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How bizarre is that, AI apologizing for accusing Ukraine of committing war crimes, although they confirm that their findings are correct?!? Why have they never apologized to others committing war crimes, let alone to those they had unjustly accused of committing war crimes?!
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Amnesty International apologized on Sunday for the "distress and anger" caused by its recent report criticizing Ukraine's military tactics for endangering civilians but said it stood by its findings.
if the Ukes can retake Kherson, it would be a bitter defeat for Russia and a big military win for Ukraine..the bridges are going down, thanks to HIMARS...Russian troops will be caught and left without supplies and ammo..piece by piece the Ukes are winning back some of their stolen territory..
A few thoughts I have compiled on the NPP shelling:
[…]
Interestingly, I read recently that in that very power plant in Ukraine, which is of Russian design, they had replaced the ideal Russian fuel rods with Westinghouse ones that are not made for it and thus pose a risk. (The Czechs had done the same experiment and quickly went back to Russian fuel rods because of technical problems.) After the Russians secured the NPP, it switched back to using Russian fuel rods, which are safe. There is a detailed, more technical article on that, but it's in German, Google can translate it for you...
Sanctions, unfortunately, take time ....months and months,
but they will put a slow squeeze on Russia...like a python snake,
eventually Russia will reach a breaking point....a slow death
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Originally Posted by movingwiththewind
Agree. But it could take years for this to happen.
See my post here. If I repeat I am spamming, Ukraine War.
Western and Ukrainian outlets circulated a report, likely false, of a Russian general allegedly threatening to destroy Europe’s largest nuclear facility, the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant (NPP), if Russia could not hold the plant.
This likely misreporting distracts from the very real risks of Russia’s militarization of the Zaporizhzhia NPP, which may include mining the plant and almost certainly includes the unsafe storage of military armaments near nuclear reactors and nuclear waste storage facilities.
Key Takeaways
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Reporting of a likely falsified Russian statement distracts from the real risks of a Russian-caused nuclear disaster at Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant. Russian forces continue to conduct attacks from and store military equipment near the plant’s nuclear reactors, likely to play upon Western fears of a nuclear disaster and degrade Western will to provide additional military support to Ukraine.
Russian forces conducted ground attacks northwest of Slovyansk and northeast and southeast of Bakhmut.
Russian forces continued ground attacks northwest and southwest of Donetsk City.
Russian officials postponed reopening the Antonivskyi Bridge after a Ukrainian strike damaged the bridge and nearby construction equipment.
Russian forces are deploying less-professional occupation forces and increasing pressure on Ukrainian populations in occupied areas.
Activity in Russian-occupied Areas
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Ukraine’s Main Military Intelligence Directorate (GUR) reported on August 8 that Russian forces are deploying less-professional occupation forces and increasing pressure on local populations. The GUR reported that Russian occupation forces are increasing pressure on civilians at checkpoints in Kherson Oblast, particularly in Hola Prystan. The GUR reported that Russian forces deployed a newly mobilized battalion of Russian convicted criminals (likely pardoned for their service) to Balaklia, Kharkiv Oblast, and that cruelty, “immoral behavior,” and aggressive attitudes toward the local population “increased sharply” upon their arrival.[38] This report demonstrates one effect of Russia’s wide-ranging attempt to mobilize as many Russians as possible, regardless of fitness for service. The GUR also reported that racialized conflicts between Russian occupation units of different ethnicities are increasing, affecting the safety of civilians in occupied areas. The GUR claimed that Russian forces shot and killed the Chechen deputy commander of a unit in Zaporizhia for ethnically motivated reasons. The GUR also reported that an intoxicated Russian soldier driving an armored personnel carrier (APC) knocked down an electrical pole in Zelenopillya, Luhansk Oblast, cutting off electricity to the town.
Newly mobilized Russian battalions are likely worse trained, less professional, and more brutal to occupied populations than professional Russian soldiers or even conscripts who completed formal military training prior to their deployments. Russian forces may increasingly deploy low-quality, poorly trained units, like those made up of convicts, to control populations in occupied parts of Ukraine. Such deployments may reduce the competence of occupation authorities and counter-partisan operations and may increase Ukrainian support for movements that resist Russia’s occupation.
Russian occupation officials are beginning to issue formal orders to prepare for sham annexation referenda. The head of the Russian Zaporizhia Oblast Occupation Administration, Yevheny Balitsky, said on August 8 that he ordered the oblast’s central election commission “to start working on the issue of organizing a referendum on the reunification of Zaporizhia Oblast with the Russian Federation.”[39] Balitsky claimed that he signed the order after 700 delegates voted “unanimously” at the “We Are Together with Russia” event held in Zaporizhia Oblast on August 8. ISW has previously assessed that the Kremlin likely founded, coordinates, and promotes the “We Are Together with Russia” organization to create a facade of public support for the annexation and integration of occupied Ukrainian oblasts into Russia.[40] Other Russian occupation officials amplified Balitsky’s referendum preparation and congratulated him for ”following the path of Crimea.”[41] The Russian deputy head of the Kherson Occupation Administration, Kirill Stremousov, posted video footage on Telegram that he claimed showed residents of Kherson Oblast claiming that they are ready to vote in a referendum to join Russia.[42] Stremousov claimed that Kherson "has already been liberated from slavery and the colonial regime of the collective West.” Kremlin Press Secretary Dmitry Peskov announced on August 8 that residents of Kherson and Zaporizhia want to hold referendums to join Russia and claimed that “It's not us [the Kremlin] who are holding the referendum.”[43]
Russian occupation officials are also attempting to incentivize Ukrainian cooperation with Russian data collection efforts that occupation officials will likely use to falsify the results of the sham annexation referenda but are facing resistance. The Ukrainian Resistance Center reported on August 8 that Russian occupation forces in Kherson are expanding the number of “one-time financial assistance” locations at which civilians in occupied areas can receive 10,000 rubles (approximately 165 USD) in exchange for their passport data.[44] The Resistance Center reported that this approach has not generated as much data collection as occupation officials had planned, leading them to expand the number of locations throughout occupied Kherson Oblast.[45] Ukrainian partisan Telegram channel Yellow Ribbon called on Kherson Oblast residents to mobilize and prevent Russians from holding an annexation referendum on August 8 and asked civilians in occupied areas to provide information on Russian planning, collaborators, and troop movements.[46] Yellow Ribbon also shared images of partisan supporters posting partisan posters and slogans in Kherson, Nova Kakhovka, Melitopol, and Crimea on August 8 and called on Ukrainians to resist Russian “passportization” efforts
I've been thinking a lot about the referendum process. Does anyone have reliable information about how that will go down?
It seems that some sort of mass civil disobedience action on voting day might at least draw attention to the effort to convince the world that the Ukrainians really want to be Russians. Perhaps people could surround each polling station with a sit-in, blocking access without entering themselves.
It could be a pivotal moment like Tiananmen Square--a last desperate message that freedom exists as a state of mind.
My personal "favorite" image of the Russian invasion, so much as there can be such a thing, is the pic. of the 500 pound Russian General Officer called out of retirement due to losses, reassignments and maybe some new-school purges.
Esprit de corps in spades and an inspiring leader I'm sure. The fat guy's buddy looks like a Russian Tony Soprano to boot.
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