[RD] Russia Invades Ukraine: Eight

[amadeus]

What their age has to do with anything?

For one, I was repeatedly told that the military there was just picking people left and right off the street and forcing them into the army. Second, a bunch of able-bodied foreigners just randomly showing up in your country at war? Either way, they'd be on their way to some detention center, which is probably not what they're aiming for given the fact they're trying not to get caught.

 

[red_elk]

For one, I was repeatedly told that the military there was just picking people left and right off the street and forcing them into the army.

They are picking Ukrainians, those who are hiding from mobilization. They have to be eligible for service, at least theoretically.

Second, a bunch of able-bodied foreigners just randomly showing up in your country at war? Either way, they'd be on their way to some detention center, which is probably not what they're aiming for given the fact they're trying not to get caught.

They would be detained in any country. Ukraine is the country which is at the worst state of relations with Russia, comparing to all other available options.
It's obvious choice even if Ukraine had absolutely nothing to do with the attack. And going there through Bryansk forests and Belarus is the easiest route.

 

[Kyriakos]

I'd suppose that had they fled to Ukraine, Ukraine would (in most cases) publicly hand them back, as it would also look good for them in Russia => sentimental value.
Probably this is another side-episode, though, similar in that to the Prighozin saga.

 

[Ordnael]

'Lives in danger' after Navalny's death, says wife of dissident Kara-Murza​

https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/lives-danger-after-navalnys-death-says-wife-dissident-kara-murza-2024-03-25/

GENEVA, March 25 (Reuters) - The wife of jailed Russian dissident Vladimir Kara-Murza said on Monday the lives of many political prisoners in Russia, including her husband's, were at risk in the wake of Alexei Navalny's death in an Arctic penal colony last month.
Kara-Murza, who had condemned Russia's war in Ukraine and lobbied for Western sanctions against Moscow, was sentenced to 25 years last April on treason and other charges that he denied, comparing the case against him to a Stalinist show trial.

It was the harshest sentence imposed on an opposition politician since the start of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in Feb. 2022.
"I understand that lives of many people who ended up behind bars today because of their opposition to the regime, many lives are in danger," said Evgenia Kara-Murza, advocacy director at the Free Russia Foundation, a civil society organisation.
"That is not just my husband's life who is indeed a years-long opponent of the regime, but also the lives of strong and vocal opponents of Vladimir Putin."

Navalny, President Vladimir Putin's fiercest critic inside Russia, died in a prison camp at the age of 47 on Feb. 16., sparking accusations from his supporters that he had been murdered. The Kremlin has denied any state involvement in his death.
Evgenia Kara-Murza said other activists, including Alexandra Skochilenko, jailed for protesting against the war in Ukraine by replacing supermarket price tags with calls to stop the conflict, and Alexei Gorinov, a Moscow district councillor also jailed for criticising Russia's invasion, were also at risk.

Vladimir Kara-Murza, who suffers from a neurological condition after surviving two attempts to poison him, was transferred to a new Siberian penal colony in January and placed in solitary confinement, his wife said.
"Now he's being held by basically the same people who tried to kill him twice in the past," Evgenia Kara-Murza said.
She said her husband was being held in a small cell that measures around six square meters, with a bed affixed to the wall during the day to prevent him from lying down and one backless stool. He is not allowed to receive phone calls or visits.

Last December, prior to his transfer, Kara-Murza had a brief telephone conversation with his three children.
"We have three kids, and that was a 15-minute phone call, which meant that they each got five minutes on the phone with their dad," Evgenia Kara-Murza said.
"I had to measure those minutes with a timer."

This is just sad!

 

[Klaus Hergersheimer]

Wouldn't Belarus be the closest country to Moscow anyway? I could be wrong, but I imagine the terrorist suspects merely wanted to flee wherever they could regardless of the security situation.

 

[Kaitzilla]

Suspects appearing in court.


And here's a photo of one of Russia's law enforcers with what seems like a Kolovrat patch prominently used by the neo-Nazi Rusich group (of fame for sharing and bragging about a video the beheading of a Ukrainian POW). Might be fake news, so feel free to correct if you have more info.

Those 4 guys are in for a tough life ahead after slitting throats, killing 137+ people with automatic rifles, setting the concert hall on fire, and strolling out of the building.

 

[red_elk]

If they ask for the latest model of PlayStation like Breivik did, the request probably won't be fulfilled.

 

[EvaDK]

Wouldn't Belarus be the closest country to Moscow anyway? I could be wrong, but I imagine the terrorist suspects merely wanted to flee wherever they could regardless of the security situation.

It's interesting that Belarusian special forces were involved with their capture on Russian soil. If their car was spotted and reported being close to the Belarus border, I could imagine Lukashenko setting heaven and hell in motion to ensure that they didn't cross it into his country.

 

[ConquestsMaster]

Those 4 guys are in for a tough life ahead after slitting throats, killing 137+ people with automatic rifles, setting the concert hall on fire, and strolling out of the building.

They made some really poor life choices. It would be karmic justice if they suffered in the same way they made so many others suffer. I wonder what the government is going to do with them? Now Russian law enforcement is torturing them in public. Which reflects poorly on the state of the rule of law in Russia. But it surely helps to appease the population's desire for revenge. But what's next? At some point, even having them alive might be a source of shame for Putin's regime which prides itself on being ruthless and violent. AFAIK, Russia has a moratorium on death penalty and hasn't executed anyone since the 90s. Russia could extrajudicially kill the perpetrators, like they did with some of the regime's opponents. But in this particular case, wouldn't it be a better show of force to kill them within the context of law? To show the state as unequivocally powerful but also just and predictable (as opposed to the arbitrariness of extrajudicial killings).

 

[EvaDK]

Putin now acknowledges that Isis carried out the attacks. He still maintains the Ukraine link though he presents no data or evidence to support that accusation.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/l...ic-state-concert-hall-attack-live-latest-news

 

[Kaitzilla]

I am deeply shocked that the USA is not funding Ukraine this year.

Can Europe fill the gap?

 

[saamohod]

He still maintains the Ukraine link though he presents no data or evidence to support that accusation.

The "Ukraine link" is voiced for disinformation/propaganda constructs

 

[Akka]

I am deeply shocked that the USA is not funding Ukraine this year.

Can Europe fill the gap?

Already working on it.
It takes time due to the bureaucratic nature of the EU, but it's being done.

 

[Comrade Ceasefire]

I am deeply shocked that the USA is not funding Ukraine this year.

Can Europe fill the gap?

But they are funding Ukraine this year.
Congress approved $300M for Ukraine last week. The Pentagon spent it 4 months ago.
When Congress approved $300 million to arm Ukraine late last week, it marked the first time lawmakers have approved new funding for Kyiv’s war effort in more than a year.

There’s just one problem: The money is already gone.

https://www.politico.com/news/2024/03/25/congress-approved-300m-for-ukraine-last-week-the-pentagon-spent-it-4-months-ago-00148855

 

[Gedemon]

Some data on drone strikes per month.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1771699009616306178

 

[Thorgalaeg]

Ukraine is replacing artillery with drones, and pretty successfully apparently. A drone is way cheaper than an artillery shell by about an order of magnitude and much more precise, close to 1 drone = 1 kill (at least) There are many videos where you see artillery shells falling close to the target with little effect, and then a single drone arrives and kill the entire enemy platoon solving the situation by itself. The power of drones has increased too with small buildings being blown up by a single tiny tetracopter drone, and even average sized houses, if the drone finds an open window and explodes inside the whole estructure will collapse, don't know what kind of explosive they carry but it seems more than enough. And Ukrainians don't look short on drones, in fact many times they use more FPV drones than the extrictelly necessary, don't if you know what I mean.

 

[Yeekim]

Those 4 guys are in for a tough life ahead after slitting throats, killing 137+ people with automatic rifles, setting the concert hall on fire, and strolling out of the building.

...and then letting themselves be arrested without any resistance, apparently.

Yeah, those 4 random Tajik guest workers are going to have a bad time, no doubt about that.

 

[Akka]

Today is the 75th anniversary of the operation Priboi, where Russian deported about 100 000 inhabitants from the Baltic States into Siberia.

 

[red_elk]

Some different statistics from December 2023

Ukraine says Russia has it outgunned 7 to 1 when it comes to drones​

• Russia has seven drones for every one Ukraine has, an official told Ukraine's public broadcaster.
• Yuriy Fedorenko told Suspilne that Russia is flooding Ukraine's airspace to find more targets.
• He said Ukraine fights smarter and only sends a drone when it has a target in mind.

Russia has an enormous edge over Ukraine when it comes to drones, a Ukrainian officer said: seven Russian drones for each Ukrainian.

Yuriy Fedorenko, commander of the Achilles company of the 92nd Separate Airmobile Brigade, made the statement to the Ukrainian state broadcaster Suspilne on Tuesday.

"In priority frontline sectors, we have the following ratio: one of our drones to five or seven enemy drones," Fedorenko told the broadcaster, per a translation by The New Voice of Ukraine.

Fedorenko said that the tactics of the two armies differ because of that imbalance, forcing Ukraine to use its drones more carefully.

Ukraine only deploys a drone "when we have a target," while Russia has the "privilege to work consistently," with first-person-view (FPV) drones operating in Ukraine's airspace in the hope of spotting something to hit.

Ukraine says Russia has it outgunned 7 to 1 when it comes to drones

A Ukrainian commander said Russia has Ukraine heavily outnumbered in a crucial area of warfare.

www.businessinsider.com

 

[Gedemon]

No one here sympathizes with Isis or their barbaric violence.

But do you think it is beneficial to the safety of Russian civilians to commit torture of the suspected gunmen and share footage of that torture everywhere, as if it something to be proud of? Doesn't it just motivate and embolden the Isis leaders, when they recruit new people to carry out future attacks inside Russia? Their whole raison d'etre for carrying out the attacks, is the violence committed by the Russian government towards Muslim minorities. And footage like this is exactly what they need to prove their cause - in their own logic.

so, not surprising.

ISIS issues fresh threat to Putin: Reports

A poster has been circulated on social media purporting to be from an Islamic State-linked group threatening to attack Russia.

www.newsweek.com

Some different statistics from December 2023

Ukraine says Russia has it outgunned 7 to 1 when it comes to drones​

• Russia has seven drones for every one Ukraine has, an official told Ukraine's public broadcaster.
• Yuriy Fedorenko told Suspilne that Russia is flooding Ukraine's airspace to find more targets.
• He said Ukraine fights smarter and only sends a drone when it has a target in mind.

Russia has an enormous edge over Ukraine when it comes to drones, a Ukrainian officer said: seven Russian drones for each Ukrainian.

Yuriy Fedorenko, commander of the Achilles company of the 92nd Separate Airmobile Brigade, made the statement to the Ukrainian state broadcaster Suspilne on Tuesday.

"In priority frontline sectors, we have the following ratio: one of our drones to five or seven enemy drones," Fedorenko told the broadcaster, per a translation by The New Voice of Ukraine.

Fedorenko said that the tactics of the two armies differ because of that imbalance, forcing Ukraine to use its drones more carefully.

Ukraine only deploys a drone "when we have a target," while Russia has the "privilege to work consistently," with first-person-view (FPV) drones operating in Ukraine's airspace in the hope of spotting something to hit.

Ukraine says Russia has it outgunned 7 to 1 when it comes to drones

A Ukrainian commander said Russia has Ukraine heavily outnumbered in a crucial area of warfare.

www.businessinsider.com

Could be a localized point of view (commander of a company), and, yes, in December the Russians had more strikes on infantry. Since both sides have more than doubled the number of their strikes.