War Invasion of Ukraine News Megathread - Thread is only for articles and discussion of articles, general discussion thread is still in Happenings.

Astro Galactic Megalul · Mar 10, 2022

Video of Ukrainian troops attempting to clear village of Russian occupants
You can hear instances of Ukrainians referring to Russians as "orcs". Does that make Ukrainians elves?

Corette · Mar 10, 2022

Astro Galactic Megalul said:
Video of Ukrainian troops attempting to clear village of Russian occupants
You can hear instances of Ukrainians referring to Russians as "orcs". Does that make Ukrainians elves?

There's plenty of orcs vs orcs action in LotR or other fantasy.

Useful_Mistake · Mar 10, 2022

Drone footage shows Ukrainian ambush on Russian tanks

Armoured vehicles in built-up area about 22 miles from central Kyiv come under repeated attack

Drone footage has emerged of a Ukrainian ambush on a Russian armoured column just outside Brovary, an eastern suburb of Kyiv.

The specialist open source investigator Bellingcat said it had geolocated the video, to a lightly inhabited area on the E95 road about 22 miles (35km) from the centre of Kyiv, a direct route to the east of the capital where Russian forces have been trying to mass.

The edited 45-second video, which was released by Ukraine’s armed forces, is a montage of the fighting on the road and shows a company or more of Russian tanks and armoured vehicles coming under repeated attack. Its production quality means the fighting filmed may not have taken place on Thursday.

It is overlaid with an audio of what appears to be a Russian officer reporting an attack to his superiors. This is presented as an effective commentary on the fighting shown. It also said the regiment’s commander was killed, named by Ukrainian media as Col Andrei Zakharov, although this could not be independently confirmed.

“Sixth regiment lost,” the officer tells headquarters. “I cannot report about the 6th regiment. I’m collecting data. Lots of losses. They waited for us. Head of the convoy got into the ambush. Regiment commander killed in action.”

Several military experts described the video as credible and said it showed surprising tactics on the part of the Russian forces, with more than 20 tanks and other armoured vehicles on a main road fairly close to the capital.

Ben Barry, a former tank commander with the British army and a land warfare specialist with the International Institute for Strategic Studies, a thinktank, said: “They either think they are going through a safe area, or they were not well trained or they are moving fast for some other requirement.”

Tanks moving through a built-up area should normally use close infantry support to prevent ambushes from the side of the road, Barry said. Having watched the footage, he said he thought the Russian armour was probably targeted with artillery or mortar fire because the nature of the blasts.

On the audio, the Russian apparently reporting the ambush speculates that they may been targeted by Turkish Bayraktar drones, but parts of the video show poor conditions and low cloud cover not considered ideal for drone attacks.

Parts of the footage also show a TOS-1 heavy flamethrower, clearly marked with a painted O symbol, towards the bottom of the screen. At one point during the fighting it unleashes an incendiary rocket at a target apparently off screen, a demonstration of Russian willingness to use thermobaric weapons during combat.

Another expert on the Russian military who reviewed the video, Rob Lee, a former US marine and PhD student at King’s College London, said he thought this displayed “very poor tactics” on the part of the Russians, with a force clearly positioned “on an obvious avenue of approach”.

Russia has taken heavier than expected losses during the invasion, which began just over two weeks ago. Ukraine has sought to make a public relations play of Ukrainian successes, releasing film of destroyed Russian tanks or enemy armour being towed by tractors.

So far, 164 Russian tanks have been destroyed, damaged or captured, according to the specialist monitor Oryx, which is tracking losses using photo or video evidence. Oryx says for Russian armoured fighting vehicles, the number is 102. Ukraine has lost 47 tanks and 39 fighting vehicles from its smaller force.

An assessment by the US earlier this week suggested 5,000 to 6,000 Russian troops had been killed and 2,000 to 4,000 Ukrainian troops, plus many more civilians. Another US assessment estimated that both sides had lost 8% to 10% of the military assets that they had committed to the fighting.

https://archive.ph/wip/QWYXk

Mr E. Grifter · Mar 10, 2022

Useful_Mistake said:
An assessment by the US earlier this week suggested 5,000 to 6,000 Russian troops had been killed and 2,000 to 4,000 Ukrainian troops, plus many more civilians. Another US assessment estimated that both sides had lost 8% to 10% of the military assets that they had committed to the fighting.

However the US is calculating troop losses is obviously a guesstimate at best.

I will say this though, when they talk about lost assets - are they specifically talking about vehicles, or assets of all types?

There were about what, 190k Russians in the invasion force? So if you add in those captured and injured, the 5-6k Russia troops killed is probably ontop of 12k Russians that are completely combat-noneffective so close to 18k in total. Ukraine losing 2-4k troops could be anything from 6-12k out of the fight. Ukraine, if we consider their active regular and reserve army had about 200k troops, 80k Ukrainians have returned to the country to fight, another 20k foreign fighters, god knows how many irregular soldiers or people who have signed up for the draft. You could easily say anything from 500k-1 million Ukrainians are under arms in some form or another. (Just a guess, but fair to say this could probably bottom out at 400k). Those losses in terms of troop numbers do not equate to 10% lost for Ukraine.

It probably does not need to be said, but Ukraine is clearly not as reliant on their armour for combat power visa vi the Russians. Their infantry, and irregular forces, are equipped with launchers specifically designed to counter Russian armour. Therefore if we look at this purely from the stand point of attritional warfare - Ukraine is winning. If we base this purely on mathematics, I do not think the Russians can outlast the Ukrainians, or at least this initial invasion force can't. Big question mark as to what kind of reserve Russia can bring up, especially in regards to equipment quality and training.

With that said, Russia can potentially still win the conventional war through besieging cities. People talk about how long Kyiv or say Kharkiv can hold out - but the question can be asked as to whether the Russian forces are going to be able to sustain themselves effectively going forward since they have struggled with this from the get go and Ukraine is taking advantage of their poor logistics by concentrating a lot on raiding their backline. Something even their militias are having success at (well, they clearly succeeding in attacking their APCs from the 50s too...)

RVNX · Mar 10, 2022

Useful_Mistake said:
Russia says Mariupol hospital was base for Ukraine nationalists

"Lavrov said.." I swear, this dude is the biggest fucking puppet in this entire thing. He still insists that the whole thing isn't a war and the Russians aren't even attacking Ukraine. He also pushes the narrative that Ukrainians are bombing their own buildings. This dude could tell me the next lottery numbers and I wouldn't believe a thing he says.

Takayuki Yagami · Mar 10, 2022

Useful_Mistake said:
"YouTube has turned off all features in #Russia that allowed YouTube channel creators to earn money"
View attachment 3061362

https://archive.ph/wip/7DUGh

Pour one out for Life of Boris.

Dread First · Mar 10, 2022

Takayuki Yagami said:
Pour one out for Life of Boris.

You mean NFKRZ. He’s the one who’s more affected than Boris is. Boris lives in Estonia again iirc. He’s fine. Roman on the other hand? Here’s an excerpt from his Telegram.

Death Grip · Mar 10, 2022

My one-way ticket out of Moscow

Things fall apart. Moscow friends call to say that I have to urgently send my 19-year-old son out of Russia. He is travelling on his Russian passport and a new law says that he is obliged to register for the military draft. Nikita is on a gap year working at a Moscow theatre and he begs not to be sent away. I dismiss the warnings. A day later, a friend’s nanny shows up at our door and hands me an inch-thick packet of high-denomination euros to take out of the country for her employer. The money’s owner is already en route to Israel on a private jet. I overrule my son and open up Skyscanner. Europe, the US and Canada have closed their airspace to Russian planes and the Kremlin has reciprocated. Istanbul is the only European destination still accepting flights from Moscow. One-way tickets are 1,700 euros. But miraculously I discover air miles I had forgotten. Even more miraculously, Turkish Airlinesstill issuing reward tickets. We’re booked.

I appear on a debate with Radek Sikorski, former Polish foreign minister. Radek has always maintained that Putin was a classic Russian imperialist. I, in common with all the Russian watchers I most respect, was convinced that Putin was a master of divide and rule, diplomatic bluff and strategic calculation. As it turned out, we were wrong – the diplomacy was the bluff, and war was the strategy. Radek had the good grace not to say ‘I told you so.’ How does this war end for Putin? Whoever in the Russian government has been leaking the Kremlin’s detailed operational plans to the CIA and MI6 has been very clear. The strategy was to quickly surround Kiev, decapitate the Ukrainian government and install a pro-Moscow puppet regime. But Putin’s blitzkrieg has failed. Advance will be bloody. Thousands of body bags are hard to hide and politically toxic. A senior European spook friend reports desertions and low morale in the Russian army. Military failure will be hard for Putin to survive. Radek speaks of an ‘Indira Gandhi scenario’ where Putin is murdered by a bodyguard. Does he know something we don’t?
Ijoin my son and his friends at a protest at Pushkin Square. The place is flooded with police, placed like chessmen every five yards across every pavement. A few brave souls dare to shout slogans and are bundled into police vans in under 20 seconds. My son’s phone buzzes day and night with WhatsApp and Telegram group chat messages. Asya has been arrested. Yasha too. Sergei. Anya has been driven to a town three hours away for processing. Moscow’s youth have become instant experts on the Russian criminal code. One charge lands you in jail for 15 days. Other new laws carry sentences of up to 15 years.

Things fall apart. Swift blocks transfers to and from most Russian banks – and in any case the Kremlin bans sending money abroad. But it’s the power of private companies, not states, that really bites. Apple Pay cuts off Russian cards, making it impossible to pay for taxis, food orders, the metro. Adobe, Microsoft, IBM, Netflix, Boeing, Ford, Airbnb – the list of companies ceasing to do business in Russia grows hourly. A day before Visa and Mastercard pull the plug, a Moscow friend pays my younger son’s school fees a year in advance. Anything is better than leaving money in Russia.
Vnukovo airport is deserted except for a single check-in stand where hundreds of passengers line up with dogs, children, huge piles of luggage. There is no panic, as nobody is aware that this will be one of the last flights out of Moscow. Hours later, news comes from a friend’s son that his Aeroflot flight from Moscow to Tel Aviv had to land in Sochi, southern Russia. While the plane was in the air the leasing company cancelled the contract. Russia’s Ministry of Transport suggests ‘nationalising’ – i.e. stealing – all planes leased by Russian air companies. United Russia – Putin’s party – tables a plan to nationalise the property of all western companies pulling out of the country. Within hours all flights and ferries in and out of Russia are cancelled. Only the trains are still running, like we’re back in 1917. Safe in Istanbul, my son and I get drunk on a windy rooftop with a distinguished British foreign correspondent. He tells us he was menaced by FSB goons in a supermarket the day before, and decided to flee. ‘To the Kremlin, Russia is at war with the UK,’ he says. Like White Russian exiles in Istanbul 105 years before, we swap stories of which of our friends have got out and who remains behind.
Things fall apart. Aeroflot’s deputy head has resigned and fled the country. A top cabinet minister has offered their resignation to Putin, which has not been accepted. A friend reports that oligarchs are telling him that elements in the military are behind the defence minister Sergei Shoigu to replace Putin, while the moneyed elite back the Moscow mayor Sergei Sobyanin. And Putin himself? ‘He has to die. It will be too dangerous to leave him alive.’ The backlash against Russians begins. In Tbilisi, Georgia, a Russian friend reports that locals are refusing to let apartments to her fleeing countrymen. ‘Why aren’t you staying to fight the regime?’ they ask. My son’s 17-year-old girlfriend is slapped in the face by a stranger as she stands on a Rome street speaking Russian on the phone to her mother. An older Russian woman who has lived in London for years is verbally abused in St John’s Wood. ‘The very word Russian has become toxic,’ write Boris Akunin and Mikhail Baryshnikov. ‘But the real Russia is bigger, stronger and more durable than Putin.’
WRITTEN BYOwen Matthews

https://www.spectator.co.uk/article/my-oneway-ticket-out-of-moscow

Will edit to add archive.

https://archive.ph/uZQQM

Takayuki Yagami · Mar 10, 2022

Dread First said:
You mean NFKRZ. He’s the one who’s more affected than Boris is. Boris lives in Estonia again iirc. He’s fine. Roman on the other hand? Here’s an excerpt from his Telegram.

View attachment 3061591

Could have sworn he said he had an apartment in Moscow last year.

thx1138 · Mar 10, 2022

Corette said:
There's plenty of orcs vs orcs action in LotR or other fantasy.

Isengard vs. Mordor.

Wesley Willis · Mar 10, 2022

Please nuke the Ukraine.

Useful_Mistake · Mar 10, 2022

"Joe Biden more worried about the ‘wrath of Greta Thunberg’ than Putin"

Rezza · Mar 10, 2022

Narendra Modi walks diplomacy tightrope with Vladimir Putin on Ukraine (archive)

Analysis: Indian PM is reliant on Putin’s nation for arms and is conscious of shifting relations between Russia and its foe, China

As the Indian prime minister, Narendra Modi, picked up the phone to Vladimir Putin this week – the latest in several phone calls between the two leaders since Russia invaded Ukraine – he put forward a suggestion.

Modi’s push, according to an Indian government statement, was that Putin should have a “direct conversation” with the Ukrainian prime minister, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, in order to “greatly assist ongoing peace efforts”.

It was the latest signal from India that while it has refused publicly to condemn Russia’s violent and merciless actions in Ukraine, it might not approve of them.

Since Putin embarked on his invasion of Ukraine, much criticism has been directed at India for its refusal to openly repudiate Russia.

India has abstained in multiple UN security council votes against Russia’s actions, isolating it from the west, and in statements it has made vague references to the need for dialogue, diplomacy and respect for territorial integrity, without ever naming Russia directly.

To many, this is tacit approval for Putin from a country that has been an unwavering ally since before the cold war.

But for those familiar with India’s diplomatic history and traditions, the picture is far less black and white.

“India has never named names, as far as its allies are concerned,” said Avinash Paliwal, the deputy director of Soas’s South Asia Institute. “But India’s displeasure with Moscow is visible in how they are dealing with the Ukrainians, visible in the statements it is making at the UN, and visible in their repeated calls for a de-escalation of violence.”

Putin’s invasion of Ukraine has certainly put India – which considers both Russia and the US to be close and vital allies – in a difficult position, evident in the cautious diplomatic tightrope it has been walking the past few weeks.

There is, as Paliwal described it, a “historical hangover” in favour of Russia in India which dates back to the cold war and the USSR’s support for India in the bloody Bangladesh war in 1971.

The Indo-Russian relationship has continued to be nurtured by successive prime ministers (Modi and Putin met as recently as December) and, most crucially for India, Russia is its biggest supplier of weapons, with between 60% and 80% of India’s weapons and defence systems bought from Russia. India has also long seen Russia as a crucial counterbalance to an increasingly powerful China.

With India engaged in an ongoing tense military standoff with China along its Himalayan border, where a buildup of troops and weapons continues on both sides, and its relationship with its nuclear-armed neighbour and rival Pakistan remaining testy, India finds itself in no position to jeopardise the flow of defence equipment from Russia.

Within India, where sympathy for Russia is still prevalent both in the policymaking corridors of New Delhi and in the wider public consciousness, there is also little pressure for Modi to denounce Russia’s actions. As the conflict broke out, #IStandWithPutin gained significant traction on Indian social media.

Yet India has far from publicly taken Russia’s side and, as Syed Akbaruddin, India’s former permanent representative to the UN, pointed out, in its own subtle way, India’s statements around the invasion of Ukraine have increasingly diverged from Russia’s.

“Yes, India is abstaining when most of the world is voting against Russians, but in our mind, abstention is absolutely not support,” said Akbaruddin. “This whole action has left us in a space, not of our liking, not of our wanting, so why would we support it.”

Akbaruddin said there were “at least four or five” moments in recent weeks where India had increasingly distanced itself from the Russian position, including when they expressed “regret at the outbreak of hostilities”.

“Without mentioning Russia’s name, this is our way of condemning the actions of those responsible for the violence,” Akbaruddin said.

He also said India had, in an unusual move, outright denied statements made by Putin that Ukrainians had taken Indian students hostage, while also sending several planes of humanitarian assistance to Ukraine.

This week Modi made phone calls to both Putin and Zelenskiy, and made repeated calls for a diplomatic solution. Nonetheless, India has not yet positioned itself as a mediator in the same vein as Israel or Turkey and has been accused by Ukrainian diplomats of not fully utilising its leverage with Russia to stand Putin down.

India’s other priority, pulling it in the opposite direction, is to protect its flourishing relationships with the US, Europe and the UK.

India’s non-defence trade with Russia is only $9bn (£6.8bn), compared with about $100bn with the US, and it has ongoing trade deal negotiations with the UK. Unlike China, Russia’s other significant ally, India has remained silent on the issue of Nato’s expansion.

Tanvi Madan, director of the India project at the Brookings Institution in Washington, said that while India’s position on Russia’s invasion had thrown some “turbulence” into the US-India relationship, the White House has been understanding of India’s historical relationship with Russia and its security vulnerabilities vis-a-vis China, and so it was unlikely to disrupt diplomatic ties.

Most worrying for India, said Madan, was the increasing closeness between Russia and foe China, which could have an impact on the choices Moscow makes when its China and India security partnerships are in tension.

“The true ramifications for India are still being figured out,” said Madan. “But it’s likely there could be some tough decisions ahead.”

Useful_Mistake · Mar 10, 2022

"Megyn Kelly: Vladimir Putin isn’t ‘anything close to crazy’"

Useful_Mistake · Mar 10, 2022

"Russia REJECTS Ukraine Peace, Demands TOTAL Surrender, China Threatens US, Calls US Empire Of Lies"

Useful_Mistake · Mar 10, 2022

Rep. Madison Cawthorn calls Zelensky a ‘thug,’ says Ukrainian government is ‘incredibly evil’

Rep. Madison Cawthorn (R-N.C.) recently called Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky a “thug” and said the Ukrainian government is “incredible evil,” in remarks that are at odds with the broad bipartisan support for Ukraine among American lawmakers and the public amid Russia’s invasion.

“Remember that Zelensky is a thug. Remember that the Ukrainian government is incredibly corrupt, and it is incredibly evil, and it has been pushing woke ideologies,” Cawthorn told supporters at a recent event in North Carolina, according to video published Thursday by Raleigh-based TV station WRAL.
Cawthorn, 26, is on his first term in the House and is a vocal supporter of former president Donald Trump, who has recently praised Russian President Vladimir Putin’s handling of the invasion as “genius” and “savvy.”

The congressman’s comments were first reported Wednesday night by Republican strategist Karl Rove in a Wall Street Journal op-ed.

Rove said Cawthorn had made the remarks Saturday at a town hall in Asheville, N.C. He said Cawthorn and a handful of other Republican candidates who are “echoing Mr. Trump’s isolationism and Kremlin apologetics are out of sync with GOP voters.”
In a statement, Cawthorn spokesman Luke Ball said the lawmaker was referring to pro-Ukraine misinformation.
“The Congressman was expressing his displeasure at how foreign leaders, including Zelensky, had recently used false propaganda to entice America into becoming involved in an overseas conflict,” Ball said. “He supports Ukraine and the Ukrainian President’s efforts to defend their country against Russian aggression, but does not want America drawn into another conflict through emotional manipulation.”

He also pointed to a Twitter thread Thursday afternoon in which Cawthorn shared a link to a blog detailing some pro-Ukraine misinformation being spread online.
“The actions of Putin and Russia are disgusting. But leaders, including Zelensky, should NOT push misinformation on America,” Cawthorn said in a tweet. “I am praying for Ukraine and the Ukrainian people. Pray also we are not drawn into conflict based on foreign leaders pushing misinformation.”
Democrats quickly seized on Cawthorn’s comments, with the Democratic National Committee noting that “the overwhelming majority of the party sided with Trump when he tried to withhold military aid from Ukraine.”

“It’s only natural that a Republican Party led by Donald Trump, who regularly praises Vladimir Putin as a ‘genius’ and ‘savvy’ as he launches an unprovoked and unjustified war on the Ukrainian people, would evolve to attack the democratically elected president of Ukraine who has shown true heroism in the face of Russian aggression,” DNC spokesperson Ammar Moussa said in a statement.

The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee weighed in as well. “Putin Republican shows his true, disgusting colors. Another day, another anti-democracy tirade from the House GOP,” the House Democratic campaign arm said in a tweet.
Cawthorn was also one of 15 House Republicans who voted this week against banning oil imports from Russia.

A Washington Post-ABC News poll last month showed a large and bipartisan majority of Americans supports economic sanctions on Russia for its military invasion of Ukraine. Members of both parties are relatively unified in their negative views of Russia as well. More than three-quarters of Democrats and Republicans regard Russia negatively, including 47 percent of Democrats and 40 percent of Republicans who view it as an “enemy,” the poll showed.
Zelensky in particular has drawn widespread praise from around the world for his resilience, determination and his fight for Ukraine’s sovereignty against the invading Russian forces. He received a standing ovation from the British Parliament on Tuesday when he addressed them virtually and praise from U.S. lawmakers who have described him as a hero.

Spokespeople for House Republican leaders — House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (Calif.), House Minority Whip Steve Scalise (La.) and Republican Conference Chair Elise Stefanik (N.Y.) — did not immediately respond to requests for comment on Cawthorn’s remarks.

McCarthy and Stefanik, however, have been vocal about their support for Ukraine in recent days.
McCarthy on Wednesday said he doesn’t think “anything’s savvy or genius about Putin,” declining to echo Trump’s praise for the Russian leader. McCarthy also said he agrees with a statement last week by former vice president Mike Pence that there is no room in the Republican Party for “apologists for Putin.”
Stefanik, meanwhile, sent a video message of support to Zelensky and the Ukrainian people through her Twitter account on March 1.
“Your bravery, sacrifice and resistance against a gutless, bloodthirsty authoritarian dictator is a beacon of hope for freedom and democracy around the world,” Stefanik said in the video to Ukrainians.

She also noted that, as a senior member of the House Armed Services Committee, she led a bipartisan group of congressional members to Ukraine in 2018, where she “saw firsthand the importance of the security partnership between our two countries to counter Russian aggression, combat Vladimir Putin’s disinformation and defend democracy and freedom.”
“Never stop fighting for a sovereign self governing and free Ukraine,” Stefanik said.
Scalise has recently drawn criticism for attempting to reframe the relationship between Trump and Zelensky, in particular the phone call between the two that led to the former president’s first impeachment.
On Tuesday, Scalise was asked if he had new thoughts on Trump’s decision to withhold foreign aid from Ukraine in hopes that it would lure Zelensky into launching an investigation into President Biden and his family. Scalise then said Zelensky called Trump “to thank him for the leadership that he provided.”

“In fact, when Zelensky got elected, he said he modeled his campaign after President Trump’s — and ultimately he got the relief money he was asking for,” Scalise said.
Zelensky did not call Trump to thank him for his leadership — it was Trump who called Zelensky to congratulate him for winning the election. Scalise also ignored the portion of the call in which Trump tied aid to Ukraine with efforts to affect Biden’s 2020 campaign.

https://archive.ph/nr47p

"Tom Cotton declares Putin is on course to invade the US"

https://archive.ph/FK2ID

Useful_Mistake · Mar 10, 2022

Russia requests Security Council meeting on US biological programs in Ukraine - diplomat

Russian Mission asked for a meeting of Security Council for 11 March

Russia has requested holding a UN Security Council meeting on Friday, March 11, to discuss US military biological programs in Ukraine, Russian First Deputy Permanent Representative to the UN Dmitry Polyansky said.

"Russian Mission asked for a meeting of Security Council for 11 March to discuss the military biological activities of the US on the territory of Ukraine," he wrote on Twitter.

Washington rejects reports about the work of biological labs in Ukraine on US orders as propaganda and disinformation. However, US Deputy Secretary of State for Political Affiars Victoria Nuland told the US Congress on March 8 that biological research facilities are operating in Ukraine, and Washington seeks to prevent Russian forces from taking them under control.

Earlier, head of Russian Nuclear, Chemical and Biological Protection Troops Igor Kirillov informed that a network of over 30 biological laboratories was established in Ukraine, contracted by the US Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA). According to Kirillov, on February 24, all these laboratories received an order from the Ukrainian Health Ministry to completely dispose of biological agents stockpiled in those laboratories. Kirillov noted that the disposal procedure was aimed at their irreplaceable destruction, because, apparently, everything necessary for further implementation of the military biological program has already been evacuated from the Ukrainian territory.

Russian Ambassador to US Anatoly Antonov said in early February that the United States remains the only country that has failed to fulfill its commitments under the Chemical Weapons Convention and has not eliminated its chemical stockpile.

https://archive.ph/wip/yRQ2F

Russia does not want war but will ensure independence from West, Lavrov stresses

Sergey Lavrov pointed out that Moscow was ready to discuss security guarantees for Kiev and did not rule out the possibility of a meeting between Presidents Vladimir Putin of Russia and Vladimir Zelensky of Ukraine

Moscow has never wanted war and seeks to end the current conflict, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said at a press conference following a meeting with his Ukrainian and Turkish counterparts, Dmitry Kuleba and Mevlut Cavusoglu.

He pointed out that Moscow was ready to discuss security guarantees for Kiev, did not rule out the possibility of a meeting between Presidents Vladimir Putin of Russia and Vladimir Zelensky of Ukraine and did not expect a conflict involving nuclear weapons to break out.

TASS has put together the key statements that Lavrov made.

Additional platform

The main talks between Moscow and Kiev take place in Belarus, where the two countries’ delegations have already met three times: "A business-like conversation is underway there."

Moscow is currently waiting for "a specific response" to the "extremely specific initiatives in the form of a draft legal document," which were presented in the third round of talks.

Kuleba’s regret about the fact that no progress had been achieved in Antalya on the 24-hour ceasefire issue, is groundless: "No one was going to make a ceasefire agreement here. We did not come here to replace the Belarusian negotiation platform."

At the same time, Russia is ready to hold meetings on various platforms, including at the highest level. The possibility of a meeting between Presidents Vladimir Putin and Vladimir Zelensky was discussed at the Antalya meeting "but it requires preparations."

Ukraine operation

Moscow does not have any aggressive plans against other countries. "We are not planning to attack other countries. In fact, we did not attack Ukraine, either." However, Russia has information that Kiev planned to launch an offensive against Donbass as early as March.

Russia’s proposal to open humanitarian corridors every day for the evacuation of civilians from battle zones remains in place.

Allegations about Russian troops kidnapping people in Ukraine are fake news, while the maternity hospital in the city of Mariupol, which was targeted by the military, had stopped being used for its intended purpose long ago: "It was turned into a base for the far-right Azov battalion."

Nuclear tensions

Lavrov does not expect a nuclear war to break out. "I don’t want to believe in it and I don’t. I would like to point out that the nuclear issue <...> was brought up solely by Western politicians, namely those from NATO countries."

Moscow is alarmed by the fact that the West keeps talking about possible nuclear tensions: "It’s certainly alarming that the West keeps raising this topic in a Freudian manner."

Relations with West

Moscow will solve economic problems triggered by Western sanctions to make sure that it will never depend on the West again: "We will never have illusions again that the West might be a reliable partner. <...> And we will never have illusions that the West won’t betray the other party at any moment. It will betray everyone and even its own values."

The West’s "frenzied" reaction to Russia’s actions in Ukraine "shows that an actual life or death struggle is underway for Russia’s right to exist on the world map and fully ensure its legitimate interests."

Russia put forward its proposals on security guarantees "in full seriousness" but got only "reference notes" in response. "When we deal with honest people, we handle matters honestly and had it been like that, everything would have been resolved and security agreements would have been reached. However, we don’t see partners who would be willing to deal with us honestly."

Western countries are creating threats primarily to themselves by providing weapons to Kiev because these weapons, including man-portable air-defense missile systems, may get out of control: "It will create risks and threats to civil aviation over Ukraine that will linger for years, and they may also spread to all of Europe."

US biolabs

Russia demands that the United States provide explanations about the activities of its biological laboratories in Ukraine, an official request on the matter has already been sent: "There is almost no doubt that the experiments that were conducted there weren’t peaceful but were aimed at creating biological weapons, moreover, weapons targeted at certain ethnicities."

However, Moscow was not surprised by the West’s reaction to reports about the labs. "It’s not surprising that Washington officials have publicly rejected ‘rumors,’ which is what they called it, about their outlawed activities in Ukraine. It’s also not surprising that European Union countries immediately started saying with one voice that they did not have any information about the Americans being involved in some military biological activities in Ukraine".

https://archive.ph/wip/7S8yg

LORD IMPERATOR · Mar 10, 2022

Funny how Russia wants to accuse the West of nuclear doom-speak, when Putin openly used nukes as a threat to keep the Western armies out of Ukraine.

I mean, dude, this is just gaslighting at its most blatant.

Also, Russia doesn't want war? Then why did they step into Ukraine in the first place? They were winning the diplomatic battle with the west (Zelensky was unpopular before the war, and they don't call Biden "Sleepy Joe" for nothing) before Putin's little temper tantrum.

Russia is acting like your stereotypical drunk husband who beats his wife, trying to gaslight her into thinking that she deserved it and that he loves her.

SBG · Mar 10, 2022

LORD IMPERATOR said:
Also, Russia doesn't want war? Then why did they step into Ukraine in the first place? They were winning the diplomatic battle with the west (Zelensky was unpopular before the war, and they don't call Biden "Sleepy Joe" for nothing) before Putin's little temper tantrum.

Sounds like Putin is trying to keep to the original storyline that they're just trying to do some peacekeeping and get ride of Nazis, even while everyone is going against or becoming more neutral about Russia. Like China sounds like they went from being a Russia cheerleader to trying to stay out of the mess.

It's hard for me to picture Putin not becoming increasingly isolated as people get tempted to oust/kill him and take his position. Even if they're fine slaughtering a fuck ton of people, they're getting boxed in financially so it has to be pissing off some oligarchs and making others confident about how they'd be received if they replaced Putin.

Useful_Mistake · Mar 10, 2022

War Invasion of Ukraine News Megathread - Thread is only for articles and discussion of articles, general discussion thread is still in Happenings.

Bigot Sandwich Connoisseur

of the knights who say Ni

Fire Nation sympathizer

Drone footage shows Ukrainian ambush on Russian tanks​

The Ralphamale curse strikes again!

Russia says Mariupol hospital was base for Ukraine nationalists​

Justice is Blind, and Autistic

Inshallah, we shall liberate al-Aqsa

Mmmmmn Tasty

My one-way ticket out of Moscow​

Justice is Blind, and Autistic

Are you now, or have you ever been?

Rock over London, Burn down Chicago!

Fire Nation sympathizer

Fire Nation sympathizer

"Megyn Kelly: Vladimir Putin isn’t ‘anything close to crazy’"​

Fire Nation sympathizer

Fire Nation sympathizer

Rep. Madison Cawthorn calls Zelensky a ‘thug,’ says Ukrainian government is ‘incredibly evil’​

Fire Nation sympathizer

Russia requests Security Council meeting on US biological programs in Ukraine - diplomat​

Russia does not want war but will ensure independence from West, Lavrov stresses​

Additional platform​

Ukraine operation​

Nuclear tensions​

Relations with West​

US biolabs​

Fire Nation sympathizer

Drone footage shows Ukrainian ambush on Russian tanks

Russia says Mariupol hospital was base for Ukraine nationalists

My one-way ticket out of Moscow

"Megyn Kelly: Vladimir Putin isn’t ‘anything close to crazy’"

Rep. Madison Cawthorn calls Zelensky a ‘thug,’ says Ukrainian government is ‘incredibly evil’

Russia requests Security Council meeting on US biological programs in Ukraine - diplomat

Russia does not want war but will ensure independence from West, Lavrov stresses

Additional platform

Ukraine operation

Nuclear tensions

Relations with West

US biolabs