Here ya go
Ukraine. Ukraine. Ukraine.
- Thread starter Llcoolw
- Start date
Here ya go
mugatu
Ranger
...?
mugatu
Ranger
Yeah... that's not good. Not sure if timing is coincidence or not. There's been a lot of people on the right criticize the same things but not end up in a list, so it makes me skeptical of reason or direction from white house. But yeah, those programs need oversight and judicial controls.
How much support and how close to an enemy that we are at de facto war with before does someone with political power get before it is in the interest of our national defense to keep an eye on her?
“I have a hard time seeing how President Biden or anyone can say with an honest face, ‘we are defending democracy,’” Gabbard told Carlson in early February.
.....
“This war and suffering could have easily been avoided if Biden Admin/NATO had simply acknowledged Russia’s legitimate security concerns regarding Ukraine’s becoming a member of NATO, which would mean US/NATO forces right on Russia’s border.”
.....
"This is what’s so dangerous about the place that we’re in right now as a country, where this idea, this principle, this foundation of freedom of speech, freedom of expression is directly under threat and under attack. And you’re right, it’s not so different. What’s happening here is not so different from what we’re seeing happening in Russia, where you’ve got state TV and controlled messaging across the board. This is where we’re at."
The claim is "absurd," said Scott Gehlbach, a professor of political science and an expert on Russia and Ukraine at the University of Chicago.
"In Russia, one can now face up to 15 years in prison for simply calling a war a war," Gehlbach said. "In the U.S., citizens such as Tulsi Gabbard are free to make not only truthful but untruthful statements without fear of legal sanction."
.....
The largest individual donor to former Rep. Tulsi Gabbard’s (D-Hawaii) PAC in 2021 is an apologist for Vladimir Putin who runs a nonprofit that aims to foster cooperation between the U.S. and Russia. Gabbard has long taken pro-Russian positions, most recently on Sunday when she gave credence to a baseless Russian-supported conspiracy about U.S. involvement in biological-weapons laboratories in Ukraine.
Finally, there is this, from way back in 2019. Do we, sitting here on the internet, really think we have all of the information on why this is occurring? Are we ready to call it just a political hit job?
Much has been made of Hillary Clinton's implication that Tulsi Gabbard is someone Russia has "their eye on." While Gabbard has responded with claims that she is the subject of a coordinated smear campaign by Clinton, she has steadfastly refused to renounce any Russian support she may be receiving. As somebody who worked against Russian intelligence, I agree with Clinton's assessment—Gabbard's campaign and messaging are at risk of being weaponized to interfere with and manipulate our election.
Russia Is Using Tulsi Gabbard and to a Former US Double Agent, That's Clear
I agree with Hillary Clinton's assessment: Gabbard's campaign and messaging are at risk of being weaponized by Moscow to interfere with and manipulate our election.
www.newsweek.com
mugatu
Ranger
No we dont and no I personally am not ready to call it that.
To me if it was because of the recent comments, there'd be a big list of MAGA commentators that would be on the same list, but there's no evidence of that beyond Jan 6 attendants.
My guess is there was intel to something beyond the comments that we'll never know.
She sat on the foreign relations committee- was usually an anti War- Hawk, not so much with Iran and it’s satellites. She also ticked off the entire DNC by calling them out for rigging 2016 primaries for Clinton vs. Sanders
I seriously think it’s a combination of both her stance against starting a proxy war with Russia, and also making Kamala go word salad in 2020 dnc debates- and those clips coming back up again.
It’s easier to label Gabbard as a terrorist than to admit Harris wasn’t ready to think on her toes about fairly public information that the media never called her out on.
I think Harris is possibly a better candidate than Trump, but she’s all over the place on beliefs and stances and it’s weird she hasn’t done one press conference or sit down interview since becoming the Democratic nominee a month ago.
I hold a lot of traditional liberal views economically and socially, but I trust individual candidates over political parties.
I feel Harris will just say whatever she’s told. Trump will triple down on his own rhetoric - Republican Party be damned which is also dangerous
I seriously think it’s a combination of both her stance against starting a proxy war with Russia, and also making Kamala go word salad in 2020 dnc debates- and those clips coming back up again.
It’s easier to label Gabbard as a terrorist than to admit Harris wasn’t ready to think on her toes about fairly public information that the media never called her out on.
I think Harris is possibly a better candidate than Trump, but she’s all over the place on beliefs and stances and it’s weird she hasn’t done one press conference or sit down interview since becoming the Democratic nominee a month ago.
I hold a lot of traditional liberal views economically and socially, but I trust individual candidates over political parties.
I feel Harris will just say whatever she’s told. Trump will triple down on his own rhetoric - Republican Party be damned which is also dangerous
Wow , “I think Harris is possibly a better candidate than Trump.”
Ya think? Is every other word a lie? Has she been convicted of multiple felonies? Is she approaching eighty? If she loses will she go to jail? I don’t know how much more it would take for you to just say Harris is much better than Felonious Trump. Oh, and by the way, Trump’s word salad montage is completely indecipherable. Harris, not so much. Pick a side and defend it please. Both of them can’t win.
PS Sanders is an independent NOT a Democrat. Why should they treat him the same? Ever?
I would be watching Tulsi, very closely
Being a dum dum and not sharing the link
because a lot of Sanders populism ideals like nationalized healthcare and supporting labor unions are pretty popular.
We have a winner
John Kirby, the US's national security communications advisor, said on Monday that if Ukraine's incursion into the western Russian region made Putin uncomfortable, "there's an easy solution: He can just get the hell out of Ukraine and call it a day."
It has been more than a week since Ukrainian forces launched a surprise attack on Kursk.
While much is unknown about the full extent of the incursion, a top Ukrainian general said Tuesday that the country's forces had captured some 390 square miles of Russian territory.
The incursion appears to have caught Russia off guard, with regional officials saying Ukraine seized 28 settlements along the border and had caused more than 120,000 people to flee.
On Monday, Kirby's remarks came in response to a question about earlier remarks by Putin, in which he accused the West of "waging war against us using Ukrainians" in the shock incursion into Kursk, as Russian state-controlled media reported.
It's unclear whether the White House had prior knowledge of the attack. Last week, the White House's press secretary, Karine Jean-Pierre, suggested it did not, saying it was planning to reach out to Kyiv to learn more about its objectives.
The US and other Ukrainian allies have been frank in their responses to Russian complaints about the incursion.
Earlier in the week, a State Department spokesperson said it was "a little bit rich" for Russia to complain of an attack on its territory when it was deep into the invasion of Ukraine.
European officials have said Ukraine has the "legitimate right" to launch counterattacks on Russian soil.
The White House offered Putin a way to stop the Kursk invasion: 'Get the hell out of Ukraine'
- The White House clapped back at Putin over Ukraine's shock incursion into Russia.
- Russia is scrambling to respond to Ukraine seizing swaths of its Kursk region.
- The US and other Ukrainian allies have been unsympathetic to Russian complaints about the attack.
John Kirby, the US's national security communications advisor, said on Monday that if Ukraine's incursion into the western Russian region made Putin uncomfortable, "there's an easy solution: He can just get the hell out of Ukraine and call it a day."
It has been more than a week since Ukrainian forces launched a surprise attack on Kursk.
While much is unknown about the full extent of the incursion, a top Ukrainian general said Tuesday that the country's forces had captured some 390 square miles of Russian territory.
The incursion appears to have caught Russia off guard, with regional officials saying Ukraine seized 28 settlements along the border and had caused more than 120,000 people to flee.
On Monday, Kirby's remarks came in response to a question about earlier remarks by Putin, in which he accused the West of "waging war against us using Ukrainians" in the shock incursion into Kursk, as Russian state-controlled media reported.
It's unclear whether the White House had prior knowledge of the attack. Last week, the White House's press secretary, Karine Jean-Pierre, suggested it did not, saying it was planning to reach out to Kyiv to learn more about its objectives.
The US and other Ukrainian allies have been frank in their responses to Russian complaints about the incursion.
Earlier in the week, a State Department spokesperson said it was "a little bit rich" for Russia to complain of an attack on its territory when it was deep into the invasion of Ukraine.
European officials have said Ukraine has the "legitimate right" to launch counterattacks on Russian soil.
Russian Army Desertions Are Surging, Court Records Indicate
Russian courts have received more cases of soldiers accused of leaving their units without permission so far in 2024 than were registered for all of 2023, according to independent Russian media.Since the start of this year, Russian courts have gotten 5,204 cases of military personnel accused of abandoning their positions without authorization, Russian opposition outlet Mediazona reported on Monday. Throughout 2023, the courts logged 5,096 cases, according to the outlet.
Newsweek has reached out via email to the Russian Defense Ministry for comment.
Since the early months of the almost two-and-a-half-year-old war in Ukraine, there have been high reported rates of desertion and soldiers leaving their posts.
Ukraine is also known to have wrestled with desertion as the war continues with no end in sight. However, Russia's casualty-heavy tactics, seen in brutal relief in eastern Ukraine as Moscow slowly but steadily advances westward, have drawn particular attention to morale within the Russian military's ranks.
Indications of poor conditions for Russian soldiers in Ukraine have frequently surfaced.
In early April 2023, the U.K. government said Russia's high number of casualties on the battlefields of eastern Ukraine was tied to "pervasive alcohol abuse" among Moscow's deployed fighters.
The British Defense Ministry said on Tuesday that troops were being "forced to improvise filtration attempts, using stagnant puddles for daily water requirements."
The shortage of drinking water meant Russian forces were likely experiencing spikes in waterborne diseases and dehydration, not to mention low morale and their feelings about how well they can fight, the British ministry added. The Russian government did not respond to Newsweek's emailed request for comment.
In late April, Ukraine's military intelligence agency, or GUR, said desertion was particularly evident in the forces in Russia's southern military district, which covers southwestern Russian regions.
More than 18,000 Russian soldiers have "left the service in the combat units of the district without permission," the GUR said at the time. Most of these fighters were serving with Russia's 8th Combined Arms Army, long mired in bloody clashes in eastern Ukraine.
Private military companies, often referred to by the West as mercenary organizations, and "Storm-Z" units—which are described as penal military formations—have the highest levels of desertion, Russian independent outlet The Insider reported in late May. Moscow has relied on these fighters for some of the bloodiest fighting in the most intense areas of the front lines in Ukraine.
More than 10,000 Russian military personnel have been prosecuted for refusing to serve, including not complying with an order, going AWOL or deserting, since September 2022, Mediazona reported in mid-June. Russian authorities declared a partial mobilization of reservists in September 2022.
Former inmates, volunteers and mobilized personnel account for high percentages of Russian fighters killed in Ukraine, according to Mediazona's running count of confirmed losses.
Lukashenko sends Belarusian military to Russia to prepare for combat use
Belarus sends its missile and artillery specialists to Russia to practice combat use.
"The calculations of the missile and artillery units of the Armed Forces of the Republic of Belarus are going to the training ground of the Russian Federation to practice combat use," the Belarusian Defense Ministry said in a statement.
It is noted that during the field exercise, the units will conduct a control exercise on the management of missile strikes with live launches from missile systems and multiple-launch rocket systems in service with the Armed Forces of the Republic of Belarus.
Belarusian authorities facilitate Russian aggression
Belarus is helping Russia in its war against Ukraine. In February 2022, Russian equipment entered Ukraine from Belarusian territory.
At the same time, the so-called Russian-Belarusian exercises, which have been regularly extended for several years, allow Moscow to keep its troops in Belarus.
Wagner PMC militants were also stationed in Belarus, conducting training among the military personnel of the country's army.
390 square miles isn’t as big as the area between Weatherford and Mountain View. Putin is such a whiny b!tch
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Ukraine hits 4 Russian air bases in largest attack since war started
Ukraine launched the largest attack on Russian airfields since the full-scale war started, hitting Voronezh, Kursk, Savasleyka, and Borisoglebsk air bases, according to sources.Long-range drones of the Security Service and the Defense Forces (Air Force, Special Forces, Unmanned Systems Forces, Defense Intelligence, and other branches of the military) carried out the largest attack on Russian military air bases during the entire war.
There were overnight explosions at Voronezh, Kursk, Savasleyka, and Borisoglebsk air bases. Sources confirm it was a specially planned operation to prevent the enemy from using these airfields to launch missile strikes on the front line and Ukrainian cities.
Russian military propagandists are already saying on social media that the strike was effective and that Russian air defense failed to protect these facilities. Local Telegram channels report 10 explosions at the Savasleyka air base, where MiG-31K fighters regularly take off and terrorize all of Ukraine with air alert raids.
“The SSU continues to methodically weaken the aviation component of the Russian military machine. The aircraft still give the enemy air superiority, but we will continue to cut the wings for these 'birds',” the informed source added.
Attack on Russian air bases
Russia was massively attacked by drones overnight. Although the Russian defense ministry reported the “downing” of 117 drones in eight regions of the country, the Russian war reporters wrote about 3 airfields that were under attack.
Among them is Savasleyka, where MiG-31Ks often take off. These aircraft are potential carriers of the Kh-47m2 Kinzhal missile, which is difficult for Ukrainian air defense to intercept. DefenseExpress experts have already pointed out that the attacked Savasleyka had only formal air defense, and the aircraft was parked in the open, but even the destruction of fuel supplies is already very critical.
The Russians also reported about a fire near the Baltimore (Voronezh) air base and an attack on the Borisoglebsk airfield. There was no information about tonight's attack on the Kursk air base until now.
Bombshell report reveals how Russia's Nord Stream pipelines blew up based on a plan dreamed up over a heave night of boozing
Senior Ukrainian military officers hatched the daring plan to blow up Russia's Nord Stream gas pipelines during 'a night of heavy boozing', an investigation has claimed. The multi-billion dollar Nord Stream 1 and 2 pipelines transporting gas under the Baltic Sea were ruptured by a series of blasts in September 2022, seven months after Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine. The blasts wrecked three out of four pipelines, which had become a controversial symbol of German reliance on Russian gas in the wake of Moscow 's invasion of Ukraine, and triggered wild speculation over the possible culprit - not to mention a continental energy crisis.
But now, a Ukrainian military officer allegedly involved in the operation told the Wall Street Journal the sabotage - pulled off with a single yacht, a six-person crew, rudimentary diving equipment and a set of light explosives - was dreamt up by a few Ukrainian military men amid an alcohol-fuelled bash. 'I always laugh when I read media speculation about some huge operation involving secret services, submarines, drones and satellites,' the officer said. 'The whole thing was born out of a night of heavy boozing and the iron determination of a handful of people who had the guts to risk their lives for their country.'
One officer who participated and three other sources familiar with the plan told WSJ it was initially approved by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky , but said that former armed forces commander-in-chief Valery Zaluzhny instructed the team to forge on with the attack when Zelensky got cold feet. Ukrainian suspects are accused of transporting the explosives used in the attack in a 50ft sailing yacht called the Andromeda, according to investigations conducted by Germany and revealed by German media. The WSJ investigation revealed that, having agreed their intention of blowing up Nord Stream, the Ukrainian officers studied an old plot conceived by Ukrainian intelligence and Western experts to attack the pipelines following the annexation of Crimea, but they quickly dismissed this approach due to its high cost.
Instead, a simpler plan was devised involving a six-person team who would use a small sailing boat - the Andromeda - to carry out the mission, supposedly with help from a Polish travel agency linked to Ukrainian intelligence. The team included an experienced military skipper and several divers, who were equipped with their diving gear and explosives, along with sonar and maps of the sea bed. Two of the divers were husband and wife, with sources telling WSJ the presence of a woman on board made the crew's disguise as friends on a yachting holiday more plausible. Setting out from the Baltic Sea port of Rostock, poor weather forced the crew to make a brief stop at the Swedish port of Sandhamn, where one diver accidentally dropped an explosive device into the sea.
The team considered aborting the mission but decided to press on once the weather cleared, successfully navigating the Baltic Sea's dark, icy waters to reach the pipelines where they planted powerful HMX explosives. In June 2023, Zelensky insisted Kyiv knew nothing about any plan to blow up the pipelines. 'I did nothing like that. I would never do that,' he said in an interview with Germany's BILD.
But sources told the WSJ that Zelensky was fully aware of the plan and initially gave it the green light, only to back out later after the CIA got wind of the mission and asked him to pull the plug. The CIA was reportedly informed about the monumental sabotage mission by Dutch intelligence agency MIVD, which sources claim had developed a robust intelligence-gathering capacity in Ukraine due to its involvement in the investigation of the Malaysian Airlines flight MH17.
General Zaluzhny, his commander-in-chief at the time and now ambassador to the UK, allegedly defied Zelensky's orders and told the crew to carry out the attack anyway. Zaluzhny himself dismissed these claims made by the WSJ as 'a mere provocation', as Ukrainian presidential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak denied his country's involvement and instead pointed the finger at Russia. 'Such an act can only be carried out with extensive technical and financial resources... and who possessed all this at the time of the bombing? Only Russia,' Podolyak said.
Meanwhile, Dr Huseyn Aliyev, an expert in conflict and security in Russia, Ukraine and the former Soviet Union at the University of Glasgow's Central and Eastern European Studies, cautioned that the claims raised in the WSJ investigation were 'based on anecdotal evidence' and described them as 'difficult to believe'. 'It is difficult to believe that, if Ukraine indeed planned this operation at the highest level, no communication took place with the German side. 'I also find it difficult to believe that operation of that scale and magnitude was allegedly handled by the Ukrainian Army Chief Gen Zaluzhny, rather than the Military Intelligence (GUR) or Security Services (SBU), which to this date were in charge of all sabotage activities against Russia,' he said, though noted that a former SBU agent was reportedly involved in planning the attack.
Disgruntled German officials involved in the investigation declared the sabotage operation had put Berlin in a difficult position. 'An attack of this scale is a sufficient reason to trigger the collective defence clause of NATO,' one official told WSJ in alarming comments. 'But our critical infrastructure was blown up by a country that we support with massive weapons shipments and billions in cash.' German government spokesman Wolfgang Buechner sought to make it clear that the investigation would not interfere with Germany's support of Ukraine in its war against Russia, nor would it harm bilateral relations. 'Investigations are being carried out according to the law regardless of who is concerned and which results they lead to'.
Polish National Public Prosecutor's Office spokeswoman Anna Adamiak said German authorities sent a European warrant to the District Prosecutor's Office in Warsaw in June for Volodymyr Z in connection with proceedings conducted against him in Germany. 'Ultimately, Volodymyr Z was not detained because at the beginning of July he left Polish territory, crossing the Polish-Ukrainian border,' she told reporters. 'Free crossing of the Polish-Ukrainian border by the above-mentioned person was possible because German authorities... did not include him in the database of wanted persons, which meant that the Polish Border Guard had no knowledge and no grounds to detain Volodymyr Z.'
A married couple, a man and a woman - also Ukrainian diving instructors - have also been identified in Germany's investigation into the sabotage but so far no arrest warrants have been issued for them, according to SZ, Zeit and ARD. The woman told broadcaster Welt on Wednesday that neither she nor her husband were involved, and that she was in Kyiv, the Ukrainian capital, at the time of the pipeline attack. Ukraine's foreign ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The German federal prosecutor's office declined to comment on the media reports. Germany, Denmark, and Sweden all opened investigations into the incident, and the Swedes found traces of explosives on several objects recovered from the explosion site, confirming the blasts were deliberate acts. But the Swedish and Danish investigations were closed this February without identifying any suspect.
Senior Ukrainian military officers hatched the daring plan to blow up Russia's Nord Stream gas pipelines during 'a night of heavy boozing', an investigation has claimed. The multi-billion dollar Nord Stream 1 and 2 pipelines transporting gas under the Baltic Sea were ruptured by a series of blasts in September 2022, seven months after Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine. The blasts wrecked three out of four pipelines, which had become a controversial symbol of German reliance on Russian gas in the wake of Moscow 's invasion of Ukraine, and triggered wild speculation over the possible culprit - not to mention a continental energy crisis.
But now, a Ukrainian military officer allegedly involved in the operation told the Wall Street Journal the sabotage - pulled off with a single yacht, a six-person crew, rudimentary diving equipment and a set of light explosives - was dreamt up by a few Ukrainian military men amid an alcohol-fuelled bash. 'I always laugh when I read media speculation about some huge operation involving secret services, submarines, drones and satellites,' the officer said. 'The whole thing was born out of a night of heavy boozing and the iron determination of a handful of people who had the guts to risk their lives for their country.'
One officer who participated and three other sources familiar with the plan told WSJ it was initially approved by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky , but said that former armed forces commander-in-chief Valery Zaluzhny instructed the team to forge on with the attack when Zelensky got cold feet. Ukrainian suspects are accused of transporting the explosives used in the attack in a 50ft sailing yacht called the Andromeda, according to investigations conducted by Germany and revealed by German media. The WSJ investigation revealed that, having agreed their intention of blowing up Nord Stream, the Ukrainian officers studied an old plot conceived by Ukrainian intelligence and Western experts to attack the pipelines following the annexation of Crimea, but they quickly dismissed this approach due to its high cost.
Instead, a simpler plan was devised involving a six-person team who would use a small sailing boat - the Andromeda - to carry out the mission, supposedly with help from a Polish travel agency linked to Ukrainian intelligence. The team included an experienced military skipper and several divers, who were equipped with their diving gear and explosives, along with sonar and maps of the sea bed. Two of the divers were husband and wife, with sources telling WSJ the presence of a woman on board made the crew's disguise as friends on a yachting holiday more plausible. Setting out from the Baltic Sea port of Rostock, poor weather forced the crew to make a brief stop at the Swedish port of Sandhamn, where one diver accidentally dropped an explosive device into the sea.
The team considered aborting the mission but decided to press on once the weather cleared, successfully navigating the Baltic Sea's dark, icy waters to reach the pipelines where they planted powerful HMX explosives. In June 2023, Zelensky insisted Kyiv knew nothing about any plan to blow up the pipelines. 'I did nothing like that. I would never do that,' he said in an interview with Germany's BILD.
But sources told the WSJ that Zelensky was fully aware of the plan and initially gave it the green light, only to back out later after the CIA got wind of the mission and asked him to pull the plug. The CIA was reportedly informed about the monumental sabotage mission by Dutch intelligence agency MIVD, which sources claim had developed a robust intelligence-gathering capacity in Ukraine due to its involvement in the investigation of the Malaysian Airlines flight MH17.
General Zaluzhny, his commander-in-chief at the time and now ambassador to the UK, allegedly defied Zelensky's orders and told the crew to carry out the attack anyway. Zaluzhny himself dismissed these claims made by the WSJ as 'a mere provocation', as Ukrainian presidential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak denied his country's involvement and instead pointed the finger at Russia. 'Such an act can only be carried out with extensive technical and financial resources... and who possessed all this at the time of the bombing? Only Russia,' Podolyak said.
Meanwhile, Dr Huseyn Aliyev, an expert in conflict and security in Russia, Ukraine and the former Soviet Union at the University of Glasgow's Central and Eastern European Studies, cautioned that the claims raised in the WSJ investigation were 'based on anecdotal evidence' and described them as 'difficult to believe'. 'It is difficult to believe that, if Ukraine indeed planned this operation at the highest level, no communication took place with the German side. 'I also find it difficult to believe that operation of that scale and magnitude was allegedly handled by the Ukrainian Army Chief Gen Zaluzhny, rather than the Military Intelligence (GUR) or Security Services (SBU), which to this date were in charge of all sabotage activities against Russia,' he said, though noted that a former SBU agent was reportedly involved in planning the attack.
Disgruntled German officials involved in the investigation declared the sabotage operation had put Berlin in a difficult position. 'An attack of this scale is a sufficient reason to trigger the collective defence clause of NATO,' one official told WSJ in alarming comments. 'But our critical infrastructure was blown up by a country that we support with massive weapons shipments and billions in cash.' German government spokesman Wolfgang Buechner sought to make it clear that the investigation would not interfere with Germany's support of Ukraine in its war against Russia, nor would it harm bilateral relations. 'Investigations are being carried out according to the law regardless of who is concerned and which results they lead to'.
Polish National Public Prosecutor's Office spokeswoman Anna Adamiak said German authorities sent a European warrant to the District Prosecutor's Office in Warsaw in June for Volodymyr Z in connection with proceedings conducted against him in Germany. 'Ultimately, Volodymyr Z was not detained because at the beginning of July he left Polish territory, crossing the Polish-Ukrainian border,' she told reporters. 'Free crossing of the Polish-Ukrainian border by the above-mentioned person was possible because German authorities... did not include him in the database of wanted persons, which meant that the Polish Border Guard had no knowledge and no grounds to detain Volodymyr Z.'
A married couple, a man and a woman - also Ukrainian diving instructors - have also been identified in Germany's investigation into the sabotage but so far no arrest warrants have been issued for them, according to SZ, Zeit and ARD. The woman told broadcaster Welt on Wednesday that neither she nor her husband were involved, and that she was in Kyiv, the Ukrainian capital, at the time of the pipeline attack. Ukraine's foreign ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The German federal prosecutor's office declined to comment on the media reports. Germany, Denmark, and Sweden all opened investigations into the incident, and the Swedes found traces of explosives on several objects recovered from the explosion site, confirming the blasts were deliberate acts. But the Swedish and Danish investigations were closed this February without identifying any suspect.
How long until the Right Wing Putin Apologists in the US start claiming Ukraine Invaded Russia first and use this as justification why Putin should have free and total access to invade and fully take over Ukraine ??
I say 3 weeks, until you start to see this narrative circulate on Right wing "news" outlets and right wing talking heads and eventually in 5-7 weeks....right wing Trump politicians and supporters.
MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia began evacuating thousands more people from its border regions on Thursday after Ukraine said it was advancing deeper into the country in a lightning incursion aimed at forcing Moscow to slow its advance along the rest of the front.
The biggest foreign attack on sovereign Russian territory since World War Two unfurled on Aug. 6 when thousands of Ukrainian troops smashed through Russia's Western border in an embarrassment for the Russian top military brass.
Supported by swarms of drones, heavy artillery and tanks, Ukrainian units have since carved out a sliver of the world's biggest nuclear power and battles were ongoing along a front about 18 km (11 miles) inside Russian territory on Thursday.
Kursk's acting governor, Alexei Smirnov, said that the Glushkov district, which has a population of 20,000, was being evacuated. At least 200,000 people have so far been evacuated from the border regions, according to Russian data.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Wednesday that his forces had advanced a few kilometers and that the goal of replenishing an 'exchange fund' of prisoners of war was being achieved. One Ukrainian official said Kyiv was carving out a buffer zone to protect its population against attack.
Russia's defence ministry said on Thursday that its forces had shot down Ukrainian drones over the neighbouring Belgorod region of Russia and that Sukhoi-34 bombers had pummeled Ukrainian positions in Kursk.
Russia's defence ministry also reported intense battles along the Ukraine front, and said that its troops had taken better positions at several points.
While the Ukrainian attack has embarrassed Moscow, revealed the weakness of its border defences and changed the public narrative of the war, Russian officials said what they cast as a Ukrainian "invasion" would not change the course of the war.
Russia, which invaded Ukraine in 2022, has been advancing for most of the year along the 1000-km (620-mile) front in Ukraine for much of the year and has a vast numerical superiority. It controls 18% of Ukraine.
The Ukrainian incursion into Russia has yielded its biggest battlefield gains since 2022.
FIGHTING IN RUSSIA
The West, which backs Ukraine and has said it will not allow President Vladimir Putin to win the war, has repeatedly said it knew nothing of the Ukrainian plans to attack Russia. Russian officials say they do not believe such statements.
"Of course they are involved," Russian lawmaker Maria Butina told Reuters. "When I studied in the United States the main rule was: 'Don't poke the bear'. What the West is doing today? They are poking the bear."
Putin said on Monday that Ukraine "with the help of its Western masters" was aiming to improve Kyiv's negotiating position ahead of possible peace talks.
Russian officials have warned that if Western weapons were used on Russian territory, then Moscow would consider that a grave escalation.
Major General Apti Alaudinov, who commands Chechnya's Akhmat special forces, said that 12,000 Ukrainian troops had crossed into Russia. Alaudinov said the Ukrainian forces would be ejected.
By bringing the war to Russia, Zelenskiy faces the risk of weakening Kyiv's defences along the front in Ukraine while Russia has already sent in thousands of reserves in a bid to expel the Ukrainian soldiers.
And if Ukraine wants to hold the Russian territory it has taken, it will need to build a sophisticated logistics operation to support its forces, military analysts said.
I say 3 weeks, until you start to see this narrative circulate on Right wing "news" outlets and right wing talking heads and eventually in 5-7 weeks....right wing Trump politicians and supporters.
Russia evacuates thousands more people as Ukraine claims advances
MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia began evacuating thousands more people from its border regions on Thursday after Ukraine said it was advancing deeper into the country in a lightning incursion aimed at forcing Moscow to slow its advance along the rest of the front.
The biggest foreign attack on sovereign Russian territory since World War Two unfurled on Aug. 6 when thousands of Ukrainian troops smashed through Russia's Western border in an embarrassment for the Russian top military brass.
Supported by swarms of drones, heavy artillery and tanks, Ukrainian units have since carved out a sliver of the world's biggest nuclear power and battles were ongoing along a front about 18 km (11 miles) inside Russian territory on Thursday.
Kursk's acting governor, Alexei Smirnov, said that the Glushkov district, which has a population of 20,000, was being evacuated. At least 200,000 people have so far been evacuated from the border regions, according to Russian data.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Wednesday that his forces had advanced a few kilometers and that the goal of replenishing an 'exchange fund' of prisoners of war was being achieved. One Ukrainian official said Kyiv was carving out a buffer zone to protect its population against attack.
Russia's defence ministry said on Thursday that its forces had shot down Ukrainian drones over the neighbouring Belgorod region of Russia and that Sukhoi-34 bombers had pummeled Ukrainian positions in Kursk.
Russia's defence ministry also reported intense battles along the Ukraine front, and said that its troops had taken better positions at several points.
While the Ukrainian attack has embarrassed Moscow, revealed the weakness of its border defences and changed the public narrative of the war, Russian officials said what they cast as a Ukrainian "invasion" would not change the course of the war.
Russia, which invaded Ukraine in 2022, has been advancing for most of the year along the 1000-km (620-mile) front in Ukraine for much of the year and has a vast numerical superiority. It controls 18% of Ukraine.
The Ukrainian incursion into Russia has yielded its biggest battlefield gains since 2022.
FIGHTING IN RUSSIA
The West, which backs Ukraine and has said it will not allow President Vladimir Putin to win the war, has repeatedly said it knew nothing of the Ukrainian plans to attack Russia. Russian officials say they do not believe such statements.
"Of course they are involved," Russian lawmaker Maria Butina told Reuters. "When I studied in the United States the main rule was: 'Don't poke the bear'. What the West is doing today? They are poking the bear."
Putin said on Monday that Ukraine "with the help of its Western masters" was aiming to improve Kyiv's negotiating position ahead of possible peace talks.
Russian officials have warned that if Western weapons were used on Russian territory, then Moscow would consider that a grave escalation.
Major General Apti Alaudinov, who commands Chechnya's Akhmat special forces, said that 12,000 Ukrainian troops had crossed into Russia. Alaudinov said the Ukrainian forces would be ejected.
By bringing the war to Russia, Zelenskiy faces the risk of weakening Kyiv's defences along the front in Ukraine while Russia has already sent in thousands of reserves in a bid to expel the Ukrainian soldiers.
And if Ukraine wants to hold the Russian territory it has taken, it will need to build a sophisticated logistics operation to support its forces, military analysts said.
mugatu
Ranger
Wait until Ukraine establishes local government in the region.
I'm torn on the thought of them holding "elections" to join Ukraine formally and then getting annexed. Would be valid payback but don't want to normalize that behavior in any way.
Putin urged to 'finish' Ukraine war with devastating nuclear attack after Ukraine invasion
Russian President Vladimir Putin is being pushed to consider a heavier response in Ukraine.
In a letter obtained by independent Russian outlet Novaya Gazeta, Anatoly Volyntsev, a physicist and professor at Perm State University, urged Putin to consider striking Ukraine with nuclear weapons to speed up the war and cut off supply routes that allow for the transport of Western aid.
Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova, who is a close ally to Putin, has previously claimed that Moscow would only use nuclear weapons defensively.
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The war exacerbated in recent weeks after Ukrainian forces conducted a surprise incursion into Russia's Kursk region, a bordering area, on August 6, during which Kyiv captured nearly as much territory as Russia since the start of the war.
The independent outlet conducted an exclusive interview with Volyntsev to get further clarification about the letter's contents.
Ukraine is currently in control of about 1,000 square kilometers of the bordering region, according to Ukrainian Armed Forces Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrsky.
Russian officials have routinely accused NATO of being complicit in the war for providing Ukraine with weapons and aid.
Volyntsev confirmed to Novaya Gazeta that he told Putin to consider using nuclear weapons "to achieve all goals [of the war] faster."
"The situation at the front has become so bogged down and drawn out," he said, noting that Russia has failed to carry out any "major breakthrough military actions."
While acknowledging Russia has the upperhand in the war, he believes it is still "moving quite slowly."
"The [Russian] people have a question: When will we finally finish and achieve what we wanted?" he asked.
"Secondly, we have to endure terrorist attacks on Russian soil, and these attacks are organized, in fact, by the West, with the help of Western weapons, with the help of their intelligence resources, in fact with the direct participation of the collective West.
He continued: "And we do not respond. And here the people have a question: why not respond properly, we are a nuclear power?"
Volyntsev proposed using nuclear weapons to strike Ukraine's Beskydy Tunnel, a rail route in the Lviv region believed to be used for transport of Western weapons to Ukrainian forces.
He noted that the tunnels, which also serve as "the most reliable bomb shelters," would be "very difficult" to destroy with conventional weapons, which is why he suggests using nuclear power.
Volyntsev suggested using "small hydrogen bombs" to conduct a "gentle nuclear strike" on the tunnel "in order to block the main supply routes."
"Yes, some radioactivity will be induced. But this is an option that does not leave a large radioactive contamination of the atmosphere and load on the soil," he claims. "Yes, there will be casualties... but everything can be done with minimal destruction."
Volyntsev, who described the current conflict as "a war of attrition," argued that "without Western assistance, everything would have ended long ago."
"How can this Western assistance be cut off?" he asked, arguing that "it is necessary to block the flow of weapons, other materials and equipment that allow the Ukrainian regime to exist."
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