All I can figure is maybe it’s a ‘sampler pack’. You know, try out these free samples of our products. If you like any of them, we have operators standing by to take additional orders.
Wikipedia has 6,719–7,046+ civilians killed, according to Ukrainian government figures, and 1,563 civilians killed, according to United Nations.
Time to end this humanitarian crisis before more civilians die.
Send in the B-2s, F-35s to strike Russian targets in Ukraine (and Ukraine only), and a video of Biden blinking eyelashes slowly, “Putin, those 6,000 nukes you claim to have? You don’t get to use them, nuh-uh…” (blinks eyelashes even more slowly)
I think I saw the 1500 from Human Rights Watch, but that’s about the same as the UN. The Ukrainian number seems more in line with the heavy shelling. The UN wounded number seems way too low if the 1500 dead is correct. I suspect it will be years until they will be able to figure a somewhat accurate account. Heck, it’s going to take a long time to figure out who left the country safely and who’s missing.
I recall hearing of the “mental shock” to the Russian people in the 1990’s when a lot of dirt came out over what happened during the Soviet era. Maybe they now try to find comfort in denial - ever more strident denial trying to drown out the little voice within says “You know it’s happened before, and is happening now.”
This isn’t a video game you know.
Ukraine and Belarus getting UN seats was a quid pro quo for India and the Philippines getting seats, even though they were under British and US control at the time.
Given that the Soviet Union hasn’t existed in decades, and the Soviet Union was the country that was given a permanent seat on the UN Security Council, what’s Russia doing there?
They should be removed from the UN Security Council. They’re a third-rate country who has invaded their neighbor, and needs to be removed from the company of civilized nations.
Allowing an aggressor country to have veto power on the UNSC basically makes the UN (even more) useless. Of course, that argument would have cut against the US in the past. At the very least there should be mandatory recusal (although I do support the contention that Russia is not the USSR).
Perhaps the rule should be: you have nukes, you can lobby the UNSC, but you do not get a vote on it, much less a veto.
It’s the principle of international succession. When there are changes in a country, like break-ups or amalgamations, the new country can succeed to the international treaties of the predecessor. When the USSR broke up, it was accepted that Russia was the successor to the USSR in the UN.
This video is so choppily edited it’s impossible to tell everything that happened or if it’s even taken from one battle. I see the vehicle in defilade destroying one enemy vehicle. The title of the youtube video is certainly ridiculous.
Right…no chance that will make things worse…[sarcasm]
Ukraine Weapons Tracker has a better description:
The video title is greatly exaggerated. They usually are on YouTube. At most only two or three Russian heavy vehicles got hit.
It’s the tactics that’s interesting. Ukraine is conserving their resources and minimizing risk to their forces. They only committed one tank to disrupt the Russian column.
Unfortunately that style of fighting won’t push Russian forces out of Eastern Ukraine.
I knew all those hours of playing Battlezone would pay off!
< shuffles off, ashamed >
It’s not a video game, but I wouldn’t be surprised if the Ukrainian fighters are gamers. They are thinking independently and improvising tactics. They’ve survived the war by avoiding large, Armored battles against the Russian forces.
Russian soldiers are still stuck with a very hierarchical command structure and Soviet era tactics. The Chechen fighters may be the exception. They may fight much differently.
Interesting analysis of how the battle will change in Eastern Ukraine. The Russians are dug in and will have an advantage in a traditional Tank battle.
Can twelve men make a difference? I assume they were trained to help Ukraine’s army learn NATO tactics. Perhaps lead the military.
They’ll have to jump directly into the war. Hopefully the drone operators will fight remotely from secure Western Ukraine bases. Don’t want to get these trained men killed in the first week.
Guardian blog
I’m assuming the numbers given are confirmed deaths, as opposed to however many are as yet undiscovered under building rubble or in hastily dug graves.