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Russian Invasion of Ukraine Russian Invasion of Ukraine

12-20-2023 , 09:59 PM
BATTLE CLIPS

1. Ukrainians storm trench and take a prisoner
2. Bradley fires on a position, then uses smoke to cover its retreat
3. Russian drone jamming station disguised as a tree
4. Half hour of footage from 47th after they were moved from Robotyne to Avdiivka


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1. "More wives of Russian soldiers begging the the Czar to at least allow their wounded or maimed husband to be hospitalized before going back on assault."
2. Meduza article "Wives of Russian draftees say the FSB is harassing their husbands on the front line"

Spoiler:


https://meduza.io/en/news/2023/12/20...the-front-line




1. 11 men receive military summons as they receive their citizenship
2. Nepal citizen talks about how he was scammed into joining the Russian military
3. Moldovan Prime Minister complains Russia is trying to recruit cannon fodder from Moldova

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1. BBC article on the misinformation repeated in congress about aid being used to buy yachts as well as Zelenskyy's wife using aid to buy expensive jewelry
2. Russian talking about how Finns are Nazis after they sign defence agreement with USA
3. Propagandist about how Putin's promised Leningrad Military District in response to Finland joining NATO should terrify Finns
4. Propagandists discussing how Finland's golden age is now over since their men and women will be raped by USA soldiers
5. Putin saying he never had problems with Finland, but does now that USA "dragged them into" NATO
6. GOOD READ Fortune magazine article "‘Parroting Putin’s propaganda’: The business exodus over Ukraine was no Russian bonanza" covers a lot about Russia's economy while addressing the misinformation in this article:

Quote:
Originally Posted by Bluegrassplayer
2. NYT article "How Putin Turned a Western Boycott Into a Bonanza" on Russia takeover of western companies

https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/...raine-war.html
7. Russian newspaper about returning to Soviet era
8. Ukraine is a territory of Russia and needs to be shut down
9. Roger Waters talking a lead Russian propagandist on their state TV
10. Oliver Stone struggling to believe there's proof that Putin has assassinated a journalist


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Reuters article "US Senate will not finish Ukraine, border deal this year"

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SANCTIONS

1. NYT article "Chinese Traders and Moroccan Ports: How Russia Flouts Global Tech Bans"
2. Reuters article "Exclusive: Turkey saves $2 billion on Russian oil as imports soar despite sanctions"


https://www.nytimes.com/2023/12/19/t...tech-bans.html
https://www.reuters.com/business/ene...ns-2023-12-18/









Atlantic Council article "2024 preview: The West must decide if it wants Ukraine to win"

Quote:
Had the US and its NATO allies committed themselves in spring 2022 to a Ukrainian victory, Ukraine would now possess a superior tank fleet, a capable air force, ample long range fires able to reach deep into the Russian rear, and breaching assets capable of solving the problem of dense minefields. In all likelihood, Ukraine’s recent counteroffensive would have succeeded in turning the tide decisively in Ukraine’s favor. No NATO soldiers would have had to enter the fight, and at a small fraction of NATO defense budgets, the Russian military threat could have been neutered for a generation. Most importantly of all, the prospects for escalation and a direct confrontation between Russia and NATO would have been dramatically reduced.
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RUSSIAN WAR CRIMES

1. Children who returned to Ukraine discuss kidnapping and torture by Russians
2. Russia has begun dropping anti-riot gas, banned by United Nations' Chemical Weapons Convention, on Ukrainians
3. Human Rights Watch article "Russia Forces Ukrainians in Occupied Areas into Military"
4. Russians destroying Ukrainian books to rewrite history


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https://www.businessinsider.com/ukra...es-2023-12?amp











Putin's former advisor says the invasion was a mistake, Putin probably believes this too, and 700k dead


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Russian Invasion of Ukraine Quote
12-22-2023 , 01:22 AM
1. Anders Puck Nielsen on the "meat wave" attacks:
2. Interesting to watch the first 2 minutes of this clip while taking into account the first video:

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RUSSIAN SANCTIONS AND ECONOMY

1. Russian newspaper reports that the Russian economic growth is due to military spending, and not actual growth, Chinese cars flood the economy, wage rises are ended, and tough times are ahead
2. 8 tankers are stalled, holding 5 million barrels of oil, due to sanctions
3. GREAT READ A look at Russia's 2023 after new inofmration came out in December. Looks at impact of a weak rouble, sanctions, oil trade, defense spending, secret spending and more
4. 20 minute video on Russia cutting back oil production again, even as prices fall, OPEC's problems with impacting the oil prices due to non OPEC companies


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RUSSIAN WAR CRIMES AND HUMAN RIGHTS OFFENSES

1. The Guardian article "‘It’s the time you’re meant to be with your family’: the continuing plight of Ukrainian PoWs" about families waiting to hear about their loved ones and torture Ukrainian POWs suffer

Quote:
There is a paradox for the waiting family members: they are desperate to raise attention about the plight of their loved ones, but are also aware that if any individual hostage becomes a cause celebre, their “exchange value” rises, and Russia may demand more to return them. The Natalias declined to give their surnames.
2. Masked police drag school teacher off for singing Ukrainian song in school


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RUSSIAN PROPAGANDA

1. 16 page report on Russia's "narrative laundering" technique to conceal the original source of misinformation, and a look at DC Weekly, a Russian propaganda site run by an ex US marine (report PDF is at the top)
2. France24 article "No, Ukraine's Zelensky did not buy a lavish mansion in Florida" showing a short video on this misinformation
3. The "highly acclaimed" journalist who wrote about Zelenskyy's yacht purchases is fake
4. 'Since 24 February 2022, Russian state news agency RIA Novosti has published the sentence "Russia is exclusively striking military infrastructure" 11,628 times'
5. Kremlin propagandist argues that mothers who are angry about their sons treatment in the military are malicious organizations and if a country has enough migrants in Russia then Russia has the right to take over that country, no one will dare to stop Russia after have a parade in Kyiv

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COMPENSATION

1. NYT article "U.S. and Europe Eye Russian Assets to Aid Ukraine as Funding Dries Up" Covers a bunch of stuff like why Putin didn't pull these funds out before the invasion, dilemma on whether it could be used for arming Ukraine, whether there is precedence, and why some are reluctant to open this can of worms
2. FT article "The legal case for seizing Russia’s assets" focuses on where the funds are, legal grounds for this, and what different countries are proposing



https://www.nytimes.com/2023/12/21/u...s-ukraine.html
https://www.ft.com/content/adb09fd6-...4-806814b4c9b4
Russian Invasion of Ukraine Quote
12-24-2023 , 12:44 AM
BATTLE CLIPS

1, Another huge explosions from TOS 1A
2. Large Russian assault in snow

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UKRAINE RECRUITMENT

1. BBC article "Ukraine war: Male citizens living abroad to be asked to join army"
2. Reuters article "Ukraine's citizen army struggles with a hidden enemy: combat stress"


https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-67787173.amp
https://www.reuters.com/world/europe...ss-2023-12-20/





DNIPRO

1. Ukraine claims is shot down 3 Russian su-34 bombers that were attacking the bridgehead at Krynky
2. Zelenskyy on shooting down the 3 bombers
3. Early analysis
4. No bombings in this area the day after

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1. Zelenskyy on initial F16 delivery
2. Russia claims they are already in Ukraine (some conspiracy theories that F16s destroyed the 3 Russian bombers, which is totally ridiculous)

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FT article "US threatens sanctions on banks that help fund Russia’s war machine"

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Long WSJ article on Patrushev, who warned Putin about Prig's growing influence, and planned Prig's assassination. Gets into a lot of how he became one of Putin's main advisors

Quote:
Patrushev, 72, sees Russia locked in a struggle with the U.S., which he has said wants to steal Russia’s oil and minerals. He salts conspiracy theories into speeches and interviews. Earlier this year, he told Russia’s Izvestia newspaper that the U.S. is plotting to take over Russia because a massive volcanic eruption in Wyoming could soon make it uninhabitable.
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Hour long CSIS talk about the state of the war and where it's headed in 2024

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Russian Invasion of Ukraine Quote
12-25-2023 , 07:19 PM
BATTLE CLIPS


1. GRAPHIC 1 Ukrainian against 6 Russians in close combat until a drone comes to help
2. "Video of an unsuccessful assault by Russia’s 155th Naval Infantry Brigade on Novomikhailovka with BMP-3 and an MT-LB. The naval infantrymen dismount after their BMP-3 hits a mine. They would retreat after coming under mortar + SAF."
3. Failed Russian assault
4. Construction of Ukrainian fortifications


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DNIPRO


1. Geolocated videos around Krynky, read comments for the key
2. Analysis of the bridgehead
3. Anders Puck Nielsen on the 3 lost bombers here as well as other recent aircraft losses (He actually suggests that this could be F16s, which would be surprising imo)


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UKRAINIAN CORRUPTION

Head of a department for Ukraine's MoD is arrested over pocketing money after purchasing artillery shells for too much:


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EU

1. Guardian article "West must rearm in the face of Russian threat, urges Poland’s foreign minister"
2. FT article "Viktor Orbán vows to stand firm against EU funding for Ukraine"
3. Finland proposes a Plan B to get funding to Ukraine



Quote:
He also claimed he had only agreed to allow the EU to start accession talks with Ukraine because fellow heads of state reminded him at the summit that Hungary had dozens of future opportunities to block Ukraine’s path to membership.

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https://www.ft.com/content/14574bd9-...7-74388b62c750






WAR CRIMES

Russia targets third humanitarian aid station near Kherson

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RUSSIAN PROPAGANDA

1. Russia spreading fake info about downed F16s
2. Russian propagandist poisoned
3. A sample of his work where he suggest Ukrainian grannies want to be raped by Russian soldiers and Russians should drown Ukrainian children
4. another Russian propaganda video uses Ukraine footage

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Russian Invasion of Ukraine Quote
12-26-2023 , 11:04 PM
CRIMEA

1. Large explosions in Crimea
2. Satellite imagery Ukraine claims shows that another Black Sea Fleet ship has been sunk
3. Different view of the explosion
4. UK Secretary of State for Defence on the importance
5. Hodges arguing for increased aid because of this
6. Chart showing Russia's Black Sea Fleet losses

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NATO

1. Turkey apparently allowing Sweden into NATO

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EU

1. FT article "EU readies €20bn plan B to fund Ukraine"

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Russian Invasion of Ukraine Quote
12-28-2023 , 04:41 PM
BATTLE CLIPS

1. Russian tank with anti-UAV screen
2. Bradley 25mm
3. Russian FPV strikes at night using night optics


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RUSSIAN ECONOMY

1. Reuters article "Payment woes delay supply of Russian Sokol oil to India -sources"
2. Reuters article "Russia splashes $12 billion to keep aviation sector in the air"


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https://www.reuters.com/business/ene...es-2023-12-26/






FROZEN FUNDS

FT article "Washington puts forward G7 plan to confiscate $300bn in Russian assets"

Quote:
The US, backed by the UK, Japan and Canada, has proposed moving forward with the preparatory work so the options would be ready for a potential meeting of G7 leaders around February 24, the date of Vladimir Putin’s 2022 offensive on Kyiv.

The three working groups proposed by Washington would examine the legal issues around confiscation; the method of applying such a policy and mitigating risks; and options for how to best channel the support to Ukraine.

Germany, France, Italy and the EU have expressed some reservations, and the need to carefully assess the legality of confiscating Moscow’s assets before decisions are taken. Several European ministers also stressed the need to maintain high levels of secrecy over the work, according to accounts of the meeting.

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1. Russian media shows the "liberation" of Maryinka, a now completely destroyed town, and compare it to conquering Berlin during WW2:
2. "Meanwhile, Russia has already issued a postmark dedicated to the “liberated” city of Marinka. A postmark for a city that they themselves razed to the ground."

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Russian Invasion of Ukraine Quote
12-29-2023 , 08:22 PM
RUSSIA'S WINTER STRIKE

1. Russia fired 158 missiles at Ukraine who knocked down 114 of them. A breakdown of what exactly was fired is in the comments
2. Zelenskyy on Russia's large attack across Ukraine
3. Another video from Zelenskyy
4. Biden's statement about the attack
5. Pic of the maternity ward
6. Video from a high rise
7. Shopping Center that was hit
8. USA ambassador to Ukraine shows the air raid alerts from a phone
9. Explosions in Kyiv
10. At least 30 killed and 160 injured
11. Video from the ground of some of the destruction
12. Ukrainian talks about what they do when the strikes are happening
13. Another
14. Another
15. After being attacked for their articles on Ukraine giving concessions to Russia, NYT does not feature the attack
16. Russian propagandist on the strikes, claiming they were striking NATO bases and other military targets


1-6
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https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-...lt-on-ukraine/




7-11

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12-16
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Russian Invasion of Ukraine Quote
12-31-2023 , 09:09 PM
STRIKES IN RUSSIA

1. Explosions in Bryansk and Belgorod
2. Footage from Russia telegram channels
3. Bryansk microelectronics factory allegedly hit
4. BBC article "Ukraine war: Kremlin says 20 dead after attack on Russian city" covers the accusations from both sides regarding the dead civilians
5. UK response to Russia complaining about strikes in Belgorod


Quote:
Russia is attempting to draw equivalence, but let’s be absolutely clear: there are hundreds of thousands of Russian soldiers in Ukraine. There is not a single Ukrainian soldier in Russia. The war in Ukraine is an invasion started by Russia – a fact that no amount of disinformation can obscure.

President, first Russia blamed Ukraine for these strikes. Then it tried to demand Czechia appear before the Council. Now the Russian ambassador is blaming the UK, the US and the EU.

If Russia wants someone to blame for the deaths of Russians in this war, it should start with President Putin. President Putin is responsible for sending many thousands of Russian servicemen and women to their needless deaths.
6. NYT article "Ukraine, Stalled on the Front, Steps Up Sabotage, Targeting Trains"

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https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-67847463

https://www.nytimes.com/2023/12/31/w...-sabotage.html





ASSASSINATIONS

1. Ally of Putin falls from window
2. Russian "Egg King" survives assassination attempt

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RUSSIAN PROPAGANDA

1. GOOD READ EU vs Disinfo on common Russian propaganda during 2023
2. Propagandist suggests that due to rising price of eggs people are switching to beef which is more expensive (5 minutes long, but the entire segment is actually very good)
3. Russian propaganda video from 2021 lays out plan for attacking Baltic states in NATO which is exactly the strategy that Russia employed in the Donbas in 2014
4. Medvedev announces several Ukrainian cities are Russian and Ukraine needs a regime change
5. The Diplomat article "China and Russia Are Trying to Stack the Deck in 2024 Elections"
6. CNN article "‘Almost naked’ celebrity party at Moscow nightclub sparks fierce backlash"

Quote:
A host of Russian celebrities who turned up scantily clad at an “almost naked” themed party in Moscow are facing fierce backlash at a time when the country is at war in Ukraine and the authorities are pushing an increasingly conservative agenda.


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https://thediplomat.com/2023/12/chin...ctions-abroad/

https://edition.cnn.com/2023/12/28/e...ntl/index.html




RUSSIAN ECONOMY

GREAT READ CREA article "November 2023 — Monthly analysis on Russian fossil fuel exports and sanctions"



https://energyandcleanair.org/novemb...and-sanctions/








RUSSIANS AGAINST THE WAR

1. The Guardian article "Moscow court hands long jail terms to two men for reciting poetry"
2. WAPO article "Russia’s military wives emerge as wild card to Putin’s triumphal mood"

Quote:
Russian authorities have sent agents of the Federal Security Service, or FSB, to question soldiers whose wives are involved, according to an increasingly strident Telegram group, “The Way Home,” which is leading the campaign to bring men home. Military officers have threatened to send soldiers into front-line assault operations, unless they silence their wives, it reports.

“Your methods are very dirty. You are trying to calm our anger by putting pressure on our relatives. Keep in mind that we can lose them at any moment. You are playing with their lives and ours,” according to a Dec. 19 post on the channel. “These are the obvious methods of cowards and rats.”

A day earlier, the channel urged Putin to end the war “or go to the front yourself and die.”

3. Reuters article "Anti-war candidate barred from running against Putin lodges appeal"




https://www.theguardian.com/world/20...eciting-poetry
https://www.washingtonpost.com/world...in-reelection/
https://www.reuters.com/world/europe...al-2023-12-26/








RUSSIAN WAR CRIMES

AP article "Russia covered up and undercounted true human cost of floodings after dam explosion, AP investigation finds"

Quote:
Over six months since the catastrophic explosion that destroyed the Kakhovka Dam in the southern Kherson region, an AP investigation has found Russian occupation authorities vastly and deliberately undercounted the dead in one of the most devastating chapters of the 22-month war. Russian authorities took control of the issuance of death certificates, immediately removing bodies not claimed by family, and preventing local health workers and volunteers from dealing with the dead, threatening them when they defied orders.

https://apnews.com/article/russia-uk...91548794f03a3c









NYT article "President Biden: What America Will and Will Not Do in Ukraine" where he says he is not pressuring Ukraine to sign a peace deal, contrary to reports from anonymous sources


https://www.nytimes.com/2022/05/31/o...-strategy.html
Russian Invasion of Ukraine Quote
01-02-2024 , 10:48 AM
RUSSIA'S WINTER STRIKE

1. Missile is struck and falls into water (can see how even a struck missile still kills
2. Breakdown of types of missiles fired and which were neutralized
3. Zelenskyy on today's attack
4. Ukraine's Minister of Foreign Affairs on Russia's massive missile strike today
5. another assessment of the strike


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CASUALTIES

1. GREAT READ BBC Russia article "The Year of the “Meatgrinder”. What we know about Russia’s war losses in 2023" about the importance of Prig's strategy to use convicts, the importance of Russia's mobilization, and their overall strategy of who becomes cannon fodder (If the article is too long, then at least scroll down and take a look at the very informative graph)

Quote:
The main trend of 2023 is a sharp increase in losses among those mobilised from the civilian population. Two-thirds of those killed in action that we identified this year were not associated with the army before the start of the invasion — they had been volunteers, conscripts, prisoners, or 'rookies' in private military companies.
Quote:
Last year, the typical military death confirmed by the BBC, was around 21 years of age and usually a contracted soldier. More often than not, they were paratroopers, motorised infantry, or marines.

This year, the typical Russian soldier killed in Ukraine is a 34-year-old convict who went straight to the front from prison. Moreover, if last year the majority of convicts were recruited by the mercenary group "Wagner," recruitment since February this year has been exclusively handled by the Ministry of Defence.

Western analysts believe that the significance of units formed from convicts will gradually diminish. This year, however, convicts fighting as part of the "Wagner" group played a crucial role in capturing the town of Bakhmut, while "Storm Z" units were instrumental in Russia's offensive near the towns of Rabotino (Zaporizhia region) and Avdiivka (Donetsk region).

Paratroopers and special forces troops who survived the first year of the war are now being kept safe by the military command. They're being used to hold defensive positions or in sniper operations. Valuable specialists are now sent into the attack only when conditions are favourable, experts have noted.

Quote:
In terms of an absolute numbers of casualties, the leading regions are Krasnodar Krai, Sverdlovsk Oblast, Bashkortostan, and Chelyabinsk Oblast. However, if we adjust the data based on the density of the male population in each region, the list changes: for residents of Tuva and Buryatia, the likelihood of being killed in the war in Ukraine this year was 30-40 times higher than for those living in Moscow.

Quote:
The recruitment scheme is painfully simple. People in uniform visit migrants in detention and propose a deal: deportation from Russia can be cancelled, but in exchange they must "do a little work for the government."

Many cannot properly read the documents they're asked to sign because they are written in Russian. The officials lay out the terms simply: a year’s work in exchange for good pay, medical provision, the right to stay in Russia after the contract ends, and even the possibility of reuniting with their families.

"We asked what kind of work it would be, and they said it would be simple and good," one migrant told the BBC after he was approached to join the war this way. After signing the paperwork, he found himself in a field camp at the border with Ukraine under military guard.

2. 30 minute BBC video on the Russia's elite "Black Berets" who were wiped out in a poorly executed attempt to take Vuhledar
3. UK MOD says average daily losses for Russia increased by 300 for 2023


Spoiler:

https://bbcrussian.substack.com/p/ru...n-ukraine-2023













BLACK SEA

1. Analysis of Russian sources on the most recent ship sunk by a Storm Shadow
2. Civilian vessel hits Russian mine in Black Sea
3. USA ambassador to Ukraine on the amount of exports through the Black Sea


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PEACE TALKS

1. Long thread on the difference between Russia wanting "negotiations" and Russia wanting "to negotiate"
2. ISW on Russian rhetoric clearly indicating they are not willing to negotiate
3. ISW on the recent massive attack on Ukraine indicating that their goals remain unchanged


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WAR CRIMES

1. ISW on Russia deploying a Ukrainian POW battalion
2. NYT article "UKRAINE’S STOLEN CHILDREN"

Quote:
The deported children underwent the same treatment. Lessons were in Russian. Children had to sing the Russian national anthem at assembly. They were shown Russian films, taught Russian history and told to forget their Ukrainian nationality. Children and their families were offered passports, money and apartments to stay in Russia or Russian-controlled Crimea.

The indoctrination included a constant repetition of the Russian line and a mixture of promises and scare tactics. The children were told that they would face reprisals back in Ukraine for going to the Russian side, that everything was bombed and destroyed anyway and even that their parents did not want them.

Quote:
Serhii interrupted her. “Nothing was imposed on me,” he said. The two were staying in the home of the chief executive of Save Ukraine, a charity that had helped with their return, until a more permanent solution could be worked out.

Serhii repeated Russian tropes that he had evidently heard during his nine months in Russia, correcting a mention of the war, to use the propaganda phrasing enforced in Russia. “But it’s not a war, it’s a special operation,” he said.

“I found out that he was told it was bad in Ukraine, that everyone there are Nazis, ‘khokhols,’” Kseniia said, using a derogatory term Russians use to describe Ukrainians.

“But we are khokhols,” Serhii replied.

Quote:
In the camps, Ukrainian children wear uniforms and undergo semi-military training, raising concerns that Russia was planning to use them as foot soldiers in Ukraine.
Quote:
Anastasiia and Kseniia Honcharova, sisters, spent more than seven months at several camps in southern Russia. Anastasiia barely spoke, her eyes locked in a distant stare, while Kseniia described their time there. Anastasiia was 11 and Kseniia 10.

“Tell them,” her mother encouraged Anastasiia. “You were the one who cried the most on the phone.”

But it was too much for Anastasiia. She left the room without a word and came back cuddling one of the family’s pet dogs.


3. GREAT READ Full translation of the interview with ex-GRU officer, ex-Wagner, involved in the various war crimes in Donbas in 2014


Quote:
In February 2014, the Revolution of Dignity was happening in Kyiv. [Russian media] presented it as a witch’s sabbath. I contacted my long-time friend in the field, a public figure appearing on TV who was invited to give interviews everywhere, because private military companies were discussed in media since 2007 when there was a Kremlin order to study them.
Quote:
Utkin was called in given an offer. Knowing him, he didn’t need to be blackmailed, he agreed: this was his line of work. But some were indeed blackmailed and had second thoughts but ended up there in such a spectrum on the edge. A group was formed, there were about 30-40 people who entered Luhansk, and their main task was to crush the units that were defending the airport.

At that time, both in Donetsk and Luhansk, the [Ukrainian] special forces remained in these key [airfields], which provided air logistics. Capturing them was significant in every respect, in military and political terms. And Utkin successfully coped with this, especially while decisions on who would be the military commander of this structure had not been made.
Quote:
Throughout this period, the FSB and counterintelligence were managing numerous operational aspects on the Donetsk side, while the GRU conducted similar functions on the Luhansk side. Putin’s aide Surkov supervised through the FSB line, with the orthodox oligarch Malofeev, who funded Borodai.

Our first major operation was providing armed support for the “referendum,” followed by the founding of the so-called DNR.

My first entry into Donetsk was to support the referendum by force. The second time I entered as the commander of a reconnaissance unit to prevent the Ukrainian-Russian border along the Mius river from being cut off.




On the DNR and LNR which Russia claims they were not involved in forming:

Quote:
The military structure handled operations, while the special services remained curators. In training camps, officer groups resolved all issues – equipment, ammunition, supplies, communication procedures, primary and secondary tasks. We had contact agents and avoided others. There was a lepton, a laptop with secret communication, which connected directly to the operational department that supervised our tasks.


On the battle at Donetsk airport:

Quote:
The initial attempt was to simulate acting forces as supposedly Ukrainian with Ukrainian weapons, without direct Russian invasion from the Russian special services, soldiers, officers, mercenaries. Everything was disguised as rebel patriot self-defense groups opposing Euromaidan who expressed their civil position, took up arms found locally in response to Ukrainian government pressure and the ATO [anti-terrorist operation] declaration. It was like that the people, having the right to revolt, took up arms which they scavenged in warehouses, in mines, etc. But this obscured the real supply line (“Voentorg”) opened from Russia transporting equipment unavailable in Ukraine.



Quote:
The authorities thought about their [bank] accounts, they thought [the West’s anger] would pass quickly, the West would wipe itself again and that the frog had to be boiled slowly. Therefore, they decided: now we will not anger the elder brother [the West], look, we’re conceding, so don’t block anything please; they portrayed the separatist movement as a local uprising by residents rebelling against the new Kyiv government. Foreign Minister Lavrov [skillfully framed Russia’s role as non-involvement in the conflict]. And then Minsk-2 appeared, such a harmful thing.

After over a year fighting to purportedly “liberate” the Donbas region, I came to realize that there [is nothing] to liberate and it is unclear who we were liberating. The local population was being used as pawns by outside forces. The situation on the ground grew increasingly tragic, though the crisis had not yet escalated to a global scale.







Spoiler:



https://euromaidanpress.com/2023/12/...tion/?swcfpc=1
Russian Invasion of Ukraine Quote
01-03-2024 , 04:11 AM
BATTLE CLIPS AND ANALYSIS

1. Ukrainian tanks firing on Russian positions from close position
2. ATGM hits tank
3. Bradley attacking a treeline
4. Forbes article "Killing Russians By The Truckload Around Avdiivka, Ukraine’s M-2 Fighting Vehicles Are Showing How Russia Loses—And Ukraine Wins" (Mostly about Avdiivka but discusses how Bradley are used too)
5. Russia brags about new counterbattery system which can detect incoming artillery strikes then has it destroyed hours later
6. Analysis at the type of intel gained from intercepting Russian missiles

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STRIKES INSIDE RUSSIA

1. Hangar with fuel burning in Moscow
2. More explosions in Belgorod

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SANCTIONS

1. Germany signs gas deal with Norway, essentially completely cutting out Russia for years
2. FT article "China’s advanced machine tool exports to Russia soar after Ukraine invasion"
3. A look at 3000 components in Russian drones and missiles reveals only 14 come from Russia, they rest come from other countries
4. Chinese exports of transportation equipment up 800% since the start of the war
5. Kyiv Independent article "Kyrgyzstan's trade is booming as Russia masters sanctions circumvention"

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SOLDIERS SPEAKING

1.Russian soldiers discussing how their commander threatened to kill them if he was not paid after learning they would be paid by the state for being wounded in combat
2. Russian soldier at the Dnipro discussing the situation there


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RUSSIAN ESPIONAGE

1. Guardian article "Tory blushes deepen over activities of Conservative Friends of Russia" looking at how a spy was wooing British politicians in 2012
2. WAPO article "Russia is working to subvert French support for Ukraine, documents show"

Quote:
The documents show that troll farms created by the Kremlin political strategists produced and published social media content and articles critical of Western support for Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s government. One note written by one of the strategists in June 2023 directed a troll farm employee to create a “200-character comment by a middle-aged French person” who considers Europe’s support for Ukraine to be “a stupid adventure.” The fictional French person was also supposed to argue that support for Ukraine is turning into “inflation … and falling living standards.”

Asked about the documents, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said they sounded like “no more than the latest fake or total rubbish,” partly because Kiriyenko focuses on domestic politics and partly because “it is clear to all analysts” that “the whole of Europe is suffering” from sanctions on Russia “and there doesn’t need to be any promotion of this.”
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NATO

GREAT READ "New Year’s Speech by President of the Republic of Finland Sauli Niinistö on 1 January 2024"

Quote:
Russia is never as strong as she looks; Russia is never as weak as she looks. This phrase, presented in many forms over time, holds a grain of truth.

At first, Russia was supposed to defeat Ukraine within a few weeks. It did not go that way. The bravery shown by the Ukrainians repelled the attack.

Then it was believed that the Russian economy and military capacity would collapse. It did not go that way either. Full-scale war still continues, nearing its second anniversary.

Now Russia is regaining some of her self-esteem.

There have been concerns over the continuation of the assistance given to Ukraine. In my opinion, in this matter it is not so much a question of lack of will or weariness. A more serious issue is ensuring the capacity to provide long-term assistance, availability of sufficient resources.

Europe must wake up. We do not need investments in military production solely to provide necessary assistance. It is needed as a means to convince that Europe is strong.

Strong not to wage wars but to secure peace.

Spoiler:






MILITARY AID

Euromaidan Press article "With billions invested, Ukraine-EU defense cooperation gains momentum" on the evolution of military aid sent to Ukraine and where it is heading


Spoiler:


Russian Invasion of Ukraine Quote
01-03-2024 , 09:58 PM
BATTLE CLIPS AND ANALYSIS

1. Large explosion of a Russian mortar system
2. GRAPHIC (bottom left video)Ukraine repels columns near Kharkiv with artillery and cluster munitions
3. Drone strike against Russian soldiers standing near stopped tanks
4. Impact of quadcopters in Ukraine
5. Pics of a portable EW kit
6. Russian artillery strikes
7. GREAT WATCH Video with translations showing how a Russian armored column is destroyed


Spoiler:













NATO

1. Plans for a Nato-Ukraine council meeting to discuss the recent air strike campaign by Russia
2. NATO Support and Procurement Agency (NSPA) on acquiring up to 1000 Patriot missiles to defend Ukraine


Spoiler:




https://www.nspa.nato.int/news/2024/...triot-missiles







MILITARY AID


1. WSJ article on Biden's choice to limit Ukraine's strike capabilities
2. Hodges on the importance of ATACMS and Taurus
3. Foreign Correspondant for The Economist pointing out how Germany's argument that they won't provide Taurus missiles because "They wouldn't be a game changer" makes 0 sense
4. German parliament member saying Taurus are not provided because they would be too effective
5. Forbes article arguing to cut corners with production and make 155mm shells less effective in order to produce more
6. Reuters article on EU falling short of the 1 million promised shells for Ukraine
7. Defense One article on why USA has been able to up production of shells so much quicker than EU

Quote:
Nor are European countries likely willing to cede the control and band together to create one supranational organization for munitions production said Nick Witney, who served as the first chief executive of the EU’s European Defence Agency.

Countries will argue that “It’s an issue of democratic accountability over how national defense budgets are spent,” Witney said. “A lot of the time, it’s really an issue of protectionism, vested interest, and inertia.”
Spoiler:






https://www.forbes.com/sites/craigho...h=2c7b831b6c08
https://www.reuters.com/world/europe...es-2023-12-06/
https://www.defenseone.com/business/...esults/392288/




1. Zelenskyy on the largest prisoner exchange (I think) since the start of the war with 230 civilians and military
2. Breakdown of which Ukrainians were freed


Spoiler:



Russian Invasion of Ukraine Quote
01-05-2024 , 01:42 AM
BATTLE CLIPS


GRAPHIC Air burst FPV drone

Spoiler:










R Politik report on Ukraine for 2023 and predictions for 2024. 24 pages, summary on page 3 is worth reading if that's too much

https://rpolitik.com/wp-content/uplo...2-130-2023.pdf













Overview of the various fronts and what is likely to happen in 2024


Spoiler:

















RUSSIA'S WINTER STRIKE

1. UK MOD on number of missiles used and targets
2. Russian cruise missile hits a Russian village
3. Russian propagandist calls Ukrainians for the strike before realizing it was a Russian missile

Spoiler:








STRIKES INSIDE RUSSIA

1. Belgorod citizens complaining that bomb shelters are locked
2. Maria Avdeeva on the strikes killing civilians

Spoiler:









RUSSIAN ELECTION

Yekaterina Duntsova, disqualified from running for president, gives a New Year address asking Russians to reclaim their agency

Spoiler:








COMPENSATION

GREAT LISTEN 20 minutes on legality of seizing and dispersing the 300 billion seized from Russia

Spoiler:








CASUALTIES

18 year old Russian soldier killed, wearing a neo-Nazi symbol. A look at Russia loosening requirements for joining the military/mobilization and allowing younger people to join


Spoiler:





NORTH KOREA AND IRAN

1. John Kirby says N Korean ballistic missiles have been fired
2. Map where it was launched
3. WSJ article "Russia Moves Forward With Plans to Buy Iranian Ballistic Missiles"


Spoiler:








RECRUITMENT

1. Ukraine claims Putin's political party has formed its own PMC consisting of"ultras"
2. Ukraine claims Russia is no longer giving leave to injured Russians as they desert too often

Spoiler:



Russian Invasion of Ukraine Quote
01-06-2024 , 10:53 PM
MILITARY AID

1. WSJ graph showing artillery fires during the counteroffensive and now
2. French journalist claims The West is scared of Russian collapse after a strategic defeat and the goal was to stalemate
3. NYT article on the high cost of Patriot missiles and how Ukraine is running out

Spoiler:




https://www.nytimes.com/2024/01/06/w...triots-us.html






ISW on potential for Russia renewing attempts to take Kupyansk


Spoiler:









RUSSIA'S WINTER STRIKE

Anders Puck Nielsen on Russia's strategy this year, why so many missiles hit civilian targets, and what Russia is attempting to accomplish


Spoiler:







STRIKES INSIDE RUSSIA

BBC article "Ukraine war: Russians find no shelter in border city of Belgorod": air raid sirens began 30 minutes into the attack, air raid shelters were locked. At start of the war the air raid shelters were hidden from the population so Ukraine wouldn't strike them


https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-67880239




RECRUITMENT


1. A look at the issues regarding mobilization in Ukraine: rich being exempt, lack of money to increase wages, politicians less likely to be mobilized
2. Reuters article "Nepal halts work permits for Russia, Ukraine after soldiers killed"
3. UK MOD on Moscow Government Security Force, a new paramilitary in response to Wagner's march on Moscow
4. NYT article "To Bolster Russia’s Army, Putin Eases Citizenship Path for Foreign Fighters"

Quote:
Last month, Mr. Putin said that 486,000 new recruits had joined the army in 2023 and that 1,500 a day were signing contracts. He also ordered an expansion of the army’s ranks by 170,000, to 1.32 million — the second such increase since the February 2022 invasion of Ukraine.

A new round of mobilization would be highly unpopular among the Russian public, polls have suggested, so the Kremlin has been going to great lengths to avoid one. Russian cities have been plastered with posters that promise high payments and elevated status to recruits. And in the country’s prisons, inmates — including those convicted of murder — have been offered pardons in exchange for fighting in Ukraine.

Quote:
In recent months, law enforcement officers have been pursuing foreigners who hold Russian passports in the country, tracking them down in mosques and in warehouses where many of them work. More than 3,000 migrants were detained in St. Petersburg on New Year’s Eve, according to Novaya Gazeta, a Russian newspaper. And some migrants have reported being forced to sign contracts with the army, according to Astra, a Russian news outlet.

Apart from considering migrants potential recruits for the war, Russia is also relying on them as its economy experiences an acute labor shortage, with its general population aging and many factories aiming to speed up the production of weapons.

Spoiler:




https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-p...ed-2024-01-05/




https://www.nytimes.com/2024/01/05/w...tizenship.html







SANCTIONS

GREAT WATCH Overview of Russian exporting oil to India: history of why India was not importing before sanctions and why they started; problems with sanctions on tankers; currency problems; Iraq undercutting Russia's prices; recent fall of sales from 2.2 mill a day to 1.7

Spoiler:











CRIMEA

1. BBC article "Ukraine war: Atesh, the group spying on Russians in occupied Crimea"
2. Ukraine claims strike on ammo warehouse in Crimea
3. Analysis of strike on Russian HQ in Crimea (if you read that Gerasimov was killed in a strike, which was originally a joke, it was from this strike)

Spoiler:












RUSSIAN WAR CRIMES


EuroMaidan article "Ombudsman: Recent prisoner swap exposes torture against Ukrainian POWs"


Spoiler:








Reuters article "Exclusive: Russian hackers were inside Ukraine telecoms giant for months" on the hacking of Kyivstar in December


https://www.reuters.com/world/europe...ef-2024-01-04/

Last edited by Bluegrassplayer; 01-06-2024 at 11:02 PM.
Russian Invasion of Ukraine Quote
01-09-2024 , 09:27 AM
Bleh lost my post.




MILITARY AID

The Drive "Russia May Have Started Using Jet-Powered Shahed Drones In Ukraine" on Russia using Iran's new drone

Spoiler:






RUSSIA'S WINTER STRIKE

Breakdown of what Ukraine anti air defense was able to shoot down in Russia's most recent attack

Spoiler:





CRIMEA

1. UK MOD on "Rosgvardia"
2. Kyiv Post article "Moscow Deploys 35,000 National Guards to Counter Partisans in Occupied Ukraine" on the Rosgvardia in Crimea

Spoiler:






STRIKES IN RUSSIA

Various videos of strikes in Belgorod

Spoiler:







SANCTIONS AND RUSSIAN ECONOMY


1. EU sanctions a Russian diamond company
2. GOOD READ Foreign Affairs article "Putin’s Unsustainable Spending Spree"

Quote:
The Russian economy’s problems, in fact, are such that Putin is facing an impossible trilemma. His challenges are threefold: he must fund his ongoing war against Ukraine, maintain his populace’s living standards, and safeguard macroeconomic stability.
3. The Times article "Putin resorts to bribing workers to stem Russia’s brain drain"




Spoiler:




https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/r...flee-v6crx8tnp





DNIPRO

Andrew Perpetua on Krynky: why it's difficult for Russia to dislodge the marines here; how Ukrainian drone groups operate; Ukraine's potential goals; Ukraine's difficulties with holding the area

Spoiler:





[QUOTE=Bluegrassplayer;58397018]
6. CNN article "‘Almost naked’ celebrity party at Moscow nightclub sparks fierce backlash"

https://edition.cnn.com/2023/12/28/e...ntl/index.html
[/SPOIL]
[QUOTE]

Rapper who attended this does 25 days in prison then gets added to military registry

Spoiler:







WSJ article "Putin Sends Nukes to Belarus"

https://www.wsj.com/articles/russia-...putin-a87df19d
Russian Invasion of Ukraine Quote
01-10-2024 , 02:26 AM
SOLDIERS SPEAKING

1. Mobilized Russians talking about the horrible conditions
2. Serbian mercenary complaining about how Serbians were treated after signing up to fight for Russia
3. More Serbians speaking out

Spoiler:







STRIKES IN RUSSIA

Drone attack on oil depot 170km into Russia

Spoiler:






CRIMEA

1. UK MOD on recent Crimean strikes and what it means about Russian air defense
2. Forbes article "Ukraine’s Funniest Joke: Waiting Until Russia’s New Strategic Supply Bridge Was Almost Built, Then Blowing It Up With Rockets"

Spoiler:



https://www.forbes.com/sites/davidax...h=73aad159d48b



DNIPRO

Russian complaining about the rate of loss of equipment sent to assault Krynky

Spoiler:




WAR CRIMES

Russian BBC article “We have come to rescue you.” How Ukrainians disappear in Russian colonies

Quote:
If a person is charged, then he begins to exist in the legal field, he has rights. If he is a prisoner of war, he can be exchanged. Civilian “detainees” are often sitting in Russian colonies and pre-trial detention centers without protection, without charges and without trial. They exist within the Russian penitentiary system, although formally they are not there.

Quote:
“Once they told me to raise my legs with my heels up. I refused. They put a machine gun to my genitals and gave me a choice. I, of course, chose the legs. They took two rubber sticks and beat them on my heels for a very long time. If I lowered my legs, they forced me to raise them again. If they went down, they hit me on the head and back,” says Anton.

Russia continues to claim that prisoners are being held in accordance with the requirements of the Geneva Convention prohibiting torture. The BBC asked the Russian Ministry of Defense to comment on Ukrainian evidence of inhumane treatment and torture and is awaiting a response.

https://www.bbc.com/russian/articles/cgekzjykvpko





ORBAN

Politico on Orban's strategy regarding offering to lift the veto but assess it every year

Spoiler:





RUSSIAN ECONOMY

FT graph showing Russia's European gas market share

Spoiler:





SANCTIONS

RUSI article "Hammer Time: When US Sanctions Patience Ran Out" on USA finally telling banks ‘those who are supplying goods or processing transactions that materially support Russia’s military industrial base are complicit in Russia’s brutal violation of Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity'.


https://rusi.org/explore-our-researc...tience-ran-out
Russian Invasion of Ukraine Quote
01-11-2024 , 01:32 AM
BATTLE CLIPS

Drone vs drone combat


Spoiler:






RUSSIAN ECONOMY

Joe Blogs video "RUSSIAN Ruble Collapse Damaging Workforce - 5 Million Shortage of Workers as Migrants Stay at Home" on the labor shortage and inflation

Spoiler:



SANCTIONS

Poland's exports to Belarus falls after war began but are now at an all time high

Spoiler:




RECRUITMENT

Ukrainians capture a Somalian fighting for Russia


Spoiler:





RUSSIAN ELECTION

Russian presidential candidate says his goal for the election is to not be jailed.


Spoiler:





KHARKIV

1. Russia strikes a children's center
2. Missile strikes hotel in Kharkiv that journalists frequent

Spoiler:






DNIPRO

milblogger Rybar complaining about Krynky:


Spoiler:





EU

1. Politico article "Breton aims for ‘huge’ €100B defense fund"
2. "Ukraine Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba: ‘Putin does not want a frozen conflict, or peace’"

Spoiler:










NPR article "Russian-occupied area of Moldova blames Ukrainian militants for explosions"

https://www.npr.org/2022/04/26/10948...ukraine-russia
Russian Invasion of Ukraine Quote
01-12-2024 , 01:14 AM
BATTLE CLIPS AND ANALYSIS

1. Various HIMARS strikes:
2. Russian assault group gets hit by a cluster bomb then struggles to figure out who is firing at them, really captures the chaos
3. Ft article "Military briefing: Russia has the upper hand in electronic warfare with Ukraine"
4. Kyiv Independent article "Military intelligence claims capture of Russian drone producer's classified data"



Spoiler:



https://www.ft.com/content/a477d3f1-...0-572ad674c28e







MILITARY AID

1. Long thread looking at western manufactured artillery barrels, why they are expensive and take a long time to manufacture
2. Bloomberg article "US Set to Push Zelenskiy at Davos for Clearer War Plan"


Spoiler:











CRIMEA

Russian logistics being built to relieve reliance on the Kerch bridge.

Spoiler:








RUSSIAN PROPAGANDA

1.ISW on ultra patriotic milbloggers and why they are a complication for the Kremlin
2. Russian oligarch runs huge ad campaign on Facebook about Moldova belonging to Russia
3. Russian newspaper quotes Dugin on how repressions in Russia are inevitable
4. Russian propaganda in Belgorod used to suggest that Russia is defending in a war similar to WW2.
5. article "UNMASKING VIKTOR ORBÁN’S POLISH PROPAGANDIST" on a Polish Useful Idiot running propaganda for Orban in Poland


Spoiler:









RECRUITMENT

1. Thread on Russia's use of African mercenaries
2. HQ of a Russian regiment that is recruiting from Nepal burns down

Spoiler:





UKRAINE ECONOMY

1. Kyiv Indepedent article "Turkey, Romania, Bulgaria sign deal on Black Sea mine clearance"
2. Reuters article "Ukraine producing more drones than state can purchase, minister says"
3. Reuters article "World Bank's IFC has mobilised nearly $1 bln for Ukraine - managing director"









SANCTIONS

FT article "Moscow imports a third of battlefield tech from western companies"


https://www.ft.com/content/96c4f3f8-...6-7280490a3dbb
Russian Invasion of Ukraine Quote
01-12-2024 , 11:36 PM
BATTLE CLIPS

1. Rare footage of a Ukrainian ground drone (recently declassified probably)
2. Rare footage of tank vs tank battle, Bradley vs T90, T90 loses control after the battle
3. Drone vs drone


Spoiler:








MILITARY AID

1. BBC article "Sunak vows that Ukraine will never be alone as he pledges £2.5bn package" on UK signing a security agreement with Ukraine until they are able to join NATO
Quote:
The UK-Ukraine agreement comprises a raft of bilateral assurances of military and economic support, designed to deter Russian aggression before Ukraine joins Nato.
2. Zelenskyy on the agreement

Spoiler:

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-67954152





DNIPRO

UK MoD on Ukraine using drones and artillery to destroy heavy equipment across the river

Spoiler:





RUSSIAN ECONOMY

Oilprice article "Russian’s Oil and Gas Revenues Dip by 24% in 2023"


https://oilprice.com/Latest-Energy-N...4-in-2023.html



EU

Petition to remove Orban's voting rights in the EU

Spoiler:
Russian Invasion of Ukraine Quote
01-14-2024 , 01:49 AM
BATTLE CLIPS AND ANALYSIS

1. Ukrainians clearing a Russian trench
2. Krynky fighting
3. Army Recognition article "Breaking News: Two Ukrainian Bradley M2A2 IFVs Destroy Russian T-90M Tank in Close-Quarter Combat" on how the Bradleys managed to take out a T90
4. Russians showing off their new headlamps

Spoiler:




https://www.armyrecognition.com/ukra...oogle_vignette








RUSSIA'S WINTER STRIKE

Analysis of what was fired and what hit during Russia's medium-sized strike yesterday
Spoiler:









RUSSIAN WAR CRIMES

ISW on Russia's increasingly frequent use of chemical weapons
Spoiler:









RUSSIAN PROPAGANDA

1. GREAT WATCH Excellent piece on Russian disinformation. How they run narratives like "you could have had peace in 2022" as they are escalating violence. How they constantly broke their peace agreements and blamed Ukraine. How they enact "slow" or "stealth" genocide which is a narrative that Ukrainians were committing genocide as an excuse to enact genocide upon Ukrainians. How Russia takes advantage of the current journalist landscape where they report on what is happening at this exact moment, and the consumer is the one who has to delve into it and see if it's actually true. Communication techniques used by Putin and Zelenskyy. NAFO, memes, battling disinformation. How Russia spreads many narratives so that there's something to appeal to everyone.
2. Guardian article "Russia designates popular writer a foreign agent over Ukraine stance"









RUSSIAN ECONOMY

1. A look at price of food in grocery stores
2. Wildberries (online retailer) warehouse burning in St Petersburg
3. Different angle


Spoiler:













RECRUITMENT

1. Bild claims Russia has turned off heating in prisons to force prisoners to enlist
2. article "Zelenskyy visiting Estonia: We need those who fled abroad to return to Ukraine"
3. The Drive article "Ukraine Situation Report: Kyiv’s Mobilization Plan Stalled By Parliament"








MILITARY AID

Quote:
Originally Posted by Bluegrassplayer
1. Long thread looking at western manufactured artillery barrels, why they are expensive and take a long time to manufacture

Spoiler:


1. Ukrainians using 40 year old artillery talking about the importance of high quality artillery:
2. Forbes article "Russia Needs Fresh Artillery Barrels, Bad. It’s Yanking Them Off Old Guns By The Thousand."

Spoiler:


https://www.forbes.com/sites/davidax...h=fb900d54308d






CRIMEA

Business Insider article "Female saboteurs who poisoned 46 Russian soldiers in Crimea are on the run after shoot-out with police, say reports" (Very likely fake, but the story of them poisoning the soldiers has been going around for awhile, and now this)

https://www.businessinsider.com/2-wo...rce=reddit.com








Newsweek article "Two Dozen Russian Helicopters Downed in One Day with 'Secret Weapon'—Kyiv"

Quote:
"Partners have provided us with some long-range weapons," he said, according to a translation by Ukrainian news outlet RBC. "I won't say what, but our partners will understand.

"With it, we destroyed 26 helicopters in a day, and 12 planes that took off and attacked with missiles, against which these systems were working. We destroyed 12 at once."

According to the Ukrainian Armed Force's own tally, they have not taken out any Russian helicopters since October 19, when they say they destroyed one—so it is unclear if the 26 referenced by Zelensky were destroyed recently but were previously undisclosed, or if they were destroyed over three months ago.
https://www.newsweek.com/26-russian-...lensky-1860250
Russian Invasion of Ukraine Quote
01-15-2024 , 03:33 AM
BATTLE CLIPS AND ANALYSIS

1. Ukraine claims to have taken down to very expensive Russian aircraft
2. Cost of one of the aircraft
3. EW in Ukraine used against missiles


Spoiler:










RUSSIAN WAR CRIMES

1. GREAT READ Reuters article "How Russian officials and their collaborators spirit away Ukraine’s children" Most in depth article I've read covering Russia's kidnapping, brainwashing, and use of Ukrainian children as propaganda tools

Quote:
The removals of Ukraine’s children are supported by a vast machinery to deport, house and re-educate. Reuters found that a network of pro-Kremlin actors and helpers was involved in taking the two groups of orphans from Kherson: Lvova-Belova, members of the Russian parliament, officials in Russian-occupied Crimea and Ukrainian doctors and teachers who chose to collaborate with Russian authorities.

In some cases, the children are being exploited in TV shows and in online videos for their propaganda value.

The deportations have come at an enormous human cost: siblings have been divided, vulnerable youths have been turned against each other, and preschool children – with no blood relatives to claim them – have been hidden from view in Russian-held territory. Returning these children is an arduous task, volunteers and officials in Ukraine say, and the job gets harder with every day that passes, as the children get older, and are more exposed to Russian influence.

Almost all have been “brainwashed,” said Mykola Kuleba, head of Save Ukraine, a nonprofit organisation that helps to retrieve Ukrainian children from Russian-controlled territory. “And we will never be able to take them back. Because they hate, hate Ukraine now,” he said.
2. EuroMaidan Press article "Ukraine condemns Russia’s citizenship decree for displaced children"

Quote:
Russia automatically grants citizenship to displaced Ukrainian orphans in contravention of international law and Ukrainian rights, aiming to assimilate the children and prevent their return, Ukraine’s MFA says.

Spoiler:

https://www.reuters.com/investigates...isis-children/









MILITARY AID

1. Anders Puck Nielsen video "Why Ukraine can't provide a clear strategy to Mike Johnson" Cliffs: Catch 22 where Ukraine can't know what strategy to go with until they know what resources they have; it's a constant back and forth plan that is constantly under revision
2. ISW on Ukraine expanding its defense industry
3. Full report from ISW

Spoiler:




https://understandingwar.org/backgro...ndustrial-base






RUSSIA'S WINTER STRIKE

FT article "Missiles from Iran and North Korea boost Russia’s onslaught on Ukraine" Great graphic on this page showing the missiles and drones used on January 7, all the strikes have been similar. Below that is another great graphic showing why Ballistic missiles are so dangerous


https://www.ft.com/content/1d1eb1dd-...2-23a219de5d77







RUSSIAN ECONOMY

1. GOOD LISTEN In Moscows' Shadow "It's All About Putin's Eggs" on Russia's economy, how it's struggling but necessarily in ways that make headlines, and the egg crisis as an indicator of the overall economy and a symbolic issue which needs to be fixed
2. UK MOD on Russian healthcare struggling to treat civilians as majority of resources are sent to Ukraine


Spoiler:

https://inmoscowsshadows.buzzsprout....t-putin-s-eggs








PEACE TALKS

Zelenskyy on the meeting at Davos

Spoiler:






COMPENSATION


Bloomberg article "Russia Prepares Legal Battle to Stall Seizure of Frozen Reserves"

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/artic...rozen-reserves
Russian Invasion of Ukraine Quote
01-17-2024 , 10:14 AM
BATTLE CLIPS AND ANALYSIS

1. GREAT WATCH Ryan McBeth analyzes an ambush of a Russian convoy
2. Drone vs plane and drone vs drone video
3. Ukrainian shooting at a drone from the back of a vehicle followed by a near hit from a drone
4. Russian dodges a drone
5. Drone vs drone combat


Spoiler:

https://ryanmcbeth.substack.com/p/an...=web&nthPub=61








MILITARY PRODUCTION AND MILITARY AID

1. GOOD READ Main Directorate of Intelligence of the Ministry of Defence of Ukraine's (HUR) Vadym Skibitsky's report on Russia covering artillery production, missile and drone production, recruitment efforts, winter strike campaign,
2. Economist article "Can Europe arm Ukraine—or even itself?"
3. ISW on European countries helping Ukraine's defense industry

Spoiler:



https://www.economist.com/europe/202...or-even-itself








SANCTIONS

1. Bloomberg article "China Banks Tighten Curbs on Russia After US Sanctions Order"


Spoiler:








DNIPRO

In depth look at Krynky

Spoiler:





RUSSIAN PROPAGANDA

1. Billboard in Russia of Putin with the quote “Russia’s borders do not end anywhere.”
2. 5th fake BBC video
3. Russian MFA confused on how hands work

Spoiler:










PEACE TALKS

Zelenskyy at Davos on when the war will end, WW3, and negotiation

Quote:
Every “don’t escalate” to us sounded like “you will prevail” to Putin. We requested new types of weapons, and the response was “don’t escalate.” But when the weapons arrived, there was no escalation.
Spoiler:









NATO

GOOD READ What a NATO war with Russia would look like, why showing a lack of resolve encourages it

Spoiler:










ORBAN

Petition to strip Orban of voting rights submitted

Spoiler:







Interview with Ukraine's Vice Admiral Oleksii Neizhpapa on the start of the war, sinking the Moskva, sea drones, the grain corridor, and the Black Sea

Spoiler:




Moscow Times article "White Scarves and Flowers: Wives and Mothers of Mobilized Soldiers Take Resentment to the Kremlin"

https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2024/...kremlin-a83720





Quote:
Originally Posted by Bluegrassplayer


Quote:
Originally Posted by Bluegrassplayer
6. CNN article "‘Almost naked’ celebrity party at Moscow nightclub sparks fierce backlash"

https://edition.cnn.com/2023/12/28/e...ntl/index.html
[/SPOIL]
Rapper who attended this does 25 days in prison then gets added to military registry

Spoiler:

Meduza article "Russian rapper who attended ‘almost naked’ party receives military summons after release from jail"

https://meduza.io/en/news/2024/01/16...ease-from-jail
Russian Invasion of Ukraine Quote
01-18-2024 , 02:17 AM
BATTLE CLIPS AND ANALYSIS

1. Bradley firing at a BMP-2 at close range
2. Close up of the Bradley defeating the T90 at close range
3. Forbes article "Ukrainian Crews Set A Complex Missile Trap For Russia’s Best Radar Plane"


Spoiler:



https://www.forbes.com/sites/davidax...h=6a2589123566




RUSSIAN PROTESTS

1. Moscow Times article on the cause of the protests in Bashkiria
2. Video of the protests
3. Another video
4. A woman asking soldiers from Bashkiria to abandon the war
5. Woman from Volgograd telling Russians to be against the war after she is fined for picketing


Spoiler:

https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2024/...4-years-a83747












SANCTIONS

Russian newspaper reporting on problems caused by increased enforcement of sanctions


Spoiler:





RUSSIAN PROPAGANDA

1. Atlantic Council article "Confident Putin boasts of Russian “conquests” in Ukraine" on Putin saying what he really is doing in Ukraine instead of using the word "liberate" as he normally does
2. Putin claiming Russians are returning to Russia because they can't handle unisex toilets


Spoiler:







ORBAN

1. Politco article "EU confident of Orbán U-turn on allowing money to Ukraine"
2. Former PM of Belgium and European Parliament member asking EU if they will let Orban continue to blackmail the EU
3. article "EU Parliament wants Commission in court, Hungary stripped of voting rights"


Spoiler:
https://www.politico.eu/article/euro...unding-u-turn/

Russian Invasion of Ukraine Quote
01-19-2024 , 12:28 AM
BATTLE CLIPS AND ANALYSIS

1. Russian IFVs destroyed during assaults
2. Rob Lee's analysis of the Bradleys vs T90
3. GRAPHIC Drone strikes, including team strikes near Bakhmut


Spoiler:









MILITARY AID AND PRODUCTION

1. Kyiv Independent article "Norway allocates $190 million to boost defense production for own needs, Ukraine"
2. WSJ article "Biden Accedes to Tougher Immigration Policy to Deflect Criticism, Secure Ukraine Aid"
3. Politico article "Macron to ‘finalize security deal’ during Ukraine visit"
4. Politico article "Slovakia enables arms exports to Ukraine as Fico completes backflip"
5. Zelenskyy standing next to downed Iranian drone after Iran claims there is no proof they provided military aid to Russia
6. Ukraine develops a jet powered drone
7. USA and France develop "artillery coalition" with Ukraine


Spoiler:



https://www.wsj.com/politics/policy/...e-aid-08822c6e

https://www.politico.eu/article/emma...myr-zelenskyy/

https://www.politico.eu/article/in-p...ukrainef-fico/













UKRAINE ECONOMY

1. Insurance costs for ship cargo drop significantly
2. GOOD READ Analysis of Ukraine's victory in the Black Sea and opening their shipping avenues


Spoiler:
















RUSSIAN ECONOMY

1. UK MOD on 5th interest rate hike in Russia since July 2023

Quote:
Originally Posted by Bluegrassplayer
2. GOOD READ Foreign Affairs article "Putin’s Unsustainable Spending Spree"
Spoiler:


2. GREAT LISTEN Alexandra Prokopenko was on The Russian Contingency talking about this article. Since it's paywalled here are some highlights:

Putin's trilemma: must continue funding war, keep businesses running as usual, safeguarding macroeconomic stability. First two require high spending, high costs, high inflation which prevents the achievement of the third which requires the exact opposite.

Putin believes the Soviet Union collapsed due to poor economic budgeting, largely due to high defense spending. Currently Russia’s spending is not close to Soviet Union’s annual defense budget. (it’s still a debate if it was 12-16%) 8% is not sustainable, but the budget also shows that it will decline after 2024, so they clearly expect to begin winning this year. The guardrails that Putin always talked about to ensure macroeconomic stability have been removed. The system is a mess in many ways for business and regulators, exporting, central bank, everyone.

In short term time is on Russia’s side, but anything beyond 1 or 2 years it’s uncertain and long term Russia is very much going to struggle and will probably be going from crisis to crisis.

Picture looks stable for the economy now, but Russia still has a major manpower problem. Active debate on how many people they could recruit last year, anywhere from 25%-50% of their goal. It’s quite short of their quote and official numbers. It’s enough to sustain the force in Ukraine, but they can’t rotate the 300k men they initially mobilized. It’s a looming challenge they will probably have to address this year. This intertwines closely with the economy problem: labor market is tight, not enough workers, and they need to recruit more people. The more people they pull from the economy the more they exacerbate inflation. The economy is already maxed out, so if they pull more people from it inflation jumps. This also leads to a major output issue since the recent labor shortages and the industry is at its maximum capacity, the defense industry is working 3 shifts. Any surge in labor demand threatens to propel prices skyward due to lack of reserves for increased supply in the economy.

In theory Russia is a big country with a huge population, but in practice they’re all in use in the economy and they can’t really move so they aren’t really available. Population is not easily convertible to military power.

Previously when 300k men were mobilized, 500k left the country. If they try to mobilize 150k again, it’s possible 200k+ leave with them.

Spoiler:



https://warontherocks.com/episode/th...rtime-economy/





RUSSIAN PROTESTS

DW on the protests yesterday

Spoiler:











COMPENSATION

RUSI article on using the frozen funds to rebuild Ukraine

https://rusi.org/explore-our-researc...argaining-chip







ORBAN

1. AP article "European Union institutions gear up for a fight over Orbán’s rule of law record, funds for Hungary"
2. Sarvamaa on his petition passing

Quote:
The European Parliament made the decision in a 345-104 vote and tasked its legal department to prepare the groundwork for a possible challenge at the EU’s highest court. It wants to see whether the European Commission took all measures “to protect the EU’s financial interests” in its dealings with Orbán. They said that Hungary didn’t meet the rule of law requirements to get the money.

Spoiler:

https://apnews.com/article/european-...1d1c85e36e871b











RUSSIAN ELECTION

1. Girkin jailed for the maximum sentence
2. CNN article "Navalny tells Russian court of ‘freezing’ conditions inside his Arctic prison"



Spoiler:




https://edition.cnn.com/2024/01/11/e...ntl/index.html






STRIKES IN RUSSIA

Ukraine uses long distance drone to strike oil field in St. Petersburg

Spoiler:








DNIPRO

Romanov once again complaining about Krynky situation

Spoiler:


Russian Invasion of Ukraine Quote
01-20-2024 , 01:00 AM
BATTLE CLIPS AND ANALYSIS

1. Interview with Bradley crew that destroyed the T90
2. Armored vehicle rotates troops at the front
3. UK MOD on Russia's more conservative deployment of A50

Spoiler:









MILITARY AID

GOOD READ Tatarigami writing for Euromaidan Press "Mapping North Korea’s discreet artillery ammo route to Russia"

Spoiler:





STRIKES IN RUSSIA AND FIRES


1. Drone hits Bryansk oil field and Russian propaganda narrative around it
2. More videos
3. Gunpowder plant struck by drone
4. Construction market on fire in Russia

Spoiler:










SOLDIERS SPEAKING

1. Chinese volunteer regrets joining Russian military
2. Somalian POW speaking about his experience


Spoiler:







AVDIIVKA

Deep State and Ukrainian journalist on the worsening situation for Ukraine

Spoiler:







RUSSIAN ECONOMY

Long thread on Russian scientists leaving Russia, resulting in the amount of papers produced being cut almost in half

Spoiler:


Threadreader app: https://threadreaderapp.com/thread/1...oogle_vignette





RUSSIAN PROTESTS

Protests continue in Ufa, capital of Bashkortostan

Spoiler:









SANCTIONS


US DOJ "Businessman Arrested for Scheme to Illegally Export Semiconductors and Other Controlled Technology to Russia"

https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/busin...led-technology




GOOD READ FT article "‘Active defence’: how Ukraine plans to survive 2024". Good overview of where the war stands today. Starts with a soldier talking about the Dnipro crossing, good graphic showing Russia's equipment and personnel advantage

Spoiler:
Russian Invasion of Ukraine Quote
01-21-2024 , 01:19 AM
BATTLE CLIPS

1. Drone hits air defense system after air defense system misses the drone
2. Drone hits Russian tank

Spoiler:







MILITARY PRODUCTION

1. Anders Puck Nielsen video "Can Russia win the military production race?" on GDP, PPP, military production
2. France claims French-German military production company will produce 350k 155mm shells by in 2025.

Spoiler:









STRIKES IN RUSSIA AND FIRES


1. Oil depot on fire 900km from Ukraine border
2. More drone strikes on military production sites inside Russia

Spoiler:







DNIPRO

UK MOD on Krynky

Spoiler:







KHARKIV

Analysis of Russia capturing a town on the way to Kupiansk


Spoiler:








RUSSIAN PROTESTS

Analysis of the recent protests
Spoiler:







NATO

1. The Drive article "Baltics To Build Joint Fortifications Along Russian, Belarus Borders"
2. Slovak PM promises to block Ukraine's NATO entry


Spoiler:

https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zon...elarus-borders



Russian Invasion of Ukraine Quote

      
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