CaptainTruth
CaptainTruth's JournalFirst Ukrainian city reportedly falls to Russia
First Ukrainian city reportedly falls to Russia as Pentagon says 90% of Russian troops amassed for war are now in Ukraine
The southern Ukraine city of Kherson became the first to fall to Russian troops since Russian President Vladimir Putin launched a war against the neighboring country one week ago, the city’s mayor said Wednesday.
Russian armed forces entered the Kherson city council building, Mayor Igor Kolykhayev said in a post on Facebook. Kherson sits about 75 miles northwest of the Crimean Peninsula, which Russia annexed during its last invasion into Ukraine in 2014.
“My team and I are peaceful people. We had no weapons or aggression on our side,” Kolykhayev said in a translated statement. “We have shown that we are working to secure the city and are trying to eliminate the consequences of the invasion.”
[link:https://www.stripes.com/theaters/europe/2022-03-03/ukraine-russian-invasion-war-pentagon-kherson-5213281.html|]
Zelensky: 'The end of the world has arrived'
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Thursday issued a dire appeal for help as Russia's attacks across the country intensified.
"The end of the world has arrived," Zelensky said during a televised news conference in Kyiv.
He appealed to Western leaders who have resisted calls to set up a no-fly zone over Ukraine. "If you do not have the power to close the skies, then give me planes," Zelensky said.
The Ukrainian leader also called for direct negotiations with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
[link:https://www.aol.com/news/zelensky-end-world-arrived-180049557.html|]
Sabre Ends Distribution of Aeroflot Flights in Travel Tech Retreat From Russia
I saw a couple arline industry analysts say if Sabre (commercial airline flight reservation systems) cut off Aeroflot it would be the final nail in their coffin, their system for booking flights would be gone. Well, now that's happening.
From Skift - "Skift is a travel industry news site. Skift also provides market research and marketing services to the travel industry."
Sabre Ends Distribution of Aeroflot Flights in Travel Tech Retreat From Russia
Sabre, the largest provider of airline information technology to Aeroflot, said on Thursday morning it would stop providing distribution services to the Russian flag carrier, essentially preventing it from selling tickets. Sabre is among the Western travel technology giants, along with Amadeus and Travelport, that are feeling pressure to retreat from Russia while that country invades Ukraine.
“We are taking a stand against this military conflict,” said Sean Menke, CEO of Sabre. “We’re complying, and will continue to comply, with sanctions imposed against Russia. In addition, today we announced that Sabre has terminated its distribution agreement with Aeroflot, removing its content from our GDS [global distribution system].”
[link:https://skift.com/2022/03/03/sabre-ends-distribution-of-aeroflot-flights-in-travel-tech-retreat-from-russia/|]
More than 3,000 US citizens have applied to fight in Ukraine
From Military Times:
Volunteer fighters arrive in Ukraine. But the untrained should stay home
Several hundred volunteers willing to fight Russians alongside Ukrainian forces have already arrived in that embattled nation, according to a government official there.
A defense official at the Ukrainian embassy in Washington D.C. told Military Times that they have already received more than 3,000 applications for U.S. citizens wanting to fight. That figure, he said, includes many military veterans. He could not say how many.
[link:https://www.militarytimes.com/flashpoints/ukraine/2022/03/03/volunteer-fighters-arrive-in-ukraine-but-the-untrained-should-stay-home/]
'Tanks and mud are not friends' -- Ukraine's terrain is proving to be a problem for Russian armor
From Task & Purpose ( "Task & Purpose provides military news, culture, and analysis by and for the military and veterans community." )
‘Tanks and mud are not friends’ — Ukraine’s terrain is proving to be a problem for Russian armor
“Eastern Europe is either frozen or it’s fucking muddy, that’s just how it is.”
The Russian army is finding out the hard way that, besides anti-tank missiles, land mines, and Molotov cocktails, one of the greatest threats to tanks is the earth itself, at least when it’s mixed with a little too much water. Even before Russia invaded Ukraine last week, the internet was filled with images of fearsome Russian armor and other vehicles stuck in the mud. As one Marine explained, getting stuck in the mud is not a question of if, but when.
[link:https://taskandpurpose.com/news/russian-tanks-stuck-mud-ukraine/|]
The demise of the Russian airline industry?
From Jon Ostrower @jonostrower
We need to stop for moment and take stock of the abject evisceration of the Russian commercial aircraft fleet and airline market that is currently taking place.
Prior to the sanctions, Russia had one of the most active domestic aviation operations, a global highlight in an otherwise ailing airline market with the two-year pandemic. The market was actually ABOVE 2019 levels of traffic last summer.
Both Airbus and Boeing have announced suspension of parts and services to the Russian fleet, effectively cutting off maintenance support to Russian airlines. Local airlines have some capability to service their own, but they will quickly become paperweights.
Even its homegrown Sukhoi Superjet, a regional jet, was developed with western suppliers and its engine is French & Russian. In 2009, to grow its international market appeal, it turned to @LHTechnik for its parts distribution to support its fleet. That's dead now.
Even if Russian airlines could get support for the fleet, those airlines have costs that are denominated in dollars (like now terminated leases) while their revenues are in massively devalued rubles. An acute financial crisis looms for these airlines.
The clock on the entire Russian airline industry has just been set back to 1991.
There’s likely one final action that can level, instantly, Russian commercial aviation. That’s Sabre, the IT backbone on which Aeroflot runs. No Sabre, no reservations. No reservations, no airline.
Link to Twitter thread:
[link:https://twitter.com/jonostrower/status/1498838164445663235?t=oX4lu1bqTL_fWeOqbNsbhA&s=19|]
Documenting Equipment Losses During The 2022 Russian Invasion Of Ukraine
Edit to add:
To hopefully ease any concern about this link, this list is published by Oryx, a collaboration that has been documenting military equipment, conflicts, & losses around the world since 2014.
Their work documenting military equipment & conflicts in Iraq, Afghanistan, Syria, Libya, Turkey, North Korea & elsewhere around the world has been extensive.
In 2020 they published a book on North Korea's military ("The Armed Forces of North Korea" by Stijn Mitzer and Joost Oliemans) published by Helion & Company Ltd (UK) who is regarded as "one of the world's leading publishers and booksellers of military history in the English language."
Their book is available on Amazon if you'd like to look at it, or direct from Helion at helion.co.uk
I'm noting this because I realize most folks probably aren't familiar with Oryx, as they are a small collaboration & their work doesn't make "the front pages," as it were, or get coverage in the mainstream media.
I would not post a link to their site if I had not already known about them & been looking at their site for a few years now for info on weapons & military equipment losses.
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A detailed list of the destroyed and captured vehicles and equipment of both sides can be seen below. This list is constantly updated as additional footage becomes available.
[link:https://www.oryxspioenkop.com/2022/02/attack-on-europe-documenting-equipment.html|]
Who has given what to help Ukraine? - UK Defence Journal
I've been looking for a "spreadsheet" of all the help given to Ukraine & UK Defence Journal has put one together:
This article details aid given to Ukraine before and during the invasion of the country by Russian forces.
The table is constantly being updated, if something isn’t here it’ll be added soon.
[link:https://ukdefencejournal.org.uk/who-has-given-what-to-help-ukraine/|]
"I don't regret a thing" - Ukrainian unrepentant for attempting to sink yacht
D. Taras O., the 55-year-old Ukrainian who attempted to sink the luxury yacht that belongs to Alexander Mijeev, stated in court on Sunday: "I don't regret anything I've done and I would do it again."
Arrested for partially sinking the luxury yacht in Port Adriano, he fully accepted the facts of the case and assumed total responsibility for what had happened. When the Guardia Civil arrived in Port Adriano on Saturday, he turned himself in and told officers: "My boss is a criminal who sells weapons that kill the Ukrainian people." Alexander Mijeev is the CEO of Rosoboronexport, a Russian military weapons company.
He has worked as a mechanic on the Lady Anastasia for some ten years. He acted after seeing a news report om the television. He told the judge: "I watched the news about the war. There was a video of a helicopter attack on a building in Kyiv. The armaments used are produced by the yacht owner's company. They were attacking innocents."
That's all the text content. Unfortunately, no pictures, I really wanted to see the yacht.
I hope everyone realizes our democracy is worth defending.
https://www.majorcadailybulletin.com/news/local/2022/02/27/97865/ukrainian-unrepentant-for-trying-sink-russian-owned-yacht-mallorca.html
I've held off on posting this: I have friends in Kyiv
The son of our good friends, who works for the State Dept, was stationed at the US Embassy in Kyiv, where he lived with his Ukranian wife.
I hope you can all understand why I haven't talked about this until now. We've been a bit frantic for the past few days, trying to confirm they were safe. This "son of good friends" is someone my wife held as a baby, & they're some of the closest "family" we have.
We've confirmed they both evacuated safely, but his wife's family are all still in Ukraine. Thankfully, we've been able to maintain sporadic communication with the family & as of this morning they're all safe.
We hope they stay safe.
And FUCK PUTIN!
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Member since: Sun May 25, 2014, 11:27 AMNumber of posts: 6,586
