Cont: The Russian invasion of Ukraine part 6

[8enotto]

What is a tankie in current slang?

First I have read it.

 

[Jack by the hedge]

What is a tankie in current slang?

First I have read it.

British communists who supported the Soviets sending in tanks to crush the Hungarian uprising in 1956 and the Prague spring in 1968 were called tankies as a term of abuse (by other British communists). So it's basically anyone who slavishly supports Moscow's line no matter what.

 

[Trebuchet]

Henry Kissinger* is calling for a cease fire followed by a negotiated peace settlement. Because that worked so well when he did it for South Vietnam.

*Surprised he's still alive? So was I. He's 99.

 

[dudalb]

Henry Kissinger* is calling for a cease fire followed by a negotiated peace settlement. Because that worked so well when he did it for South Vietnam.

*Surprised he's still alive? So was I. He's 99.

Luckily nobody is listening to Kissenger much any more.

 

[uke2se]

The minimum peace deal I believe the Ukrainians would accept is the complete withdrawal of Russian forces from all Ukrainian territory, including all stolen territory, the immediate return of all kidnapped children and adults and restitution for all the damage Russian aggression has caused.

In return, Ukraine will stop killing Russians.

I'd say that's a pretty fair deal.

 

[8enotto]

British communists who supported the Soviets sending in tanks to crush the Hungarian uprising in 1956 and the Prague spring in 1968 were called tankies as a term of abuse (by other British communists). So it's basically anyone who slavishly supports Moscow's line no matter what.

Thank you, that is a very specific thing in first use, but makes sense in current use.

 

[jimbob]

https://www.forbes.com/sites/davida...e-ten-times-its-size-and-won/?sh=2edee97f6c59

How Ukraine’s 1st Tank Brigade Fought A Russian Force Ten Times Its Size—And Won

The 1st Tank Brigade’s six-week defense of the city of Chernihiv, near the border with Belarus just 60 miles north of Kyiv, already was the stuff of legend when analysts Mykhaylo Zabrodskyi, Jack Watling, Oleksandr Danylyuk and Nick Reynolds revealed incredible new details in a study for the Royal United Services Institute in London.

 

[jeremyp]

A Russian sausage tycoon who denied criticising the war in Ukraine has suffered Oligarch Defenestration syndrome.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-64101437

 

[Jack by the hedge]

A Russian sausage tycoon who denied criticising the war in Ukraine has suffered Oligarch Defenestration syndrome.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-64101437

I was just coming to post the same story. Another day, another Russian tycoon who dared criticise the war falls out of a high window at his hotel in India. And he's the second person in the party to suddenly die, a friend having predeceased him at the same hotel just two days ago.

Is this the Russian version of Knives Out?

How many is that this year? I've honestly lost count.

I should have realised; the mystery deaths of Russian businessmen has it's own Wikipedia page. It's been a bad year for businessmen. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2022_Russian_businessmen_mystery_deaths?wprov=sfla1

 

[jeremyp]

I was just coming to post the same story. Another day, another Russian tycoon who dared criticise the war falls out of a high window at his hotel in India. And he's the second person in the party to suddenly die, a friend having predeceased him at the same hotel just two days ago.

Is this the Russian version of Knives Out?

How many is that this year? I've honestly lost count.

I should have realised; the mystery deaths of Russian businessmen has it's own Wikipedia page. It's been a bad year for businessmen. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2022_Russian_businessmen_mystery_deaths?wprov=sfla1

See also Russian mystery fires

 

[jimbob]

Good video by Perun on Bakhmut and attritional warfare.

 

[lobosrul5]

You propose to offer them the means to recover some of the invaded percentage of Eastern Ukraine and your price will be a percentage of Western Ukraine.

I do wonder how they'd feel about that.

Not what Bob wants I'm sure... or maybe not... But the US suddenly being given chunks of western Ukraine would be a pretty surefire way of starting WW3.

 

[SpitfireIX]

I think Bob meant that the US would get 3% of those oblasts' GDP.

 

[The Don]

If you're Russian and get killed or rendered incapable of reproducing in Ukraine, they've got you covered:

Russian soldiers called up to fight in Ukraine will have the chance to store frozen sperm in a cryobank for free, according to a leading Russian lawyer.

Russian Union of Lawyers head Igor Trunov told state news agency Tass the health ministry had responded to his appeal for a free cryobank, and changes to compulsory medical insurance.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-64107729

 

[The Don]

Various news:

Kherson is being battered by Russian forces and civilians are reportedly fleeing the city:

Ukraine war: Civilians flee Kherson as Russian attacks intensify

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-64102826

ISW are reporting that the Russians have likely punched themselves out in and around Bakhmut:

Russian forces in Bakhmut may be nearing culmination as Russian forces in Kherson did in August 2022. Russian combat losses are likely forcing the Russian military in the Bakhmut area to use squad-sized assault groups. Ukrainian Eastern Group of Forces Spokesperson Colonel Serhiy Cherevaty reported on December 27 that Russian forces in the Bakhmut area are no longer operating as company and battalion tactical groups and are instead operating in smaller groups of ten to fifteen servicemembers (squad-size organizations)

https://www.understandingwar.org/backgrounder/russian-offensive-campaign-assessment-december-27

This is reportedly similar to the position in Kherson before the Russian collapse although Russian sources are claiming to be advancing rapidly and are taking many towns and villages (though many of these have ben claimed many times).

Ukraine seems to be making modest, but substantial, gains in the Kharkiv sector:

Ukrainian forces likely captured Dvorichna, Novomlynsk, and Tavilzhanka in northeastern Kharkiv Oblast and Kolomiychikha in Luhansk Oblast given that both Russian and Ukrainian sources reported Russian shelling against these settlements on December 27.

 

[theprestige]

Various news:

Kherson is being battered by Russian forces and civilians are reportedly fleeing the city:

To be clear: Kherson is being battered by long-range artillery. These are retaliation attacks similar to those being suffered by Ukrainian civilians all over the country. It seems that Kherson has recently be singled out for this "inconvenience" as a sort of backhanded Christmas present.

Kherson is *not* being assaulted by Russian forces. It seems clear that the Russians lack the wherewithal to mount any kind of serious offensive anywhere in Ukraine right now.

 

[Bob001]

A chilling account of Russia's last war on Ukraine.

Desperate, starving people, deprived of their livelihood by ruthless edicts of Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin, were forced to eat grass, tree bark, flowers, rats, dogs and, in the end, their children, historians have recorded.

People died in the streets, on sidewalks, in train stations, in farm fields and on country roads. About 4 million of them perished in the great famine, known as the Holodomor, or death by hunger.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/history/2022/03/12/holodomor-famine-ukraine-stalin/

 

[jimbob]

Good op-ed piece for CNN by a member of Chatham House (RUSI)

https://www.cnn.com/2022/12/20/opinions/russia-ukraine-us-patriot-missile-defense-giles/index.html

Part of it,

The escalation game
Since well before February’s invasion, portentous but vague threats from Russia of unspecified but alarming responses have been sufficient to serve as a massive brake on Western support for Ukraine.

And for almost a year afterward, Western powers were careful not to give the Ukrainian armed forces weapons that could threaten Russia itself.

In doing so, the West has played along with the Kremlin’s pretense that it is not at war, only waging a “special military operation.” In effect, it has protected Russia from the consequences of its own aggression.

It covers a lot more than that, and is in line with how we've seen Russia respond

 

[lobosrul5]

Good op-ed piece for CNN by a member of Chatham House (RUSI)

https://www.cnn.com/2022/12/20/opinions/russia-ukraine-us-patriot-missile-defense-giles/index.html

Part of it,





It covers a lot more than that, and is in line with how we've seen Russia respond

Meanwhile, Russia will continue to look for sources of replacement weapons as it scrapes the barrel for repurposed or adapted missiles to launch at Ukraine. And Iran may not be the only country willing to supply Russia in the future.

So instead of risking escalation to WW3 with a nuclear power, we could just start destroying any supplied weapons on their way to Russia from any non-nuclear power... just a suggestion.

 

[Reformed Offlian]

Meanwhile, Russia will continue to look for sources of replacement weapons as it scrapes the barrel for repurposed or adapted missiles to launch at Ukraine. And Iran may not be the only country willing to supply Russia in the future.

So instead of risking escalation to WW3 with a nuclear power, we could just start destroying any supplied weapons on their way to Russia from any non-nuclear power... just a suggestion.

Should we also wear eyepatches and go around saying "Arrrr?"