Thread: Russia launches Ukraine invasion

US general’s remarks come as experts say potential winter lull in fighting could offer chance for negotiations


America’s top general has estimated that 100,000 Russian soldiers have been killed or wounded in Ukraine, and that Kyiv’s armed forces have “probably” suffered a similar level of casualties in the war.

Gen Mark Milley also suggested that as many as 40,000 Ukrainian civilians have been killed after being caught up in the conflict.

The figures provided by Milley – which could not be independently confirmed – are the most precise to date from the US government more than eight months into the war. His remarks offer the highest US estimate of casualties in the nearly nine-month conflict to date, and came as Ukraine and Russia face a potential winter lull in fighting that experts say could offer an opportunity for some kind of negotiations.

“You are looking at well over 100,000 Russian soldiers killed and wounded,” Milley said in remarks at the Economic Club of New York. “Same thing probably on the Ukrainian side.”

Asked about prospects for diplomacy in Ukraine, Milley said the early refusal to negotiate in the first world war compounded human suffering and led to millions more casualties. “So when there is an opportunity to negotiate, when peace can be achieved: seize the moment,” Milley said.

Milley’s comments came after Russia ordered its troops to withdraw from the city of Kherson in southern Ukraine – a big blow to Moscow’s military campaign.

But officials in Kyiv reacted with caution, saying the Russian army was unlikely to leave the strategic city without a fight, while the US president, Joe Biden, suggested the retreat was evidence that Moscow has “real problems” on the battlefield.

The Nato secretary general, Jens Stoltenberg, said Russia’s retreat was “part of an overall pattern” demonstrating that Moscow had “absolutely lost the momentum”.

US estimates 200,000 military casualties on all sides in Ukraine war | Ukraine | The Guardian

Local media: Russian troops blew up infrastructure facilities before leaving Kherson

Most (“Bridge”), a local news outlet based in Kherson, reports that, before retreating from the city, the Russian troops blew up a number of infrastructure facilities around Kherson.


According to local residents, several boiler rooms, the Oblenergo energy facility, and a TV broadcasting center have all been exploded by the retreating Russian forces. Although the television tower was at first believed to be intact, a later Telegram post said that it, too, has been destroyed.


Neither the Russian nor the Ukrainian side have taken official responsibility for the explosions.


In the morning on November 10, Mykhailo Podolyak, advisor to the Ukrainian Chief of Staff, stated that “Russia wants to turn Kherson into the city of death.” “The Russian troops will pass through everything they can, be it apartments or sewers. Their left-bank artillery plans to reduce the city to ruins,” said Podolyak.

https://meduza.io/en/news/2022/11/10...eaving-kherson

Russia's Yevgeny Prigozhin, a close ally of President Vladimir Putin, said on Sunday that a former mercenary who was filmed being executed by a sledgehammer blow to the head after changing sides in the Ukraine war was a traitor.

Prigozhin, a Russian businessman who founded the Wagner private military group, was responding to an unverified video distributed on Telegram that showed a man identified as a former Wagner mercenary being executed after admitting that he had changed sides in September to "fight against the Russians".

In the footage, the man, who gave his name as Yevgenny Nuzhin, 55, was shown with his head taped to a brick wall. He said he was abducted in Kyiv on Oct. 11 and came around in a cellar.

"I got hit over the head and lost consciousness and came around in this cellar," he said. "They told me I was to be tried."

As he said those words, an unidentified man loitering in combat clothing behind Nuzhin, smashed a sledgehammer into the side of his head and neck.

Nuzhin collapsed onto the floor and the unidentified man delivered another blow to his head.

Reuters was unable to immediately verify the video which appeared on the Grey Zone Telegram channel, one of several that Russian media said was linked to the Wagner group. The video was posted under the title "The hammer of revenge".

Asked to comment on the execution video, Prigozhin said in remarks released by his spokeswoman that the video should be called "A dog receives a dog's death".

"Nuzhin betrayed his people, betrayed his comrades, betrayed consciously," said Prigozhin, who has been sanctioned by the United States and European Union for his role in Wagner. "Nuzhin was a traitor."

Prigozhin only confirmed in September that he founded the Wagner Group in 2014, the first public acknowledgement of a link he has previously denied and sued journalists for reporting.

Wagner group, originally staffed by veterans of the Russian armed forces, has fought in Libya, Syria, the Central African Republic, Mali and Ukraine, among other countries.

Prigozhin was shown in a video released in September recruiting convicts in a Russian jail for the war, warning them that the conflict was tough and setting down rules about their conduct.

In further remarks about the execution video on Sunday, Prigozhin also issued a warning to others in Russian society whom he described as traitors.

"Do not forget, there are not only traitors who throw away their automatic guns and go over to the enemy," he said.

"Some traitors are holed up in offices, not thinking about their own people. Some of them use their own business jets to fly to those countries that seem neutral to us so far. They fly away so as not to participate in today's problems. They are traitors too."

Video shows sledgehammer execution of Russian mercenary | Reuters

Ah, Russians . . . who wouldn't be on their side . . .

Originally Posted by panama hat

Ah, Russians . . . who wouldn't be on their side . . .

Sabang is, and he will probably deny this happened.

^^ I followed a couple of links from an article about the same thing and was lead to videos of Wagner Group smashing people with sledgehammers and cutting off heads. Wish I hadn’t seen it.

Originally Posted by misskit

Wish I hadn’t seen it.

Sorry you had to see that. I made sure I stayed away from those. Basically, these guys are the equivalent of Isis. The more salient point is that anyone that supports Russia supports these evil monsters, which are an extension of the Kremlin.

It must be getting to the point where Putin blows his brains out in his bunker.

Originally Posted by harrybarracuda

It must be getting to the point where Putin blows his brains out in his bunker.

I get the reference but in this case surely one must wonder how he is going to bludgeon himself to death with a sledgehammer

Originally Posted by panama hat

I get the reference but in this case surely one must wonder how he is going to bludgeon himself to death with a sledgehammer

The hammer comes with a sickle. Wrist or throat slash much more efficient.

True, very true . . . but efficiency isn't a Russian thing it seems.

Wagner Denies Involvement After Mercenary Killed in Ukraine

The head of Russian mercenary outfit Wagner on Tuesday denied the group's involvement in the execution of one of its fighters in Ukraine, after having said the man deserved a "dog's death."


Last week, social media accounts linked to Wagner shared footage of the brutal killing of a man who had reportedly surrendered to Ukrainian forces before being returned to Moscow's forces.


The man, who identified himself as Yevgeny Nuzhin, was shown receiving a fatal blow to the head with a sledgehammer.


Wagner's head Yevgeny Prigozhin — a businessman close to the Kremlin — on Sunday praised what he described as "magnificent work," calling the murdered man a "dog."


"A dog should have a dog's death," he said.

In a fresh statement Tuesday, Prigozhin denied his private fighting group had played any role in the execution and instead blamed U.S. secret services without substantiating his accusations.


"It's the practice of U.S. intelligence services, which abduct people, including Russian citizens, across the world," Prigozhin said, calling on Russian prosecutors to open an investigation.


"Wagner employees are distinguished by their exemplary discipline and strict adherence to international standards and globally accepted rules of social behavior," Prigozhin added.


The Russian rights group Gulagu.net, which advocates for prisoners in Russian detention, said that Nuzhin had been in prison in Russia and was recruited by Wagner to fight in Ukraine.


Prigozhin has been accused of personally participating in a recruitment drive by offering contracts at Russian prisons, vowing that those who surrender or are captured would be killed.


The 61-year-old businessman in September disclosed for the first time that he had founded the Wagner group in 2014 to fight in Ukraine and acknowledged its presence in Africa, the Middle East and Latin America.


Several rights groups have brought legal proceedings against Wagner, accusing its members of having in 2017 tortured and murdered a pro-regime fighter who had deserted in Syria.


This month Wagner opened a headquarters in Russia's second city of St. Petersburg.

Wagner Denies Involvement After Mercenary Killed in Ukraine - The Moscow Times

A Putin lackey telling lies. Who would have believed such a thing.

Originally Posted by misskit

Wagner's head Yevgeny Prigozhin

This guy has been on a power grab of late, and I think he has taken it a step too far. He could be the next one to take a dive out a window.

Originally Posted by bsnub

This guy has been on a power grab of late, and I think he has taken it a step too far. He could be the next one to take a dive out a window.

Puffy must have run out of Polonium.

Apparently like all Oligarchs who know many wish him gone he has someone taste every mouthful , which I'd imagine leads to some embarrassing moments in the bedroom?


Putin has someone sample every meal he’s served to ensure he’s not being poisoned, according to the founder of the “Club des Chefs des Chefs,” a culinary organization whose members cook for heads of state and monarchs around the world.

Now things get interesting.

https://twitter.com/BNONews/status/1592589611510792192

BREAKING: Senior U.S. intelligence official says Russian missiles crossed into NATO member Poland, killing 2 people - AP

The Polish national security committee is presently in session about this.

Originally Posted by Takeovers

Now things get interesting.

NATO territory being bombed with NATOese being being killed by Russian missile strikes does up the ante a bit.

Originally Posted by Edmond

NATO territory being bombed with NATOese being being killed by Russian missile strikes does up the ante a bit.

Sure does. Investigations to follow. Results will range from accidental missile retargeting to intentional targeting.

I was personally affected by the findings of a simular investigation in 1964 which resulted in a joint resolution that the United States Congress passed on August 7, 1964, in response to the Gulf of Tonkin incident.

Russia is gonna have to eat some humble pie on this one, but they will probably borrow a leaf from the amerkin textbook and call it collateral damage. How unfortunate.

^ But there was no Gulf of Tonkin incident norts, although that triviality did not stop it affecting you or many others.

Originally Posted by sabang

^ But there was no Gulf of Tonkin incident norts, although that triviality did not stop it affecting you or many others.

Trust me I know that. I was there.
Damn, I'm an old fucker!

Originally Posted by Norton

Damn, I'm an old fucker!

Happens fast, dunnit!


Moldova hit by power outages following Russia’s missile attack on Ukraine

Moldova is experiencing power outages after a massive missile strike launched by Russia on Ukrainian cities, Agora, TSV Transnistria, and Sputnik Moldova report.


According to the media, the Vulcăneşti-Isaccea “export” powerline is down. Moldova uses it to receive electricity from Romania. Social media users are complaining about outages in several cities and a few districts in Chișinău.


Journalists note that power outages and surges are possible all over the country. Moldovans are urged to turn off their electrical appliances.

Earlier today, the Russian army launched mass-scale missile strikes on Kyiv and other Ukrainian regions. At least one person was killed in Kyiv. Air defence systems are reported to have been active in Poltava, Vinnytsia, Zhytomyr, Sumy, Odesa, Cherkasy, and Khmelnytsky regions. Local authorities also said the Kharkiv region was targeted as well.


Kharkiv’s metro came to a standstill following the strikes. Ukraine’s DTEK energy company informed Kyiv residents about emergency blackouts. Half of Kyiv residents are left without electricity. Deputy head of the president’s office Kyrylo Tymoshenko has described the energy infrastructure situation as critical.

Новая газета Европа

Russia Reject’s Ukraine’s Negotiating Terms

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Tuesday that Ukraine has put forward “unrealistic and inadequate” terms for future peace talks.


Lavrov said he spoke with French President Emmanuel Macron at the G20 summit in Bali, where he reiterated accusations that Kyiv “categorically refuses” negotiations with Moscow.


“I reminded him that all the problems are on the Ukrainian side, which categorically refuses any negotiations and puts forward terms that are obviously unrealistic and inadequate,” Lavrov told reporters.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky addressed the G20 via video link earlier Tuesday, where he presented a 10-point peace plan to end Russia’s invasion. In addition to safety guarantees, the plan reportedly includes proposals for a special tribunal for alleged Russian war crimes.


President Vladimir Putin's delegate at the summit, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, remained in his seat throughout Zelensky's address, two diplomatic sources told AFP.


Speaking with reporters later, Lavrov said Putin and other Russian officials have repeatedly confirmed their readiness to negotiate peace amid continuing battlefield setbacks suffered by the Russian military.


“If anyone is refusing, it is Ukraine. The longer it refuses, the more difficult it will be to reach an agreement,” Lavrov said.


The Kremlin meanwhile said Russia’s “special military operation” will continue, blaming Ukraine for its “factual and legal” unwillingness to negotiate.

Russia Rejects Ukraine’s Negotiating Terms - The Moscow Times