Scrutable

Germany has proposed basing most of the 3,500 extra troops it plans to contribute to Nato forces on its own soil rather than in Lithuania, significantly softening its initial backing for more foreign forces to be stationed in the Baltics to deter any potential Russian aggression.

Vilnius and other capitals on Nato’s eastern flank have in recent weeks called for an increased military presence on their territory. German chancellor Olaf Scholz expressed support earlier this month for boosting the multinational troop presence that rotates every six months in the region.

According to western officials, Berlin’s latest proposal is for a brigade to be stationed in Germany and deployed to Lithuania — where it has led the existing 1,000-strong multinational battle group since 2017 — only if needed. The force would also have a permanent headquarters in Lithuania, manned by 50-60 staff and the rest of the personnel would regularly come to the country for training, the officials said.

EACLucifer wrote: ↑

Tue Jun 21, 2022 10:45 am

Simonyan disturbingly open about the use of famine as a weapon.

bjn wrote: ↑

Tue Jun 21, 2022 12:32 pm

EACLucifer wrote: ↑

Tue Jun 21, 2022 10:45 am

Simonyan disturbingly open about the use of famine as a weapon.

The Russians have form for that.

jimbob wrote: ↑

Tue Jun 21, 2022 1:11 pm

bjn wrote: ↑

Tue Jun 21, 2022 12:32 pm

EACLucifer wrote: ↑

Tue Jun 21, 2022 10:45 am

Simonyan disturbingly open about the use of famine as a weapon.

The Russians have form for that.

In Ukraine as well

Ukrainian pilots said that their Air Force has mostly pulled back strikes using Turkish Bayraktar drones that proved effective at stopping Russian tank advances during the battle of Kyiv.

'Now that they’ve built up good air defenses, they’re almost useless,” said one pilot.

EACLucifer wrote: ↑

Fri Jun 24, 2022 8:52 am

Deliberate destruction of a grain terminal, part of Russia's ongoing attempts to starve the world into supporting them.

TopBadger wrote: ↑

Fri Jun 24, 2022 9:54 am

EACLucifer wrote: ↑

Fri Jun 24, 2022 8:52 am

Deliberate destruction of a grain terminal, part of Russia's ongoing attempts to starve the world into supporting them.

Risky - more likely rally support for international operations to boot the Russians out?

One might think this could be done salami style... emplacing 'Iron Dome' type systems and air defenses with a no fly zone in the west of Ukraine then gradually shuffling the line of protection it provides eastward?

Woodchopper wrote: ↑

Tue Jun 21, 2022 10:25 pm

Ukrainian pilots said that their Air Force has mostly pulled back strikes using Turkish Bayraktar drones that proved effective at stopping Russian tank advances during the battle of Kyiv.

'Now that they’ve built up good air defenses, they’re almost useless,” said one pilot.

https://twitter.com/JackDetsch/status/1 ... jhRah0xsqg

They still have an important role providing reconnaissance.

EACLucifer wrote: ↑

Mon Jun 27, 2022 4:09 pm

Russians have hit a shopping centre in central Ukraine, a long way from the front line. Reportedly a lot of civilians present, casualties could be horrifyingly high. Two cruise or ballistic missiles used, so clearly the shopping centre was the target.

https://tass.com/politics/1473195 wrote:
‘Fake news’: Diplomat castigates claims about ‘Russian strike’ on Kremenchug mall

Maria Zakharova criticized the deliberate moves as hiding behind the backs of civilians, using them as human shields for the sake of the West’s geopolitical interests

MOSCOW, June 29. /TASS/ Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova has slammed as fake news Kiev’s reports about a Russian air strike at a shopping mall in Kremenchug.

"An attempt to claim that Russian forces struck a shopping mall in Kremenchug on June 27 is the latest blatant provocation by the [Ukrainian President Vladimir] Zelensky regime. The Kiev regime has claimed there were some 1,000 civilians in the mall, etc. Unfortunately, all this fake news was disseminated," the Russian diplomat said at a news conference on Wednesday."The Western countries could as well ask their regimes what’s the use of delivering and storing weapons and ammunition near a shopping center? It never occurred to either Western reporters, or Western NGOs and the `humanitarian activists’ who are so much concerned over the situation around Ukraine to ask this question," Zakharova remarked.

She criticized the deliberate moves as hiding behind the backs of civilians, using them as human shields for the sake of the West’s geopolitical interests.

"It is the storage facilities that the Russian Aerospace Forces destroyed with high-precision strikes," the spokeswoman emphasized.

On Tuesday, Defense Ministry Spokesman Lieutenant-General Igor Konashenkov reported that the Russian Aerospace Forces delivered high-precision surgical strikes on hangars containing US-and EU-supplied weapons near to a road machinery plant in Kremenchug. "The ensuing blast from the ammunition for the Western-supplied arms stored there sparked a fire at a defunct shopping mall located close to the plant," the general pointed out.

On Monday, Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky wrote on his Telegram channel that a shopping mall was ablaze in Kremenchug. He claimed that a rocket attack had caused the fire. Russian Deputy Permanent Representative to the UN Dmitry Polyansky said on Monday that this case resembled the false flag in Bucha, noting that the shopping mall incident had numerous glaring inconsistencies around it.

TimW wrote: ↑

Thu Jun 30, 2022 9:47 am

So: Russia didn't strike the shopping centre, it was a defunct shopping centre anyway, that Ukraine was using as human shields, even though nobody was there, when Ukraine themselves made a false flag attack on it, a provocation, like Bucha.

Fair enough, editor, there's not much you can do with source material like that.

TimW wrote: ↑

Thu Jun 30, 2022 9:47 am

EACLucifer wrote: ↑

Mon Jun 27, 2022 4:09 pm

Russians have hit a shopping centre in central Ukraine, a long way from the front line. Reportedly a lot of civilians present, casualties could be horrifyingly high. Two cruise or ballistic missiles used, so clearly the shopping centre was the target.

The poor people at TASS seem to have given up. They are only allowed to present the official line, so when that's plainly bollocks there's no point trying to make it look like a sensible account.

https://tass.com/politics/1473195 wrote:
‘Fake news’: Diplomat castigates claims about ‘Russian strike’ on Kremenchug mall

Maria Zakharova criticized the deliberate moves as hiding behind the backs of civilians, using them as human shields for the sake of the West’s geopolitical interests

MOSCOW, June 29. /TASS/ Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova has slammed as fake news Kiev’s reports about a Russian air strike at a shopping mall in Kremenchug.

"An attempt to claim that Russian forces struck a shopping mall in Kremenchug on June 27 is the latest blatant provocation by the [Ukrainian President Vladimir] Zelensky regime. The Kiev regime has claimed there were some 1,000 civilians in the mall, etc. Unfortunately, all this fake news was disseminated," the Russian diplomat said at a news conference on Wednesday."The Western countries could as well ask their regimes what’s the use of delivering and storing weapons and ammunition near a shopping center? It never occurred to either Western reporters, or Western NGOs and the `humanitarian activists’ who are so much concerned over the situation around Ukraine to ask this question," Zakharova remarked.

She criticized the deliberate moves as hiding behind the backs of civilians, using them as human shields for the sake of the West’s geopolitical interests.

"It is the storage facilities that the Russian Aerospace Forces destroyed with high-precision strikes," the spokeswoman emphasized.

On Tuesday, Defense Ministry Spokesman Lieutenant-General Igor Konashenkov reported that the Russian Aerospace Forces delivered high-precision surgical strikes on hangars containing US-and EU-supplied weapons near to a road machinery plant in Kremenchug. "The ensuing blast from the ammunition for the Western-supplied arms stored there sparked a fire at a defunct shopping mall located close to the plant," the general pointed out.

On Monday, Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky wrote on his Telegram channel that a shopping mall was ablaze in Kremenchug. He claimed that a rocket attack had caused the fire. Russian Deputy Permanent Representative to the UN Dmitry Polyansky said on Monday that this case resembled the false flag in Bucha, noting that the shopping mall incident had numerous glaring inconsistencies around it.

So: Russia didn't strike the shopping centre, it was a defunct shopping centre anyway, that Ukraine was using as human shields, even though nobody was there, when Ukraine themselves made a false flag attack on it, a provocation, like Bucha.

Fair enough, editor, there's not much you can do with source material like that.

TimW wrote: ↑

Thu Jun 30, 2022 9:47 am

EACLucifer wrote: ↑

Mon Jun 27, 2022 4:09 pm

Russians have hit a shopping centre in central Ukraine, a long way from the front line. Reportedly a lot of civilians present, casualties could be horrifyingly high. Two cruise or ballistic missiles used, so clearly the shopping centre was the target.

The poor people at TASS seem to have given up. They are only allowed to present the official line, so when that's plainly bollocks there's no point trying to make it look like a sensible account.

EACLucifer wrote: ↑

Fri Jul 01, 2022 7:58 am

TimW wrote: ↑

Thu Jun 30, 2022 9:47 am

EACLucifer wrote: ↑

Mon Jun 27, 2022 4:09 pm

Russians have hit a shopping centre in central Ukraine, a long way from the front line. Reportedly a lot of civilians present, casualties could be horrifyingly high. Two cruise or ballistic missiles used, so clearly the shopping centre was the target.

The poor people at TASS seem to have given up. They are only allowed to present the official line, so when that's plainly bollocks there's no point trying to make it look like a sensible account.

I wonder how they'll spin attacking blocks of flats in Odesa oblast overnight? Sadly it looks to be as bad as the Kremenchuk attack.

EACLucifer wrote: ↑

Fri Jul 01, 2022 7:58 am

I wonder how they'll spin attacking blocks of flats in Odesa oblast overnight? Sadly it looks to be as bad as the Kremenchuk attack.

"I would like to remind you once again Russia’s president and commander-in-chief has repeatedly said that the Russian army during the special military operation does not attack civilian targets or civilian infrastructure. It carries out strikes against military warehouses, industrial facilities where military equipment undergoes maintenance and repairs, ammunition depots and the sites where mercenaries and nationalist elements are stationed and trained," Peskov said while commenting on media claims a missile had hit an apartment building in the Odessa Region.

Peskov advised the media to contact the Russian Defense Ministry for details.

Woodchopper wrote: ↑

Sat Jul 02, 2022 11:12 am

Timothy Snyder eviscerates Jürgen Habermas: https://www.faz.net/aktuell/politik/aus ... 31718.html

Woodchopper wrote: ↑

Sat Jul 02, 2022 11:12 am

Timothy Snyder eviscerates Jürgen Habermas: https://www.faz.net/aktuell/politik/aus ... 31718.html

The dilemma that has forced the West to choose among alternatives in the range between two evils – a defeat of Ukraine or the escalation of a limited conflict into a third world war – is clear. On the one hand, we have learned from the Cold War that a war against a nuclear power can no longer be “won” in any reasonable sense, at least not with the means of military force within the limited timeline of a hot conflict.

But such projections are the foundation for the widespread assumption that Putin’s aggressive intentions extend beyond Ukraine to Georgia and the Republic of Moldova, and perhaps even to the Nato member states in the Baltic region and then even far into the Balkans.