War

Mariupol officials say nearly 2,200 people have died in 24 hours
Officials of Mariupol, Ukraine, said that nearly 2,200 people have died within the last 24 hours due to Russian attacks on their city, CNN reported.

"To date, 2,187 Mariupol residents have died from attacks by Russia," the Mariupol city council said on Sunday, according to CNN, noting that is a sharp increase of the nearly 1,600 figure previously announced.

"The situation in Mariupol continues to be very difficult. The city has no electricity, water, heat, almost no mobile communication, is running out of food and water," city officials said.

Mariupol officials also said that the now Russian-controlled city has suffered 22 bombing attacks in the last 24 hours.

City officials also accused Russian forces and separatist militia of "deliberately firing on residential neighborhoods," adding that a nearby university has been shelled by Russian forces, CNN reported.

Russia's invasion of Ukraine has led to a series of international sanctions being leveled against Moscow. U.S. companies in a variety of sectors have also moved to end business with Russia.

Ukrainian citizens are fleeing the country amid the invasion, and many inside and outside Ukraine are seeking to communicate through services that are intended to ensure their privacy.

In a statement on Thursday, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) said that the humanitarian situation in the Ukrainian city of Mariupol was “increasingly dire and desperate.”

“The humanitarian situation in the city of Mariupol is becoming increasingly dire and desperate. Hundreds of thousands of people have no food, water, heat, electricity, or medical care. People urgently need respite from violence and humanitarian aid,” the ICRC said.

Joe won't want to be seen as "soft on Russia" as Putin's former lackeys whine and complain. They conveniently forgot about Trump and Ukraine and their support in letting him get away with it and they were rewarded with 1/6 and a mob of lunatics braying for their blood. Memories of their visits to Moscow and the Russian money that helped them are still fresh.
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Jake Sullivan and China’s Yang Jiechi to discuss Russia-Ukraine on Monday

During their Rome meeting, they plan to focus on invasion’s “regional and global security” implications.

www.politico.com

Jake Sullivan and China’s Yang Jiechi to discuss Russia-Ukraine on Monday
During their Rome meeting, they plan to focus on invasion’s “regional and global security” implications.

The Biden administration isn’t happy that Beijing is taking Moscow’s side after the unprovoked attack on Ukraine — and it’s going to tell them that face to face.

National security adviser Jake Sullivan will meet in Rome on Monday with China’s top diplomat, Yang Jiechi, to discuss Russia’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine.

The meeting is a long-planned follow-up to President Joe Biden’s virtual meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping in November, a source familiar with the situation told reporters Saturday.

The meeting’s agenda will include “ongoing efforts to manage the competition between our two countries and … the impact of Russia’s war against Ukraine on regional and global security,” said National Security Council spokesperson Emily Horne in a written statement. But there are clearly low hopes among the administration for any breakthrough in the Sullivan-Yang talks.

“This meeting is not about negotiating any specific issues or outcomes,” the source said. “This meeting is taking place in the context of Russia’s unjustified and brutal war against Ukraine, and as China has aligned itself with Russia to advance their own vision of the world order.”

Much is at stake for the Chinese government's own position, both at home and abroad. Nobody is expecting an immediate change in Beijing's relationship with Moscow but this gives Xi the opportunity to show some distancing with Putin's policies. There are 1.4 Billion mouths to feed in China and China imports more than 75% of the food it consumes. To do that and to grow its influence in the world, the Chinese economy must engage in multinational trade, earning enough good currency to pay for it. In other words, expanding reliance on the ruble is not going to do the job. There is loose talk about impending famine. So, Xi needs good trade relations with the US and the western world. Biden needs good trade relations with China but has less on the line.

Unlike DIY, who I've put on ignore due to his many odious hot takes on this war, I'm not predicting anything. Just saying that China could help itself if it took on a role as peace maker. Even a perfunctory attempt would make a difference to China and the world.

War is odious business.

A Ukrainian diplomat refers to putin as the bunker dwarf.

DIY-HP-LED said:

Drones saving civilians by destroying Russian rocket artillery, is gonna mean more drones for Ukraine.

Trucks carrying missile reloads are a target too, so are artillery gun emplacements and ammo supplies.
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Bayraktar Drone in Action Destroying Russian Multiple Rocket Launcher

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That's why they don't need US jets + they can't run them anyway..the perfect war for drones and no one dies too much. да.

schuylaar said:

That's why they don't need US jets + they can't run them anyway..the perfect war for drones and no one dies too much. да.

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Planes are good too, but only over friendly territory or near it, drones are hard to detect and can do the job, as long as they are not jammed by the Russians. After this their utility becomes obvious when they are armed or when they can paint targets for missiles with lasers, or observe mortar or artillery fire. Having lot's of drones like this would be a equalizer, many American drones are satellite controlled and can't be jammed. Most of the time nobody knows who is controlling a drone, it could be linked from Poland via the internet or some other means to a transmitter/receiver in Ukraine closer to the action and operate out of there, while being controlled from Poland by NATO personnel. This has been alluded to by former military types.

Ruth Ben-Ghiat on Putin: "There Isn't Much Of An Off-Ramp, Because Autocrats Don't Negotiate"


Washington Post columnist Max Boot and New York University history professor and author Ruth Ben-Ghiat discuss whether Russian President Vladimir Putin bit off more than he can chew in Ukraine, as the conflict drags on and he is increasingly backed into a corner.

The mayor of Kyiv looks though and his brother looks positively mean! No way would the Russians want to fight into a city with these guys inside and armed to the teeth.
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'We are ready to fight': Kyiv mayor says Ukraine is ready to defend the city

Сaptured Russians said they allegedly went to Ukraine to guard humanitarian convoy and fight Nazis

Two Russian invaders – a father and a son from the Moscow region were told that Nazis and fascists allegedly kill civilians in Ukraine. Their command promised not to throw them into hot spots. Instead, they were thrown into the city of Mariupol under fire. They decided to surrender because they did not want to shoot. The captives said that coming to Ukraine was their mistake. They urged not to trust the Russian media and not to fall for the propaganda of the Putin regime. The captives also advise the Russian military not to use weapons and to surrender.

captainmorgan said:

A Ukrainian diplomat refers to putin as the bunker dwarf.

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Another parallel to that man.

Here is a history guy I watch and he covers a variety of historical military topics. Makes good videos.

Know your enemy and what makes him who he is, understand and love him like his mommy.
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Vladimir Putin - KGB Agent

So kadyrov is in ukraine just treathened zelensky on telegram a few minutes ago

How this turns out depends on Vlad, if he's still alive and how broke and desperate he is. Vlad has a doctorate (supposedly) in global economics, so he seems more the bureaucrat to me, so was Stalin. If he does have such an education, he must realize the economic implications for Russia and is in denial. Maybe he will dust off his copy of Marx, it's the only way he will be able to run an economy if China isolates him too and even if they don't. Vlad will need to go to a command economy for military production at least. There is no capital in Russia and no way to get any from abroad or access to funds there, they do produce a lot of gold and are still selling some oil and gas, but gas demand will decrease with warming weather. There is an existing model for what Vlad needs to do, it's called North Korea!
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Ex-KGB agent weighs in on 'bizarre' Putin photos


Former KGB agent Jack Barsky discusses Russian President Vladimir Putin's potential mindset as Russia's invasion of Ukraine expands across the country.

schuylaar said:

That's why they don't need US jets + they can't run them anyway..the perfect war for drones and no one dies too much. да.

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Another possibility has occurred to me drones can use a starlink internet connection, the phased array antenna is the size of a Pizza box and could even be integrated into the wings, two for redundancy. The latency is only 25ms and they could FPV with multiple cameras and sensors, and be armed too. You can control a drone or RC plane FPV now using 4G cellphone networks, but it works best down low. Controlling aircraft via starlink has been discussed in the RC groups and the engineers say no problem. It would be cheap too and drones can be controlled from anywhere.

If it had the range, the Ukrainians could even pay Vlad a visit in the Kremlin, they are usually made from tough laminated EPS foam and are naturally stealthy and since they are starlink controlled, can fly at tree top level all the way to Moscow, if they were so rash! Small RC planes crossed the Atlantic decades ago. What a group of engineers could come up quickly with some government support would surprise you! People with RC plane and drone experience would be most helpful as technicians too and a lot are bored engineers. This can be done for cheap too and quickly using off the shelf parts bought in bulk, you should see what is available from China, much less America and the EU.

For starlink controlled drones, it would be best to buy an off the shelf model that can do what you want, leave the original control system in it for redundancy and add a couple of starlink receiver/transmitters and two phase array antennas buried in the foam wings, also for redundancy. The advantage of this is the range of the drone is limited by the fuel supply or battery capacity, not the connection to the operator, you could be on the other side of the planet sitting at a computer like a video game. It would be every bit as jamming proof as US the military drones used to strike terrorists in Iraq, being launched locally and controlled from a trailer in Florida.

Another thing about this is it allows plausible deniability, it was the Ukrainians, take it up with Musk, who will have a juicy DOD contract(s). Why Elon might even provide the customized gear, electronics and antennas adapted for such a use.

Looks like the digital iron curtain has gone down in Russia, good luck with that.
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Most people under 40 have dim memories of the cold war and even those under 50 mostly recall it's downfall. They should read a little history to get an idea of the kinds of things that will be done in the future if Vlad lives and remains in power. If this goes on America will gear up for cold war and the budgets of the NSA and CIA will exploded, dunno about the US military budget after this fiasco, it could even shrink! Think about it, if Vlad is beaten in Ukraine and has to sue for peace, he won't get it until he leaves all of Ukraine including Crimea and that will be a bitter pill to swallow. He will also most likely lose Kaliningrad to a future UN referendum because they will want to get clear of the Russian economic train wreck, Belarus might go to revolution and the same as Ukraine, Vlad will be weak and courage is contagious, they are also soaked in western media.

So if this goes on for long and even after it ends, there will be cold war2. He might try to withdraw from Ukraine, end military operations there and try to hold onto Crimea and hope to divide the international community on sanctions, He will only have these options though, if he leaves Ukraine and stops the war. However Ukraine might insist on him getting out of Crimea, or take the peace, get stronger and go for Crimea later. Anything that weakens Vlad will be ok with America and the EU, because there will be cold war for as long as he or one of his lackeys is in power.

Fogdog said:

Jake Sullivan and China’s Yang Jiechi to discuss Russia-Ukraine on Monday

During their Rome meeting, they plan to focus on invasion’s “regional and global security” implications.

www.politico.com

Jake Sullivan and China’s Yang Jiechi to discuss Russia-Ukraine on Monday
During their Rome meeting, they plan to focus on invasion’s “regional and global security” implications.

The Biden administration isn’t happy that Beijing is taking Moscow’s side after the unprovoked attack on Ukraine — and it’s going to tell them that face to face.

National security adviser Jake Sullivan will meet in Rome on Monday with China’s top diplomat, Yang Jiechi, to discuss Russia’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine.

The meeting is a long-planned follow-up to President Joe Biden’s virtual meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping in November, a source familiar with the situation told reporters Saturday.

The meeting’s agenda will include “ongoing efforts to manage the competition between our two countries and … the impact of Russia’s war against Ukraine on regional and global security,” said National Security Council spokesperson Emily Horne in a written statement. But there are clearly low hopes among the administration for any breakthrough in the Sullivan-Yang talks.

“This meeting is not about negotiating any specific issues or outcomes,” the source said. “This meeting is taking place in the context of Russia’s unjustified and brutal war against Ukraine, and as China has aligned itself with Russia to advance their own vision of the world order.”

Much is at stake for the Chinese government's own position, both at home and abroad. Nobody is expecting an immediate change in Beijing's relationship with Moscow but this gives Xi the opportunity to show some distancing with Putin's policies. There are 1.4 Billion mouths to feed in China and China imports more than 75% of the food it consumes. To do that and to grow its influence in the world, the Chinese economy must engage in multinational trade, earning enough good currency to pay for it. In other words, expanding reliance on the ruble is not going to do the job. There is loose talk about impending famine. So, Xi needs good trade relations with the US and the western world. Biden needs good trade relations with China but has less on the line.

Unlike DIY, who I've put on ignore due to his many odious hot takes on this war, I'm not predicting anything. Just saying that China could help itself if it took on a role as peace maker. Even a perfunctory attempt would make a difference to China and the world.

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China is very xenophobic, and quite racist...
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-04-09/coronavirus-intensifies-anti-foreigner-sentiment-in-china/12128224

https://www.cnn.com/2020/05/25/asia/china-anti-african-attacks-history-hnk-intl/index.html

Xi is no exception. Schooled in China and raised by a hard line communist official, i don't think he gives a flying fuck about the west, or about Europe or russia. the only reason he would intervene in any kind of meaningful way is it it benefited China in an even more meaningful way. Any help he offers will come at a steep price, there will be no humanitarianism about it. he is not stupid, he will keep the deal as private as possible, and pass it off as true good will from China, but it's going to cost us, if we actually pursue it.
i think China is trying to move towards a global disconnect, at least societaly. they have to operate on the world stage to feed themselves and modernize their country and society, but they want no part in western culture otherwise, and have absolutely no intentions of relaxing their own state propaganda, or censorship.