Ukraine has just launched a number of Himars missiles into Russian occupied territory, including the self-proclaimed 'Donetsk People's Republic', Crimea, and the city of Melitopol, where multiple explosions were reported, including at a former resort being used as a Russian barracks there.  The use of a resort would suggest these were not common conscripts or released prisoners who were billeted there, with some commentators claiming the site was being used by the Wagner mercenary group.

 

"Ukraine has attacked a barracks in the Russian-occupied city of Melitopol, with some Ukrainian sources claiming scores of Russian casualties.

According to witnesses, 10 explosions were heard, although some of those may have been from Russian anti-aircraft systems. Ukrainian officials claimed scores of Russian dead and injured while Russia conceded a handful of casualties."

 

Russia-Ukraine war: Ukrainian missiles attack Russian-occupied Melitopol – live (theguardian.com)

 

Melitopol is a key link in Russia's Southern Ukrainian defensive line, and controls a vital artery to Crimea. 

 

 

 

 

This comes shortly after Russia stepped up attacks on Ukrainian electricity infrastructure, including taking out Odesa's power supply, meaning around 1.5 million people are without electricity.  Russia continues to target vital, life saving civilian infrastructure, while Ukraine targets Russian occupiers.  One of these is a war crime.  No surprises which one that is.

 

 

12 hours ago, rudi49jr said:

If you want to discuss avoiding the deaths of innocent population of Ukraine, I suggest you take it up with your guy Putin. He’s the one that decided to invade Ukraine, remember? His army is the one committing war crimes on a daily basis. Putin and his cronies say Ukraine has no right to even exist, and they want to kill as many Ukrainians as they can. 

Before you twist the facts you should learn something about the Minsk agreements in 2014 and 2015 and the conclusions agreed by the signatories. None of those was followed and fulfilled. 

 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minsk_agreements

12 hours ago, placeholder said:

And has been noted time and time again om this forum, the commissions found that most of those atrocities were committed by Russia's allies and the Russians. What's more, it's been noted time and time again that the Russian denied that they were subject to the Minsk agreements since they had no soldiers in the Donbas.

How do you read the Minsk agreements? 

And what did the many OSCE reports say? In fact, in that time, not only the OSCE , and other human rights organisations also the MSM had dared. 

   

4 minutes ago, Saanim said:

Before you twist the facts you should learn something about the Minsk agreements in 2014 and 2015 and the conclusions agreed by the signatories. None of those was followed and fulfilled. 

 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minsk_agreements

Both parties failed to implement it fully but Russia refused to even recognize it, impossible for it to work when one side does not even recognize it. You know that already. The links to that have been given to you many times so stop with the misinformation

Just now, Saanim said:

How do you read the Minsk agreements? 

And what did the many OSCE reports say? In fact, in that time, not only the OSCE , and other human rights organisations also the MSM had dared. 

   

I've already quoted to you what OSCE repots said. The gist of them was that while war crimes were committed by both sides, the vast majority were committed by the rebels and their Russian backers.

As you may also recall, I cited the fact that, according to UN reports, Russians don't allow inspections of their POW camps whereas the Ukrainians offer completely open access. Does that tell you anything? Last time you greeted that datum with silence.

4 hours ago, Saanim said:

Before you twist the facts you should learn something about the Minsk agreements in 2014 and 2015 and the conclusions agreed by the signatories. None of those was followed and fulfilled. 

 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minsk_agreements

You’re trying to play the blame game, but you don’t have a leg to stand on, as has been pointed out to you on numerous occasions in this thread already. And as for twisting the facts: pot -> kettle.

5 hours ago, Saanim said:

Before you twist the facts you should learn something about the Minsk agreements in 2014 and 2015 and the conclusions agreed by the signatories. None of those was followed and fulfilled. 

 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minsk_agreements

that is reminiscent of Putin's hollow argument about his current missile attacks on civilian infrastructure (war crime) - "who started it"? stating the attacks are a response to the Crimean bridge bombing...

the Minsk agreements were already discussed, and Ruzzia is the one mainly responsible for breaking them.

there is one aggressor and one defender in this war.

 

2 hours ago, rudi49jr said:

You’re trying to play the blame game, but you don’t have a leg to stand on, as has been pointed out to you on numerous occasions in this thread already. And as for twisting the facts: pot -> kettle.

More like pot calling the porcelain..

 

By Steve Rosenberg

Russia Editor

 

When his son was sent to fight in Ukraine, Sergei begged him not to go.

"You've got relatives there. Just refuse," Sergei recalls telling Stas, who was already an army officer. "But he said he was going. He believed it was right. I told him that he was a zombie. And that, unfortunately, life would prove that."

Sergei and Stas are not the real names of this father and son. We've changed them to protect their identities. Sergei has invited us to his home to tell us their story.

"So off he went to Ukraine. Then I started getting messages from him asking what would happen if he refused to fight."

 

Sickly Putin CANCELS major press conference for first ever as he ‘battles cancer & faces coup over Ukraine war disaster’

• Updated: 13:36, 12 Dec 2022

VLADIMIR Putin has cancelled his annual press conference for the first time in 10 years and axed his New Year's Eve party at the Kremlin.

2 hours ago, Black Ops said:

Sickly Putin CANCELS major press conference for first ever as he ‘battles cancer & faces coup over Ukraine war disaster’

• Updated: 13:36, 12 Dec 2022

VLADIMIR Putin has cancelled his annual press conference for the first time in 10 years and axed his New Year's Eve party at the Kremlin.

I really hope this is true.????????

2 hours ago, heybruce said:

I really hope this is true.????????

it's "The Sun" ... it must be true.

 

30 minutes ago, tgw said:

it's "The Sun" ... it must be true.

 

Many news agencies reporting on it...

 

.

 

4 minutes ago, Black Ops said:

Many news agencies reporting on it...

 

.

 

no mention of a coup though.

3 minutes ago, tgw said:

no mention of a coup though.

 

7 minutes ago, Black Ops said:

 

ah, it's the Daily Mail, it must be true ????  well, at least that there are coup rumors ... as we read in the Sun .... oh, wait.

????

 

UK 'open-minded' about giving Ukraine longer-range weapons

UK defence minister Ben Wallace has said he would be "open-minded" about supplying Ukraine with longer-range weapons systems if Russia carried on targeting civilian areas.

Ukrainian requests for missile systems that could potentially hit targets many miles over the Russian border have so far been resisted by the West in an effort to avoid further escalation, in the face of warnings from Moscow.

But speaking to parliament, Mr Wallace was asked by former Prime Minister Boris Johnson, about the possible supply of longer-range missile systems to Kyiv to destroy or damage drone launch sites.

https://news.sky.com/story/ukraine-war-latest-putin-gives-rare-update-on-status-of-war-as-kyiv-says-russia-launched-1-000-strikes-on-power-grid-12541713?postid=5051161#liveblog-body

 

 

10 hours ago, tgw said:

it's "The Sun" ... it must be true.

 

I think last night BBC World news was also reporting on something like that

9 hours ago, tgw said:

no mention of a coup though.

no mention of a coup though,   yet  555

this one did make me ROFL ..... it appears Ukraine has no right to defend themselves as they are too aggressive / violent 555

Russia Complains of Ukraine Military's 'Aggressive Behavior'

Russia Complains of Ukraine Military's 'Aggressive Behavior' (msn.com)

 

15 hours ago, Black Ops said:

VLADIMIR Putin has cancelled his annual press conference for the first time in 10 years and axed his New Year's Eve party at the Kremlin.

It's surely a tiring job answering for more than 4 hours the questions from any side and parties - and not only once a year - and not the ones (the questions) issued in advance.

 

Some of them are sometimes very provocative and not always very polite (unlike the answers), as e.g. still can be found the questions by Steve Rosenberg of BBC Moscow (the one of the few posts back above).  

 

Perhaps he (Putin) has been thinking over his communication style,  following the style of other world leader(s), something like 5 min. briefings to the agreed questions...   

In a church in the western Ukrainian city of Lviv, Tseng Sheng-guang's mother takes one final look at her son, laid in a casket.

She's joined by other relatives and a number of Ukrainians wishing to pay tribute to a man who died thousands of miles from home, fighting for a country he had never visited before.

"Sheng-guang my boy, I want you to know that you were very brave," she later says. "You will always be my baby and I'm proud of you."

39 minutes ago, Saanim said:

It's surely a tiring job answering for more than 4 hours the questions from any side and parties - and not only once a year - and not the ones (the questions) issued in advance.

 

Some of them are sometimes very provocative and not always very polite (unlike the answers), as e.g. still can be found the questions by Steve Rosenberg of BBC Moscow (the one of the few posts back above).  

 

Perhaps he (Putin) has been thinking over his communication style,  following the style of other world leader(s), something like 5 min. briefings to the agreed questions...   

I recently wrote to Santa Claus asking him to pop in to Vladimir 's abode on Dec 24th and leave a nice glass of novichok laced with brandy on his bedside table.

It will improve his public speaking no end. 

53 minutes ago, Saanim said:

It's surely a tiring job answering for more than 4 hours the questions from any side and parties - and not only once a year - and not the ones (the questions) issued in advance.

 

Some of them are sometimes very provocative and not always very polite (unlike the answers), as e.g. still can be found the questions by Steve Rosenberg of BBC Moscow (the one of the few posts back above).  

 

Perhaps he (Putin) has been thinking over his communication style,  following the style of other world leader(s), something like 5 min. briefings to the agreed questions...   

"Some of them are sometimes very provocative and not always very polite (unlike the answers),"

 

Because we wouldn't want any questions that taxed him now would we, that's not the job of the press at all. Lets keep him nice and polite instead.

5 minutes ago, Bkk Brian said:

"Some of them are sometimes very provocative and not always very polite (unlike the answers),"

 

Because we wouldn't want any questions that taxed him now would we, that's not the job of the press at all. Lets keep him nice and polite instead.

Instead of deflecting, why don't you find the Q&A, plenty of them still can be found (with E- translation), just enter the name I mentioned.  Then you could comment to that and told us what's the job of the press.  Comparisons are welcome...

9 minutes ago, Bkk Brian said:

"Some of them are sometimes very provocative and not always very polite (unlike the answers),"

 

Because we wouldn't want any questions that taxed him now would we, that's not the job of the press at all. Lets keep him nice and polite instead.

There are never any provocative questions. Everybody is carefully selected and all questions are vetted beforehand, so as not to inconvenience Putin. It’s all for show.