War in Ukraine

Having to deal with demining areas after Russians left...on top of everything else. Cnn live

"Curfews announced around Bucha to enable demining and curb looting, says Ukrainian official

From CNN's Kostan Nechyporenko in Vasylkiv

Curfews have been announced in the vicinity of Bucha, northwest of Kyiv, due to looting, a senior Ukrainian official said Thursday, adding that the presence of mines and unexploded ordnance remained a problem in areas recently wrested from Russian control.

"A curfew for seven days is imposed in a number of settlements of Bucha district ... this is done for only two reasons," said Vadym Denysenko, adviser to Ukraine's Interior Minister.
"The first is demining. The second is really to avoid looting, because looters are appearing in these areas. Of course, the police alone will not be able to cope.
"That is why we are working here with the Territorial Defense, local authorities and local residents who have remained in these areas."
.....
Denysenko suggested that the Ukrainian government faces a staggering task to collect and dispose of mines and unexploded ordnance.

"In the Kyiv region alone, more than 1,500 explosive devices were demined yesterday," he said. "That is only in Kyiv region. And we are talking about Kyiv region, Chernihiv region, Sumy region -- all the territories that we managed to liberate.""

 

Cnn live

"Australia prepares more deliveries of lethal aid to Ukraine

From CNN’s James Frater and Hannah Ritchie

Australia is preparing to deliver more lethal aid to Ukraine following President Volodymyr Zelensky’s address to the nation’s parliament last week, its foreign ministry announced Thursday.

"Australia has delivered five C-17 loads of military support -- lethal and non-lethal -- to Ukraine. We're in the process of preparing the Bushmasters that President Zelensky requested in his address to our parliament -- his momentous address -- last week. They will be transported as soon as possible," Foreign Minister Marise Payne said.

Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison announced that additional military assistance would be sent to Ukraine following Zelensky's impassioned speech to the nation’s parliament last Thursday.

The new package includes, "tactical decoys, unmanned aerial and unmanned ground systems, rations and medical supplies," according to a statement from Morrison's office. "

 

Cnn live

"Japan condemns Russian threat of sanctions countermeasures

From CNN's Junko Ogura and Emiko Jozuka in Tokyo

Any Russian countermeasures against Japan in response to sanctions imposed on Moscow by Tokyo would be "unacceptable," Japan's Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno said.

"This whole situation stems from Russia's aggression against Ukraine. Any response that attempts to shift responsibility to Japan is extremely unjustified and unacceptable," Matsuno told a news conference Thursday..
Matsuno's remarks came after Russian Foreign Ministry official Maria Zakharova said on Wednesday that Moscow was considering countermeasures against Tokyo, which has imposed a series of sanctions on Russia over its invasion of Ukraine.

Japan's government "is stoking anti-Russian hysteria in Japanese society," Zakharova told reporters at a news conference. She also criticized Japan for "obediently following instructions received from across the ocean" and said Tokyo was undermining Russia-Japan relations. "

 

So question for the war experts about Japan & Russia. From CNN live

"Some context: Last month, Russia's Foreign Ministry said it would suspend peace treaty talks to formally end World War II hostilities between Moscow and Tokyo due to the sanctions over Ukraine"

So is WW2 technically still happening?

If Russia suspends these talks, do you think Putin would see it as an opening to attack Japan?

Now for the tie in w/Ukraine. Japan & the US are now allies. Would the US then declare war against Russia over Japan & then send troops into Ukraine, too?

 

Considering their government these guys took a big risk...good for them!

 

No expert, but Russia and Japan have a territorial dispute over some Islands the Russians took. The two countries signed declarations, but maybe not a proper "treaty".

I don't know why Japan is raising a stink about this now other than to pressure Putin from his east, but I doubt Russia is going to open a second front and, as you point out, guarantee full on war. If they do we're all screwed.

 

Cnn live

"Ukraine continues to negotiate with Russia "to prevent more Buchas," foreign minister says

From CNN's Jennifer Hansler in Brussels

Ukraine continues to negotiate with Russia “to prevent more Buchas,” Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said, and again called on the international community to increase pressure on the Kremlin, suggesting that as long as the war continues, sanctions cannot be seen as fully efficient.

The positions of each side in the diplomatic negotiations “will be defined by the successes of relevant armies and the impact of sanctions imposed on Russia," Kuleba said.

“These are the two main criteria which make either our or their position stronger,” he said at a news conference in Brussels following a meeting of the NATO foreign ministers. “Of course, we are focused on making sure that we will be stronger and we will eventually prevail.”


“As long as the West … continues buying Russian gas and oil, it is supporting Ukraine with one hand while supporting Russia war machine with another,” he said. “The damage that is being inflicted on Russia by sanctions now has … long term implications for Russia," the foreign minister acknowledged. “But people are dying today. Their offensive is unfolding today. And we need steps which will stop Russia’s war machine today. As long as this hasn’t been done, we cannot speak about efficiency, full efficiency of sanctions.""
......

There really shouldn't be any more sanctions levels. It needs to be a massive punch in the face. This step by step approach allows Russia to adjust.

 

Start training Ukranians on US equipment ASAP, so there can't be the "well they're only used to a certain type of equipment". Long haul this will only help defeat Russia

Cnn live:

"Top US general warns Ukraine war will be "long slog"

From CNN's Jeremy Herb and Niah Humphrey

Chairman of the Joint Chiefs Gen. Mark Milley said he expects Russia’s war with Ukraine to “be a long slog” as Ukraine fights to maintain its territorial integrity with no signs on the horizon that the Kremlin will stop its aggression.

“I would say that 'what does winning look like?' I think winning is Ukraine remains a free and independent nation that it’s been since 1991 with their territorial integrity intact. That’s going to be very difficult. That’s going to be a long slog,” Milley told the Senate Armed Services Committee on Thursday.
Ukraine has successfully defeated Russia’s initial onslaught on Kyiv, Milley said, but he noted there’s a battle ahead in the southeastern part of the country as Russia has refocused its war efforts there."

 

Do it!
"Ukraine calls on UN members to support resolution suspending Russia from Human Rights Council

From CNN's Laura Ly

Ukrainian Ambassador to the United Nations Sergiy Kyslytsya called upon all United Nations member states to support the resolution suspending Russia from the Human Rights Council.
.....

“Now the world has come to a crucial juncture. We witness that our liner is going through treacherous fog towards deadly icebergs. It might seem that we should have named it the Titanic instead of the Human Rights Council," Kyslytsya said. "We need to take an action today to save the council from sinking.”
....

While he noted that a vote to suspend a country from the Human Rights Council is “a rare and extraordinary action,” he said “Russia’s actions are beyond the pale.”

“I call upon all responsible member states to support the draft,” Kyslytsya said. “In a couple of minutes, you will have the chance to prove that you are not an indifferent bystander. All you need to do is to press the ‘yes’ button and to save the Human Rights Council and many lives around the world, and in Ukraine. On the other hand, pressing no means pulling a trigger, and it means a red dot on the screen, red as the blood of the innocent lives lost. And this image of the red bloody dots on this screen will stay with you and all of us, as long as memory does not fail us.”"

 

"We" didn't dox them. Anonymous did. Nothing wrong with getting the data from them and cross referencing with the intelligence we've already gathered. We're talking 120,000 passport numbers. Grab anyone who crosses into a NATO member country. "Where were you during the last three weeks of March 2022?" Guilty till proven innocent.

 

Bye bye airplanes. Cnn live

"US Commerce Department bars American exports to 3 Russian airlines

From CNN's Sean Lyngaas

The US Commerce Department on Thursday moved to block three Russian airlines from receiving exported parts from the US in the department’s first move to punish alleged violations of export controls since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

The move — which applies to Russian flagship carrier Aeroflot, along with airlines Azur Air and Utair — is an effort to cut off the airlines from the global economy.

....


The Commerce Department’s so-called Temporary Denial Orders, which are valid for six months and can be renewed, effectively bar the use of US parts to service the planes, as well as maintenance contracts for planes that are subject to US export regulations. "

 

The thing is they can track where they've been once they have name, address, phone number. You can track where someone's been with their cell numbers. So once any suspicion comes up it can be verified to an extent & then they'd have to prove it the rest of the way. It's not like they'd be randomly charging people, etc.

But yeah, Anonymous doing work for the side of good. Apparently hacking more TV networks, releasing Russian banking data (bet some in the US would be nervous at that).

 

Give them everything short of nukes...& I'm starting to lean towards giving them smaller nukes to defend themselves

"Ukraine's foreign minister says he is "cautiously optimistic" about outcome of NATO discussions

From CNN's Jennifer Hansler

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said he was “very specific” in his requests to NATO on Thursday, and said he was “cautiously optimistic about the outcomes of our discussions.”

Speaking to the press after attending the NATO foreign ministers meeting in Brussels, Kuleba said he believed there was a growing understanding that Ukraine was not fighting just for its own security but for that of the countries in the alliance.

Kuleba reiterated his earlier remarks, saying the deal Ukraine is proposing to NATO is simple: “You provide us with everything we need and we will fight for our security and your security so that President Putin has no chance to test Article V.”

He would not go into specific details about those discussions, but said he did not raise future security guarantees “because we know exactly the list of allies that who we see as potential security guarantors” and that would be negotiated bilaterally."

 

Hope they end up in a medieval bartering society.

"Russia's effort to prop up ruble will "deplete" its war resources, US treasury official says

From CNN's Allie Malloy

Russia’s efforts to prop up the ruble will eventually “deplete” its resources to fight the war in Ukraine, US Deputy Treasury Secretary Wally Adeyemo told CNN.

“We’ve worked with our European allies and partners to level a set of devastating sanctions against the Russian economy and what they’ve done because of our sanctions is they’ve taken the money that they’re earning from selling things abroad and they’re forcing those exporters to take that money and to bring it back to Russia and to buy Rubles,” Adeyemo said.

“Every time they take a dollar or a euro and bring it back to Russia and they force their companies to buy rubles, it’s depleting their resources they will have to fight the war.”"

 

Yep, arm Ukraine to the teeth, train their personnel on how to use western weapons systems. Planes, tanks, anti tank, anti aircraft, anti ship, all of it except nukes.

 

Good for them

"Estonia is prepared to stop importing Russian gas "within this year," foreign minister says

From CNN’s Livvy Doherty & Chris Liakos in London

Estonia wants to end its reliance on Russian gas “within this year,” Foreign Minister Eva-Maria Liimets told CNN Thursday.

The images of civilian killings from Bucha had “changed public opinion in our societies and because of that, we go quickly forward with these decisions to end financial flows to Russia," Liimets said.

The Foreign Minister said it was “unfortunate” to see the European Union had paid €35 billion for Russian energy since the start of the war, calling it “unproportionally big” compared to the financial support given to Ukraine.
The government said Thursday that it made a decision in principle that Estonia would stop importing Russian gas this year.

Estonian Ministry of Economic Affairs and Communications announced earlier today that Estonia and Finland had agreed to a joint leasing of a floating LNG terminal, guaranteeing a supply for both countries without relying on Russia."

 

I will say hope they're stored appropriately. Not a fan of destroying art/history. But glad they got them.