Russia Attacks Ukraine - 23 Feb 2022 **Media Thread** NO DISCUSSION #4

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  • Updated 12:22 a.m. ET, May 14, 2022
  • Live Updates: Russia's war in Ukraine
  • ''Ukrainian forces continue to press on with a counteroffensive in the northeastern region of Kharkiv after satellite imagery showed at least three key bridges in the area were demolished. The pullback of Russian forces from areas around Ukraine’s second largest city has revealed new evidence of atrocities.
  • Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky say Ukraine has retaken six settlements from Russian forces since Friday, and 1,015 overall since the start of the conflict in February.
  • Meanwhile in the east, Russians are adding combat power to their drive to take the Luhansk and Donetsk regions. Ukrainians are continuing to push back a Russian advance across the Siverskyi Donets River near Bilohorivka.
  • Ukraine's first war crimes trial of a Russian soldier opens in Kyiv, with the 21-year-old accused of shooting dead an unarmed civilian in the Sumy region.
  • The Kremlin says it will be "forced to take retaliatory steps" if Finland goes forward with joining NATO. The Finnish government plans to issue a second white paper on Sunday proposing the country join the US-led military alliance.''
www.nytimes.com

Ukraine Live Updates: West Raises Pressure on Putin, Including Sanctions on Reputed Girlfriend​

''KRAKOW, Poland — President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia faced fresh setbacks Friday over the Ukraine invasion, as Sweden became the second neutral country in two days to move toward joining NATO and the West devised ways to reroute Ukrainian grain past a Russian naval blockade.

New signs of a Russian military retreat near Ukraine’s second-largest city, Kharkiv, also added to Mr. Putin’s challenges, appearing to subvert or at least delay the Kremlin’s goal of encircling Ukrainian forces concentrated in eastern Ukraine.

But for Mr. Putin, the biggest vexation may have been the most personal: Britain slapped sanctions on his ex-wife, Lyudmila Ocheretnaya, on a former Olympic gymnast long rumored to be his girlfriend, Alina Kabaeva, and on three cousins: Igor, Mikhail and Roman Putin.
“We are exposing and targeting the shady network propping up Putin’s luxury lifestyle and tightening the vise on his inner circle,” Britain’s foreign secretary, Liz Truss, said.''
 
May 14 2022

www.bbc.com

Ukraine: The spy war within the war​

The expulsion of Russian officials from Western capitals shows how the spy conflict is intensifying.
www.bbc.com
''The decades-long spy conflict between Russia and the West is intensifying over the Ukraine war. But what are Russia's intelligence services suspected of doing and how will their officials' expulsion from capitals affect Putin's clandestine overseas operations?
When Russia first targeted its military forces on Ukraine in 2014 it also unleashed its intelligence services on the West - from interfering with the US elections using cyber attacks to poisonings and sabotage in Europe.
But in recent months the spy war has intensified as Western countries have sought to hit back and inflict lasting damage on the ability of Russian intelligence to carry out covert operations. This is symbolised by the unprecedented expulsion of 500 Russian officials from Western capitals.
Formally, these officials are described as diplomats, but the majority are believed to be undercover intelligence officers. Some will have been carrying out traditional espionage - cultivating contacts and recruiting agents who can pass on secrets - something Western countries do inside Russia too.
But some were believed to be carrying out what Russians call "active measures". These range from spreading propaganda, to more aggressive covert activity. Poland said the 45 Russians it expelled were involved in actions to "undermine the stability" of the country.''


''Since 2014, Western intelligence agencies have been working to identify Russian spies involved in such activities. One of those is GRU Unit 29155 of Russian military intelligence, which is believed to be tasked with sabotage, subversion and assassination.

It took nearly seven years for find out the unit were behind a huge explosion that tore apart an ammunition depot in a Czech forest in October 2014. They included some of those later involved in the UK's Salisbury poisonings of 2018.
The same team also tried to poison an arms dealer in Bulgaria who had stored weapons in the Czech depot - one theory was that the blast and poisoning was linked to his supply of weapons for Ukraine where the conflict had just begun.
Members of that unit were also involved in getting pro-Russian leaders out of Ukraine in 2014. It remains closely watched by Western intelligence''

''But man-marking individual spies is expensive work. While Western spies in Russia have long been subject to round-the-clock surveillance, their Russian counterparts in Western capitals have not.
"The larger the presence is, the more difficult it is to keep a lid on exactly what they are up to," one US official told the BBC.
But this may now be changing. Western officials say the recent expulsions are more than a symbolic gesture of protest but part of the wider push to degrade Russia's capacity to do harm. Some spy-catchers also say the mass expulsion is long overdue. The Russians have been laughing at us for our tolerance of their presence, says one official.''

''But Western intelligence officials say they have concerns that the kind of sabotage operation seen in the Czech Republic in 2014 could be attempted in Poland given its key role as a staging post for supplies going into Ukraine.
These type of clandestine operations are often carried out by Russians who travel in and out of a country rather than diplomats.''
 

Erdogan says Turkey not supportive of Finland, Sweden joining NATO​

President Tayyip Erdogan said on Friday it was not possible for NATO-member Turkey to support plans by Sweden and Finland to join the pact given that the Nordic countries were "home to many terrorist organisations".

Factbox: A brief history of Finland's and Sweden's strained ties with Russia​

Finland and Sweden, who are expected to decide this week to apply to join NATO, have long had strained ties with their giant neighbour Russia.

The Uneasy Alliance Between Putin and Erdogan​

The alliance has proved remarkably enduring, and rarely have Russia and Turkey enjoyed such a stretch of fruitful cooperation. But so much hinges on the personal relationship between Putin and Erdoğan. Not even they can change the brittle nature of a relationship between two powers that have...
 

Eurovision 2022: Ukraine sweeps to victory on wave of public support​

Ukraine’s Kalush Orchestra won the Eurovision Song Contest in Italy on Saturday with their entry Stefania, riding a wave of public support to claim an emotional victory that was welcomed by the country’s president.

Sung in Ukrainian, the winning song fused rap with traditional folk music and was a tribute to band frontman Oleh Psiuk’s mother.

The bookmakers had made Kalush Orchestra the clear favourite for the annual contest, which normally draws a television audience of close to 200 million, based in part on popular sympathy for Ukraine following Russia’s invasion in February.

Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskiy was quick to offer his congratulations.

“Our courage impresses the world, our music conquers Europe! Next year Ukraine will host the Eurovision song contest,” he said in an online message.

(...)

"The victory is very important for Ukraine, especially this year, so thank you from the bottom of our hearts. Glory to Ukraine!,” Psiuk from the band told a news conference, speaking through an interpreter.

It is the third time that Ukraine has won the annual competition and he said the song, featuring traditional flutes and breakdancing in a classic Eurovision mixture of styles, was a contender even before the conflict began.

The band’s frontman made a plea for the city of Mariupol and its Azovstal plant at the end of their live performance.

“Please help Ukraine, Mariupol. Help Azovstal right now,” Psiuk shouted in English from the front of the stage.

Speaking after the event, Psiuk said he and the band would head back to Ukraine in two days and were not sure what the future held.

“It’s hard to say what exactly I am going to do because this is the first time I win the Eurovision Song Contest but anyway like every Ukrainian we are ready to fight as much as we can and go until the end,” he said.

The European Broadcasting Union, which organises the contest, said no action would be taken against the band for using the stage to make a statement.

“We understand the deep feelings around Ukraine at this moment and believe the comments of the Kalush Orchestra and other artists expressing support for the Ukrainian people to be humanitarian rather than political in nature,” the EBU said.

www.irishtimes.com

Eurovision 2022: Ukraine sweeps to victory on wave of public support​

Zelenskiy says his country will host event next year after Kalush Orchestra win
 
MAY 15, 2022
apnews.com

AP PHOTOS: 10 weeks in Ukraine, making images hard to forget

KHARKIV, Ukraine (AP) — The bodies of Russian soldiers, some horribly disfigured. Relatives weeping over the dead, some killed because they were in the wrong place at the wrong time. And always, the thousands of Ukrainians fleeing horrific destruction as their cities and villages came under...
apnews.com apnews.com

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A neighbor walks on the debris of a burning house, destroyed after a Russian attack in Kharkiv, Ukraine, Thursday, March 24, 2022. (AP Photo/Felipe Dana)

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A man rides his bike past flames and smoke rising from a fire following a Russian attack in Kharkiv, Ukraine, Friday, March 25, 2022. (AP Photo/Felipe Dana)

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Firefighters work to extinguish a blaze at a house after a Russian attack in Kharkiv, Ukraine, Monday, April 11, 2022. (AP Photo/Felipe Dana)

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A man salvages items from a burning shop following a Russian attack in Kharkiv, Ukraine, Friday, March 25, 2022. (AP Photo/Felipe Dana)

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Ukrainian servicemen attend the funeral ceremony of marine Alexandr Khovtun, in Kyiv, Ukraine, Sunday, March 20, 2022. Khovtun died in combat in the town of Huta-Mezhyhirska, north of Kyiv. (AP Photo/Felipe Dana)
 
MAY 15, 2022
www.rferl.org

Russia's Offensive In Ukraine Has Lost Momentum, Western Military Officials Say

Russia's campaign in Ukraine, believed to have been launched with the aim of seizing Kyiv and toppling the Ukrainian government, appears to be faltering, Western military officials have said.
www.rferl.org www.rferl.org
[...]

"The brutal invasion [by] Russia is losing momentum," NATO Deputy-Secretary General Mircea Geoana said on May 15. "We know that with the bravery of the Ukrainian people and army, and with our help, Ukraine can win this war."

Geoana made the comments in Berlin, where top NATO diplomats gathered to discuss providing further support to Ukraine and moves by Finland, Sweden, and others to join the Western alliance in the face of threats from Russia.

[...]

apnews.com

Small wins buoy Ukraine; West says Russians losing momentum

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Almost three months after Russia shocked the world by invading Ukraine, its military faces a bogged-down war, the prospect of a bigger NATO and an opponent buoyed Sunday by wins on and off the battlefield.
apnews.com apnews.com
[...]

While Moscow lost ground on the diplomatic front, Russian forces also failed to make territorial gains in eastern Ukraine.

Ukraine said it held off Russian offensives Sunday in the east, and Western military officials said the campaign Moscow launched there after its forces failed to seize the capital of Kyiv has slowed to a snail’s pace.

[...]

Britain’s Defense Ministry said in its daily intelligence update Sunday that the Russian army had lost up to one-third of the combat strength it committed to Ukraine in late February and was failing to gain any substantial territory.

“Under the current conditions, Russia is unlikely to dramatically accelerate its rate of advance over the next 30 days,” the ministry said on Twitter.

[...]
 
https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/russia-ukraine-war-1.6454640
  • ''Sweden holds parliamentary debate on NATO membership.
  • Joly says Canada keen to ratify Swedish, Finnish membership as soon as possible.
  • McDonald's, with 850 Russian locations, to pull out of country.
  • Ukraine says it stopped Russian advances in Donetsk and Izyum.
  • Russian forces hit a chemical plant and 11 high-rise buildings in Siverodonetsk in the Donbas.
With its military bogged down in a grinding conflict in Eastern Ukraine, Russia also lost diplomatic ground over the weekend as two more European nations moved closer to joining NATO.

Finland announced Sunday that it was seeking to join the alliance, saying Russia's invasion of Ukraine nearly three months ago had changed Europe's security landscape. Several hours later, Sweden's governing party endorsed a bid for membership, which could lead to an application in days.

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, meeting with top diplomats from the alliance in Berlin, said the war "is not going as Moscow had planned."

"Ukraine can win this war," he said, adding that NATO must continue to offer military support to Kyiv.

Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly said Canada is in favour of a "quick accession" for both countries ahead of meeting in Brussels with the European Union's top diplomat, Josep Borrell.

"Our goal is to be among the first countries to be able to ratify the accession of Sweden and Finland," said Joly. That process in the past has taken eight months to a year.

Those moves would be a serious blow to Russian President Vladimir Putin, who has called NATO's post-Cold War expansion in Eastern Europe a threat and cited it as a reason for attacking Ukraine. NATO says it is a purely defensive alliance.''

www.bbc.com

McDonald's to leave Russia for good after 30 years​


''The fast food giant said it made the decision because of the "humanitarian crisis" and "unpredictable operating environment" caused by the Ukraine war.

The chain opened in Moscow in 1990 as the Soviet Union was opening its economy to Western brands and its exit carries similar symbolic weight.

The company said it was now pursuing the sale of all its restaurants in Russia to a local buyer and intended to start the process of "de-arching" the sites so they no longer use the McDonald's name, branding and menu.''
 
https://twitter.com/x/status/1526119053651214338
https://twitter.com/x/status/1526190878460715008

MAY 16, 2022
www.rferl.org

Ukraine Claims Success In Pushing Russian Troops Around Kharkiv Back To Border

Ukraine says has pushed Russian troops back to the border in the region around Kharkiv, a sign it may be having increasing success in the northeast.
www.rferl.org www.rferl.org
[...]

"The 227th Battalion of the 127th Brigade of the Territorial Defense Forces of the Kharkiv Armed Forces drove out the Russians and went to the state border," the Ukrainian Defense Ministry statement said in a statement posted on Facebook on May 16.

Ukraine's claim could not be immediately verified, but it comes four days after British intelligence said local forces had launched a counterattack against "vulnerable" Russian troops in an attempt to push them back across the border. Kharkiv is Ukraine's second-largest city.

"The withdrawal of Russian forces from the Kharkiv Oblast (Region) is a tacit recognition of Russia's inability to capture key Ukrainian cities where they expected limited resistance from the population," the British Ministry of Defense said in a daily briefing on May 12.

[...]
 

Sweden follows Finland in confirming it will apply to join Nato​

Moscow tells Nordic pair there will be ‘far-reaching consequences’ as geopolitical fallout of Ukraine war intensifies

 The Swedish government has confirmed it intends to apply for membership of Nato, joining neighbouring Finland in a dramatic decision that marks one of the biggest strategic consequences of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine to date.

“There is a broad majority in Sweden’s parliament for Sweden to join Nato,” the prime minister, Magdalena Andersson, said on Monday. “This is the best thing for Sweden’s security. We will inform Nato that we want to become a member of the alliance.”

She told a press conference following a parliamentary debate that Sweden would be “in a vulnerable position” while the application was being processed, but that she felt “confident that there is support for this among the Swedish people”.

The Finnish government on Sunday confirmed its intention to join Nato while Andersson’s ruling Social Democrats agreed to drop their longstanding opposition to the idea, paving the way for a joint membership application within days.

The decision by the two governments, both of which have remained neutral or non-aligned since the end of the second world war, drew a sharp initial response from Russia, which described it as a serious mistake with far-reaching consequences.

“The situation is, of course, changing radically in light of what is happening,” Russia’s deputy foreign minister, Sergei Ryabkov, said on Monday. “The fact that Finland and Sweden’s security will not be strengthened as a result of this is very clear to us.”

Ryabkov added that the two Nordic nations “should have no illusions that we will simply put up with it”, warning that the move was “another grave mistake with far-reaching consequences” and the “general level of military tension will increase”.

(...)

Sweden follows Finland in confirming it will apply to join Nato​

 
Генеральний штаб ЗСУ / General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine
4 hours ago

MARIUPOL GARNIZON PERFORMED THE BATTLE TASK
The Higher Military Command was ordered to commanders of units based on Azovstal to save the lives of personnel.
The operation to rescue blocked in the territory of the Ukrainian defenders factory continues.
The evacuation of 53 seriously wounded soldiers has begun. They were delivered to a medical institution in Novoazovsk. Another 211 defenders through the humanitarian corridor were evacuated to olenívka with further return of them to the controlled Ukrainian territory through the exchange procedure.
Measures to rescue defenders who remain in the territory of "Azovstalí", are ongoing.
Mariupol defenders are heroes of our time. They are forever in history. This is a separate squad of Azov, 12th Brigade of the National Guard of Ukraine, 36th separate marine brigade, border guards, police officers, volunteers, territorial defense forces Mariupol.
Maintaining their positions at Azovstal, they did not allow the opponent to shift the grouping of up to 17 battalion tactical groups (about 20,000 personnel) to other directions. Thereby hindered the implementation of the plan for the rapid capture of Zaporozhye, to exit the administrative border of Donetsk and Zaporizhzhia regions and to create conditions for the environment of the JFO group.
Forging the enemy's core forces around Mariupol has given us the opportunity to prepare and create the defensive frontiers on which our troops are still present today and give a decent counterpoint to the aggressor. We got the critically needed time to build reserves, regroup forces, and get help from partners.
The most important joint task of all Ukraine and the whole world is to save the lives of Mariupol defenders.
We will fight for you on all fronts as devotedly as you defend the country!
#stoprussia
 
May 16 2022 updated 1 hr. ago.
www.reuters.com

Ukrainian force begins evacuating from last Mariupol stronghold​

Troops holed up in the last Ukrainian stronghold in the besieged port of Mariupol began evacuating on Monday, appearing to cede control of the once prosperous city to Russia after months of bombardment.
www.reuters.com
www.reuters.com
  • ''Ukrainian forces evacuate from Mariupol plant
  • Ukraine regiment says it is saving lives of troops inside
  • Evacuees arrive in Russian-controlled town
  • Putin responds calmly to Finland, Sweden NATO move
''KYIV/MARIUPOL, Ukraine, May 16 (Reuters) - Troops holed up in the last Ukrainian stronghold in the besieged port of Mariupol began evacuating on Monday, appearing to cede control of the once prosperous city to Russia after months of bombardment.

Ukraine's deputy defence minister said 53 injured troops from the Azovstal steelworks were taken to a hospital in the Russian-controlled town of Novoazovsk, some 32 kilometres (20 miles) to the east.''

Another 211 people were taken to the town of Olenivka, in an area controlled by Russian-backed separatists, Deputy Defence Minister Anna Malyar said. All of the evacuees will be subject to a potential prisoner exchange with Russia, she added.

Reuters saw five buses carrying troops from Azovstal arrive in Novoazovsk late on Monday. Some of the evacuated troops were wounded and carried out of the buses on stretchers. Some 600 troops were believed to have been inside the steel plant.''

''The wife of an Azov Regiment member described conditions at the plant earlier on Monday: "They are in hell. They receive new wounds every day. They are without legs or arms, exhausted, without medicines," Natalia Zaritskaya said.
Russian President Vladimir Putin appeared earlier on Monday to climb down from threats to retaliate against Sweden and Finland for announcing plans to join the U.S.-led NATO military alliance.

"As far as expansion goes, including new members Finland and Sweden, Russia has no problems with these states - none. And so in this sense there is no immediate threat to Russia from an expansion to include these countries," Putin said.''
 
MAY 16, 2022
[...]

Still in shock from what they saw after Russian troops stormed their cities, some are barely holding back tears and are still visibly shaking. They are given clothes and medicine, as they figure out a plan to get to regions less exposed to attacks.

Further along the tent, a noticeboard is filled with photos of missing relatives and announcements offering to transport evacuees westwards.

While evacuees are mainly arriving from temporarily Russian-occupied cities in Zaporizhzhia Oblast, some also come from Mariupol, Donetsk Oblast, a besieged city in southeastern Ukraine that has experienced the most aggressive Russian bombardment.

[...]

Some Mariupol survivors, as though by a miracle, have arrived in damaged vehicles with their windows shattered, after having gone through almost 20 Russian-controlled checkpoints.

[...]

According to Starukh, the number of evacuees arriving in Zaporizhzhia has decreased in recent weeks and there are currently about 1,000 people a day, with 200-300 coming from Mariupol.

For instance, the governor said 238 Mariupol evacuees have arrived in Zaporizhzhia on May 15.

[...]

According to Mariupol Mayor Vadym Boichenko, around 20,000 of the city’s residents may have already been killed by Russia’s war, but the exact number of victims may never be discovered.

Since early April, Russia’s military has been using mobile crematoriums in an attempt to erase the evidence of their war crimes by burning dead bodies, Ukraine’s intelligence said.

[...]

Mariupol City Council said on May 11 that as many as 170,000 civilians remain trapped in the city.

[...]

Serhiy Kostiantynov, who left Mariupol in late March, said Russian evacuation buses only took civilians to Russia or to Russian-occupied territories back then. He himself hopped onto one of the buses after his apartment was shelled and eventually burned down.

[...]

The 35-year-old was terrified to the extent that he could not think straight, especially while battling “constant hunger.” The shelling was so intense that it could have literally killed anybody and the bombing was incessant. It was turning into a real-life Russian roulette.

“You live in constant fear,” he told the Kyiv Independent. “People were just dying. The city is in chaos.”

[...]

Kostiantynov remembers leaving his apartment one day and passing by a man sitting on a bench, smoking. On his way back, he found the man dead on the exact same spot, with half of his head missing.

[...]

Many courtyards have been turned into graveyards, Kostiantynov said. He himself has buried about 40 dead bodies.

[...]

Mariupol resident Anna Vilkova, 26, was about to give birth to her second child when Russia unleashed its full-scale invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24. Her family decided to stay in Mariupol, hoping that the hostilities would eventually die down.

[...]

... She said that she was especially frightened because she would not have been able to run if the hospital was attacked due to her stitches.

[...]

Ishchenko’s house was also destroyed due to the attack, so she was forced to live in a nearby basement. There was not enough space underground for adults, so Ishchenko’s parents lived outside, behind the walls of a destroyed house, hoping that another bomb would not fall on them.

“For the first days, we would yell ‘aviation, everyone hide,’” Ishchenko’s mother said. “But then we understood that if it (a bomb) falls, it falls. And if it falls, there is no point to hide.”

[...]
 
https://twitter.com/x/status/1526358665623748612
https://twitter.com/x/status/1526365381912322049

MAY 15, 2022
www.nytimes.com

Growing evidence of a military disaster on the Donets pierces a pro-Russian bubble. (Published 2022)

As the news of the losses at the river crossing started to spread, some Russian bloggers did not hold back in their criticism of what they said was incompetent leadership.
www.nytimes.com www.nytimes.com
[...]

The destruction wreaked on a Russian battalion as it tried to cross a river in northeastern Ukraine last week is emerging as among the deadliest engagements of the war, with estimates based on publicly available evidence now suggesting that well over 400 Russian soldiers were killed or wounded.

[...]

On May 11, the Russian command reportedly sent about 550 troops of the 74th Motorized Rifle Brigade of the 41st Combined Arms Army to cross the Donets River at Bilohorivka, in the eastern Luhansk region, in a bid to encircle Ukrainian forces near Rubizhne.

[...]

As the news of the losses at the river crossing in Bilohorivka started to spread, some Russian bloggers did not appear to hold back in their criticism of what they said was incompetent leadership.

“I’ve been keeping quiet for a long time,” Yuri Podolyaka, a war blogger with 2.1 million followers on Telegram, said in a video posted on Friday, saying that he had avoided criticizing the Russian military until now.

“The last straw that overwhelmed my patience was the events around Bilohorivka, where due to stupidity — I emphasize, because of the stupidity of the Russian command — at least one battalion tactical group was burned, possibly two.”

[...]

Another popular blogger, who goes by Starshe Eddy on Telegram, wrote that the fact that commanders left so much of their force exposed amounted to “not idiocy, but direct sabotage.”

[...]

Western military analysts have also pored over the imagery and say the attempted crossing demonstrated a stunning lack of tactical sense.

They have speculated that Russian commanders, desperate to make progress, rushed the operation. Some also suggested that it was a reflection of disorder in the Russian ranks.

[...]
 

Bloggers In Russia Criticize Military After Ukraine Bridge Attack​


'He's ours': Ukraine secret police catch a suspected spy​


Ukraine War: Ukrainian troops 'reach Russian border' near Kharkiv - analysis​

 
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