Here is President Zelenskyy’s address from earlier today. In it he describes what is going on at the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant. Video below, English transcript after the jump:
Good health to you, fellow Ukrainians!
Today, the Prime Minister of Great Britain and a great friend of our people, Boris Johnson, is leaving his office. But I believe that he will not leave political activity and will continue to support the defense of freedom in Ukraine, in Britain and around the world.
I spoke to him today. As always, it was a very good conversation. It is usually said that there is no friendship in politics, but Boris is the case when you understand each other with half a word, when friendship exists, when it is strong and when it really strengthens both our states.
From the first minutes of Russia’s full-scale war against Ukraine and Europe, Boris was with us. His first and most important question was always: How else can I help?
And I want to emphasize: even before February 24, we always felt that Britain stood with Ukraine. In a few years, we really managed to bring Ukrainian-British relations to the highest level throughout the entire time of our independence. This is an unprecedentedly high level. We have signed a very ambitious Political, Free Trade and Strategic Partnership Agreement. We have done a lot to strengthen the ties between our societies – economic, social, cultural. We have launched a program to renew the Ukrainian fleet. And now, during a full-scale war, we have agreed on the specific participation of Britain in the program of rebuilding Ukraine after hostilities.
Today I thanked Boris on behalf of all Ukrainians, and I am sure that this is truly a multi-million Ukrainian “thank you”. I am already looking forward to continuing our cooperation with Boris in his new status.
And I am no less looking forward to the start of cooperation with the new Prime Minister of Great Britain, Mrs. Liz Truss. We in Ukraine know her well – she has always been on the bright side of European politics. And I believe that together we will be able to do a lot more to protect our nations and to thwart all Russian destructive efforts. The main thing is to preserve our unity, and this will definitely be the case.
Today I also spoke with President of France Emmanuel Macron, for more than an hour and a half. Very meaningful negotiations. First of all, about the situation at the front, about defense support for Ukraine. I am grateful to Mr. President and all the people of France for their unwavering striving for the protection of our common European values, our common united Europe.
Separately and in great detail, we have focused on the situation at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant. We exchanged views on the results of the IAEA mission to the plant – by the way, the conclusions of the mission are to be presented tomorrow. I hope they will be objective.
All the more so, today the last power transmission line connecting the plant to the energy system of Ukraine was damaged due to another Russian provocative shelling. Again – this is the second time – due to Russian provocation, the Zaporizhzhia plant is one step away from a radiation disaster.
I consider the fact that Russia is doing this right now, right on the eve of the IAEA conclusions, very eloquent. Shelling the territory of the ZNPP means that the terrorist state does not care what the IAEA says, it does not care what the international community decides. Russia is interested only in keeping the situation the worst for the longest time possible.
This can be corrected only by strengthening sanctions, only by officially recognizing Russia as a terrorist state – at all levels.
Ukraine has a very clear, transparent and honest position: while we controlled the plant, there was no threat of a radiation disaster. As soon as Russia came, the worst scenario imaginable immediately became possible. This requires an international response – from the UN to every normal state.
The Armed Forces of Ukraine continue to consistently, very thoroughly and accurately destroy warehouses, bases, crossings, headquarters of the occupiers. The Russian army entered the territory of Ukraine without expecting resistance. And it will run away from here having no other hope of salvation.
And I want to once again thank all our defenders, our intelligence, the Security Service of Ukraine who are doing everything to make it more and more difficult for the occupiers to stay in Ukraine every day.
I also want to thank all our people in the temporarily occupied territories who help our army destroy the objects of the invaders.
And today I especially want to thank the warriors of one of our rocket artillery brigades, who with their accurate fire destroyed the very Russian depot from which the occupiers took S-300 missiles to bomb Kharkiv. MLRS is a good thing. Thank you, our heroes!
The occupiers will definitely get a response for today’s missile attack on Kryvyi Rih, for the constant shelling of Zelenodolsk, shelling of Nikopol, the Chernihiv and Sumy regions, the Kharkiv region, the cities of Donbas and our entire territory.
Eternal glory to all who defend Ukraine!
Eternal memory to all those who gave their lives for the independence of our country!
Glory to Ukraine!
The Ukrainian Ministry of Defense did not post an operational update today.
Here is the British MOD’s assessment for today:
And here is their updated map for today:
Here is former NAVDEVGRU Squadron Leader Chuck Pfarrer’s most recent assessment of the situation in Kherson:
KHERSON/1340 UTC 5 SEP/ UKR continues to expand a bridgehead across the Ingulets River, east of Snihurivka. Exploiting this breakthrough, advanced units of the UKR army are reported to have taken the village of Bezimenne. pic.twitter.com/K49AvrM9JU
— Chuck Pfarrer (@ChuckPfarrer) September 5, 2022
And here is a more in depth analysis he did for The Kyiv Post:
The ongoing news blackout from Kyiv has forced military and intelligence analysts to triangulate reporting from NATO briefings, local social media, and Russian press releases. Each of these sources have their own agendas, and when assessing them it’s often necessary to shift fact from hope, and even lies from truth.
By cross-checking reportage and confirmations across differing media, some facts present themselves. Though operational security prevents reporting the location or strength of Ukrainian combat units, the following information provides a general picture.
A Multi-pronged Offensive
Before the Kherson offensive, the approximate line of contact ran from the town of Snihurivka, 60 kilometers north of Kherson, then southwest to the coastal city of Oleksandrivka, 50 kilometers to the east of Kherson’s urban area. For much of the summer, this front was stable; occasional Russian probes were limited to platoon or company-sized operations and were generally rebuffed by Ukrainian defenders.
On the 29th of August, Ukraine opened a broad offensive against a 160 Kilometer (100 mile) front in Kherson Oblast. These attacks, though long anticipated, appear to have caught the occupiers by surprise. According to Russian communication intercepts, Ukraine is pressing attacks against four axes.
In the south, Ukrainian formations are reported to be operating on both sides of the M-14 highway in a pair of mutually supporting thrusts toward Kherson. These attacks are known to have made progress in heavy fighting.
Truth or Silence?
Analysis is impossible without an adequate picture of this rapidly changing battle space, and already reporters are growing frustrated at the lack of official information. What’s been stated here will not be news to the Russians; they know where they are being attacked. As their ammunition dumps and logistics depots go up in flames around them what the Russians do not know is what the Ukrainians plan to do next.
Ukraine’s operational plans should, and will, remain secret. Ukraine has the right to request that the media report responsibly on the Kherson offensive. The exact locations, intentions and strength of Ukrainian units need not be reported, but the government has an obligation to inform the Ukrainian people, and the nations that support them, of the progress of the war.
Without official briefings, Kyiv runs the risk that the people of the world will forget the sacrifices made by Ukraine’s fighting men and women. The victories won by Ukraine in Kherson deserve to ben known. Ukraine’s fight for freedom is too important to unfold in darkness.
A US Department of Defense briefing this week said crisply, “Some Russian units are retreating”. That understatement is confirmed by what little the Ukrainian General staff has reported, and what the Russians have inadvertently revealed.
The Russians will be the first to learn what happens next.
Much, much more at the link!
The New Voice of Ukraine also has some reporting on what is going on:
Over the last 24 hours, Ukrainian marines have destroyed a Russian Su-25 close air support warplane, four enemy tanks, and an ammunition depot, the Ukrainian Navy wrote in a Telegram post on Sep. 5.
“Furthermore, (marine) artillery have struck groupings of enemy troops and equipment, annihilating a Msta-S self-propelled howitzer, six Msta-B field guns, seven IFVs, two APCs, and five tanks; more detailed reports of enemy losses are pending,” the message said.
The Armed Forces of Ukraine continue to project firepower over key bridges across the Dnipro River in Kherson Oblast, preventing Moscow from reinforcing and resupplying its forces on Dnipro’s western bank, facing a Ukrainian counteroffensive.
While Ukraine’s General Staff remains generally tight-lipped on the details of the long-anticipated operation, recent announcements indicated a number of settlements in the region were liberated, including strategically significant Vysokopillia.
The StratCom Centre has provided us a chart/map of Russia’s influence network in Europe:
Russia has agents of influence – and entire parties of supporters – all across Europe. Choose your allegiance carefully. They, too, can ask Putin for help one day. pic.twitter.com/FCtGRmxEiU
— Stratcom Centre UA (@StratcomCentre) September 4, 2022
This is interesting!
⚡️The enemy asked for a short truce
“On the hottest sector of the front in the Donetsk region, for the first time since the start of a full-scale invasion, the enemy forces of the Russian Federation 🇷🇺 asked for a two-hour truce to collect corpses.” pic.twitter.com/97hkkczN1w
— Jason Jay Smart (@officejjsmart) September 5, 2022
Tallyho!
Have a good night pic.twitter.com/Nj3jHSImBM
— Illia Ponomarenko 🇺🇦 (@IAPonomarenko) September 5, 2022
My Area Supervisory Officer, who died far too soon, always used to say that there was a bullet out there with everyone’s name on it. Those didn’t worry him. The ones that worried him were those addressed “To Whom It May Concern:”
— Saint Javelin (@saintjavelin) September 4, 2022
And now for something completely different!
HIMARS has proven itself in Ukraine, but now it's taking on the biggest stage in American television.
HIMARS Got Talent pic.twitter.com/J8CgoPgKIZ
— Saint Javelin (@saintjavelin) September 2, 2022
That’s enough for tonight.
Your daily Patron!
Still learning about some traditions here. #sexymonday
Good morning, good people. And a terrible week to the occupiers. Slava Ukraini! #RussiaIsATerroristState pic.twitter.com/T6cqBw6w7m— Patron (@PatronDsns) September 5, 2022
Patron needs one of these:
And we finish with a new video from Patron’s official TikTok:
@patron__dsns Цінуйте своїх чотирилапих друзів. Бо ви для них – увесь світ❤️ #песпатрон #патрондснс
The caption translates as:
Cherish your four-legged friends. Because you are the whole world for them ❤️ #dogPatron #PatronDSNS
Open thread!
Alison Rose 💙🌻💛
I laughed so loud at that “warranty” pic last night that I scared the cat. Or maybe just irritated her.
If russia does cause an actual radiation catastrophe (knock wood), would that change any minds of world leaders as far as pushing for harsher sanctions, designating them as a terrorist state, etc? I don’t know anything about the mechanics of it all, but I’m guessing the damage from such an event would not stay within Ukraine’s borders.
Patron doesn’t need pants, so long as he has his handsome embroidered shirts and his work vest.
Thank you as always, Adam. Hope you are well.
lowtechcyclist
Does Baud have one of those pants-exempt cards?
Or is he the issuer?
Inquiring minds want to know.
tokyocali (formerly tokyo ex-pat)
Thank you, Adam.
As heart wrenching as this war has been, I am continually impressed by Ukraine’s military professionalism. They may have started as a scrappy force, but they’ve proven themselves to be giants in military warfare.
tokyocali (formerly tokyo ex-pat)
@lowtechcyclist: LOL! The same thought ran through my head. Where’s Baud? I thought Adam had posted in the wrong thread!
Chetan Murthy
@Alison Rose 💙🌻💛: I’ve read that a number of NATO countries stated clearly that any deliberate release of radioactivity in UA by the Russians would be viewed as an Article V triggering event. Who knows if they’re serious, though.
MomSense
The situation at Zaphorizia makes me so anxious.
dmsilev
@Chetan Murthy: The word “deliberate” is doing a lot of work there. Reckless indifference leading to an “accidental” release of radiation is still a release of radiation.
Chetan Murthy
@dmsilev: https://www.pravda.com.ua/eng/news/2022/08/20/7364116/
True enough (what you wrote). Found a link:
Chetan Murthy
@dmsilev: I would think that shelling the plant causing a leak, would count as deliberate. But hey, ya nevah know.
Ksmiami
The Russian leadership is so dumb, they’ll irradiate themselves…
Carlo Graziani
Hi Adam. Any word on the Ukrainian crossing of the Siverski-Donets and seizure of Ozerne? It seems as if that operation should have some consequential sequel…
Ruckus
@tokyocali (formerly tokyo ex-pat):
Ukraine has a military.
Russia has a group of poorly trained, not all that well equipped, uniformed men. Sure they have equipment, some of their men even know how to use it, but their organizational process is lame, their depth is shallow, considering their numbers and how much they’ve spent on stuff. They can and have done a lot of damage, but one thing they are not is professional.
Ukraine is protecting it’s homeland and are very motivated. Russia is attempting to steal land and a country. Ukraine is getting help from a lot of sources. Russia is fucking around and finding out.
I’m half expecting some Russian to off vlad, just for the humanity of it. And I’d bet vlad is expecting that as well. I believe he’s conscripting men up to 60 yrs old to fight. That’s likely to go over really well. This is a situation that never should have happened and likely wouldn’t have if vlad wasn’t such a putz.
WaterGirl
@MomSense: I’m sure you are extra anxious about that. My niece – whose daughter is left for Spain the same weekend that your son left for Greece – is kind if struggling.
Having her be so far away feels very different than not seeing her for weeks or more at college.
Alison Rose 💙🌻💛
@Chetan Murthy: Yeah, the word “deliberate” there gives one a bit of pause, as it seems like it would be a convenient way to weasel out of a substantive response. But AFAIC, russia’s mere presence there negates any possible argument against their actions being “deliberate”.
It’s a frightening situation. Fuck putin.
dmsilev
@Chetan Murthy: Hopefully it stays a hypothetical question.
Carlo Graziani
@Chetan Murthy: I believe that the Russians are screwing around that plant not so as to cause a radiation release (of course, they aren’t idiots), but rather with the objective of eventually diverting the power output of the plant away from Ukraine and to the regions that they control.
So these sorts of threats are kind of beside the point. If they succeed in reconnecting the plant to high-voltage lines to, say, Berdyansk, then the shoe is on the other foot
Mike in NC
@Ruckus: I was on active duty in the Navy in the early 80s and we were constantly indoctrinated in the gravity of the Soviet Threat. Like they were ten feet tall and invincible. The good old days of the Cold War.
patrick II
Me, working some things out.
In the early part of the war, Russia advanced along Ukraine’s Black Sea coast. Their goal was Odessa. At the time it seemed they might get there. They had the advantage of their navy’s control of Ukraine’s coastal water and had taken Snake Island. The Russian army wanted to keep the bridges across the Dnipro River open to aid in their advance along the coast to Odessa. The Ukraine army surprisingly retreated from Kherson, allowing the Russian army to cross the bridges and take the city. The Russian ground offensive was stopped there though.
Giving up Kherson so easily makes me wonder now how far ahead the Ukrainians were thinking. Did Ukraine always see Kherson a monkey trap with Kherson as the banana, the bridges as the bottleneck, and Russian determination to keep its gain as the closed fist unable to remove its hand from the trap?
The situation has changed since the early days of the Russian offensive. The Russian navy is no longer in control of the northern Black Sea. The sinking of the Moskva in April and then other Russians supply and assault ships has scared the Russian navy away from both the northern sea and Snake Island. The Russian navy can no longer support a beach landing from behind Ukrainian lines or even greatly effect the battle with naval guns or missiles, further isolating the Russian army in Kherson.
Whatever success the Ukraine army will have in Kherson now didn’t start last week but is built upon their earlier successes: the army’s early resistance, their surprise success at neutralizing the Russian navy, the strategy of allowing the Russians to cross into Kherson, and correctly reading Russian resistance to retreat. The Ukrainians have been advertising this offensive for months and the Russian response has been to send evermore troops into a vulnerable position, gripping ever more tightly onto that banana.
NutmegAgain
For those interested, historian Timothy Snyder is teaching a course at Yale, “The Making of Modern Ukraine: Ukrainian Questions Posed by the Russian Invasion”. It’s free and available online. Link to the first lecture is here. I think it’s fair to say he’s the foremost Western historian of modern Ukraine, so I (personally) am grateful to be able to have access to this series of lectures.
Another Scott
@MomSense:
On the theory that information is better than worry, here’s a good article from TheBulletin on the plant (from Friday):
Much, much more at the link.
tl;dr – Yes, the reactors could be damaged by artillery. Yes, the reactors could be damaged by loss of coolant and loss of power. Worst case if the containment vessel is damaged is the release would be like Fukushima, not like Chernobyl (different reactor types).
HTH a little.
Cheers,
Scott.
Gin & Tonic
I may have mentioned this, not sure, but Zaporizhzhia (Запоріжжя) is so named because it used to be after (i.e. downstream of) major rapids in the Dnipro. The Ukrainian word for rapids is “porohy” (пороги) and “za” is a word for after or behind. These rapids were, of course, a major impediment to navigation, so there was a large band of Cossacks who set up a camp/community there, from which they could more easily go downriver and into the Black Sea. The “Zaporoz’ki Kozaky” are revered in Ukrainian history, and are the subject of the Ilya Repin painting known to nearly everyone.
A dam was built there – DniproHES (hydro electric station) – during 1927-1932, flooding the historic rapids and creating a reservoir. It was a crowning achievement of Bolshevik industrialization. In 1941, as the Germans invaded, the retreating Red Army blew up the dam to block their progress. The resulting flood killed tens of thousands of civilians – nobody knows the exact number. After the war the dam was rebuilt.
How you get from “porohy” to “Zaporizhzhia” is grammatically complex, and I won’t go into it here, but since “zh” is the normal transliteration of the consonant “ж,” which is repeated, you get the weird-looking to English speakers “zhzh.”
NutmegAgain
@MomSense: yeah me too! Not least, as I’ve said, because my daughter lives in Northern Germany and I worry about (poisonous stuff) drifting westward…
Oh, and I meant to add, Just Fuck those Russians with a rusty chainsaw, who are doing anything harmful to a nuclear power plant. Bozos.
MomSense
@WaterGirl:
Pieces of your heart out in the world – it’s beautiful and sometimes torture.
MomSense
@NutmegAgain:
NPR ran a segment a couple days go about a team of scientists who are tracking air currents and on standby to track radiation. I hope we don’t have to start tracking radiation.
Fuck fucking Putin and all his enablers.
Fair Economist
@tokyocali (formerly tokyo ex-pat): Ukraine has been incredible. If there are good historians who write this up afterwards Ukraine’s resistance will be seen as the new Persian Wars – an amazing and fairly shocking success which will set the stage for the world to come.
counterfactual
@Carlo Graziani: I’ll repeat what Mark Sumner at DailyKos hypothesized. Reading between the lines, a recon force found that Ozerne had been abandoned by the Russians (and according to rumor two more villages further into occupied territory). The Ukrainian MoD announced this, most likely to force the Russians to scrape together some sort of occupying force by stealing from somewhere else along the front. How long that takes will be interesting data to UMoD, and it would be very interesting if the Russians can’t find the forces.
Fair Economist
@patrick II: I am pretty sure losing Kherson was an error (there are suspicions that the Russians actually succeeded in buying out people there). The Ukrainians were doing whatever they could to stop the Russians then and could not afford to give up anything for any long term goal.
I think what we are seeing is the Ukrainians once again making and executing an excellent plan to deal with the situation they are in.
Quiltingfool
@Alison Rose 💙🌻💛: I think you wanted the quilt block with 3 cats…
I have 19 blocks ready to go! I took photos of the blocks. If you can, go look at them; the block you wanted is made of different fabrics. If you don’t care for the colors, let me know, okay?
https://pin.it/2wE6iRU
patrick II
@Fair Economist:
I think you are right. It just seems such a disadvantageous position for the Russian army I had to wonder out loud.
Regardless, the Ukrainian effort has had earlier success which has built to this battle — probably the most important single battle since WW II.
Adam L Silverman
@Carlo Graziani: I didn’t see anything else today, but I was mostly offline. I’ll look tomorrow.
Gin & Tonic
@Fair Economist:
They are not suspicions. There were well-known, early collaborationists, and in fact the first partisan assassination of one was back in March. So I tend to agree that it was not a ruse or a feint, but a real military setback, which the Ukrainians are dealing with now as the overall situation has developed.
Ruckus
@Mike in NC:
Early 70s myself and we did 3 NATO cruises in the very North Atlantic. We were often shadowed by a Russian destroyer, about 1/4-1/2 mile off rear quarter about a 1/4- 1/2 mile back. We turned, they turned. There day and night. They never made any kind of aggressive move, they were just always there. BTW it can be really fucking cold above the Arctic Circle, especially in fucking winter. Which was made worse by the fact that we never had any cold weather gear other than wool caps and gloves. So if you had to go outside it was fun……. Also notice that I have retained the ability to swear at every available opportunity.
WaterGirl
@MomSense: Nodding.
Fake Irishman
@Ruckus:
just out of curiosity, what ships were you on? And what was your job/duty? I’m genuinely interested to know.
Alison Rose 💙🌻💛
@Quiltingfool: Looks super cute!! I see that one photo of that block says Slava Ukraini at the top, would definitely like that on mine :)
Anonymous At Work
Question: When does the winter start in Ukraine? The famous French/German-killing winters were based around Moscow to Leningrad (then). And the Crimean War was fought to deny Russia a deepwater port on the Black Sea in Sevastopol. What’s the dead last (intended) date by which Russia or Ukraine can hope to make progress?
Second, are the winters enough to slow things down or will they just make everyone miserable until the Mud Season starts up again and makes everyone incredibly miserable?
Chetan Murthy
@Anonymous At Work: https://weatherspark.com/y/96633/Average-Weather-in-Kiev-Ukraine-Year-Round
Maybe early November ?
Medicine Man
I do wonder if the winter is going to be as much of a problem for Ukraine as it will be for Russia. Shorter supply lines and use of interior lines to shuffle forces, the opposite for Rus; I could see the winter being terrible for the invaders.
patrick II
I wonder about the number of civilians left in Kherson. They have been warned to leave, but I don’t know if they could. It would be much easier to starve an army if you knew you weren’t starving a large number of Ukrainians civilians as well.
Gin & Tonic
@Chetan Murthy: I was in a serious snowstorm in Kyiv in early November once, but that was exceptional. I’ve been in Kyiv in February, and it is *cold*. But probably not substantially different than, say, Minneapolis.
NutmegAgain
@MomSense: I suggested to my kid that she get a hold of some iodine pills and keep them in the house. Just in case… of course, it’s way, way harder to buy stuff like that in a country like Germany. Plus side of socialized medicine? they take care of your needs, etc etc. Down side of socialized medicine? not a culture of buying stuff like iodine or other not-quite medicine off the shelf. I remember one time I was there and I needed a cane for my back. They don’t sell them in the Drogerie, which is like the front part of a CVS or Walgreens–shampoo, magazines, makeup etc. (Apoteka is the pharmacy part, different storefront, but you need to get even stuff like cold meds or Tylenol from the pharmacist. Which means you have to describe all your symptoms to the pharmacist–out loud, standing in the middle of the small store basically. It can be kind of, um, interesting and/or embarrassing.) Wow! so off topic… Yeah so harder to get stuff like Iodine pills in Germany….
Alison Rose 💙🌻💛
@Gin & Tonic: I’ve never lived anywhere with snow but I would most definitely like a snowstorm right about now. 97 degrees at 7:45 pm. WTF
NutmegAgain
@Anonymous At Work: I have been wondering about the weather question. Seems to me there are a couple of big questions regarding the cold: how much does cold temps degrade the performance of weaponry? And, how well can the people in the army function in the cold? We have all kinds of modern whiz-bang high efficiency clothing, boots etc–but expensive. Can the Ukraine armed forces get ahold of enough of that stuff.
If, big if, people and gear can function in the cold, then the challenge is mud season. As a native New Englander I relate to mud season, and know that it is legendary in Ukraine.
Calouste
That map of Russia-supporting political parties in Europe misses at least two in the Netherlands (Freedom Party and Forum for Democracy), and of course the Tories in the UK were pretty much in the pockets of the Russians (they appointed one to the House of Lords) until Johnson in a desperate attempt to shore up his popularity decided to support Ukraine.
counterfactual
@Anonymous At Work: From my memories of WWII maneuvers (which are probably wrong), the fall rains start in October and everything is limited to hard roads until the ground freezes enough to support armor, say December. Then hostilities start up again until the ground thaws in March.
Now, the winter of 1940-41 was one of the coldest in years, while 2021-2022 was warm enough that the ground was thawing by February.
Lyrebird
@Chetan Murthy: I am no kind of expert. I thought for RU the main idea was to cause an incident and blame Ukr. forces for it. You have probably seen the video that was going around of RU soldiers telling IAEA people that oh yeah those rockets did a 180.
Seems like, before the IAEA peeps agreed to get involved, the RU Army was also thinking hey, if we cant do a false flag operation here, well then, here is the only parking spot for our troop carriers that is safe from HIMARS! Let’s park all our sht in here!
Hoping along with everyone else that this does not get worse.
Bill Arnold
Useful video link from Julia Davis’s twitter feed. Russian propagandists on state television talking openly about how Russia should do more international political assassination operations. (They are gormless.) We are not dealing with a normal country. Russia is a gangster state. (Nuclear-armed.)
The shutoff of (methane)(gas to Europe and that Gazprom video are an act of war against Europe. I suspect some in Europe will treat it as such.
Russian-state backed Gazprom release video of winter in Europe without gas (5 Sep 2022)
Quiltingfool
@Alison Rose 💙🌻💛: That one is yours! I’ll set it aside for you!
Alison Rose 💙🌻💛
@Quiltingfool: Yay, thank you!! I can’t wait to see it in person :)
Carlo Graziani
@counterfactual: A look at Ozerne on Google Maps suggests to me that there was some thought given to picking off the place.
It’s at the Southeast vertex of a curious triangle, where the T0513 and T0514 highways split out of Russian-occupied Lyman, and deadhead into the Siverski Donets river — they go on, but are presumably blockaded because the river is where the current front is. So in effect the only likely Russian-presided place from which it can be reached is it is Lyman, and only by means of a 4-mile drive down T0513.
The Ukrainians have now had 48 hours to set up a welcome for whatever comes down that road.
Torrey
@NutmegAgain:
Much thanks for the link to the Snyder lectures. Glad to have it. Aside from the fact that it’s worth knowing more about this important country and its history, one way of dealing with anxiety, for me, at least, is to learn stuff. Snyder has an excellent reputation as a scholar and teacher.
Spadizzly
@Carlo Graziani:
You sure about that?
Flight guidance on the russian Proton heavy launch vehicle depends on an array of accelerometers and angular momentum sensors, so you can imagine that a very special class of idiot is capable of installing them upside-down, when you consider that the sensors have little arrows painted on them, that are supposed to point upward towards the top of the rocket. A post-mortem revealed that the sensors had to be forcibly jammed into their inverted positions, employing “non-standard installation tools”, most like a BFH.
And when the guidance system is thoroughly borked, allow me to channel my inner Shevchenko:
Тільки російські ракети падають
також красиво як і літають
https://youtu.be/Zl12dXYcUTo?t=18
bjacques
Heh. Being from the South, I always thought it was pronounced “HIGH-Mars”. I expect there are more colorful pronunciations in Russian.
Mallard Filmore
@Bill Arnold:
I hope not. “We” have cut Russia off from “our” resources (SWIFT), so how is it such a vile thing for Russia to cut “us” off from “their” resources (gas, oil)?
I think the YouTuber “Joe Blogs” put out a video about a week ago charting the percent to full capacity each European country is at. The goal is something in the 90s. Some are closer than others.
Ah. There it is:
link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Ws3YgumfoI
title: “RUSSIA No Longer Able to BULLY EUROPE over GAS as Storage Levels Rise Above 75% for First Time”
Bruce K in ATH-GR
Of course Putin is supporting the Golden Dawn neo-Nazis in Greece. Why am I even slightly surprised?
Geminid
A report in the New York Times says that according to US intelligence officials, Russia is buying rockets and artillery shells from North Korea.
NutmegAgain
@Torrey: Thanks, yes me too. Although I started reading his Ukraine-focussed books quite a while ago (Black Earth and Bloodlands). I confess I haven’t read much of the others, although I really want to get the graphic version of On Tyranny.
Jinchi
There is no way that Ukraine purposely gave up Kherson or any other town as a trap to lure in the Russians. At the start of the war Ukraine was desperate for international aid and it was hardly certain to obtain more that thoughts and prayers. No one knew how badly the Russians would screw things up and there was serious concern that the foothold in Kherson would open up Odessa to occupation, cutting off Ukraine from its entire coast. Winning the territory back is a going to be a hard slow slog.
Chetan Murthy
Awwwwww …..