|
Day 2: Ukrainian Su27 jet shot down over Kyiv as capital comes under attack from 'cruise missiles', Putin's tanks move within 20 MILES of city: Zelensky rages at Biden for leaving his country 'alone', says Kremlin marked him 'target No.1' UPDATED
Russia's mobile crematoriums designed to 'evaporate' dead soldiers and hide true scale of war - as distraught mothers say their sons were tricked into joining Putin's army and told they were going to Ukraine for practice drills 'Russian warship, go f*** yourselves': Final words of Ukrainian border guards protecting Snake Island – just 40 miles from Romanian border in the Black Sea – before Kremlin navy opened fire killing all 13 of them when they refused to surrender [Daily Mail, where America gets its news]
[The Hill] Ukrainian Ambassador to the U.S. Oksana Markarova said Thursday that a platoon of Russian soldiers surrendered to the Ukrainian military, saying they "didn't know that they were brought to Ukraine to kill Ukrainians." At a press briefing, Markarova said, "Just before I came here, we got information from our chief commander that one of the platoons of the 74th motorized brigade from Kemerovo Oblast surrendered." "They didn't know that they were brought to Ukraine to kill Ukrainians. They thought they were doing something else there," she added. Markarova was unable to say how many troops were in the platoon and did not say whether they were being detained by Ukraine. Markarova said that the "combat spirit" of the Ukrainian military is "high." The ambassador called on leaders of the free world to form an "anti-Putin coalition" to stop Russia's attack against Ukraine. "Ukraine is defending our home. We will defend our home and it's time for all free and democratic nations who value the principles and the territorial integrity and the right of any country for peace to stand together with us, but not only stand together with us, act together with us to stop the war in Europe," said Markarova.
Zelensky also said that Russian "sabotage groups" had entered the capital Kyiv, and urged the city’s citizens to remain vigilant and observe a curfew. The invasion began early Thursday with a series of missile strikes, many on key government and military installations, quickly followed by a three-pronged ground assault. Ukrainian and US officials said Russian forces were attacking from the east toward Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second-largest city; from the southern region of Crimea, which Russia annexed in 2014; and from Belarus to the north. Both sides claimed to have destroyed some of the other’s aircraft and military hardware, though little of that could be confirmed. Hours after the invasion began, Russian forces seized control of the now-unused Chernobyl plant and its surrounding exclusion zone after a fierce battle, presidential adviser Myhailo Podolyak told The News Agency that Dare Not be Named. The US sanctions will target Russian banks, oligarchs, state-controlled companies and high-tech sectors, Biden said, but they were designed not to disrupt global energy markets. Russian oil and natural gas exports are vital energy sources for Europe. Israeli satellite images show large Russian military buildup on Ukraine invasion route
ISI says this is one of Russia’s main routes of invasion of Ukraine, going through the city of Kharkiv. The photos show helicopters and delivery trucks, as well as a field hospital. ISI says the trucks are resupplying the helicopters before they take off.
[Sun UK] KYIV is under attack by groups of Russian troops wearing Ukrainian uniforms in the latest ploy by mad tyrant Vladimir Putin. Ukrainian troops are reported to have killed a number of disguised soldiers as the capital prepares for a long bloody siege. It comes as citizens were urged to take up arms, make up Molotov cocktail fire bombs, and to use commercial drones to defend their homes. Some 18,000 assault rifles have been handed out to residents and general mobilisation has been ordered in a bid to protect their homes. And meanwhile, Russia claims it has retaken the key airfield of Gostomel close to the city after a back-and-forth battle. Putin's forces boasted they had swooped in with 200 helicopters and paratroopers to seize the location. Gunfire has reportedly been heard around Kyiv amid a flurry of skirmishes in the Oblonon district and the city centre. Pictures also showed a Ukrainian military truck and dead men wearing Ukrainian military uniforms who were allegedly actually disguised Russians. It is feared that Russian special forces could be attempting to sow chaos and take out key officials - potentially Zelenskyy himself - to pave the way for the invasion. Other attackers may have been Russian "saboteurs" or "sleeper cells" who are loyal to Putin and who have been lying in wait in Ukraine for the assault. And video showed a tank rampaging around the district of Obolon, crushing a civilian car, though the circumstances remain unclear. Kyiv's deputy defence minister Anna Maliar said Russian forces had seized Ukrainian army trucks and uniforms earlier on Friday. She said they were acting as an advanced guard for a larger convoy of Putin's forces heading "at speed" for Kyiv. Strategy Page: Interesting Ukraine invasion bits Go to the link to read it in full. As expected, not a lot of the nearly 200,000 Russian troops now near the Ukraine borders actually entered Ukraine. All, or most appeared to be volunteers, rather than the one-year conscripts that comprise half the strength of the armed forces. Few of the conscripts and even fewer of their parents are eager for the conscripts to be fighting neighbors. Russian airborne forces managed to take an airport ten kilometers outside Kyiv. Efforts to use that airport to bring in additional troops were disrupted by the Ukrainian use of Stinger portable anti-aircraft missiles as well as rifle and machine-gun fire at low flying aircraft. The airport was quickly attacked by a Ukrainian army rapid reaction force organized and trained for retaking key locations seized by Russian airborne forces. While the area around the airport was soon surrounded by regular reservists and armed volunteers, the Rapid Reaction unit retook the airport before the Russians could use larger transport aircraft to bring in more troops. Russia appears to have underestimated the preparations Ukraine have made since 2014 to deal with this kind of invasion. An amphibious assault on the major Black Sea port of Odessa failed and most ground advances appear to have stalled as well. One Russian column that did not encounter any resistance was the one into the Chernobyl radioactive zone. Ukraine claims it has RECAPTURED airport on outskirts of Kyiv from Russian special forces, claims defense minister, as President Zelensky says 137 of his soldiers have been killed fighting Putin's troops [Daily Mail UK]
also UK SUN: Ukrainian troops RECAPTURE Kyiv airport in major blow to Vladimir Putin after day of fierce fighting But despite elite Russian airborne forces capturing the airport, by Friday, Ukraine's government declared they had seized it back. Deputy Minister Anton Herashchenko made the announcement, according to The Kyiv Independent. Ukraine's National Guard tweeted a photo of three young soldiers holding up a Ukrainian flag filled with bullet holes. "Guardsmen with their flag, torn to pieces after today's battle," it wrote. "Congratulations to all of you and say that we will win!" But despite the recapture of the airport, Russia has made gains elsewhere, reportedly encircling the city of Konotop in eastern Ukraine as they head towards Kyiv. Ukrainian forces have clashed with Russian tanks in Ivankiv, not far from Kyiv, as they make their way from the border with Belarus via the Chernobyl exclusion zone. At around 4.20am local time (2.20am GMT), reports came through of blasts in the city. Vladimir Putin's tanks are less than 20 miles from Ukraine's capital, as thousands try desperately to escape to the west and flee the onrushing army. Posted by: Skidmark 2022-02-25 |
|||||
| http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?ID=625973 |