Ukraine war mega thread

[harrybarracuda]

... Chomsky continued, “Of course, it was provoked. Otherwise, they wouldn’t refer to it all the time as an unprovoked invasion. By now, censorship in the United States has reached such a level beyond anything in my lifetime. Such a level that you are not permitted to read the Russian position. Literally.

Goes to show what a ridiculous, irrelevant, squealing anti-American he's turned into in his old age.

Anyone can read the Russian "position" and, except for snivelling putin sycophants like you, can tell it's utter horseshit.

[OhOh]

I have heard very little coverage of this in the mainstream media.

Foreign media/bsnub being factual.

If anyone has a more comprehensive reference for this please post it up. If what the Russians are claiming is true then Zelensky has a lot of explaining to do. I think it undermines his entire credibility. These days I am far more inclined to believe the Russian position than that spewing from the mouth of Mr. Hothead

The events, the attack and the IAEA visit, have been covered daily by the Russian Military Channel, Russian media.

From the arrival of the 16% military at the site and it's repulse by the Russian forces, through the IAEA visit, the initial press release by the IAEA regarding the visit who only stated they, UKraine, was shelling the NPP ...

There is a full IAEA Report awaited allegedly.

Here are a few:

Military operation in Ukraine

1 Sep, 20:14Updated at: 1 Sep, 21:07

Ukrainian saboteurs who plotted to seize Zaporozhye plant were MI6 trained — authorities

Vladimir Rogov earlier told that Ukrainian saboteurs, according to preliminary information, were planning to carry out a terrorist attack at the Zaporozhye nuclear power plant

"MOSCOW, September 1. /TASS/. Ukrainian saboteurs who planned to seize the Zaporozhye nuclear power plant were trained in the UK, Vladimir Rogov, a member of the main council of the military-civilian administration of the Zaporozhye Region, said during a Rossiya-1 TV broadcast on Thursday.

"Not only did [they] study English <...> but underwent special training under the guidance of the British Secret Intelligence Service, the MI-6. After that they returned to Ukraine, <..>, through Warsaw, ending up in Odessa and from there, by the end of August, [they] arrived in the Dnepropetrovsk region, on the right bank of the Dnepr River, where they got ready and moved out to execute the criminal orders given to them," he said.

Rogov earlier told TASS that the Ukrainian saboteurs, according to preliminary information, were planning to carry out a terrorist attack at the Zaporozhye nuclear power plant, timing it to coincide with the visit by the IAEA’s fact-finding mission.

On the morning of September 1, the Russian Defense Ministry reported that Ukrainian troops attempted to disembark at 07:00 at the Zaporozhye nuclear power plant, near the Vodyanoe village. The landing was thwarted by Russia’s Armed Forces, when they sunk two self-propelled barges carrying saboteurs that departed from Nikopol.

Also, according to the Russian Defense Ministry, at 06:20 Moscow time, the Kiev regime carried out a landing by two Ukrainian sabotage groups with a total number of up to 60 people on seven speedboats on the coast of the Kakhovka reservoir, three kilometers north-east of the Zaporozhye nuclear power plant. The Defense Ministry reported that the Ukrainian servicemen were blocked by units of the Russian National Guard and the Russian Armed Forces.

The much-awaited IAEA mission has now arrived in Energodar and at the Zaporozhye nuclear power plant. The mission will assess the physical damage to the plant, determine the operability of the facility's security and safety systems. Specialists will also have to assess the working conditions of plant personnel and take urgent measures to ensure the safety of the facility."

Ukrainian saboteurs who plotted to seize Zaporozhye plant were MI6 trained — authorities - Russian Politics & Diplomacy - TASS

Group of armed saboteurs detained in Energodar while plotting attack on ZNPP — authorities

Group of armed saboteurs detained in Energodar while plotting attack on ZNPP — authorities - World - TASS

Ukraine crisis

Up to 12 people from IAEA mission decided to stay at Zaporozhye — local authorities

Up to 12 people from IAEA mission decided to stay at Zaporozhye — local authorities - World - TASS
Ukraine crisis

6 Sep, 22:41

IAEA reports number of events at Zaporozhye NPP in violation of nuclear safety principles

https://tass.com/world/1503595

Not a great deal the 16% media would want to brag about.

[Takeovers]

It seems that presently the Ukraine forces are not able or willing to advance as fast as russian lines collapse.

[Hugh Cow]

Foreign media/bsnub being factual.



The events, the attack and the IAEA visit, have been covered daily by the Russian Military Channel, Russian media.

From the arrival of the 16% military at the site and it's repulse by the Russian forces, through the IAEA visit, the initial press release by the IAEA regarding the visit who only stated they, UKraine, was shelling the NPP ...

There is a full IAEA Report awaited allegedly.

Here are a few:

Military operation in Ukraine

1 Sep, 20:14Updated at: 1 Sep, 21:07

Ukrainian saboteurs who plotted to seize Zaporozhye plant were MI6 trained — authorities

Vladimir Rogov earlier told that Ukrainian saboteurs, according to preliminary information, were planning to carry out a terrorist attack at the Zaporozhye nuclear power plant

"MOSCOW, September 1. /TASS/. Ukrainian saboteurs who planned to seize the Zaporozhye nuclear power plant were trained in the UK, Vladimir Rogov, a member of the main council of the military-civilian administration of the Zaporozhye Region, said during a Rossiya-1 TV broadcast on Thursday.

"Not only did [they] study English <...> but underwent special training under the guidance of the British Secret Intelligence Service, the MI-6. After that they returned to Ukraine, <..>, through Warsaw, ending up in Odessa and from there, by the end of August, [they] arrived in the Dnepropetrovsk region, on the right bank of the Dnepr River, where they got ready and moved out to execute the criminal orders given to them," he said.

Rogov earlier told TASS that the Ukrainian saboteurs, according to preliminary information, were planning to carry out a terrorist attack at the Zaporozhye nuclear power plant, timing it to coincide with the visit by the IAEA’s fact-finding mission.

On the morning of September 1, the Russian Defense Ministry reported that Ukrainian troops attempted to disembark at 07:00 at the Zaporozhye nuclear power plant, near the Vodyanoe village. The landing was thwarted by Russia’s Armed Forces, when they sunk two self-propelled barges carrying saboteurs that departed from Nikopol.

Also, according to the Russian Defense Ministry, at 06:20 Moscow time, the Kiev regime carried out a landing by two Ukrainian sabotage groups with a total number of up to 60 people on seven speedboats on the coast of the Kakhovka reservoir, three kilometers north-east of the Zaporozhye nuclear power plant. The Defense Ministry reported that the Ukrainian servicemen were blocked by units of the Russian National Guard and the Russian Armed Forces.

The much-awaited IAEA mission has now arrived in Energodar and at the Zaporozhye nuclear power plant. The mission will assess the physical damage to the plant, determine the operability of the facility's security and safety systems. Specialists will also have to assess the working conditions of plant personnel and take urgent measures to ensure the safety of the facility."

Ukrainian saboteurs who plotted to seize Zaporozhye plant were MI6 trained — authorities - Russian Politics & Diplomacy - TASS

Group of armed saboteurs detained in Energodar while plotting attack on ZNPP — authorities

Group of armed saboteurs detained in Energodar while plotting attack on ZNPP — authorities - World - TASS

Ukraine crisis

Up to 12 people from IAEA mission decided to stay at Zaporozhye — local authorities

Up to 12 people from IAEA mission decided to stay at Zaporozhye — local authorities - World - TASS
Ukraine crisis

6 Sep, 22:41

IAEA reports number of events at Zaporozhye NPP in violation of nuclear safety principles

https://tass.com/world/1503595

Not a great deal the 16% media would want to brag about.

You regularly find western news sources that have a contrary opinion to the majority of western governments, yet you never find a single Russian news source contrary to the Kremlin's view and you fail to ever question why that is even possible. You consistantly not only try to justify the murder of civilians by the Russian forces but blame others in a classic "sorry my testicles were in the way of your boot". Then you wonder why you three are held in such low regard on this forum and why any respect for the three of you has long gone.

[harrybarracuda]

You regularly find western news sources that have a contrary opinion to the majority of western governments, yet you never find a single Russian news source contrary to the Kremlin's view and you fail to ever question why that is even possible. You consistantly not only try to justify the murder of civilians by the Russian forces but blame others in a classic "sorry my testicles were in the way of your boot". Then you wonder why you three are held in such low regard on this forum and why any respect for the three of you has long gone.

That's a long-winded way of saying "More propaganda bullshit".

[panama hat]

the combination of Ukrainian courage and U.S. technology has proved quite potent in blocking Russia’s attempt to conquer the bulk of Ukraine. American air defense support has denied Russia the air superiority essential to the rapid advance of its ground forces. American anti-tank weapons and targeting intelligence have prevented Russia’s armor from sweeping into Kyiv, and Russia has suffered significant personnel losses, particularly in its officer corps. Putin has been forced to downsize his battlefield ambitions and rely on a barrage of stand-off artillery and rocket strikes

Yup - well said. The perfect way to end this war . . . Putin gets out of Ukraine and pays massive compensation

[kingwilly]

Your sovereign country is no more. Bit like Yugoslavia.

Why do you take such delight in this?

[sabang]

What makes you think I do? With a bit of common sense, the Russian incursion could and should have been avoided.

[Takeovers]

With a bit of common sense, the Russian incursion could and should have been avoided.

You expect common sense from Russia?

[panama hat]

I don't post in the Ukraine topics anymore

. . . in the Ukraine thread

[OhOh]

you never find a single Russian news source contrary to the Kremlin's view

Thank you for your opinions.

I refer you to other our other TD posters who attempt to "inform" us with their "factual posts".

One example.
My post you are replying to:

The events, the attack and the IAEA visit, have been covered daily by the Russian Military Channel, Russian media.

I replied to a member's request for information, I gave him and any interested others a few references, as requested:

If anyone has a more comprehensive reference for this please post it up.

My post is one of 20+ posts on the page. Mostly anti-Russian. Their quality and accuracy, only time will tell. Because none of us are well-informed. Did you read any? By your silence did you agree with them?

justify the murder of civilians by the Russian forces

Not I, others here seam to relish mas slaughter. If you have any evidence to show, to back your allegation, please do.

why you three are held in such low regard on this forum

You are assuming I am impressed with their posts, generally you are mistaken. I read and watch them and remind them of any obvious lies they post as facts, "Germany has signed contracts for Qatar gas", for example.

why any respect for the three of you has long gone.

This forum's active posters are generally of a 16% background. As such, they automatically accept te 16% "news".
I am politely suggesting to you that the most vocal deniers talk out of their arses.

Why they behave in this manner is for them to reply.

I hope these answers cover your posted points adequately.

[bsnub]

With a bit of common sense, the Russian incursion could and should have been avoided.

You utter moron, every diplomatic avenue was pursued, and it is well documented in the Wapo piece posted here. Putin wanted this war. Clueless as always.

[bsnub]

I refer you to other our other TD posters who attempt to "inform" us with their "factual posts".

God knows that isn't you. You post more utter shit on this forum than just about any poster, most of the utter crap you post is not even worth reading because it is pure fantasist bullshit with not a shred of truth to it. Yet you swallow it like the dimwitted lemming you are.

[sabang]

I believe the likes of John Mearsheimer, Jack Matlock and Noam Chomsky over an excitable schoolboy.

[bsnub]

I believe the likes of John Mearsheimer, Jack Matlock and Noam Chomsky over an excitable schoolboy.

Have any of those bozos commented on the Wapo piece yet? It debunks all the dated crap you posted, lemming.

[sabang]

No it doesn't, as an article I posted already pointed out.

[bsnub]

No it doesn't, as an article I posted already pointed out.

Bullshit. You posted nothing of the sort, at any rate your "argument" is shit and a total waste of time. You just keep spewing the same thing over and over again. Making a fool of yourself ever since you falsely claimed this war would never happen causing yourself massive humiliation.

Now you are focused on trying to falsely claim that Russia is not at fault for invading Ukraine. Utter fuckery for retards.

[OhOh]

Wounded Ukrainian soldiers reveal steep toll of Kherson offensive




By John Hudson

September 7, 2022 at 2:00 a.m. EDT

SOUTHERN UKRAINE —

"In dimly lit hospital rooms in southern Ukraine, soldiers with severed limbs, shrapnel wounds, mangled hands and shattered joints recounted the lopsided disadvantages their units faced in the early days of a new offensive to expel Russian forces from the strategic city of Kherson.

The soldiers said they lacked the artillery needed to dislodge Russia’s entrenched forces and described a yawning technology gap with their better-equipped adversaries. The interviews provided some of the first direct accounts of a push to retake captured territory that is so sensitive, Ukrainian military commanders have barred reporters from visiting the front lines.

“They used everything on us,” said Denys, a 33-year-old Ukrainian soldier whose unit fell back from a Russian-held village after a lengthy barrage of cluster bombs, phosphorous munitions and mortars. “Who can survive an attack for five hours like that?” he said.

Denys and eight other Ukrainian soldiers from seven different units provided rare descriptions of the Kherson counteroffensive in the south, the most ambitious military operation by Kyiv since the expulsion of Russian forces at the perimeter of the capital in the spring. As in the battle for Kyiv, Ukraine’s success is hardly assured and the soldiers’ accounts signaled that a long fight, and many more casualties, lie ahead.

“We lost five people for every one they did,” said Ihor, a 30-year-old platoon commander who injured his back when the tank he was riding in crashed into a ditch.

Ihor had no military experience before Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24. He made a living selling animal feed to pig and cow farms. His replacement as platoon commander also has no previous military experience, he said.

The soldiers were interviewed on gurneys and wheelchairs as they recovered from injuries sustained in last week’s offensive. Some spoke on the condition of anonymity to avoid disciplinary action. Others, like Denys and Ihor, agreed to reveal only their first names. But most spoke plainly about the disadvantages they faced.

Russia’s Orlan drones exposed Ukrainian positions from more than a kilometer above their heads, they said, an altitude that meant they never heard the buzz of the aircraft tracking their movements

Russian tanks emerged from newly built cement fortifications to blast infantry with large-caliber artillery, the wounded Ukrainian soldiers said. The vehicles would then shrink back beneath the concrete shelters, shielded from mortar and rocket fire.

Counter-battery radar systems automatically detected and located Ukrainians who were targeting the Russians with projectiles, unleashing a barrage of artillery fire in response.

Russian hacking tools hijacked the drones of Ukrainian operators, who saw their aircraft drift away helplessly behind enemy lines.

Ukraine has discouraged coverage of the offensive, resulting in an information lag on a potentially pivotal inflection point in the nearly seven-month conflict.

Battle for Kyiv: Ukrainian valor, Russian blunders combined to save the capital

When Ihor fired on Russian soldiers with his Kalashnikov rifle this week, he said, it was his first time shooting at a human being. “You don’t think about anything,” he said. “You understand, if you don’t do it, they will do it.”

Despite the challenges, Ihor said he is eager to return to the front line as soon as he heals. “My people are there. How can I leave them?” he said.

Other soldiers won’t be returning to the battlefield.

Oleksandr, a 28-year-old former construction worker, lost his arm in a mortar blast during the counteroffensive last week. He winced with phantom pain in his hospital bed on Sunday, saying he felt a sting from the fingers and hand that were no longer connected to his body

Oleksandr said the Russian artillery fire was relentless. “They were just hitting us all the time,” he said. “If we fire three mortars, they fire 20 in return.”

The Ukrainian soldiers said they had to carefully ration their use of munitions but even when they did fire, they had trouble hitting targets. “When you give the coordinates, it’s supposed to be accurate but it’s not,” he said, noting that his equipment dated back to 1989.

Oleksandr had never traveled to Kherson before the war, but he said the goal of expelling Russian invaders was worth sacrificing a limb. “It’s our country,” he said.

President Volodymyr Zelensky said that Ukraine’s forces retook two villages in the Kherson region, and one of his aides posted an image of the Ukrainian flag being hoisted over the village of Vysokopillya over the weekend.

“Ukrainian flags are returning to the places where they should be,” Zelensky said in a video address. But it was impossible to gauge what progress Ukrainian forces have made in their push to expel the Russian invaders from Kherson.

The region, which was captured by Russia earlier in the war forms a crucial part of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s coveted “land bridge” to Crimea, the peninsula that Russia invaded and annexed in violation of international law in 2014.

However bloody the fight, the Ukrainian soldiers said they saw no alternative.

“If we don’t stop them, they’re going to just rape and murder our people like they did everywhere else,” said Oleksandr’s roommate in the hospital, a 49-year-old conscripted soldier who asked to be called by his nickname, “Pinochet.”

Pinochet said his knee was shattered by shrapnel from a mortar that was fired after a drone spotted him in last week’s counteroffensive. He said that while Ukrainian casualties are significant, the side that wages an offensive always loses more soldiers.

“There’s nothing we can do about it,” Pinochet said. “And we can still win.”

Russian electronic warfare also posed a constant threat. Soldiers described ending their shifts and turning on their phones to call or text family members — a decision that immediately drew Russian artillery fire.

“When we turn on mobile phones or radio, they can recognize our presence immediately,” said Denys. “And then the shooting starts.”

Despite the ban on media visits to the front line, there were signs that Russia’s grip on Kherson might be loosening.

In a statement on Monday, a Kremlin-backed occupation authority said that plans for a staged referendum in the Kherson region, a precursor to Russian annexation, were put on hold due to security issues. The Russian statement was later walked back, but it gave the Ukrainians optimism and suggested that, at the least, the counteroffensive was causing some disarray for the Russians.

Kyiv is hoping that the Kherson counteroffensive will boost national morale and demonstrate to Western governments that their billions of dollars in economic and military assistance is paying off, even as sanctions against Russia have raised energy prices and inflation and raised fears of an even more expensive winter.

The Ukrainian claims of retaking villages such as Vysokopillya could not be confirmed, though soldiers interviewed said they were able to advance into some previously Russian-controlled villages. Those soldiers declined to name the villages, citing instructions from their superiors.

A group of Washington Post journalists who traveled within three miles of Vysokopillya, in northern Kherson, on Monday were prevented from entering the village by Ukrainian troops and could not ascertain its status. A local official said Ukrainian and Russian forces were still battling for control.

A clear picture of Ukraine’s losses could not be independently assessed.

Denys, sitting upright on his hospital bed, said almost every member of his 120-person unit was injured, though only two were killed.

A 25-year-old soldier being treated for shrapnel wounds said that, within his unit of 100 soldiers, seven were killed and 20 injured. Ihor, the platoon commander, said 16 of the 32 men under his command were injured and one was killed.

Ukraine’s injured soldiers have been spread out to different hospitals across southern Ukraine to free up the main medical facilities near the Kherson region for incoming patients.

The Post is withholding the names of hospitals treating soldiers because such medical facilities have been targeted by Russian forces through the course of the war.

On Sunday, a hospital in Mykolaiv, a city near Kherson, came under Russian shelling. The facility’s pediatric clinic was so badly damaged it was no longer functional.

When it comes to casualties, Rob Lee, a military analyst at the Foreign Policy Research Institute, said Ukraine must make sure it retains a fighting force large enough to fend off Russian advances in the east, given Moscow’s far larger armed forces.

“If they’re taking heavy casualties and it continues for a long period of time, it can be a problem,” Lee said.

Ukraine’s reliance on inexperienced soldiers is also a vulnerability but not one that is exclusive to its forces.

At the start of the conflict, Russia and Ukraine fought with professional military units. After suffering heavy losses in the eastern Donbas region, each side began deploying volunteer or reservist units with less experience.

The Kherson counteroffensive is now testing Ukraine’s forces in new ways, Lee said.

Ukrainian soldiers who faced off with Russians over the last few months gained new battlefield acumen “but much of that experience likely involved holding defensive positions,” he said. “Conducting offensive operations is far more difficult, and it takes time and training.”

The flurry of action at the hospitals made clear the soldiers weren’t in the fight alone. Doctors, nurses and hospital staff worked around-the-clock to provide care for the large influx of wounded troops. One nurse snuck a kitten into the trauma unit for a soldier named Oleh, who rescued the feline from the front lines after its mother was killed by shrapnel.

Volunteers brought toiletries, including toothbrushes and deodorant, and bags of new clothes for the soldiers to wear after physicians used scissors to cut through their shirts and pants to expose their wounds.

Each soldier said it was impossible to predict when Kherson might be liberated, and many said it would depend on when the Ukrainians receive enough artillery from allies.

When one soldier appeared uncertain if the counteroffensive would be worth the toll it has taken, Oleksandr, who has cultivated a reputation as the “hospital comedian,” said it was important to maintain a positive attitude.

“You have to make jokes to keep your spirits up. We can have this outlook because we’re Ukrainians,” he said. “We’re kind if you don’t touch us.”

Steve Hendrix, in Ukraine’s Kherson region, and Isabelle Khurshudyan in Tbilisi, Georgia, contributed to this report."

https://www.washingtonpost.com/world...es-ammunition/

[sabang]

..... "And I have seen, in my own experience over the last 30 years working extensively in Russia, in Central Europe, in China and in other parts of the world, how the U.S. approach is a military-first, and often a military-only, approach. We arm who we want. We call for NATO enlargement, no matter what other countries say may be harmful to their security interests. We brush aside anyone else’s security interests. And when they complain, we ship more armaments to our allies in that region. We go to war when we want, where we want, whether it was Afghanistan or Iraq or the covert war against Assad in Syria, which is even today not properly understood by the American people, or the war in Libya. And we say, “We’re peace-loving. What’s wrong with Russia and China? They are so warlike. They’re out to undermine the world.” And we end up in terrible confrontations.

The war in Ukraine — just to finish the introductory view — could have been avoided and should have been avoided through diplomacy. What President Putin of Russia was saying for years was “Do not expand NATO into the Black Sea, not to Ukraine, much less to Georgia,” which if people look on the map, straight across to the eastern edge of the Black Sea. Russia said, “This will surround us. This will jeopardize our security. Let us have diplomacy.” The United States rejected all diplomacy. I tried to contact the White House at the end of 2021 — in fact, I did contact the White House and said there will be war unless the U.S. enters diplomatic talks with President Putin over this question of NATO enlargement. I was told the U.S. will never do that. That is off the table. And it was off the table. Now we have a war that’s extraordinarily dangerous.

And we are taking exactly the same tactics in East Asia that led to the war in Ukraine. We’re organizing alliances, building up weaponry, trash-talking China, having Speaker Pelosi fly to Taiwan, when the Chinese government said, “Please, lower the temperature, lower the tensions.” We say, “No, we do what we want,” and now send more arms. This is a recipe for yet another war. And to my mind, it’s terrifying.

We are at the 60th anniversary of the Cuban missile crisis, which I’ve studied all my life and I’ve written about, have written a book about the aftermath. We are driving to the precipice, and we are filled with our enthusiasm as we do so. And it’s just unaccountably dangerous and wrongheaded, the whole approach of U.S. foreign policy. And it’s bipartisan."

FULL- https://www.democracynow.org/2022/8/30/wests_false_narrative_china_russia_ukraine

Well worth reading in full, even for boneheads.

We’re joined by the economist Jeffrey Sachs, director of the Center for Sustainable Development at Columbia University. He’s president of the U.N. Sustainable Development Solutions Network. He served as adviser to three U.N. secretaries-general. His latest article is headlined “The West’s False Narrative About Russia and China.”

[misskit]

[bsnub]

Well worth reading in full, even for boneheads.

It is just more of your typical horseshit. Pure garbage.

[harrybarracuda]

It is just more of your typical horseshit. Pure garbage.

Pretty well any time sabang says something is "worth reading" you know it has the intellectual content of a Smurfs colouring book.

[misskit]

Russian Offensive Campaign Assessment September 7


Ukrainian forces in southeastern Kharkiv Oblast are likely exploiting Russian force reallocation to the Southern Axis to conduct an opportunistic yet highly effective counteroffensive northwest of Izyum. Ukrainian forces likely used tactical surprise to advance at least 20km into Russian-held territory in eastern Kharkiv Oblast on September 7, recapturing approximately 400 square kilometers of ground.

Russian sources claimed that Russian troops began deploying reinforcements to the area to defend against Ukrainian advances, and the Russian grouping in this area was likely understrength due to previous Russian deployments to support ongoing efforts to capture the remainder of Donetsk Oblast and support the southern axis. Ukraine’s ongoing operations in Kherson Oblast have forced Russian forces to shift their focus to the south, enabling Ukrainian forces to launch localized but highly effective counterattacks in the Izyum area.

Russian milbloggers voiced concern that this Ukrainian counterattack seeks to cut ground lines of communication (GLOCs) to Russian rear areas in Kupyansk and Izyum, which would allow Ukrainian troops to isolate the Russian groupings in these areas and retake large swaths of territory. These milbloggers used largely panicked and despondent tones, acknowledged significant Ukrainian gains, and claimed that the Ukrainian counteroffensive in the south may be a distraction from the ongoing actions in Kharkiv Oblast, which they name as the main Ukrainian effort. The level of shock and frank discussion of Ukrainian successes by Russian milbloggers speaks to the scale of surprise achieved by Ukrainian forces, which is likely successfully demoralizing Russian forces.

While it is unlikely that the southern counteroffensive and effort to attrit Russian forces in southern Ukraine is a feint for renewed operations in Kharkiv Oblast, Ukrainian forces likely took prudent advantage of a reallocation of Russian troops, equipment, and overall operational focus to launch localized counteroffensives toward critical points in Kharkiv Oblast.

https://www.understandingwar.org/

[bsnub]

Ukrainian forces in southeastern Kharkiv Oblast are likely exploiting Russian force reallocation to the Southern Axis to conduct an opportunistic yet highly effective counteroffensive northwest of Izyum. Ukrainian forces likely used tactical surprise to advance at least 20km into Russian-held territory in eastern Kharkiv Oblast on September 7, recapturing approximately 400 square kilometers of ground.

There is a strong probability at this point that the Russians will be cut off at Izyum with a rather large group of troops being cut off and encircled. We shall see in the next few days.

[misskit]

Russian government removes all mention of the war in Ukraine from 'patriotic' curriculum

Russia’s Education Ministry has removed all references to Ukraine and the “special military operation” from the curriculum for its "patriotic" lesson series, Conversations About What's Important, after a slew of complaints from parents and teachers. The original lesson plans and supplementary materials were removed from the ministry’s website on September 5, and an updated version was uploaded on September 7.


The new curriculum, which was first spotted by the independent Russian news site Verstka, has also been purged of the phrases “protection of Russians” and “the feats of Russian soldiers.” Daniil Ken, the head of the educators’ advocacy group Teachers’ Alliance, told the outlet that he’s “confident this is the result of people’s complaints, which have spilled out across social media and in an avalanche of media coverage.”

https://meduza.io/en/news/2022/09/07...tic-curriculum