"All of Vlad's forces and all of Vlad's men, are out to put Humpty together again." (5 Viewers)

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KYIV, May 18 (Reuters) - A Russian soldier accused of war crimes in Ukraine pleaded guilty on Wednesday to killing an elderly unarmed civilian.

Vadim Shishimarin, a 21-year-old Russian tank commander, entered his plea in a Kyiv district court hearing its first war crimes trial against a Russian soldier who took part in Moscow's Feb. 24 invasion. read more

In a trial that has huge symbolic importance for Kyiv, Shishimarin is charged with murdering a 62-year-old civilian in the northeast Ukrainian village of Chupakhivka on Feb. 28. If convicted, he faces up to life imprisonment.

[...]

After guards led Shishimarin into the court in handcuffs, he was asked by the judge if he accepted the charge against him. He confirmed that he did.


Ukrainian state prosecutors have said Shishimarin and four other Russian servicemen fired at and stole a privately owned car to escape after their column was targeted by Ukrainian forces.

The Russian soldiers drove into the village of Chupakhivka where they saw an unarmed resident riding a bicycle and talking on his phone, they said.

They said Shishimarin was ordered by another serviceman to kill the civilian to prevent him reporting on the Russians' presence and fired several shots through the open window of the car with an assault rifle at the civilian's head. The civilian died on the spot.

Russian soldier pleads guilty in war crimes trial in Ukraine

A Russian soldier accused of war crimes in Ukraine pleaded guilty on Wednesday to killing an elderly unarmed civilian.
www.reuters.com
 

vikingBerserker said:
Still love them. Thin, crispy and salty sticks of happiness.
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The 90's were the end of tastey fast-food fries for many chains.

There's still some good ones to be found, though.

This would a great discussion in the food thread:
"Who has the best fries" (or chips, as our friends across the big water call them).
 
First evidences of Russia facing weapon sales "complications".

India halts Ka-31 helicopter deal with Russia

India asked to buy Ka-31 helicopters from Russia in May 2019, but the acquisition program faced inordinate delays due to the coronavirus pandemic and the platform’s high price tag.
www.defensenews.com

The war hasn't been a great sales showcase for Russian hardware, Javelins otoh ...
 
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Messaging about Russian "difficulties" in Ukraine continues to leak out. Following Col Khodarenok's TV piece earlier this week, we now have a deputy secretary of Putin's Security Council also acknowledging "difficulties". Interesting analysis from the BBC on this topic via the link below:

Another pro-Kremlin voice has admitted to "difficulties" in the war with Ukraine, which Russia calls a 'special military operation'.

But Rashid Nurgaliyev, a deputy secretary of Vladimir Putin's Security Council, insisted Russia would achieve its objectives - including the "denazification of Ukraine".

It follows remarks by a retired colonel and military analyst on primetime Russian TV earlier this week, in which Mikhail Khodarenok warned "the situation [for Russia] will clearly get worse".

"We are in total political isolation and the whole world is against us, even if we don't want to admit it," said Khodarenok, while appearing on flagship talk show 60 Minutes.

Russia's Security Council is today holding a meeting with nearly 100 foreign ambassadors to discuss the threats posed by "closed laboratories" and "neo-Nazism".

Nurgaliyev told the gathered ambassadors: "In spite of all the existing difficulties, the special military operation will be completed - while its objectives, including the ones to do with the demilitarisation and denazification of Ukraine, [and] defence of the Donetsk People's Republic and Luhansk People's Republic will be carried out in full."

His remarks were reported by Russia's Interfax news agency.

BBC Russia editor Steve Rosenberg has suggested the Kremlin may be preparing the Russian public for negative news on the progress of the invasion.


If the Kremlin is prepping the ground to release some bad news to the Russian public, then the world will be watching the reaction. As has been noted before, the loss of the Kursk generated a lot of backlash. If the bad news isn't received stoically, then we may see an increase in dissent over the war special operation in Ukraine.
 
"stay tuned to Russian TV for further signals." lol
 
US will work with Finland and Sweden if outside aggression threatens their national security during the NATO application process:

President Biden says the United States will work with Finland and Sweden in event of any outside "aggression" which could threaten national security while their Nato membership is under review.

The US president reiterated his support for Sweden and Finland's bid to join Nato, saying it would "further strengthen our defence cooperation" and benefit the entire alliance.

The US is the latest country to offer support to the two countries in the event of any aggression, with several others offering similar assurances.

Last week the UK agreed a mutual security pact with both Nordic nations, ahead of their decision to apply for Nato membership - a decision which has been taken in the light of Russia's invasion of Ukraine.


For all those who were ridiculing Boris Johnson last week...maybe now his leaning forward might be acknowledged as necessary and helping provide impetus to other NATO Allies to follow suit?
 
The source for this article is the Ukrainian MOD so it probably needs to be taken with a dose (rather than a grain) of salt...however, the specific identification of a Russian unit provides some grounds to believe there are elements of truth to the story:

Russian troops are increasingly refusing to take part in combat in Ukraine, the Ukrainian defence ministry's main intelligence directorate says.

In a post on the Telegram messenging service, it says several units of the 70th Guards Motorised Regiment have openly refused to take part in the war and demanded that they be returned to the areas where they are normally deployed.

Unit commanders are making every effort to hide the cases of disobedience, the directorate says, with the most un-cooperative servicemen "sent to the most dangerous area of the front-line in the hope that they would be killed quickly", the post claims.

The agency says the Russian Federal Security Service has decided to infiltrate the regiment's units with "agents and informants".

The BBC is not able to verify this information independently
 
Boris will twist on a dime. Lied when he was a reporter in Brussels (big time) and lied some more in deep corona time just to start with the obvious ones.
Boris is all about Boris. And full of it.
Not a man nor leader that one can trust to do the right thing, amusing as he can be in tv shows.
 

Don't disagree...but how is that different than most politicians who have egos bigger than the world?
 
Snautzer01 said:
Besides perhaps he knows what Turky will do. Block. And words again.
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Well, he didn't know that because the Turkey issue only came out in the past few days...unless you subscribe to the view that national leaders can predict the future?

And are the actions by Norway, Denmark, Iceland and, now, the US merely words? Is the NATO Alliance itself merely words with no meaning or substance behind it?

Trust me, I don't like Johnson. I think he's an idiot. However, on this occasion I think he did the right thing and, since he implemented a signed agreement with both Finland and Sweden, it's rather more than just a photo opportunity, IMHO.
 
buffnut453 said:
Don't disagree...but how is that different than most politicians who have egos bigger than the world?
Click to expand...
Because some put weight in his words. His words are light. Fleeting in the wind knowing that the broehaha words will be blocked. And so the actions that should follow the words will be blocked.
He is not stupid just not to be trusted. And yes most knew Turkey will through a fit being bypassed for nato.
 
Snautzer01 said:
Because some put weight in his words. His words are light. Fleeting in the wind knowing that the broehaha words will be blocked. And so the actions that should follow the words will be blocked.
Click to expand...

People put weight in the words of any politician, otherwise they wouldn't get elected. And all politicians make statements that they know will be blocked. Boris is clearly a lightning rod for you but, frankly, I don't think he's much different than most politicians who use partial truths or even outright lies to stir up the electorate.

However, the key point here is that the support for Finland and Sweden is more than just the words of Boris. They are formal, signed, documentary agreements between the UK, Finland and Sweden. Finland and Sweden know what the UK has signed up to, and vice-versa.

Undoubtedly, there may be efforts to wriggle out of them if push comes to shove...but, again, the simple signing of these agreements sends a message to Moscow. That's the really important part here...deterring Putin from doing something even more stupid than he's doing today.
 
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I see what you are saying, i do. But as i hope you see too that i do not trust anything Boris has signed or agreed upon for a reason.
Brexit left for me a ( leave or stay ) an inside of how he works. Signed papers is not a deal in stone for him. Now perhaps i am seeing this wrong as i am not in higher places nor bare responsibility for a nation. Just my very simple observation. History of which i know just a little is paved whith signed agreement pacts. It is the one who signed it that gives it weight in the future.
Let us discuss this further in the future when more can be said. I will be very happy when i am wrong about this event. And state it on this board as i have stated my doubts.
I have a soft spot for Blighty, so i hope they will come true.
 
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