Gen. Mark Milley, the Pentagon swamp creature who brought us the Afghanistan pullout and turned the U.S. military focus to “white rage,” doesn’t seem to be able to get Russia’s generals, now bombing Ukraine, to return his phone calls.
“Ukraine – Russia”
Trudeau says he’ll go shopping for weapons for Ukraine because our armed forces gave away their crappy old stuff
Canada is looking at ways to get more weapons into the hands of Ukrainian soldiers, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Thursday after an emergency meeting of NATO leaders.
He made the commitment even though his own defence minister, Anita Anand, has acknowledged publicly that the Canadian military’s stock of surplus weapons available for donation is largely depleted.
What TV is telling Russians — and why they believe it
Shows about western terrorism in Crimea are aired alongside videos about Ukrainian shrines to Hitler
If you want to understand how Russians see the world, it helps to watch Russian TV. The Kremlin’s control over the airwaves permeates every part of Russia’s television schedules. There are no longer soap operas or series during waking hours, just relentless TV shows about Russia’s place in the world. The popular and execrable “news” discussion show 60 Minutes now often lasts two to three hours. It is as if General Hospital and Days of our Lives were replaced with 200 minutes of state propaganda.
Such shows depict Russia’s horrific assault on Ukrainian towns, cities and people as a special military operation. They are punctuated with clips of Vladimir Putin celebrating a successful and preemptive mission to free Donbas from genocidal Ukrainian butchers. Russians and non-Russians alike see the human misery and detritus of an unprovoked invasion by a fascistic army — except Russians think that army belongs to Ukraine.
The Biden administration says the U.S. will accept 100,000 refugees from Ukraine.
BRUSSELS — The United States will accept 100,000 Ukrainian refugees into the country and will donate $1 billion to help European countries deal with the surge of migrants fleeing Russia’s invasion, a person familiar with the decision said on Thursday.
More than three million Ukrainians have poured into Poland and other countries as the forces of President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia have bombarded civilian areas in cities across Ukraine.
United States officials have repeatedly said they expect that most Ukrainian refugees will want to stay in Europe, close to their homes. But President Biden, who is in Brussels for three back-to-back summits with allies, is expected to announce that the administration will accept 100,000 refugees who want to come to America.
Russian soldier reportedly runs over commander with tank in protest
A Russian soldier reportedly drove over his colonel with a tank — while two other service members were caught venting about strongman Vladimir Putin’s “bulls—” invasion of Ukraine amid reports of heavy losses.
The Russian soldier who was behind the wheel of the tank “blamed the commander of the group, Col. Yury Medvedev, for the deaths of his friends,” Ukrainian journalist Roman Tsimbalyuk said on Facebook.
There are numerous pieces floating about purportedly illustrating the breakdown of the Russian army. I am not sure I trust them.
Ukrainians mocked Russian troops while jamming their unsecured radio networks
Unsecured radio networks allowed Ukrainians with radio jammers to mock Russian troops during an attack on a town near Kyiv, a New York Times investigation reveals.
Russians advancing on the town of Makariv on February 27 encountered significant resistance and — over their radio networks — even derision amid their attack, the paper reported.
Another two pr. 775 landing ships – "Novocherkassk" and "Caesar Kunikov" were damaged too, however they managed to sail away. Presumably, the cause of the incident is a Ukrainian "Tochka-U" ballistic missile hit. pic.twitter.com/dBinch60rd
— 🇺🇦 Ukraine Weapons Tracker (@UAWeapons) March 24, 2022
The Russian who predicted a debacle in Ukraine
The clip at the end of this post was filmed in April 2021, if you can believe it, but it’s making the rounds on political Twitter today thanks to some new English subtitles that reveal the prescience of the speaker, Alexander Nevzorov. A little googling proves him to be an interesting character, a journalist turned parliamentarian turned filmmaker turned horse-riding enthusiast turned fierce critic of religion and Putin’s government. Some of his specific forecasts about a war between Russia and Ukraine turned out to be on the money, as you’ll see, from the high morale of Ukrainian troops that no one in the Kremlin expected to the shocking haplessness of the Russian air force.
Ukraine demands unlimited NATO aid against Russia’s month-old war
A month since Russia launched its shock invasion, Ukraine’s leader pleaded Thursday for NATO to “save” his shattered country with unrestricted military aid, so its armed forces could transform their dogged defence into attack.
While Kyiv and Western intelligence report battlefield gains against the Russians, the vast scale of civilian suffering was made stark as the UN said more than half of all Ukraine’s children have been driven from their homes.
After urging global street protests to denounce the war, President Volodymyr Zelensky told NATO leaders that Russia had unleashed phosphorus bombs on Ukraine along with indiscriminate shelling of civilians.
‘Shame on you’: How President Zelensky uses speeches to get what he needs
While his army has fought tenaciously on the battlefields of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky has waged an information war on the capitals of the Western world.
He’s addressed 10 parliaments in two weeks, receiving standing ovations everywhere.
Live by video link from a besieged capital, wearing a green t-shirt and sporting several days of stubble, he often signs off with a clenched fist salute. As applause rings out, he disappears. He’s a man in a hurry, after all, with truly existential matters to attend to.
VIDEO: ‘Ukraine matters.’
Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky calls on the world to “show your standing”, urging people to “come from your offices, your homes, your schools and universities” to “say that people matter. Freedom matters. Peace matters. Ukraine matters” pic.twitter.com/89Mg5ZGvvi
— AFP News Agency (@AFP) March 24, 2022
Can America and NATO Avoid a Broader War Over Ukraine?
Make no mistake. By supplying Ukraine with weapons, ammunition, and intelligence the United States and NATO are waging a proxy war against Russia. And in his speech to Congress, Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky pulled on America’s heartstrings in a plea for Washington to “do more.” That is, to deepen U.S. involvement. But the United States and NATO already are pushing their support for Ukraine into a danger zone where the risk of a direct U.S./NATO confrontation with Russia is rising. At the same time, negotiations between Kyiv and Moscow suggest a diplomatic resolution of the war is within reach. It is to this effort to end the war that Washington’s energies should be focused.
#Ukraine: Very dramatic footage showing a claimed Russian tank obliterated by a Stugna-P ATGM. pic.twitter.com/q6YG800QhD
— 🇺🇦 Ukraine Weapons Tracker (@UAWeapons) March 23, 2022
The Covid-cautious are hungriest for war
There’s a strong correlation between a fear of Covid and a desire for open conflict
Risk calculus is a funny thing. According to a new poll, the Canadians most cautious about the risk of catching Covid-19 are also the most likely to support open war between Russia and the United States.
It wasn’t a big sample, but the results were stark.
The three Russian cyber-attacks the West most fears
US President Joe Biden has called on private companies and organisations in the US to “lock their digital doors”, claiming that intelligence suggests Russia is planning a cyber-attack on the US.
The UK’s cyber-authorities are also supporting the White House’s calls for “increased cyber-security precautions”, though neither has given any evidence that Russia is planning a cyber-attack.
Russia has previously stated that such accusations are “Russophobic”.
However, Russia is a cyber-superpower with a serious arsenal of cyber-tools, and hackers capable of disruptive and potentially destructive cyber-attacks.
‘We’re going back to a USSR’: long queues return for Russian shoppers as sanctions bite
The lines for sugar in Saratov were hard not to compare to the Soviet era, part of a recent run on Russian staples that have revived fears that the Kremlin’s invasion in Ukraine will lead to a virtual slide back to the shortages or endless queues of the Soviet Union.
Bags of sugar and buckwheat began disappearing from local markets in early March, just a week after Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine. And when the local mayor’s office announced that it would hold special markets for people to buy the staples last week, hundreds showed up.
As the World Watches Ukraine, Afghanistan Goes Full Taliban
The Taliban are using detentions, repression, censorship, and killings to tighten their grip on power.
While the world’s attention is focused on Ukraine, Afghanistan has plunged into darkness. The Taliban are tightening their control amid growing reports of detentions, rapes, and summary executions of minorities, rights advocates, women, and people associated with the old government or the new resistance.
In the weeks since Russia’s Feb. 24 invasion of Ukraine, the Taliban have extended bans on many parts of what was once normal life before they took over the country last summer. Clampdowns on media, entertainment, and traditional holidays have been extended as the Taliban revive old practices, such as kidnapping foreigners for political leverage.
I remember the new and improved “Taliban light” yarn the media was telling just last year.
Ukrainian woman claims invading Russian soldiers killed, raped civilians
Anastasia Taran, a 30-year-old waitress who escaped Irpin, described how the invasion of the Russian forces has turned the city into “hell,” Euromaidan Press reported.
“There are plenty of Russian soldiers out there who just shoot people who enter private homes and, at best, just kick people out of their homes,” said Taran who now provides tips on Instagram on how to get out of the city.
“They rape women and the dead are just being dumped. They open the basements where people are hiding and shoot them.”
The hunt for superyachts of sanctioned Russian oligarchs
Two superyachts linked to Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich have docked in Turkey, beyond the reach of UK and EU sanctions.
Each of the vessels cost more than $500m and are among a number tracked by Lloyd’s List Intelligence. The shipping data experts have been monitoring on-board tracking devices and have shared this information exclusively with the BBC, enabling the journeys of these and other vessels linked to sanctioned Russians to be plotted.
A boatload of young Ukrainians tried to stop the superyacht My Solaris docking in Bodrum in Turkey. The other Abramovich-linked yacht Eclipse sailed to Marmaris.