Ukrainian War VI: Pyrrhus Returns

[Kaumudeen]

See that’s because your ideology isn’t dominated by “oppose anything the other party does” and/or “simp for foreign far right dictatorships”.

Right. I do not get Putin's appeal at all.

Putin is viewed by his sympathizers in the West as someone not beholden to special interests, and who puts his nation first (neither which are true if you scratch below the surface). However, on the surface Western leaders are viewed by their detractors as being stooges for liberalism and whatnot.

[Corrian]

Do we know what's in the aid package yet?

[Herador]

Do we know what's in the aid package yet?

Best I could find is this.

“It should have happened six months ago. The next best time is right now. This week, we’ve seen the Ukrainians overperform if you step back for a moment and think about the fact that for most of my life, most of America’s defense forces were focused on Russia,” Warner said. “Getting this additional equipment as quickly as possible, I hope once this gets to the President by Tuesday or Wednesday, that these shipments will be literally launched with that longer range ATACMS.”

The package is also expected to include more desperately needed munitions for Ukraine, including air defense and artillery ammunition, Bradley fighting vehicles and demolition weaponry, the sources said.

The text of the legislation passed by the House and set to be approved by the Senate requires the administration to transfer the coveted longer-range ATACMS “as soon as practicable,” unless the president determines that doing so would be detrimental to US national security interests.

[Emotional Support Crocodile]

Russia’s deputy defense minister arrested on bribery charges
Opposition activists had exposed Timur Ivanov’s vast wealth, including yachts, luxury goods and holidays in France.

One of Russia's most senior defense officials has been detained as part of a corruption probe, with prosecutors alleging he diverted funds from the military to pay for his lavish lifestyle.

Deputy Defense Minister Timur Ivanov was arrested by the security services and appeared before a court in Moscow on Wednesday morning, making him the most senior official to be jailed since the start of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

Investigators allege the 48-year-old was part of a "criminal conspiracy" that saw him take kickbacks "on an especially large scale" as part of his role overseeing military construction projects. He faces up to 15 years in prison if convicted.

A Russian law enforcement official told state newswire TASS that Ivanov is suspected of taking bribes and that the case was based "on eyewitness testimony and the results of operational activity."

Kremlin Press Secretary Dmitry Peskov told reporters that Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu, who has been sidelined amid criticism of his handling of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, had been warned his deputy would be arrested in advance. Ivanov had reportedly attended meetings with Shoigu and other military officials the day prior to his detention.

Meanwhile, local news outlets allege Ivanov — who is believed to have been in charge of construction in the leveled, Russian-occupied Ukrainian city of Mariupol — had amassed an opulent real estate empire of his own.

A 2022 investigation by allies of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, who died in an Arctic prison in February, alleged the defense official had funneled millions of dollars to his wife, who is said to have spent the cash on luxury yachts, jewellery and shopping in Paris.

On news of Ivanov's arrest, Maria Pevchikh, the chair of the Anti-Corruption Fund that Navalny founded, wrote on social media that "today is a good day."

Let the infighting and scapegoating begin

[The Seahawk]

They just saw Putin shirtless riding a bear and all thoughts left the room

Putin riding a bear?

[Infected Mushroom]

Russia’s deputy defense minister arrested on bribery charges
Opposition activists had exposed Timur Ivanov’s vast wealth, including yachts, luxury goods and holidays in France.

One of Russia's most senior defense officials has been detained as part of a corruption probe, with prosecutors alleging he diverted funds from the military to pay for his lavish lifestyle.

Deputy Defense Minister Timur Ivanov was arrested by the security services and appeared before a court in Moscow on Wednesday morning, making him the most senior official to be jailed since the start of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

Investigators allege the 48-year-old was part of a "criminal conspiracy" that saw him take kickbacks "on an especially large scale" as part of his role overseeing military construction projects. He faces up to 15 years in prison if convicted.

A Russian law enforcement official told state newswire TASS that Ivanov is suspected of taking bribes and that the case was based "on eyewitness testimony and the results of operational activity."

Kremlin Press Secretary Dmitry Peskov told reporters that Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu, who has been sidelined amid criticism of his handling of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, had been warned his deputy would be arrested in advance. Ivanov had reportedly attended meetings with Shoigu and other military officials the day prior to his detention.

Meanwhile, local news outlets allege Ivanov — who is believed to have been in charge of construction in the leveled, Russian-occupied Ukrainian city of Mariupol — had amassed an opulent real estate empire of his own.

A 2022 investigation by allies of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, who died in an Arctic prison in February, alleged the defense official had funneled millions of dollars to his wife, who is said to have spent the cash on luxury yachts, jewellery and shopping in Paris.

On news of Ivanov's arrest, Maria Pevchikh, the chair of the Anti-Corruption Fund that Navalny founded, wrote on social media that "today is a good day."

Let the infighting and scapegoating begin

This shows that in Russia corruption is taken very seriously and prosecuted under the law. I hope that Russia’s anti-corruption efforts are successful so that they can uphold the rule of law.

[Herador]

This shows that in Russia corruption is taken very seriously and prosecuted under the law. I hope that Russia’s anti-corruption efforts are successful so that they can uphold the rule of law.

It's clearly not taken all that seriously if a group of activists, not even government officials, had to force the Governments hand to do something.

[Emotional Support Crocodile]

Corruption is endemic in Russia, people only get prosecuted for it because they have displeased someone higher up the food chain.

[Tarsonis]

Russia’s deputy defense minister arrested on bribery charges
Opposition activists had exposed Timur Ivanov’s vast wealth, including yachts, luxury goods and holidays in France.



Let the infighting and scapegoating begin

This shows that in Russia corruption is taken very seriously and prosecuted under the law. I hope that Russia’s anti-corruption efforts are successful so that they can uphold the rule of law.

[Emotional Support Crocodile]

The US has secretly been giving Ukraine long-range missiles

Ukraine war: US secretly gives Kyiv long-range missiles

Ukraine has begun using long-range ballistic missiles secretly provided by the US against invading Russian forces, American officials have confirmed.

The weapons were part of a $300m (£240m) aid package approved by US President Joe Biden in March and they arrived this month.

They have already been used at least once to strike Russian targets in occupied Crimea, US media report.

Mr Biden has now signed a new $61bn package of aid for Ukraine.

The US previously supplied Ukraine with a mid-range version of the Army Tactical Missile Systems (ATACMS) but had been reluctant to send anything more powerful, partly over concerns about compromising US military readiness.

However, Mr Biden is said to have secretly given the green light to send the long-range system - which can fire missiles distances of up to 300km (186 miles) - in February.

"I can confirm that the United States provided Ukraine with long-range ATACMS at the president's direct direction," state department spokesman Vedant Patel said.

The US "did not announce this at the onset in order to maintain operational security for Ukraine at their request", he added.

It is not clear how many of the weapons have already been sent, but US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said Washington planned to send more.

"They will make a difference. But as I've said before at this podium... there is no silver bullet," he said.

The longer-range missiles were used for the first time last week to strike a Russian airfield in occupied Crimea, Reuters news agency quoted an unnamed US official as saying.

And the new missiles were also used in an attack on Russian troops in the occupied port city of Berdyansk overnight on Tuesday, according to the New York Times.

Russian confidence will start evaporating if this keeps up.

[Shamhnan Insir]

The US has secretly been giving Ukraine long-range missiles

Ukraine war: US secretly gives Kyiv long-range missiles

Ukraine has begun using long-range ballistic missiles secretly provided by the US against invading Russian forces, American officials have confirmed.

The weapons were part of a $300m (£240m) aid package approved by US President Joe Biden in March and they arrived this month.

They have already been used at least once to strike Russian targets in occupied Crimea, US media report.

Mr Biden has now signed a new $61bn package of aid for Ukraine.

The US previously supplied Ukraine with a mid-range version of the Army Tactical Missile Systems (ATACMS) but had been reluctant to send anything more powerful, partly over concerns about compromising US military readiness.

However, Mr Biden is said to have secretly given the green light to send the long-range system - which can fire missiles distances of up to 300km (186 miles) - in February.

"I can confirm that the United States provided Ukraine with long-range ATACMS at the president's direct direction," state department spokesman Vedant Patel said.

The US "did not announce this at the onset in order to maintain operational security for Ukraine at their request", he added.

It is not clear how many of the weapons have already been sent, but US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said Washington planned to send more.

"They will make a difference. But as I've said before at this podium... there is no silver bullet," he said.

The longer-range missiles were used for the first time last week to strike a Russian airfield in occupied Crimea, Reuters news agency quoted an unnamed US official as saying.

And the new missiles were also used in an attack on Russian troops in the occupied port city of Berdyansk overnight on Tuesday, according to the New York Times.

Russian confidence will start evaporating if this keeps up.

Aye, and hopefully any further activities begin to fall foul of a sharp uptick in artillery strikes eliminating stockpiles and resource caches. Further significant damage to logistical frameworks at this point could begin to end Russians ability to fight, or cripple morale beyond recovery.

[Stellar Colonies]

Poland and Lithuania pledge to help Kyiv repatriate Ukrainians subject to military draft (The Guardian)
Strong rhetoric is boost for Ukraine reinforcement drive but it is not clear by which mechanism émigrés could be sent back

Poland and Lithuania have said they are prepared to help Ukrainian authorities return men subject to military conscription to the country, after Kyiv announced this week that it was suspending consular services for such men who were now abroad.

“We have suggested for a long time that we can help the Ukrainian side ensure that people subject to [compulsory] military service go to Ukraine,” Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz, Poland’s defence minister, told the television channel Polsat, though he did not elaborate on what mechanisms could be used.

His Lithuanian counterpart, Laurynas Kasčiūnas, said his country may make similar efforts. “Ukraine is very short of mobilisation reserve … This is not fair to those citizens who are fighting for their country,” he said on Thursday.

Ukraine is struggling to overcome a huge equipment and personnel deficit in comparison with Russian troops at the frontline. The parliament has recently passed a new law on mobilisation, which lowers the age at which men can be called up from 27 to 25.

On Wednesday, the foreign ministry announced that it would suspend consular services for men subject to the draft who were living abroad. There were angry scenes at consular offices and agencies in Poland later in the day, where men who had booked appointments to pick up documents were told they could not do so.

Ukraine’s foreign minister, Dmytro Kuleba, told the Guardian on Wednesday that it was unacceptable for Ukrainian men outside the country to “sit down in restaurants” while others were dying, and said the move was partly about demonstrating fairness to those who were at the front. “They don’t understand why the government is not trying to bring more people into the war effort,” he said.

Thousands of men are believed to have crossed Ukraine’s western borders illegally since the war began, sometimes paying bribes to make it across. However, many other Ukrainian men have lived outside the country for years. Some returned after the war started, but many have lives and families outside the country and do not wish to return. There are also many Ukrainian men in Europe from war-torn eastern areas of the country who left their homes via Russia in the early stages of the war as it was the only way out.

Igor Lisin, vice-president of Foundation Ukraine, an organisation working with Ukrainians in Poland, said that while there were no official figures for how many men of military age were currently living outside the country, as a “very rough estimate” he believed about 300,000-400,000 were currently in Poland.

Tadeusz Kołodziej, a lawyer with the Ocalenie Foundation, a Polish NGO, said there was no mechanism by which Polish authorities could deport Ukrainian men to Ukraine, and no current plans to declare their presence in the country illegal.

But the Polish parliament is due to consider new regulations next week that would require all Ukrainians to show a valid passport to be able to access benefits in Poland. Previously, Ukrainian refugees had been able to do so by showing any other documents proving their identity.

“The draft text we have seen would cut around 80% of benefits for people without passports,” Kołodziej said. In time, there may also be questions about whether people without a passport can work legally. “If it will be impossible to get a passport, many of these people may ask for asylum,” Kołodziej added.

Exactly how the new regulations will work may not be clear until the new law on mobilisation comes into force in mid-May. It is possible that men will be able to update their records in the military register using an app from outside the country, rather than returning home to do so.

“Of course, they want people to come back, but there is no legal instrument to force them,” said Lisin. However, he said the recent messaging had caused stress and fear among many in Poland’s Ukrainian community, partly because of the uncertainty over how it would work in practice. “The less people know, the more people fear,” he said.

Poland drew plaudits for the way it opened its borders to Ukrainian refugees in the first months of the war and the Polish government remains one of Ukraine’s most vocal backers in the EU. However, there has been evidence of increasing “Ukraine fatigue” in Polish society as the war drags on. Protests by Polish truckers over transit access for their Ukrainian counterparts blocked the border between the two countries for several weeks, while surveys show attitudes to Ukrainian refugees are becoming gradually less welcoming.

“I think many Poles are outraged when they see young Ukrainian men in hotels and cafes, and they hear how much effort we have to make to help Ukraine,” said Kosiniak-Kamysz.

[Glorious Freedonia]

I was surprised that Ukraine has a minimum conscription age of 25. I thought it would be lower.

[The Apollonian Systems]

I was surprised that Ukraine has a minimum conscription age of 25. I thought it would be lower.

Ukraine’s demographics are in the toilet, they have a comparatively small number of men in the 18-24 bracket, and are actively trying to keep them out of the war unless absolutely necessary to save themselves form demographic collapse.

[Hrstrovokia]

Ukraine will no longer offer consular services for Ukrainian men of military age overseas.

Ukraine adopted a law last week overhauling how it mobilises civilian men into the armed forces to make the process more effective, addressing what military analysts say is a key challenge if it is to hold out against advancing Russian troops.

"How it looks like now: a man of conscription age went abroad, showed his state that he does not care about its survival, and then comes and wants to receive services from this state," Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said on X.

"It does not work this way. Our country is at war... Staying abroad does not relieve a citizen of his or her duties to the homeland."

His harsh tone appeared to reflect mounting frustration in Kyiv with those Ukrainian men based abroad who are not contributing to the war effort.

There have been numerous cases of draft dodgers fleeing the country. Some 4.3 million Ukrainians were living in European Union countries as of January, 2024, of whom about 860,000 are adult men, the Eurostat database estimated.

I read on another site that Ukraine will not issue biometric passports to Ukrainians (presumably just males) outside of the state who are of military-age. This may have consequences for those trying to travel by air, or travel outside of the Schengen Area.

[Haganham]

Ukraine will no longer offer consular services for Ukrainian men of military age overseas.

"How it looks like now: a man of conscription age went abroad, showed his state that he does not care about its survival, and then comes and wants to receive services from this state," Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said on X.

"It does not work this way. Our country is at war... Staying abroad does not relieve a citizen of his or her duties to the homeland."

So when are women expected to join the fight?

[The Apollonian Systems]

Ukraine will no longer offer consular services for Ukrainian men of military age overseas.

So when are women expected to join the fight?

Women can already volunteer. They’ll probably never be conscripted, at least not for frontline service.

[Stellar Colonies]

Honestly, I really don't blame Ukrainian (and Russian) men for trying to escape the warzone, and I wish them all the best.

[The Lone Alliance]

I was surprised that Ukraine has a minimum conscription age of 25. I thought it would be lower.

It was actually 27 originally I believe, really it was a smart policy let the younger generation settle down and at least start a family first. Also gives the conscript something to actually fight for.

[Turenia]

Russia will target NATO nuclear weapons in Poland if they appear, TASS says

All the more reason to put them there. We must hack at them.

[The Apollonian Systems]

Russia’s deputy defense minister arrested on bribery charges
Opposition activists had exposed Timur Ivanov’s vast wealth, including yachts, luxury goods and holidays in France.



Let the infighting and scapegoating begin

This shows that in Russia corruption is taken very seriously and prosecuted under the law. I hope that Russia’s anti-corruption efforts are successful so that they can uphold the rule of law.

Not even close. If it was it wouldn’t take private groups to call it out. No the dude just lost Putin’s good graces and is being thrown under the bus for it.

[Kaumudeen]

I was surprised that Ukraine has a minimum conscription age of 25. I thought it would be lower.

Average age of a Ukrainian conscript is about 43, they have low birth rates and high rates of abortion and emigration even before the war.

[Infected Mushroom]

This shows that in Russia corruption is taken very seriously and prosecuted under the law. I hope that Russia’s anti-corruption efforts are successful so that they can uphold the rule of law.

Not even close. If it was it wouldn’t take private groups to call it out. No the dude just lost Putin’s good graces and is being thrown under the bus for it.

It sounds like you’re saying he wasn’t loyal to the state.

[BEEstreetz]

Honestly, I really don't blame Ukrainian (and Russian) men for trying to escape the warzone, and I wish them all the best.

The war is one show-case in the 1000-year wake nightmare which East Slavs have been in. Escape/ism is the only option the human mind has unless it just completely lets go into lunacy. Evident in culture - literature and especially folk music melodies.

[Hrstrovokia]

Window of opportunity has passed for Kerch bridge strike says David Axe in the Telegraph.

Though Zelensky did say that 2024 was the year that the Kerch would be collapsed, there is little point in hitting it beyond propagandistic value, as Russia now has a railway link from Rostov to Crimea.

Any high-end missiles that Ukraine receives from the US in the recent aid package would be far better off being used to strike Oil/Gas infrastructure inside Russia now. Or perhaps trying to target railway depots but I'm not sure how effective/significant those hits would be as its far easier to repair rail than a bridge spanning the sea.