Dozens Killed So Far in Russian Military Attacks on Ukraine

67 thoughts on “Dozens Killed So Far in Russian Military Attacks on Ukraine”

1. Horrible developments. A major crime and a paradigm shifting event are taking place in Ukraine. I can only for the best for the people of Ukraine and that the conflict does not spill outside the borders of the country. Sad day for mankind. Antiwar.com will be a critical resource, among others, for people in the West to stay informed on the events to come, as well as to develop a critical perspective that enables it to promote a course of action that does not further escalate the war in each respective country.

   1. I hope that Antiwar.com will do all it can to offset the very one-sided propaganda that the major media outlets are putting out.

      1. By sucking Putin’s cock just like RT

   2. My sympathy isn’t with any of the warring gangs, but with the non-combatants caught in the middle.

      I’ve made a small contribution to Nova Ukraine’s humanitarian aid fund for victims of the war. I encourage others to do likewise (or to pick a charity they trust to deliver humanitarian aid — Doctors Without Borders is a good one IMO) if you can afford it.

      1. I’ve been supporting “Doctors without borders” for over 30 years now.

   3. You mean the Antiwar.com whose Editorial Director was on Fox Business on the 18th February insisting that Russia wouldn’t invade Ukraine. And then there’s his trusty sidekick, Ray McGovern, who for weeks has been ridiculing anyone who suggested that Russia might invade (Godot Likely To Arrive Before Russia Invades Ukraine – McGovern article title, January 22nd). Meanwhile the professional and amateur (OSINT) intelligence communities were posting overwhelming evidence on social media that Russia was building for massive invasion. Yea, Antiwar.com is a “critical resource” for anyone who wants to ignore the facts. Horton and McGovern should be ashamed of themselves.

      1. I happen to agree that McGovern is an absolute idiot, as his Horton, for going on cable news, the most brain-dead type of media ever invented (until Twitter came along, that is) where you have to, above all, “look cool” over provinding interesting commentary (which there is too much of anyways). But Antiwar.com is, as I said, a critical resourse as it provides crucial updates on world developments, either by their own articles (which are little more than digests of the work of the major news agencies and publications) or by linking directly to other websites stories, and they also provide interesting (though often disagreable) opinion pieces that help put into context the developments at hand. You should note, as well, that pretty much everybody outside of the mainstream presuation got this one wrong (myself included). I think this shows, in part, above all the failure of the current media ecossystem, where people who have an alternative point of reference in this international matters are put in a position of constantly having to react to what the mainstream is saying, by, to put it quite simple, attempting to debunk it. It is a sad reality, but that should make Antiwar.com in itself invalid. Best.

         1. I think other Web sites – notably The Saker, Moon of Alabama, and even Andrei Martyanov’s site – got this much more correct than Antiwar.

            I do agree that Antiwar posted a number of articles that got it correct. However, I don’t think it covered the crisis in as much detail as it might have.

            I did a lot of research on this issue personally. I originally followed the civil war in 2014, so I had a head start on what the background was. Then after 2015, since nothing basically changed for eight years, I let it slide. Then in spring, 2021, when Ukraine moved its forces to the contact line and Russia built up its forces on the border, I got interested again. Following Alexander Mercouris, The Saker, Moon of Alabama, and Andrei Martyanov pointed me in the direction of the research I needed to do. Mercouris and Moon were good at covering the political side. The Saker and Martyanov were good at covering both the political and the military side.

            I guess it depends on your research and your sources where one comes down on the issue.

            1. Moon of Alabama is solid for certain. Good independent journalism.

      2. Facts.

      3. You get your news from social media?

         1. Nice straw man you’ve got there. But if it makes you feel better then keep trying to deflect the argument from the Horton/McGovern fiasco.

      4. McGovern should not have been so determinative, certainly, as no one knew the outcome of Russia’s effort to get NATO to back down. They probably thought that Russia’s timeline was longer here … that they would put pressure on and wait. For whatever reason, Russia decided to settle the issue once and for all sooner than expected.

         I would still trust the judgement of Horton and McGovern over the MSM and govt pundits (or do I repeat myself) any day of the week.

      5. Russia has been an expansionist power for 1100 years,noted for brutality against its own people.It is now lead by a very tough,shrewd capable nationalist,who resents loss of empire. The CIA and American power elite have been poking at him for decades, and he has responded. Russia will have a very important role in World Energy resources, as it becomes apparent that the Green revolution will be very difficult to achieve,if not an illusion.

         1. The expansion that produced this was was NATO expansion, which insisted upon the right to include Ukraine even when it admitted it can’t do it now.

            Terms of surrender always get worse, as fighting drags on. Ukraine can make this worse, and right now it is still digging its hole, trusting to Biden to get them out of it.

            1. It is true what you say, but is there any alternative? Do you have any doubt at this moment that regime change is the choosen path for the Kremlin?

            2. Russia has been offering Ukraine a chance to surrender, implement Minsk, become neutral and give up NATO aspirations. If Ukraine doesn’t want to take that offer, that’s on them. They’ve refused this offer for eight years.

            3. Anyone who thinks Biden can save them will buy a piece of a famous bridge. As I said, Putin has been poked at.

2. This doesn’t make any sense…

   >>>
   On Twitter, Zelensky said Russia was trying to seize the Chernobyl
   nuclear power plant, which is about 80 miles north of Ukraine’s capital
   Kyiv.
   <<< Why would Russia want anything in the Chernobyl area?

   1. I can think of 2 reasons, but neither is super convincing. 1) to exert total control of the Ukrainian power grid. 2) to keep nuclear materials away from the Ukrainian government.

      1. OTOH, I expect Zelensky was trying to use Chernobyl to scare the West. But you could be right, too – Russia might well be concerned about some “false flag” operation concerning Ukraine’s nuclear power plants. That’s been discussed before in some forums.

         Update: Apparently confirmed Russia controls Chernobyl area with a tank unit.

         1. Peacekeepers Likely also seized the Pentagon’s Biowarfare labs too to prevent misuse

         2. This would coincide with reports that Putin also took out one or more bioweapons labs. They obviously know all our tricks and are taking few chances.

   2. They shut the last reactor down there over twenty years ago. If they wanted nuclear waste, they can visit any former Soviet weapons dump.

      1. The other 3 are still being decommissioned, so there might be nuclear waste still there or other dangerous materials.

         1. Oh, it’s going to be piping hot for another 20,000 years. You can scoop up as much radioactive lava as you want- just don’t expect to live long enough to sell it.

      2. I would agree with that but to the Russians I imagine that the Chernobyl area represents a potential site for Ukrainian nuclear weapons development. Who knew?

         1. That’s an interesting theory. Any weapons development there would be just more background radiation, ignored by spy satellites.

3. It’s awful to see the situation devolve from border skirmishes to all-out war. But I’m much more scared of UK PM and Biden using rhetoric that could escalate this regional issue into WW3.

   1. And, will China use this as an opportunity to start an operation of their own in their region?

      1. Doubtful. But anything is possible.

      2. They don’t work that way. More likely to take advantage by price-gouging EU/NATO and screwing with the supply chain to the USA.

   2. Rhetoric doesn’t matter. What Biden did today proves the US and NATO will do absolutely nothing on the ground re Ukraine.

   3. Ditto that! My thoughts exactly…

4. Peacekeepers stabilizing the region is a good thing. the regular Ukrainian military appears to be helping the Peacekeepers. Azov Battalion, Eric Prince’s Mercs, and the English military ‘trainers’ not so much,

   Let’s Hope this is the end of 8 years of torment for the Ukrainian people

   1. Pathetic.

   2. A peaceful war, like the peaceful BLM protests.

   3. Hope so as well. Something has to happen to concentrate minds.
      And in Ukraine it will be hard, Current elite cannot survive the popular rejection,
      There are several neuralgic points in Ukrainian complexity.

      One, there are many more regions with Russian ethnic, or Ukranian Russian soeakers in Ukraine, I do not think they want to pass the opportunity. To either have Ukraine federalized or safer bet, join the Donetsk/Lughansk path.
      Second, the Western Ukraine, the source of Nazi sentiments — had a triubled history. Stalin added that to Ukraine for one reason — to facilitate chasing Hitler’s forces, and to gather randomly a collectiin of communities. Polish, old school Ukrainian, Hungarian, Carpathorussunes, Belirussians, Romanians, Moldivan. It was the so called Greek Catholic Ukranians that became Hitkers alues and their rear guards against advancing Siviets. There were war crimes committed there, agaist Poles snd Russians.

      It really was a mistake to just dump all in Ukraine. This is still a very tense region, Being. focused in abusing Russians with impunity just put off regional anymosity.

      This problem needs solving. Federalization will help to insure vengeful anti-Russian sentient to get out of its confines. Chernibyl must be inspected, and Russia uscqualified to do it.
      Ukraine, as a country of regions would have a natural balancing mechanism, back to bickering over resources and nit having any one entity domiate politics and foreign relatiins,

      1. Let’s hope that 8 years of war in the region are ending.

5. RT website is down.

   1. Earlier this morning I tried to access the Russian Ministry of Defense – that was inaccessible. Just tried again – it’s still inaccessible. No 404, no nothing. Either they’ve disconnected from the Internet completely or the West is cutting them off.

      RT is back up but I don’t think that’s their normal home page.

6. Some serious diplomacy by all parties could have prevented this. It’s hard to tell who’s being honest, but I think the Russians actually tried but could get no decent response from Winken, Blinken and Nod. Maybe I’m just a Putin apologist, but I think the Russians have some legitimate gripes starting with NATO’s expansion and including the 2014 coup that supposedly established democracy from the barrel of a gun and replaced “the Russian stooge” with America’s stooge..

7. Ah, I finally remembered SouthFront. I used to follow them during the 2014 conflict. Good sources of information. Here’s the latest:

   Military Situation In Eastern Ukraine On February 24, 2022 (Map Update)
   https://southfront.org/military-situation-in-eastern-ukraine-on-february-24-2022-map-update/

   The UAF Joint Forces Operation reported shelling of its positions along the entire front line;
   6 civilians were killed during the last week, 2 of them were killed on February 24 in the DPR;
   During the 8 days of escalation, 504 violations of the ceasefire regime by the UAF were recorded in the DPR;
   At least 177 attacks were recorded in 26 villages in the LPR on February 24;
   According to the LPR military officials, 2 SU-24 aircraft, at least 1 Bayraktar TB2 and 1 Wing-type UAV were shot down on February 24;
   Over the past week, 3 LPR servicemen and 4 civilians were killed in the LPR;
   4 LPR servicemen were reportedly captured by the UAF on February 24;
   The air defense forces of the LPR shot down a Ukrainian UAV near the Belorechenskaya mine;
   The UAF radar station near the village of Svatovo was destroyed as a result of an air strike.

   Map of the situation:
   https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/95b5550b3200a1e6ad76a3e45e16ea4b350c081164197750f1fba1723ff9c14b.jpg

8. More from SouthFront. Lots of videos and pictures (for what they’re worth, since cell phone camera users suck at taking videos.)

   Ukraine: Results Of First Day Of Russia’s Military Operation (Videos)

   https://southfront.org/ukraine-results-of-first-day-of-russias-military-operation-videos/

   As a result of the strikes of the Russian armed forces, 83
   ground objects of the military infrastructure of Ukraine were put out of
   operation, including at least 11 airfields of the Ukrainian Air Force, 3
   command posts, a base of the naval forces of Ukraine, as well as 18
   radar stations of the S-300 and Buk -M1 anti–aircraft missile defense
   systems. Since the beginning of the military operation, two Ukrainian
   Su-27, two Su-24, one helicopter and four Bayraktar attack UAV have been
   shot down, according to the Ministry of Defense of the Russian
   Federation

9. Many videos of Kalibr missiles hitting Ukrainian targets including Ukraine’s naval base at Odessa:

   Kiev Regime Forces’ Defense Collapses. Russians In Kharkov, Kalibr Strikes And More (VIDEO)
   https://southfront.org/kiev-regime-forces-defense-collapses-russians-in-kharkov-kalibr-strikes-and-more-video/

   The resistance of the Ukrainian military is so fierce that one
   Su-27 of the Ukrainian Air Force already fled to Romania. This was
   confirmed by the Romanian Defense Ministry that added that the warplane landed at Bacau Air Base (escorted by F-16s).

10. I’m seeing stories plastered all over mainstream media sources recounting how the US has helped the Ukraine prepare for this very day. It’s not a large leap of the imagination to think we have covert operatives on the ground inside the Ukraine as we speak. This is all well and good- and exactly what I would expect from the US- but more than a few of us are old enough to remember what happened long after we helped the Mujihadeen fight the Soviets in Afghanistan. It didn’t take long for them to turn and bite the hand that fed them, and it’s not difficult to imagine the same thing happening in the Ukraine.

11. Funny comment from a poster at Moon:

    British Deputy Defense Minister James Hippie said that NATO will not establish a no-fly zone over Ukraine
    lol
    well, there’s a surprise
    Brits wisely decide not to declare a NoFlyZone which they would not
    have even the most minute chance of enforcing against a clearly vastly
    superior RFASF
    Posted by: YourMom | Feb 24 2022 21:54 utc | 126

12. Good point. Be wary of fake images and videos from older conflicts. Some examples shown in the article.

    Ukraine conflict: Many misleading images have been shared online
    https://www.bbc.com/news/60513452

13. This blog post is being constantly updated. It’s in Russia, so use Google Translate. Lots of bits of news.

    https://aftershock.news/?q=node/1068185

    Advisor to the head of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the LPR: the cities of Shchastya and the village of Luganskaya came under the control of the LPR
    🇬🇧DNR took control of the settlements of Viktorovka and Bogdanovka-Basurin
    🇬🇧The headquarters of the 53rd brigade is folded from the settlement. Volnovakha and hastily leaves the city in the opposite direction from the line of contact.
    🇺🇦Two Su-24s of the Ukrainian Air Force were shot down near the villages of Smeloe and Stepovoye

14. From a Saker commentator:

    Military correspondent Kitten Z
    forwarded from Fisherman /Z/

    Video message from President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky
    Key quotes:
    ▪️Subversive forces of the RF Armed Forces entered Kiev.
    ▪️I stay in the capital with my people, my family is also in Ukraine.
    There is information that the enemy has designated me as target number
    1, and my family as target number 2.
    ▪️We were left alone. Nobody wants to fight for us. They don’t want to take us to NATO.
    ▪️We are not afraid of Russia, we are not afraid to talk with Russia,
    to talk about everything: security guarantees for our country and a
    neutral status (we are not in NATO now), but what kind of guarantees
    will we have.
    ▪️On the first day, 137 Ukrainian servicemen were killed, 316 were
    injured. All the defenders of the Serpent’s Island died and became
    Heroes of Ukraine posthumously.
    https://t.me/s/voenkorKotenok

    My note: This is one sad dude. He has zero future except maybe in exile in Europe if the Russians let him leave – which I doubt. Most likely he’s looking at a long prison term in Russia or suicide.

15. Just like 9/11 was blowback for decades of policy in the middle east that resulted in the deaths of millions of innocent people, this is blowback from decades of aggression against Russia and, ultimately, the U.S. backed overthrow of the democratically elected government of Ukraine in 2014. When will we ever learn?

    1. Cannot learn. System is not designed for learning. It is a nineteenth century system better geared for destructive reconstructioon. industrial revolution of cinstsntly chsnging tehnoligucal, glibal and technoligical private initiative, Times have changed cammungvfor a more structured econimic, scientific and technoligical environments and political unity needed for strstegic horiizin.
       We have nimiw gigantic corporations that are stepping into the institutionsl breeach, taking in the role of a state. Resulting mix — institutionsl inadequacy and corporate thinking with the grandeur syndrome — cannot check each other, but compete destructively. Reconstruction — ie learning cannot happen.
       This is a duopoly withi plutocracy.
       What would be the point of learnining.

       1. Hi Bianca:

          I think that in this instance the reference to “when will we ever learn” is more rhetorical or at least an open ended question…

       2. The US and NATO are trying to implement feudalism and Russia doesn’t feel like playing along.

    2. Shh, you’re not supposed to mention the coup. Or the 13,000 people in the Donbas killed in eight years of fighting.

16. The Telegram channel IntelSlava Z has live updates from Ukraine with video and still images.

17. Speaking of Moon of Alabama, as I did below, here is Bernhard’s post today:

    Disarming Ukraine – Day 1
    https://www.moonofalabama.org/2022/02/disarming-ukraine-day-1.html

    The plan seems to be to a. take Kiev, b. encircle the 60,000 strong Ukrainian force that was preparing to attack Donbas c. take the coast.

    A large fleet of helicopter with Russian parachuter took the Antonov /
    Hostomel airport some 20 miles from Kiev. They did not even bother with CNN filming them. A fleet of transport planes from Russia will soon land there and deliver more forces.

    The nuclear reactors at Chernobyl have been secured by Russian troops.

    The Russian Ministry of Defense claims Russian aircraft have destroyed, 83 ground targets, 2 Ukrainian Su-27s, 2 Su-24s, 1 helicopter, 4 Bayraktar TB-2 drones. One Ukrainian Su-27 has landed in Romania. The pilot was probably not interested in getting killed.

    The Ukrainian air-defenses, airforce, navy, most large command and
    control elements and depots have ceased to exist. The moral of its
    ground troops will be generally low though some of the Nazi battalions may still be willing to fight.

    It is not know yet how far the attack from the north has reached towards Kiev. The attack from Russian mainland is currently fighting around Kharkiv, the Ukraine’s second biggest city. The most successful attack was from Crimea as it has progressed significantly. The canal which provides water to Crimea and had since 2014 been blocked by the Ukraine has been liberated. Dnieper water is again flowing to the
    island.

    Russia has so far only committed a relatively small ground force.
    More troops will follow when the first echelons make more progress.
    Russia has held back from using ballistic missiles and only used cruise
    missiles. That is probably a message to the ‘west’ that Russia could
    escalate if needed. There has also been little use so far of Russia’s
    electronic warfare elements. Internet and telephone are working in all
    of the Ukraine except for Kharkiv which seems to have Internet problems.

18. After 8 Years Of War Russians Are Finally Here
    https://southfront.org/russians-are-finally-here/

    The Russian Armed Forces immediately conducted a massive strike with precision weapons on military and command infrastructure of the regime all across the country. The Ukrainian navy, air force and air defense forces were in fact put out of actions within a few hours. Military facilities near major Ukrainian cities of Mariupol, Berdyansk, Zaporojie, Dnepr, Kharkov, Sumy, Nikolaev, Kherson, Odessa, Zhytomyr, Lutsk, Ivano-Frankovsk and Chernigov have been destroyed. Some military facilities near Kiev, including the 72nd Center for Information and Psychological Operations of the Special Operations Forces, were also hit. The precise strikes on military infrastructure continue.

    At the same time, the Russians launched a ground phase of the
    operation advancing in the south and north-east of the territory
    controlled by Kiev. The most active actions took place in Kherson
    region, where Russian troops took control of Kakhovka Hydroelectric
    Station and Kharkov region where the Russian troops have started
    entering the provincial capital after brief clashes with Kiev forces.
    Additionally, Russian troops were spotted near the town of Putivl in
    Sumy Region.

    The Russian Defense Ministry reported that Ukrainian border guards
    did not show any resistance and many members of pro-Kiev formations have been laying down arms.

    Forces of the Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics launched their
    own advance. Such settlements as Schastye, Stanytsia Luhanska, and
    Lopaskino have now been liberated. Local sources claim that many UAF military formations have been pushed back from their positions. The staff of the 53rd Brigade is hastily withdrawing from the city of Volnovakha.

    Developments on the ground demonstrate that the command structure of Kiev forces were effectively neutralized as Ukrainian troops do not demonstrate effective resistance. In these conditions, the Kiev regime has already turned to the strategy of terrorist attacks on civilian infrastructure. According to reports, SBU operatives planted bombs in the Adveevka Coke and Chemical Plant. The special service probably plans to blow it up causing an ecological catastrophe in the region with the goal to blame Russia.

    In own turn, the Ukrainian Defense Ministry remains spreads own
    version of reality. It denied almost any setbacks and claimed that it
    delivered a powerful blow to the Russians. At least six Russian
    warplanes and two helicopters were downed according to these claims.

    The administration of President Zelensky shows little signs of
    understanding the reality. He claimed that he powerfully negotiates with Western leaders to ‘create an anti-Putin coalition’. Kiev has broken diplomatic ties with Russia, introduced martial law and declared mass mobilization. Nonetheless, it does not look like it will really help. The Kiev regime is in its final days.

19. Interesting how neither Biden nor the western press make a single reference to Russia’s two demands: keep Ukraine neutral and do not post offensive long-range weapons there. Same two demands he made directly to NATO leaders all along. He has offered to cease hostilities as soon as Kiev’s regime agrees. The real question is: how many civilians will Ukraine’s puppet leader be willing to sacrifice to stay on the happy side of his American handlers?

20. From a post at Moon:

    Igor Strelkov’s analysis of today’s action(s)
    Igor Strelkov’s summary of the first day of operations, published a few hours ago

    The offensive was completely unexpected and the missile strikes established immediate Russian air and naval dominance.

    There are four main theaters of ground operations.

    1. Southern Front: Russians launched an offensive north out of Crimea. There was a naval landing at Genichensk, and helicopter landings at Kherson and Novaya Kakhovka. The Ukrainian front collapsed immediately, and now the enemy’s army is not present in this area at all. Bridgeheads have been created across the Dnieper for further advances. Attempts by the Ukrainians to form a front are discouraged by airstrikes. Russians reached Melitopol during the night.

    The main strike groups will continue their offensive along the Dnieper, to the cities of Zaporozhye and Dnepropetrovsk, towards Nikolaev, and in the rear of the army group in Donbass.

    2. Donbass Front: The DPR is conducting a limited offensive towards Volnovakha, in order to threaten Mariupol and link up with the Southern Front. This has tied up thousands of Ukrainian troops.

    The LPR offensives across the river have no real strategic objective besides tying up the Ukrainian forces to prevent them from being sent to Kharkov, and to keep them pinned down and encircled. They will continue heavy combat tomorrow to prevent the enemy from withdrawing.

    3. The “Russian Front:” Sumy, Konotop, and almost the entire Sumy province were captured; the enemy either did not intend to resist, or had insufficient numbers. Progress is being made towarde Chernigov and Russian units continue to advance deeper and outflank the Ukrainians resisting at Kharkov. Russians cannot allow Kharkov to remain under enemy control, and battles will continue to capture it tomorrow.

    4. The Kiev Front: The airborne operation to capture the Gostomel airbase was a complete surprise to Ukrainian command. Now, these forces must link up with those crossing the border at Chernobyl, in order to prevent Ukrainian counterattacks. If the connection is made soon, the fate of Kiev is clear. [RSH Note: Now we see why they are at Chernobyl.]

    In general: Simultaneous attacks in many directions have made the Ukrainian forces the weaker sider on every front. Thousands of them are sitting in Odessa, far away from any battlefield. Thousands more are deployed on the Belarusian border and not seeing any combat.

    – Igor Strelkov

    For those who don’t remember the 2014 conflict:
    Igor Vsevolodovich Girkin, also known by the alias Igor Ivanovich Strelkov, is a Russian army veteran and former Federal Security Service officer who played a key role in the Annexation of Crimea by the Russian Federation, and later the War in Donbas as an organizer of the Donetsk People’s Republic’s militant groups.

21. How this is going to affect you at the gas pump:

    Gasoline Prices Are On The Rise And Biden’s Hands Are Tied
    https://oilprice.com/Energy/Energy-General/Gasoline-Prices-Are-On-The-Rise-And-Bidens-Hands-Are-Tied.html

    In a February 22 White House speech responding to Russia’s initial incursion into Eastern Ukraine, President Joe Biden assured the U.S. public that, “As we respond, my administration is using every tool at our disposal to protect [Americans] from rising prices at the pump.” But, the President didn’t detail exactly what any of those “tools” might be. That’s probably because he has precious few such tools at his disposal.

    Biden’s assurance echoed his promise made earlier in February to “work like the devil” to bring down high gas prices at the pump. Of course, he said that as part of an answer in which he also admitted, “I don’t know why they keep moving and all that.” Thus, the President promises to work hard to fix the problem, but admits to having little understanding of its causes.

    Unfortunately, secretaries of Energy and the Interior Department Jennifer Granholm and Deb Haaland have not made any serious proposals that could result in lower crude prices or higher domestic production either. Instead, Energy Secretary Granholm laughed when asked about the Biden Administration’s plan to increase oil production in the U.S.

22. Least they can do… 🙂

    Ukraine-Russia Latest Updates: U.S. Ready to Accept Ukrainian Refugees
    https://www.newsweek.com/ukraine-live-russia-updates-putin-war-summary-biden-zelensky-nato-2-24-22-1682148

    Ukraine Reportedly Won’t Allow Men Aged 18 to 60 to Leave Country
    Ukrainian men between 18 and 60 years old will reportedly not be allowed outside of the country due to martial law, according to a Lviv official.

    Head of Lviv regional customs Daniil Menshikov posted the “urgent” message on Facebook late Thursday.
    “An urgent message!! To the attention of citizens!! Due to the military state, men – citizens of Ukraine, aged 18 to 60 will not be released outside our state,” the post translates.
    “Please do not create panic and do not try to cross the border on your own! Victory is upon us! Glory to Ukraine!”

    “Victory is upon us!” LOL

23. Unusual Russian Navy Concentration Seen In Eastern Mediterranean
    https://www.navalnews.com/naval-news/2022/02/unusual-russian-navy-concentration-seen-in-eastern-mediterranean/

    Russia has reinforced its naval presence in the Mediterranean, much more than usual. This can be seen as an outer defense layer for naval operations in the Black Sea, off Ukraine. In particular, to deter NATO involvement, especially from the US and French aircraft carriers.

    At the same time that Russian Navy units supported the invasion of
    Ukraine, their major warships in the Mediterranean came together. Both of the Slava class cruisers presently there, plus escorts and support ships, were sailing in close formation. They appeared to be sailing to Tartus in Syria where Russia has a base.

    The unusual formation is clearly visible in European Space Agency’s
    (ESA) satellite imagery. An image, taken by the Sentinel 2 satellite at
    08:40 UTC today, shows 16 ships. At the exact same time information was flooding in about the opening attacks in the Ukraine invasion.

    The formation is only 0.9 miles (1.5 km) across and 1.7 miles (2.7
    km) long, meaning that all ships are within visual sight of each other.
    The ships were already within Syrian territorial waters and heading
    directly for the port of Tartus. This is Russia’s only overseas naval
    base. Here the vessels are operating under significant air cover and an
    air-defense umbrella from Russian bases in Syria.

24. Pepe Escobar weighs in – always the man to look to for context.

    From the Black Sea to the East Med, don’t poke The Russian Bear
    https://thecradle.co/Article/columns/7266

    The (nuclear) straw that (nearly) broke the Bear’s back – and forced it to pounce – was Comedian/Ukrainian President Volodymy Zelensky, back from the Russophobia-drenched Munich Security Conference where he was hailed like a Messiah, saying that the 1994 Budapest memorandum should be revised and Ukraine should be nuclear-rearmed.

    That would be the equivalent of a nuclear Mexico south of the Hegemon.

    Putin immediately turned Responsibility to Protect (R2P) upside down: an American construct invented to launch wars was retrofitted to stop a slow-motion genocide in Donbass…

    The Kremlin and the Russian Ministry of Defense were not bluffing. Timed to the end of Putin’s speech announcing the operation, the Russians decapitated with precision missiles everything that mattered in terms of the Ukrainian military in just one hour: Air force, navy, airfields, bridges, command and control centers, the whole Turkish Bayraktar drone fleet.

    And it was not only Russian raw power. It was the Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR) artillery that hit the Armed Forces of Ukraine headquarters in Donbass, which actually housed the entire Ukrainian military command. This means that the Ukrainian General Staff instantly lost control of all its troops.

    This was Shock and Awe against Iraq, 19 years ago, in reverse: not for conquest, not as a prelude for an invasion and occupation. The political-military leadership in Kiev did not even have time to declare war. They froze. Demoralized troops started deserting. Total defeat – in one hour.

    The water supply to Crimea was instantly re-established. Humanitarian corridors were set up for the deserters. Ukrainian forces remnants now include mostly surviving Azov batallion Nazis, mercenaries trained by the usual Blackwater/Academi suspects, and a bunch of Salafi-jihadis…

    So, one can always game the Russian military – for instance, imposing a no-fly zone in Syria to conduct a series of visits by Mr. Khinzal not only to the Turk-protected shady jihadist umbrella in Idlib but also the jihadists protected by the Americans in Al-Tanf base, near the Syria-Jordan border. After all, these specimens are all NATO proxies.

    The US government barks non-stop about “territorial sovereignty.” So let’s game the Kremlin asking the White House for a road map on getting out of Syria: after all the Americans are illegally occupying a section of Syrian territory and adding extra disaster to the Syrian economy by stealing their oil.

    NATO’s stultifying leader, Jens Stoltenberg, has announced the alliance is dusting off its “defense plans.” That may include little more than hiding behind their expensive Brussels desks. They are as inconsequential in the Black Sea as in the East Med – as the US remains quite vulnerable in Syria.

    There are now four Russian TU-22M3 strategic bombers in Russia’s Hmeimim base in Syria, each capable of carrying three S-32 anti-ship missiles that fly at supersonic Mach 4.3 with a range of 1,000 km. No Aegis system is able to handle them.

    Russia also has stationed a few Mig-31Ks in Syria’s coastal region in Latakia equipped with hypersonic Khinzals – more than enough to sink any kind of US surface group, including aircraft carriers, in the East Med. The US has no air defense mechanism whatsoever with even a minimal chance of intercepting them.

25. Andrei Raevsky (The Saker) weighs in:

    A few disjointed thoughts about the current military situation
    https://thesaker.is/a-few-disjointed-thoughts-about-the-current-military-situation/

    I parsed some info source and I can offer a few quick reactions to what is taking place. The operation is bigger than what I had predicted. However, I STILL don’t believe that Russia wants to invade the Ukraine.

    Let’s first see what Russia has already done using ONLY HER STANDOFF WEAPONS:
    The Ukrainian air defenses have ceased to exist
    The Ukrainian air force has ceased to exist
    The Ukrainian navy has ceased to exist
    The Ukrainian command and control are severely disrupted with many command posts destroyed
    All the military airfields in the Ukraine are now not operational
    Numerous supply dumps of ammo, petroleum and lubricants have been destroyed.
    Russia controls the entire Ukie airspace and all the Ukie coastal waters in the Black and Azov seas.

    Next, let’s see what LDNR and Russian forces are, apparently, doing right now:
    The LDNR forces have broken through the Ukie defenses in two locations and have penetrated 7-10km behind the LOC.
    These forces advanced with fire support from Russia
    The Ukie forces have built fortifications for 8 years, so the progress against the bulk of the Ukie ground forces is slow. HOWEVER
    It appears that the Russian have decided to encircle the entire Ukronazi force on the Donbass by a pincer movement from the north and south

    It is my opinion that Russia will encircle the Ukie forces, the entire Ukrainian force along the LOC and then wait for them to surrender thereby minimizing losses on both sides. In other words, the Russians are trying to lock the Ukies in an operational cauldron and basically remove these forces from the equation…

    Basically, this 08.08.08 on a much larger scale: move in, disarm, withdraw.

    My guesses (not more, it is waaaay too early to tell!) is that:
    The Ukie forces along the LOC will be surrounded and neutralized. Once that goal in achieved, most of the Ukrainian ground threat will simply disappear. True Nazis will be shot, the rest disarmed and sent home. Their weapons will go to the LDNR.
    LDNR and Russia forces will advance deep inside the Ukraine, but only to execute specific missions, after which they will be pulled back to the legal border of the LDNR (with a few exception possible for specific, local reasons).
    The Ukronazi leadership will run away and Kabul like scenes are possible. Some will be caught.

    The Nazi regime in Kiev will be regime changed to some other regime which will accept a Russian ceasefire and the opening of direct negotiations with both the LDNR and Russia. Eventually, a general ceasefire will be proclaimed.

    I still think that a NATO (Polish?) ground operation into the Lvov and Ivano-Frankovsk regions is likely. Officially to “protect our allies and friends” but in reality with two goals:
    Save face
    Establish a mini-Banderastan under Polish control in western Ukraine
    Feed the hyena of Europe

    The Kremlin might think otherwise, but I don’t have a problem with that as long as a semi-civilized and semi-sane regime is put in power in Kiev.

    There will be elections, of course, which nobody in the West will initially recognize. That’s fine. Nobody in Russia cares about Uncle Shmuel or his Eurorodents.

    Read the rest, it’s very good.

    1. The Faker, a Florida-residing Russian “patriot”, is an idiot and his commentary reflects that. He uses idiotic terms like ‘Uncle Shmuel’, ‘Eurorodents’ and ‘Anglozionist Empire’ and “predicts” that Russia will win every conflict it is involved in. The man is a joke.

       1. He’s been right so far and that’s all that matters. I don’t agree with some of his attitudes – his muscular Christianity, for one – but his military analyses are good and so is his geopolitical analyses.

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