Will Russia invade the Ukraine?

[Bigyin]

There are 2 versions to the Moskva battleship story

Version 1 which is embarrassing to Russia and is their own version that a fire suddenly started that their crew couldnt manage and caused an ammunition explosion resulting in catastrophic damage that meant the evacuation of the entire crew

Version 2 which is even more embarrassing is the Ukranian one which came out a few hours before the Russian one saying they had struck the Moskva with a couple of missiles causing the fire and resulting ammunition explosion and evacuation. They did say they had sunk it but the US says its still afloat , just

Following this a few Russian warships have moved a bit further away from the Southern Ukrainian coastline ..... make your own mind up

If the Ukrainians managed it its a large propaganda success on the day when Russian TV is also shouting about the surrender of the final Ukrainian units at Mariupol through lack of resupply which would signify the fall of the port city after 50 days of siege

[Yambo]

Russia are saying the Moskva sunk whilst being towed into port due to heavy seas. If the ship had been hit by Ukrainian missiles I'd suggest it has been scuttled to prevent evidence of the missile strikes hitting the media.

If course, if the Russian version is to believed then it's just further embarrassment for the recovery effort. I can't retrospectively check the weather and sea state in the Northern Black Sea but others can and no doubt will.

Either way, it's all very entertaining.

[Horse]

Russian state media will probably soon announce that they have a wonderful new submarine.

[Mussels]

I've served on similar ships and I don't buy the random fire idea, it just doesn't happen. Warships have excellent fire suppression systems along with procedures to prevent them in the first place, a fire like that would be massive incompetence by many people.
It's plausible that the defence systems were broken, Russia would find that more embarassing than an accidental fire and probably why they deny the missile. The ship was due a refit in 2016 that got cancelled due to funding issues, other ships are probably in a similar state if the command ship was like it.

[Mr. Dazzle]

Presumably moving further from the Ukrainian coast and increasing strikes on Kyiv are all moves designed to reduce the risk of fire

[Mussels]

Despite not admitting the ship was destroyed by a missile Russia has suddenly decided to bomb the missile factory.
Russia talks about taking revenge on Ukraine for Russian losses but surely they are already throwing anything they can spare at Ukraine so does it make any difference?

In other news it looks like Russia has learnt something, they are cremating bodies in areas they occupy. That sounds like an admission of war crimes.

[Horse]

Russia has suddenly decided to bomb the missile factory.

Struck me as bizarre that, if they knew about a missile factory, they hadn't already attacked it.

[demographic]

New Ukranian postage stamp and as far as I'm aware its a proper stamp. Not a spoof.

[Count Steer]

Despite not admitting the ship was destroyed by a missile Russia has suddenly decided to bomb the missile factory.
Russia talks about taking revenge on Ukraine for Russian losses but surely they are already throwing anything they can spare at Ukraine so does it make any difference?

In other news it looks like Russia has learnt something, they are cremating bodies in areas they occupy. That sounds like an admission of war crimes.

It was said that they had mobile crematoria for their own soldiers when it all kicked off. (It reduces the number of bodies shipped home as they are bad for public morale).

[David]

AND....for post 1,000.....


the news is that ...YES, Russia will invade!

[Felix]

AND....for post 1,000.....


the news is that ...YES, Russia will invade!

1001.


You sure?

[Mussels]

AND....for post 1,000.....


the news is that ...YES, Russia will invade!

They didn't invade remember, it's a 'special military operation'.

[Supermofo]

I like the fact that this thread on my phone reads

Will Russia invade the UK

[irie]

Just heard something interesting about the Mariupol steel works. The Russians have offered an amnesty to the Ukrainian fighters holed up there as long as they surrender and leave. An offer the fighters unsurprisingly have turned down for the obvious reason that after surrendering they would be slaghtered.

But it seems that there is an extensive underground network beneath the steelworks where the fighters are holed up and Russian forces have used heavy artillery to try to dislodge them. The net effect of this is that almost everything has been razed to ground level thus making it virtually impossible for the Russian military to enter the area due to lack of ground cover. And of course, the Russian military can not move vehicles through the area because just like jacks-in-boxes the Ukrainians would pop up with their Nlaws and zap the vehicles. I do wonder how long the Ukrainians can last, and also if there are some covert methods of getting food, water, and arms to their subterranean hideouts ...

[Newey]

Just wondering and assuming that the Ukraine language and to some extent the accent must be similar to the Russian, if so, what's stopping a Russian/s who lives in the Ukraine from strolling over the boarder to Poland, not everyone has a passport or do they still have to carry an ID card?

[demographic]

Just wondering and assuming that the Ukraine language and to some extent the accent must be similar to the Russian, if so, what's stopping a Russian/s who lives in the Ukraine from strolling over the boarder to Poland, not everyone has a passport or do they still have to carry an ID card?

Dunno really.
I assume the Russians living in Ukraine are being bombed out of their homes by the Russian forces just as much as the Ukranians living in Ukraine so does it matter?

[Yambo]

Oi, Vlad!

[irie]

Just heard something interesting about the Mariupol steel works. The Russians have offered an amnesty to the Ukrainian fighters holed up there as long as they surrender and leave. An offer the fighters unsurprisingly have turned down for the obvious reason that after surrendering they would be slaghtered.

But it seems that there is an extensive underground network beneath the steelworks where the fighters are holed up and Russian forces have used heavy artillery to try to dislodge them. The net effect of this is that almost everything has been razed to ground level thus making it virtually impossible for the Russian military to enter the area due to lack of ground cover. And of course, the Russian military can not move vehicles through the area because just like jacks-in-boxes the Ukrainians would pop up with their Nlaws and zap the vehicles. I do wonder how long the Ukrainians can last, and also if there are some covert methods of getting food, water, and arms to their subterranean hideouts ...

Can't edit the above so quoting it.

Read today that there is a large network of nuclear bunkers beneath the Mariupol steel works ...

[Horse]

Can't edit the above so quoting all of it.

ftfy

Read today that there is a large network of nuclear bunkers beneath the Mariupol steel works ...

It was on bbc news yesterday:

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-61135901


Justin Crump, a military expert at security consultancy Sybilline, told the BBC there could be 500 to 800 Ukrainian troops holding out in the city.

"[The steelworks] has nuclear bunkers, tunnels, it's built to survive a nuclear conflict - they are really well set for defence," he said.

"They have had more than 50 days to fortify it and build escape routes," Mr Crump added. "I suspect that unless they are wiped out they'll be there a long time. It's credible there would be guerrilla resistance."

[Screwdriver]

Sadly I fear this will lead to the inevitable use of chemical agents to flush them out or just exterminate them where they hide.