War in Ukraine

Virulently anti-Putin source can only confirm 37,000 Russian dead. And there is no excess mortality in Russia of late, confirming earlier reports that recent Russian casualties have slowed to a trickle …

Mediazona confirms identities of almost 36,000 Russian soldiers killed in Ukraine

 

More on the idiotic idea that Ukrainians in the occupied territories willingly voted to join Russia. People in the occupied territories cannot get medical care without having a Russian passport. So, unless you can live without medical care, it is probably best to pretend to support the invader. How humanitarian of the Russian . . . barbarians.

Ukraine war: Locals forced to take Russian passports, report says

 

Hopefully Ukraine figures how to target those planes as they move forward.

 

They have to land sooner or later, and eventually Ukraine will catch them on the tarmac with one of their roving drone attacks.

 

CNN says that Ukraine is making a major advance towards Crimea with its three brigades across the Dnipro River, according to the Russian ministry.

 

newer advanced seismic and drilling techniques have helped ukraine drill their most productive gas well in western Ukraine in 20 years. I suspect they will not have a problem replicating this production in other wells but that is just a hunch right now. good news for ukraine and for the EU. Need to slam drilling equipment into that field and get the pipeline system upgraded to handle the additional volumes

New natural gas deposit discovered in Carpathians, Naftogaz says (msn.com)

Naftogaz, Ukraine's state-owned oil and gas giant, said on Nov. 17 that a new natural gas deposit was discovered in the Carpathians, offering what could be a promising outlook for Ukraine's domestic gas production amid war.

Naftogaz's production branch Ukrgasvydobuvannya discovered a well in a field that was thought to be depleted in the western Zakarpattia Oblast, according to a statement published on the company's website.

The well produces gas at a rate of more than 200,000 meters squared per day, breaking a 20-year production record in western Ukraine, according to the statement and CEO Oleksiy Chernyshov.

The new well has a depth of 1,600 meters, Naftogaz said. Applauding what he sees as a sign of a promising outlook for Ukraine's domestic gas production, the CEO said that his company would continue working on new horizons in Ukraine. He thanked his employees' well-coordinated work, as well as the use of modern technologies that aided the process.

 

Bulgaria shifting ever so slowly towards Ukraine with the first publicly announced transfer of military equipment. Bulgaria has lots of those old russian artillery shells that ukraine needs. president is pro russian, most of the rest of the gubmnt is pro ukraine

Bulgaria's Soviet stockpiles and large defense industry may be key to Ukraine's success (kyivindependent.com)

The new coalition government elected in June after two years of political deadlock is now shifting Bulgaria towards Kyiv and the West. Sofia has been quietly shipping ammunition to Kyiv since 2022, but the most recent pledge of 100 armored vehicles was the first package to be announced publicly.

Supporting Ukraine is in Bulgaria's strategic interest for several reasons, Bulgarian Defense Minister Todor Tagarev said in an interview with the Kyiv Independent. Russia "broke all international norms" and is "destroying the international security architecture."

"First, this is a moral obligation to help the victim of aggression," Tagarev said. "But it is also in our strategic interest that Ukraine withholds the Russian aggression and manages to recover its sovereignty and territorial integrity. This is key for the stability in Europe – particularly for Eastern Europe in the Black Sea region."
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Bulgaria is a good friend to have, with its abundant Soviet weapon stockpiles and large defense industry. In his first public visit to Bulgaria in July, President Volodymyr Zelensky scolded Radev for his opposition to arming Ukraine for what he described as a "conflict." Radev struck back in July, telling journalists that Kyiv "insists on waging war" while "Europe pays for everything."

 

the fact that they are there makes it clear that they have lost a lot of radar and electronic warfare hardware in Crimea

 

Russia continues its old habit of shooting troops--their own troops, caught retreating from battle. Making sure they maximize their own death toll. They have also returned to the old habit of shooting themselves in the leg to have an injury allowing them to get out of combat. Doesn't sound like an army that's winning the war.

Russian military recorded shooting retreating troops

 

It’s one of the stats Russia does not count in its butcher’s bill, just like those who die of their injuries in Belarus, those who are missing but known to be dead, prisoners (meaning from their combing of prisons for “volunteers,” not POWs), and so on.

 

Another Russian general dies of mysterious circumstances. He died in bed, with no balconies nearby. It could have been a medical issue, except his wife died with him. Toxicology was negative (although the FSB/KGB was always known for difficult-to-detect poisons, and Russian medical examiners can probably be persuaded to say whatever the gov't wants them to say). Could have been carbon monoxide poisoning. The general was known to be critical of Russia war plans. It is hard to tell if he was active military or retired (he was a high level commander in 2005-2009).

One interesting thing from his criticism of the Russian military is the apparent fact that Russia changed combat readiness requirements for pilots from 100 hours of flight time a year to 25 hours. They apparently reduced their training by 75%. May explain the weak performance of the Russian air force.

A Russian general who was critical of the army's operation was found dead

 

Another old Soviet tradition is back with a vengeance: snitching. The fabric of Russian society is once again falling apart. One woman has snitched on 1397 people, causing her victims to be fined, fired, and labeled as foreign agents.

Ukraine war: The Russians snitching on colleagues and strangers

 

Anna desperately needs to be outed.

 

For the first time ever, an entire nation - Ukraine - has been nominated for the Darwin Awards.

 

More likely that Russia gets the award first, as they look to lose the war against Ukraine and watch their economy collapse.

 

This thread be like …

 

bad borscht, who knew?

 

Zelenskyy does have more courage than all of the internet trolls and propaganda purveyors combined.