"All of Vlad's forces and all of Vlad's men, are out to put Humpty together again." (1 Viewer)

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And exactly this has become a total different animal altogether, latest since April. It is no more a war in it's classical interpretation (gain of territory) but is (has) evolved into a confrontation of political systems. Those of autocratic governments (harbored and favored) by most population rich countries contra the mostly western led democratic countries.

The military threat (ABC) underlies a totally different evaluation in regards to political systems engaged in a matter of survival - then that of winning or loosing a traditional territorial
dispute - and I am not so sure about the West's firmness when it comes to a showdown in regards to the mere survival/prevalence of political/social convictions.

This confrontation is essentially something that never happened since 1945, that the two main opposing parties have brought their opposing views directly to ones borders. All other
confrontations of political/social systems have been fought 1000's of miles away from the two main protagonists borders/countries.
 
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Sweden says NATO Membership Would Strengthen Nordic Defence

Speaking to Swedish Radio, Sweden's Defence Minister Peter Hultqvist said that the defence situation of the Nordic region will bolster if both Finland and Stockholm decided to join the international military alliance NATO. His remarks come as both the Nordic nations are looking forward to forwarding their applications for NATO membership anytime soon. Meanwhile, Russia has warned against the decision, saying it will redeploy nuclear missiles closer to the borders provided Finland and Sweden joined NATO.
 
Sanctions begin to 'bite' Russia's industrial base capabilities: Pentagon

An unnamed senior United States defence official said during a briefing on May 9 that Russia "has blown through a lot of their precision-guided munition" and continues to hit Mariupol with a lot of dumb bombs. Pentagon official also said that the sanctions have started to 'bite' Russia's industrial base capabilities. The official also said that Russia now faces difficulties replacing PGMs, and the sanctions and the export controls, particularly when it comes to electronic components, have had an effect on the Russian defence industrial base.

 

There was an estimation in early May - I cant recall the source though - that Russia has used up ~20% of its inventory of sea launched PGMs, ~50% of its available ground launched PGMs and almost 70% of its air launched PGMs.
 
Interesting also that the Uralvagonzavod tank facility is still not doing much due to lack of supplies.

It is difficult to sustain a tank force when the major repair/ replacement facility can't do it.

When prototype tanks are being sent in you have to wonder (T-80Bsomething) how much of what is left in reserve actually functions correctly,
or is able to be serviced to bring it up to scratch.

The shipyard in Vladivostok which was completing two supply vessels and two combat vessels has halted operations as well. Again due to
supply problems.
 
KHARKIV, Ukraine, May 10 (Reuters) - Ukraine said on Tuesday its forces had recaptured villages from Russian troops north and northeast of Kharkiv, pressing a counter-offensive that could signal a shift in the war's momentum and jeopardise Russia's main advance.

Tetiana Apatchenko, press officer for the 92nd Separate Mechanized Brigade, the main Ukrainian force in the area, confirmed that Ukrainian troops had recaptured the settlements of Cherkaski Tyshky, Ruski Tyshki, Borshchova and Slobozhanske, in a pocket north of Kharkiv in recent days.

Yuriy Saks, an adviser to Defense Minister Oleksiy Reznikov said the successes were pushing Russian forces out of range of Kharkiv, Ukraine's second largest city, which has been under perpetual bombardment since the war began.

"The military operations of the Ukrainian armed forces around Kharkiv, especially north and northeast of Kharkiv, are sort of a success story," Saks told Reuters. "The Ukrainian army was able to push these war criminals to a line beyond the reach of their artillery."

The counterattack could signal a new phase in the war, with Ukraine now going on the offensive after weeks in which Russia mounted a massive assault without making a breakthrough.

By pushing back Russian forces who had occupied the outskirts of Kharkiv since the start of the invasion, the Ukrainians are moving into striking distance of the rear supply lines sustaining the main Russian attack force further south.



Here's hoping this report is accurate. If the Ukrainians can interdict the offensive's supply-lines, they may be able to work deeper around the flanks and cut them off.
 

Putin has to wrap this up quickly or risk long-term damage to Russia's economy, moreso than has already been incurred.
 
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Matilda Bogner, the head of the United Nations Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine, said there is "credible" information regarding the mistreatment of Russian prisoners by Ukrainian troops during the war.

"We have received credible information of torture, ill-treatment and incommunicado detention by Ukrainian Armed Forces of prisoners of war belonging to the Russian armed forces and affiliated armed groups," Bogner said on Tuesday.

The "inhumane treatment" is occurring among captured Ukrainian and Russian soldiers as they are "being coerced to make statements, apologies and confessions, and other forms of humiliation."

"This violates fundamental rules of international humanitarian law. Ukraine and Russia must promptly and effectively investigate all allegations of torture and ill-treatment of prisoners of war," Bogner said. "They must also effectively control and instruct their forces to stop any further violations from occurring."

Ukraine and Russia have conducted multiple prisoner swaps throughout the war, with dozens of Ukrainians and Russians returned to their forces as a result.



Disturbing but not surprising. All these incidents should be investigated.
 
There is no independent and influential body to investigate these incidents. Red Cross was mostly inept so far and it has less influence in Russian Federation than in the Third Reich during WWII. As for UN missions, they have little, if any, access to the frontlines where most of the said ill-treatment happens. And certainly, they do not see what's happening in the cities under the siege and in the occupied territories.
The best the international "peace loving' bureaucracy can do today is to help the civilians and to engage in the investigations of war crimes, there are thousands of incidents.
 

Sure. I think this sort of thing happens far too often in wars, and my own country has obviously committed such mistreatments as well, so I'm not a high-horse about anything, just reporting what I'm reading. As has been noted many times in this thread, we really don't (and probably won't until it's all over) know what has really happened.

If this report is true, as I wrote above, all guilty parties should be prosecuted where possible.
 

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