Putin, arse, elbow

[Deleted member 174758]

Belarus has been engaged but not mentioned of late. Their mobile stuff shows a V rather than a Z. The V's have cropped up in footage at times but I haven't seen any lately.

Sorry, but that conflicts with a lot of stuff coming out of Belarus itself. There are five main symbols which have been seen on vehicles, "Z", "V", "O", "X" and "Z" inside a square box.

According to the Russian Ministry of Defence (MoD) the "Z" symbol is an abbreviation of the phrase "for victory" (Russian: за победу, romanized: za pobedu), while the "V" symbol stands for "strength is in truth" (Russian: сила в правде, romanized: sila v pravde) and "The task will be completed" .... Posted on their Telegram account on 3rd March. This has been widely dismissed as utter BS by military analysts in the west

From what I can gather the following is a more reasonable explanation (taken from several confirmatory sources):

Vehicles marked "Z" are from the Eastern Military District (of Russia)

Vehicles marked "V" are from the Russian naval infantry

Vehicles marked "O" are from the Russian army stationed in Belarus

It is known the the "Z" inside a square box indicates Russian army forces originating in Crimea, and this symbol has only really been seen to the west of Mariupol and around places like Kherson.

Vehicles marked "X" belong to Kadyrov's mob

Belarus has permitted Russian Federation forces to use Belarus as a staging post and to fire missiles from Belarussian territory, but the war is very unpopular with the general public in Belarus. According to the Charter 97 news channel, reporting on 5 and 6 March 2022, most low-ranked Belarusian soldiers were opposed to participating in the invasion of Ukraine. Charter 97 and its chief editor, Natalya Radina, also stated that Belarusian officers reported to their seniors that they would risk mutiny or mass surrender if they took their units into Ukraine. Deployment of Belarusian soldiers in a fully-fledged war would also represent a radical break with Lukashenko's cornerstone ideology of "peace and stability" and raise the question of Lukashenko's support from a critical part of Belarusian society that thus far has been hesitant to openly oppose the regime. Certainly Lukashenko has not public admitted to commiting forces - a rather odd thing for such a pompous and bellicose individual, wouldn't you say?

 

[ajohn]

Vehicles marked "Z" are from the Eastern Military District (of Russia)

Vehicles marked "V" are from the Russian naval infantry

Those were the markings I have seen on items like mobile artillery. Mentioned on the TV not the web and put down to Belarus. Not many shown. They might even be borrowed. They may be as you have pointed out.

On the propaganda side of things I have made no comment about how the Russians have gone about what they are at as strange and inefficient as that seems to be. On Kyiv for instance given resistance I don't think they had a cat in hells chance of capturing without flattening the place. Mariupol however has turned out differently and while the media may point out that there are a few soldiers left in a small part there is little point in saying that means they haven't captured it. Fighting in that area started early on. They have the area under control. Listen to what some of the people who have come out say. Perhaps wonder why some were evacuated back along the coast in Russian occupied ground and then into Ukraine. They were also given the opportunity to go to Russia if they wanted - their choice. I have no idea why - have you? One pundit pointed out that refugees can be an odd sort of "weapon". Some one has to feed and look after them. In this case anyway. Currently there are thought to be 13,000,000 displaced Ukrainians. A factor that is considered - I don't know and neither do you. People who are evacuated are less likely to finish up dead. Another factor.

 

[Charlie George]

No belarus vehicles are used in the war, the markings are russian only just as explained by Jobandknock, also the Azov regiment is not a paramilitary unit, it is a full part of the Ukrainian army with units all over the country, the ones who are using paid mercenaries/paramilitaries is russia.

 

[ajohn]

Biden's money for Ukraine has finally been passed. Congress increased it to $40b. I heard comments about significantly more from the UK too, but just a brief mention.

There intelligence people warned that they thought Putin was in for the long haul. They think the next 2 months will show what will happen in Donbas and are not sure that this will mean the end. They don't think the fighting will be quick either. Other pundits say the same thing.

 

[Deleted member 174758]

Perhaps wonder why some were evacuated back along the coast in Russian occupied ground and then into Ukraine. They were also given the opportunity to go to Russia if they wanted - their choice. I have no idea why - have you?

Ukraine has several times arranged for cease fires to evacuate civilians into Ukraine - cease fires which Russia has then renaged on by shelling convoys (generally mortar fire, but that's still lethal). Sources for that include the International Red Cross and Medicins Sans Frontiers. If you are Ukrainian and you feel that your country is being destroyed by Russia who regards your life and your culture as being worthless, would you want to evacuate to Russia? I think not.

It is known that the Russians are also forcing people to sign "contracts" which turns them into unpaid slave labour, in effect - they seem to have no intention of repatriating these Ukrainians to their own country. But then, they don't regard Ukraine as a country, do they?

The Russians don't do anything on humanitarian grounds. They can't even repatriate the bodies of their war dead with allegations now surfacing (from the Russian side) about dead bodies being stacked like so much kindling in open air storage, presumably until the mobile incinerators can get round to dealing with them

 

[ajohn]

I hadn't heard this on UK news. Just mentioned on another channel. This seems to confirm it.

May 8, 2022 12:13 pm

The United Kingdom said it will offer further aid and military support to Ukraine worth £1.3 billion as it bolsters its commitment to the country’s defense against Russia.

The pledge this weekend comes as G7 leaders prepare to discuss the ongoing conflict with Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in a videoconference on Sunday.

 

[Deleted member 174758]

Worth watching Sky News and Aljazeera news as well as watching/listening to Times Radio and DW (English-language German broadcaster) as between them they cover a lot of stuff that isn't covered by most of the media in the UK.

 

[ajohn]

It sounds like Russia is being driven back from Khakiv however I'd suspect it's actually a pull back that is being followed by Ukraine. Some of the action was shown on BBC. . Not clear what the Ukrainians arrived in. Car or van I suspect. Quiet for a while and they mentioned that they were watched by a drone. They then went into a basement and some very accurately aimed shells arrived. Just a couple and then they got out and escorted a lady out. They had set up a high calibre mounted machine gun and some form of small projectile thing on a stand in the road. Maybe anti tank but not a type I have seen before. The shells may have been from a tank as one was mentioned but can't say I could see it.

Mostly BBC, AlJ and C4 for me. C4 showed 120 Russian soldier bodies in cold storage that Ukraine say they want to send to Russia who do not want to know. Also one similar being dug up. They are taking dna samples. This in the Kyiv area. They are using dogs to find bodies.

 

[Justin Passing]

Kherson is concerning. Not much movement of fronts, but the Russian b+++s are Russifying everything and claiming it for Russia.


Somewhere else where the Ukranians were "doing really well", the Russians had a 10:1 numbers advantage. Implies they aren't too bothered about doing much?

 

[Deleted member 174758]

...the Russians had a 10:1 numbers advantage.

Whete does that figure come from? Overall numbers are a lot nearer to equal than that

 

[Odds]

Worth watching Sky News and Aljazeera news as well as watching/listening to Times Radio and DW (English-language German broadcaster) as between them they cover a lot of stuff that isn't covered by most of the media in the UK.

Al Jazeera is has excellent coverage of the conflict and has surpassed CNN in many ways over the last few years - Youtube has independent reports from Ukraine and are well worth a look for an uncensored ground level perspective.

 

[Notch7]

Kherson is concerning. Not much movement of fronts, but the Russian b+++s are Russifying everything and claiming it for Russia.


Somewhere else where the Ukranians were "doing really well", the Russians had a 10:1 numbers advantage. Implies they aren't too bothered about doing much?

latest news on Kherson region May 11th:

Odesa-Kherson OD.
There has been little activity in the Kherson-Odesa OD. Missile strikes increase against Odesa while tensions remain high along the Moldova border as Russia attempts to fix Ukrainian forces in this area from being redeployed to other critical fronts

Ukrainian artillery continue strike Russian supply depots in Kherson
Ukrainian resistance in Kherson remains persistent

 

[transam]

Swedes have been a neutral country since Napoleonic times and are
About to join Nato

Finns since the Second World War
about to join nato

not quite what Putin had in mind

 

[ajohn]

Somewhere else where the Ukranians were "doing really well", the Russians had a 10:1 numbers advantage. Implies they aren't too bothered about doing much?

Comments that Ukraine is vastly outnumbered often seem to crop up. I've even heard one from a Ukraine soldier when Russians were retreating. His words such a lot of them.

You've probably watched this but it gives a good run down of what has been happening in the N, loosely Kharkiv area - one we haven't heard that much about of late. Also how the fighting works and some of the reporting. The section on shelling is interesting. I wont be commenting on Russia's guidance facilities used on various things. It's about on the web but straight shells are much cheaper.

The thing people seem to have trouble realising is what would happen if say loads of troops stormed Kharkiv. They would be mowed down, machine guns, rifle fire and mortars. Good way to loose ground troops. As a UK strategic studies man said to avoid this each side does there thing until they think they can gain ground. Tricky with bigger places unless they are flattened. In Ukraine things appear to centre around populated areas of various sizes often villages as that video mentions. Each time ground fighting is used to advance there will be troop losses. Run out and nothing can be taken.Flatten a place and nothing is really captured - just waste land.

It's a little like trench warfare really. Pound the other side and advance when you think you can. I had a very old grandfather that had been involved in that. I'd rather he hadn't told me what went on in his day.

Another studies man reckoned that Russia had mostly dropped bombs from aircraft and not used guided. According to him neither side really has air superiority. There is too much anti aircraft kit kicking about one both sides - mobile which is tricky to get rid of.

Neither of these people were talking about who is winning, good bad or etc just fighting.

A bit of history for some one that doesn't know much and comments anyway. Actually this was televised as it was happening.
The Moscow theater hostage crisis (also known as the 2002 Nord-Ost siege) was the seizure of the crowded Dubrovka Theater by 40 to 50 armed Chechen terrorists on 23 October 2002, which involved 850 hostages and ended with the death of at least 170 people. The attackers, led by Movsar Barayev, claimed allegiance to the Islamist separatist movement in Chechnya.[1] They demanded the withdrawal of Russian forces from Chechnya and an end to the Second Chechen War.
Look further and you may find lots moved into Russia. There was a lot of debate about how Russia solved this but it's a fact that the death toll could have been a lot higher.

 

[Justin Passing]

Whete does that figure come from? Overall numbers are a lot nearer to equal than that

Overall yes. It was a particular front, north of east. Reported on this guy's channel. A number of channels have access to satellite info, locations of military groups updated every few days, some reports from combatants, a mixture. Lots of bits and pieces come out, eg the Australian vehicles (Bushmasters iirc) have been seen working near Kherson.
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCP2QApi8G2TKc8NZmeDWSUg