Ukraine War. 2022-

While I would not relish breathing in dust from DU rounds, the toxic impact on the environment and humans of the Russian invasion is infinitely greater. This short Wikipedia entry sums up these impacts: Environmental impact of the Russian invasion of Ukraine - Wikipedia

 

Am I the only one who cringes at that title?

All the best

Andreas

 

Professor Lawrence Freedman's latest column, mainly on Ukrainian air defences -v- a variety of Russian missiles: Can Ukraine's Air Defence Systems Cope?

 

https://twitter.com/PearceAlan1962/status/1657182521585532930

 

putin still killing anyone or anything that he so wish's plus his idea was to take the whole of Ukraine and then some more.
Of course we all have different ideas but in our world you can express them without falling off a balcony

 

Russian Hypersonic Strikes on Ukraine’s New Patriot Missiles Likely Caused Mercenary Casualties - This is Why

Military Watch Magazine

 

Speculation heaped on speculation heaped on speculation.

Pretty woeful.

All the best

Andreas

 

Ukrainian Ministry of Health informing Khmelnytsky residents, where the depleted uranium may have been stored, to take precautions.

Good thing Sunak & Ben Wallace made sure their hands are washed of any responsibility if that is the case!


Claims of an radioactive cloud heading to Poland but the only source I could find for that was Nikolay Patrushev.

Russian claims of 'radioactive cloud' heading for western Europe dismissed [Source: Sky News]
Russian claims that a "radioactive cloud" is drifting towards Europe have been dismissed.

At a conference today, Russia's security council secretary Nikolay Patrushev claimed Moscow had bombed a depot of weapons from the West, including weapons with depleted uranium, and that had caused a radioactive cloud over the continent.

He went on to say the US had helped Ukraine by putting pressure on their satellites and supplying depleted uranium munitions.

"Their elimination has caused a radioactive cloud that is now moving towards western Europe. An increase in radiation levels has already been registered in Poland," Mr Patrushev said, according to Russia's TASS news agency.

He also claimed the US was "developing and already using chemical and biological weapons, including in Ukraine".

However, Massimo Sideri, columnist for the Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera, notes that depleted uranium is a heavy metal "which cannot in any way be the cause of any radioactivity phenomenon, least of all in the air".

He writes: "As a heavy metal it has no radiological profile. On the contrary, it is called depleted because it has a weaker radioactive component than the uranium itself which is already found in nature, in water and in the ground.

"So, going back to the facts: if a depot of war material with depleted uranium has been hit, we can be sure that there can be no consequences either at the level of dangerous clouds that can be transported in the air, or at a local level."

Mr Sideria also states that the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has not given any signal of a radiation cloud.

"It is yet another chapter of the book written day after day by one of the faces of the conspiracy," he adds.

 

Dr. Jack Watling and Nick Reynolds, from RUSI, have a new, 11Mb paper 'Meatgrinder: Russian Tactics in the Second Year of Its Invasion of Ukraine', the air force gets a mention, nowt on the navy and the focus is the army. The link is to the executive summary: Meatgrinder: Russian Tactics in the Second Year of Its Invasion of Ukraine

 

Did you ever consider that this warning might be done because there is some other source of potential radiation near the city which could be targeted by Russian .... like maybe Khmelnytskyi Nuclear Power Plant. But no, it must be UK DU tank shells stored there because their primary user, CR2 will operate just a little less than thousand kilometers to the east from there so it would be wise for its ammo to be stored nearby, right?

 

SOL,

JUST INCASE YOU HAD NOT READ THE REST OF THE POST

 

I read your post first time, I am not someone who read first line and jump to answer without reading it in full. You took a claim of some guy from Russia, said without single evidence, completely debunked it after that by yourself and still use it as reason to call certain people like it really happen. Even tho you yourself posted there is no evidence for that and that is not how it would work. And you attached a document which might not even be related to the accident like it was some sort of proof without even considering there might be some other reason for it, like the one I mentioned it.

Imagine if everyone here would post any rumor from the war what mess this thread would be. Especially those without any confirmation. Not that I believe everything that Ukrainians claim but definitely don't trust anything that Russia say without some strong evidence. Of which, in this particular case, there is none.

Also not sure what is a point of capital letters? Are you upset that someone is questioning your post?

 

The controversy surrounding effectiveness of the Patriot surface-to-air missile has obscured that the older Hawk system, now retired from U.S. service, was also sent to Ukraine. So far I’ve found a few briefs, but no in-depth reporting.

Spain to Send Two More Air Defense Systems to Ukraine

Spain gives Ukraine first Hawk anti-aircraft missile systems

The little-known weapon knocking down Iranian drones over Kyiv

$400 Million Security Package Headed to Ukraine > U.S. Department of Defense > Defense Department News

 

Yes, they should totally accept responsibility for (checks notes) all radiation measurements in Poland being at minimal level. It's an outrage. Why does nobody do anything about this!

People have choices here, and one option is to uncritically repeat scaremongering by a bunch of genocidal maniacs.

It's pretty obvious when that choice is made, even thinly disguised to make it seem that that's not what is being done.

All the best

Andreas

 

And something which as at once puerile and closer to the insane 'truth'. Which will no doubt erk the resident trolls and/or Putie supporters....

 

Bakhmut ... to lose a town & win a battle

 

Today Russian forces made their biggest gains in months - towards Belgorod...

Best comment so far from a Russian TG account:
By the way, 10 billion rubles were spent to strengthen part of the russian border in the Belgorod region.
But who could have known that they would go straight through the checkpoint.

One could almost feel pity with the Russians: Yesterday the proud "victors" of Bakhmut
Today the clowns again

 

Update on the Belgorod Raid:
The invading Russian RDK + Legion force is not advancing further towards Belgorod, but seems to be operating along the border.
Numerous skirmishes are reported here. The Russian army seems mainly using artillery and helicopters to contain the advance.

The actual reason for the operation is completely unclear; as usual, there are numerous speculations on this, which, as is also usual, cannot be verified.

What is astonishing, however, is that after 48 hours the Russian army has still not managed to end the operation. After all, the force deployment of the attackers amounts to at most one reinforced company/weak battalion

 

BTW: Russian Volunteer Corps (RDK) is the brainchild of one of Russia's leading neo-Nazis, who has incidentally opened up MMA to neo-Nazis and right-wing extremists throughout Europe. The fact that Ukraine uses such groups, but leaves them out of the equation as an (expendable) auxiliary force of the secret services (read: GRU), is both pragmatic and smart:
Belarusian nationalists, Islamists from Dagestan and Chechnya, Russian neo-Nazis: In the fight against Moscow, you can't be choosy at the moment. And should these groups have an impact in their homelands, so much the better.
The enemy of my enemy is my friend....

But at some point the war will be over, and then it can get really funny again.

And YES, I am clearly partial to Ukraine, without any doubt. Nevertheless, it is good manners to also mention the rather unpleasant sides of this struggle for existence.

 

Nicely nuanced post Oli.