Russian military vehicles roll through outskirts of Donetsk after Putin orders troops into Ukraine

[Teh One Who Knocks]

By Caitlin McFall | Fox News




Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday will officially begin annexing four more regions in Ukraine in a signing ceremony following the conclusion of self-run referenda this week that the West and Kyiv have decried as a sham.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Thursday the ceremony would take place in Moscow "on agreements on the accession of new territories into the Russian Federation," first reported Reuters.

The "agreement" will apparently be signed "with all four territories that held referendums and made corresponding requests to the Russian side," he added.

Moscow-installed regionals officials from Luhansk, Donetsk, Zaphorizhzhia and Kherson are expected to represent the four regions after claiming to have achieved a monumental show of support for Russia’s illegal seizure of Ukrainian territory.

Polls close Tuesday following five days of voting organized by Russian proxies who have claimed to have garnered 93 percent of civilian support in Zaporizhzhia, 87 percent in Kherson, 98 percent in Luhansk and 99 percent in Donetsk.

Western officials have repeatedly rejected the referenda and have pointed to the last move by Russia to annex parts of Ukraine when it held a 2014 vote in Crimea and claimed that some 97 percent of Crimeans supported leaving Ukraine.



Reporting later showed the election had been falsified with only 30 percent of Crimeans even voting in the proceedings and with just 15 percent backing the peninsula’s annexation.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken last week accused the Kremlin of bussing in Russians to vote in the referenda and Ukrainian officials over the weekend reported coercive tactics involving intimidation to force Ukrainian’s to vote.



Annexing the four eastern and southern regions means Russia will begin to claim another 15 percent of Ukraine as Russian territory.

Moscow has repeatedly said it will consider an attack on the regions, where heavy fighting has persisted for seven months, as an attack on Russia itself – leaving some defense officials concerned that Russia could resort to even more aggressive tactics like nuclear escalation.

Putin is expected to give a speech following the ceremony.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

[Teh One Who Knocks]

By George Styllis - The Telegraph




New recruits to the Russian army are being told to ask their wives and girlfriends for tampons to use as bandages in the event they get shot, as military supplies run out.

In a video circulating on social media, a woman who has been identified as a military doctor can be seen giving what appears to be an introductory speech to new recruits.

In it, she tells them the army is woefully short on military equipment and that only uniforms will be supplied.

Listing all the necessities an army would ordinarily provide but in this instance cannot, she says recruits must provide basic medical equipment like first aid - or the closest thing possible.

“Get your wives and girlfriends to get sanitary pads. The cheapest pads plus the cheapest tampons. You all know what the tampons are for?”

“To stop the bleeding?” says one man.

“You shove it right into the bullet wound and the tampon expands and applies pressure to the wounds,” says the woman.

“I know all that from Chechnya,” she says in an apparent reference to Russia’s two wars there between 1994 and 2000.

As Russia’s war in Ukraine drags on, Moscow has struggled to properly equip and arm its soldiers.

Reports have emerged of Russian soldiers being resupplied with soggy lavatory paper and Soviet-era field telephones rather than modern weapons.

Soldiers have repeatedly complained, leading to pro-war Russians crowdfunding supplies.

Everything from rifle scopes to boots for soldiers has been sent to Ukraine, paid for by patriotic Russians through fundraising initiatives.

But the video, which was reportedly filmed in the southern city of Volgograd, is one of the most potentially damning yet of the scale of Russia’s negligence of its armed forces.

“Sleeping bags are required,” says the woman.

“You’ll be sleeping where you can. Plus camping mats or pads. You get it, right.”

When one of the men she’s addressing asks, “So none of it is provided to us?,” the woman replies, “You’ll have to bring all that yourself, boys.”

“The uniform is all that’s provided by the army. But the armour and all that’s military-related we don’t have any of that.”

“I don’t have tourniquets for you too. There are no tourniquets in the pharmacies anymore.

The video, which could not be independently verified, comes as Russia ramps up mobilisation to Ukraine following a series of defeats on the battlefield.

The call for hundreds of thousands of troops has caused panic among men who fear they will be called up to fight despite the Kremlin’s claim only those with combat experience will be drafted.

Protesters against the draft have clashed with police across the country, leading to thousands of arrests.

[PorkChopSandwiches]

"Super power"

[Godfather]

https://www.ibtimes.com/putin-admits...d-home-3618657

Putin Admits 'Mistake' In Russian Mobilization, Wants Wrongly Drafted Men Be 'Returned Home'

Lol "Oops"... turns out when your citizens start attacking recruitment center you might have overstepped. Too bad many of them are already dead.

[Teh One Who Knocks]

By Landon Mion | Fox News




Russia's military launched missile strikes against Kyiv, Ukraine, early Monday, as well as other locations in the country, after months of relative calm in the capital of the eastern European nation.

The strikes had targeted the center of Kyiv, and left civilians dead and wounded. Rostyslav Smirnov, an adviser to the Ukrainian ministry of internal affairs, said preliminary information shows at least eight people were killed and 24 were injured in just one of the strikes in Kyiv.

Kyiv Mayor Vitalii Klitchko said explosions were reported in the city’s Shevchenko district, which is a large area in the center of the city that includes the historic old town and several government offices.

Lesia Vasylenko, a member of Ukraine's parliament, shared a photo on Twitter revealing that at least one explosion happened near the main building of the Kyiv National University in central Kyiv.



Explosions were also heard in other cities, including Liviv, Kharkiv and Dnipro, that appeared to be the result of missile strikes. Air raid sirens sounded in every region of Ukraine, except Russia-annexed Crimea, for four straight hours.

In Lviv, energy infrastructure was hit, Regional Governor Maksym Kozytskyi said. The water supply was knocked out in Kharkiv, which was hit three times, according to Mayor Ihor Terekhov.

The last attack on Kyiv before Monday was in June, when missiles hit an apartment building, killing one person and wounding six others.

Recent fighting amid the country's war with Russia has centered on the regions just north of Crimea, which includes Zaporizhzhia, where six missiles were launched overnight Saturday from Russian-occupied areas of the Zaporizhzhia region.



Russian President Vladimir Putin claimed Sunday that an attack damaging the large bridge linking Russia to its annexed territory of Crimea was "a terrorist act" from Ukrainian special services.

Putin said in a meeting with the chairman of Russia’s Investigative Committee that there is "no doubt it was a terrorist act directed at the destruction of critically important civilian infrastructure."

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

[Teh One Who Knocks]

JERUSALEM POST STAFF




The German embassy in Kyiv was hit by Russian airstrikes on Monday, German media outlet Bild reported. However, the building has not been in use since the war broke out, the foreign ministry said.

Russian-born journalist and political scientist Sergej Sumlenny, now based in Berlin, tweeted about the attack, asking for Chancellor Olaf Scholz and other German officials to issue a response to the airstrike.

Reports indicate that it was the visa office of the German embassy that was hit, according to Euro News Weekly.

Before the airstrike happened

Shortly before the strike, the German government condemned the recent attacks on Ukraine, a government spokesperson said, who also assured Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky of Germany's support in a recent phone call.

The spokesperson also said that the partial mobilization in Russia was a mistake.

A Defense Ministry spokesperson said Germany is expected to deliver an air defense system to Ukraine very soon and deliver three more next year, without giving exact timelines.

The attack on the German embassy came within the barrage of Russian airstrikes targeting Kyiv and other Ukrainian cities on Monday morning.

Reuters contributed to this report.

[Teh One Who Knocks]

By Max Hunder and Jonathan Landay - Reuters


KYIV, Oct 10 (Reuters) - Russia rained cruise missiles on busy Ukrainian cities on Monday in what the United States called "horrific strikes", killing civilians and knocking out power and heat with its most widespread air attacks since the start of the war.

Missiles tore into intersections, parks and tourist sites in the capital Kyiv and explosions were reported in Lviv, Ternopil and Zhytomyr in western Ukraine, Dnipro and Kremenchuk in the centre, Zaporizhzhia in the south and Kharkiv in the east.

Ukrainian officials said at least 11 people were killed and scores injured and suspended electricity exports to Europe while it tried to end blackouts across the country.

Thousands of residents raced to bomb shelters as air raid sirens rang out through the day. The barrage of dozens of cruise missiles fired from air, land and sea was the biggest wave of air strikes to hit away from the front line, at least since the initial volleys on the war's first day, Feb. 24.

President Vladimir Putin said he had ordered "massive" long range strikes after an attack on the bridge linking Russia to the annexed Crimean peninsula over the weekend, and threatened more strikes in future if Ukraine hits Russian territory.

"To leave such acts without a response is simply impossible," he said, alleging other, unspecified attacks on Russian energy infrastructure.

Ukrainian military intelligence said the Russian attacks were ordered in early October. "The objects of critical civil infrastructure and the central areas of densely populated Ukrainian cities were identified as targets," it said.

President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said they were deliberately timed to kill people and knock out Ukraine's power grid. His prime minister said 11 major infrastructure targets were hit in eight regions, leaving parts of the country with no electricity, water or heat.

"They are trying to destroy us and wipe us off the face of the earth," Zelenskiy said.

The body of a man in jeans lay in a street at a major Kyiv intersection, surrounded by flaming cars. In a park, a soldier cut through the clothes of a woman who lay in the grass to try to treat her wounds. Two other women were bleeding nearby.

BATTLEFIELD SETBACKS

"These attacks killed and injured civilians and destroyed targets with no military purpose. They once again demonstrate the utter brutality of Mr. Putin’s illegal war on the Ukrainian people," U.S. President Joe Biden said in a statement.

The Kremlin was humiliated two days ago when a blast damaged the bridge it built after seizing Crimea in 2014. Ukraine, which views the bridge as a military target sustaining Russia's war effort, celebrated the blast without claiming responsibility.

With troops suffering weeks of setbacks on the battlefield, Russian authorities have been facing the first sustained public criticism at home of the war, with commentators on state television demanding ever tougher measures.

Ben Hodges, a former commander of U.S. army forces in Europe, said the scale of the strikes suggested Russia's plan to escalate may have been drawn up before the bridge was attacked.

On Saturday, Russia's Defence Ministry named General Sergei Surovikin, who won acclaim in Syria, as commander of Russian forces in Ukraine. A Russian air campaign in Syria helped the government crush its enemies.













Monday's blasts tore a huge crater next to a children's playground in one of central Kyiv's busiest parks. The remains of an apparent missile were buried, smoking in the mud.

More volleys of missiles struck the capital again later in the morning. Pedestrians huddled for shelter at the entrance of Metro stations and inside parking garages.

"This constitutes another unacceptable escalation of the war and, as always, civilians are paying the highest price," U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric said, while its aid organization and others said their aid work in Ukraine had been disrupted.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken called the strikes "horrific" and he and Biden reiterated U.S. support for Ukraine.

Ukraine's defence ministry said in its evening update Russia had staged at least 84 missile and air strikes, and Ukraine's air defences had destroyed 43 cruise missiles and 13 drones. Russia's defence ministry said it had hit all its intended targets.

Security camera footage showed shrapnel and flames engulfing a glass-bottomed footbridge across a wooded valley in Kyiv's centre, one of its most popular tourist sites. One pedestrian could be seen running from the blast. Reuters later saw a crater below the bridge which was damaged but still standing.

Zelenskiy said the strikes targeted energy infrastructure and people.

"Such a time and such targets were specially chosen to cause as much damage as possible," he said in a video message filmed on a mobile phone on an empty central Kyiv street.

Prime Minister Denys Shmygal promised to restore utilities as quickly as possible. Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba tweeted: "Putin is a terrorist who talks with missiles."

Olena Somyk, 41, sheltered with her six-year-old daughter, Daria, in an underground garage with hundreds of people. She had fled the Russian-occupied southern city of Kherson, crossing Russia and Europe to get to Kyiv.

"Putin, she said, "is a small angry man, so we don't know what more to expect".



BELARUS ESCALATION

In another sign of possible escalation, Putin's closest ally, President Alexander Lukashenko of Belarus, said he had ordered troops to deploy jointly with Russian forces near Ukraine, which he accused of planning attacks on Belarus with its Western backers. Russia used Belarus as a staging ground early in the war but Lukashenko has not sent in his troops.

Within Russia, the strikes were cheered by hawks. Ramzan Kadyrov, the staunchly pro-Kremlin leader of Russia's Chechnya region who had recently demanded that military commanders be sacked, wrote: "Now I am 100% satisfied with how the special military operation is being conducted."

"We warned you Zelensky, that Russia hasn't even got started yet, so stop complaining ... and run!"

Russia has faced several setbacks since early September, with Ukrainian forces bursting through front lines and recapturing territory. Putin responded by ordering a mobilisation of hundreds of thousands of reservists, proclaiming the annexation of occupied territory and threatening repeatedly to use nuclear weapons.

[Godfather]

Terrorists

[Teh One Who Knocks]

By Andrea Vacchiano | Fox News




The capital region of Ukraine was hit by Iranian-made kamikaze drones on Thursday morning as the Russian military ramps up attacks against the country.

Kyiv Oblast residents woke up to blistering air raid sirens for the fourth day in a row this week. Rescue workers were seen rushing to the sites of Thursday's strikes.

The strikes reportedly hit somewhere along the perimeter of the capital city, according to Kyiv regional governor Oleksiy Kuleba. The amount of casualties is unknown, but deputy head of the presidential office Kyrylo Tymoshenko said on Telegram that "critical infrastructure facilities" in the area were impacted.

The southern city of Mykolaiv was also hit by Russians overnight, with shelling destroying a five-story apartment building in the city.

Mykolaiv Mayor Oleksandr Sienkovych said the building’s top two floors were completely destroyed in a single strike. The number of casualties from that attack has also not been reported.

Attacks on Kyiv were a rare occurrence before the capital city was hit at least four times during Monday’s destructive strikes, which killed at least 19 people and wounded more than 100 across the country.

The attacks come as tensions between Ukraine and Russia escalate since Vladimir Putin's annexation of the Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions.



Iranian Shahed-136 drones have been increasingly used by Russia's military to destabilize Ukraine. The Ukrainian military reported that they were able to shoot down dozens of drones and Russian missiles through air defenses this week.

Western leaders have pledged to send air defense systems and weapons to Ukraine as Russia's deadly assault against the country continues. President Biden said earlier this week that Russia miscalculated "significantly" by invading Ukraine.



"I think he thought he was going to be welcome with open arms," Biden claimed. "That this was the home of mother Russia and Kyiv… I think he totally miscalculated."

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

[lost in melb.]

Iran

[PorkChopSandwiches]

Be lucky to make it to the end of the year without a nuclear war

[Pony]

Be lucky to make it to the end of the year without a nuclear war

That will be exciting, we haven't had one of those in awhile. [sarcasm]

[Teh One Who Knocks]

By Andrea Vacchiano | Fox News




Drone strikes hit Kyiv early Monday morning, damaging a residential building and injuring an unknown number of people amid repeated attacks against the Ukrainian capital from Russia forces over the past week.

Kyiv city mayor Vitaliy Klichko announced that the Shevchenko district was impacted, urging residents to take shelter. Anton Gerashchenko, an advisor to Ukraine's Minister of Internal Affairs, confirmed that a residential building was hit during the attacks, but officials have not released details about casualties.

Klichko reported that several apartment blocks were damaged, in addition to a fire igniting in a non-residential building.

Black smoke and flames were seen near the apparent strikes. The explosion sounds were reportedly heard in the same Kyiv district where a missile recently destroyed a children's playground.

Russian forces have attacked Kyiv consistently with so-called "kamikaze" drones over the past week. The Shahed-136 drones, which are manufactured in Iran, have been used by Russia to target vital energy infrastructure and urban centers.

A recent report by the Institute for the Study of War theorized that Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) troops may have traveled to Russian-held territories to help train Putin's troops.

The use of Shahed-136 drones ramped up after the Russo-Ukrainian War escalated through Vladimir Putin's annexation of the Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions in September. Strikes in central Kyiv were rare occurrences before Putin's illegal annexation, which has been denounced by Western leaders.



Putin has defended last week's strikes, saying there were in retaliation against Ukrainian forces bombing a Crimean bridge.

Over the weekend, there was intense fighting around the cities of Bakhmut and Soledar in the Donetsk region, as well as the Luhansk region, according to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.



















The Donetsk region's Russian-backed government reported on Sunday that its central administrative building was directly hit by Ukraine, but did not report casualties.

The Associated Press and Fox News' Peter Aitken contributed to this report.

[lost in melb.]

Winning hearts and minds

[Teh One Who Knocks]

Zoe Strozewski - Newsweek




Ukraine said on Monday that Russia had pulled 70-year-old anti-aircraft guns out of storage, mocking the country for seemingly having to resort to the old weapons in the ongoing war.

"Meeting at the crossroads. While #UAarmy is mastering IRIS-T, NASAMS, Aspide, the terrorist state [Russia] is getting 70 year-old AZP-57 anti-aircraft guns from its warehouses," Ukraine's Defense Ministry tweeted, referencing some Western-supplied systems in addition to the Russian AZP-57. "Ukraine confidently stepping into the future. The empire is returning to where it belongs — in the past."

The tweet included a video showing what are presumably several AZP-57 guns loaded onto parked trucks while several men are heard discussing the weapons.

"Just what kind of guns are these? From what century?" one of the men asks in the video, according to an English caption.

While Russian President Vladimir Putin's army has been facing Ukrainian advances on several fronts of the war, it has also purportedly been contending with increasingly low stocks of weapons and equipment. Bringing back the AZP-57 guns, if true, could signal that Russia is running low on its more current anti-aircraft models.

Newsweek was not able to independently verify the Ukrainian Defense Ministry's report and reached out to Russia's Defense Ministry for comment and confirmation that it had pulled AZP-57 guns out of storage.

In late August, The Insider, a Latvian-based media outlet, estimated that Russia's military would run out of weaponry by the end of the year because of Western sanctions and successful Ukrainian counteroffensives.

"Being cut off from the supply of Western equipment, spare parts and materials and at the same time limited in terms of human capital and labor productivity, Russian manufacturers of artillery and ammunition will inevitably face in the foreseeable future not so much stagnation as production cuts," The Insider reported.

The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine wrote in an early September update that Moscow was launching outdated missiles on Ukrainian territory because of a "lack of high-precision weapons."

Also in September, Putin called on military-industrial complex bosses to ramp up production of weapons and ammunition to "urgently" supply the armed forces.

Meanwhile, a daily update from the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine estimated that Russia had lost eight tanks, 12 armored personnel vehicles, 17 unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) and one anti-aircraft warfare system on Monday alone. Overall, Ukraine says that Russia lost 187 anti-aircraft warfare systems since the start of the war on February 24.

The AZP-57 guns Russia has allegedly now pulled out of storage were developed in the 1950s, ТРУХА reported.