Russia Invades Ukraine. Again
POSTED BY: captaincrunch
UPDATED: Sunday, September 6, 2026 21:09
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Russian poets given long jail terms for reciting verses against Ukraine war
Artyom Kamardin, 33, and Yegor Shtovba, 23, sentenced for ‘undermining national security’, ‘inciting hatred’.
Police stormed into the apartment Kamardin shared with his then-girlfriend, Alexandra Popova, and another activist. According to Amnesty International, Popova said police beat and violated Kamardin with a dumbbell before forcing Popova to watch a video of the act. She also claimed that police super-glued stickers to her face and threatened to rape her. A clip later circulated on Telegram of the bruised and battered Kamardin apologising for his words.
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/12/29/russian-poets-given-long-jai
l-terms-for-reciting-verses-against-ukraine-war
The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at
https://www.mediafire.com/folder/1uwh75oa407q8/Firefly
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Kremlin Pins Russians’ Anger, War Fatigue on ‘Nearly Naked’ Stars
By Pyotr Kozlov | Dec 28, 2023
https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2023/12/28/kremlin-pins-russians-anger-
war-fatigue-on-nearly-naked-stars-a83598
The party’s organizer, television host and blogger Anastasia Ivleeva, has received the largest share of the blowback, having been hit with a $10 million class-action lawsuit and losing major sponsorship contracts in the past week despite publishing two apology videos.
Russian media reported that authorities have launched a tax audit against Ivleeva, a step that could lead to criminal prosecution.
This sweeping response can only have happened as a result of a political decision and a command from the highest level, Russian officials said.
"At first, the story with Ivleeva was spontaneous, but then, seeing its potential, the Kremlin decided to stir up the scandal," wrote independent political analyst and former Putin speechwriter Abbas Gallyamov.
“The campaign to discredit these stars on this scale is absolutely internal politics,” said a Russian official who is involved in Putin’s campaign headquarters. “Without Putin’s approval and a direct order from [domestic policy supervisor Sergei] Kiriyenko and [TV and state media supervisor Alexei] Gromov, it is simply impossible.”
The official added that security officers and the Federal Security Service (FSB) lobbied for a more zealous response.
The initial backlash to the party came from ultra-conservative activists, pro-war figures and military bloggers.
Yekaterina Mizulina, the head of the Safe Internet League, posted screenshots of angry reactions from her followers, one of which allegedly came from the relative of a Russian soldier who lost both legs in Ukraine.
“Did our loved ones die for someone’s underwear? We don't need apologies from them! They need to finance prosthetics for my relative and for hundreds of soldiers!” the response read.
More at https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2023/12/28/kremlin-pins-russians-anger-
war-fatigue-on-nearly-naked-stars-a83598
The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at
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NATO Needs Russia 'Ruined' in Ukraine for Future Peace: Official
By David Brennan | Dec 29, 2023 at 8:07 AM EST
https://www.newsweek.com/nato-needs-russia-ruined-ukraine-future-peace
-1856390
"Russia needs to walk away with the understanding that they lost, that they will lose the next war," Kusti Salm — the permanent secretary at the Estonian Defense Ministry — told Newsweek in an exclusive interview from Tallinn.
The Russian leader, Salm said, must end his gamble in Ukraine knowing "that economically they are ruined, we outlasted them, we kept our industry on a better footing, we have the technological advantage, we have better training, better morale; that they don't stand a chance."
"They need to walk away with the understanding that international law and the rule-based world functions and that you cannot bend it as you wish."
"This is the only way to draw a line there, so that this wouldn't happen again. If one of those elements is not fulfilled, then in a few years we will face another crisis, and not only from Russia, because everyone is learning."
"We think that it's three years before they will have the opportunity," Salm said of Russia's military recovery timelines. "Others go for five years, we have also heard seven or eight years. But the consensus is that they will regenerate, and they will come back. There is no one in intelligence, no one in defense circles who would dispute that."
"For Europe, for NATO, it's very simple," Salm added. "If Ukraine fails, NATO will be next...Deterring needs a lot more effort, a lot more investment, a lot more shifts in public opinion. It's actually a very high return on investment to keep on supporting Ukraine."
NATO nations have been sluggish in meeting the demands of a modern, high intensity war in which they are not direct combatants. Advanced weapons have arrived in Ukraine slowly, the mountains of required munitions remain undelivered, and the majority of alliance nations are yet to reach NATO's 2 percent of GDP military spending target.
Estonia's Prime Minister Kaja Kallas told Newsweek in May that NATO's 2 percent target is insufficient given the danger posed by Putin's expansionist kleptocracy, adding she was both "worried" and "surprised" at allied failures to raise spending.
The 2 percent figure should be a floor, not a ceiling, Kallas said, adding: "I have the feeling that some maybe think that this will just go away. But it's not. I think it's the new reality. And we have to be prepared for this, to actually, really execute our defense investment pledge that we have given."
"120 billion [euros, $133 billion] a year would be something that would do the trick; 0.25 percent of GDP," Permanent Secretary Salm said. "It's not a lot, it's not a strategic topic, it's not something that we cannot afford."
"With that money you also ramp up your own industry, most of the money will remain in your own economies. It would be a stimulus package at a time of an incoming recession."
Such a stimulus, Salm acknowledged, is some way off. "Europe hasn't found a way to package this," he said.
The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at
https://www.mediafire.com/folder/1uwh75oa407q8/Firefly
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Quote:
Originally posted by second:
NATO Needs Russia 'Ruined' in Ukraine for Future Peace: Official
By David Brennan | Dec 29, 2023 at 8:07 AM EST
https://www.newsweek.com/nato-needs-russia-ruined-ukraine-future-peace
-1856390
"Russia needs to walk away with the understanding that they lost, that they will lose the next war," Kusti Salm — the permanent secretary at the Estonian Defense Ministry — told Newsweek in an exclusive interview from Tallinn.
Sounds like a lot of hopium from a very tiny country.
No matter what Estonia wants, they're not going to change the outcome either way, they're too small.
-----------
"It may be dangerous to be America's enemy, but to be America's friend is fatal." - Henry Kissinger
Loving America is like loving an addicted spouse - SIGNYM
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Quote:It is matter of arithmetic. If the EU spends 2% of its GDP on weaponry and then sends what ammo Ukraine needs, Russia loses. The saner portions of the Russian public can do the same math without a calculator.
Originally posted by SIGNYM:
Sounds like a lot of hopium from a very tiny country.
No matter what Estonia wants, they're not going to change the outcome either way, they're too small.
One out of every two Russians wish for the war in Ukraine to end in 2024, according to survey results from the Russian Field polling agency published Friday, Dec 29, 2023. https://t.me/russian_field_soc/1294
When asked what they wish for Russians in the New Year, 50% of Russian Field’s respondents named “peace, a peaceful sky, and the end of” what the Kremlin calls a “special military operation” in Ukraine.
Russian Field further said 40% of its respondents wished for health and 14% “patience, optimism, resilience, optimism.”
Another 6% wished for Russia's “victory,” the pollster said.
Russian Fields shared its poll results one day after the Japanese newspaper Nikkei reported, citing anonymous sources, that President Vladimir Putin promised Chinese leader Xi Jinping earlier this year to fight in Ukraine for five years.
Russian Field surveyed 1,600 Russian respondents between Dec. 4-12, 2023.
https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2023/12/29/50-of-russians-wish-for-end-
to-ukraine-war-in-2024-poll-a83606
The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at
https://www.mediafire.com/folder/1uwh75oa407q8/Firefly
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Russian forces have likely routinely attempted to draw and fix limited Ukrainian air defense systems away from the front, and the Russian strikes on December 29 follow recent indications that Ukrainian air defenses may be presenting significant challenges to Russian aviation operations along the frontline. Ukraine lacks the number of air defense systems required to provide coverage to all of Ukraine, and Russian forces have likely conducted a consistent series of strikes, even if at a low intensity, in part to force Ukrainian forces to concentrate those air defense systems on protecting larger population centers far from the front instead of providing coverage for military operations.[39] Russian forces reportedly decreased their aviation activity after Ukrainian forces shot down three Russian Su-34s in southern Ukraine between December 21 and 22, which was subsequently followed by a notable decrease in the tempo of Russian ground operations on the east (left) bank of Kherson Oblast.[40] Russian forces had been relying on the mass use of glide bombs dropped from manned aircraft to support operations in Kherson Oblast and in eastern Ukraine, likely due to the reported Ukrainian ability to suppress long-range Russian artillery and shoot down Russian rotary wing aircraft.[41] A Ukrainian capability to suppress Russian aviation activity even in limited areas of the front would likely pose significant operational constraints on Russian forces.
Ukrainian forces have recently expanded their use of mobile air defense strike groups in an effort to avoid expending air defense missiles on routine Russian strikes with Shahed-136/131 drones.[42] The recent months of Shahed-heavy strikes and the relatively smaller number of Russian missile strikes may have eased pressure on Ukrainian air defenses in rear areas and allowed Ukrainian forces to strengthen air defense coverage along the front. Ukrainian Air Force Spokesperson Colonel Yuriy Ihnat stated on December 24 that Ukrainian forces can deploy air defense systems in any direction and not only in those where Russian forces have recently suffered aviation losses.[43] The Russian military’s increased use of missiles in the December 29 strike likely intends in part to reapply pressure on Ukraine’s limited air defense umbrella and prevent the Ukrainian command from redeploying air defense systems from the rear towards the front.
https://www.understandingwar.org/backgrounder/russian-offensive-campai
gn-assessment-december-29-2023
The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at
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Russian President Vladimir Putin's military on Friday launched what's been called the largest aerial attack of the Ukraine war, and one economic-focused Ukrainian outlet estimated the cost of the assault for Russia to be at least $1.273 billion.
Russia spent an estimated $1.17 billion on 90 Kh-101/Kh-555/Kh-55 long-range missiles missiles alone in the attack. Russian Kh-101 cruise missiles cost an estimated $13 million per missile.
While the bulk of the attack tally went toward Kh-101 missiles, Russia also reportedly used Kh-47 hypersonic missiles; Kh-22/Kh-32 cruise missiles; S-300/S-400/Iskander-M ballistic missiles; Kh-47M2 "Kinzhal" missiles; Kh-31P anti-radar missiles; one Kh-59 missile; and 36 Shahed-136/131 drones.
The total amount spent on the attack, according to Ekonomichna Pravda, was $1,273,220,000.
https://www.newsweek.com/putins-major-aerial-attack-ukraine-cost-russi
a-12-billion-report-1856666
If Russia could continue expending ammo at that rate for 365 days, the cost would be $465 billion. I think Russia should try that to see if throwing money at Ukraine will achieve victory by the beginning of 2025. Alternatively, I'm pretty sure Russia could more cheaply bribe Ukraine to surrender than bomb Ukraine into surrendering, assuming the bribes are delivered to the right Ukrainian government officials. Russians are only slightly more corrupt and dumber than Ukrainians, so this alternative plan could bring victory for Russia at a reduced cost compared to bombing Ukraine with very expensive missiles.
The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at
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Edited for readability
Quote:
Ukraine Mounts Massive Series Of Attacks On Russian City, Killing At Least 14
Saturday, Dec 30, 2023 - 08:05 AM
Russia's Belgorod region, which lies just north of Kharkiv in Ukraine, was rocked by Ukrainian drone and missile fire which killed at least 14 people, with over 100 injured, according to revised updates. "According to updated information, 12 adults and two children were killed in Belgorod. Another 108 people, including 15 children, were injured," Russia's defense ministry said.
The death toll was so high due to the strikes on a residential area, the region's governor Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov indicated. While this Russian border region has throughout the war come under repeat cross-border attack, it has been relatively quiet of late, with only smaller sporadic mortar or drone attacks. In one instance a centrally located Christmas attraction, said to be (according to unverified reports) a skating rink with many children, came under fire.
Russia's defense ministry described a broader attack on Russian territory Saturday during which time the military intercepted and destroyed dozens of inbound missiles and drones.
Ukrainian media sources said that the armed forces launched some 70 drones on Russia in the series of deadly attacks, however, Kiev officials claim they only targeted military sites, including a direct hit on a electronic factory in Bryansk region where missile system components are made. "Unlike Russian terrorist attacks on the territory of Ukraine, the Security and Defense Forces have exclusively hit enemy military targets," a military source told Ukrainian media.
But Ukraine's military asserted it avoided civilian areas ... isn't born out by the video evidence.
Russian state media detailed that the shelling "targeted the central city district, which hosts regional government buildings, as well as the ‘Mayak’ city mall – a popular gathering place for locals that traditionally holds festive events on New Year’s Eve. Some reports also claimed that a local ice-skating rink was hit in the strike."
This major assault appears 'retaliation' by Ukraine for the major nationwide aerial strikes on Ukrainian cities that took place the day prior, where the rising death toll is at 39 Ukrainians killed.
The Ukrainian Armed Forces had cited that in the Friday Russian assault, up to 158 missiles and drones were launched, describing that this was a "record number" and the "most massive missile attack" of the conflict, excluding the very opening few days of the invasion.
*****
"This offence will not go unpunished," the Russian MoD said further. And spokesman Dmitry Peskov told a press briefing, "President Vladimir Putin has been informed about the Ukrainian armed forces' strike on residential neighborhoods in Belgorod."
Belgorod lies merely 20 miles from the Ukraine border, on the other side of which has witnessed two years of heavy fighting. Air raid sirens and the occasional inbound drone have become 'normal' for Russian residents in the region, however, the scale of Saturday's attack was unprecedented in intensity and the rate at which the missiles and drones hit central areas.
The Saturday attacks on Russia were rare for their size and scope, and likely Russian forces are preparing another wave of attacks on Ukraine. President Putin was reportedly briefed on the wide-ranging assault, detailed further as follows:
An initial statement from the Russian defence ministry on Saturday said 13 missiles were destroyed over the wider region overnight. Later, it said 32 drones had been shot down in the Bryansk, Oryol, Kursk and Moscow regions.
The governor of Bryansk region meanwhile said two villages were targeted and a child, born in 2014, had been killed. He said the attacks had damaged 55 homes, two private businesses, a football ground, a leisure centre and a pre-school.[/iNOTIFY: Y | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | PERMALINK | TOP | HOME
According to Military Summary Channel, Ukraine followed up its drone attack on civilians in Belgorod with a cluster munitions attack on them
A war crime, as even Dima points out.
-----------
"It may be dangerous to be America's enemy, but to be America's friend is fatal." - Henry Kissinger
Loving America is like loving an addicted spouse - SIGNYM
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Quote:Russians say many things: Inside Putin's propaganda machine. Ordinary Russians were led to believe Europe faced imminent famine
Originally posted by SIGNYM:
According to Military Summary Channel, Ukraine followed up its drone attack on civilians in Belgorod with a cluster munitions attack on them
A war crime, as even Dima points out.
"They will soon begin to perish unless they receive aid from Russia to survive. Complaints are already being voiced. If the winter is harsh, they will go extinct like the mammoths. I say this in all seriousness." (Then it must be true because Russians are trustworthy, truthful, and civilized by Christianity, unlike the godless Europeans enthralled by Satan.)
https://essanews.com/inside-putins-propaganda-machine-ordinary-russian
s-were-led-to-believe-europe-faced-imminent-famine,6979313314670721a
Moscow called a meeting of the United Nations Security Council on Saturday, adding it had requested that the Czech Republic's representative attend in New York to "explain this country's ammunition is being used for killing civilians in Belgorod."
Czech Foreign Minister, Jan Lipavský, said Prague would not "be summoned anywhere by Russia," adding its representatives would attend a Security Council meeting "when Russia wants to discuss the withdrawal of its occupying troops" from Ukraine.
https://www.newsweek.com/belgorod-russia-ukraine-strikes-us-volodymyr-
zelensky-1856770
The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at
https://www.mediafire.com/folder/1uwh75oa407q8/Firefly
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