Intent on causing as much civilian death as possible

More Ukraine news, some still a couple days old. Actually, this first is more than a couple days old. Charles Jay of the Daily Kos community started a post with a photo of the Ukraine team at the Beijing Paralympics opening ceremony. They got a huge ovation. That they were there at all is a miracle. Russian and Belorusian athletes are not competing in these games. Not even as a Russian Olympic Committee team in which their national anthem is not played and their flag not flown. A large number of countries told the International Olympic Committee that if Russians and Belorusians compete they will pull out. Another complaint was that Russia has violated the Olympic Truce. So the night before the opening ceremony those athletes were sent home. Jay also listed several international sports federations that have banned Russian athletes, including hockey and figure skating. In a Sunday noon Ukraine Update Hunter of Kos reported that Russia is enduring heavier losses than planners predicted and that weapons from other countries are being delivered to Ukraine at a steady rate. Hunter also included a video of a protest in Kazakhstan. In a Sunday mid afternoon post Hunter reported that the Russian propaganda machine is doing so well that 64% of the country believes his lies (or aren’t willing to tell pollsters otherwise). But 34% oppose the war. And that’s a significant chunk or the populace. In spite of the harsh laws protesters were again out on the streets and more than 3,000 were arrested. Looks like the protest in St. Petersburg included thousands of people. Hunter quoted a tweet from Eric Feigl-Ding who included a photo showing the Russian Embassy in Washington with a street sign in front now saying Zelensky Way. Hunter also quoted Terrell Jermaine Starr who explained why Ukrainians have zero sympathy for Russians struggling under sanctions. That’s because most the Russians either support or are indifferent to Putin. In a Monday morning update Kos of Kos wrote again about the number of fronts Russia is trying to support, meaning there are only 10-20K soldiers per front, and a large number of those are support troops. The actual fighting troops are stretched thin. Kos quoted Illia Ponomarenko who tweeted, “Judging from the number of enemy vehicles seized in action, the biggest foreign provider of military hardware in Ukraine is… Russia.” And Richard Engel posted a picture of a checkpoint in Kyiv made up of tires stuffed with books. Most of the books are about Soviet political theory and communism. When the Russians get close the books, and thus the tires, will be set on fire. A good book burning. In a Monday noon update Hunter discussed Biden’s attempt to get Europe to join in a ban of Russian oil and gas. These still provide a pretty good chunk of income for Russia. America could weather such a ban because only 8% of our oil comes from Russia. But Russian oil is 40% of what Europe uses, so for them to ban Russian oil is much harder to do. In a report from mid afternoon on Monday Hunter discussed the Russian tactic of offering citizens of a city an evacuation corridor – then shelling the citizens as they gather to leave. Evacuation routes have also been mined. Or the routes lead only to Russia and Belarus, useful only for Russian separatists. Russia seems intent on causing as much civilian death as possible to force Ukraine to surrender. Hunter also noted the story that Russia may turn off gas to Europe before Europe can ban it. Joey Ayoub quoted Sarah Rainsford of the BBC who tweeted:

Today we woke to the news of a short ceasefire in Mariupol & Voldovakha to allow evacuation of civilians. It didn’t happen. Mariupol city authorities are telling ppl to go back to bomb shelters, not head for evacuation buses: Russian forces are still firing on the city & outskirts.