan yet. That'll be next. But why did the mayor of Moscow's wife give the Biden family $3.5 million. Nobody wants to the question. And Chris Wallace, who's a total lightweight -- unlike his father, who interviewed me for 60 Minutes; that was actually a good piece: Mike Wallace was great; he wants to be Mike Wallace, but he doesn't have the talent -- but why is it that the mayor of Moscow's wife gave the Biden family $3.5 million? I think Putin now would probably be willing to give that answer. I'm sure he knows.

So it's not just while Russia has invaded Ukraine over U.S. objections but because Russia had invaded Ukraine over U.S. objections that Trump feels this would be a good time for Putin to take action against President Biden.

(And also if China ever were to invade Taiwan, it appears Trump would use that opportunity to ask Xi to share supposed dirt on the Bidens.)

Mind you, the wife of Moscow's mayor did not give $3.5 million to the Bidens.

The Washington Post has a new report digging into Donald Trump's claim about Hunter Biden having been paid $3.5 million by the wife of Moscow's mayor. It's really complicated, and mostly shows once again that Delaware is a bad state, but the claim ultimately derives from a Senate Finance Committee report in October 2020 that confused two unrelated companies with very similar names. The Committee subsequently published an addendum correcting the record but most Republicans prefer to ignore that.

[Frelga]

Boris Johnson is in Kiyiv today?

[Sunsilver]

The man has more guts than I thought! Any word on just what he's doing there?

[Frelga]

I gotta say, this is a little bit impressive.

[River]

I know the Russians are refocused on a more attainable part of Ukraine. The danger is far less acute now, otherwise I suspect both Zelenskyy and Johnson would have been in helmets and flak jackets But the city is so quiet while they're walking around out there. Did the roads get closed off? Were those citizen encounters vetted? Or are the people of Kiev still just really hunkered down?

[Sunsilver]

Given that there have been a number of assassination attempts on Zelenskyy, I'm sure there were soldiers on the rooftops keeping careful watch, and a cordon of armored vehicles out of sight of the cameras. But yes, amazingly peaceful, and no sign of damage by artillery!

Anyone know what the memorial was for?