News and Updates about Russia's War against Ukraine.

Karen-W

Karen-W

Neither sexy nor sultry, but loving life!
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24,891
skatemomaz said:
Now right wing media and some politicians are pushing a claim that the US is operating Biolabs in Ukraine, mimicking Russian propaganda. I have gifted this piece https://wapo.st/3i0if6N

Thank goodness for journalists like Jennifer Griffin at Fox that valiantly push back on the likes of Hannity and Carlson.
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This was a self-inflicted wound by a State Dept official at a Senate hearing on Tuesday at which she tried to cryptically deflect from a question about biolabs asked by Rubio. If she'd been more transparent in her response then it would have been the nothing story it probably is. The WH didn't help matters any further when pressed about it during the press briefing yesterday. If the truth legitimately is that those biolabs are decommissioning old Soviet-era chemical/biohazardous materials then maybe just say so instead of trying to deflect and sounding very concerned about it during the hearing for a start. It isn't wrong for ANYONE in the media to question just what the US government is funding at overseas biolabs, especially in light of the fact that our tax dollars WERE going to fund gain-of-function experiments in Wuhan in the last decade.
 
taz'smum

taz'smum

'Be Kind' - every skater has their own story
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babayaga said:
I have been listening to many experts on Russia recently and the general opinion is that Putin is determined to recreate the Soviet Union and it's sphere of influence, including eastern Europe such as Poland, Romania, and so on. Ukraine and Moldova are step one, Baltic states are step two (using nuclear threat), and then the rest. So that insane list of demands to NATO that they presented two weeks before the war, it is not insane, it is their plan and they are determined to get it if not voluntarily then using military.
That would explain Putin's behavior in Ukraine - they do not care anymore what anyone says about him, they don't care about sanctions, he is just beginning. That would explain why Poland is terrified about those stupid jets. Maybe that's why NATO doesn't want to close Ukrainian sky, they know Russia is looking for a reason to confront some of NATO countries directly.

Hope this is all wrong but who knows.
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Putin is going to have to repair/replace the equipment damaged/destroyed in Ukraine if he intends invading other countries after Ukraine. That will be challenging with the sanctions.

Also, Putin will need more troops as he will need to leave a large number in Ukraine just to hang onto it.

That would mean higher levels of conscription which might make the people turn on the government. The sanctions are destroying the economy, so where will the money come from to train and feed these conscripts ?
 
skatemomaz

skatemomaz

Resist
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5,882
Karen-W said:
This was a self-inflicted wound by a State Dept official at a Senate hearing on Tuesday at which she tried to cryptically deflect from a question about biolabs asked by Rubio. If she'd been more transparent in her response then it would have been the nothing story it probably is. The WH didn't help matters any further when pressed about it during the press briefing yesterday. If the truth legitimately is that those biolabs are decommissioning old Soviet-era chemical/biohazardous materials then maybe just say so instead of trying to deflect and sounding very concerned about it during the hearing for a start. It isn't wrong for ANYONE in the media to question just what the US government is funding at overseas biolabs, especially in light of the fact that our tax dollars WERE going to fund gain-of-function experiments in Wuhan in the last decade.
Click to expand...
If you had actually read the story, this is not new and has long been known, the difference now is Russia is pushing lies and propaganda about the labs and Faux news is picking it up.

Snip from the story:
“There’s a long history of U.S. administrations on both sides of the aisle working on this program with Ukrainian and other former Soviet state labs,” Filippa Lentzos, an expert on international security at King’s College, told me.

Also note this: Griffin reminded Hannity that former Republican senator Richard Lugar of Indiana had long been working on these issues, to deal with “proliferation” of such weapons after the end of the Soviet Union.
And here’s a 2005 news article about Lugar’s success in negotiating a deal for U.S. aid to go to Ukraine to “improve security at facilities where dangerous microbes are kept.” That was 17 years ago.
Oh, and by the way, in 2013, President Barack Obama gave a speech honoring Lugar in which he joked about touring these same labs with Lugar. “Traveling with Dick,” wisecracked Obama, means getting close to “test tubes filled with anthrax and the plague.”
 
Karen-W

Karen-W

Neither sexy nor sultry, but loving life!
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24,891
skatemomaz said:
If you had actually read the story, this is not new and has long been known, the difference now is Russia is pushing lies and propaganda about the labs and Faux news is picking it up.

Snip from the story:
“There’s a long history of U.S. administrations on both sides of the aisle working on this program with Ukrainian and other former Soviet state labs,” Filippa Lentzos, an expert on international security at King’s College, told me.

Also note this: Griffin reminded Hannity that former Republican senator Richard Lugar of Indiana had long been working on these issues, to deal with “proliferation” of such weapons after the end of the Soviet Union.
And here’s a 2005 news article about Lugar’s success in negotiating a deal for U.S. aid to go to Ukraine to “improve security at facilities where dangerous microbes are kept.” That was 17 years ago.
Oh, and by the way, in 2013, President Barack Obama gave a speech honoring Lugar in which he joked about touring these same labs with Lugar. “Traveling with Dick,” wisecracked Obama, means getting close to “test tubes filled with anthrax and the plague.”
Click to expand...
But my original point remains. The State Dept official was being evasive and worrisome with her response to Rubio's question and the WH should have had a better answer than they did when questioned about it during the press briefing yesterday. This should have been a non-story and the fact is, the administration served this up on a silver platter for Hannity and Carlson.
 
B

babayaga

Well-Known Member
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1,287
taz'smum said:
Putin is going to have to repair/replace the equipment damaged/destroyed in Ukraine if he intends invading other countries after Ukraine. That will be challenging with the sanctions.

Also, Putin will need more troops as he will need to leave a large number in Ukraine just to hang onto it.

That would mean higher levels of conscription which might make the people turn on the government. The sanctions are destroying the economy, so where will the money come from to train and feed these conscripts ?
Click to expand...
You are correct. I think this grand plan included taking over Kiev in two days and then marching on. Now that he is stuck in Ukraine it indeed doesn't look possible anymore. But Putin may take his time. If he manages to break Ukraine he might think he will take a break for a year or two, then will continue. There are already reports that he started conscription in some areas of Russia disguised as military exercise preparation or something like that.

Putin prepared Russia for war in Ukraine using his state television for months from what I read. Various political talk-shows were explaining the rational behind the invasion day after day. I heard that today on one of those shows there was a discussion about Russia not stopping at the Ukrainian border, that it should keep moving west.
 
A

Allskate

Well-Known Member
Messages
11,928
babayaga said:
You are correct. I think this grand plan included taking over Kiev in two days and then marching on. Now that he is stuck in Ukraine it indeed doesn't look possible anymore. But Putin may take his time. If he manages to break Ukraine he might think he will take a break for a year or two, then will continue. There are already reports that he started conscription in some areas of Russia disguised as military exercise preparation or something like that.
Click to expand...
Putin can't take too much time. There are presidential elections, and he may not want too many Russian soldiers and a horrible economy in recent memory or still existing.

I saw an interview with the former American ambassador to Ukraine. She obviously can't know for certain why Putin has launched this war. However, she thinks he is probably surprised by the difficulty. And she also thinks that there are several factors at play, including the desire to restore the Russian Empire (including more than Ukraine), that he thought it would help him with re-election again, and that he really hates Zelensky.

Putin seems to have miscalculated. He thought the war would end with quick success and it would help him restore the Russian Empire, win re-election, and take out Zelensky. But, it's not going the way he thought. It might have backfired. He's helped make Zelensky a hero, he's battered the Russian economy and made Russian life more unpleasant, and more and more people are learning that he is a liar.
 
taz'smum

taz'smum

'Be Kind' - every skater has their own story
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3,227
As most people in Russia know that the state media is presenting a very 'Russian' view of the 'special operation', the state has been paying influencers and bloggers big money to come out in support of the invasion.

The objective is to make people feel like everyone around them is supporting the invasion and that they are isolated and all alone in their beliefs that the war is bad, so less likely to protest.

Sadly, I think this will be very effective propaganda.
 
text_skate

text_skate

Well-Known Member
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1,765
EU leaders back Ukraine but balk at fast-track membership

www.politico.eu

EU leaders back Ukraine but balk at fast-track membership

After hours of debate over Russia’s war, summit pledges to help refugees and deliver robust aid.
www.politico.eu www.politico.eu

the leaders “acknowledged the European aspirations and the European choice of Ukraine” and noted that its membership application had been “swiftly” transmitted to the European Commission for “its opinion” — the initial stage of a long process toward being declared a candidate country and beginning membership talks.

However, they also signaled a willingness to bring Ukraine closer to the EU politically while that process takes place: “Pending this and without delay, we will further strengthen our bonds and deepen our partnership to support Ukraine in pursuing its European path. Ukraine belongs to our European family.”
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Buzz

Buzz

Socialist Canada
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36,361
Putin is doing whatever he wants and the outside world seems unable to stop him. He is launching air strikes from Belarus, inviting foreign fighters from the Middle East and elsewhere to join the fight, and maybe getting ready to use chemical weapons. He is already bombing hospitals schools apartment buildings etc. At this point I doubt anything can stop him now.
 
Reuven

Reuven

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skatemomaz said:
Now right wing media and some politicians are pushing a claim that the US is operating Biolabs in Ukraine, mimicking Russian propaganda. I have gifted this piece https://wapo.st/3i0if6N

Thank goodness for journalists like Jennifer Griffin at Fox that valiantly push back on the likes of Hannity and Carlson.
Click to expand...
Accuse your enemies of that which YOU are doing. Oldest tactic in the book.
 
skatingguy

skatingguy

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Messages
12,859
Karen-W said:
But my original point remains. The State Dept official was being evasive and worrisome with her response to Rubio's question and the WH should have had a better answer than they did when questioned about it during the press briefing yesterday. This should have been a non-story and the fact is, the administration served this up on a silver platter for Hannity and Carlson.
Click to expand...
I don't think she could answer Rubio's question about biological & chemical weapons honestly in an open hearing.
 
text_skate

text_skate

Well-Known Member
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1,765
Last week's assault by Russian forces on the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant was far more dangerous than initial assessments suggested, according to an analysis by NPR of video and photographs of the attack and its aftermath.

A thorough review of a four-hour, 21-minute security camera video of the attack reveals that Russian forces repeatedly fired heavy weapons in the direction of the plant's massive reactor buildings, which housed dangerous nuclear fuel. Photos show that an administrative building directly in front of the reactor complex was shredded by Russian fire. And a video from inside the plant shows damage and a possible Russian shell that landed less than 250 feet from the Unit 2 reactor building.
Click to expand...

Video analysis reveals Russian attack on Ukrainian nuclear plant veered near disaster

text.npr.org
 
text_skate

text_skate

Well-Known Member
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1,765
youtube starts blocking more channels:
2/ In line with that, we are also now blocking access to YouTube channels associated with Russian state-funded media globally, expanding from across Europe. This change is effective immediately, and we expect our systems to take time to ramp up.
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Guess that will impact 1tv.tu's youtube channel

whole youtube thread
 
text_skate

text_skate

Well-Known Member
Messages
1,765
Sorry for 3rd post in a row. Here are some good news

Al Jazeera, report, today
Hundreds of Tunisians stranded in Ukraine return home safely
A flight to bring home 73 members of the Tunisian expatriate community in Ukraine returned this week. Operated by Tunisair, it was the fourth evacuation flight organised by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to fly out trapped Tunisian citizens since the Russian invasion of Ukraine started on February 24.
Click to expand...

www.aljazeera.com

Hundreds of Tunisians stranded in Ukraine return home safely

Vast majority of Tunisians caught in Russia-Ukraine war have evacuated, and others await flights back as fighting rages.
www.aljazeera.com www.aljazeera.com
 
Frau Muller

Frau Muller

From Puerto Rico…With Love!
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caseyedwards

caseyedwards

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18,593
This is not anti sanctions it’s just saying the more sanctions there are the less Putin has to lose by continuing. The hope is that there will be a coup. And that the people who take charge will all be like Masha Gessen and Garry Kasparov etc. it’s a big hope. Gorbachev was overthrown for a whole. That was something. Not by more liberal people though more communist people
 
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