Russian strikes in Ukraine kill 10 civilians, wound 20 more

[Omaha Steve]

Source: AP

By KARL RITTER

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Long-range Russian bombardment killed at least 10 civilians and wounded 20 others in several parts of Ukraine on Friday, officials in Kyiv said, as a Kremlin official boasted that its forces were prepared to repel an expected Ukrainian counteroffensive this spring.

Five people died in Kostiantynivka, in eastern Ukraine’s Donetsk province, when a Russian missile hit an aid station. Ukrainian authorities last year established hundreds of “points of invincibility,” where residents hard-pressed by the war could warm up, recharge their cellphones and get food.

Prosecutors said the Russians attacked with S-300 anti-aircraft missiles. The civilians who died were refugees, according to Donetsk Gov. Pavlo Kyrylenko.

As the mostly artillery war of the winter months stretches into its second spring, Russian forces also used air-launched missiles, exploding drones and gliding bombs to attack several regions, Ukrainian air force spokesman Yurii Ihnat said.



Read more: https://apnews.com/article/ukraine-russia-war-civilians-killed-11e2afde6cb6bf7828061081cd1ab538

[niyad]

1. Somebody please finish him already!

[tornado34jh]

2. The sooner they do this counterattack and the quicker Ukraine is armed, the better

Russia is relying on time so that people supporting Ukraine will get fatigued by this war.

[former9thward]

3. Ukraine is running out of young males.

I posted this as a thread earlier today.

A Year Into War, Ukraine Faces Challenges Drafting Troops


DNIPRO, Ukraine—One Ukrainian paid almost $10,000 to flee the draft. Another has ignored five military summonses. A third avoids public spaces, fearing a military official will pounce and issue a call-up.

After a year of war, Ukraine is facing increasing challenges in raising the troops it needs to resist Russian forces and eject them from its territory.

When Russia invaded in February last year, thousands of volunteers lined up outside military recruitment centers. With many of them now dead or injured, Ukrainian authorities are scrambling to recruit replacements, often drafting those who have neither the desire nor the training to serve. The result is a growing number of fighting-age men who are attempting to evade service.

But while polls show that support for the defense effort remains high, the stock of willing volunteers now appears to be dwindling. Ukraine’s population is less than one-third the size of Russia’s, not accounting for the exodus of millions since the war began, and the kind of coercion used in Russia’s authoritarian system isn’t an option, Kyiv says.

https://www.wsj.com/articles/a-year-into-war-ukraine-faces-challenges-mobilizing-troops-64dcdc49

[tornado34jh]

5. That is what Russia is gambling on and this puts Ukraine in a difficult position

As casualties increase, there are just not that many people of fighting age in Ukraine who are willing or can serve to replace the ones that are lost. That's why Russia is basically relying on time. Of course, this puts Ukraine in a very difficult place. They can't force people to join, as they have no desire to replicate Russia's coercion. I think a lot of it is because it has been more or less a stalemate over the last several months, with no major gains since Ukraine's counteroffensive that liberated Kherson and the occupied areas of Kharkiv Oblast.

[Warpy]

4. They need to wait for an end to mud season

western tanks are just as prone to getting stuck in the mud as much as Russian tanks are.

Meanwhile, the Russian occupiers in Crimea are putting their mansions and condos up for sale: https://news.yahoo.com/intelligence-russian-occupying-authorities-crimea-190437419.html

Putin might not be ready to admit the Russian invasion is over and he's also done for, but his goons seem to be figuring it all out.

[tornado34jh]

6. Indeed, bedorizhzhia is active there

The Ukrainian equivalent of Russian rasputitsa, it means roadlessness, and it is when unpaved roads and the like become muddy and difficult, most commonly during spring and sometimes autumn. There is also a Swedish (menföre) and Finnish (kelirikko) equivalent, and it also means "bad state of roads". It played a particularly big part in WWII on the Eastern front. You may be right on Putin, but it isn't just Putin who supports this war. Although we know this is a lie, the Kremlin and a large number of Russians believe that this whole thing in Ukraine is a plot by the West to diminish Russia. They think it is a threat to the "Russian World" ideology. It's about the survival of the regime ultimately. I saw a video the other day about what if Russia were split into 8 countries if Ukraine were to win the war.

[Warpy]

7. Splitting up might not be the best idea

A weakened Russia is bad enough, becoming vulnerable to an expansionist China in the far east. China has already altered its official maps, deleting Russian town names and putting the "ancestral" Chinese names back in. While the Chinese do have a point, the territory went to Russia at the end of a disastrous war with a weakened China, the next one is very likely to involve a nuclear exchange, not good news for anyone. A Russia that stays together could avert at least that much.

Russia will eventually lose the war with Ukraine. Governance via gossips and secret police doesn't seem to appeal to anyone but Russians and then not to Russians who have experienced anything better. Other than that, my crystal ball remains cloudy.

[tornado34jh]

8. Well, Chechnya (pre-Ramzan Kadyrov) wanted to be independent

So there are some places in Russia that want to separate from Russia. But I see what you mean by that. However, I don't think Russia, for as big as it is, can do multiple fronts at once, even if they didn't get involved in Ukraine. Most of Russia, especially on the Asian side, is mostly rural and uninhabited, and most of the areas that are inhabited are within 200 miles of a nearby country. The border with China is 2,615 miles long, and most of Russia's population is on the European side west of the Ural Mountains, so they can't easily go from one end to Russia to the other if China were to attack. The shortest time from Moscow/Saint Petersburg to Vladivostok is about 8 1/2 hours give or take 10 minutes, and that's by plane. By train/car, it would take several days.



I agree that Russia will eventually lose the war in Ukraine, but the question then becomes, will China see Russia as weak and then try and attack Russia? Yes they have nuclear weapons, I don't think it will good for anyone, but again, neither China nor Russia are stable or level-headed countries. Also, Japan claims the Kuril Islands as theirs, so would Japan want to go and claim those areas as well with Russia weakened?

[Warpy]

9. About 6 days, I think

I don't know which is longer, the old line to Vladivostok or the northern line Brezhnev had built because he feared China could disrupt the more southern route. The northern line is what opened the far east up to energy and mineral exploration. Now the least populated part of Russia is sitting on the most wealth, and they haven't seen a single kopeck of the proceeds. My guess is that they won't fight the Chinese too hard, the Chinese will likely make them offers they can't refuse.

[tornado34jh]

10. I see.

Either way, if China were to invade Russia, it wouldn't be easy for them to get people there to fight, and that's not even dealing with the whole bureaucracy of the government there.

[Warpy]

11. There are a couple of women from he far east who vlog in English

and they identify as Russian but fled Putin's increasing oppression.

The one who stayed until last Xmas said the stupid Z signs are increasing in the far east. So yeah, they'd fight, but I don't think it will come to that. I think the Chinese will just come in as a labor force, do a lot of building (which will improve the standard of living), and just generally take over to the point no one will really realize that their territory has been annexed.

Neither side wants a shooting war, it's why their troops at the border are armed with sticks instead of guns and missiles. It keeps the border skirmishes small and easily contained.

[tornado34jh]

12. Like a frog in boiling water

I think that is why for me, I think China is playing Russia right now, even though the Russian government doesn't know it. China is not stupid, they probably have more influence than Russia is willing to admit. Honestly, if I had to pick between Russia and China in regards to who is the center of influence, it is probably China. Sure, countries like India and others who don't like China will say otherwise, but I don't think Russia is as strong as it thinks that it is, even before Crimea and the Ukraine invasion. Russia doesn't even do its space program in Russia, it's in Kazakhstan.

[ck4829]

13. Terrorism