TheOldGuy @TheOldGuy@social.cleverlibre.org
I am a Democrat who supports Ukraine in their battle against The Russian fascist invaders.
I am a 71 year old Covid hermit who
lives on 10 acres in a sparsely populated area of the Ozarks. I heat with wood that is leftover by the lumber industry. When cutting oak for lumber only the trunk is used.
The largest town is population 2992. The county is 13k people scattered over 713 square miles.
Joined Dec 2022
From "The Analyst":
FRONTLINE UPDATE
There has been very heavy fighting the length of the entire Bakhmut sector - even down to Ukraine using HIMARS against a large complex of buildings on the edge of the town that may have been hiding a build up of troops. This was right on the frontline so it’s unusual to use this type of weapon so close to the front.
The situation north of Klieshievka has worsened with the Russians moving south of the railway line towards the high ground. Gains are small but persistent. In fact over the course of the past week even the optimistic Ukrainian mappers believe they have reached the very edge of the north end of the village ruins. This is not good.
Russian sources claim but have not been verified, to have broken through the railway line in the south and taken the northern half of the ruins of the village of Andrivka. If true this is now showing the Russians have regained the initiative along this front. The way it’s being talked about suggests it’s probably true.
Further south at Horlivka the Ukrainians have made gains taking some key heights on old slag heaps. Why here when this part of the front has been stable and quiet for nine years? Is it opportunistic? There seems to be so much going in at Avdivka and Klieshievka what’s this about? Horlivka is a major urban area.
There has been a great deal of fighting on the Avdivka northern pincer with both sides maintaining gains and counter gains. The area is far from stable and either side could inflict serious damage on the other quite suddenly.
The biggest concern now has shifted to the centre of the salient and the Russian advance through the industrial sector towards the town itself. They have made faster progress than expected and clearly are exploiting what they perceive as a weak spot. This is dangerous for Ukraine in two ways. First if they reinforce it this is the furthest point from safe withdrawal if lines are close to being cut behind them. Secondly if they don’t reinforce it then Russia gets dangerously close to the town itself and it’s likely loss is accelerated. Only if the pincers are safely held open can any reinforcements be deployed.
There is growing concern that Russia is about to deploy hard hitting assault units against Vuhledar. They have been training for a full year in the Berdiansk area. So if they move them here are we now expecting some kind of determined attack to take this important defensive point? They have tried many times before but with a level of incompetence hard to imagine. Have they learned from their mistakes?
On the Robotyne front the Ukrainians have made further advances toward Kopani and a widening of the salient.
On the Kherson front there has been attritional fighting - the Russians seem to have stopped attacking and gone on the defensive but there’s no obvious sign the Ukrainians are attacking either.
In other news President Biden wrote an article for the Washington Post equating Russia and Hamas and basically saying they were both determined to create chaos and undermine the world order. He also said America would never stand down from the challenge. None of this is a surprise - the problem is that the US Congress is dysfunctional in the House and no work is being done with it being sent home for two weeks for Thanksgiving- and the Senate is still sitting. That means no aid or discussions or votes for until December. And Ukraine is facing perilous weeks ahead. You can bet your life that Russia is seizing this weak point in supply and reinforcements from the US to exert maximum pressure.
It’s going to be tough month ahead for Ukraine.
Slava Ukraini 🇺🇦!
If the war in Ukraine is frozen, Russia will have 6 years to prepare its troops for a direct conflict with NATO. One likely reason could be a Russian attack on the Baltic countries.
The German Society for Foreign Policy (DGAP) conducted its study of Russia's military potential. This potential is higher than it appears now even after almost two years of war in Ukraine. The ground forces suffered the greatest losses in manpower and equipment.
Experts believe Moscow will quickly build up its military capabilities, and NATO countries have between 5 and 9 years to do the same build-up to prevent conflict.
A drone falls in Moscow. Video
How the cities would look without Putin.
Watch the drone fly up that armor's backside.
The US is finally training F16 pilots. Should have happened a year ago. They had to be shamed into it by Netherlands, who has been training them.
They deported him to Russia and then tried to mobilize him.
Slept in this morning. Decided to turn on the electric which has a thermostat. It was in the 40s so the electric could keep up. Still in the 40s now.
Trying to say the Jews did 9/11
https://t.me/NewsWorld_23/2251
Head of women's center claiming no rapes happened on October 7.
Media Police: Putin Brings Censorship to a Whole New Level - UATV
Russia has announced a new major in its universities. The course of ‘media police officers’ will be a full bachelor's degree for those, who are ready to serve the regime. Their job will be to identify and block media resources for so-called ‘extremist and destructive materials’. While propagandists and national media are ready to prepare specialists in this field, the Russian Interior Ministry does not understand why they need such specialists.
UATV journalists unveil how this new university major shows the absurdity of the Russian regime.
Violent Murderers and Rapists are Pardoned for Fighting in the War Against Ukraine - UATV
The Russian president has pardoned hundreds of prisoners since the start of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Among them are at least 17 murderers. All of them participated in the war against Ukraine. On the list, for example, is Dmitry Lebedev, the organiser of Anna Politkovskaya's murder and a resident of the Angara town of Ust-Kut, who was convicted of sexual violence against a teenage girl, robbery and drug trafficking. Rapists, robbers and murderers are returning to Russia after participating in war and committing new crimes.
Going in now to take another pain pill. The one I took a few hours ago is running out of juice. Did everyone read about the accident at the nuke plant? The Russians control it.
The Russian army does not use Sergeants
🇺🇦🇺🇦🇺🇦 Today is a professional holiday for Sergeants of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
Sergeants are the strength and power of the Ukrainian army. They are the backbone of commanders.
"Follow me, do as I do" is your motto. The sergeants make the most difficult decisions in combat situations and lead soldiers into battle.
I thank everyone who serves with honour and dignity. Thank you for your professionalism, responsibility and heroism!
Thank you for bringing our Victory closer!
Eternal honour to all those who gave their lives in the fight for Ukraine.
Glory to Ukraine!
🇺🇦🇺🇦🇺🇦
The Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine Ruslan Stefanchuk
From "The Analyst":
AVDIVKA/ ROBOTYNE UPDATE
AVDIVKA
Thursday into Friday saw appalling Russian losses again reach into the some of the highest we have seen at 1,330.
After using a new 3,000kg glide bomb with a 1,400kg warhead against the coking plant and achieving very little, Russia sent waves of infantry to their deaths as they attempted to reach the nearest tree lines to the plants north and north east.
Some of the Russian video is deeply disturbing - one Russian soldier explains why so many are drunk or take drugs as he stand in the charred remains of woodland and all around him are dozens and dozens of Russian corpses.
Ukraine has been hard at work making sure the Russian artillery is t available to support these mass meat waves and that’s making things even more difficult. There is unquestionably a level of despondency and despair in the Russian infantry. They quickly learn they are never going home and are here to die on the altar of Putin’s vanity. Nobody there cares about them in the slightest. If their wives are lucky a combat veterans charity will give them a new LG refrigerator- a video showing this was broadcast on state TV Wednesday night. That’s what life is worth in Russia.
ROBOTYNE SALIENT
The Russians withdrew their reserves to move them to Avdivka around three weeks ago, leaving just the front line troops.
Ukraine on the other hand withdrew only about half its reserves to Avdivka and also swapped about some key artillery units. They moved the specialised precision artillery and their crews to Robotyne and the less experienced to Avdivka where precision matters less.
In doing these things Russia clearly lost any ability to rotate its defending forces but also any real ability to carry out any offensive operations. However Ukraine retained the ability to rotate its forces.
As I have said many times before the need to widen rather than deepen the Robotyne salient has been an urgent one - I was pushing for this as far back as early September. The danger is it simply too exposed from three sides and that it could be pinched off too easily if a determined effort was made. Clearly Ukraine recognised this and has for some time been pushing at the sides of the salient - especially to the west and Kopani with a degree of success, although it’s still not wide or flat enough for my liking.
As a result they launched an attack eastward to take back an awkward slice of land the Russians hand succeeded in counter-attacking back in mid September. This was quickly taken.
To the immediate west of Robotyne the Ukrainians launched attacks on a trench line the Russians control but Ukraine has forces either side of. They pushed along this and into tree lines forcing the Russians back around a kilometre.
This caused immediate alarm in the Russian command and they were preparing as they always do, to counterattack with whatever was available.
At this point the Ukrainians mounted an extraordinary night operation, infiltrated the trenches and underground barracks and killed hundreds of Russian soldiers.
A Russian infantryman’s video was quickly published saying how the troops were demoralised, there were insufficient guard posts and observers, and just a general malaise of disinterest, a feeling of basically not being bothered by what could happen or caring much if it did.
Well it happened and the dead were everywhere.
Ukraine had night vision equipment and they were equipped with silencers - Russian guard posts had nothing of the sort and couldn’t see anyone coming, silenced guns take them out swiftly. Having infiltrated they then opened fire with machine guns at the sleeping soldiers and threw in grenades to finish them off.
That’s war and when you wage it as relentlessly as Russia does; you can’t be surprised when your victim hits back hard.
So it’s been a good couple of days for Ukraine and a very bad time for Russia. I wish I had any sympathy for the Russians. They made their choices when they carried Putin into power and now he’s stuck there like a leech.
It’s the callous disregard of life and then the even more callous way they lie about those deaths to their families- many deluded for months that their husbands and sons are still alive, but uncontactable or untraceable due to some faked administrative error. What sort of country does something like that and thinks it’s okay, even normal? Russia is a deeply socially dysfunctional and morally corrupt country. Is it any wonder so many want nothing to do with it, and wait in the wings for the moment to make their move?
Great moves by Ukraine and its brave defenders!
Slava Ukraini 🇺🇦!
☢️ Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant's power unit 5 leaks from reactor's primary circuit.
As the Energoatom State Enterprise National Nuclear Energy Generating Company (NNEGC) explained, the primary circuit water with a boric acid solution began to enter the turbine hall deaerator, and from there to all steam generators, due to the incompetence of Russian personnel, in particular the shift supervisor of the chemical workshop, who lost control over the saturation of the special water purification filters.
The incident with the leakage of reagents occurred as a result of the actions of the Russian invaders in connection with the illegal transfer of power unit No. 5 of Zaporizhzhia NPP to the state of hot shutdown.
According to Petro Kotin, Energoatom’s president, the actions of the invaders can lead to the loss of the integrity of the steam generator tubes, which does not comply with the regulations for the safe operation of the power unit. "With their actions, the invaders once again jeopardise the safety of the plant's operation and cause the constant degradation of equipment and an increase in dangerous cases of its failures. And this can lead to an emergency at any moment," Kotin emphasised.
Moreover, similar actions are carried out with power unit No. 3. In particular, attempts are being made to remove power unit No. 3 from repair and warm it up to a hot shutdown state in order to bring power unit No. 5 to a cold shutdown state.
Energoatom recalled that a number of emergencies have already occurred due to Russians violating licensing conditions at Zaporizhzhia NPP, the most recent of which happened on 14 November 2023.
"In addition, the senseless decision of the current 'managers' of the plant to transfer it to a 'hot' state has led to a significant increase in liquid radioactive waste at the plant site, which poses potential harm to personnel, the public and the environment," the NNEGC explained.
- Ukrainska Pravda
I am a Democrat who supports Ukraine in their battle against The Russian fascist invaders.
I am a 71 year old Covid hermit who
lives on 10 acres in a sparsely populated area of the Ozarks. I heat with wood that is leftover by the lumber industry. When cutting oak for lumber only the trunk is used.
The largest town is population 2992. The county is 13k people scattered over 713 square miles.
Joined Dec 2022
TheOldGuy's choices:
