Ukraine War. 2022-

very interesting

The Ukrainian soldiers wore black bulletproof vests and helmets to distinguish them from their trainers, a mix of British and New Zealander troops.

Some 29 soldiers from New Zealand have travelled to the UK to help with the training because their military is more familiar with the L119 light gun.
The UK has bought around 50 of the weapons, second hand, from a British company to give to the Ukrainian military. They are due to be deployed imminently.

 

Professor Lawrence Freedman's commentary. wisely minus any predictions: Can Ukraine Win?

 

A RUSI field report: 'Ukraine at War: Paving the Road From Survival to Victory' and the precis starts with:

The main report is 25 pgs., 12Mb and the link goes to a summary, with a link to the big report: https://rusi.org/explore-our-resear...rces/ukraine-war-paving-road-survival-victory

The main report's last two passages (part of the conclusion):

 

Snake Island

 

Re. "General Pavel"... update...

https://twitter.com/ArbiterOfTweets/status/1545651614253555712?t=1cBlRorJtXJd-RJk5TY2sg&s=19

 

Reading various reports from the various institutes of Warfare all would seem to be quiet for now. However this cannot remain so unless the incumbent's kiss and make up. Which no one see coming. It seems to be a temporary stalemate while both sides lick their wounds and build up forces and material for another round. Something not unlike Anzio in 1944.
The forces in Anzio saw their only salvation in a breakout at Casino after five months of being incarcerate on the Beach Head, they felt well below par to take on the enemy on their own.

There are however parallels, lack of media attention, where they might go afterwards, out of the frying pan into the fire so to speak.

"Strange as it may seem, boredom is beginning to become an enemy. That is not to say all’s quiet on the beachhead but at least Jerry has given up for the present his ambitions of driving us into the sea and is now relying on patrols and artillery fire to keep us in order. We, perforce must adopt the same attitude and so we spend long periods between shoots with nothing to do except admire the landscape and dig bigger and better bedrooms. The landscape remains very much the same as it was on the first day, when we landed with so much trepidation and so many high hopes. The few houses are gutted; the flocks of sheep are now very much under war establishment; and the fields are pocked and soiled with muddy tracks, pits, trenches, dugouts, burned out planes and hundreds of shell holes. But the woods, the sea and the tree lined roads still prevent things from looking too dreary and shell torn. We having remained for some time in the same spot, are now the owners of a little underground village with its own rules and regulations and a very smooth social system. Every day is more or less the same as the last and the weeks roll by more and more quickly."

 

Via Twitter by Business Ukraine @Biz_Ukraine_Mag and the caption states:

 

Shashank Joshi, of The Economist, asked on Twitter:

To which Rob Lee, responded:

Link, yes in Russian, so I have copied their map: Взрывная серия. Как и почему начали взлетать на воздух склады вооружений в тылу российских войск - BBC News Русская служба

 

Well done Owen

 

I struggle with the idea that western nations are still permitting a Russian diplomatic presence. Surely there can't be anything left to say to them beyond "Fuck Off" ?

 

Rich,

I whole heartedly agree. This never-ending farce of the pricks being a permanent member of the UN security council - quite literally like being a member of the jury in your own mass murder trial.

Arty

 

I have been away from this forum for a while and now I see THIS.
The conflict in the Donbass has been going on for over 8 years with over 14,000 people killed since they voted in a referendum in May 2104 to seek independence from the Ukraine. No one says anything
Ukraine refused to end the conflict through the Minsk agreements and has through its foreign proxies openly supported and militarised far right extremist militia's
We should be supporting PEACE and not entertaining armed conflict and weapon supplies

 

We do support peace.

This current conflict has been an invasion of a neighbouring country
Putin will and is laughing at the West and others because he has and is getting away with murder.

The bigger picture is looked at by the West
Where does Putin stop with this invasion.
He threatens countries that there will be consequences his agents poison people if they disagree with him etc etc.
Putin does not understand peace
Peace for him is reclaiming countries that were part of the USSR.

Speak to your family and friends who live in eastern Europe or the Baltic states and see how terrified they are of going back to the dreaded times of dictatorship.Knocks on the door if you dare to judge or challenge.All these people want to be free and be able to express their personal traits without fear of being imprisoned or murdered.

We all have our own opinion but when you see the attacks on towns well away from the area of contention you know the Russian war machine continues its civilian carnage and will continue unless checked.

Why do the well respected countries of Finland and Sweden decide to join NATO/OTAN .They are very concerned for their geographical future.

 

Referendums on the status of Donetsk and Luhansk parts of Ukraine that together make up the Donbas region, took place on 11 May 2014 in many towns under the control of the self-proclaimed Donetsk and Lugansk People's Republics. These referendums sought to legitimise the establishment of the republics, in the context of the rising pro-russian unrest in the aftermath of the 2014 Ukrainian revolution. In addition, a counter-referendum on accession to Dnipropetrovsk oblast was held in some Ukrainian-controlled parts of Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts.

The results of the separatist referendums were not officially recognised by any government, including those of Ukraine, the US and the countries of the EU. The Ukrainian government said that the referendum was illegal, and a number of nations—such as Germany, the United States, France and Britain said that the referendum was unconstitutional and lacked legitimacy. The Russian government expressed "respect" for the results and urged a "civilised" implementation, and later announced recognition of the republics on 21 February 2022, becoming the first and only UN member state to do so.

The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) released an audio recording on 5 May that they said was a phone call between a Donetsk separatist leader named Dima Boitsov, and the leader of the far-right paramilitary Russian National Unity group Alexander Barkashov. In the recording, Boitsov said he wanted to postpone the referendum due to the DPR's inability to control all of Donetsk Oblast. Barkashov said that he had communicated with Putin, and insisted Boitsov hold the referendum regardless of the separatist leader's concerns. He suggested that Boitsov tabulate the results as 89% in favour of autonomy. Separatists stated that the recording was fake. However, the 89% mentioned in the phone call exactly match the result of the referendum, which took place on 11 May 2014, i.e. several days after the recording had been published.

Swiss newspaper Tages Anzeiger reported that voters were able to vote as many times as they wanted. Internal Affairs ministry officials branded the vote a farce, and said that just over 32 percent of registered voters in Donetsk Oblast participated in the vote.

According to Andrei Buzin, co-chair of Golos Association there were significant irregularities in the organisation and holding of the referendum.

 

You failed to mention that referendum was completely illegal, that it was orchestrated and supported by Russia, which illegally send their military units in the Donbas while its government denied this. That both side violated Minsk I agreement, which finally died when separatist forces launched their offensive. That Minsk II also failed because of both sides actions, with Russia actively undermining process. Still there is no excuse for Russian invasion of Ukraine. They actively lied to the whole world, instigated false flag action to create excuse for their invasion (not very different what Hitler did in 1939). If this is just about Donbas, than what are Russian troops doing around Kiev and why they are still keeping the Southern Ukraine under occupation? If you really believe that Ukraine was going to far right, than how come invasion happened at the moment when far right parties had the lowest representation in the Ukrainian parliament while its democratically elected president was Jew whose family members died in the Holocaust?

Almost everyone here is for peaceful solution, but it is Russia who started this war by illegal invasion of the sovereign nation at the same time questioning their right to exist. It is Russian government and media which are threatening the World with nuclear weapons while calling for genocide and ethnic cleansing of Ukrainian people. It is Russia who are keeping parts of Ukraine under occupation, not the other way around. So why not Russia first stop their military actions, withdraw from Ukraine and go back to finding peaceful solution of the conflict and than the rest of the World could stop sending weapons to Ukraine.

 

You've been away for seven years and now you've come back to get a thread closed down.

Seems fair enough to me. Something that any reasonable person would do.

 

Totally agree. Always wanted to go to St Petersburg and Moscow but now clearly off the 'bucket list'. Kyiv will be visited one day...

 

if Putin carries on with his advances you wiil get your chance your name is on the list