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Footage of a large, light aircraft sized Ukrainian drone hitting a building in Grozny. Reported to be an OMON (paramilitary police) building. On the face of it I can't see any strategic significance, but it will wind Kadyrov up massively and be popular with Chechen civilians as OMON have a very dubious war crimes and human rights record in Chechnya to say the least.
https://twitter.com/Tendar/status/1868209824233623916
Russian tanker sank near Kerch Straits. No evidence that it was an attack, might have just broken in half.
https://twitter.com/wartranslated/status/1868229538523861243
2 tankers according to Sky news. Seems a helluva coincidence.
I assume this will disrupt fuel supplies. ?
Were the ships part of the bridge defences? To intercept the sea baby drones? Most of the sea baby drone missions are at night tho, so my guess is submarine drones!
The front fell off.
its a bit odd that 2 have gone down at once, but
The Volgoneft-212 was 55 years old, registered in St Petersburg and recently refitted. The centre was cut out and the stern and bow were welded together, forming a huge seam in the middle. It is this section that appears to have broken.
The head of the Russian army’s chemical weapons division died on Tuesday when an explosive device attached to a scooter went off outside an apartment building in Moscow.
On Monday, Ukrainian prosecutors charged the general with using banned chemical weapons in Ukraine, according to the Kyiv Post.
I think this type of thing will continue long after the end of the conflict.
Russia appear happy to use the war crimes committed by their forces to terrorise Ukranians from continuing their fight, but it also makes any sort of forgiveness harder to facilitate.
I think this type of thing will continue long after the end of the conflict
See also incendiary devices in Birmingham and Leipzig in July https://www.flyingmag.com/aircraft/lucky-coincidence-thwarts-alleged-russian-attack-on-dhl-flight/
Just read there is drone footage of russians deliberately burning NK casualties faces to disguise them. In a war of so many horrors I'm not sure why this one in particular had me going wtf but it did.
Just read there is drone footage of russians deliberately burning NK casualties faces
What is the source for this? - sounds a bit conspiracy theory like to me, unless it is a reliable news agency.
Apparently posted by ukr on telegram. I'm not going searching for it, its not something I want to see. I still remember seeing that young girl cycling being hit by a missile in the first few days of the war. Thats going to haunt me forever
Hmmm, I can see why UKR would like to claim it, but that doesn’t mean it’s true.
I think I’ll stick with the possible conspiracy theory / disinformation until it is verified by a credible agency.
i have seen some of the drone footage, it looks real enough, but not exactly clear what is being shown
I darent check on shitter but I'm guessing that the conspiracy loons have gone into overdrive after Ukraine killed the general who was banging on about biolabs
I think this type of thing will continue long after the end of the conflict.
Are they going to keep trying until they spark the scenario of Archduke Franz Ferdinand?
Or rough seas and a worn out tanker fleet that Russia can’t afford to replace
This seems to be closest to the truth. The three tankers were apparently rated for river and coastal routes decades ago. The Black Sea was stormy and the tankers were (litorally 🙂 ) out of their depth
They were each carrying around 4000 tonnes of oil
I darent check on shitter but I’m guessing that the conspiracy loons have gone into overdrive after Ukraine killed the general who was banging on about biolabs
I suspect there will be retaliation for that from the Russians.
A browse of some of the information on Bluesky suggests that the Russians really have emptied some of thier storage and renovation depots of tanks and other vehicles at last. I know this has been proposed as a likely thing for a long time, but it seems it may now be true.
I also see the Ruble is resolutely low and that Russian bond prices have surged to 28% cost. Again, I wonder if this war may end through a collapse of resources and economy in Russia...
Some news that President Trump is planning to send his envoy, retired army Lieutenant General Keith Kellogg, to Europe and Ukraine in early January https://www.reuters.com/world/us/trumps-ukraine-envoy-plans-january-trip-kyiv-other-european-capitals-2024-12-17/
It's significant that he's not planning a trip to Russia, which would be an important part of a fact-finding mission for peace. Ukraine has shown willingness for peace negotiations, while Russia hasn't.
Statements from the US are mixed, but this must not become a mission to force Ukraine to agree to peace on any terms and instead should promise to strengthen Ukraine until Russia comes to the table.
In a June interview with Times Radio, a British digital station, Sebastian Gorka, one of Trump's incoming deputy national security advisers, said Trump had told him he would force Putin into talks by threatening unprecedented weapons shipments to Ukraine if Putin refused.
Gorka, reached by phone, called Reuters "fake news garbage" and declined to elaborate. https://www.reuters.com/world/trumps-plan-ukraine-comes-into-focus-territorial-concessions-nato-off-table-2024-12-04/
In July Keith Kellogg was interviewed by Voice of America (VOA). VOA is part of the U.S. Agency for Global Media
Kellogg: President Trump, to his credit, said in the very first debate when he was asked by one of the commentators, Dana Bash, do the Russians basically get to keep the territories? He said no, not at all. He said not once, he did it twice.
AND
VOA: Ukrainian officials might be cautious about entering into the negotiations with Russians because it might send a signal to their partners that they don't need military aid anymore.
Kellogg: You have to give more arms to them because you can't trust the Russians. You just have to do it, and the question is, do you do this before Europe tires, Americans tire, Ukrainians tire? https://www.voanews.com/a/former-trump-nsc-official-explains-his-vision-for-ending-war-in-ukraine-/7712184.html
At that point Keith Kellogg hadn't been appointed envoy and he now has a chain of management that he reports to
I suspect there will be retaliation for that from the Russians
Russia is already doing anything in its power, both within and without international law
@relapsed_mandalorian understands the ins and outs of this and may comment, but I think that Ukraine's actions were legal in killing Lieutenant General Igor Kirillov, an active military participant in an active war
NATO has taken on the co-ordination of aid to Ukraine from the US https://www.reuters.com/world/nato-takes-over-coordination-military-aid-kyiv-us-source-says-2024-12-17/
for shore
We had an e scooter explode at the train station was that Ukraine as well?
Lieutenant General Keith Kellogg
Whilst I remain deeply concerned about what Trump is going to do once in power the appointment of Kellogg does raise a glimmer of hope as he seems to have a fair grasp on what's at stake here and it's the kind of snivelling Putin-apologist culture warrior I feared would be given the role.
Of course this could just mean that he'll be out on his arse in 3 weeks and replaced with some utter quisling but hey, I'll take my hope where i can.
It was an interesting evening last night talking to two friends who both hosted Ukraine families in the past. Both families left the Uk to go home around 12 - 18 months ago. A week ago and yesterday both families returned to the UK. One is back with one friend, the other is in their own rented place (my friend visited them yesterday morning).
The reason these families (and many others I'm told) have returned here is due to the fact that Trump will be in power. Both families have come back without the husbands/fathers, who are staying behind to do whatever they have to, to protect their land. There seems to be real fear that Trump will hand their country over to Russia. I really don't understand the politics, however all I know these people are really struggling, more so than ever.
Who owns all the land in the Ukraine?
Are the regular people (want to get just get by in life, type person) fighting to retain land for a bunch of Ukrainian billionaires?
Like in this country, I don't think I would willingly lay down my life for the handful of people who have everything. Who would of most likely ran away to the states or equivalent at the first sign of trouble.
And back again when it's all over, and still own it all.
I expect regular Ukrainians don't want to be raped and murdered by Russians. Which is something the Russians have (yet again) proved they do.
**** Russia.
Are the regular people (want to get just get by in life, type person) fighting to retain land for a bunch of Ukrainian billionaires?
Imagine that you lost your house and belongings, you are now destitute, no matter how hard you had worked. Your employment gone. No state support. A wasteland around you, blow up by years of war. You have nothing but a freezing winter with a new group of drunk, violent, vengeful new set of neighbours, who cannot rebuild as they have no finance to do so (And even if they did, you are the bottom of the priority list)...
I don't know, it's an interesting point.
If say France / Germany / Spain invaded Britain again. Would you care? Would Macron be any worse than any other political leader you didn't vote for? Is patriotism just a construct invented by the ruling class to get you onside against a common enemy?
Asking "would you fight FOR your country just for patriotisms sake" is a different question to "would you fight AGAINST war crimes".
The reason I think @redthunder is wrong though is because in this case it's the Russian aggressors who are fighting for blind patriotism and the Ukrainians who generally have more reasons to be fighting.
If say France / Germany / Spain invaded Britain again. Would you care? Would Macron be any worse than any other political leader you didn’t vote for? Is patriotism just a construct invented by the ruling class to get you onside against a common enemy?
Yes I would, it would be a disaster for UK and Europe.
And let us not forget that Macron, Sanchez or Scholtz are not the murderous dictator that is Putin, or are they countries and cultures without significant social justice theme.
A concise round up from Phillips P. O'Brien: the assassination of Lt. Gen. Igor Kirillov, which includes:
"This did not, however, stop people from taking the strangest takes on the Kirillov attack. Most notably, Trump’s Ukrainian envoy, General Kellogg, went on Fox News and criticized the attack, seemingly saying that not only was it not “smart”, but that it might have been illegal and an escalation."
"Its hard to know what to make of this. Targeted killing of senior military officers has been US policy since the US revolution. Arguably its been central to the US way of war."
Pokrovsk, Kurakhove and Kursk
"Well, this week the Russian advance on Pokrovsk slowed from even the glacial pace of a week ago..."
"Putin is trying to take whatever he can of the Donbas before Trump takes office—and after a major push in November is actually seeing less success. He is also trying to take back all of Kursk, as this will complicate any Trump attempt to freeze the war along the present lines."
Russia appears to have switched to taking empty hectares rather than hamlets that can be name-dropped for Russian public consumption. This will reduce troop losses and maximise land taken
"Russia cannot generate soldiers to cover such losses for that much longer. It will have to either lower the loss rate or its army will shrink. The same goes for much of their equipment. The Russian war economy actually has some major problems, and is struggling keeping up."
"It is worth noting that the Kursk front line is even more solid than that around Pokrovsk. Deep State* has made only very small changes in the last 3 weeks." (*open source mapping site)
It's worth a few minutes to read the whole article https://phillipspobrien.substack.com/p/weekend-update-112-ukraine-strikes
This article is an example of what other nations are learning from the invasion of Ukraine. Taiwan is taking a more holistic approach to preparations https://www.lowyinstitute.org/the-interpreter/taiwan-ukraine-learning-right-lessons
Rumours online that the crashed Azerbaijani airliner was shot down over Grozny by air defence.
