Oorlog in Oekraïne én in Rusland #1007 Rusland gebruikt kindsoldaten

quote:

Breaking News Ukraine unveils new long-range Neptune missile variant.
According to information published by Defence24 on August 17, 2024, Ukraine has unveiled a new variant of its R-360 Neptune cruise missile. This new version of the missile, reportedly adapted for striking land targets and featuring an extended range of up to 400 kilometers, was showcased in a video released by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

^{Screenshot of the new long-range Neptune missile variant. (Picture source: Volodymyr Zelenskyy)}

SPOILER

Om spoilers te kunnen lezen moet je zijn ingelogd. Je moet je daarvoor eerst gratis Registreren. Ook kun je spoilers niet lezen als je een ban hebt.

quote:

Ukrainian NEMESIS Drones Destroy Russian Artillery and Air Defense Systems

^{Ukrainian heavy drone Nemesis ("Baba Yaga" in Russian slang)}

The 412th Battalion of Unmanned Systems used NEMESIS attack drones to target Russian artillery systems, armored vehicles, and air defense systems.

All these operations were conducted at night, as shown by the Battalion.

The strikes were carried out using heavy Nemesis drones, which were equipped with several explosives and had stable communication due to an integrated Starlink terminal.

The battalion also struck tanks, trucks, electronic warfare antennas, and buildings with Russian soldiers.

SPOILER

Om spoilers te kunnen lezen moet je zijn ingelogd. Je moet je daarvoor eerst gratis Registreren. Ook kun je spoilers niet lezen als je een ban hebt.

quote:

Nearly 1 million people temporarily exempted from military service, Defense Ministry says
About 930,000 Ukrainians liable for military service are temporarily exempted from military service, while their number may reach one million in a week, Forbes Ukraine reported on Aug. 19, citing Deputy Defense Minister Ivan Havryliuk.

Ukraine has taken steps to update the legal framework around conscription to ramp up mobilization this year. President Volodymyr Zelensky signed a new law on mobilization on April 16.

The Ukrainian government has also allowed businesses to reserve 50% of their employees if their enterprises are considered to be critical to the functioning of the economy.

Mobilization does not currently cover the army's needs, as those mobilized become soldiers only 3-6 months after they have completed training, Havryliuk said.

Russia, on the contrary, is not reducing the number of its groups in the occupied territories of Ukraine, he added.

SPOILER

Om spoilers te kunnen lezen moet je zijn ingelogd. Je moet je daarvoor eerst gratis Registreren. Ook kun je spoilers niet lezen als je een ban hebt.

quote:

Ukrenergo Announces Partial Completion of Anti-Drone Structures to Protect Substations
Ukraine’s energy transmission operator said structures to help protect against Russian drone strikes have been completed at numerous substations with foreign financial aid.

Ukrenergo, Ukraine’s energy transmission operator, announced on Monday, that concrete structures to help protect substations from drone strikes have been partially constructed at 41 facilities.

“NEC [National Energy Company] Ukrenergo is finalizing the construction of the first phase of anti-drone protection of high-voltage equipment at 41 company facilities,” read the company’s press release, adding that the State Agency for Reconstruction and Development of Infrastructure of Ukraine is completing the construction of the first stage of protection at another 22 Ukrenergo facilities.

The company said the “protective reinforced concrete structures,” implemented only at Ukrenergo’s high-voltage substations, could withstand missile fragments or a direct hit from the Iranian Shahed drones favored by Moscow.

It did not elaborate on the constructions and components employed, citing security concerns.

“Ukraine is the first country in the world that invented a comprehensive solution for physical protection against [drone] strikes,” it added.

It said the project was financed by foreign aid, and “not a single hryvnia from the budget of Ukraine was spent on the construction of defense structures.”

SPOILER

Om spoilers te kunnen lezen moet je zijn ingelogd. Je moet je daarvoor eerst gratis Registreren. Ook kun je spoilers niet lezen als je een ban hebt.

quote:

Russia Scrambles to Protect Its Helicopters From FPV Drones
Ukraine’s drone forces have shared first-person view (FPV) camera footage of UAV air-to-air kills against Russian military rotor-wing aircraft.

During Ukraine’s surprise offensive into the Kursk region, one striking feature was videos of first-person view (FPV) drones bringing down Russian military helicopters mid-flight.

In the 30-month war that followed Russia’s full-scale invasion, attack and surveillance drones are everywhere targeting vehicles, troops and defensive positions. It is no surprise therefore that Ukraine’s Aug. 6 cross-border incursion into the Kursk region was supported by swarms of drones. The difference this time was some of the drones’ targets.

On the second day of its advance, a video showed a Ukrainian FPV with an explosive payload chasing and then striking a Russian Mil Mi-28 (NATO: Havoc) attack helicopter in mid-air somewhere over Kursk, bringing it down and killing its two-man crew.

It could have been put down to blind luck if it had been a one-off. Two days later, a second Ukrainian FPV drone repeated the trick against a Russian Mil Mi-8 (NATO: Hip) transport helicopter also over the region.

A couple of weeks before the Kursk incursion an FPV drone struck and destroyed Moscow's Mi-8 medical-evacuation helicopter as it was taking off in eastern Ukraine killing all those on board.

SPOILER

Om spoilers te kunnen lezen moet je zijn ingelogd. Je moet je daarvoor eerst gratis Registreren. Ook kun je spoilers niet lezen als je een ban hebt.

quote:

Ukraine may join NATO despite being partially occupied by Russia, Czech president says
Ukraine's accession to NATO should not depend on full control over all the country's territory, including the parts occupied by Russia, Czech President Petr Pavel said in an interview with the Novinky news outlet published on Aug. 19.

The July NATO summit in Washington ended with the launch of the Ukraine Compact, a security framework signed by 32 allies. The countries affirmed Kyiv's "irreversible" path toward membership, though Ukraine did not receive any definitive news about its future accession.

President Volodymyr Zelensky, who has repeatedly called on partners to issue a membership invitation to Kyiv, said that Ukraine will join NATO only after Russia's full-scale war ends.

Pavel expects that Ukraine and Russia could conclude an agreement "in the coming years," which potentially could mean that some of Ukraine's territories may be under Russia's occupation, but the West should consider these territories only as "temporary occupied," the media outlet reported.

SPOILER

Om spoilers te kunnen lezen moet je zijn ingelogd. Je moet je daarvoor eerst gratis Registreren. Ook kun je spoilers niet lezen als je een ban hebt.

quote:

Lithuania begins construction of German military base
The NATO-country site is situated near Lithuania's border with Russian ally Belarus. It will be the first permanent foreign military deployment of German troops since World War II.

^{Construction has begun at Rudninkai, though there are already concerns it may not be completed on schedule}

Lithuanian and German officials on Monday took part in a ceremony marking the start of construction for a new military base that will house up to 4,000 combat-ready German troops when completed in late 2027.

Another 1,000 contractors will be housed elsewhere in the country.

The decision was prompted by Russia's 2022 invasion of nearby Ukraine, with Germany committing last year to permanently deploy troops in the NATO and EU member state — the first permanent foreign deployment of German troops since World War II — amid fears that Russian President Vladimir Putin could act on threats to attack NATO member states.

The base will be situated in Rudninkai, near the capital Vilnius, just 20 kilometers (12 miles) from Lithuania's border with Russian ally Belarus.

"If we are not secure, there is no security for them," said Lithuanian Prime Minister Ingrid Simonyte at the ceremony, referring to Germany itself.

SPOILER

Om spoilers te kunnen lezen moet je zijn ingelogd. Je moet je daarvoor eerst gratis Registreren. Ook kun je spoilers niet lezen als je een ban hebt.

quote:

Chechen commander says Russian conscripts must fight in Kursk Oblast, promises 'heaven' for killed

^{Russian and Chechen politician, Akhmad battalion's commader Apti Alaudinov seen during the 21th Congress of the United Russia Party in Moscow, Russia on Dec. 17, 2023. (Getty Images)}

Apti Alaudinov, the commander of the Chechen Akhmat Regiment fighting for Russia, said in a video on Aug. 19 that Russian conscripts should go to the front, and those who will be killed in Kursk Oblast "will go to heaven."

Alaudinov himself isn't fighting on the front.

Kyiv launched the unprecedented cross-border incursion on Aug. 6, saying it had captured over 1,200 square kilometers and dozens of Russian settlements since then.

At the beginning of Moscow's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Russian President Vladimir Putin claimed that Russian conscripts will not be involved in the combat. As all-out war entered its third year, Putin signed a decree meant to conscript 150,000 citizens as part of the regularly occurring spring conscription campaign.

SPOILER

Om spoilers te kunnen lezen moet je zijn ingelogd. Je moet je daarvoor eerst gratis Registreren. Ook kun je spoilers niet lezen als je een ban hebt.

quote:

Mongolia rejects 'Power of Siberia-2' gas pipeline, deals major blow to Russia's energy ambitions
In a significant setback for Moscow, Mongolia has definitively rejected the proposal to build the "Power of Siberia-2" gas pipeline. The Chinese newspaper South China Morning Post has reported that Mongolia has officially excluded the pipeline from its long-term plans extending up to 2028.

Experts interpret Mongolia’s decision as the final rejection of the contentious project, which was seen as a financial lifeline for a Russia grappling with sanctions. Losing access to the European gas market has cost Russia hundreds of billions of dollars and attempts to replace these revenues by expanding into the Chinese market have not borne fruit. Despite multiple proposals from President Putin, Beijing has consistently turned down the idea.

For Moscow, the need for new revenue and markets is urgent, but the project’s realization remains elusive. The proposed pipeline route, stretching 2,594 kilometers, would primarily traverse Mongolia, a landlocked nation. Yet, China has adamantly refused to discuss any project involving Mongolian territory for transit.

"We are entering a prolonged pause where Moscow no longer believes it can secure the desired deal from Beijing, likely postponing the project until more favorable times," says former Mongolian National Security Council employee Munkhnaran Bayarlkhagva.

He suspects that Beijing's reluctance could be partly due to Gazprom's perceived intentions to unilaterally control the Mongolian segment of the pipeline.

"This would mean a sudden and prolonged increase in Moscow's influence in Mongolia at Beijing's expense," Bayarlkhagva notes. "While never explicitly stated, it would have been 'fair' to include the Chinese in developing the Mongolian section from the start."

Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences researcher Li Lifang adds, “Mongolia hopes for investments from both China and Russia, but Russia lacks the funds, and China is not rushing to build the pipeline.”

With Russia's substantial fossil fuel reserves, the energy sector is a critical aspect of its economic relationship with China. In fact, China imported 75.4 million tons of natural gas in the first seven months of this year alone. Fuel trade is expected to be a significant agenda topic during Chinese Premier Li Qiang’s visit to Moscow on Tuesday.

quote:

Op dinsdag 20 augustus 2024 00:51 schreef Delenlill het volgende:
En er zijn inderdaad incidenten geweest van geforceerde mobilisatie, waar Zelenski/de regering zich ook tegen uitgesproken heeft.

Violent Videos Raise Questions About Ukrainian Military Recruiters

[ x ]

Maar dat gebeurd door Rusland ook:

Ukrainian woman tries to stop officials dragging her husband to join pro-Russian fighters

En in het geval van mannen die de dienstplicht proberen te ontlopen is dat gewoon gerechtvaardigd natuurlijk. In het geval van Rusland die Oekraïners in bezet gebied ronselen is dat niet het geval en is het volgens mij zelfs een oorlogsmisdaad. En in overige gevallen is het zeker niet gewenst, maar dan moet er naar de omstandigheden gekeken worden, en of het wettelijk te verantwoorden is.

Sowieso is het lang geleden dat ik zo'n filmpje vanuit Oekraïne tegen ben gekomen. Terwijl ik ze nu en dan vanuit Rusland nog wel zie.

quote:

Op dinsdag 20 augustus 2024 06:53 schreef sp3c het volgende:
Denk dattie geen Oekraïner is

quote:

Op dinsdag 20 augustus 2024 06:55 schreef ludovico het volgende:

[..]
Is een Oekraïne een minder mens? Dat die geofferd mag worden en een ander niet?

Als je zo licht praat over een ander zijn leven, wie ben jij zelf dan?