TheOldGuy @TheOldGuy@qoto.org
I am a Democrat who supports Ukraine in their battle against The Russian Z fascist invaders.
I am a 73 year old Covid hermit who
lives on 10 acres in a sparsely populated area of the Ozarks. I heat with wood that is leftover by the lumber industry. When cutting oak for lumber only the trunk is used.
The largest town is population 2992. The county is 13k people scattered over 713 square miles.
Joined Dec 2022
CONTINUE…
There were no brakes left on him to stop him. He was unchallenged and unchallengeable. The very fibre of the Russian Orthodox Nationalist fascist state he had spent ten years developing would now follow him into the flames.
Battered by a brutal war and an economy both dislocated and weakened by military production, under a thin veneer of a temporary explosive boom in growth that’s set to burst anytime soon, Putin has set the nations course. He is committed to winning. The price is extremely high in men and gold. Men like Putin care only for their own survival and that of their legacy. It’s that everyone in Russia must now pay for. And pay for it they surely will.
@ukrainejournal
FROM THE ANALYST
RUSSIA HAS TRANSFORMED
As Vladimir Putin was sworn in this morning for fifth term as president - this one will last until 2030, he has transformed Russia.
In the early days Putin was amenable to the west, going out of his way to support American actions against the Taliban after 9-11. He became agitated by NATO expansion, by the 2005 revolution in Ukraine and what Russia generally saw as American disregard for its power and influence in the Middle East. By 2007 the attitude changed and with it the way Russia dealt with the west. And along with the change in attitude came a marked shift in the way domestic policy was dealt with. Being anti-western (when so much of Russia’s
population was in love with its travel freedoms and western consumer goods, from Audi and Gucci to McDonalds), meant turning the people against the source of their new found happiness and freedoms, limited as they were.
The deal in Putin’s Russia was basically, ‘leave the politics and the foreign affairs to me, I’ll make sure you’re safe and Russia is taken seriously again.’
It was a deal many Russians were happy to live with. A benign authoritarianism, much the sort of thing fascism in its milder form is based on.
But it was never going to stop there. Putin didn’t like being out of the top job during Medvedev’s presidency, though he publicly respected the differences in their roles, he pulled the strings from behind the scenes. When Medvedev tried to outflank him Putin was having none of it. It wasn’t a situation he let happen again. And Putin blamed the protests in Moscow in 2012 on Hilary Clinton personally.
By 2014 the situation in Ukraine had dramatically worsened - it was heading westward and to the EU out of Russian influence. Putin was unamused by the drift. When his puppet was thrown out, the Crimea and Donbas-Luhansk quickly became his answer. Ukraine had gone too far.
From this point on it was all about what could manage to undermine the vacillating and weak minded west, while securing an ever tighter control over Ukraine. The smack of the loss of Crimea and unexpectedly strong Ukrainian resistance to the Donbas situation caused that situation to polarise well beyond any reasonable way of dealing with it.
Domestically, nationalism, religion and the mythical beast of ‘fundamental Christian values’ were coupled tightly together. Minorities - especially the LGBTQ population and non-Russian Orthodox religions were increasingly harassed and ridiculed, if not just outlawed and condemned.
Increasingly, free speech was eroded and now is non-existent. Anything you want to say to or about anything the government does? Keep it to yourself. Punishments are harsh and everything is treated as severe- there are no light sentences any more.
The militarisation of society from the cradle to the frontline grave is well underway. Like Nazi Germany, Putin is creating a school age cadre of future warriors.
The population is being taught to regard all things western as evil, as the enemy, not just during war, but for ever. Putin is placing Russia at the head of a new authoritarianism that basically says, ‘what you going to do about it?’ Anything they do is justified because Russia is Russia and it can do exactly what it likes.
Using the violence of nuclear weapons as a shield, it feels there is nothing it cannot and should not do if it chooses to. Who is going to stop it?
Before the war, newly elected Zelensky tried hard (he had been elected largely on a platform of resolving the Donbas issue), to solve it. He was prepared to go a very long way - even autonomous status for the provinces. But he quickly realised, long before the western leaders like Merkl and Macron, Putin was playing them all. He rapidly became disillusioned. As Russian troops prepared to invade, he didn’t want to believe Putin would go so far. Like everyone else he hadn’t realised that Putin’s elevation to supreme power for as long as he lived, had given him the opportunity to restore Russia to its military and political might. CONTINUED…
Update:
❗️Three children were injured during the russian shelling of Kharkiv. The shell hit the school grounds.
The victims are boys aged 12, 13 and 15. This was reported by the head of the Kharkiv regional administration, Oleh Syniehubov. According to him, one wounded child is in serious condition. According to other sources, two children are in serious condition.
Journalists report that at the time of the explosion, the children were playing football on the playground next to the school. They were diagnosed with damaged lungs, head injuries, and one of the boys faces a traumatic foot amputation.
A 55-year-old man and an 80-year-old woman were also injured.
Right now, a missile alert has been declared in the southern and eastern regions of Ukraine, and the Ukrainian Armed Forces are warning of the threat of a KAB bomb being dropped on Kharkiv.
@ukrainejournal
🇩🇪German MPs propose that NATO countries shoot down drones over Ukraine
Members of the German parliament from the ruling Greens and Free Democrats, as well as the opposition CDU, are in favor of NATO air defense systems protecting the western part of Ukraine.
According to Agnieszka Brugger, a representative of the Greens, it would be right to “deploy air defense systems on the borders of neighboring states so that they can protect the western part of Ukraine.”
In turn, her fellow party member Anton Hofreiter noted that Ukraine's air defense “should not be excluded from the territory of Poland and Romania in the long term.”
🪐 Subscribe to Live: Ukraine
The number of military-age men caught fleeing Ukraine and attempting to cross into Slovakia more than doubled in the first four months of 2024, compared with the same period of 2023, the Slovak border police said on May 9.
Under martial law, Ukrainian men aged between 18 and 60, with some exceptions, are not allowed to leave the country as they may be called up for military service.
Speaking to AFP, Slovak border police said 338 Ukrainians were detained and released in the first four months of 2024, compared to 166 over the same period in 2023.
"In the first week of May, we captured 45 men on the green border," spokesperson Agnesa Kopernicka said, adding: "In the same period of last year, this number was four."
Ukraine is updating the legal framework around conscription and introducing harsher penalties for draft evasion to ramp up mobilization in 2024.
As Ukraine faces the challenge of mobilizing more men for its army, a November 2023 report by the BBC indicates that around 20,000 Ukrainian men have illegally crossed the border and escaped mobilization.
Many men end up crossing the border illegally with the help of smugglers, who demand vast sums only to leave the men to cross a river or mountain alone.
"Every day we refuse border crossings to about 120 people," Demchenko said.
Since the start of the full-scale invasion, the State Border Guard Service has uncovered about 450 criminal networks that smuggle people across the border.
On April 29, State Border Guard Service Head Andriy Demchenko said more than 30 men have died while attempting to cross Ukraine's mountainous western border to evade mobilization.
Ukraine needs help, rather than die in the mountains, why not train to remove russian soldiers from Ukrainian territory, protect families and friends from russian aggression ?
And help rebuild the new Ukraine emerging , if President Zelensky can man up to the task and risk his life for Ukraine, for peace, for freedom and a future for Ukraine, so can others . IMO
🇺🇦@ukraine_report 🇺🇦🔱 Liz
Zelenskyi’s evening speech
—
Today, the focus is primarily on the frontline – on the situation in our regions where the risks of the Russian offensive actions are the highest.
Our defensive operations are underway in the Kharkiv region, near the villages of Strilecha, Krasne, Morokhovets, Oliinykove, Lukyantsi, Hatyshche, Pletenivka. These are border villages. For two days now, our troops have been conducting counterattack actions there, defending Ukrainian territory.
The situation in the Donetsk region also remains especially tense, particularly in the Pokrovsk direction – it’s Semenivka, Netailove. More than thirty combat engagements occur there every day. It’s extremely difficult. Of course, we also pay attention to all the other directions of our defense actions. Kupyansk, Lyman, Siversk, Kramatorsk, Vremivka directions.
I am grateful to every brigade of ours that bravely defends their positions, repels assaults, and destroys the occupier. Disrupting the Russian offensive intentions is the number one task now. The accomplishment of this task depends on every soldier, every sergeant, every officer. I thank all the commanders who actually do everything necessary to ensure that our warriors are properly motivated and clearly know how to act.
This has more about the funeral of the youngest Azov defender.
This is why they were telling people the Northern Lights would be visible here in Missouri. I didn't stay up for them. Saw them in Fairbanks for 3 years.
https://rebekahjones.substack.com/p/geomagnetic-storm-tonight-opposition
Rest in Peace
⏺ It is reported that a soldier of the 12th special purpose brigade 🔰 "Azov" of the National Guard of Ukraine — Nazarii "Hrinka" Hryntsevich died in battle
🫡 He was the youngest defender of Mariupol at the age of 19, was captured by the Russians, returned to the front to defend Ukrainian land and died at the age of 21
"My life is worth nothing compared to the nation!" — one of his famous quotes. Eternal memory to the Hero.
⚡️ At night, three thermal power plants came under terrorist attack from Russia. Equipment significantly damaged
In total, Russia used 76 means of air attack - 55 missiles and 21 attack drones
⏺ Estimated route of movement of cruise missiles and "Shaheds" during the night attack of the Russian Armed Forces
⚠️ 33/45 "Shahed" kamikaze drones;
❗️ 0/1 Kh-47M2 "Kinzhal" aeroballistic missile;
❗️ 0/2 "Iskander-M" ballistic missiles and 0/1 "Iskander-K" cruise missile;
❗️ 4/4 Kalibr cruise missiles;
❗️ 35/45 Kh-101/Kh-555 cruise missiles from Tu-95 MS strategic aircraft;
❗️ 2/2 Kh-59/Kh-69 guided air missiles;
🟡🔥 Ukrainian strikes on Russian refineries lead to a decrease in world oil prices, — Foreign Affairs
The shocks affect Russia's ability to convert crude oil into fuel, but crude oil exports are increasing, leading to lower world prices
⏺ In total, since October, Ukraine has carried out at least 20 strikes on Russian refineries. By the end of March, Ukraine destroyed about 14% of Russian oil refining capacity. Refineries can take years to repair, and within the Russian Federation prices for petroleum products, such as gasoline and diesel fuel, have already begun to rise sharply
Pentagon officials working with Elon Musk’s SpaceX have blunted the Russian military’s unauthorized use of Starlink internet terminals on the battlefield in its war with Ukraine, according to the Defense Department’s space policy chief.
I am a Democrat who supports Ukraine in their battle against The Russian Z fascist invaders.
I am a 73 year old Covid hermit who
lives on 10 acres in a sparsely populated area of the Ozarks. I heat with wood that is leftover by the lumber industry. When cutting oak for lumber only the trunk is used.
The largest town is population 2992. The county is 13k people scattered over 713 square miles.
Joined Dec 2022
TheOldGuy's choices:
