Russian forces invade Ukraine with strikes on major cities

[Huat Zai]

Ukrainian soldier who told Russian warship to go 'F*** yourself' awarded medal

 

 

The Ukrainian soldier, who told a Russian invading warship to go "F*** yourself", was awarded a civic medal for refusing to surrender.

 

 

 

The show of valour and defiance in the face of foreign aggression on the first day of war on Feb. 24, has since been immortalised with the phrase going down in history as one of the most famous put-downs.

 

https://mothership.sg/2022/03/ukraine-soldier-snake-island-medal/

 

I was told that swearing makes you look low class... lies..

Edited March 31, 2022 by Huat Zai

[Huat Zai]

 

[The_King]

Not great, not terrible

 

Russians fled Chernobyl with radiation sickness, says Ukraine as IAEA investigates

 

 

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/apr/01/russians-fled-chernobyl-with-radiation-sickness-says-ukraine-as-iaea-investigates

[Huat Zai]

1 hour ago, The_King said:

Not great, not terrible

 

Russians fled Chernobyl with radiation sickness, says Ukraine as IAEA investigates

 

 

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/apr/01/russians-fled-chernobyl-with-radiation-sickness-says-ukraine-as-iaea-investigates

Zelenskyy should offer (forcefully) that piece of land to Putin for the peace talks.

[Huat Zai]

Ukraine strikes fuel depot in Russia's Belgorod, regional governor says

 

This handout picture released on Feb 21, 2022, by the press service of the General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces shows Ukrainian soldiers taking part in exercises in an unknown location in Ukraine. (File photo: AFP/STR, General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces press service handout)

 

Two of Ukraine's military helicopters struck a fuel depot in the Russian city of Belgorod on Friday (Apr 1), a Russian official has said, making the first accusation of a Ukrainian air strike on Russian soil since Moscow invaded its neighbour in late February.

Video images of the purported attack posted online showed what looked like several missiles being fired from low altitude, followed by an explosion. Reuters has not yet been able to verify the images.

The helicopters struck the facility after crossing the border at low altitude, regional governor Vyacheslav Gladkov said on messaging app Telegram.

The resulting blaze injured two workers, Gladkov added, while some areas were being evacuated in the city near the Ukrainian border.

However, Russian oil firm Rosneft, which owns the fuel depot, said in a separate statement that no one was hurt in the fire, though it gave no information on the cause.

Ukraine's defence ministry could not immediately be reached for comment.

An ammunition depot near Belgorod caught fire on Wednesday, causing a series of blasts. At the time, Gladkov said that authorities were waiting for the Russian defence ministry to establish its cause.

Moscow calls its action in Ukraine "a special military operation".

 

https://www.channelnewsasia.com/world/ukraine-strikes-fuel-depot-russias-belgorod-regional-governor-says-2601131?cid=FBcna

 

 

 

[Huat Zai]

 

[Londonchocolateroll]

On 3/31/2022 at 1:09 PM, Huat Zai said:

Ukrainian soldier who told Russian warship to go 'F*** yourself' awarded medal

 

 

The Ukrainian soldier, who told a Russian invading warship to go "F*** yourself", was awarded a civic medal for refusing to surrender.

 

 

 

The show of valour and defiance in the face of foreign aggression on the first day of war on Feb. 24, has since been immortalised with the phrase going down in history as one of the most famous put-downs.

 

https://mothership.sg/2022/03/ukraine-soldier-snake-island-medal/

 

I was told that swearing makes you look low class... lies..

 

Reminds me of the famous reply "Nuts" at Battle of the Bulge

[Huat Zai]

Ukraine says it has regained control of 'whole Kyiv region'

Ukrainian soldiers stand by a burnt Russian tank on the outskirts of Kyiv, on Mar 31, 2022. (Photo: AFP/RONALDO SCHEMIDT)

 

KYIV: Ukraine has regained control of "the whole Kyiv region" after invading Russian forces retreated from some key towns near the Ukrainian capital, deputy defence minister Ganna Maliar said on Saturday (Apr 2).
 
"Irpin, Bucha, Gostomel and the whole Kyiv region were liberated from the invader," Maliar said on Facebook, referring to towns that have been heavily destroyed by fighting.
 
All three towns lie northwest of Kyiv and have suffered heavy destruction since Russia invaded Ukraine on Feb 24.

Irpin and Bucha, commuters towns outside Kyiv, were retaken by the Ukrainian army this week.

Both have seen large civilian death tolls.

AFP saw at least 20 bodies on a single street in Bucha on Saturday, including one with his hands tied.

The town's mayor said 280 people had been buried in a mass grave in Bucha and that the town is littered with corpses.

Authorities have said that at least 200 people have been killed in Irpin since Russia invaded Ukraine in late February.

 

Sappers were working to demine the town Saturday, with emergency services saying 643 explosives had been deactivated since Irpin was retaken by Ukrainian forces.

Gostomel, near Kyiv, was the setting of heavy fighting to take control of an airfield.

Ukraine has said Russia is withdrawing from northern areas and appears to be focusing on the east and south of Ukraine.

 

https://www.channelnewsasia.com/world/ukraine-regained-control-whole-kyiv-region-2604041

[Huat Zai]

Dead bodies pile up in Bucha as Ukraine demands new Russia sanctions over 'massacre'

 

Communal workers carry the body of a civilian man killed in the town of Bucha, Ukraine on Apr 3, 2022. (Photo: AFP/Sergei Supinsky)

 

Ukraine's foreign minister called on the G7 on Sunday (Apr 3) to impose "devastating" new sanctions on Russia and accused Moscow of carrying out a deliberate "massacre" in the town of Bucha outside Kyiv. 

Bucha mayor Anatoliy Fedoruk showed a Reuters team two corpses with white cloth tied around their arms, which - the mayor said - was what residents were forced to wear by fighters from Chechnya, a region in southern Russia that has deployed troops to Ukraine to support Russian forces.

One corpse appeared to have his hands bound by the white cloth, and to have been shot in the mouth.

"Any war has some rules of engagement for civilians. The Russians have demonstrated that they were consciously killing civilians," Fedoruk said.

Fedoruk said that 300 residents had been killed by the Russian army.

Reuters, which was taken to the scene by Ukrainian authorities, was not immediately able to verify the mayor's allegations. 

"It looks exactly like war crimes," President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's spokesman told BBC television.

"We found mass graves. We found people with their hands and with their legs tied up ... and with shots, bullet holes, in the back of their head.

"They were clearly civilians and they were executed."

 

At least 57 people were found buried in a mass grave, a local official said Sunday as he showed AFP the slit trench where the bodies lay.

"Here in this long grave, 57 people are buried," said Serhii Kaplychnyi, who identified himself as head of the rescue services in Bucha and who was organising the recovery of the bodies.

The mass grave is behind a church in the town's centre. Some of the bodies were either unburied or partially buried in the earth.

Roughly 10 bodies were visible, either unburied or partially covered by the earth.

Some of the bodies were concealed in black zip-up body bags while others were in civilian clothing.

"We are still gathering and looking for bodies, but the number has already gone into the hundreds," Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said, according to his ministry.

"Dead bodies lie on the streets. They killed civilians while staying there and when they were leaving these villages and towns," Kuleba said. 

Russia has so far not commented publicly on the allegations. Moscow has previously denied Ukrainian allegations that it has targeted civilians or carried out possible war crimes.

Kuleba called on the International Criminal Court to visit Bucha and other towns around Kyiv as soon as possible to gather evidence.

"I urge the International Criminal Court and international organisations to send their missions to Bucha and other liberated towns and villages of the Kyiv region, in cooperation with Ukrainian law enforcement agencies, to thoroughly collect all evidence of Russian war crimes," the ministry quoted him as saying.

"If I used to say that I will make every effort to bring the perpetrators to justice, now I am convinced that this is a matter of my life, which I will do until my last breath, until they are all held accountable," he said. 

Germany's Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock on Sunday called the images from Bucha "unbearable".

"The images from Bucha are unbearable, Putin's uninhibited violence is extinguishing innocent families and knows no boundaries," Baerbock wrote on Twitter.

"Those responsible for these war crimes must be made accountable. We will tighten the sanctions against Russia and will assist Ukraine even more in defending itself."

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said the killings of civilians in Bucha were "horrific".

"It is a brutality against civilians we haven't seen in Europe for decades, and it's horrific and it's absolutely unacceptable," Stoltenberg told CNN.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said that the images of large numbers of dead Ukrainians in Bucha were a "punch in the gut," speaking in an interview on CNN on Sunday.

 

https://www.channelnewsasia.com/world/dead-bodies-pile-bucha-ukraine-demands-new-russia-sanctions-over-massacre-2604961

 

[Huat Zai]

Village head and family killed by Russia - Ukraine

 

 

Russian forces have killed a village head, her husband and her son, Ukrainian officials say. This - and the discovery of the bodies of five men dressed in civilian clothes - has added to growing evidence of atrocities on the ground in Ukraine. The BBC's Yogita Limaye has been to visit the two scenes.

In the town of Bucha, just outside Kyiv, the horror of what unfolded during the Russian occupation is finally coming to light.

In the basement of a building that once housed a children's community centre, five bodies lay crumpled on the ground - five men dressed in civilian clothes, their hands bound behind their backs.

Some were shot in the head, others in the chest. They were yet to be identified, but Ukrainian officials said the men were taken hostage by Russian soldiers and executed.

"We heard them being shot," said Vlad, one of the volunteers who carried the bodies up from the basement. "We heard mines go off in the area. Around us there are mines. We are lucky we are alive."

Vlad described hearing a husband calling after his wife who went out into the street to get water, then a volley of shots. Later he found both husband and wife dead. "I can tell you so many stories but I don't want to," he said. "I want to forget them."

Not far away, in the village of Motoyzhyn, four bodies lay in a shallow grave in the woods. Three have been identified - 51-year-old Olha Sukhenko, her husband Igor and her son Oleksander, who was 25.

Olha was the head of the village. It is believed that she and her family were killed on suspicion of helping Ukrainian soldiers, and left on the edge of the woods, half-buried, Olha's hand and her son's face visible through the dirt.

The Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky visited Bucha on Monday. "We want you to show the world what happened here, what the Russian military did, what the Russian Federation did in peaceful Ukraine. It was important for you to see that these were civilians," he said.

He said Ukraine was still prepared to negotiate with Russia. "Ukraine deserves peace," he told the BBC. "We can't live with war. Every day our army is fighting, but we don't want the lives of millions to be lost. That's why we have to have dialogue with Russia."

Elsewhere in Bucha, there were reports of a mass grave, dug to accommodate bodies from the overflowing morgue. Images and video footage showed dead civilians with their hands tied behind their backs. Evidence was mounting by the hour on Monday of grave atrocities in this once peaceful city.

The mayor, Anatoliy Fedoruk, said that at least 300 civilians had been killed. There is no official tally yet. Russia has denied any involvement, claiming that the visual evidence had all been faked, but its denials have been met with outrage. Its broken-down, burned-out tanks littered one long road into Bucha.

 

We now know some of what happened here, just west of Kyiv. But there are more cities and towns across Ukraine that are still under Russian control. The fear is that what was found here will be found elsewhere, that there will be more bodies in basements and shallow graves.

 

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-60989632

[Huat Zai]

 

[XianGe]

Dun tink Ukraine can hold out for long... 

[Huat Zai]

29 minutes ago, XianGe said:

Dun tink Ukraine can hold out for long... 

 

I'm genuinely surprised that  they even held out this long.

 

Tia gong from all those "sexperts", Ukrainians are prepared to go guerilla. Looking at Afghanistan, the Russians suck at it. Don't think Zelenskyy wants to win, he wants to drag Pudding to hell with him.

Edited April 10, 2022 by Huat Zai

[XianGe]

39 minutes ago, Huat Zai said:

 

I'm genuinely surprised that  they even held out this long.

 

Tia gong from all those "sexperts", Ukrainians are prepared to go guerilla. Looking at Afghanistan, the Russians suck at it. Don't think Zelenskyy wants to win, he wants to drag Pudding to hell with him.

 

Puddin still hab nuke.. so if he dulan wanna flip table  he will jz fire one over... Price of freedom is notch cheap... It's a shame NATO jz let the Ukrainian die like that... 

[Huat Zai]

Just now, XianGe said:

 

Puddin still hab nuke.. so if he dulan wanna flip table  he will jz fire one over... Price of freedom is notch cheap... It's a shame NATO jz let the Ukrainian die like that... 

If he flip table, it's gives the whole world an excuse to go crazy and

 

Hopefully he's just stupid, not crazy.

[XianGe]

Just now, Huat Zai said:

If he flip table, it's gives the whole world an excuse to go crazy and

 

Hopefully he's just stupid, not crazy.

See how big his balls r... Go ahead nuke everyone to show he means business... Since go war liao might as well go all out... Fire nuke at tiongland then blame US then drag bro xi to help chiu take Europe... 

[Huat Zai]

1 minute ago, XianGe said:

See how big his balls r... Go ahead nuke everyone to show he means business... Since go war liao might as well go all out... Fire nuke at tiongland then blame US then drag bro xi to help chiu take Europe... 

 

 

[XianGe]

Just now, Huat Zai said:

 

 

 

The world now at stagnation... Need something drastic to bring world peace n new wave

 

[socrates469bc]

1 hour ago, XianGe said:

Dun tink Ukraine can hold out for long... 

 

Just now, XianGe said:

See how big his balls r... Go ahead nuke everyone to show he means business... Since go war liao might as well go all out... Fire nuke at tiongland then blame US then drag bro xi to help chiu take Europe... 

 

u smelly peasants all watch too much cnn fake history liao.

 

theres a reason why russian conscripts r refusing to fight.

 

 

 

[XianGe]

Just now, socrates469bc said:

 

 

u smelly peasants all watch too much cnn fake history liao.

 

theres a reason why russian conscripts r refusing to fight.

 

 

 

 

They too closely related liao

[socrates469bc]

Just now, XianGe said:

 

They too closely related liao

 

the turning point came with the stalinist purge of the 1930s whereby the ukranians underwent a severe famine as a result of collectivisation.

 

since then, many ukranians hated their soviet russian cousins to the core.

 

btw, stalin is georgian, a rarity in slavic-dominated communist party.

[Huat Zai]

22 minutes ago, socrates469bc said:

 

the turning point came with the stalinist purge of the 1930s whereby the ukranians underwent a severe famine as a result of collectivisation.

 

since then, many ukranians hated their soviet russian cousins to the core.

 

btw, stalin is georgian, a rarity in slavic-dominated communist party.

Tia gong the most harden Soviet troops also came from Ukraine. It's a bit like throw the corrupt Late Qing soldiers at a country descended from Spartans.

 

Edited April 10, 2022 by Huat Zai

[Huat Zai]

Inside the elite Ukrainian drone unit founded by volunteer IT experts: 'We are all soldiers now.'

 

 

An elite Ukrainian drone unit founded by volunteer IT experts is becoming a crucial part of the resistance against invading Russian forces.

Aerorozvidka custom-builds or modifies off-the-shelf consumer drones to work in a military context and drop bombs on Russian vehicles under the cover of night.

"Now, we are all soldiers, but our roots are very different," Mykhailo, a board member and head of communications for Aerorozvidka, told Insider.

"Some of us have PhDs. Some have masters. Some are from the IT industry and many other industries. The main thing which unites us is a desire to win this war."

 

The unit was founded in 2014 in response to Russia's annexation of Crimea and Russian-backed groups launching a separatist insurgency in the Donbas region.

Tech-savvy volunteers came together to design machines for drone-based aerial reconnaissance to support the Ukrainian army.

Aerorozvidka's founder, an investment banker, and father of four, Volodymyr Kochetkov-Sukach, was killed in action in Donbas in 2015.

"The invasion began not months ago. It began in 2014," Mykhailo said.

 

Aerorozvidka now operates as a non-governmental organization that closely supports Ukraine's military.

The unit uses a range of drones, many of which are commonly available store-bought drones that they modify and militarize, including Chinese DJI drones and Autel drones, French Parrot drones, and more.

Its most prized drone is the octocopter R-18, which they build from scratch. It has a range of 4km, a 40 minute flight time, and can drop 5kg bombs.

 

 

Each R-18 costs $20,000 to build, making them much cheaper than anti-tank missiles such as NLAWs, or New generation Light Anti-tank Weapons, costing $40,000 per unit.

 

Unlike NLAWs, which are single-use, the R-18s can also be used repeatedly– unless they suffer damage by Russian fire.

The team has drones flying 20 hours of the day on reconnaissance or combat missions, Mykhailo said.

Aerorozvidka is divided into the drone team, the Delta team, and a cybersecurity team. 

Delta is a NATO-supported web-based situation awareness system that creates a map of Russian targets using information from various sources, including agents on land and reconnaissance data from the drone team.

 

The unit also uses Elon Musk's Starlink satellite system, which helps ensure connectivity even if there are internet or power outages.

 

 

The unit carries out around 300 reconnaissance missions daily and has destroyed "dozens, possibly hundreds" of Russian vehicles, Mykhailo said.

Aerorozvidka typically carries out missions under cover of night because their drones' thermal imaging cameras give them an advantage. Equipped with night-vision goggles and sniper rifles, the drone soldiers would use quad bikes to move stealthily through the forests and get in position to attack the Russian forces.

Its most significant victory was helping to halt the 40-mile Russian convoy heading to attack the capital Kyiv.

 

'I think it's logical to say they are adapting. But they are still Russians'

The unit typically targets the most valuable vehicle in a convoy to make the most effective use of their limited bombs.

In this case, the team targeted vehicles at the head of the convoy, which succeeded in blocking the convoy and demoralizing Russian forces.

Currently, Aerorozvidka primarily operates in the Kyiv region but is expanding operations across Ukraine, with an anticipated renewed Russian offensive in the east and south of the country.

Mykhailo said that he could not disclose exactly how many people are part of the organization, but that there are "dozens." 

 

The unit often shares videos of their missions on social media, occasionally set to the backdrop of music by Ukrainian rap artist Skofka.

 

 

A significant challenge facing Aerorozvidka is funding and supply issues. It relies upon crowdfunding and donations to get hold of much-needed components such as advanced modems and thermal imaging cameras. 

Many US and Canada-made parts are subject to export controls prohibiting them from being sent to Ukraine.

Russian forces are slowly adapting and working out how to shoot down Aerorozvidka's drones, making the need for extra parts and funding crucial.

 

Despite the increase in counter-attacks, Aerorozvidka is confident that the unit will have continued success tormenting the Russian invaders.

"I think it's logical to say they are adapting. But they are still Russians," Mykhailo said. 

 

https://www.businessinsider.com/inside-the-elite-ukrainian-drone-unit-volunteer-it-experts-2022-4

 

[socrates469bc]

5 hours ago, Huat Zai said:

Tia gong the most harden Soviet troops also came from Ukraine. It's a bit like throw the corrupt Late Qing soldiers at a country descended from Spartans.

 

 

the ukranians hated the soviets so much until they joined the nazis.

 

 

they then hated the nazis and soviets so much until they formed an insurgent army.

 

[Huat Zai]

US will supply Ukraine with 'the weapons it needs' against Russia

A Ukrainian service member holds a Javelin missile system at a position on the front line in the north Kyiv region, Ukraine Mar 13, 2022. (Photo: REUTERS/Gleb Garanich)

 

WASHINGTON: The United States is committed to providing Ukraine with “the weapons it needs” to defend itself against Russia, US national security adviser Jake Sullivan said on Sunday (Apr 10) as Ukraine seeks more military aid from the West.

Sullivan said the Biden administration will send more weapons to Ukraine to prevent Russia from seizing more territory and targeting civilians, attacks that Washington has labeled war crimes.

“We’re going to get Ukraine the weapons it needs to beat back the Russians to stop them from taking more cities and towns where they commit these crimes,” Sullivan said on ABC News’ This Week.

Moscow has rejected accusations of war crimes by Ukraine and Western countries.

Speaking later on NBC News’ Meet the Press, Sullivan said the United States was “working around the clock to deliver our own weapons . . . and organising and coordinating the delivery of weapons from many other countries.”

“Weapons are arriving every day,” Sullivan said, “including today.”

 

The United States has sent US$1.7 billion in military assistance to Ukraine since Russia launched its invasion on Feb 24, the White House said last week.

Weapons shipments have included defensive anti-aircraft Stinger and anti-tank Javelin missiles, as well as ammunition and body armor.

But US and European leaders are being pressed by Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskiy to provide heavier arms and equipment to engage Russia in the eastern region of the country, where Russia is expected to intensify its military efforts.

In excerpts of an interview with CBS News' 60 Minutes that will air later on Sunday, Zelenskiy expressed skepticism that the United States would deliver the weapons he said are needed.

Whether Ukraine can beat back the Russian incursion "depends on how fast we will be helped by the United States. To be honest, whether we will be able to survive depends on this," Zelenskiy said.

"I have 100 per cent confidence in our people and in our armed forces, but unfortunately I don't have the confidence that we will be receiving everything we need."

 

On Friday, Ukrainian officials said more than 50 people were killed in a missile strike on a train station in city of Kramatorsk in the Donetsk region, where thousands of people had gathered to evacuate.

Russia's invasion has forced around a quarter of the population of 44 million to leave their homes, turned cities into rubble and killed or injured thousands.

Moscow has repeatedly denied targeting civilians in what it calls a "special operation" to demilitarise and "denazify" its southern neighbour. Ukraine and Western nations have dismissed this as a baseless pretext for war.

Russia on Saturday appointed a new general to lead its forces in Ukraine, Aleksandr Dvornikov, who had significant military experience in Syria.

With that background, Sullivan said he expects Dvornikov to authorise more brutality against the Ukrainian civilian population.

Republican US Representative Liz Cheney, speaking on CNN’s State of the Nation, urged the Biden administration to provide Ukraine with both offensive weapons such as tanks and planes and defensive systems like anti-tank and anti-aircraft missiles.

"I think we need to do everything that Zelenskiy says he needs at this point, given the just unbelievable battle that they have put up," she said.

A CBS News poll released on Sunday showed widespread support among Americans for sending more weapons to Ukraine.

According to the poll, which was conducted last week as news of Russian attacks on civilians unfolded, 72 per cent of those surveyed favor sending more weapons, while 78 per cent support economic sanctions on Russia.

 

https://www.channelnewsasia.com/world/us-supply-ukraine-weapons-it-needs-against-russia-invasion-2618916

 

The new face of proxy wars