Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

The party of Reagan has become the party of Putin.

If senate republicans had any shame, they’d die of it.

If you tweet it in all caps, that makes it true!

Battle won, war still ongoing.

Everything is totally normal and fine!!!

If marriage is the equivalent of selling yourself into slavery, women with self respect should reject the offer.

Democrats are back in array!

“That’s what the insurrection act is for!”

The problem people have with Biden’s age is the color of the VPs skin.

“Why isn’t this Snickers bar only a nickel?”

I also would like a pony to improve my balloon juice experience.

Pelosi: “He either is stupid, or he thinks the rest of us are.” Why not both?

These days, even the boring Republicans are nuts.

Nothing says ‘pro-life’ like letting children go hungry.

Let me file that under fuck it.

Imperialist aggressors must be defeated, or the whole world loses.

Their freedom requires your slavery.

The line between political reporting and fan fiction continues to blur.

I wonder if trump will be tried as an adult.

Wow, you are pre-disappointed. How surprising.

SCOTUS: It’s not “bribery” unless it comes from the Bribery region of France. Otherwise, it’s merely “sparkling malfeasance”.

He imagines himself as The Big Bad, Who Is Universally Feared… instead of The Big Jagoff, Who Is Universally Mocked.

They traffic in fear. it is their only currency. if we are fearful, they are winning.

People are complicated. Love is not.

You are here: Home / Foreign Affairs / War for Ukraine Day 951: Russia Commits More War Crimes in Kherson & Pokrovsk

War for Ukraine Day 951: Russia Commits More War Crimes in Kherson & Pokrovsk

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A painting by Ukrainian artis NEIVANMADE. The background is white. In the center, which is black with blood red bordering, is an hourglass. Inside the hourglass is a Ukrainian Azovstal POW painted in blood red. He is shirtless. His arms are upward along the outer edges of the upper half of the hourglass forming a saltire cross. He is chained with steel gray chains shackled to his wrists. Above his head, in grey, is written "Ruzzian Captivity." below his torso in the lower half of the hourglass, written in gray, is "Kills." To the left of the hourglass "He Saved Others" is painted in gray. To the right of the hourglass "But He Can't Save Himself" is painted in gray.

(Image by NEIVANMADE)

Two quick housekeeping notes. First, Rosie is doing great. Thank you for all the good thoughts, well wishes, prayers, and donations.

Second, I know everyone wants to watch the debate or, at least, read other people liveblog or livetweet or liveskeet or whatever the debate, so I’m just going to run the basics tonight.

Russia attacked Kherson’s central market today.

WARNING!! WARNING!! GRAPHIC CONTENT!! WARNING!! WARNING!!

A Russian strike on Kherson, right in the city center. As of now, six deaths have been confirmed. My deepest condolences to all the families and friends affected. Six people have been injured and are receiving the necessary assistance.

Daily Russian terror, daily attempts to destroy life—this can and can be stopped. We must achieve lasting peace for our state and our people. For this to happen, Ukrainian strength and the resolve of our partners must outweigh Putin’s desire to wreck terror.

Pressure on the aggressor and support for Ukraine must be constant and comprehensive. I thank all our partners who help us defend lives. I thank everyone who protects Ukraine.

The also massacred 16 Ukrainian POWs on the Pokrovsk front:

The Russian military executed 16 (!!!) surrendered Ukrainian soldiers at sight.

This is the worst incident of POW execution known so far in this war.

It happened near Pokrovsk.

Look at what the Russians did – they lined the surrendered Ukrainians up, shot them all down, and then finished off those dying on the ground.

When some sneaky character says ‘Ukrainians just need to surrender,” — this is the answer regarding what will happen if Ukraine “just surrenders” to Russia, which is absolutely out of its damn mind and sick with absolute sadism.

And they’ve apparently poisoned an entire Ukrainian river:

Putin’s ecocide in #Ukraine. “Everything is dead. Not a single organism survived. This is unprecedented. It’s Europe’s first completely dead river.” Russia is suspected of deliberately leaking chemical waste into the Desna river, with deadly consequences for wildlife. https://theguardian.com/world/2024/oct/01/ukraine-seim-river-poisoning-chernihiv-ecocide-

More on this after the jump.

Here is President Zelenskyy’s address from earlier today. Video below, English transcript after the jump.

We Are Working to Speed Up Our Partners’ Decision on the Funds from the Use of Russian Assets – Address by the President

1 October 2024 – 19:28

Dear Ukrainians!

Today revolved specifically around military and defense issues almost all day long.

The already second Forum of Defense Industries worked today in Kyiv. Representatives of more than 30 countries and nearly three hundred companies – Ukrainian and leading foreign ones. For Ukraine, it is a matter of absolute principle that not only partner countries but also defense companies from around the world are increasingly interested in cooperating with us – with our defense sector. Some of the agreements are already implemented. Both on investment in defense production in Ukraine and on localization. Much more is being prepared. Ukraine is already producing things that we did not have before, which are the 155 calibers, and our long-range drones, our naval drones. We are creating a new base for the use of Western armored vehicles – it is both repair and maintenance. Good things are also being done to develop our missile program. And now it is very important to accelerate all this. I am grateful to everyone who understands this.

Today, I held meetings with the military leadership. Commander-in-Chief Syrskyi, Chief of the General Staff Barhylevychh. On our brigades’ needs, on the frontline situation. We discussed the things that our partners can really enhance in the near future. There was a separate report by the Chief of the Defense Intelligence of Ukraine Budanov and Minister of Defense Umerov on how our intelligence assesses this year’s prospects, Russian intentions, the tasks the Kremlin is setting for their military. We clearly see the main guidelines for what exactly needs to be responded to and in what way.

Today there was also a report by Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal. The energy sector, of course. The situation in the energy system, the construction of protective structures, and electricity imports to Ukraine – namely, the relevant agreements with partners. The Prime Minister also reported on the financial situation for our state – things that should ensure stability this year. And we are working to speed up our partners’ decision on the funds from the use of Russian assets. Politically, the decision is made. The sense of justice – that Russian assets should work to defend against Russian aggression – is shared by all our partners. We need a common, effective mechanism. And this will not only contribute to Ukraine’s resilience, it will also bring the right sense to the whole situation. We need to ensure all elements of justice for Ukraine – for the country that Russia has criminally attacked. And this is important for everyone in the world – for everyone who values international law and the world order that ensures peace.

I thank all the leaders who help! I thank everyone who defends Ukraine, our independence, our people! Once again, I congratulate all Ukrainian warriors, all our heroes, on the Feast of the Protection, on the Defender Day. And all of us in Ukraine must remember that our state’s independence and Ukraine’s real sovereignty, our unity with the global world, and Russia’s just responsibility for this war – are what can most fairly and for generations preserve the full weight of the feat of those of our people who defend Ukraine in this war, who fight for Ukraine, and all those who have given their lives for independence.

Glory to Ukraine!

951 days of the battle for the state. For 951 days, you have been writing history on the battlefield. You sacrifice yourselves so that Ukraine does not have to be sacrificed. Both those who were born a warrior and those who became one.

Those who changed their lives so that our freedom would remain unchanged. Those who had different professions but refused to live under another flag. Those who said to themselves: I have no other choice, for this is my homeland, this is my Ukraine, and I will defend it.

Defending Ukraine — two words that have united millions of people, our country, and our nation. On behalf of all of them, I want to say to you: Thank you. To each and every one of you. We are proud of you all.

Today, we celebrate Ukrainian Defenders Day 🇺🇦

We know what we are fighting for: our home, our dear ones who dream of peaceful skies, our cities and villages waiting for liberation. For future generations who will live on their land without fear. And in honor of those who, over the years, dedicated their lives for our freedom.

Eternal gratitude to the sons and daughters of Ukraine who gave their lives for our country. Our struggle will continue until we reach our shared goal of victory.

Thank you to every Ukrainian warrior for unity, courage, and resilience. Glory to Ukraine!

The cost:

Here’s the machine translation of the tweet:

we don’t have many photos together, because we both didn’t like to be photographed. but in life, everyone always said that you and I are very similar

two years ago, you were at home on this holiday after being injured. we spent time together, laughed and hugged

happy day pa
I miss you very much

The cost and the reason:

Instead of a thousand words.

Before the full-scale war, Ada worked in IT. Then, she volunteered a lot but felt it wasn’t enough, so she became a drone operator.

On September 6th, Ada drove over an anti-tank mine. She lost her left leg, and doctors are still fighting for her right heel.

Ada has decided to go back into the Army after she gets used to her prosthesis. She’s going into assault troops.

📷: libkos/Instagram

The reason:

The US:

On the day that we witnessed the Biden administration’s ability to deter failed completely, as well as Secretary Blinken taking a public victory lap, their strategic malpractice and incompetence continues to eat away at Ukrainian resilience.

From The Financial Times:

In a command post near the embattled eastern Ukrainian city of Pokrovsk, soldiers of the Separate Presidential Brigade bemoan the dithering in Washington about whether Kyiv can use western missiles to strike targets inside Russia.

If only they were able to fight “with both hands instead of with one hand tied behind our back”, then Ukraine’s plucky troops might stand a chance against a more powerful Russian army, laments an attack drone operator.

Surrounded by video monitors showing the advancing enemy, the battalion’s commander says his objectives have begun to shift.

“Right now, I’m thinking more about how to save my people,” says Mykhailo Temper. “It’s quite hard to imagine we will be able to move the enemy back to the borders of 1991,” he adds, referring to his country’s aim of restoring its full territorial integrity.

Once buoyed by hopes of liberating their lands, even soldiers at the front now voice a desire for negotiations with Russia to end the war. Yuriy, another commander on the eastern front who gave only his first name, says he fears the prospect of a “forever war”.

“I am for negotiations now,” he adds, expressing his concern that his son — also a soldier — could spend much of his life fighting and that his grandson might one day inherit an endless conflict.

“If the US turns off the spigot, we’re finished,” says another officer, a member of the 72nd Mechanised Brigade, in nearby Kurakhove.

Ukraine is heading into what may be its darkest moment of the war so far. It is losing on the battlefield in the east of the country, with Russian forces advancing relentlessly — albeit at immense cost in men and equipment.

It is struggling to restore its depleted ranks with motivated and well-trained soldiers while an arbitrary military mobilisation system is causing real social tension. It is also facing a bleak winter of severe power and potentially heating outages.

“Society is exhausted,” says Oleksandr Merezhko, chair of the foreign affairs committee of the Ukrainian parliament.

At the same time, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is under growing pressure from western partners to find a path towards a negotiated settlement, even if there is scepticism about Russia’s willingness to enter talks any time soon and concern that Ukraine’s position is too weak to secure a fair deal right now.

“Most players want de-escalation here,” says a senior Ukrainian official in Kyiv.

The Biden administration is aware that its present strategy is not sustainable because “we are losing the war”, says Jeremy Shapiro, head of the Washington office of the European Council on Foreign Relations. “They are thinking of how to move that war to a greater quiescence.”

Most threatening of all for Kyiv is the possibility that Donald Trump wins next month’s US presidential election and tries to impose an unfavourable peace deal on Ukraine by threatening to withhold further military and financial aid. Trump repeated his claim last week that he could rapidly bring an end to the war.

Ukraine’s staunchest supporters in Europe may wish to keep it in the fight but lack the weapons stockpiles to do so and have no plan for filling any void left by the US.

Kyiv confirmed it was laying the groundwork for future talks in spectacular fashion when its troops seized a swath of Russia’s Kursk region in a surprise cross-border incursion in August. Zelenskyy said the land would serve as a bargaining chip.

And last week, in an attempt to shape the thinking of his allies, Zelenskyy visited the US to market his so-called “victory plan”, a formula for bolstering Ukraine’s position before possible talks with Moscow. Zelenskyy described it as a “strategy of achieving peace through strength”.

Yet the Ukrainian leader left Washington empty-handed on two central issues: US permission to use western weapons for long-range strikes on Russian territory; and progress on Ukraine’s bid to join Nato. The Biden administration has resisted both, fearing it could encourage Moscow to escalate the conflict, potentially drawing in the US and other allies.

US officials were unimpressed by Zelenskyy’s “victory plan”, which includes requests for massive amounts of western weaponry.

An adviser who helped prepare the document says Zelenskyy had no choice but to restate his insistence on Nato membership because anything else would have been perceived as a retreat on the question of western security guarantees, which Ukrainians see as indispensable.

Despite Washington’s misgivings, the ability to strike Russian territory is also central to Zelenskyy’s victory plan, says the adviser. While US officials have argued that Russia has already moved strike aircraft beyond the range of western missiles, Ukrainian officials insist there are plenty of other targets such as command centres, weapons caches, fuel depots and logistics nodes.

Destroying them could disrupt Moscow’s ability to wage war, show Russian leader Vladimir Putin that his objectives of seizing at least four whole provinces of Ukraine are untenable and disprove his conviction that the west will lose interest in supporting Ukraine.

“Russia should not be overestimated,” says Andris Sprūds, Latvia’s defence minister. “It has its vulnerabilities.”

Although Zelenskyy’s victory plan restated old objectives, its real significance is that it shifts Ukraine’s war aims from total liberation to bending the war in Kyiv’s favour, says the senior Ukrainian official.

“It’s an attempt to change the trajectory of the war and bring Russia to the table. Zelenskyy really believes in it.”

Much more at the link.

The Desna River, Chernihiv Oblast:

From The Guardian:

Serhiy Kraskov picked up a twig and poked at a small fish floating in the Desna River. “It’s a roach. It died recently. You can tell because its eyes are clear and not blurry,” he said. Hundreds of other fish had washed up nearby on the river’s green willow-fringed banks. A large pike lay in the mud. Nearby, in a patch of yellow lilies, was a motionless carp. “Everything is dead, starting from the tiniest minnow to the biggest catfish,” Kraskov added mournfully.

Kraskov is the mayor of the village of Slabyn, in Ukraine’s northern Chernihiv region. The rustic settlement – population 520 – escaped the worst of Russia’s 2022 full-scale invasion. But the war arrived last week in a new and horrible form. Ukrainian officials say the Russians deliberately poisoned the Seym River, which flows into the Desna. The Desna connects with a reservoir in the Kyiv region and a water supply used by millions.

A toxic slick was detected on 17 August coming from the Russian border village of Tyotkino. According to Kyiv, chemical waste from a sugar factory had been dumped in vast quantities into the Seym. It included ammonia, magnesium and other poisonous nitrates. At the time, fierce fighting was going on in the surrounding area. Ukraine’s armed forces had launched a surprise incursion into Russia and had seized territory in Kursk oblast.

The pollution crossed the international border just over a mile away and made its way into Ukraine’s Sumy region. The Seym’s natural ecosystem crashed. Fish, molluscs and crayfish were asphyxiated as oxygen levels fell to near zero. Settlements along the river reported mass die-offs. Kraskov got a call from the authorities warning him a disaster was coming his way. He spotted the first dead fish on 11 September. “There were a few of them in the middle of the river,” he said.

He returned the following weekend to find the Desna’s banks clogged with rotting fish, stretching out from the shore for three metres into the water. Volunteers wearing rubber boots, masks and protective gloves shovelled the fish into sacks. They found a metre-long catfish. “The stench was terrible. You could scarcely breathe. The river was quiet. Nothing moved apart from a few frogs,” Kraskov said. A tractor took the sacks to an abattoir that used to belong to the village’s Soviet-era collective farm. They were buried in a pit.

Serhiy Zhuk, the head of Chernihiv’s ecology inspectorate, described what had happened as an act of Russian ecocide. “The Desna was one of our cleanest rivers. It’s a very big catastrophe,” he said. Zhuk traced the slick’s route on a map pinned to his office wall: a looping multi-week journey along the Seym and Desna. “More than 650km is polluted. Not a single organism survived. This is unprecedented. It’s Europe’s first completely dead river,” he said.

In his view, the Kremlin was waging total war of a kind not seen since the last century. Vladimir Putin’s desire to eradicate Ukraine extended to the natural world, he suggested. “They are sending rockets through the air, burning our forests and threatening to blow us up with nuclear bombs. You can rebuild a bridge or a school. It takes longer, unfortunately, for wildlife to recover.”

As the contamination approached, Zhuk ordered the closure of Zolotyi Bank, the central beach in Chernihiv. A ban was imposed on fishing, swimming, and on using the river to water cattle or gardens. Scientists took samples, testing every 15-20km and bringing glass vials back to a laboratory. The results were hair-raising. In the city of Baturyn, a one-time Cossack capital on the Seym, oxygen content dipped to zero on 29 August. The next day it was 0.1 mg/dm³. At least 4 mg/dm³ is needed for fish to breathe.

Zhuk said it would take years for the river to recover. There was little prospect of this happening while fighting in Russia’s Kursk oblast continued, he said. Ukraine’s armed forces have blown up bridges over the Seym, adding fuel and debris to an already noxious mix. Around Chernihiv, local helpers – some in boats – collected about 44 tonnes of dead fish. “That’s what we recovered. There’s a lot more inside the river and on the bottom,” Zhuk said.

Emergency teams have used compressors to pump oxygen into the Desna, to give the remaining fish a better chance of survival. Recent rains dispersed some toxins. Zhuk was optimistic these measures would be enough to save Kyiv from the worst of the pollution. But he admitted the situation was grim. “There is a difference between a natural and man-made disaster. This was a diversionary act. Russia’s ecological genocide won’t stop until the war stops,” he said.

At the central beach, Olha Rudenko and her boyfriend Roman Svichkar strolled along the golden sands. A sign in red letters warned “Do not bathe”. “This is a huge eco-tragedy. The river smells weird,” Olha remarked. She noted that last year Russian troops blew up the Khakovka reservoir in Ukraine’s southern Kherson province, flooding villages and killing people and fish. “This is Russia again, 100%,” she said. “We used to drink water from the tap and buy fish from the market. Now we can’t.”

Svitlana Hrynchuk, Ukraine’s minister for environmental protection, said water consumption in Kyiv remained safe. Various special measures had been taken to get rid of the nitrates, she said, with 120 tonnes of cleaning agents imported and nets strung across the Desna to catch dead fish. In the Kyiv region, none had turned up. Additionally, water was routinely purified before it was extracted for household use, she said, adding: “We don’t have a fish plague.”

Hrynchuk said this latest episode was part of a dismal pattern. Russian troops had destroyed national parks in occupied areas, killed animals and mined thousands of hectares of forest. Explosions had caused wildfires, a problem exacerbated by recent hot weather. “Ukraine is fighting for its future. That future has to include nature. We need clean water, clean air, woods, everything,” she said. “We have a beautiful country. We have to save and protect it.”

Vovchansk:

Here’s the machine translation of the tweet.

The Russians have returned to their old “scorched earth” tactics and are razing the city to the ground
On the video, an attack on residential quarters of the city of Vovchansk (Kharkiv region) using an aerial bomb with a universal planning and correction module (presumably a volume detonating aerial bomb ODAB-1500)

Today Russian forces launched a major attack on the Kharkiv front, in the town of Vovchansk:

From the Russian side 17 MT-LB, 3 tanks and more than 100 infantry were involved in the assault operations in the Vovchan direction.

16 MT-LBs were destroyed, 1 tank was knocked out, which was able to retreat together with survivors.

As said by Ukrainian soldier: “The boys confidently met Russian armor in the Vovchansk front, as I said, the units were ready for this, so they worked confidently.

In addition to the destroyed iron, there are a lot of corpses lying around them, since almost all the boxes were with infantry.”

https://t.me/BaluHub777/14990

Vuhledar:

Vuhledar… over 900 days of extraordinary heroism in defense of the ruins of a pretty small town, formerly home to many coal miners of Donbas.

It comes down in history as one of the most horrific graveyards of several Russian brigades and hundreds of Russian armored vehicles and one of the greatest Ukrainian fortresses of this war, the place of true valor of the outnumbered and outgunned — one of so many.

“The Russian “Yug (South)” Operational Grouping has almost encircled Vuhledar. The loss of Vuhledar may force the Ukrainian “Tavriya” OSG to retreat 10-15 km westward, with its southern flank anchored on Velyka Novosilka and its northern flank on Kurakhove, unless the enemy seizes it first.” —
@defence_centre

Russian forces have entered the longtime stronghold of Vuhledar from the west and south, reports
@Deepstate_UA. Russian sources have published videos showing the shelling of the central part of the city where the Ukrainian forces are holding out, and the movement of their infantry in the city and in high-rise buildings. The Russians have staked their tricolor over the western part of the city.

Here’s the machine translation of the quoted tweet:

😕 Today the bastards publish not only the shelling of the central part of the city, where the Defense Forces continue to resist, but also the movement of their infantry in the city and in the middle of high-rise buildings. In the western part of the city, katsaps hung their rags.

More from Kherson:

WARNING!! WARNING!! GRAPHIC CONTENT!! WARNING!! WARNING!!

ALL CLEAR!!

Zaporizhzhia:

Kharkiv:

Kupiansk, Kharkiv Oblast:

That’s enough for tonight.

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    6Comments

    2. 2.

      Chief Oshkosh

      You would think that the execution of the 16, the despoiling of the river, the shelling of a supermarket during peak shopping, coupled with the obvious total fuck-up in the ME, you would think a million other things like this would get Biden to shitcan Blinken et al and just get the job done. Christ on a pogo stick, if for no other reason Joe, do it for the domestic politics.

      Reply
    3. 3.

      Eolirin

      @Chief Oshkosh: The only way we’re getting the job done at this point is if we get NATO directly involved and send troops.

      We’ve lost the opportunity to end this quickly and with just Ukrainian soldiers by dithering too much and slow rolling the kinds of aid we were providing until they were no longer useful enough.

      Reply
    5. 5.

      daveNYC

      What exactly has happened to US foreign policy in the last year?  It was bad enough when the US was overly concerned with escalation with Russia, but now it seems like they’ve swung all the way to decreasing support for Ukraine due to… reasons?  Plus the administrations policy of offering thoughts and prayers while giving Netanyahu all the support and material he needs to start up a major conflict in the Middle-East that has a distinct chance of throwing the election to Trump, since now both Palestinian-Americans and Lebanese-Americans are going to be upset with their policies.

      Seriously, this is no longer continuing on with a dubious status quo, this is regressing.  WTF?  Dunno if you’re checking Adam, but like damn, if you have any thoughts that’d be great.

      Reply
    6. 6.

      Geminid

      @daveNYC: I don’t know about Lebanese Americans, but there seem to be plenty of Lebanese who welcomed the demise of Nasrallah and his commanders. Ukraine war correspondent Oz Katerji is one of them and he explains why in his social media postings.

      Many Palestinians also celebrated Nasrallah’s death, because Hezbollah and its Iranian backers helped Syria’s Assad slaughter tens of thousands of Palestinians while suppressing the widespread revolt of Syrians that began in 2011. Russia helped too.

      People rightfully complain about Benjamin Netanyahu’s crimes, but Netanyahu is a piker compared to Bashir Assad.

      Reply

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