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Russian soldiers sent Olga Novikova, founder/director of Mariupol film festival video with her captured son demanding to pay 5000 Euro ransom for his life. If not they promised to send video of his execution. links in comments. pic.twitter.com/VBtauH45IZ
Two charming little actresses, Elizabeth and Sonya, of the city theatre of Mariupol. They both performed the role of Lucy in "The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe".
Agreed. Nothing would surprise me about Patel. I wonder if having a tennis ball sized head for the lump of a body is part of her problem?
Anyway, yes, I’ve been reading more about Russia’s ‘filtration’ methods. Disgusting and horrific overtones of Hitler and Stalin. It is beyond undisciplined soldiers enjoying torture and killing. There is centralised policy in this and a disregard of people they consider nothing.
We are already at the stage of Russia deciding what sovereign states should exist or become colonies. Putin’s new world order. He’s a desperately dangerous man, yet appeasement and disinterest is growing.
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The 'special military operation' continues to reach new lows. on 20:19 - Jun 18 with 6206 views
The 'special military operation' continues to reach new lows. on 14:51 - May 22 by Eireannach_gorm
Suspect she is still alive. The video was handed over before she was captured and the Russians were aware of her popularity. The Russian tactic of kidnapping local officials etc has come unstuck with the fact that the Ukrainians have plenty of captured Russian soldiers. The Russians may easily murder local civilians but high profile people will be kept prisoner for exchanges.
Would love if Putin pursued this as it would involve NATO but he won't. Threatening retaliation and calling in the EU ambassador is about it
Russia threatens retaliation over goods transit ban Russia has threatened to retaliate over Lithuania’s ban on the transit of some goods across its territory to the Russian Baltic Sea exclave of Kaliningrad.
The move by the government in Vilnius was described as “unprecedented” in Moscow, where the Russian foreign office said they reserved the right to respond to protect their national interest.
Putin’s spokesperson, Dmitry Peskov, further escalated tensions on Monday by threatening a response to what he said was an “illegal move”.
This decision is really unprecedented. It’s a violation of everything. We consider this illegal. The situation is more than serious … We need a serious in-depth analysis in order to work out our response.”
Wedged between Lithuania to its north and east, and Poland to its south, Kaliningrad is about 800 miles (1,300km) from Moscow and relies on much of its supplies coming in by rail.
Russia’s foreign ministry said Vilnius must reverse the “openly hostile” move.
If cargo transit between the Kaliningrad region and the rest of the Russian Federation via Lithuania is not fully restored in the near future, then Russia reserves the right to take actions to protect its national interests,” it said.
Kaliningrad is about 800 miles (1,300km) from Moscow and relies on much of its supplies coming in by rail. Lithuania’s foreign minister, Gabrielius Landsbergis, said Moscow was spreading false information and that the state railway service was acting lawfully by merely implementing the EU’s sanctions regime prohibiting the supply of steel or goods made from iron ore to Russia.
Landsbergis said that under half of the goods usually supplied by transiting across Lithuania would be covered by the sanctions regime over time, with the ban on steel coming into force on 17 June.
“I think there was some false information, not for the first time, announced by the Russian authorities, but I’m glad that we have a chance to explain this,” he said. “At this point, about slightly less than half of goods that transit Lithuania are on the sanctions list, but that doesn’t mean that all of them are under sanctions right now.
“Because there are different wind-down periods, and some of it, for example oil, will be sanctioned just at the end of the year, starting from December, even though the authorities have announced it is sanctioned already, which is not true actually.”
Russia’s deputy foreign minister, Sergei Ryabkov, has warned the west to stop talking about triggering Nato’s “article 5” mutual defence clause in a standoff between Lithuania and Russia.
Ryabkov was quoted by the Interfax news agency as saying: "I would like to warn Europeans against dangerous rhetorical games on the topic of conflict."
His comments come after the US government said yesterday that its commitment to article 5 of Nato’s founding treaty, which states that an attack on one member of the alliance is an attack on all, was “ironclad”.
They can give it but they can't take it. Note that this warning did not mention consequences.
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The 'special military operation' continues to reach new lows. on 19:36 - Jun 22 with 5969 views
The geography of these countries make them the logical choice for Putin. They are relatively small too. The ‘dispute’ over the corridor to Kaliningrad is the perfect excuse. If Russia was to start by grabbing the territory the rail links go through, say a band of 50 miles, who would stop them? Nobody dare risk WW3 over Ukraine and they certainly wouldn’t over Kaliningrad access. The bluster over Nato mutual support is just that.
The irony is that this area is part of what was Prussia. The city was called Konigsberg and Russia kept it after WW2. Perhaps Germany should claim it back!
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The 'special military operation' continues to reach new lows. on 13:43 - Jun 23 with 5893 views
The geography of these countries make them the logical choice for Putin. They are relatively small too. The ‘dispute’ over the corridor to Kaliningrad is the perfect excuse. If Russia was to start by grabbing the territory the rail links go through, say a band of 50 miles, who would stop them? Nobody dare risk WW3 over Ukraine and they certainly wouldn’t over Kaliningrad access. The bluster over Nato mutual support is just that.
The irony is that this area is part of what was Prussia. The city was called Konigsberg and Russia kept it after WW2. Perhaps Germany should claim it back!
Don't agree with you on this. A lot of the small former soviet NATO members are itching to play the mutual support card because the know they are next on the list. This is different to Ukraine because they were not in NATO.
I would be a bit more concerned about Moldova who is also not in NATO
The 'special military operation' continues to reach new lows. on 13:43 - Jun 23 by Eireannach_gorm
Don't agree with you on this. A lot of the small former soviet NATO members are itching to play the mutual support card because the know they are next on the list. This is different to Ukraine because they were not in NATO.
I would be a bit more concerned about Moldova who is also not in NATO
Historic #EUCO on EU enlargement – and a significant day for Ukraine, Moldova, and Georgia. It is 50 years since Ireland joined the EU, our single most transformative event in modern history. EU is sending a message of solidarity to Ukraine – you belong to the European family. pic.twitter.com/HYumW6UpHm
The 'special military operation' continues to reach new lows. on 13:43 - Jun 23 by Eireannach_gorm
Don't agree with you on this. A lot of the small former soviet NATO members are itching to play the mutual support card because the know they are next on the list. This is different to Ukraine because they were not in NATO.
I would be a bit more concerned about Moldova who is also not in NATO
You are probably right. DW usually has a good take on things. It’s all about which he goes for first, not whether he’s going to, for me.
As for the EU, their candidate status can do no harm whatsoever, but I don’t think it’ll make any difference to Putin’s territorial ambitions. Finland looking to join NATO and having a relatively strong defence might keep the wolf from their door. Sweden too.
Baltics or Moldova? An interesting one that perhaps hinges on how United he perceives NATO to be. The key to this is the US and what they’re prepared to do.
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The 'special military operation' continues to reach new lows. on 14:01 - Jun 24 with 5795 views
— The New Voice of Ukraine (@NewVoiceUkraine) June 24, 2022
Tremendous. What a grand little chap!
I see according to BBC that Ukraine has ordered it’s forces to withdraw from Severodonetsk. This is a really important victory for Russia and nearly gives them control of this so called disputed territory - or Russian land grab as it really is.
Will Russia push on to Odessa closing out the coast now or westward and north to encircle Kiev?
Ukraine has done well to last so long, but I really can’t see it lasting too much longer, despite commentators saying years. There is only so long you can resist overwhelming military and economic force.
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The 'special military operation' continues to reach new lows. on 15:32 - Jun 24 with 5765 views
The 'special military operation' continues to reach new lows. on 14:17 - Jun 24 by Churchman
Tremendous. What a grand little chap!
I see according to BBC that Ukraine has ordered it’s forces to withdraw from Severodonetsk. This is a really important victory for Russia and nearly gives them control of this so called disputed territory - or Russian land grab as it really is.
Will Russia push on to Odessa closing out the coast now or westward and north to encircle Kiev?
Ukraine has done well to last so long, but I really can’t see it lasting too much longer, despite commentators saying years. There is only so long you can resist overwhelming military and economic force.
I think that the withdrawal is strategic because Ukraine were never going to win an arm wrestle with Russia. They will move to the hills and pound the Russians with their longer range guns.
Regarding where Russia focus on next is probably only in Putins head but having thrown everything at Donbas there might be a hiatus to bury the dead.
I don't think Odesa will be attacked because the have mined the sea around it to prevent the Ukrainians exporting and in retaliation the Ukrainians have laid waste to Snake island and surrounding ship movements. Ukrainians have had great drone success with Russian ships and in Crimea. The Ukrainians cant afford to lose any more coastline so the will fight to the end to protect Odesa.
I suspect these attacks will increase by both sides.
The Russians may be reluctant to attack Kiev because of the bloody nose they got the last time.
They will still fire cruise missiles at both areas as this is an easier option.
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The 'special military operation' continues to reach new lows. on 16:00 - Jun 24 with 5751 views
The 'special military operation' continues to reach new lows. on 15:32 - Jun 24 by Eireannach_gorm
I think that the withdrawal is strategic because Ukraine were never going to win an arm wrestle with Russia. They will move to the hills and pound the Russians with their longer range guns.
Regarding where Russia focus on next is probably only in Putins head but having thrown everything at Donbas there might be a hiatus to bury the dead.
I don't think Odesa will be attacked because the have mined the sea around it to prevent the Ukrainians exporting and in retaliation the Ukrainians have laid waste to Snake island and surrounding ship movements. Ukrainians have had great drone success with Russian ships and in Crimea. The Ukrainians cant afford to lose any more coastline so the will fight to the end to protect Odesa.
I suspect these attacks will increase by both sides.
The Russians may be reluctant to attack Kiev because of the bloody nose they got the last time.
They will still fire cruise missiles at both areas as this is an easier option.
I suspect that depends on their stock of cruise missiles. I know they had plenty but 4 months of firing must have emptied the larder a tad.
Does Russia care about their casualties? They’ve given no sign of doing so. I guess it depends on how exhausted their army is, reinforcements and ammunition.
Would it be possible to go round it and blockade/starve/bombard it? The tactic was successful with Mariupol, albeit medieval. However, if Odessa is neutralised, I could see a renewal of a Kyiv assault. The failure a couple of months ago must really grind Putin’s gears.
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The 'special military operation' continues to reach new lows. on 17:11 - Jun 24 with 5743 views
Russian-installed Kherson official assassinated: Official
The deputy head of the Russian-installed authority in Kherson region says a senior official of the administration has been killed in an apparent assassination.
Dmitry Savluchenko, head of families, youth and sports department of the Kherson military-civilian administration, was killed in a bomb blast, the deputy head told Reuters news agency.
Russia’s TASS news agency said there were two burned-out cars in a courtyard of Kherson — the regional capital where the blast took place — and that the windows of a four-storey house had been shattered.
Kherson sits just northwest of the Russian-annexed Crimean peninsula and was occupied during the first week of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which began in February.
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The 'special military operation' continues to reach new lows. on 17:19 - Jun 24 with 5727 views
The 'special military operation' continues to reach new lows. on 17:11 - Jun 24 by Eireannach_gorm
7 hours ago (09:07 GMT)
Russian-installed Kherson official assassinated: Official
The deputy head of the Russian-installed authority in Kherson region says a senior official of the administration has been killed in an apparent assassination.
Dmitry Savluchenko, head of families, youth and sports department of the Kherson military-civilian administration, was killed in a bomb blast, the deputy head told Reuters news agency.
Russia’s TASS news agency said there were two burned-out cars in a courtyard of Kherson — the regional capital where the blast took place — and that the windows of a four-storey house had been shattered.
Kherson sits just northwest of the Russian-annexed Crimean peninsula and was occupied during the first week of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which began in February.
And this is the future the Russians have to look forward to if they proceed to 'win' this conflict.
In the long-term high-ranking officials will be targeted along with sympathisers.
The 'special military operation' continues to reach new lows. on 17:11 - Jun 24 by Eireannach_gorm
7 hours ago (09:07 GMT)
Russian-installed Kherson official assassinated: Official
The deputy head of the Russian-installed authority in Kherson region says a senior official of the administration has been killed in an apparent assassination.
Dmitry Savluchenko, head of families, youth and sports department of the Kherson military-civilian administration, was killed in a bomb blast, the deputy head told Reuters news agency.
Russia’s TASS news agency said there were two burned-out cars in a courtyard of Kherson — the regional capital where the blast took place — and that the windows of a four-storey house had been shattered.
Kherson sits just northwest of the Russian-annexed Crimean peninsula and was occupied during the first week of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which began in February.
Just read this. It doesn’t bode well for the next incumbent/the liberators. Not a job you’d apply for anyway. I suspect Russia will transport and replace as many people there as it can.
Chillingly, it reminds me of the assassination of that animal Heydrich who was killed in March 1942 in Prague by a couple of unbelievably brave agents Jan KubiÅ¡ and Jozef GabÄÃk.
It was an interesting one in that the sten gun jammed. Heydrich stood up in the car to fire back at them and one of the agents chucked a grenade. It was a bit of a rubbish throw, but the clever people who created ‘Churchill’s Toy shop’ had redesigned the contents of the grenade to make it far more powerful.
The explosion blew bits of the door into Heydrich. He died a week later in agony from septicaemia. Never was a painful death more deserved.
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The 'special military operation' continues to reach new lows. on 08:03 - Jun 25 with 5640 views
Sir Richard Shirreff, who served as Nato’s deputy supreme allied commander Europe between 2011 and 2014, and wrote a thriller in 2017 in which Putin’s Russia invades Ukraine before attacking Lithuania and the other Baltic states, is not so convinced.
“What does Putin want?” he asks. “He wants to re-establish a Russian empire, he wants to reunite Russian speakers under the banner of Mother Russia, to neutralise or destroy Nato, to decouple America from European security. He has said as much.
“Meanwhile, he has looked at the west and seen consistent western weakness: the disarmament of European countries; he has looked at the Barack Obama chemical weapons red line in 2013 and watched as Obama stepped back; absolutely watched how Trump treated the Nato alliance, and the collapse of the Nato mission in Afghanistan. What he has seen is consistent western weakness and he has decided to take the opportunity to achieve his strategic aims.”
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The 'special military operation' continues to reach new lows. on 09:09 - Jun 26 with 5572 views
So Russia has its victory in east Ukraine. And what a big victory it is. They’ve really made best use of their advantages in artillery and heavy weapons. Russia is now encircling and grinding up the remains of poor Ukraine’s forces in that area and will go onto the next stage, whatever direction that takes.
Meanwhile, the limp, weak west will dribble on at a meaningless G7 conference, all shiny suits plus useless Johnson in his tramps bin bag and sparkly pin badges. They’ll wear ready smiles and serious looks in equal measure and talk while looking at their watches.
The windy surrender brigade Macron and Scholtz will be worrying about their next call with Putin and how best to beg. Excruciatingly weak old Biden will be staring at his notes trying to work out where he is and whether he can make it to the toilet on time. Johnson checking where the fridge to hide in is and worrying about getting a job for his latest wife and so it goes on. Shambles and empty promises.
Poor old Zelenski. He’s been left in the lurch by the west. He’s been left to conveniently provide an honourable face to cover the slow death of his country.
Looking at the mess, it’s not hard to see why that animal Putin is doing as he pleases. I suspect that the fence sitters China, India, Africa and others will now fall in more openly with the strongman. Especially given the success of Russia’s grain blockade that’s blamed on western sanctions.
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