Putin's Invasion of Ukraine

[Hydra009]

Freedom of Russia Legion Blows Up Six Gas Facilities in Moscow and Tver Regions

Resistance has been working overtime. I don't often cover them, but they burn down a lot of Russian locomotives, substations, etc. Every couple of days, there's something on fire. Plus, they often scout out Russian air defense and report back on Russian troop movements. This may not be as flashy as a HIMARS strike or a massive drone attack, but this also seriously harms Putin's war effort. Every disruption, every delay, every loss of secrecy, and every loss of important equipment contributes to the defeat of Russia under Putin and victory for Ukraine.

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Oh, I'm Sorry. Did I break your concentration?: Ukraine strikes Russian ships under construction

The agency said drones struck the Project 15310 cable-laying ships Volga and Vyatka, as well as the passenger and cargo ferry Petropavlovsk, which it said was 96% complete, causing large fires aboard the vessels.

The SBU said the Volga and Vyatka were being built for Russia’s defense ministry to deploy the Harmony underwater acoustic surveillance system for submarine reconnaissance.

96% complete. Big oof.

Someone had some fantastic intel, knew exactly where and when to hit to cause maximum hardship/frustration, and was able to wait till the perfect time. Ukraine does this often - for example, hitting refineries again just as they're about to go back online or hitting bridges right as they become congested.

They also hit the radar of a S-400 system. Without the radar, these air defense systems are useless.

[Hydra009]

The latest footage is wild.

There's a Russian civilian pouring vegetable oil into a car's fuel intake. I sincerely hope it's some act of sabotage, because no one in their right mind would intentionally do this to their own vehicle and expect it to work.

I looked it up, and if you put any sort of cooking oil into a gasoline vehicle, it's ruined. You can maybe do this with diesel and it's tricky and requires a modification kit, but some enthusiasts can indeed make it work, so it's possible. That said, this guy didn't strike me as an enthusiast or particularly science-minded, so chances of that are slim to none in this case. And generally the risk/reward ratio is not favorable. So chances are this guy just royally screwed up his own vehicle.

There are long lines for gasoline even in central and eastern Russia - far away from Ukraine - farther than even the most long-ranged Ukrainian drones could possibly hit. We're talking 5000km or more. This fuel crisis has spread even to areas that haven't been directly attacked. And of course, there are still long lines in Moscow region, Saratov region, Crimea, etc. Nothing has improved, in fact this crisis appears to be worsening by the day - both from direct Ukrainian actions and also by Russian panic-buying.

There are videos of Russians in despair about this filmed from the vehicles, which is certainly the go-to location for mentally unwell rants. One woman was in tears asking when this torture would end. This lady has had a couple of weeks, maybe a month of gasoline shortages and she's already at her limit. The Ukrainians have endured a lot more than that for years and the Ukrainians are pulling together and helping each other. The Russians gets the faintest whiff of the war they started and they fold like patio chairs in a moderate thunderstorm.

There are more videos of Russians being forcibly mobilized. Now that hurts me to watch because it's always heartbreaking to see loved ones physically separated without so much as a proper goodbye and no one there actually wants to fight in a war except the cruel mobilizer. This is one of those things that the Russians have either got to learn to physically resist or they run the risk of never seeing their loved ones again. The days of not needing to care about politics are over.

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I am not Spartacus: Guy who threatened mutiny walks back statements

Clearly contradicting his previous statements, he claimed he had not threatened a military mutiny, saying that if officers or soldiers wanted to stage a rebellion, they would do so quietly and not come to him and ask him to issue a warning.

He also appeared to withdraw his demand for an on-air meeting with Putin, but said he would try to make the Russian leader aware of the alleged abuse of soldiers who resist “suicidal” orders or refuse to pay their superiors bribes to avoid being sent into battle.

Boo. Disappointing.

But he did imply that if it were to happen, it would happen quietly, and it's somewhat quiet now...

Nothing ever happens until something happens, I guess. Regardless of this guy, the Russian military is getting frustrated and restless. There's only so many times they can fruitlessly go on assaults to the west without eventually heading east. Not today, but someday...

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There was a pretty funny video of a Russian guy attempting to "prove" that this gasoline shortage thing is overblown by driving to his local gas station and showing the world that there's not even a line. He attempts to fill up and nothing. No gasoline, no one else there. *Curb Your Enthusiasm end credits play*

[Hydra009]

Lots of news out of Ukraine. There is such a deluge of updates that it is steadily becoming almost impossible to adequately report it all or keep it all straight. Basically, a week's worth of events happens every day. So my updates are going to be increasingly incomplete. Apologies for that.

Ukraine strikes two Russian refineries in one day - Slavyansk oil refinery in Russia's Krasnodar Krai (east of Crimea) and the Yaroslavl oil refinery (western Russia)

The General Staff also said Ukrainian missiles struck three workshops at the Titan-Barrikady industrial complex in Volgograd, causing fires and partially damaging two of them.

Titan-Barrikady is a major Russian defense industry enterprise that manufactures missile launchers, artillery systems, and other military equipment.

Ukraine strikes Saky thermal power plant in Crimea

Ukraine strikes radar and three fuel-carrying trains in Crimea

Zelenskyy asked Belarus to take down relays and it seems that Belarus actually complied, deactivating them

These relays have helped Russia conduct bombardment campaigns on Ukrainian cities, primarily targeting civilians. So voluntarily stopping that is great news.

Latvia to build interceptor drone-producing facility in its territory in joint deal with Ukraine

I'm not super happy that the headlines all say "near Russian border" like the proximity alone should be taken as some sort of provocation (Latvia is not exactly a large country, so anywhere would be near the Russian border, but yes it is in the eastern region, which makes logical sense) and one site even says "NATO country prepares for Russian war with Ukraine drone plant deal". Whoa, there! We're just talking about interceptor drones. Purely defensive. And besides, Russian drones have already been flying through Lavian airspace for months. Just last month, two Russian drones crashed in Latvia. So who's really the aggressor in this situation?

During his visit to Latgale, Kulbergs said that security was the biggest issue the region faces, as he noted that without it, the area risks a decline in tourism and other sectors.

Yeah, I bet tourism has shrunk. No one wants to look out their window and see a drone slam into a nearby building, possibly killing people. Ideally, Russia would knock it off. But since they won't, Latvia has to take steps to protect itself, like beefing up air defense. That's a prudent defensive action, not warmongering. If you want to see a warmonger, tune in to Russia One.

Ukrainian forces eliminate Russian elite paratroopers in Zaporizhzhia region

Their mission was not combat-related: to seize the settlement and film a video for a report to Russia’s top leadership, in other words, to create propaganda footage.

That's a strange use of elite troops, so I am out of clue as to why the Russian brass would give this assignment to paratroopers. Your guess is as good as anyone's.

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I am not Spartacus: Guy who threatened mutiny walks back statements

Update: He's been arrested

He's not being sent to the gulag or anything, just 11 days detention, 15 tops.

My guess is that he's not going to fall out a window or anything, just held in custody for a while, gently persuaded not to say anything like that again, then returned to his home. He doesn't seem like a very serious threat, but definitely something that Putin wants to nip in the bud. This is what happens when you live in a dictatorship - you can't criticize your leaders or have any sort of say about policy.

[Hydra009]

Russia's fuel crisis worsens. There are lots of videos of people waiting in line for 12+ hours, sometimes over a day.

When do these people work? Because I can't imagine being able to fit something like that into my schedule. And having a significant chunk of your population queue for that long on a regular basis can't possibly be good for the economy. That's like covid but worse.

There are fights over fuel, there are resellers gobbling up as much as they can (a few places don't have limits, so one enterprising fellow filled up a truck full of containers, not quite sure how much gasoline he left with, but likely in the hundreds of gallons), now there's even counterfeit gasoline with a significantly lower octane rating causing a spate of check engine alerts.

There's is a bit of a silver lining for Russians - they still have two major refineries left untouched: Omsk refinery and Angarsk Petrochemical Company in the Irkutsk region. Those are still chugging along at 100%, preventing this crisis from becoming a true disaster. And they're both east of the Urals, out of range of Ukrainian drones, for now. Some Russians eventually do fill up their tanks, and I've seen a couple of videos of Russians filming their overjoyed reactions. Overjoyed to pay an arm and a leg for gasoline. We'll see how long that stays a happy thing.

Crimea is still under siege, but supplies are still coming in sporadically and Russia has been forced to resume using the Kerch bridge for fuel deliveries. Ukraine could hit the bridge, but there are still tons of civilians on and around it. It wouldn't be a great look. And after a period of being overly cautious, Russia is getting more and more used to using it for fuel. Maybe they get so used to it, they let their guard down and slip up just once...

[Cassia]

When do these people work?

That is what I used to say about this area when I was still working. I'd have a dentist appointment on a Tuesday at 2pm and see all these people just walking around, shopping, jogging, riding bikes, fishing, etc. Now I am one of them, LOL.