Ukraine Open Thread 2024-027
Only for news & views directly related to the war in Ukraine.
The current open thread for other issues is here.
Please stick to the topic. Contribute facts. Do not attack other commentators.
Posted by b on January 24, 2024 at 16:36 UTC | Permalink
next page »Time to give something back to the community.
A script for marking preffered posters and also marking and/or deleting "unwanted" posters.
By default the "unwanted" are just marked as such with the possibility to have their posts deleted.
You add it to Greasemonkey (or what is your preference), the comments inside explain how it wokrs.
Use it wisely and enjoy MoA.
A thanks to our host and ALL the community for this place.
I hope I don't offend you and our host, but I have read many times about the desire for a script like this, so here it is:
Posted by: aletsan | Jan 24 2024 17:06 utc | 2
Let's hope Russia does not "trust" Ukraine in the matter of air space or anything else from this day forth.
"No one could have anticipated..."
They'd shoot down their own guys.
Now they can keep the paychecks of "the missing" rolling in.
Posted by: Chaka Khagan | Jan 24 2024 17:08 utc | 3
Russia's MFA press release on the shootdown of the plane carrying the Ukie POWs that were to be exchanged:
On the morning of January 24, the Kiev regime committed another terrorist act, as a result of which an Il-76 aircraft of Russian military transport aviation was shot down near the village of Yablonovo in the Korochansky district of the Belgorod region. He carried out a flight to transport 65 servicemen of the Armed Forces of Ukraine for a pre-agreed exchange. All of them and the 6 crew members and 3 Russian officers on board were killed.The strike on the plane was carried out by the Ukrainian side with anti-aircraft missiles from the area of the village of Liptsi, Kharkiv region.
This is another crime committed by Zelensky's criminal clique, which immediately after the plane crashed in a misanthropic manner announced a "victory", claiming that it was the work of the "valiant Armed Forces of Ukraine". However, as soon as it became known that there were Ukrainian servicemen on board who were on their way to the place of exchange, the rhetoric on Bankova Street changed. They began to deny their involvement in the disaster.
Kiev was well aware of the impending exchange. They knew how and by what route the prisoners of war would be delivered. The attack on the plane was a deliberate and deliberate act. The terrorist attack clearly demonstrates the inability of the Kiev regime to negotiate.
This is not the first time that Zelensky's junta has brutally cracked down on its own servicemen who have been taken prisoner. On July 29, 2022, the Banderites cold-bloodedly launched a missile attack on the colony in Olenivka (DPR), where Azov prisoners were being held at that time. More than 50 people were killed and more than 70 were injured.
We strongly condemn the terrorist act by the Kiev regime in the Belgorod Region. All persons involved in it, including the organizers and executors from among the Ukrainian military and civilian officials, will be identified and will be inexorably punished in accordance with Russian law.
The incident once again shows the criminal essence of the neo-Nazi dictatorship in Kiev. Its leaders are indifferent to human life. They perceive people as "expendable" and kill them at the behest of their Western masters and with weapons supplied by the West.
It is quite obvious that the criminal Zelensky regime, nurtured by the United States and its NATO satellites, poses a real and significant threat not only to Russia, but also to Ukraine itself, its ordinary citizens, and the whole world. In agony, he is capable of the most monstrous atrocities.
We believe that international organisations, national governments and the international community should condemn this terrorist attack and other crimes of the Kiev regime. Their silence would mean support for his barbarism and terrorist habits. [My Emphasis]
My emphasis says it all for me. And this comes after Lavrov's incendiary remarks at the UNSC yesterday that can be read here, "Lavrov at UNSC: Day Two West Asia & Palestine: Using Truth as a Hammer".
The publics of every NATO nation need to examine their souls in relation to their support for the Kiev Nazis. I very much doubt we'll see any NATO national government condemn Kiev for murdering its own soldiers. I do trust Russia to gather those responsible--including Zelensky--and trying them for this clear terrorist act. How far up the command chain should such an action take? Shouldn't it include all of Team Biden?
Just a reminder that when doing a prisoner exchange in this fashion, Russia was obligated to not be stealthy with the way it operated its airplane. It was supposed to be in "Here I am!" mode, and not just pop up on Ukrainian radar.
Posted by: Babel-17 | Jan 24 2024 17:15 utc | 5
Reports that Belgium transferred ~600 Million in frozen Russian assets to Kiev.
Oh Dear! This will not end well.
Posted by: Don Firineach | Jan 24 2024 17:18 utc | 6
by their deeds you will know them................................
Posted by: james | Jan 24 2024 17:24 utc | 7
The publics of every NATO nation need to examine their souls in relation to their support for the Kiev Nazis. I very much doubt we'll see any NATO national government condemn Kiev for murdering its own soldiers. I do trust Russia to gather those responsible--including Zelensky--and trying them for this clear terrorist act. How far up the command chain should such an action take? Shouldn't it include all of Team Biden?Posted by: karlof1 | Jan 24 2024 17:08 utc | 4
Soul examination works best when bodies are disintegrating in a ball of plasma.
Posted by: shаdοwbanned | Jan 24 2024 17:31 utc | 8
If Russia would stop pussyfooting around and would pick up the pace, Ukraine would be less able to arrange these little hissy-fits. Also, why use an expensive plane for this kind of transport? Could they not have just put the prisoners on a train? Why present a juicy target like that, especially near Belgorod where another known terrorist nest was just eliminated? Russia's casual attitude towards this war is extremely frustrating sometimes.
Posted by: Gnome Sane | Jan 24 2024 17:42 utc | 9
The publics of every NATO nation need to examine their souls in relation to their support for the Kiev Nazis.
Posted by: karlof1 | Jan 24 2024 17:08 utc | 4
Support for Kiev is is going to dwindle down to its core base of shitlibs who would kiss Biden' s ass while wrapping themselves in an israeli flag; no self reflection from such types although in due time the euro ones will insist vehemently they were card carrying members of United Russia all along.
Instead the hundreds of thousands of ukrainians in the trenches will have to to figure out if they want more or this or take the sort of steps which were taken in 1917 and q918.
Posted by: Satepestage | Jan 24 2024 17:47 utc | 10
Accordingly, Ukrainska Pravda, citing sources in the Ukrainian Defense Ministry, initially reported that the plane was shot down by the Ukrainian military. The Ukrainian General Staff told the portal that the plane was allegedly carrying missiles for the S-300 system. However, after the Russian Defense Ministry reported that there were 65 Ukrainian prisoners of war on board the crashed Il-76, which was transported to the Belgorod region for replacement, Ukrayinska Pravda deleted the information about the involvement of the Ukrainian Armed Forces in the crash.
The RBC-Ukraine news agency did the same, removing the reference to the “work of the Ukrainian Armed Forces” from its report on the Ilyushin Il-76 crash. The agency continues to claim that the plane had missiles on board.
At the same time, the spokesman for the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ukrainian Defense Ministry, Andrei Yusov, has already admitted that a prisoner exchange between Ukraine and Russia was planned for today, and he stated that “the exchange is not taking place.”
The original Ukrayinska Pravda report is still linked in the Telegram channel of the Ukrainian news agency UNIAN
.
https://www.anti-spiegel.ru/2024/die-ukraine-schiesst-offenbar-russisches-flugzeug-mit-ukrainischen-kriegsgefangenen-ab/#comment-247169
Posted by: Ossi | Jan 24 2024 17:52 utc | 11
US Military Draft Coming in 2025They’re already laying groundwork for more payroll, for an extra 2 million people!
Posted by: Ket Mistywell | Jan 24 2024 17:25 utc | 9
... can't say I'm too bothered about the US but before I get to smug ...
Britain says it has no plans for conscription, after top general says the UK may need a citizen army
The U.K. government said Wednesday it has no plans to introduce conscription, after the head of the British Army said a “citizen army” would be needed to fight a future war with a country like Russia.
Chief of the General Staff Gen. Patrick Saunders said preparing for a potential land war would have to be a “whole-of-nation” undertaking. He praised European nations closer to Russia for “prudently laying the foundations for national mobilization.”
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/british-army-ap-britain-rishi-sunak-london-b2484111.html
Posted by: SattaMassaGana | Jan 24 2024 18:13 utc | 12
Posted by: SattaMassaGana | Jan 24 2024 18:13 utc | 20
... when they start denying ... then its time to get worried ...
Posted by: SattaMassaGana | Jan 24 2024 18:14 utc | 13
Are the Ukrainians really THAT stupid? Can't they see they are being USED by zio-nazis? Don't they get that they MEAN NOTHING to these devils? What do they not get, when these zio-nazis blow them out of the sky because, you know, Hannibal Doctrine. to send a message of intimidation; 'don't dare surrender, go to your certain painful humiliating death, then get left to rot like woryhless carrion, or buried in a pit of nameless corpses with the last rites of ashes to ashrs conducted by another expendable meat-puppet in a bulldozer. Yime to stop dying like a cow at an abatoir for the isro-west slave-masters.
Posted by: Áobh Ó'Sheachnasaigh | Jan 24 2024 18:21 utc | 14
SlowSoft | Jan 24 2024 17:38 utc | 11--
Ah, I see we have a slow, softy brain that's unaware that Lavrov's in New York trying to save Palestinian and other lives, that I'm sure the brainless one would like to see dead. Actually, the troll's moniker ought to be soullessone.
Maybe Russia fucked this up, maybe Ukraine fucked this up.
The Russians won't confess they shot their own plane, and the Ukros won't confess they shot a plane with Ukrainian POWs onboard.
Posted by: Apollyon | Jan 24 2024 18:34 utc | 16
Are the Ukrainians really THAT stupid?
Posted by: Áobh Ó'Sheachnasaigh | Jan 24 2024 18:21 utc | 23
Yep. Think about the coup, the outlawing of the Russian language, the Minsk agreements. 80% of any given population will be the same. Sheeple - lambs to the slaughter.
Much depends on a country's leadership, and I guess to an extent, a country's culture. Watching the slaughter is why I call them Ukroids. I cannot have empathy for them when they are fighting for the right of the nazi's to kill Russians.
Posted by: Peter AU1 | Jan 24 2024 18:38 utc | 17
Áobh Ó'Sheachnasaigh | Jan 24 2024 18:21 utc | 23--
Well, the numbers of Ukie troops surrendering at the front has sharply increased, although I doubt many will volunteer for repatriation once this terrorist act becomes known to them.
Apollyon | Jan 24 2024 18:34 utc | 22--
You should try reading; the Ukies already confessed immediately after the fact.
karlof1 | Jan 24 2024 18:38 utc | 24
Have you seen any numbers on total POW's lately. I think it was about six months into the SMO there were numbers like 13-16000 but I haven't seen any for a long time.
Posted by: Peter AU1 | Jan 24 2024 18:41 utc | 20
So why were there only three Russian officers onboard with 65 Ukrainian POWs, some of them Azov members?
Posted by: Apollyon | Jan 24 2024 18:42 utc | 21
Apollyon | Jan 24 2024 18:42 utc | 22
How did you find your way to this site? Masses of SMO refugees have flooded in, some with top input and many with heart in the right place, others scratching their nuts and wondering if the world is round or flat.
Posted by: Peter AU1 | Jan 24 2024 18:51 utc | 22
@20
The most recent POW numbers I saw were roughly 1,100 Russians held by Kiev, and 5,500 Ukrainians held by Russia.
I can't recall the English-language MSM where I saw this info, but it was in past few months. I'm sure most of the Ukrainian POW's were taken at Mariupol in 2022.
Assuming this info's true, then this war is remarkable for the few prisoners taken by either side.
Posted by: GW | Jan 24 2024 18:56 utc | 23
GW | Jan 24 2024 18:56 utc | 23
Thanks. Mariupol makes sense. I would guess there were many pockets cut off in that very fast first week of operations also.
Posted by: Peter AU1 | Jan 24 2024 19:05 utc | 25
⚡️🇷🇺🇺🇦⚔️ Front #Summary for 24 Jan 2024 by 20:12⚡️🔹In #Kherson Direction, the AFU command continues attempts to move more manpower and weapons to the left bank by boats with homemade ice protection. Heavy fighting continues in #Krynki. There is information from #Nikolayev that columns of AFU equipment are being sent to #Snigirevka, and new Ukrainian units are being formed in #Nikolayev.
🔹In #Zaporozhye Direction, our aviation is most active and strikes with guided bombs, including on the #Rabotino - #Verbovoye line. The AFU periodically tries to break through to our positions in small groups and short runs, unsuccessfully.
🔹In #SouthDonetsk Direction, the advance of our forces from #Marinka is complicated by the AFU entrenched in #Georgiyevka. From the south of #Maryinka ours are attacking towards #Pobeda. From this area came rare first-person footage of a battle, with a tank duel at the crossroads of the N-15 motorway and the #Maryinka - #Pobeda road. The crossroads control was taken over by our units. Our reconnaissance is entering the borders of #Krasnogorovka, an important AFU town.
🔹In #Donetsk Direction, in the south of #Avdeevka, the AFU are throwing infantry into the battle, trying to cut off our ledge, which is almost 2 km deep in their defence. At the same time, the main forces of the AFU are systematically retreating from the south towards the Coke Plant, a powerful fortification, which ours have still to retake. South of #Pervomayskoye, our forces have established firm control over positions and are moving on. The enemy claims that we managed to break through to their rear at the Tsarskaya Okhota fortified area thanks to a pipe discovered by ours from the Yasinovatskaya junction. It is difficult to imagine how about 150 fighters crawled 2 km in a pipe with a diameter of about 0.8 m with equipment, weapons and armor. The wit and strength of the Russian soldier!
🔹In #Bakhmut Direction, our army continues attacks on the heights in the north and northwest of #Kleshcheyevka. In #Bogdanovka, our fighters are holding on in the centre of the village.
🔹In #Svatovo Direction, there are small movements with good prospects. In the #Liman sector, our forces pushed through the defence line of the AFU in the area of #Yampolovka and fighting is underway. In the #Kupyansk sector, ours have advanced by 2 km from #Krakhmalnoye.
💥Our Aerospace Forces struck targets in #Kiev, #Zhitomir, etc. In #Mirnograd, attacks were carried out on AFU locations.In #Kharkov, AFU plans to move reserves to the left bank of the #Oskol River were disrupted by a secondary detonation after the strikes. In #Kherson, the deployment point of the AFU Marine Corps have been hit.
https://t.me/sitreports/21722
Posted by: Down South | Jan 24 2024 19:06 utc | 26
Gosh. "Olenivka Incident" all over again! (minus the authoritative ROLES of Aiden ASLIN and ICRC, of course)
U.S. cannot confirm Ukrainian POWs were on board Il-76—Kirby-content
Sources in the Ukrainian Armed Forces stated that this aircraft was carrying a batch of S-300 air defense missiles. The Russian army is using these missiles for the massive shelling of the Kharkiv region and other Ukrainian regions bordering Russia. At the same time, the Main Directorate of Intelligence of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine said that a prisoner swap between Ukraine and Russia was scheduled for January 24, but this did not happen. Later, the intelligence agency added that as part of preparations for the prisoner swap, Russia did not inform Ukraine about the need to guarantee the safety of the airspace in the area of the city of Belgorod in a specific timeframe, as was repeatedly done in the past. This may be a sign of Russia's deliberate actions aimed at creating a threat to the lives and safety of prisoners of war.
Posted by: sln2002 | Jan 24 2024 19:09 utc | 27
Our source reports that the air defense strike of the Ukrainian Armed Forces is the fault of the Office of the President, and not Commander-in-Chief Zaluzhny.The Ukrainian Air Force is led by Major General Nikolai Oleshchuk - he is a protege of Zelensky and Ermak, like General Syrsky. It is to them that the air defense, etc., are subordinate.
According to all our information, Oleschuk will not do anything until he consults with the Head of the OP Ermak.
This mess cannot be attributed to Zaluzhny. That's why there's such a pause on Bankovaya. It will be difficult to find a scapegoat, which means they will try to hush up the topic or blame the Russians (although the risk here is that there will be no more exchanges).
https://t.me/legitimniy/17116
Our source in the OP said that the situation with the downed Il-76 is very difficult for the Office of the President, since Bankova and the General Staff coordinated the route, and there were actually Ukrainian prisoners of war on the plane.The plane was shot down by mobile Ukrainian air defense, which moves along the entire front line without coordinating the route so that the information does not leak. Now we need to admit the fact of such an operation, and most importantly, take responsibility, and no one is ready to do this now.
https://t.me/rezident_ua/21320
Posted by: Down South | Jan 24 2024 19:11 utc | 28
GW | Jan 24 2024 19:03 utc | 24
I believe 16k was the number given at one point. Not sure but I think that number came from the Donbass before the referendums. I haven't checked on the Donbass media for some time now, but they were a bit more talkative than Ru.
Posted by: Peter AU1 | Jan 24 2024 19:12 utc | 29
GW@23
There are no huge armies sweeping across territories but many dozens of engagements by small numbers of soldiers along a 1k km front with mainly artillery duels and drone battles. The successful Russian pipe operation in Avdeevka yielded a fair number of POWs, but this type of operation has been rare over the past year. Perhaps it will become more common in the next months. We will see.
Posted by: the pessimist | Jan 24 2024 19:14 utc | 30
Avdeevskoye direction. How the assault on the “Royal Hunt” was organized. НгП раZVедка reports:Some time ago, our valiant intelligence officers developed and carried out a plan unimaginable in its audacity: In conditions of maximum secrecy, an abandoned flooded underground pipe leading to the area of the CO base (Royal Hunt) was cleared (by hand!). In the icy, muddy water, trying not to make a single sound, the warriors carried out a colossal amount of work, preparing the way for the passage.
On January 17, the tigers set out on an underground 2-kilometer march to the Central Organ , and emerged from underground behind enemy lines. The CO garrison was destroyed without having time to react, the survivors surrendered, the operation was carried out so cleanly that the main enemy forces did not know about the loss of the CO for another day.
The Tigers took advantage of the factor of surprise and eliminated the enemy dug in in the forest to the west of the Central District and on “Skotovat” - clearing the rear, after which they entered the city , where they defeated war criminals in the private sector. For another day, the enemy made attempts to knock out our soldiers, until he realized that it would not be possible to do this in a swoop, after which, on January 20, the enemy’s TG began to complain about our success in the Central District area.
No one has ever won such a victory, our soldiers have no equal, these are at least the stars of the Heroes of Russia.
Also, we would like to sincerely thank the “Veterans” who covered the backs of our Tigers while they were crushing the enemy in the Tsar’s Hunt and fortifications in the city, without a reliable second echelon in the offensive it is difficult.
https://t.me/two_majors/18105
Posted by: Down South | Jan 24 2024 19:16 utc | 31
Someone was on that plane that NATO/USA wanted dead. It's not the first time a plane load of people die to get the one man someone wanted silenced.
Posted by: Andrew | Jan 24 2024 19:18 utc | 32
I would assume POW ratio, since the beginning of the second phase would be in line with casualty ration. 7-1, 10-1 somewhere around those figures. What could change that a bit is Russians surrendering or captured when wounded being killed by the nazi's.
Posted by: Peter AU1 | Jan 24 2024 19:21 utc | 33
"Are the Ukrainians really THAT stupid? Can't they see they are being USED by zio-nazis?"
Posted by: Áobh Ó'Sheachnasaigh | Jan 24 2024 18:21 utc | 14
No, they are just intimidated. And you would be too if you were in their position. All one need for crowd control is to pick some poor sod and make him suffer. Make sure everybody notices and that everybody hears the screams. Repeat that procedure if the need arises.
80% of any population are content with their life as long as they can get pass the day as they passed the day before. Take that security away and they will not strike against the oppressor, but hope that the next sacrifical lamb will not be them.
Posted by: Gonzo | Jan 24 2024 19:24 utc | 34
Prisoner swaps form a basis for eventual peace between russia and ukraine.
Those who downed the plane(who aren't necessarily under Ukrainian command) would do this to keep the war going and thwart any goodwill.
In this sense it is accomplished. Russia is already stating that after this there can be no more agreements, for anything.
Therefore it's probable the plane had prisoners and that it could've been done by any number of factions operating in ukraine.
Posted by: Neofeudalfuture | Jan 24 2024 19:25 utc | 35
Are the Ukrainians really THAT stupid? Can't they see they are being USED by zio-nazis? Don't they get that they MEAN NOTHING to these devils?
Posted by: Áobh Ó'Sheachnasaigh | Jan 24 2024 18:21 utc | 14
By now I would bet that they get that their pols don't give a toss about them, if they ever believed it in the first place (unlikely). The thing is that from their point of view they are defending themselves against invaders. For some fighting a war of national survival against racially inferior enemy can be a powerful motivator. Others have bought into freedom & democracy rhetoric or the EU turning them into the land of milk and honey. Many are probably going along, without enthusiasm but unwilling to turn against the state either because of fear, basic patriotism or else. For some probably a relative's loss has turned into a sunk cost so only victory would be an acceptable outcome for the sacrifice. Etc.
Also keep in mind dodging the draft does not necessarily equate a favorable disposition towards Russia.
Posted by: Satepestage | Jan 24 2024 19:37 utc | 36
As for the Iljushin, my personal guess is that Ukraine changed their AD layout. Remember the SU34 or the A50, they were shot down by something pretty close to the front. There are rumors that there is some kind of AD tech doing a shoot and scoot. As long as the Russians are unable to watch an area 1000km long and maybe 50km wide very closely and have retaliatory measures in the vicinity, this is a rather ingenious idea to apply AD. But I am just guessing here.
Posted by: Gonzo | Jan 24 2024 19:40 utc | 37
In the previous Ukraine thread:
https://www.moonofalabama.org/2024/01/ukraine-open-thread-2024-025.html#comments
the usual agents provocateurs are massively enjoying the crash of the IL76, act as scavengers (French = "charognards"), draw imaginary red lines where there is not even a line and denigrate Russia like all western propagandists and ennemies of Russia. Their objective is clearly do disrupt the support to Russia. They are criminals like their model.
Posted by: Naive | Jan 24 2024 19:42 utc | 38
Gonzo 37: And I guess that this was all US-operated long-range Patriot, they are so proud of to down everything...
Posted by: Oliver Krug | Jan 24 2024 19:45 utc | 39
Just a reminder that when doing a prisoner exchange in this fashion, Russia was obligated to not be stealthy with the way it operated its airplane. It was supposed to be in "Here I am!" mode, and not just pop up on Ukrainian radar.
Posted by: Babel-17 | Jan 24 2024 17:15 utc | 5
-------------
Kindly stop making excuses for the Ukro-Nazi droogs and their NATO fash friends :=).
---------------
US Military Draft Coming in 2025
They’re already laying groundwork for more payroll, for an extra 2 million people!
Posted by: Ket Mistywell | Jan 24 2024 17:25 utc | 9
... can't say I'm too bothered about the US but before I get to smug ...
Britain says it has no plans for conscription, after top general says the UK may need a citizen army
The U.K. government said Wednesday it has no plans to introduce conscription, after the head of the British Army said a “citizen army” would be needed to fight a future war with a country like Russia.
Chief of the General Staff Gen. Patrick Saunders said preparing for a potential land war would have to be a “whole-of-nation” undertaking. He praised European nations closer to Russia for “prudently laying the foundations for national mobilization.”
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/british-army-ap-britain-rishi-sunak-london-b2484111.html
Posted by: SattaMassaGana | Jan 24 2024 18:13 utc | 12
------------------
The USA ain't drafting s**t by the millions, they don't have means, money or civic morale.
The popular mood in the UK is even darker If Sunak or Starmer, and their gutter-press surrogates even speak about it. The response is cynicism & ridicule (as in you f**kers go die first), not war-like resolve.
I've said it before, *no-one* wants to actually go die for these neo-s**t-lib regimes.
That's one reason why they're so commited to the Ukrs. As they're usefully hateful/suicidal/retarded to go get blown to bits, by Russian artillery.
Posted by: Urban Fox | Jan 24 2024 19:48 utc | 40
No, they are just intimidated. And you would be too if you were in their position. All one need for crowd control is to pick some poor sod and make him suffer. Make sure everybody notices and that everybody hears the screams. Repeat that procedure if the need arises.
80% of any population are content with their life as long as they can get pass the day as they passed the day before. Take that security away and they will not strike against the oppressor, but hope that the next sacrifical lamb will not be them.
Posted by: Gonzo | Jan 24 2024 19:24 utc | 34
In peacetime, maybe and even then it is not always a sure thing though would probably work well in the current West, I will concede you that.
In a modern total war like this the equation changes rather dramatically: the poor sods have to be armed and they are likely going to die anyway and they know it.
And we are not in a stereotypical 18th century battlefield where the NCOs can push the troops with locked halberds and the officers can thrust their swords in anybody trying to retreat. You have to have additional motivations.
Posted by: Satepestage | Jan 24 2024 19:49 utc | 41
...
and the Ukros won't confess they shot a plane with Ukrainian POWs onboard.
Posted by: Apollyon | Jan 24 2024 18:34 utc | 16
Not really...
"
Immediately after it became known that the Russian IL-76 transport plane had been shot down over the Belgorod region on Wednesday, a storm of joy broke out in the Ukrainian media, with all reports attributing the downing to the work of the Ukrainian air defence.
After it became known some time later that the downed IL-76 was carrying Ukrainian prisoners of war selected for an exchange for Russian prisoners of war in Ukraine, these media changed their headlines and triumphant posts and comments on social networks were deleted by the dozen. In some cases, observers have managed to document the change in headlines and messages
...
"
https://de.rt.com/international/193804-abschuss-transports-ukrainischer-kriegsgefangener-ukrainische-medien-triumphierten/
Posted by: 600w | Jan 24 2024 19:49 utc | 42
If Russia would stop pussyfooting around and would pick up the pace…
Posted by: Gnome Sane | Jan 24 2024 17:42 utc | 9
People still don’t get it? There’s a reason all this has to go slow. Russia can’t take on the whole of NATO without destroying the planet so there’s been a different approach. We are just now witnessing it with Ukraine, the West Asian „crisis“ and soon probably in the east with North Korea. That’s three fronts stretching the Empire thin. I’m not saying that this is a grand plan pre-planned by Putin, but the axis of resistance certainly has been working on it and we’re seeing it now slowly falling into place…
Posted by: Zet | Jan 24 2024 19:57 utc | 43
Posted by: SattaMassaGana | Jan 24 2024 18:13 utc | 12
Thanks for that information. What is becoming increasingly (and terrifyingly) apparent, is that they are planning on taking the WWIII franchise global over the next year or so. They always use some annointed expert or bloviating war-hawk political aparatchik to float these 'trial balloons' before enacting their plans.
I'm reminded of the Dead Kennedy's song: "When ya get drafted". They seem, in retrospect, quite prophetic for a punk band.
Posted by: Jon_in_AU | Jan 24 2024 20:13 utc | 44
Peter AU1 | Jan 24 2024 18:41 utc | 20--
Thanks for your reply. Bust day, yes? I haven't seen any updated POW figures, although anecdotal evidence says they're rising. Lots of vids at Simplicius and other sites attest to that. The high level damage control op that's been deployed to try and nullify the truth that the Ukies murdered their own troops in Kiev's version of the Hannibal Doctrine is to be expected. As Russia reported, the Ukies knew what was on the plane, where and when it was going. I bet the plane had its civilian beacon lit--just another version of the MH-17 that Poroshenko and Obama still need to have their necks broken over.
Russian precision strikes on the Ukrainian military do not stop. On the night of January 24, Russian UAVs destroyed Ukrainian training military camps in the Zhitomir region and more military facilities in the Poltava region.More facilities used for accommodation of the military personnel were hit in Mirnograd. As a result of the strikes, military equipment used for the buildup of the defense line near Kurahovo was reportedly destroyed.
More accommodation sites were hit in Kherson, where Ukrainian marines who take part in the operations on the eastern bank of the Dnieper, were destroyed.
Russian missile strikes destroy the plans of the Ukrainian military command to carry out any operations with the military reserves from the rear regions.
Over the past week alone, at least 17 facilities used for accommodation of Ukrainian servicemen and foreign mercenaries were destroyed in the Kharkiv region. For example, the last wave of strikes targeted the temporary accommodation points and manpower in the city of Kharkiv, as well as in Chuguev and Balakleya.
The Ukrainian army is losing forces from the strategic reserve, which was aimed to plug the holes in the defense on the frontlines and to secure the operations of Ukrainian saboteurs on the territory of the Russian border regions.
The defeat of the strategic reserve of the Ukrainian army results in Russian advance in several directions in the region.
At least 35 settlements in the Kharkiv region are already under the Russian control and their number is growing. At the end of last week, Russian forces took control of the village of Krahmalnoe, which allows them to expand the zone of their control south of Kupyansk, secure their control of the strategically important road and push Ukrainian forces towards the Oskol river, where their maneuvers will be complicated and losses will increase.
At the same time, the bad dreams of the Ukrainian command about the Russian offensive across the border in the Kharkiv region may soon come true. On January 23, Ukrainian units reportedly retreated from the village of Pletnevka located near the Russian border northeast of Kharkiv. Russian artillery has been pounding Ukrainian positions in the area for several days. As a result, Russian troops managed to cross the border and conduct the mop up operation in the area, threatening the Ukrainian grouping in the main Ukrainian border stronghold in Volchansk. Some reports claimed Russian control of the village but some other denied this, saying that the Russian military stepped back across the border.
The operation in the village is unlikely to mark the beginning of another large ground offensive in the Kharkiv region in the coming days, but it clearly demonstrates the weakness of the Ukrainian defense along the border.
https://southfront.press/ukrainian-border-is-bursting-at-the-seams/
Posted by: unimperator | Jan 24 2024 20:19 utc | 46
... as in you f**kers go die first ...Posted by: Urban Fox | Jan 24 2024 19:48 utc | 40
... I don't think I could have said it better ...
Posted by: SattaMassaGana | Jan 24 2024 20:28 utc | 47
Posted by: SattaMassaGana | Jan 24 2024 18:13 utc | 12
Thanks for that information. What is becoming increasingly (and terrifyingly) apparent, is that they are planning on taking the WWIII franchise global over the next year or so. They always use some annointed expert or bloviating war-hawk political aparatchik to float these 'trial balloons' before enacting their plans.I'm reminded of the Dead Kennedy's song: "When ya get drafted". They seem, in retrospect, quite prophetic for a punk band.
Posted by: Jon_in_AU | Jan 24 2024 20:13 utc | 44
... agreed ...
Posted by: SattaMassaGana | Jan 24 2024 20:36 utc | 48
Rogozin : reports about the weakness of the Armed Forces of Ukraine are fake.In Kiev, fakes are being spread about the shortage of Ukrainian Armed Forces soldiers in order to suddenly launch attacks.
Rogozin said that all reports about the weakness of the Ukrainian army and the lack of soldiers are fakes that were thoughtlessly picked up by the Russian media.
He recalled that Russian troops continue to need weapons, including that the Russian Armed Forces lack attack drones.
“I’m annoyed by the lulls flowing from all sorts of talk shows on the topic: “Ukraine will soon run out of soldiers,” “The West is tired of feeding Ukrainians,” “Trump will come soon and everything will end,” “Western technology is crap,” Rogozin said.
I want to declare responsibly about the irresponsibility of those who spread lies about our collective and extremely dangerous enemy. The hope that the other side will run out of weapons and soldiers is the most dangerous self-deception, and those who spread it are either boastful morons or sent agents whose goal is in the disintegration of the unity of our front and rear.
The war that we are waging against the most technologically advanced Western alliance in the world and the ideological Ukrainian prostitute they hired, who does not regret throwing her children into the fire, is the most difficult test for our entire nation and government.
And, apparently ", not everyone passed this test, rotten people showed up in important places. Therefore, we must understand that no one will help us in this fight except ourselves and our army.
And this army is fighting in great tension, sometimes experiencing a lack of modern military-technical answers to many threats, including the enemy's superiority in attack drones. This is what our propagandists should be talking about, and not clicking their beaks in victory. We need the truth, not sugary propaganda."
Posted by: shаdοwbanned | Jan 24 2024 20:37 utc | 49
So why were there only three Russian officers onboard with 65 Ukrainian POWs, some of them Azov members?
Why would you need to guard POWs who are returning to the Ukraine? Russia also treats POW's well and provides the Red Cross with access to them 24/7.
Posted by: JackG | Jan 24 2024 21:00 utc | 50
@600w #42
I don't say the Ukros didn't shot the plane. The question is, did they know that 65 Ukrainian POWs were onboard.
Posted by: Apollyon | Jan 24 2024 21:05 utc | 51
Maybe the French downed the plane in response to death of it's mercenaries.
France blocks UNSC meeting on downing of Russian prisoner swap aircraft:
https://tass.com/politics/1736997
Posted by: Thurl | Jan 24 2024 21:08 utc | 52
RT reports: "Kiev’s attack on POW plane ‘insane barbarism’ – Moscow":
Rodion Miroshnik, Russia’s ambassador-at-large for Ukraine’s crimes, condemned Kiev over the attack, warning that the perpetrators would be brought to justice. “By violating the agreements, they killed our pilots and escort soldiers and wrote off their own citizens,” he said.”The Ukrainian dictatorship,” the diplomat continued, sacrificed their own service members to “demonstrate ‘Russia’s bloody nature.”’ In practice, however, Kiev only revealed its own “Nazi inhuman core by conspicuously sending to kingdom come those for whom it supposedly ‘fought’ and was waiting for,” he stated. [My Emphasis]
Miroshnik's words could equally apply to the Zionists who kill their own troops. Any nation that shoots to kill its own troops who surrender to save their lives has no business being a nation, and certainly not one worth fighting for--against yes since its clearly an immoral Nazi-like waste. I'll wager that's a problem the Zionists face but won't admit it, nor will BigLie media.
If you're a NATO soldier, you must begin to wonder what might happen if you surrender.
Late last year I remember some top US official (I think military) talking about US plans to set up "insurgent" squads in order to terrorize Russians.
What shocked me was that he openly referred to, and praised, the OUN terrorism campaign after WW2.
I think this was before the Canadian Parliament gave the Waffen SS veteran two standing ovations, because I was shocked that he could so openly wax nostalgic about the US allying with the worst people in Ukraine.
I can't find that statement now. Does anyone at the bar remember it?
Posted by: wagelaborer | Jan 24 2024 21:12 utc | 54
karlof1 | Jan 24 2024 21:12 utc | 53
Since MH17, that is how I feel about my own government. Left right and treehuggers. None made waves about the obvious bullshit.
Posted by: Peter AU1 | Jan 24 2024 21:15 utc | 55
by shаdοwbanned | Jan 24 2024 20:37 utc | 49
Yes, that is in the know for a long time. Also the NATO stockpiles. Never believe such stuff. Still, they have no chance and stockpile locations are more or less all known to RF. Do you think RF will sit and watch NATO steamrolls over them?
Posted by: whirlX | Jan 24 2024 21:15 utc | 56
"So why were there only three Russian officers onboard with 65 Ukrainian POWs, some of them Azov members?"
As an American, I was struck by a photo of a busload of Azov prisoners, back in 2022. They were sitting in the seats, guarded by an armed Russian. I assume there was more than one Russia guarding them, but the men were not hooded, shackled, and handcuffed, as any prisoner of the US would have been, even if it was just some hapless man dragged out of his house in front of his family.
I'm guessing the Russians aren't as cowardly, and/or brutal, as Americans.
Posted by: wagelaborer | Jan 24 2024 21:16 utc | 57
Maybe the French downed the plane in response to death of it's mercenaries. France blocks UNSC meeting on downing of Russian prisoner swap aircraft: https://tass.com/politics/1736997Posted by: Thurl | Jan 24 2024 21:08 utc | 52
This is laughable and tragically sad in the same time.
Appeals, meetings, condemnations, etc. What is that going to do?
A strong brutal kinetic response of the kind that will make sure nobody ever dares do that again is needed.
And if it does not come, there will be a lot more of this. The hyenas are smelling weakness.
Posted by: shаdοwbanned | Jan 24 2024 21:22 utc | 58
A strong brutal kinetic response of the kind that will make sure nobody ever dares do that again is needed.
Posted by: shаdοwbanned | Jan 24 2024 21:22 utc | 58
Or enable western elites to sell total war to their populations if they choose to go down that route. At the end of the day there are ten westerners and vassals for every russian.
Posted by: Satepestage | Jan 24 2024 21:29 utc | 59
All good things have an end
"Poland plans to extend assistance to Ukrainian refugees only until the end of September.
Rzeczpospolita writes about it.
Officials interviewed by the publication believe that since Ukrainians go home for holidays and vacations, they do not need temporary protection."
https://strana.news/news/456082-kohda-polsha-prekratit-zashchitu-ukrainskikh-bezhentsev.html
Posted by: Paul from Norway | Jan 24 2024 21:30 utc | 60
Thurl | Jan 24 2024 21:08 utc | 52--
RT has more on the story: "Russia slams ‘British cosplay’ at UN Security Council: France has refused to call an emergency session over Ukraine shooting down a plane with its own POWs:"
Paris is copying London and abusing its powers at the UN to protect Kiev, Moscow’s deputy envoy to the world body said on Wednesday, after the French ambassador refused Russia’s request for an urgent session of the Security Council.An IL-76 carrying 65 Ukrainian prisoners scheduled to be exchanged was shot down on Wednesday morning over Russia’s Belgorod Region. Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, who is currently in New York, told reporters that he had requested an emergency UNSC session over the incident.
Lavrov urged the French ambassador – who currently chairs the council – to avoid repeating the April 2022 situation, when the British presidency took three days to approve Russia’s request to discuss the alleged massacre in Bucha.
”We have a shocking development in the Security Council today,” Ambassador Dmitry Polyansky said on X (formerly Twitter) several hours later, noting that France “declined our request for an urgent Council meeting.”
The French ambassador said he would schedule the meeting for 5pm on Thursday, “in a clear attempt to shield their Kiev regime clients” and buy President Vladimir Zelensky’s government “more time to come to its senses and invent some at least distantly plausible explanation of what it has committed,” the Russian diplomat added.
Not only is France abusing its council presidency, Polyansky argued, it is also “cosplaying the lowest standards of their British neighbors” from April 2022. The once glorious French diplomacy has “shrunk to miserable swindling and pathetic manipulations!” he added.
Ukrainian media outlets initially claimed the plane had been transporting missiles, but scrubbed their stories when it emerged that their own POWs were among the 74 dead. The Ukrainian General Staff eventually released a statement saying that Russia had been flying in missiles used to attack Kharkov so the flights were a legitimate target.
According to the Russian Foreign Ministry, Ukraine had been notified in advance that its prisoners, due to be exchanged later in the day, would be on board the flights headed for Belgorod. The second plane, with 80 POWs on board, turned around and landed safely after the first IL-76 was shot down.
Moscow has accused Kiev of “terrorism” and callous disregard for the lives of its own citizens. Commenting on a screenshot showing both the initial and revised Ukrainian reporting on the incident, Polyansky said that Kiev was once again “inflating the bubble of lies” to avoid blame, no matter how ridiculous its narrative may sound.
France has no honor remaining; Macron is Petain. But then NATO and its head the Outlaw US Empire also lack honor, so France fits right in. I'll bet those 80 POWs on the second plane rethink their decision to return; that is if they believe what they're told.
Ukraine is holding "preliminary talks" with EU officials to ensure that millions of Ukrainian refugees return home as early as next year.
Politico writes about this with reference to diplomats from Europe.
And here is some more:
"Ukrainians are holding preliminary discussions "to outline what EU rules will look like after March 2025, especially if the EU commits to supporting refugees for as long as the war drags on."
Kyiv has not made a formal request to the EU to "encourage the return of refugees," but EU diplomats said there was "some pressure" from Ukraine to tighten future rules to return people."
Posted by: Paul from Norway | Jan 24 2024 21:33 utc | 62
I'll bet those 80 POWs on the second plane rethink their decision to return; that is if they believe what they're told.Posted by: karlof1 | Jan 24 2024 21:30 utc | 61
If the Olenovka HIMARS strike on Azov POWs didn't change their mind, why would this?
And there is a bigger issue here -- this is yet another exchange of Azov Ukronazis.
This should never be happening -- those bastards are supposed to be put on trial and locked up for life, if not worse. Wasn't denazification the goal?
In fact there should not be Azov POWs to begin with. They should be quietly disposed of on the ground. Which is happening to some extent because locally Russian soldiers are totally fed up with the Kremlin, but it should be general policy.
Capture AFU soldiers, strip them down naked, the ones without Nazi tattoos are to be processed further through ID and background checks to see who has done war crimes, the ones with the tattoos are to be directly disappeared permanently
Posted by: shаdοwbanned | Jan 24 2024 21:39 utc | 63
wagelaborer | Jan 24 2024 21:12 utc | 54--
Sounds like something Kirby would say since he so often speaks without thinking.
Peter AU1 | Jan 24 2024 21:15 utc | 55--
Considering the astronomical amounts of money spent to insure my fellow citizens are misinformed, it's amazing some still manage to keep their head above water.
I don't say the Ukros didn't shot the plane. The question is, did they know that 65 Ukrainian POWs were onboard.
Posted by: Apollyon | Jan 24 2024 21:05 utc | 51
Spare the crocodile tears - it was the 404's version of the Hanibal Directive.
Posted by: blueswede | Jan 24 2024 21:50 utc | 65
by wagelaborer | Jan 24 2024 21:16 utc | 57
Russians are mainly not fond of Nazi methods.
Plus Azov got a chance to see the result of their engagement while bus touring. So seeing a RF victory demotivates a lot.
Also, all those Azov people know that they are defeated and a are conditioned for a zero chance of a revolt. One guard, two or three. For the prisoner that goes home has no motivation to make any trouble.
Posted by: whirlX | Jan 24 2024 21:53 utc | 66
"Capture AFU soldiers, strip them down naked, the ones without Nazi tattoos are to be processed further through ID and background checks to see who has done war crimes, the ones with the tattoos are to be directly disappeared permanently.."
Posted by: shаdοwbanned | Jan 24 2024 21:39 utc | 63
Your venomous hatred is undermining your morality; your vitriol remind me of captain Ahab on the deck of the Pequod exclaiming: "To the last, I grapple with thee; from hell's heart, I. stab at thee; for hate's sake, I spit my last breath at. thee.”
How did that work out for Captain Ahab?
It does not stop:
https://t.me/readovkanews/72969
❗️In the area of the Tuapse oil depot, the sound of sirens can be heard - residents claim that there was an explosion before the fire.Footage from the scene of the emergency shows how a huge column of thick smoke hangs over the Rosneft oil refinery - the flames are visible from different parts of the city. Eyewitnesses report that a fire occurred in one of the installations at the oil depot, and a siren is wailing in the area near the fire.
The official cause of the fire is still unknown. According to the operational headquarters of the Krasnodar region, there are no casualties or injuries.
https://t.me/readovkanews/72970
❗️Footage of a fire at an oil refineryAccording to the EDDS of the Tuapse region, a fire occurred on the territory of the oil depot, and the fire is currently being extinguished. The Kuban operational headquarters clarifies that the head of the Tuapse district, Sergei Boyko, is working on site to coordinate interaction with municipal services.
Emergency and operational services are working on the spot to determine the cause of the fire.
Posted by: shаdοwbanned | Jan 24 2024 21:57 utc | 68
Posted by: 600w | Jan 24 2024 19:49 utc | 42
The initial intensity of the celebrations over the shooting down of a single cargo plane, shows the level of Ukrainian desperation. Even if, as originally reported, it was carrying sophisticated weaponry, it would not alter the trajectory of the conflict, or signal an impending deviation. As we seem to know now the tragic incident suggests a bifurcated civil and military leadership and chaotic communication between all levels of these organisations, a repeated refrain that suggests a cock-up, not a conspiracy. Prisoner exchanges are complex planning operations with all units, either directly or indirectly involved, having to be briefed to avoid any potential disasters.
I wonder if the Russians have explained why they used civilian aircraft for the transfer and not road or rail transport, as had been done earlier in the conflict. Soviet civilian airlines regularly were used as spy aircraft, photographing targets on their flight path, but Russian ISR capabilities surely obviate such ad-hoc techniques. Another question, reports suggest multiple missiles were used against an aging transport aircraft, with one what assumes were modest ESM/ECM capabilities, why? They either wanted to guarantee the kill, suggesting they thought it was a high value target, or were not confident in the weapons they were using.
Posted by: shаdοwbanned | Jan 24 2024 20:37 utc | 49
I think you posted similar warnings about the strength of the Ukrainian’s, pre, peri, and post offensive, didn’t really pan, if I remember. The initial gloating about the news of the shoot-down today, rash of social media postings equating Russian tactical setbacks with the equivalence of Ukrainian operational success’, and the tone about imminent war that’s suddenly dominating the news bulletins here in Europe, might be more accurate indicators of the direction of the conflict. Finally, when considering supposed primary sources, look at the provenance, where is the poster located, what is the posters knowledge of the wider conflict, what is the posters experiences (linked to location).
Posted by: Milites | Jan 24 2024 22:01 utc | 69
Karlof1@61
"Macron is Petain". Wrong. Petain was an honourable man, who did what he thought was best for his country, trying to minimise casualties and suffering. Macron, on the other hand, is serving foreign masters, to the detriment of the French population.
Posted by: AJ | Jan 24 2024 22:10 utc | 70
AJ | Jan 24 2024 22:10 utc | 70
And Petain was not serving foreign masters?
Posted by: bevin | Jan 24 2024 22:18 utc | 71
The main thing in today's news is not the prisoners of exchange and not the reaction of Ukrainian propagandists.A transport plane was shot down over Russian territory .
Considering that the possibility of opening the Krasnodar airport was recently discussed, we can safely state that the level of escalation has been raised to a height unprecedented in two years.
The answer could probably be an official declaration of war. But this is unlikely.
But there is no doubt that the retaliatory strike should increase the escalation on our part in response.
Whether this will be a blow to the train that will carry the next European prime minister or the Poseidon plane of the US Air Force over the neutral waters of the Black Sea, those who are supposed to decide should decide.
Posted by: shаdοwbanned | Jan 24 2024 22:21 utc | 72
Il-76: Strange story, reminds a lot of MH-17.
After the shelling of the market in Donetsk, the next 'bad press' for Kiev.
Wonder if the list will continue...and wonder who stands to benefit?
Is it possible that Russia arranged this?
(Someone pointed out that Azov prisoners shouldn't be released - well, they weren't.)
Posted by: smuks | Jan 24 2024 22:29 utc | 73
Shadowbanned 72: Retaliation is a human need, but not a wise behavior by states. What would Russia achieve if it shot down one or two AWACS over neutral territory or sank a cargo ship with weapons for Ukraine? But nothing at all. Now they are accumulating the aggressions of USA and NATO against them, and when it has become too much, then they strike - and Putin will list everything to the Russian people, but by that time US bases will already be burning all over the world and Europe has no Internet anymore to watch...
Posted by: Oliver Krug | Jan 24 2024 22:37 utc | 74
karlof1 | Jan 24 2024 21:41 utc | 64
Due to the experiences of my lifetime, I have zero empathy for group thinkers as we come to this point in history. Just in this last year I have seen all about me make their choice and that choice is empire.
Posted by: Peter AU1 | Jan 24 2024 22:49 utc | 75
bevin@71
Not according to the post-war French government.
Posted by: AJ | Jan 24 2024 22:50 utc | 76
AJ 70: One certainly cannot deny that Petain always tried to achieve the best for France. And that's why he didn't flee abroad, but stayed with his French people,
Posted by: Oliver Krug | Jan 24 2024 22:56 utc | 77
AJ | Jan 24 2024 22:10 utc | 70 "Wrong. Petain was an honourable man, "
If you wish to see honour, look at the Palestinians, look at Ansra Allah. But do not equate Euroscum with honour. De Gaulle the exception.
Posted by: Peter AU1 | Jan 24 2024 23:02 utc | 78
Is it possible that Russia arranged this.
Posted by: smuks | Jan 24 2024 22:29 utc | 73
So many good time girls here al ready to jup aboud the USS Titanic. Rats coming out of the woodwork.
Posted by: Peter AU1 | Jan 24 2024 23:06 utc | 79
Shadowbanned @ 63
Precisely.
Canuck @ 67
We're not dealing with the fictional Captain Ahab, lad. Remember how many Einsatzgruppen gunmen were given a pass by the Yanks. Now their kind have turned up again killing the Palestinian kids. If you don't send the message, no-one learns.
Posted by: wilsonK | Jan 24 2024 23:28 utc | 80
PeterAU1@78
De Gaulle? There is no honour in sending people to their death while living in the safety and security of exile oneself.
Posted by: AJ | Jan 24 2024 23:30 utc | 81
Andrew | Jan 24 2024 19:18 utc | 32
*** Someone was on that plane that NATO/USA wanted dead. It's not the first time a plane load of people die to get the one man someone wanted silenced.***
Weren't there Turkish claims early on that the missile crew involved is from the UK?
Posted by: Cynic | Jan 24 2024 23:30 utc | 82
Some reports on TG (citing some RU officials) say there was supposed to be a chief negotiator (negotiator with whom? US, Ukraine?) on board the aircraft. If so, another option is someone (UK, US) wanted to sabotage negotiations (again, just like March 2022). Most likely the British.
Posted by: unimperator | Jan 24 2024 23:33 utc | 83
@ aletsan | Jan 24 2024 17:06 utc | 2 with the script offer for blocking commenters.
Thanks for that but I have another request for you if you have the chops or others here do....I use to but at 75, I am way past rusty (not the web tool...grin)
I have been commenting here for over a decade and its the thread hoggers that are a problem for me and others. They need to be called out for their volume excess(number of comments to thread and word count in relation to others....maybe just top 10 in relation to total).
So the script would rip the thread, compute the results and format into a comment that can be posted.
Thanks
Posted by: psychohistorian | Jan 24 2024 23:34 utc | 84
Posted by: smuks | Jan 24 2024 22:29 utc | 73
Of course it’s a possibility, if one considers all the options such an event generates.
1. Ukraine deliberate action
2. Ukraine mistake
3. Ukraine deliberate action mistaken target
Russia, being the recipient, not initiator, generates the different options
A Russia victim of 1, 2 or 3
B Russia purposefully generated 1, 2 or 3
C Russian error
Just because an event is generated does not have any bearing on its probability, just the possibility of it occurring, posters who immediately attack those who raise the possibility are simply revealing their ideological mindset. Far better to consider a possibility and reject it than reject the possibility altogether, usually citing some illusory restriction with penalties for any transgression.
Personally, I’d err toward 2 and 3 and A as more likely reasons, given the current state of the two combatants.
Posted by: Milites | Jan 24 2024 23:47 utc | 85
Peter @ 75
I think many folks posting and reading the comments here have had similar observations in their lives as well. I know I have...
Posted by: bisfugged | Jan 24 2024 23:52 utc | 86
Everything lately initiated attacks on Russia are definitely designed, planned and implemented by the UK. They also pressed the button. I think that Ukrainians are making coffee or a tea for NATO "instructors".
It is an open war participation to which RF should not react. Yes, not normal, but RF should just mill through.
UK will try to provoke even more. I do not accuse RF to this incident as a stupid mistake, however this route and a practice to deliver PoW exactly this way is already a routine.
I am just curious on how it is done and if there is some other way in guiding missiles so deep into the Russia. That is very worrying development that needs a quick solution.
Posted by: whirlX | Jan 24 2024 23:54 utc | 87
The Ukrainian insistence that the plane was carrying S-300 missiles is so weird it could only come from Kiev. Like how they hang on to the idea of Russia having to use S-300s in ground attack mode because Russia is out of missiles. Of all the weapons or troops Kiev could pick for its story: S-300s.
Posted by: Lex | Jan 24 2024 23:58 utc | 88
Posted by: whirlX | Jan 24 2024 23:54 utc | 87
If they know the aircraft is coming on a given day, they can drive a IRIS-T truck near the border and hide it in the edge of a forest. Whether Nato had some AWACS or not to detect the plane (to prevent the need of turning the air defense system radar on) is another question. The air defense radar set on would probably tip off RUAF quickly and enable locating, tracking and destroying the system.
US AWACS E-3 must be flying right next to Sevastopol to be within the 700km range, but they have been pretty close before.
Another alternative is they even know the approximate schedule of the aircraft to turn the radar on JIT/JOT, which is also possible.
Posted by: unimperator | Jan 25 2024 0:04 utc | 89
unimperator | Jan 25 2024 0:04 utc | 89
It is a fairly sure thing US/Nato surveillance aircraft that are on the borders 24/7 have direct links to the launchers eliminating the need for system main radar which is easily destroyed.
Posted by: Peter AU1 | Jan 25 2024 0:10 utc | 90
Postado por: Shadowbanned | 63
Eu também abomino nazistas, mas...
Um crime não justifica outro.
Os naziazov deveriam ser mantidos presos e julgados após a guerra para apodrecerem no calabouço.
Posted by: Soviético | Jan 25 2024 0:19 utc | 91
Regarding the downing of the plane, the AFU will emulate OJ Simpson and release a report entitled "If We Had Done It".
Posted by: Babel-17 | Jan 25 2024 0:19 utc | 92
Posted by: whirlX | Jan 24 2024 23:54 utc | 87
Once the missiles have an approximate bearing and predicted point of interception they self-guide, the so called fire and forget principle. It’s how modern AD/ASM’s can engage multiple targets rapidly, as the tracking radars only have to update the predictions, based on the targets movements (modern target platform-specific algorithms can predict these movements with a high degree of accuracy), not guide the missile to the target, limiting the number of targets engaged. A ‘civilian’ IL-76 has military style ESM, possibly chaff and flare dispensers, but nothing to stop 2nd/3rd gen missiles locking onto its massive radar signature. They might also be using similar ‘stealth’ missiles that took out the A-50 and damaged the Il-22, perhaps the flight recorder will give a better indication as to what happened.
As for UK involvement it’s more about showing relevance to an increasingly capricious and anti-British US Administration, that is populated at the higher echelons by people who are petty and vindictive, than any grand plan. Given the Ukrainians have been training on these AD systems for over two years, if not pre-conflict, I doubt the UK would need to get directly involved.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-68083739
Looks like the Zelensky regime has swiftly moved from celebrating with Option 1A to denouncing with 2B/C, once the nature of the target was revealed, a pretty telling insight into the regime’s mindset.
Posted by: Milites | Jan 25 2024 0:23 utc | 93
France blocks UNSC meeting on downing of Russian prisoner swap aircraft: https://tass.com/politics/1736997
Posted by: Thurl | Jan 24 2024 21:08 utc | 52
HOLD THE PHONE ... evidently, NSA wants 24 hrs to collect teh data (from Omnicron? Saatchi? Kirby's crotch? Or Kolomoisky's fact-finding drawers?)
[...]
At first, France, which holds the presidency of the UN Security Council in January, refused to hold a meeting requested by Russia. Polyansky called it an abuse of the powers of the presiding party and "an attempt to shield the Kiev regime." However, then the meeting was still scheduled for January 25, 17: 00 New York time (00: 00 January 26 Kiev time).
[...]
Posted by: sln2002 | Jan 25 2024 0:35 utc | 94
Urban Fox @ 40
I mentioned it here a few days ago that there is NO way any NATO country is going to get anywhere near the numbers they think they'll get. There will be many hundreds of thousands of young people everywhere telling conscription offices to shove it up your orifices. Whatever the consequences for them, this ain't gonna happen! Some merican article stated last week that legions of white, Christian, low brow southerners will sign up by the millions for Trump if he gets in, is horribly delusional...
Posted by: bisfugged | Jan 25 2024 0:43 utc | 95
Those wondering why Ukrainians don't rise up have little idea how Orwellian the world can be under a fascist system. The NSA and CIA have been in Ukraine for a decade, so you can bet all cell communication is monitored, as is all unencrypted traffic. Any adult male they're even a little suspicious of gets recruited to go to the front lines, essentially a death threat. Gonzalo Lira gave a bit of a picture of how corrupt and abusive the police system is.
As the recent individual report showing up on blogs like sonar21, the vast majority of the population knows how hopeless it is and that their government is corrupt and not at all thinking of Ukrainians. Can they let themselves wonder if it would be better if Ukraine surrenders, and they'll be under Russian power, even in a rump state? Likely many people have thought it but it's also known that if this gets voiced in public you could disappear.
That's at the normal population level. The CIA and MI6 have been handling security of the top echelon of Ukrainian government and military for many years now, but this also means they have a window into all government and know who might want a coup - and be able to create accidents. This level of power games are horrific.
Posted by: Matthew | Jan 25 2024 1:03 utc | 96
Martyanov:
"In present 404 there are very few people who have sympathy for Russia--this is brainwashed, hateful population (primarily) and it will face a long road of denazification once the SMO concludes."
Source: http://smoothiex12.blogspot.com/2024/01/they-knew-it.html?m=1
Now he realises this?!? And even I, with just conversations with friends from Ukranazistan to go on, had been saying so since at least 2018 on the Faker's Junkyard [which sometimes even got through his bodyguard of censors] and here.
Posted by: Biswapriya Purkayast | Jan 25 2024 1:12 utc | 97
https://t.me/c/1531451478/239543
Everything is going back to WWI. Now we have WWI style mines, where tunnels are dug under enemy fortifications, filled with explosives, and blown up. I am surprised nobody's done that before this. Especially with the Donbass Republics being full of miners that should be easier for them than for the nazis to do.
Posted by: Biswapriya Purkayast | Jan 25 2024 1:13 utc | 98
You can do due diligence and pay godd money to get the best car with all the safety features and highest rating, but you can't prevent being killed in your car by an idiot coming the wrong way on drugs, alcohol or just being in the wrong place at the wrong time.
So, what are the alternatives? Fuck it and go nuts or do all the right things and pray shit doesn't happen to you.
This is just another one of that "shit happens" moment.
The only real way to end this is the comprehensive defeat of NATO. A slow process, unfortunately.
Posted by: Suresh | Jan 25 2024 1:25 utc | 99
Some videos for today.
Russian thermobaric TOS-1A system obliterates enemy fortified positions near Donetsk:
https://rutube.ru/video/5757abf9927d2c16a3f7ee4d33eafea8/
Russian modernized T-72 tank pounds enemy strongholds and firing positions near Kupyansk:
https://rutube.ru/video/0b56171365f1c9508385d6ea854f475e/
Russian Lancet destroys ZU-23 anti-aircraft gun on the right bank of the Dnepr River in Kherson oblast:
https://rutube.ru/video/2a696fdf5df3e8de785cdab663e9af79/
Russian Ka-52 assault helicopter provides cover fire for infantry near Donetsk:
https://rutube.ru/video/b1841fbe2c393e0dfc60a1781b552b65/
Russian engineering unit de-mining roads on the Krasny Liman front:
https://rutube.ru/video/87069560b8f82a9c5fc9ddf2b8d33551/
Posted by: Nate | Jan 25 2024 2:04 utc | 100
The comments to this entry are closed.
Kiev sending a strong message to their POW's today: don't come back
Posted by: pxx | Jan 24 2024 16:53 utc | 1