Ukraine and Russia work to gain advantage in annexed regions

Striking non-military targets is just an act of desperation. It galvanizes world attention and confirms that Russia is a rogue state run by mafioso.

Putin is the best thing that ever happened to Europe, to NATO and the West. We are learning to stand up to bullies and that will surely come in handy against Emperor Xi when he makes his play for Taiwan. US Department of Defense says he will have the military assets to do so in 2027.

Targeting civilians (schools, hospitals, apartment buildings etc.) has been a feature of Russia's aggression from the outset. Russia's propaganda always adopts a phony victim narrative for domestic consumption (NATO betrayal after Soviet disintegration etc.)

And even as the fighting raged in Ukraine, two volunteer soldiers fired at other troops during target practice in western Russia, killing 11 and wounding 15 others, before getting killed. The Russian Defense Ministry called the shooting a terror attack and it underlined the challenges stemming from a hasty mobilization ordered by Putin.

A terrorist attack on themselves. Wonder if Russia will blame Ukraine for this one too.

On Saturday, Ukrainian troops attempted to advance south along the banks of the Dnieper River toward the regional capital, also named Kherson, but didn't gain any ground, according to Kirill Stremousov, a deputy head of the occupied region's Moscow-installed administration.

It's only a matter of time for Kherson to fall. Russia knows it and has ordered Russians to leave the city.

20,if you not an American,you are not given anything worthwhile

Bronco

Zelensky's forces have a massive advantage in manpower, equipment and ammunition. They are essentially fully NATO equipped at this point.

Not one NATO soldier is fighting in this war.

Yet despite these advantages and the huge shortcomings of the separatists, the defenders of Kherson are holding the line.

Not for long. They are preparing to withdraw.

The Russian separatist conscripts have one advantage that NATO's billions can't buy.

Sure doesn't look like it. It was separatist conscripts that were routed near Kharkiv.

They have determination. The determination that comes from knowing you're fighting for your family and homeland.

That would be an apt description for the Ukrainian forces.

Zelensky and NATO were expecting to be in Crimea by now,

By WHO?

but their offensive has been stopped dead in its tracks by fierce and unwavering resistance.

There offensive is making good progress, while the Russians are preparing to leave Kherson.

The Russian separatist conscripts have one advantage that NATO's billions can't buy.

They have determination. The determination that comes from knowing you're fighting for your family and homeland.

Not an advantage if it’s the exact same thing the opposition also have.

Zelensky and NATO were expecting to be in Crimea by now, but their offensive has been stopped dead in its tracks by fierce and unwavering resistance.

Russia was expecting to be finished with its invasion months ago but now their own border cities have been dragged into the war. Wonder how much further into Russia this is going to go.

Over 90,000 Russian soldiers have died, cannot be accounted for, or have suffered such serious injuries that they are unable to return to service, independent Russian media project iStories reported on Wednesday, citing sources close to the Kremlin.

https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2022/10/12/over-90k-irrecoverable-losses-suffered-by-russian-soldiers-in-ukraine-istories-a79070

The Russian separatist conscripts have one advantage that NATO's billions can't buy.

They have determination. 

One might ask why they needed to be conscripted if they had so much “determination “?

Also, this is Kherson we are talking about, not the seperatists in Donbass. Its mostly regular Russian army there.

It looks like the Ukrainians are on the move again in Kherson after a weeklong pause.

Over the last few months, I have read hundreds of comments at this website by gaijin living in Japan, many of whom have taken the high horse against the USA, NATO and Ukraine most likely because they feel safe and protected in Japan. They don't seem to realize that if Russia uses even the most minor nuclear weapon possible and even if NATO does not retaliate in kind, it will mean that not only will Japan obtain nuclear warheads, but other Asian countries such as South Korea and Vietnam will as well.

This war reminds me of the Winter War in Finland. With only 4 million citizens, the Finns were not supposed to last more than a few days. The Ukrainians, with 40 million citizens, and much of the world supporting them, were supposed to last only a couple of days, but instead are kicking the Russian army out of their country.

If Putin had any sense, he never would have invaded Ukraine, and now, would evacuate Ukraine. The war is bleeding Russia dry. I would not be surprised if Putin ends up like Mussolini, Hitler, or Kaddafi.

This war should be a lesson for Xi, as well. Enjoy being a dictator, with all of its fringe benefits, but do not fool yourself into thinking that the world wants you to conquer it.

@bronco

at least come up with some facts for your propaganda;

Zelensky's forces have a massive advantage in manpower, 

false ! Russia’s standing army is double that of Ukraine

add n the reservists, & that doubles again.

equipment and ammunition

the retreating Russian army is the number provider of equipment & ammunition

the defenders of Kherson are holding the line.

that’s because there’s nowhere to run away to

The Russian separatist conscripts have one advantage that NATO's billions can't buy.

yes, they have a special division of Chechens who have been ordered to shoot fleeing Russian soldiers

Zelensky and NATO were expecting to be in Crimea by now,

wasnt Putin expecting to be in Kiev after 3 days !?

We all loose in wars, and we all win in peace.

Russia has paid a heavy price for Mr. Putin's war against a peaceful Ukraine, comes spring Mr. Putin may try it again but I am confident that he will loose just as bad. I am hoping that the Russian people will find an alternative.

Total destruction of hundreds of thousands of homes, schools, hospitals, and infrastructures, and for what. To satisfy Putin's lust to control Ukraine and turn the clock back to the Soviet Union he so loves.

Millions of Russians oppose his war and destruction.

Which indicates the professionalism of the targeting officers.

and the 4000 other missiles which have hit civilian targets indicates the incompetence of the officers.

your propaganda is becoming desperate at best

*false ! **Russia’s standing army is double that of Ukraine*

add n the reservists, & that doubles again.

Actually I don’t think the comment was false.

Yes, on paper Russia had a much bigger military than Ukraine before the invasion. But the relevant question is how many troops are in Ukraine on the ground. Russia doesn’t seem to have ever been able to sustain more than 150-200,000 troops in Ukraine at a time, if that, which is a fraction of what the Ukrainians now have.

Its one of the reasons the Russian war effort is so hopeless.

Russia is running out of missiles and ammo.

Putin’s blunder means Moscow is running out of weapons, says U.K. spy chief .

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/putins-blunder-means-moscow-running-113319890.html

Fresh Russian conscripts are already being sent home after just a few days on the frontline - in body bags.

Imagine a month ago they were peacefully going about their lives as teachers, clerks, truck drivers etc., and after a full day's training they are sent to the frontline with sparse equipment and poor leadership.

The misery that Putin inflicts on all.

Haaa NemuiToday  07:55 am JST

Zelensky and NATO were expecting to be in Crimea by now, but their offensive has been stopped dead in its tracks by fierce and unwavering resistance.

Russia was expecting to be finished with its invasion months ago but now their own border cities have been dragged into the war. Wonder how much further into Russia this is going to go.

It's not so easy as Poor Puddy-Tat thought it would be, is it? Too bad on his recent 70th birthday. He got a booby prize.

wallaceToday  08:02 am JST

Over 90,000 Russian soldiers have died, cannot be accounted for, or have suffered such serious injuries that they are unable to return to service, independent Russian media project iStories reported on Wednesday, citing sources close to the Kremlin.

How many more will suffer? Winter is coming up and the local-yocals ain't gonna help the invaders, they want the Russians out! Christmas season too. Before long many Russian soldiers are going to be frustrated and will want to go home. They're going to be saying, 'How long? How long must we sing this song? How long? How loooooong?'

Which indicates the professionalism of the targeting officers.

Target hit precisely but no civilians hurt or killed.

Indicates nothing of the sort. A broken clock is right for 2 seconds a day.

Zelensky regime forces were promised that they'd be in Kherson with a day or two and Crimea within a week.

Do you have a source for this, Bronco?

Dear Ukraine, continue to be stubborn and you will lose more territory..

For three months now, Ukraine has been gaining their territory back. Not sure which additional territory you think Ukraine will lose and who they will lose it to.

the defenders of Kherson

the offenders of Kherson, you mean

The people of Kherson want the Russians gone. The Russian occupiers are hated because they are atrocious "human" beings.

I still can't tell whether these are this posters views or his attempt at satire....

Zelensky regime forces were promised that they'd be in Kherson with a day or two and Crimea within a week.

Putin believed his forces would be in Kyiv within three says and conquer all of Ukraine with in a week...

It's now EIGHT months later and he controls less territory than he did seven months ago....that's called RETREATING...

All predicated on the assumption that Russian separatists would either flee, surrender or desert their units.

Which was proven correct...

The folly of that failed assumption is now being laid bare with Zelensky regime forces stalled out in the open and even losing ground in areas like Bakmut.

Losing ground? That's what the Russians have been doing for the past month....

This despite the fact that the Russian speaking East Ukrainian defenders are vastly out numbered and out gunned.

Hmmm...so you call all these people in the areas illegally annexed by Russia "Ukrainian defenders"? I thought Putin gave all these folks Russian citizenship? Then bombed them....

Zelensky regime forces now have to deal with intermittent Starlink because the separatists are successfully jamming Starlink with the Tirada system.

Zelensky's army may soon lose all electronic communications, navigation and targeting because of Tirada's deployment.

Which the Ukrainians will no doubt capture just like all the other Russian C4I assets they currently have...and have shared with NATO...

If this was an attempt at satire, it worked, I laughed at all the ridiculous fiction...

Me, and you weren't.

Then for you it's a valuable lesson on the total lack of power you have.

Guess what? Putin is trying to bribe Turkey by offering to build an alternative pipeline through Turkey to the rest of the West.

Why do you call it "a bribe"? What do you mean?

There is already a pipeline to Turkey. Putin suggested another which the Turkish regime is delighted with. Why wouldn't it be? A win-win for both parties. Only USA loses.

Blowing up Nordstream 1 to punish European nations supplying resources to Ukraine and then deciding to never open Nordstream 2 sounds more like a Russian reason than a US reason. If the US sabotaged it then just finish Nordstream 2. Right?

Both pipelines were blown up but one of the 2 Nord Stream 2 pipelines is still operational. So your opinon is that instead of simply turning off the spigot, literally the flick of a switch, Russia carried out that stunning, reckless, utterly criminal act of industrial terrorism and environmental arson? I'm sure it makes a lot of sense in very warped minds. The kind of minds which are responsible for the sabotage.

Why do you think Sweden, Danmark and Germany after initially announcing a joint investigation are now doing their own separate investigations? Because Sweden and Danmark are refusing to share info with Germany citing "privacy concerns"? Do you think the regimes in Sweden and Danmark concealing evidence the Russians did it?

@Axel

Both pipelines were blown up but one of the 2 Nord Stream 2 pipelines is still operational. So your opinon is that instead of simply turning off the spigot, literally the flick of a switch, Russia carried out that stunning, reckless, utterly criminal act of industrial terrorism and environmental arson? I'm sure it makes a lot of sense in very warped minds. The kind of minds which are responsible for the sabotage.

LOL! Simple, Putin has shown he is willing to sacrifice valuable gas and use it as a weapon before. Russia was burning £8.4 million of gas a day at a plant near its border with Finland, rather than exporting it to Europe in August.

Who burns their own gas specifically on the border of the country it was doing business with?

ANS: Someone petty and vindictive (Putin)

Who likes to play the victim in war they started?

ANS: Someone petty and vindictive (Putin)

Who wants NATO to fail because their own CTSO is failing?

ANS: Someone petty and vindictive (Putin)

Why do you think Sweden, Danmark and Germany after initially announcing a joint investigation are now doing their own separate investigations? Because Sweden and Danmark are refusing to share info with Germany citing "privacy concerns"? Do you think the regimes in Sweden and Danmark concealing evidence the Russians did it?

Ask Sweden:

Mats Ljungqvist, the prosecutor involved in Sweden's criminal investigation into the Nord Stream leaks in the Swedish economic zone, said Sweden was already co-operating with Denmark and Germany on the matter.

He said Sweden had rejected the proposal for a Joint Investigation Team (JIT) from judicial co-operation agency Eurojust because a such a joint investigation would include legal agreements under which Sweden would have to share information from its own investigation that it deemed confidential.

"This is because there is information in our investigation that is subject to confidentiality directly linked to national security," Ljungqvist told Reuters.

Sweden shuns formal joint investigation of Nord Stream leak, citing national security

https://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/sweden-shuns-formal-joint-investigation-of-nord-stream-leak--citing-national-security/47980512

If I were to guess, they'll wait until the economic and social crisis in the Ukraine and Europe gets really bad. Probably in January. 

Ok, thanks for your guess. We will see how that pans out for you. My guess is that all three of these oblasts will still be Ukrainian in January.

Sweden shuns formal joint investigation of Nord Stream leak, citing national security

https://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/sweden-shuns-formal-joint-investigation-of-nord-stream-leak--citing-national-security/47980512

Thanks so much for that. Did you read, like, the first paragraph? How it says:

Sweden has rejected plans to set up a formal joint investigation team with Denmark and Germany to look into the recent ruptures of the Nord Stream 1 and 2 pipelines, a Swedish prosecutor investigating the leaks, said.

Do you also believe the Russians blew up the pipeline?

LOL! Simple, Putin has shown he is willing to sacrifice valuable gas and use it as a weapon before. Russia was burning £8.4 million of gas a day at a plant near its border with Finland, rather than exporting it to Europe in August.

Firstly, "LOL" is really, really old.

Russian storage is full. Was overfilled so instead of exporting it to Europe for free, they burned it. Makes sense. Do you think they should give the gas away?

Ok, thanks for your guess. We will see how that pans out for you. My guess is that all three of these oblasts will still be Ukrainian in January.

4 oblasts have already been liberated.

How about the pipeline?

@Axel

Sweden has rejected plans to set up a formal joint investigation team with Denmark and Germany to look into the recent ruptures of the Nord Stream 1 and 2 pipelines, a Swedish prosecutor investigating the leaks, said.

Did you actually read the article where the lead prosecutor on the case said that they were already working with the two countries informally in the investigation but would not make it formal because they would need to sign agreements to make it formal and that would mean providing the other two countries information that is a matter of national security.

Didn't you say they were not working together?

Where in the article is Sweden stating they are not working with the other two countries because they distrust their ability to investigate the matter properly without bias?

Do you also believe the Russians blew up the pipeline?

I do! I do not know about Silvafan.

You seem to be picking parts a ignore parts that makes your assumptions invalid similar to @Blacklabel.

4 Oblasts have been illegally seized and against the Geneva Convention on War.

Zelensky's forces have a massive advantage in manpower, equipment and ammunition. They are essentially fully NATO equipped at this point.

With no navy, no modern aircraft, no modern tanks or APC's and relying on a handful of missile systems that do not have long range missiles.

Yet despite these advantages and the huge shortcomings of the separatists, the defenders of Kherson are holding the line.

Russians have more modern tanks, apc's, aircraft and actually have a navy. They have much more artillery although less accurate than western supplied systems that Ukraine is using.

The Russian separatist conscripts have one advantage that NATO's billions can't buy. They have determination. The determination that comes from knowing you're fighting for your family and homeland.

That is ironic. It is what drives the Ukraine forces fighting for their homeland and their families. All the Russian conscripts are fighting in foreign lands and dying for nothing. Those few separatists under arms are simply fighting to not have to emigrate to Russia. They would rather steal land from Ukraine than move house.

the reality is, the local people are coveting the idea of again being part of Russia.

The reality is that the local people in librated areas are welcoming the Ukrainian soldiers with hugs and tears of joy and relief.

Anyone living there feeling oppressed had plenty of time pre-2014 to up roots and resettle in muZZer ruZZia.

ALL territories everywhere taken illegally by Russia should be taken away from them.

Axel - Putin’s annexation means nothing to me or the Ukrainians. I don’t know who blew up the pipeline and I don’t really care. I will accept the findings of the investigation and whatever the results are will not change my support for Ukraine one iota.

4 oblasts have already been liberated.

Invaded and subjugated is the actual situation. They will be liberated by Ukraine forces in time.

How about the pipeline?

Russian false flag operation using their forces designed to do exactly what they did to the pipelines. Good actual training for when they are used against other nations and they get to blame the US for it into the bargain.

Axel - just going by what they are saying. If Russia tried annexing the US State of Alaska, which was once theirs, the results would be the same. Countries can't just go around annexing parts of other countries.

https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-united-nations-general-assembly-zelenskyy-putin-moscow-7c769dc8ca259e0a74b51c0cc8dbe4d8

Russia must not be allowed to benefit from its violent assault & invasion of a peaceful neighbor.