I will believe it when I see it : Putin tells Modi to his face that Putin will "end the fighting (in Ukraine) as soon as possible"- total hypocrite
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"Having been thrashed on battlefield, Putin is getting thrashed at conference table, too. Doesn't take much clairvoyance to see that Xi, Modi, and others are deeply annoyed by fallout from Russia's war in Ukraine. Stunning erosion of Russia's — and Putin's — diplomatic position," Hal Brands, a professor of global affairs at Johns Hopkins University's School of Advanced International Studies,?said in a tweet.?
"Nobody likes losers, and he's losing now in Ukraine," Michael McFaul, the former US ambassador to Russia, said in an appearance on MSNBC on Thursday.?
Putin's phrase, "as soon as possible," could merely be rhetoric to placate a trade partner. Putin has tried to justify the invasion as a war of necessity,
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I do not want to light up too many boards in saying this, but Putin reminds me of rapists who used to rape lesbians as a "cure " for 'homosexuality'. Aside from the sheer brutality and horror involved, the zero level of sincerity in that exchange on the part of Putin is defacto Nuremberg rope qualified word play. I have seen many sickening examples of absolute hypocrisy, but Putin just hit this one out of the ball park
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A local man named Maxim appeared at the burial site, asking journalists to record his account of torture.
He said he was detained by the Russians in early September, and released by Ukrainian forces when they arrived in Izyum last Saturday (10 September).
He showed us the marks on his wrists caused by handcuffs, and said he had been subjected to electric shocks.
A senior advisor to Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky told the BBC evidence of torture was found in some areas recently retaken by Ukrainian forces.
"We saw wildly frightened people who were kept without light, without food, without water, and without the right to justice," Mykhailo Podolyak said.
Kharkiv prosecutor Mr Ilyenkov said several similar burial sites had been found in areas recently retaken by Ukrainian forces.
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This one is from Izyum , in just liberated territory. There is no faint justification in terms " Oh, I will indeed stop as soon as possible" justification for this behavior
Paging a statement in terms of the hypocrisy races, this one from Iraq, 2004
"Baath party officials would say they would forcibly 're educate' people (TORTURE) and if the recipients of 're education' DIED (murdered) at least it was a sign of sincerity on the part of the Baath party that it cared enough to attempt "re education" ( TORTURE)
Wow, and that was Hussein, and Iraq, 2003. Whereas we can see Putin telling Mohi he will stop 'real soon now', just as he did when accounts of TORTURE and murder magically appeared
so here is what is left to be done
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Work Left to Be Done in Ukraine
Much remains to be done. At the moment of this writing, Russian forces appear to have established a defensive line at the Oskil River and behind the international border. Indeed, the Ukrainian advances may have actually extended the overall length of Kyiv’s defensive lines, as Ukrainians still need to account for Russian forces remaining in Russia proper. Russia remains firmly in control of large parts of the Donbas and the south, where Ukrainian offensive action has yet to meet with the same obvious degree of success that they’ve enjoyed in the northeast.
If the Ukrainians can drive Russia out of Kherson at an acceptable cost, we’ll have an entirely new war (and a new set of political and strategic problems) on our hands.
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while Russia continues its winner 500 blow out- this time with a "hypersonic" missile
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Russian military leaders have been left red-faced after bragging about an “unstoppable” hypersonic missile that has crash landed and injured eight people without even reaching?Ukraine.
Footage appears to show the burning remains of the missile dubbed “dagger” after it came down over Stavropol Krai, in Russia's North Caucasus region, on Wednesday.
And eight people were injured after the hypersonic missile, capable of carrying nuclear weapons, crashed.
“Unflyable?weather?today for hypersonic missiles. This is the place where the 'Kinzhal' missile fell. It was probably flying from the Caspian Sea to Ukraine,” said a statement from the Ukraine army.
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This is a meme for the entire WAR from start to finish
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Putin tells Modi he'll 'stop' the Ukraine invasion he ordered 'as soon as possible' after the Indian leader criticized Russia's war to his face
John Haltiwanger?3 hours ago
Modi explicitly criticized Russia's war in Ukraine while meeting with Putin on Friday.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday criticized Russia's war in Ukraine while meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin face-to-face while both were in Uzbekistan for the Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit.
"I know that today's era is not an era of war, and I have spoken to you on the phone about this," Modi told Putin,?according to Reuters.
Putin told the Indian leader, "I know about your position on the conflict in Ukraine, and I know about your concerns. We want all of this to end as soon as possible."
The Russian president's remarks to his Indian counterpart echoed comments on Russia's unprovoked war in Ukraine that he made?to Chinese leader Xi Jinping?the day prior. "We highly value the balanced position of our Chinese friends when it comes to the Ukraine crisis," Putin said to Xi at the summit in Uzbekistan.
"We understand your questions and concerns in this regard," Putin added. "During today's meeting, of course, we will explain in detail our position on this issue, although we have spoken about this before."
China and India have close ties with Moscow — and have continued to?buy?its oil, gas and coal as Western nations moved to cut their purchases — but foreign policy experts and Russia watchers say that the war in Ukraine appears to be driving a major wedge in relations.??
"Having been thrashed on battlefield, Putin is getting thrashed at conference table, too. Doesn't take much clairvoyance to see that Xi, Modi, and others are deeply annoyed by fallout from Russia's war in Ukraine. Stunning erosion of Russia's — and Putin's — diplomatic position," Hal Brands, a professor of global affairs at Johns Hopkins University's School of Advanced International Studies,?said in a tweet.?
"Nobody likes losers, and he's losing now in Ukraine," Michael McFaul, the former US ambassador to Russia, said in an appearance on MSNBC on Thursday.?
Putin's phrase, "as soon as possible," could merely be rhetoric to placate a trade partner. Putin has tried to justify the invasion as a war of necessity, and has alluded to it as a conquest of territory that is rightfully Russian amid fitful attempts at a diplomatic resolution that Western diplomats have viewed as window dressing. Inside Russia, authorities are accosting those who protest or even describe the effort as a war — Putin made it illegal to spread "fake news" about the military — despite a casualty toll the US estimates to be as high as 80,000 troops.
Russia has suffered devastating troop losses in Ukraine, and its forces were recently pushed into retreat as a result of a blistering Ukrainian counteroffensive in the country's east, and as a wider effort to recapture territory in the south gains momentum. Meanwhile, Russia has been widely accused of war crimes, as it faces crippling economic sanctions over the war. The war has led to an energy crisis and contributed to rising inflation worldwide.
"I think what you're hearing from China, from India, is reflective of concerns around the world about the effects of Russia's aggression on Ukraine, not just on the people of Ukraine," US Secretary of State Antony Blinken told reporters on Friday,?per Al Jazeera, adding, "I think it increases the pressure on Russia to end the aggression."
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Ukraine war: Mass exhumations at Izyum forest graves site
6 hours ago
In a pine forest at the edge of Izyum the stench of death filled the air as a mass exhumation got under way.
The earth is giving up its secrets. Ukrainian officials believe war crimes have been committed, which they are determined to document.
Around 100 Ukrainian emergency service workers wearing blue plastic coverings dug into the earth, opening makeshift graves.
They are trying to establish the cause of death of hundreds of people buried in a forest at the edge of the city, recently liberated by advancing Ukrainian forces.
Izyum, invaded in April, was used by Russia as a key military hub to supply its forces from the east.
The exhumation was conducted mostly in silence, as police and prosecutors looked on. One officer put his head in his hands. Another walked away.
Kharkiv regional prosecutor Olexander Ilyenkov says there is no doubt war crimes have been committed here.
"In the first grave, there is a civilian who has a rope over her neck. So we see the traces of torture," he told the BBC.
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He said almost everyone died because of Russian soldiers.
"Some of them were killed, some were tortured, some were killed because of Russian Federation air and artillery strikes."
Ukraine was determined to show this disturbing sight to the world. Convoys of international journalists were brought to watch on.
The burial ground - beside an existing cemetery - contains row after row of graves, marked by crude wooden crosses.
Names were written on a few, but most were marked only by a number. The burials here were carried out under the orders of the Russians when they were in control.
Ukrainian police say there are 445 new graves at the site, but some contain more than one body. It's unclear how all of them died. Many are said to be civilians, women and children among them.
Prosecutors say some were killed by Russian shelling and others were victims of a Russian airstrike on an apartment block in March, in which 47 people were killed.
Officials say one grave contained around 20 soldiers, some with their hands bound and one with a noose around his neck. The body of a man in military uniform was exhumed and zipped into a white body bag.
As the graves were opened there were sporadic explosions in the distance as the security forces worked to de-mine the area.
72-year-old Hryhorii came to the burial site today to see the grave of his wife, Ludmilla. He told us she was killed on 7 March during heavy shelling in Izyum.
He first had to bury her in the yard of their home, then she was reburied in August. Now her remains will be disturbed once again.
It's only now, since the Russians have been pushed out, that Ukraine can carry out detailed investigations here, and can determine how many victims the occupiers left behind.
A woman who lived opposite the forest told us Russians troops had kept locals away from the cemetery.
A local man named Maxim appeared at the burial site, asking journalists to record his account of torture.
He said he was detained by the Russians in early September, and released by Ukrainian forces when they arrived in Izyum last Saturday (10 September).
He showed us the marks on his wrists caused by handcuffs, and said he had been subjected to electric shocks.
A senior advisor to Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky told the BBC evidence of torture was found in some areas recently retaken by Ukrainian forces.
"We saw wildly frightened people who were kept without light, without food, without water, and without the right to justice," Mykhailo Podolyak said.
Kharkiv prosecutor Mr Ilyenkov said several similar burial sites had been found in areas recently retaken by Ukrainian forces.
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whereas
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How Much Territory Can Ukraine Take Back From Russia?
By
A Russian tank under attack by a drone from Ukraine. Image Credit: YouTube/Ukrainian military.
Last week, Ukrainian forces executed a stunning offensive in Kharkiv Oblast, driving Russian troops back in a near panic and recovering thousands of square kilometers of territory. The advance appears to have shocked Russian defenders, who, for the most part, retreated in good order but left behind enormous stockpiles of equipment and munitions. On Wednesday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy?conducted a photo op?in recently recaptured Izyum, a city that had seen intense fighting in the first months of the war and that lays astride a network of critical rail communications.
In effect, the offensive has introduced a new stage of the war, which may well involve the re-conquest of territory captured by Russia in the first week of the conflict.
Ukraine vs. Russia: Competing Information Economies
The successful offensive may serve as another demonstration of significant problems with?Russia’s information economy. Numerous independent commentators on the Russian side appear to have sounded the alarm about the Ukrainian buildup and the weakness of Russian defenses, but these warnings went unheeded in senior command and political circles. Moscow’s?attention seems to have?been firmly focused on Kherson, where Ukraine is waging another?offensive, albeit at a much slower pace. The Ukrainians, by contrast, seem to have?their information ops wrapped?up tight, and to have developed a strong intelligence sharing relationship?with the United States. They immediately wrapped the offensive into their broader narrative about the war, which frames it as a heroic struggle for national existence.
The Political War
The offensive is a massive political victory for Ukraine, which had struggled to demonstrate to domestic and international audiences that it could reclaim territory conquered by Russia. The success could not have come at a better time as it would seem to answer complex questions being asked in Berlin, Paris, and Washington about the prospects of additional arms transfers. Ukraine now has very good answers to those questions: Keep the flow of equipment coming, and we will drive the Russian invaders out of our country.
For Russia, the message is less pleasant; in one of the greatest breakup letters of all time, President Zelenskyy made clear that Ukraine could and would look?forward to a future with Russia.
Ukraine Escalation Concerns
The Ukrainian victories have?reignited concerns?about?escalation, which had slept uneasily over a summer characterized by stalemate. The advance would seem to create a massive political and military problem for the Kremlin, demonstrating that Ukraine is showing no signs of subdual after six months of war. Russia is suffering from both equipment and manpower problems, possibly limiting its ability to mount a significant counter-offensive in the near future. Moreover, the opening of Kharkiv Oblast opens considerable room for Ukrainian?HIMARS?to strike deep into the Russian logistical network.
Given these developments, some Westerners have worried that the Kremlin might become more aggressive, either initiating a full mobilization or launching more deadly attacks into Ukraine proper. The latter concern appeared to play out with several precision-missile strikes against Ukrainian water and power infrastructure over the last several days. Some have even breathed the possibility that Russia might resort to?the use of nuclear weapons?to demonstrate a fait accompli and?quickly break?Ukrainian resistance.
Another separate but related concern revolves around the newfound proximity of Ukrainian forces to the Russian border. Thus far, Russia proper has remained largely untouched by the war, apart from a few air and missile strikes and possibly some special operative activity. Ukraine now has the position and the equipment to strike deep into Russia, with the potential to cause serious damage to both civilian and military infrastructure. While at least the latter would be perfectly permissible under the Law of Armed Conflict, it would also cause heartburn in Western capitals. Indeed, the successful Ukrainian advance opened up questions about the possibility of retaking Crimea, which many believe could be a Russian “red line” for massive retaliation.
Work Left to Be Done in Ukraine
Much remains to be done. At the moment of this writing, Russian forces appear to have established a defensive line at the Oskil River and behind the international border. Indeed, the Ukrainian advances may have actually extended the overall length of Kyiv’s defensive lines, as Ukrainians still need to account for Russian forces remaining in Russia proper. Russia remains firmly in control of large parts of the Donbas and the south, where Ukrainian offensive action has yet to meet with the same obvious degree of success that they’ve enjoyed in the northeast.
If the Ukrainians can drive Russia out of Kherson at an acceptable cost, we’ll have an entirely new war (and a new set of political and strategic problems) on our hands.
Expert Biography:?19FortyFive Contributing Editor?Dr. Robert Farley?has taught security and diplomacy courses at the Patterson School since 2005. He received his BS from the University of Oregon in 1997, and his Ph. D. from the University of Washington in 2004. Dr. Farley is the author of Grounded: The Case for Abolishing the United States Air Force (University Press of Kentucky, 2014), the Battleship Book (Wildside, 2016), and Patents for Power: Intellectual Property Law and the Diffusion of Military Technology (University of Chicago, 2020). He has contributed extensively to a number of journals and magazines, including the National Interest, the Diplomat: APAC, World Politics Review, and the American Prospect. Dr. Farley is also a founder and senior editor of Lawyers, Guns and Money.
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whereas
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Russian military red-faced after ‘unstoppable’ hypersonic missile crash lands
A hypersonic missile which Russian military leaders have bragged about being "unstoppable" crash landed before even reaching Ukraine and has injured eight people
A Russian missile its military claimed was "unstoppable" has crash landed?(Image: @VVV5807/Newsflash)
ByTim HanlonNews Reporter
Russian military leaders have been left red-faced after bragging about an “unstoppable” hypersonic missile that has crash landed and injured eight people without even reaching?Ukraine.
Footage appears to show the burning remains of the missile dubbed “dagger” after it came down over Stavropol Krai, in Russia's North Caucasus region, on Wednesday.
And eight people were injured after the hypersonic missile, capable of carrying nuclear weapons, crashed.
“Unflyable?weather?today for hypersonic missiles. This is the place where the 'Kinzhal' missile fell. It was probably flying from the Caspian Sea to Ukraine,” said a statement from the Ukraine army.
The 'Kinzhal', which means 'Dagger', is a Russian nuclear-capable hypersonic aero-ballistic air-to-surface missile with a claimed range of over 2,000 miles and speed of Mach 12. The Russian army has been using it in Ukraine and called it “unstoppable”.
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Andrew Beckwith, PhD