Russia's Invasion of Ukraine

[Frelga]

Update: Kremlin press said Prigozhin and Utkin's bodies have been identified. Wagner telegram channels also confirm his death and are threatening revenge. There are spontaneous memorials with flowers and candles.

While Kremlin has not offered an official explanation, everyone else agrees that the plane was shot down on Putin's orders. The distant runner up theory is that he faked his death and went into hiding .

New York Post called Prigozhin a dissident.

[River]

"Do not count a human dead until you've seen his body. And even then you can make a mistake." - Frank Herbert

[N.E. Brigand]

Today, August 24, 2023, is the 32nd anniversary of Ukraine's (declared) independence from the former Soviet Union.

[N.E. Brigand]

(source)

[Frelga]

Putin expressed condolences to the families of those who died in the crash. He will probably not attend the funeral due to his busy schedule.

Meanwhile, a cemetery in Russia where Warners were buried was leveled, wooden crosses and flowers wreaths piled up, and the area paved over. Just in case someone didn't get a message.

[Sunsilver]

Seriously??
Wow!

[Frelga]

The cemetery story came from a video by a self-identified Wagnerite, so who knows. It's being disputed. This being Russia, it's possible for two sources to report opposite versions of the story and for both to be lying.

In more reliable news, Ukraine has increasingly focused on striking deep behind the enemy lines, including in Crimea and Russia itself, and focusing on airfields and military industry plants. Moscow has been hit with drones several nights in a row, which prompted the closure of two airports.

[RoseMorninStar]

I had read that the Wagner cemetery was expanding/filling so quickly I thought perhaps there was a desire (for Putin) to cover up the number of deaths. Such a waste

[N.E. Brigand]

Russia is running recruiting ads which imply that Russian soldiers will be able to move to Kyiv once Ukraine is conquered.

[RoseMorninStar]

Russia is running recruiting ads which imply that Russian soldiers will be able to move to Kyiv once Ukraine is conquered.

That says a lot about what motivated this war and not what Putin originally claimed, doesn't it? (No surprise)

[N.E. Brigand]

Poland's president, Andrzej Duda, today said a Ukrainian victory "is about making sure that Russia is not able legally to forcefully shift the borders in Europe," that this would be "the guarantee of peace in the future, also for the United States," and that “Russia can be stopped only if it is defeated, and it will be defeated when Ukraine pushes out the Russian army from the occupied territories, thanks to the help of the United States, thanks to the help of the West, and when it regains control over its internationally recognized borders. Only then will we be able to say that Russian imperialism was really defeated."

[Jude]

Guess who was in Ottawa yesterday?

[N.E. Brigand]

Guess who was in Ottawa yesterday?

Unfortunately, one 98-year-old person who was in Ottawa when Zelenskyy spoke to Canada's parliament, a man who was recognized there for his service in World War II, turns out to have "fought for the First Ukrainian Division, a volunteer unit under Nazi command." Obviously there were awful people on both sides in World War II (Stalin was probably a bigger mass murderer than Hitler, although not as big as Mao), but someone should have vetted this man before inviting a former Nazi to this event.

This is just the sort of mistake that will bolster the arguments of people who want Vladimir Putin to succeed in his campaign to murder millions of Ukrainians.

[N.E. Brigand]

A 60 Minutes report on how U.S. support for Ukraine wisely extends beyond armaments:



In an apparent sign of Russia's desperation, there is talk of hiring the unemployed to work twelve-hour shifts in Russia's munitions factories:

[Jude]

Unfortunately, one 98-year-old person who was in Ottawa when Zelenskyy spoke to Canada's parliament, a man who was recognized there for his service in World War II, turns out to have "fought for the First Ukrainian Division, a volunteer unit under Nazi command." Obviously there were awful people on both sides in World War II (Stalin was probably a bigger mass murderer than Hitler, although not as big as Mao), but someone should have vetted this man before inviting a former Nazi to this event.

Yeah, I just read about that. The people responsible are highly embarrassed - as they should be. I hope they lose their jobs.

[N.E. Brigand]

Unfortunately, one 98-year-old person who was in Ottawa when Zelenskyy spoke to Canada's parliament, a man who was recognized there for his service in World War II, turns out to have "fought for the First Ukrainian Division, a volunteer unit under Nazi command." Obviously there were awful people on both sides in World War II (Stalin was probably a bigger mass murderer than Hitler, although not as big as Mao), but someone should have vetted this man before inviting a former Nazi to this event.

Yeah, I just read about that. The people responsible are highly embarrassed - as they should be. I hope they lose their jobs.

The Speaker of Canada's House of Commons today resigned as a consequence of this big mistake.

[Frelga]

Plot twist - Poland is seeking to extradite the man, Yaroslav Hunka, now 98.

Never mind the ovation, why was he allowed to immigrate to Canada?

[Jude]

Yeah, I'd like to know that too...

[Sunsilver]

And why would Poland want to extradite him? Are they going to throw a 98 year old man in prison? Try him for war crimes?

[Jude]

Why not? Did the Nazis spare jews that were over a certain age? If this guy committed war crimes, I'm all in favour of him spending his remaining days in jail.