Kiev Burning

[Cerebus]

In face of the documentation evidence, some of which I posted yesterday, Russia has had to move from the "those documents are fake" to the "they were simply lost" defense. Ukraine isn't buying it.

ukrinform: NSDC does not believe in tales about Russian paratroopers who 'got lost' in Ukraine

"If the elite troops of the Russian Armed Forces are not competent with topography and cannot find their way on the ground, then I have nothing to say about other troops and especially generals who send people to the east of Ukraine," Lysenko said.

He said that the penetration of a military unit into Ukraine was not a mistake, but a special task, which was clearly being fulfilled.

"The Russian military leadership should think about what they are doing, because there is a lot of information that the families of Russian servicemen who are sent to Ukraine do not know where they are sent, or believe that they leave for exercises," Lysenko said.

[Cerebus]

TV Rain: Reports Of Paratroopers' Deaths Spread In Russia

TV Rain (Dozhd) has an interview with Lidiya Sviridova, the head of the Saratov branch of the Union of Soldiers' Mothers, who alleges that paratroopers from the city are being sent off to die in Ukraine.

Lidiya Sviridova, the head of the Saratov branch of the Union of Soldiers' Mothers, who held a press conference today with the mother of a paratrooper from Saratov, who has gone missing and been out of contact since going on exercises, has got in contact with us.

She said that there had been reports on social networks that a paratrooper had been killed, but that they had been unable to confirm these as, just a few days ago, an anonymous phone call was received which said that Ilya Maksimov was in fact alive and in captivity.

According to her report, paratroopers in the city are being compelled to sign contracts, after which they vanish.

[Cerebus]

Another article from a Russian newspaper is stating that several paratroopers have died in Ukraine and have already been returned to Russia for burial.

Novaya Gazeta: Landing

But on August 25 correspondents "New" and the St. Petersburg newspaper "to Fontanka.ru" witnessed the funeral of paratroopers in the Pskov region, information about the death that lurks. Today relatives of servicemen of the 76th Pskov Airborne Division come to us with requests for help to find out: whether they are alive? Where are they? When they return?

---

Tragic message about the death of Sergeant Major of the 76th Pskov Airborne Division 29-year-old Leonid Kichatkina appeared August 22 in the social network "VKontakte" on page his wife Oksana: "Dear friends !!!!!!!!! Lenya died funeral on Monday at 10 am in the funeral Vybuty.

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- And they had a chance to survive? - Ask the question, Major.

- You honestly say? Chance they had. When on the one hand a mortar attack, and on the other - "Grad" ...

- How long were they there?

- A week.

- How many of them died there?

Shrugs

[Cerebus]

Reuters: In Ukraine, an armored column appears out of nowhere

That is a now-familiar ritual: the five-month conflict over eastern Ukraine is one of claim and counter-claim by opposing sides, often centering on what role Russia is playing. With the battlefield mostly too dangerous for reporters to safely move around, verifying who is doing what is usually impossible.

On Tuesday, in a continuation of the pattern, Kiev said it had captured a group of Russian soldiers who had entered Ukraine on a "special mission", while Moscow said they were there by mistake.

However, the armored column that appeared on Monday in the far south-eastern corner of Ukraine, where it abuts the Russian border, was unusual because the spot was far removed from any territory held by the separatists.

---

It was not possible to establish whether the people driving the column and firing the artillery were Russian soldiers or separatist rebels. But there were strong indications that whoever it was doing those things operated out of Russian territory - something very unlikely to have happened without Moscow's consent.

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Asked by Reuters on Monday how the rebels could fire artillery so far from their positions, Andrei Purgin, DNR deputy prime minister, said: "In the conditions of modern warfare, 20 km is no kind of distance for artillery."

[Cerebus]

Guardian: Russia admits its soldiers have been caught in Ukraine

Sources in Moscow have admitted that a number of men captured inside Ukraine were indeed serving Russian soldiers, but said they crossed the border by mistake.

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Videos were released by Ukrainian authorities of interrogations of the prisoners, who said they were serving Russian army officers. One said he had not been told exactly where they were going, but had an idea he was inside Ukraine. There was no immediate confirmation of the authenticity of the recordings, but the fact that Russian wire agencies ran a defence ministry admission that soldiers had indeed crossed into Ukraine suggested that the footage was genuine.

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Two weeks ago, the Guardian saw a convoy of armoured personnel carriers and support trucks with Russian military plates cross an unmarked section of the border near the town of Donetsk.

Russia furiously denied that any incursion had taken place, and said the column was on a "border patrol" mission that stayed strictly on the Russian side.

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Russia has called for an immediate ceasefire in eastern Ukraine, but Kiev wants to finish its "anti-terrorist operation" to win back control of the whole country. Both leaders are under pressure from domestic audiences not to make concessions, and there is little hope of a major breakthrough.

[Cerebus]

France24: Far-right ‘Russian Jihad’ fighters cross into Ukraine

Nevertheless, many Russian fighters have crossed the border into Ukraine to fight what they call “Kiev’s fascist junta”.

Recruited by far-right nationalist movements, these men are ideologically driven to fight what has been nicknamed “the Russian Jihad”.

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“Ideologically we are all Russian imperialist nationalists, descendants of the White Guard,” he explains, in reference to the anti-communist forces that waged a civil war against the Bolsheviks in the years immediately after the 1917 Russian Revolution.

“Every day we receive about 10 applications from candidates who want to join the battalion,” he says. “Our aim is to liberate the land we call Novorossiya – New Russia – and its Russian people from the enemy, the Kiev junta.”

Novorussia was the 18th and 19th century name for the region of Imperial Russia that now comprises Ukraine.

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“For me this territory is Russian, the communists gave it away unfairly,” he argues, referring to a decision by Stalin’s successor Nikita Khrushchev in 1954 to cede parts of Russian territory, including the Crimean peninsula, to Ukraine.

“This land must be returned to the Russian people.

[Cerebus]

Moscow Times: Russian Paratroops in Ukraine: Lost in Media Haze

Two incidents involving Russian paratroopers have been reported: One concerned a platoon of Russian paratroopers that allegedly perished last week in a clash in Ukraine's Luhansk region. The other involved 10 alleged Russian soldiers captured in Ukraine, four of them interrogated on camera.

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• At least two paratroopers were confirmed to have been buried Monday in Russia's Pskov region.

• Ukrainian journalist Roman Bochkala last week published photos of Russian IDs and military documents allegedly found on paratroopers' bodies.

• Some relatives confirmed the deaths on social networks and in comments to the opposition paper Novaya Gazeta and independent news site Fontanka.ru.

---

• Interviews of the four men's interrogations. In one case, the video shows a captive wearing Russian dog tags.

• Unnamed Russian military sources confirmed the soldiers' capture to Interfax and ITAR-Tass (the Defense Ministry did not return repeated requests for comment by The Moscow Times on Tuesday), but said the soldiers had lost their way and "accidentally" strayed into Ukraine during a mission on the Russian border.

An important thing to remember is that this isn't just an interesting thread on a website. Real people are dying because of some some stupid game Putin is playing.

[Cerebus]

Looks like the Russians are sending some heavy armor in now:

Interpreter: Powerful Russian Armored Convoy Spotted In Ukraine Headed Toward Lugansk - Complete With T-72 Tanks

An extremely powerful armored convoy has been spotted today rolling through Sverdlovsk today. Spotted in this convoy -- a significant amount of firepower including:

- 4 MT-LB amphibious axillary vehicles, two equipped with anti-aircraft guns, Zu-32-2s (like this).

- 4 T-72 battle tanks. The presence of these in the convoy is effectively proof that these are Russian military armor, since Ukraine has not used T-72s in their offensives in the east.

[Cerebus]

Another video leaked by the Ukrainians. Air Assault machine gunner. Claims superiors didn't tell them exactly where they were. They were not provided with any maps or specific written orders. Was frightened by that, already felt that the Russian media was hiding some of the truth, went because he had no choice. Has a two year old daughter and his wife is 8 months pregnant, asks that they be told he is alive.

[UNT90]

So, how is Ukraine faring so far against the assists Russia has put into Ukraine?

It appears they are holding their own against a paltry force that Putin is still attempting to disguise as "insurgents." Is this the case? Are they doing better or worse than you expected?

[Cerebus]

Super busy at work now, and I'll have to post the stories later, but many reports of heavy armor (and lots of it) being moved in from Russia. Will change the game since Ukrainian anti-tank capability is helicopter based and Russia controls the air space.

Ukraine will call on more material help. In my opinion if we can give Syrian fighters TOWs then we can give them to Ukraine to fight "separatists."

[Cerebus]

So, how is Ukraine faring so far against the assists Russia has put into Ukraine?

It appears they are holding their own against a paltry force that Putin is still attempting to disguise as "insurgents." Is this the case? Are they doing better or worse than you expected?

Been going really well so far. Lots of heavy Russian armor will change that.

[Cerebus]

I think we can now official move the threat meter from "pear shaped" to "tits up."

BBC: Russian media report 'invasion of Ukraine'

Treading carefully, many mainstream Russian newspapers are giving prominence to stories other than Ukraine, including President Vladimir Putin attending the opening ceremony of a new football stadium in Moscow.

The crisis is mainly mentioned in commentaries about Tuesday's talks in Minsk between the Russian and Ukrainian presidents, with Konstantin Bondarenko writing in Nezavisimaya Gazeta that "Vladimir Putin… showed he is not a bully and not a dictator" because "aggressors and dictators refuse to negotiate".

"We are all waiting for the media to start using the word 'war', at a time when politicians are not at all in a hurry to do this," says exclaims Russian commentator Oleg Kozyrev in a tweet.


Nevertheless, the "w-word" has begun to appear in Russian media, albeit slowly.

The website of liberal radio station Ekho Moskvy mentions it prominently in a report entitled "Ukrainian and Western media: Russian troops have captured the Ukrainian town of Novoazovsk".

Popular daily Moskovskiy Komsomolets quotes a Ukrainian source, and reports that an adviser to Ukraine's interior minister has accused Moscow of launching a "full-scale military invasion".
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Russian media are also carrying the words of the pro-Russian rebel leader in eastern Ukraine, Alexander Zakharchenko, who told Russian TV that 3-4,000 Russian citizens were fighting in the rebels' ranks.

"Are we fighting a war?" asks Vedomosti. "The number of unanswered questions about Russian soldiers killed and detained on the territory of Ukraine has reached a critical number," the daily says in its editorial.

"Is Russia waging war in Ukraine and, if so, on what grounds? If not, then who is in the fresh graves and who are the people being interrogated by Ukraine's secret service?"

"It's War," announces prominent Russian blogger Andrei Malgin. "The masks are off. There never were any militia or separatists [in Ukraine]".

HuffPo: NATO Military Officer: More Than 1,000 Russian Troops Operating Inside Ukraine

"We assess well over 1,000 Russian troops are now operating inside Ukraine," he said at NATO's military headquarters in southern Belgium. "They are supporting separatists (and) fighting with them."
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The NATO officer showed reporters a satellite picture, dated Aug. 23, of Russian self-propelled artillery lined up inside eastern Ukraine.

"This is highly sophisticated equipment which requires a well-trained crew. It takes months to train crews like that. It's extremely unlikely these sorts of units are manned by separatists," he said.

"Russia is trying to prevent a defeat of the separatists and wants to hold on to this area. The recent upsurge and now even direct involvement of Russian troops inside Ukraine is aimed at this," the official said. (Reporting by Adrian Croft, Editing by Angus MacSwan)

It's been really frustrating following media the last few weeks because so many reporters just accept the Russian position of "there is no proof that anything besides Russian volunteers are in Ukraine."

This of course is absolute BS. I have posted several pictures here of equipment that could only belong to Russian Special Forces and other advanced units. Guns, helmets, nightvision, scopes, etc etc that is still considered highly classified and not available to export, even to allies.

The "separatist" tanks rolling over Ukrainian forces right now is clearly the latest gen T-72 with reactive armor that ONLY Russian elite armor is equipped with. You can't go down to Wal Mart or the local gun show and get this equipment.

[Cerebus]

Russian armored vehicles are in surroundings of Novoazovsk city

— NSDC of Ukraine (@NSDC_ua)

August 28, 2014

Russian armored vehicles are in surroundings of Novoazovsk city

— NSDC of Ukraine (@NSDC_ua)

August 28, 2014

To all the governments too frightened to stand up to #Russia and "wake the Russian bear up" Putin proves he doesn't need a pretext to invade

— Myroslava Petsa (@myroslavapetsa)

August 28, 2014

[Cerebus]

I'm glad that more and more media are now finally grasping what experts have been saying for months: Elite Russian equipment clearly shows the "separatists" are Russian soldiers.

BBC: T-72 tank shoots hole in Russian denial

But now experts at the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) in London have told the BBC that they have identified a Russian tank in a separatist column in eastern Ukraine that they say could only have come from across the border in Russia.

Joseph Dempsey, an IISS analyst, has studied video footage reportedly taken on 26 August in Sverdlovsk, Luhansk, in eastern Ukraine. The video shows a convoy of military vehicles.

Whilst date and location are unconfirmed, he says the operator of the convoy is apparent: flags associated with the separatist movement are clearly displayed and some vehicles feature bright green areas, a common feature of separatist armour.

The mixed convoy includes at least three T-72B1 Main Battle Tanks (MBTs) but it is the appearance of a lone, more modern T-72 variant (shown below) that is of particular significance.



This variant, distinguished by the prominent Kontakt-5 Explosive Reactive Armour (ERA) arrangement - the boxes on the turret front - is commonly referred to by Western sources as the T-72BM.

It is operated by the Russian Army in large numbers, but crucially it is not known to have been exported or operated outside of Russia.

Maybe I should just forward them this thread. It is a collection of several photos that prove the same thing.

[VideoEagle]

Today, the BBC has a page dedicated to live updates including twitter feeds of news from the Ukraine.

[VideoEagle]

I'm amazed at anyone, even the most pro-Russian, believing Russian soldiers are choosing to take their vacations to join the "rebels" in the Ukraine. They choose getting shot to discounted tickets to the Crimea? Seriously?

[Cerebus]

I'm amazed at anyone, even the most pro-Russian, believing Russian soldiers are choosing to take their vacations to join the "rebels" in the Ukraine. They choose getting shot to discounted tickets to the Crimea? Seriously?

Not only that but they get to bring along their tanks or artillery? Not even Russians are that crazy.

[VideoEagle]

Not only that but they get to bring along their tanks or artillery? Not even Russians are that crazy.

Maybe a T-72 doesn't count as excess baggage on Aeroflot.

[Cerebus]

Alright, I'm over the UT game and will start updating today. I have been slacking and there have been major developments.

[Army of Dad]

Alright, I'm over the UT game and will start updating today. I have been slacking and there have been major developments.

Thank you in advance

[H-towngreen]

Alright, I'm over the UT game and will start updating today. I have been slacking and there have been major developments.

Isis is overshadowing this big time so very little coverage now

[UNT90]

Isis is overshadowing this big time so very little coverage now

ISIS - Putin's new KGB...

[Cerebus]

Alright. I had to put this off because there was JUST SO MUCH TO UPDATE. Instead of going article by article, I'll give a quick recap and then re-start with recent updates.

If you'll remember back the hazy ancient history of Late August 2014, you'll remember that the Ukrainians had the Russian separatists on the ropes. They had retaken most of the East back except for the stronghold Donetsk and Luhansk, and heavy fighting was occurring in and around those cities. Vladimir Putikins had some choices ahead of him:

1) Discontinue support, write the whole thing off as an error, and probably lose face a home. Despots repeatedly losing face ends with them hanging from light posts, so he was not keen on option the first.

2) Send in the Red Army. Quit pretending and send in some motorized rifle divisions, complete with Moscow parades. This would have led to what I had already pre-titled Holy Shit the Cold War's Back On 2014. Not being quite ready to potentially fight THE WEST while China licked it's chops and hungrily stared at all the Siberian natural resources just across the border, Putin didn't go this route either, instead:

3) Continue to pretend all those regular Russian Army solders are Ukrainian volunteers or at worst Russians on vacation. As a bonus those three day weekenders could take their heavy armor and artillery. Since no one seems to be willing to do much more than yell "WE CAN CLEARLY SEE THOSE ARE RUSSIAN FORCES, YOU AREN'T FOOLING ANYONE VLAD!", this is the winner.

There are some actual Russian speaking Ukrainian militiamen who want to break away from Ukraine. These are the yokels who the Ukrainians had been crushing, even with the help of 1000s of Russian infantry and some heavy equipment. The armor and better communications the new Russian soldiers have brought along have really turned the tide. The have retaken back the area around Donetsk/Luhansk and are driving to Mariupol. Why there? Look at this map:



The dark red square is Crimea, a de facto Russian puppet. Seizing Mariupol would:

1) Create a land corridor to Crimea from Russia itself. Easier to resupply the area and also creates a staging area to further capture territory.

2) Solidify the hold on the east of the Ukraine, as to expand without it would leave a beachhead for counter attack.

3) Seize the port facilities at Mariupol, which happens to be the grain export capital of Ukraine east of Kiev. Without those port facilities the Ukrainians don't have enough ability to export their crop, it would cripple their economy.

A seize fire was called, but now it seems the Russians don't expect to hold it.

[H-towngreen]

I wish something would just happen with this already