Russian forces leave Snake Island; keep up eastern assault

Putin to my knowledge possesses not a chicken bone of goodwill for anyone. So I’m going to go with it was an untenable place to occupy. Gesture of goodwill ha.

The Kremlin portrayed the pullout from Snake Island as a “goodwill gesture.”

Russian act of "goodwill" is an oxymoron.

"In the end it will prove impossible for Putin to hold down a country that will not accept” occupation, Johnson said.

I do not think it would be 'impossible', Russian forces under Putin have shown wherever the've been (see Syria and Chechnya, most SSRs), that they have no qualms about and are not afraid to kill as many civilians as they are able, and level infrastructure needed to maintain life. Russia can hold countries down by destroying them, Putin and the Kremlin do not care, they just want to say look at the size of my territory. The Russian hordes are being seen as being as brutal as those of The Mongol hordes of centuries past, or Hitler's Nazis of a few decades past. And the ant-west, anti-democracy supporters cheer them on.

goodwill gesture

This is ALMOST as credible a statement as one of our lot stating that “it” holds both political parties to account equally. It’s almost as valid as the coupons on a confederate war bond. It’s almost as real as Don’s skin tone.

But of course they didn’t “evacuate.” They conducted a “Special Military Maneuver.”

It would SEEM that the Russians, when lacking the ability to bomb and shell indiscriminately, suck at combat.

A novel excuse. Sort of like when the attack on Kyiv went awry and they suddenly didn't want it anyway, or when they sunk their own flagship. Such genorosity.

They'll be back to flattening shopping centres and churches soon enough though.

pTownsend, hate to say it but if they are Caucasian and essentially Eastern European, then the response will be different.

Ukrainian troops there reportedly received a demand from a Russian warship to surrender or be bombed. The answer supposedly came back, "Go (expletive) yourself.”

Ukraine has celebrated the story with patriotic fervor, issuing a postage stamp in commemoration.

Still repeating this long ago debunked propaganda?

Never happened, they wisely surrendered.

But Russians also stretching the truth.... "goodwill gesture.." Lol

The island is in reach of Ukrainian fire and not worth the risk of holding. They can retake it anytime they need to.

Never happened, they wisely surrendered.

OH, SO close! If only there weren’t that pesky audio.

The island is in reach of Ukrainian fire and not worth the risk of holding.

So what you’re saying here is that in a situation in which they cannot have overwhelming asymmetric fire, they run away, right? Because they can’t hold it. If they could, they wouldn’t have left.

The only military tactic the Russians have shown any competence at....retreating....

Nemo.....

 Because they can’t hold it. If they could, they wouldn’t have left.

The island would be of great importance in an attack on Odessa. If the Russians choose to take Odessa they will retake the island very quickly. No need to waste the lives of soldiers. Ukraine will not be stationing forces on the island unless they want them to die. Its within easy reach of Russian naval bombardment.

The Russians are not withdrawing from the parts they are going to keep.

Ukraine will put newly obtained western expensive weapons there and Russia will blow them all up or reverse engineer them. Then return. Putin is very smart.

There is an episode of Seinfeld where Jerry keeps defiantly saying "I choose not to run!" when asked to race against a guy who he knows is faster than he is.

Every time I see Russia saying it is making a "goodwill gesture" when it clearly loses something it didn't want to lose I think of that episode.

Getting the Russians to leave Snake Island is just a start, but in the aftermath of Putin's war of aggression kicking the snakes out of Crimea has now become a necessity for the territorial security of Ukraine.

The only military tactic the Russians have shown any competence at....retreating....

They get a lot of practice.

Just wanted to know if UA forces have remove own mines from Black Sea ports?

As they are complaining cant export own grain to get cash for new weapons...

And one more question-are UA forces winning already...with all of funds from abroad,guns and related media support...?

Or still just doing some new "tactical retreats"?

Say until Tisa river line?

Any thoughts or news about these heroji?

Would be nice if Ukraine, with materiel and intel from the west, could launch a focused but deep penetration into the Donbas to put Russia on the defensive and, ideally, split their forces. Patience and on-going support is critical. 

I am anticipating more good news about blown up Russian weapon depots, downed helicopters and bombers, tanks and other military equipment set on fire, etc. - thanks to all NATO weaponry that has started to make ways to the frontlines.

Best wishes, my Ukrainian friends!

So according to Kipling,

Snake Island is critical to any amphibious operation (I agree) but the Russians up and left of their own free will. Yeah, that’s a laugh.

They were ejected because they cannot just blow S- up. If they can’t just blow stuff up, they’ve proven themselves to be incompetent.

Goodwill gesture? After all of the raping, torturing and murdering at the hands of the Russian Army . . . A goodwill gesture?! Is Herr Goebbels Russia’s propaganda minister?

NATO is fooling themselves by thinking that Ukraine will win this war. If only UK PM Boris Johnson knew Bible prophecy, he wouldn’t make statements like that. Russia will emerge victorious in this war. Israel replaced Russia as the energy supplier to the EU when Israel signed an energy deal with the EU up to year 2050 so Putin’s (Gog) next target will be Israel. He will lead a coalition of nations including Turkey, Iran, Sudan, Libya and other central Asian countries to invade Israel for a spoil. And we already know the end of the story. This coalition force will fight against the God of Israel and will meet their doom on the mountains of Israel. Ezekiel 38 and 39.

the withdrawal was intended to demonstrate that Moscow isn't hampering U.N. efforts to establish a humanitarian corridor for exporting agricultural products from Ukraine.

Fat lot of good 'a humanitarian corridor for exporting agricultural products from Ukraine' is worth when the moskovites continue to loot the grain and blow up what they can't steal.

Or maybe by 'agricultural products' they mean bovine excrement. Utterings from the moskovite regime are certainly full of that.

Russian forces leave Snake Island:

Russia said withdrawal was meant to show 'Moscow isn't hampering UN efforts to establish a humanitarian corridor for exporting Ukraine's agricultural produce'.

Ukraine claimed victory in driving Russians out of the island.

Who is to believe?..

It's a shell game

Russia isn't retreating.

Ridiculous to imagine they couldn't keep snake island if they wanted to.

Let the Ukrainian celebrate their victory however its probably just a diversion tactic by putin to get the mines cleared.

Lol. Goodwill gesture? It’s not like they’re returning some islands to Japan.

Russia isn't retreating.

I'm sorry, what is the preferred term in the Putin fan boy universe to describe situations in which the Russian military is moving backwards away from the Ukrainians? "Attacking in reverse as was our plan all along" or something?

Still repeating this long ago debunked propaganda?

no different to the debunked reasoning for this Russian invasion that pro Russian / anti western Putin fans are still repeating

No need to waste the lives of soldiers. 

news flash - Putin doesn’t care about Russian lives - 20,000 lives wasted already, & counting

Putin is very smart.

no he’s not

"They have completed their mission "?

Wouldn't be at all surprised if it turns out they've mined and boobytrapped the whole island.

"They have completed their mission "?

I can see how that would work since it doesn't explicitly state that they were successful in doing so.

It a ploy so Russia can state "Now remove mines so cargo ships can enter. Ha Ha Ha, Yeah, NA, Like Putin can be trusted. Yeah Na, . Putin death will be what reopens the ports. Not removing mines

Good to see Ukraine territory liberated from the invaders. More will follow.

Fully agree! This was a victory for Ukraine.

Russians couldn't hold their positions!

And definitely not a "gesture of goodwill"!

Just another word game by Russia, like that 2-day limited operation, which hast lasted for more than 100 days so far.

The pro NATO warmongers on here remind me of the Trump days, posting purely emotional comments based on MSM fed lies.

War sucks. No NATO/US CIA US military in Ukraine, no war. Biden will provide.

rainydayToday  09:34 am JST

There is an episode of Seinfeld where Jerry keeps defiantly saying "I choose not to run!" when asked to race against a guy who he knows is faster than he is.

Every time I see Russia saying it is making a "goodwill gesture" when it clearly loses something it didn't want to lose I think of that episode.

I saw that episode too.

But I don't see Russia's goodwill gesture anyway related to Jerry being afraid to race.

In the end though, he did race---and won.

Is that the metaphor you are looking for?

No NATO/US CIA US military in Ukraine, no war. 

let me fix that for you -

No Russian invasion, no war !

based on MSM fed lies.

as opposed to the kremlin fed lies ?

The pro NATO warmongers on here remind me of the Trump days, posting purely emotional comments based on MSM fed lies

I see.

The most irrational and clueless posts I can remember on this issue came from the conspiracy theorists/alternative media types who assured us an invasion of Ukraine by Russia was just MSM garbage.

It was quite a hiding for credibility.

The pro NATO warmongers on here

Russia started the war. We're pro NATO defense-mongers. Russia is the one that has invaded it's neighbor, and is executing its citizens in the streets of their own country.

Poor Ukraine never had the opportunity to join NATO before this happened. Clearly it was necessary.

War sucks. 

It does, but living under foreign domination by a ruthless aggressor is even worse.

Oh, oh, UChosePoorly and I are actually in agreement.

War sucks. But living under foreign domination by a ruthless aggressor is even worse.

And that why when the US overthrew the last democratically elected government of Ukraine and installed a ruthless, aggressive regime instead, Crimea bolted for freedom like a startled cat, and the populations of Donetsk and Luhansk rebelled, and refused to let the handicap of the regime having control over the military it inherited from the formerly democratic Ukraine to scare them into submission no matter how much of their blood the regime spilled.

It's also why, no matter how much money and how many weapons the US and EU are pouring into Zelensky's hands, he's losing.

RP - that’s Kremlin revisionist propaganda only believed by older generation Russians and western tankies. Nobody else is buying it. Russia should go home. The war would be over.

I wish someone would have bet against my prediction that Russia will not be taking Odessa. Still not too late folks!

And that why when the US overthrew the last democratically elected government of Ukraine and installed a ruthless, aggressive regime instead…

Pure Kremlin gaslighting.

The Ukrainians showed they were ready to stand up for themselves then. Russia didn’t take the hint and was absolutely shocked when they invaded for the 3rd time and the Ukrainians again fought back. Plan A was a disaster.

According to Farmboy, the ghosts of the regime forces that fought to the death rather than surrender or retreat from Snake Island kicked Russia off of Snake Island.

With, no doubt, air support courtesy of a video game.

With, no doubt, air support courtesy of a video game.

Nah, with the support of CAESAR howitzers courtesy of the French.